Chapter 50 - Episode 8. The Last Romance (6)
Chapter 50: Episode 8. The Last Romance (6)
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The conference room of Gorgon Inner Keep.
Under Chief Internal Administrator Yulhen’s sharp gaze, the three newly appointed Horn Lords of the Inner Horn each pretended to be occupied with something else.
“Hoho, I’m sure the Fortress Lord has his reasons.”
Jahir, newly appointed as Security Horn Lord, in particular, looked unable to hide his delight.
Yulhen, however, looked grave.
“What reasons could he possibly have?”
“Ahem. Well, there must be some profound intention that people like us cannot understand...”
“Jahir. This is serious. Powerful people from all over Chaos are flocking to Gorgon.”
“I am aware of that, but...”
Gorgon’s Outer Fortress was already packed to capacity. As soon as news of the tournament spread, crowds began gathering to watch powerful fighters clash. The teleportation stations around Gorgon were overwhelmed by the endless influx of Adapters, while the checkpoints at every gate struggled to verify the identities of the Adapters lined up before them.
The northern checkpoint was the sole exception.
“Hahaha! Come on in, everyone! Keep it moving!”
After Karlton Xavier, the former chief of the northern checkpoint, was appointed Law Horn Lord of Gorgon’s Inner Horn, his assistant James naturally became the interim chief of the northern checkpoint.
Thanks to that, the guards at the northern checkpoint were enjoying blissful days amid an overflowing sea of bribes.
Karlton, still unfamiliar with his position as Law Horn Lord, could only frown whenever reports from the northern checkpoint reached him.
“Law Horn Lord Karlton, do you have nothing to say?”
“...Pardon?”
“I’m asking whether you have anything to say about this situation.”
Yulhen, who had been staring at Karlton, let out a long sigh.
The tournament itself had not violated any laws, even though it had not gone through a formal Inner Horn meeting. In an emergency, important policy proposals requiring expenditures of over three billion horns could be passed without an Inner Horn meeting, so long as more than half the Horn Lords agreed.
Amazingly, Jaehwan had secured a majority.
How?
It was simple. On the day Jaehwan became Fortress Lord, four of the five Horn Lords overseeing Gorgon’s Inner Horn had vanished, and the remaining one had been crippled. In practical terms, Gorgon had been left without an Inner Horn.
Jaehwan used that opening to appoint three people as Security Horn Lord, Law Horn Lord, and Finance Horn Lord. Since every appointee was one of Jaehwan’s close associates, every matter naturally passed with ease.
After thinking for a moment, Karlton spoke.
“It seems you do not approve of the Fortress Lord’s decision, Chief Internal Administrator.”
“...This is not a matter of personal preference. It is a matter of principle. You know that too, Law Horn Lord.”
“Principles. Those damned principles. How long are you people going to keep going on about them?”
The one who cut into the conversation was the newly appointed Finance Horn Lord.
Yulhen’s expression turned cold.
“Every system operates on principles. The Finance Horn Lord may not understand, since you are ignorant of Inner Horn affairs.”
Yulhen did not like the newly appointed Finance Horn Lord.
Jahir, the Anti-Evil Squad Commander, taking charge of Security Horn, and Karlton, the northern checkpoint chief, taking charge of Law Horn, could be tolerated.
But this was too much.
Even if Gorgon was in an emergency, how could a tavern keeper who was only at the level of a second-stage Adapter be put in charge of Finance Horn?
Yulhen still remembered the moment, five days earlier, when the Fortress Lord brought in a woman named Claire and declared her the Finance Horn Lord.
“I don’t see much difference between a tavern and Gorgon Fortress. The only difference is which one is more blatant about it.”
After Claire took charge of Finance Horn, its personnel restructuring was completed in an instant.
Acting with Jaehwan’s authority, Claire boldly removed the high-ranking officials who latched onto higher-stage Adapters like parasites and shaped every financial policy around the perspective of Gorgon’s ordinary residents. Only Claire, who had no connections whatsoever within the Inner Horn, could have done that.
Naturally, the backlash was enormous.
Even now, the offices in the Inner Fortress were piled high with protests from countless clans and higher-stage Adapters. Of course, the Fortress Lord paid them no attention.
“The one who knows nothing seems to be the rigid Chief Internal Administrator.”
At Claire’s tone, which seemed to have let all manners evaporate with alcohol, Yulhen’s expression changed to one of bewilderment.
“You seem unhappy with the Fortress Lord’s policies. Do you even know what value those policies are creating?”
“Creating value...?”
“Yes, creating value. You’re not looking down on me because I own a tavern, are you?”
“No, that’s not...”
“That’s exactly the look on your face.”
