Invitation to the Chatroom of the Gods - Chapter 42



Only Krnovel

Episode 42 – The Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan (1)

The view of Pa-yang-ho Lake in the distance.

More than 20 days had passed since the fight with Jo Gye-ak, but was it a short time for the scenery to recover from the swept away by the Cheon Dun Sword Technique?

“There is no such thing as chaos.”

It was nothing more than a ruin filled with ashes.

Above all, the water level of Lake Pa-yang, which had been burning hot due to the heat of the Hwa-ryong, was clearly lower than before, and even I found it absurd.

“It is something I did, but···.”

Still, I couldn’t believe it.

No, how can you call this ‘martial arts’?

What if I ask you to do it again?

Absolutely not.

In the first place, I was not even allowed to get a taste of the Cheon-dun Sword Technique.

It was a spell that was barely cast after exploding the innate energy, and the innate energy that was used up in this way was not restored and was left empty.

In other words, I was now a walking corpse.

Actually, I didn’t feel strange at all even if I died.

If it weren’t for the miraculous power of Yeongbo Pilbeop, it wouldn’t have been strange if I had died on the spot, and if my grandfather Jinhyeon Park hadn’t been called a ‘divine doctor’ in his old days, I wouldn’t have been able to wake up again.

Although he somehow survived by a miracle, his condition could not have been better.

“Although everyone in the Jang Gang Surochae acknowledged me as the Great King···.”

They were originally thieves who made a living by plundering. They were no different from the Black Band, and if I made a mistake, I never knew when they would stab me in the back.

If I showed weakness, I never knew when he would change his attitude.

I didn’t know much about the world of Heukdo, but I had heard that what was important in the world of Heukdo was ‘momentum’.

Strength is strength, but momentum and brute force are the lifeblood of a black magician. If this momentum and brute force is pushed back once, that’s the end.

That’s why.

That’s why I brought a mask.

The first time I barged into a wedding, the reason I wore a mask was, of course, to hide my identity.

It was neither right nor right to barge into a wedding and cause a ruckus, so there was no benefit to revealing my identity.

If I had known that Jo Gye-ak was a member of the Demonic Cult, I wouldn’t have had to do that, but I didn’t know that at the time.

So there was no reason to hide my identity now.

Even so, the reason I brought a mask was to hide my ‘weakness’, which was no different from a dead ‘corpse’.

“Then shall we go?”

I put my mask back on tightly.

This is the scenery of Pa Yang Lake, where thirty-six Jang Gang Su Ro Chae are gathered.

He walked confidently across the center.

* * *

Thousands of people gathered in the vast Poyang Lake.

The thirty-six officers and crew of the Jang Gangsu River Vessel, representing them.

Although they had something in common as the ‘Yangtze River Bandits’, they were originally separate groups.

They were far from being in harmony or friendly with each other, so even though they were gathered in one place, their thoughts were all different.

Dreaming different dreams in the same bed.

Their roots were thieves and criminals. They had no loyalty and only gathered in one place, yielding to power.

If you win, you are a king, if you lose, you are a traitor.

The thirty-six executives gathered in one place each had different thoughts.

That was when.

“Your Majesty, please eat it!!”

A man came walking across the landscape with a loud shout.

The name of that man who remains unwavering even when faced with thousands of drones is······.

Cloud Dragon of the Yangtze River.

He was the one who defeated Jo Gye-ak and became the new King of the Yangtze River.

The masked king’s face was the same as when he first entered the wedding ceremony. The king, crossing the scenery of Poyang Lake, naturally walked to the throne placed on the highest seat and sat down.

The king, seated on his throne, looked at the thousands of warriors gathered together and spoke.

“There are so many people here.”

And then the voice of the great king was heard.

I didn’t feel like I was old. But I didn’t feel the depth of time passing either.

No matter how much you count the King’s age, it doesn’t seem like he’s over thirty.

“No matter how vast Lake Payang is, this many people have gathered there···.”

The King’s gaze from behind his mask turned towards the thirty-six-year-old officer.

“Is it to welcome me or is there some other intention?”

