Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 11: Jaseung, Called Alone

There are basic courtesies that must be kept in the Jianghu.

Though young, Lee Jaseung was the Black Way Alliance Leader, and the Shaanxi Alliance was an organization that was under that alliance.

From that perspective, what Hwang Giyoung was doing was very disrespectful. Even if he was ill, he should’ve taken a carriage to go greet Lee Jaseung outside.

But meeting the Lord of the Black Way Alliance while half-lying down?

That was absolutely unacceptable.

Lee Jaseung coldly looked down at him. Thankfully, what Dan Woobin feared didn’t happen.

He knew full well that Hwang Giyoung spent his entire life in Jianghu, having it easy. For the man to show such disrespect clearly meant that he had something to rely on.

Just what was he relying on?

The question only lasted a moment as Lee Jaseung was able to figure it out right away.

The man sitting beside Hwang Giyoung. He initially looked like a bodyguard or one of the Four Heroes of Shaanxi, but that wasn’t the case. Hwang Giyoung was a master martial artist, but this man was on an entirely different level.

It made sense why this old man seemed so bold.

Lee Jaseung gave a cold smile.

Mujin, too sensed the presence of the middle-aged man and grew tense. He felt this man might be his equal, or even superior.

It had been a while since he felt this kind of tension.

Just then, Hwang Giyoung introduced the man beside him.

“I’ve brought a guest. I’m sure you’ll recognize him.”

The man removed his bamboo hat.

It was a man in his fifties, with sharp eyes that radiated a powerful aura.

“Black Dragon King.”

At Hwang Giyoung’s introduction, Lee Jaseung, Dan Woobin, and Mujin were all shocked.

The Black Dragon King was a master martial artist who was neither part of the Orthodox or Unorthodox Faction.

He acted according to his own principles. Sometimes merciful, sometimes ruthless.

He was given the ‘King’ title because many martial artists followed him.

Jianghu was home to all kinds of people. There were people who didn’t belong to either Orthodox or Unorthodox Faction.

The Black Dragon King had their full support.

But he had suddenly vanished from Jianghu four years ago. Many rumors spread, but no one knew the real reason.

Now, he made his appearance here today.

Dan Woobin glanced at Mujin. Their eyes met. Even without voice transmissions, Mujin was able to understand Dan Woobin through the emotions that filled his eyes.

Mujin gave a slight nod to him.

It might have been different if it was anyone else, but caution was essential with the Black Dragon King. Not only was he incredibly powerful, but he had many martial artist followers.

“You didn’t have to come all this way.”

Dan Woobin realized that he made a miscalculation.

This wasn’t about decreasing the amount they had to pay, but instead truly break away from the Black Way Alliance with the help of the Black Dragon King.

Dan Woobin looked at Lee Jaseung with guilt. He should have foreseen this.

Lee Jaseung asked while gazing at Dan Woobin.

“Do you remember the contents of our contract?”

“Pardon? Which contract do you mean?”

“The one between our Alliance and the Shaanxi Alliance.”

“Yes, of course I remember.”

“What does it say about unilateral termination?”

“If either party unilaterally breaks the contract, they bear full responsibility. The Black Way Alliance bears no liability for any consequences.”

Dan Woobin remembered every clause perfectly.

Hwang Giyoung spoke in an annoyed tone.

“A damned one-sided contract that only benefits you.”

“You signed it yourself.”

Lee Jaseung coldly asked.

“I’ll ask one last time. Are you sure about this decision?”

An eerie chill accompanied his icy gaze.

“Is this a threat?”

Lee Jaseung responded with a cold smile.

“I don’t make threats.”

It sounded as if he simply killed those who needed threatening. Hwang Giyoung felt both unpleasant and horrified.

“Anyway, your intentions are clear. We’ll be leaving now.”

Lee Jaseung left the area. Both Dan Woobin and Mujin followed.

It was Hwang Giyoung who became flustered. He didn’t expect Lee Jaseung to leave like this.

“Wait.”

Lee Jaseung turned slightly after hearing Hwang Giyoung. He had an ice cold gaze.

Hwang Giyoung tried to read his mind, but all he saw was a chilling smirk. He felt like he needed to stand up immediately after seeing that gaze which annoyed him.

“You’re just going to leave like this?”

“Do you have more to say?”

Hwang Giyoung gulped nervously, intimidated by Lee Jaseung’s gaze. It felt like he was being pressured by something heavy.

“What will you do from now? If we break away, surely that will hurt your alliance, no?”

“That’s not your concern. Just stay hiding behind those men and keep counting your coins.”

Without needing to talk more, Lee Jaseung turned back around.

Then, the Black Dragon King who had kept silent, spoke as if he was warning them.

“Stop!”

He was offended, realizing that he was among “those men” Lee Jaseung said.

But Lee Jaseung continued to walk, ignoring him.

“I said stop!”

As the Black Dragon King let out a thunderous roar,

Swoosh!

Clang!

A deafening explosion echoed. To everyone’s shock, Mujin had struck first.

He drew his sword and unleashed a sword force. The Black Dragon King urgently swung his fist and blocked the attack. The clash between two powerful Qi was enough to shake the whole ground.

Mujin gave a cold stare and spoke.

“I’ll kill you if you speak to my Lord like that ever again.”

His expression looked completely different from usual. Killing intent gleamed in his eyes.

It was the same for the Black Dragon King. He slowly stood up, with an insulted expression.

“You little brat dare to attack me?”

Whish-!

With a signal, a bunch of men surrounded the area.