Realizing the conversation was slipping out of control, Yulhen fell silent. Claire continued.
“Where people gather, money gathers too. And right now, Gorgon is receiving an unprecedented number of visitors through this tournament.”
“I know that much.”
“If you know it, why are you talking like that? From where I stand, you look like you don’t know a thing.”
“...”
“Let me give you an example. That tournament you’re so horrified by. Do you know where in Gorgon it’s being held?”
“I have not looked into that yet.”
“On Northern Market Street.”
“Northern Market Street?”
Northern Market Street had lost all its facilities during the Geumcheon Hall incident a few days ago, leaving its residents without a livelihood.
“Wait... Surely not?”
Claire nodded.
“The residents of the market street who lost their jobs are working as assistant staff for the tournament.”
Yulhen was shocked. They knew that a tournament was underway, but they had never imagined the personnel and venue needed to run it had been secured that way.
“You know roughly how much damage the Fortress suffered during the Geumcheon Hall incident a few days ago, right?”
“About 13 billion horns, if I recall...”
“That’s right. To be exact, 12.878 billion horns.”
Yulhen looked at Claire with fresh eyes. When had this woman investigated all that information?
But it was too soon to be surprised.
“Then do you know how much revenue the Fortress has earned over the last two days from holding this tournament?”
“That is still being investigated...”
“13.28 billion horns! And that’s only the net profit earned over the past two days. Once you add the potential profits, no one knows how much higher it could go.”
Yulhen stood there with their mouth hanging open.
If what Claire said was true, Gorgon had recovered all its previous losses with the profits from the last two days.
More than that, how had this woman already investigated those figures?
Claire let out a short laugh.
“What’s so surprising? I’ve run taverns in both this world and the next. Calculating money and dealing with worms who get drunk and make a fuss was my job.”
Claire reached into her clothes and pulled out a pipe. She carried herself with the ease of someone who had survived without being intimidated by men who made every sort of unreasonable demand.
Powder from a One-Horned Beast burned pale white at the tip of the pipe.
“I don’t know what the Fortress Lord wants to do. Whether he really plans to form an Abyss Expedition or wage war against all of Chaos... But I think I know one thing for certain.”
Claire glanced at Security Horn Lord Jahir, then Law Horn Lord Karlton, before finally meeting Chief Internal Administrator Yulhen’s gaze.
“《Chaos》 is going to change now.”
Yulhen read an emotion swirling in Claire’s eyes.
It was an emotion most of those living in 《Chaos》 had lost long ago. Looking more closely, Karlton and Jahir wore similar expressions.
Yulhen knew the name of that emotion well.
Fortress Lord, what are you trying to make us feel?
Something that had not happened even once in hundreds of years.
Yulhen grew uneasy. They feared this change, this possibility, and the one person making all of it possible.
Suppressing the excitement rising within, they composed themselves.
* * *
The tournament rushed through the preliminaries and main rounds in a grueling three-day march, reaching the Round of 16 in no time.
Those who arrived late at Gorgon Fortress could join the competition through specially prepared wild cards.
Three days passed like that.
The tournament, running on a packed schedule without a moment to rest, had reached its climax.
“The Round of 16 in three days. Things are moving too quickly.”
The speaker was the Hall Master of Limitless Hall, Azure Sky Sword Shin Mugeuk.
The elites of Limitless Hall, ranked second among the Ten Halls, stood in formation behind him. Each possessed Combat Power at the level of a fourth- or fifth-stage Adapter. Every one of them was a formidable fighter with a terrifying presence, yet even their combined force could not surpass Azure Sky Sword Shin Mugeuk alone.
That was the kind of person Shin Mugeuk was.
He appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged man, but he was actually one of Gorgon’s oldest residents, over a thousand years old.
Like the Divine Doctor of Despair Cheongheo and the Lord of Steel Huh Yu, Shin Mugeuk was from the Central Plains of World 12,764. Even in the martial world of his homeland, he had been counted among the Five Great Swordsmen under heaven.
“This happened because that fool Kang Hwang pulled a pointless stunt.”
Shin Mugeuk looked toward the source of the voice.
“He ran wild from the preliminaries onward, spewing flames and saying he would kill everyone. Anyone who had not surpassed fifth-stage Adaptation declared they were withdrawing.”
“I was wondering who it was.”
Shin Mugeuk looked at the speaker with a pleased expression.
“It has been a long time, Cheongheo.”
“It has, Mugeuk.”
Cheongheo grinned, showing his teeth.
The next moment, a sharp current formed between them. The killing intent that collided in midair was so sharp that the nearby Adapters shuddered.