The King’s question continued.

None of the thirty-six executives answered.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

The king let out a small laugh.

Even though he was faced with thousands of drones, his attitude was truly ‘it doesn’t matter’.

“Report the situation.”

The King’s questions continued.

While all thirty-six executives were watching, one executive stepped forward and spoke.

“Thanks to the mercy of the King, the soldiers of the Janggangsu River were not harmed.”

“What is your name?”

“I am Gu Cheol-san, the person in charge of the Twelve Chae.”

As Gucheolsan nodded his head, the king tilted his head.

“The person in charge of the Twelve? Wasn’t he the general manager of the Jang Gang Surochae?”

“We only have a person in charge of each waterway, and there is no position called general manager.”

Although he was a Yangtze River waterway master who controlled the Yangtze River, he was fundamentally a thief.

It wasn’t managed systematically like a large sect or Sega.

“Then Gucheolsan. From now on, you are the commander in chief.”

“······yes?”

At the king’s words, the thirty-five other executives, including Gu Cheol-san, simultaneously raised questions.

That would be the case, as the position of general was an important one, overseeing a sect or family.

Therefore, the general manager of the Janggang Waterway was a position that oversaw the entire Janggang Waterway, and could be said to be a position second only to the king.

Is it really okay to suddenly be given such an important position?

“You don’t like it?”

“That, that’s not it···.”

“Then from now on, you are the general manager. From now on, I will call you General Manager Koo.”

The King’s decision was sudden and even drastic.

“I will follow Your Majesty’s will….”

Gu Cheol-san didn’t know whether he should be happy or not about the sudden promotion.

“Former General. Tell me about the scale of the Jang Gangsu River.”

“······There are about 150 unmanned personnel in each water channel, and if you add up the thirty-six water channels, the number is approximately 4,000.”

“Hmm.”

The sound of the Great King swallowing his breath was faintly audible. But that was only for a moment. The Great King turned his gaze forward and opened his mouth.

“I think everyone is confused by what happened recently. Some people may be wondering what will happen to the Jang Gangsu River in the future.”

The King’s gaze moves slowly from left to right.

“From now on, I will announce the direction and guidelines of the Jang Gang Suro Chae.”

The thirty-five officers, including the former general, and all of the Janggangsu-rochae soldiers focused on the king’s next words.

and.

“As of now, the Jang River Surochae has changed its name to ‘Jang River Heroes’.”

The King’s voice was heard all of a sudden.

“The Yangtze River···.”

“Are you talking about the Swordsmen?”

All the thousands of people gathered together had expressions on their faces.

It was understandable that the group name would be changed since the king had changed.

But the name is ‘Jangganghyeopgaekdan’?

The Jang Gangsu River was basically a ‘thief’.

A bandit and thief who commits plunder and heinous crimes by plundering sailing ships floating along the Yangtze River and threatening travelers.

I could never call him a ‘hyeopgaek’, so if I were to change my name, something like ‘Janggang Bandit Group’ would be more appropriate.

But now what······.

“Since we changed our name to Hyeopgaekdan, our code of conduct should also change accordingly.”

The king opened his mouth again.

“From now on, you thirty-six water channels will each be responsible for the security and safety of the Yangtze River in your assigned area.”

······what?

Everyone who heard the king’s words had questions.

Some felt resentment and turned their energies toward the King.

That was when.

“Anyone who has complaints, please come forward now.”

Kwaaaaaaaaaa-!!!

A tremendous amount of energy burst out from the king’s entire body.

It spread out in all directions, crushing the skin of the thousands of unmanned people gathered at Pa Yang Lake.

The aura of an absolute being and true emperor who rules the world.

······No one came forward.

It would be more accurate to say that I cannot come out.

I didn’t have the confidence to stand up to the great king sitting on the throne.

Above all······haven’t you seen it?

Beyond Lake Pa-yang, the scenery was truly ablaze with all things.

The overwhelming force that made it impossible to regard them as human.

Didn’t you see it clearly with your own two eyes?

Look at the ruins of Poyang Lake right now, filled with nothing but ashes.

This scenery, where the water level of Poyang Lake, which holds the mighty waters of the Yangtze River, has become lower than before, is a scenery created by none other than the current king sitting on the throne.

Even if all thirty-six officers gathered here and the 4,000 or so Surochae warriors join forces and attack, will they be able to defeat the current king?

well.

Well, I guess we can win somehow.

But what about the damage?

The thirty-six executives gathered here were not ‘colleagues’.

Although their names were tied together as Jang Gang-su-ro-chae, they were no different from each other as ‘competitors’.

In the first place, Jang Gang-su-ro-chae was subjugated by Jo Gye-ak, but the current king suppressed Jo Gye-ak and even killed him, so isn’t the answer already decided?

You can tell just by looking at the movements of the great king who confidently put his head into the tiger’s mouth.

The great king’s spirit, which did not waver even in front of 4,000 warriors, was not ‘arrogance’ but ‘confidence’.

The confidence of an emperor and an absolute ruler who can put you guys under his feet at any time.

The warriors of the Jang River Surochae immediately realized how foolish it was to rebel against the Great King, and so no one dared to stand before the Great King.

“Then I will take it that you have no complaints. If from now on, I hear of any plundering or heinous acts on the Yangtze River······.”

The King’s two eyes sparkling behind the mask.

The former general was the first to bow his head.

“I will follow the will of the King.”

And that was the beginning.

“···I will follow the will of the King.”

“···I will follow the will of the King.”

“···I will follow the will of the King.”

Following him, thirty-five executives and thousands of unmanned personnel ‘had no choice’ to bow their heads.

“The Yangtze River Smugglers’ Group will basically be responsible for the security and safety of the Yangtze River. And I heard that there are quite a few black bandits smuggling through the Yangtze River.”

The Yangtze River is a waterway that crosses the world and is a logistics hub, and was also used for ‘smuggling’.

A variety of items were smuggled, from small items such as ‘medicine’ to large items such as ‘human trafficking’.

“The Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan will also thoroughly crack down on such smuggling, and if any black bandits attempting to smuggle are discovered, they will immediately track down the source and eliminate them.”

“Huh? Ha, ha, but we’re also part of the same black group, so how can….”

The one who raised the question was the executive of the eighth waterway.

And everyone had the same question and thought.

During that time, the Jang Gangsu River was a group of black bandits who had been engaged in plundering, and they had made a lot of profit by allowing such smuggling.

however.

“I clearly said that I would change the name to Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan, but do you think Jang Gang Hyeopgaekdan is ‘black magic’?”

The current king did not tolerate such acts.

And so the great king’s momentum bursts forth.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!!”

Kuung!

The officer who spoke hit his head on the floor. And so, the two eyes of the great king looking down at him from his throne.

The face of the Great King, hidden by the mask, was simply cold.

“I’ll forgive you this first time, but I won’t forgive you next time, so know that.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!”

Only then did the officer stand up and step aside, and the former general stepped forward in his stead.

“May I say something to Your Majesty?”

“Speak.”

“I am hesitant to say this, but we at Jang Gangsu have made a lot of profit by supporting smuggling. But, you are suddenly telling us to give up that profit…”

“Are you saying there is no way to make money?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The old general nodded and answered, and the king nodded slightly and said.

“Even though we are called the band of knights, that doesn’t mean we should work for free. Within a reasonable limit, collect tolls from merchants and pedestrians who use the waters of the Yangtze River. This is the price you pay for being responsible for the security and safety of the Yangtze River, so I will tolerate that much.”

The former general didn’t know what to say about this.

Of course, if you could collect tolls, you could make a lot of money.

There were a considerable number of merchants and pedestrians who used the waters of the Yangtze River.

But most of it would end up in the King’s pocket, so it was not possible to feed this many people.

So, at that moment, the former general was about to open his mouth again, prepared to die.

“The money earned in this way should be used where necessary or distributed appropriately after careful discussion with the former president and other executives.”

“······yes?”

The former general’s face suddenly appeared.