They were the skilled martial artists of the Shaanxi Alliance. There was Wang Chan who the party met earlier, as well as the third and fourth brothers of the Four Heroes of Shaanxi, Chung Ryeol and Yabong. Behind them, stood the martial artists they led.

There were about twenty in total, all of them being top-tier martial artists. They had to be cautious as they were all Peak Realm fighters.

Then, two old men in black showed up last. They wore unique robes that had large letters written on them.

The left wore the robe with ‘Heaven’, and the right had ‘Earth’ written on them.

The ‘Heaven’ old man spoke first.

“So it was true. A young brat really did take over the Black Way Alliance.”

The other old man added on.

“Cheon Yeombaek, that brat was always soft anyway. Let’s take this opportunity to kill that young brat over there and take the Black Way Alliance for ourselves.”

Judging by how they called the previous leader of the Black Way Alliance a child, they too were master-level martial artists just like the Black Dragon King.

Dan Woobin recognized them instantly.

“The Twin Monsters of Heaven and Earth!”

Now in their nineties, they were ancient martial legends.

The Earth shouted at Lee Jaseung.

“How dare you stare at me like that, you impudent brat! Lower your gaze now.”

His voice, enhanced with Qi, rang out.

Hwang Giyoung, still lying down, laughed loudly.

“Hahahaha! You arrogant little Lord of Black Way, are you still going to act superior now?”

Mujin felt tense as he observed the situation. The Twin Monsters, Black Dragon King, and other master martial artists of Shaanxi were present.

Compared to their force, they only had four, one of them having to protect Dan Woobin at that.

If Mook Young chose to protect him, that meant it was up to him and Lee Jaseung to fight against all the enemies here.

‘They planned this trap from the very beginning huh. Not good.’

Dan Woobin too knew what was exactly happening. He could even be a burden to Lee Jaseung in this situation. He stared at Lee Jaseung nervously.

But Lee Jaseung looked relaxed unlike the other two. Moreover, he even taunted the Black Dragon King once more.

“You should’ve come to me if you ran out of money, you know? I would’ve given you much more than those old men.”

He was mocking the Black Dragon King for siding with the Unorthodox Faction.

The Black Dragon King’s face twisted, understanding what he meant.

The Earth Monster shouted.

“Bastard! How dare you…!”

But Lee Jaseung cut him off, speaking louder than him.

“Shut your mouth! You senile old bastard who can’t even act your age! You face the Black Way Alliance Leader like this when right in front of a bastard who doesn’t belong in either Factions? I will slice you down like an old pumpkin so you can’t ever disgrace yourself like this again.”

His voice carried his inner Qi as well as killing intent.

Mujin, who was tense, couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Not only did he just call that old man a pumpkin, but an old pumpkin at that.

“Hahahaha!”

He really admired him. He wouldn’t have been able to show such confidence in that horrifying situation.

It wasn’t the matter of who was more skilled. Even if this was Lee Jaseung, they weren’t in a situation to joke around. This was simply his guts.

Dan Woobin’s tension also loosened naturally. He was filled with awe and admiration. He even wanted to compliment him loudly.

‘Yes, this is the man I serve.’

So Dan Woobin shouted loudly.

“Yes, our Lord can take you all down alone! He’ll dice you like old rotten pumpkins.”

Because of both Lee Jaseung and Dan Woobins’ confidence, everyone including Hwang Giyoung became slightly nervous. Their gazes filled with doubt about whether Lee Jaseung truly possessed such overwhelming skill, all focused on him.

Lee Jaseung spoke with a slightly awkward expression.

“That’s not why I was acting so relaxed, you know?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

It was at that moment.

Brrr-

The ground shook violently. Everyone thought it was an earthquake at first, but that wasn’t it.

Rumble-!

The sound of galloping hooves grew louder in the distance. The horses were coming straight for them.

Hwang Giyoung’s face tensed as the sound grew louder.

Moments later,

Crash!

The walls on all sides came crumbling down.

Beyond them, stood mounted martial artists. There were so many that their numbers seemed endless.

A staggering one thousand battle-hardened martial artists. They all wore armor and helmets, each holding a long spear.

Under their helmets, their eyes gleamed like the emissaries of Yama King. At the very front, stood Ma Young-gi. They were the Iron Cavalry Regiment of the Black Way Alliance.

Chk-chk-chk-chk-chk!

They all leveled their spears at once, and the pressure was overwhelming. Everyone except the Black Dragon King and the Twin Monsters felt chills running down their spines.

The Iron Cavalry was famous for not leaving a single blade of grass behind wherever they passed.

Now that they had been promoted to a Regiment, their power had increased tenfold.

Even Dan Woobin was shocked by their appearance.

“How is the Iron Cavalry Regiment here?”

Dan Woobin gazed at Lee Jaseung. Then, Lee Jaseung gave him a nod.

“Yes, I summoned them from the start.”

Lee Jaseung called them from the very beginning.

“How did you know that man would try a stunt like this?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then why did you bring the Iron Cavalry here?”

Lee Jaseung made an ominous smile.

Dan Woobin’s eyes widened.

“Wait! You were planning to wipe them out from the beginning.”

“Yes, that was my plan. They came crawling, wagging their tails. Yet now they want to break away just because they gained a little power? Not only that, he was disrespectfully lying down? Do they even remember who gave them that power in the first place?”

Lee Jaseung turned to Hwang Giyoung, who was only now starting to get up to a proper posture.

“No need to get up. You seem like you love lying down, and I’ll make sure you stay that way for life.”

Lee Jaseung turned to Ma Young-gi and gave a cold order.

“Leave not a single one alive!”

Rumble-!

The one thousand martial artists of the Iron Cavalry Regiment charged forward.