Cheongheo, an Awakened One, and Shin Mugeuk, a higher-stage Adapter, had tested each other’s strength through their presence.
After a moment, Cheongheo spoke in admiration.
“You’ve improved again.”
“It seems you have as well.”
Shin Mugeuk seemed to have sensed something from Cheongheo’s presence too.
Once the tense current around them faded, whispers rose from all around.
“Is that Azure Sky Sword?”
“The Divine Doctor of Despair came too!”
Seeing Azure Sky Sword and the Divine Doctor of Despair, considered among the strongest in Chaos, together in one place, a few people looked almost moved to tears.
Cheongheo stroked his beard as he spoke.
“Still, this is unexpected, Mugeuk. You love fighting, yet you’re not participating in the tournament.”
“I like duels. I don’t like dogfights like that.”
“Hehe. Kang Hwang will start breathing fire again if he hears you.”
On the stage, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall, Kang Hwang, was in the midst of fighting a young woman. It was the final match of the Round of 16.
Kang Hwang’s top-grade skill, Flame Demon Blade, scattered indiscriminate flames throughout the arena, but the young woman dressed in dark night garb avoided every flame with an astonishing movement technique.
Watching her, Cheongheo spoke.
“That young lady is quite capable. Do you know who she is?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t seem to be from Goddess Hall... Still, that movement technique looks familiar.”
“Tsk, tsk. Have you really grown old? Isn’t that Blue Cloud Divine Step?”
“Blue Cloud Divine Step?”
Shin Mugeuk had been briefly lost in thought over the technique’s name, then suddenly answered.
“Could it be Steel’s skill?”
“Yes.”
At Cheongheo’s confident answer, Shin Mugeuk’s eyes grew complicated.
There was only one person they could mean by Steel. Their former friend who had cleared the Tower with them in the Central Plains before entering the 《Great Realm》, the Lord of Steel Huh Yu.
“Why is one of Huh Yu’s subordinates here?”
“Who knows? What’s certain is that some of the Lords have their own schemes for this tournament.”
Not long after, the match was decided.
Kang Hwang’s Flame Demon Blade slid off the woman’s blade, losing its direction in an instant. Her counterattack struck him in the stomach, sending Kang Hwang tumbling out of the arena.
Cheers erupted everywhere at the shocking defeat of Kang Hwang, one of the Hall Masters of the Ten Halls of Chaos.
“Wooooo! Kang Hwang lost!”
Azure Sky Sword Shin Mugeuk frowned.
“Kang Hwang has gotten soft.”
“This is the price of neglecting his training.”
Before long, the arena grew noisy as an announcement declared the end of the Round of 16.
It seemed there would be a brief break before the quarterfinals, but Security Horn Lord Jahir hurried over, grabbed a microphone, and immediately began hosting.
“Now, the quarterfinals you have all been waiting for are finally beginning!”
Shin Mugeuk, who had been planning to rest and look around, frowned.
“Are they not rushing things too much?”
“The Fortress Lord is impatient.”
“Even so, they’re acting as though everything has to be done this instant...”
The crowd’s cheers died down when a man stepped onto the stage. People who recognized him called out from all directions.
“It’s the Hall Master of Scholar Forest Hall.”
Scholar Forest Hall was founded by the finest scholars in Chaos. Among them was a man called the greatest genius of all, the master of Scholar Forest Hall, Jegal Myeong.
He leisurely swept his gaze over the stands. After spotting Shin Mugeuk and Cheongheo, he smiled arrogantly with his eyes.
“That arrogant brat thinks blinking at us counts as a greeting. I should give him a beating later.”
“Leave him be. He’s only four hundred years old.”
A moment later, the opposite side of the stage opened and a new person emerged.
The cheers from the stands grew louder. This newcomer was no less impressive than the Hall Master of Scholar Forest Hall.
Cheongheo chuckled.
“Looks like someone has come to beat him up for me.”
The opponent of the Hall Master of Scholar Forest Hall was the most famous man in Gorgon at the moment.
Shin Mugeuk murmured.
“So that’s the new Fortress Lord.”
“Yes.”
“One spot on the tournament bracket was empty. I didn’t expect the Fortress Lord himself to be participating.”
Shin Mugeuk tilted his head as he watched Jaehwan stretch lightly on the stage.
“How strange. I sense an energy similar to yours... Could he be your disciple?”
“A disciple?”
The next moment, an explosion rang out from the stage, and someone shot into the sky.
The Hall Master of Scholar Forest Hall, whose eyes had swollen so badly that he could no longer smile with them, spun through the air.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Looking up at the sight, Cheongheo spoke.
“...Could a monster like that possibly be my disciple?”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion