Chapter 211

This is unbelievable.

Park Chang-Cheon knew the meaning of the green skull brooch—it was a medal awarded by the head of the Baus family to subordinates who’d overcome three thunder tribulations.

It was a symbol of overwhelming power.

He was certain that if the mage had been from a weak country like South Korea, he would’ve been appointed as a National Treasure right away.

In fact, the mage had disabled hundreds of people, from the students of Lion’s Castle to the members of Guardian, all with a single spell.

It was the type of feat that any S-class player would find difficult to accomplish, even if they sold their soul to a demon.

And yet, for all that mage's power, he’d been easily decapitated. He, a man who’d acted like the absolute ruler and who’d held the lives of hundreds in his hands, met an empty end, killed as simply as an ant.

Kang Dae-Seong!

Park Chang-Cheon’s body stiffened as he recognized Kang Dae-Seong’s face.

Eight years ago, Kang Dae-Seong had beaten the president of the Association, Ji Cheon-Myeong, like a dog before disappearing from South Korea.

At that time, he was only in his early 20s.

In fact, most people were aware that Kang Dae-Seong was a monster who’d inherited the Yaksha’s talent. But...

He had one major flaw—

“Hmm.”

—His personality.

“It’s a bit small, but a duke wouldn’t be the type to suffer from farsightedness... Well, I’ll take a close-up picture just to be sure.”

Kang Dae-Seong grabbed the mage’s corpse, jumped from the roof, and soon arrived in the Kang mansion’s front yard.

After a little finicking, he propped the corpse against the front gate before carefully setting the green skull brooch on the corpse's bloody, weeping neck. Smiling in satisfaction, Kang Dae-Seong squatted beside the corpse, made a “V” with the corpse's hand beside his cheek, and snapped a photo.

The already tense scene became even quieter.

There were more than a few people confused by Dae-Seong’s behavior. He’d just saved their lives and should be regarded as a benefactor—but truth be told, they felt more fear than gratitude.

Kang Dae-Seong took around fifteen photos before nodding in satisfaction.

“Okay. The Baus family’s duke is going to love this when he sees it.”

“Wait...”

Could it be that he wanted to send the photos to the Baus family?

Park Chang-Cheon was so flustered that he choked on his own spit. Before he could find the words, Hae-Rin ran over and hugged him tightly.

“Dad!”

A father who’d break his foot to protect his daughter—Park Chang-Cheon’s paternal instinct had struck Hae-Rin hard. It was the first time she’d blatantly experienced unconditional love and protection from family.

“H-Hae-Rin...”

An enthusiastic hug and the call of dad—it seemed the distance between him and his daughter was shrinking. Park Chang-Cheon’s face turned rosy with joy.

“Wait a minute, you.” Kang Dae-Seong inclined his head to Park Chang-Cheon. “It’s basic manners to finish your sentences.”

“Ugh...”

“Gasp!”

People’s faces turned pale. The pressure released by Kang Dae-Seong was so strong that it felt like they would be suffocated.

Park Chang-Cheon replied, “I-I was merely going to voice my concerns about the repercussions of provoking the Baus family. I didn’t mean to offend you, so please don’t misunderstand.”

Kang Dae-Seong’s facial features resembled Jae-Hyeok’s—both so handsome as to appear unearthly. However, the moment Kang Dae-Seong stopped smiling, his deep-set eyes, gaunt cheeks, and downward curl to his lips gave a gloomy impression.

Above all, the fierce look in his eyes sent shivers down one's spine.

Park Chang-Cheon gulped and instinctively pulled his daughter behind himself.

Kang Dae-Seong frowned. “Then, what? The Baus family sent assassins to hunt my father and younger brother—you think I should just lie down and take it? What type of stupid logic is that? Are you stupid? Or maybe you’re a rat placed by the Baus family?”

“No—I’m worrying about the Kang family. If today’s incident is revealed and a war breaks out between the families...”

“Shut up.”

Kang Dae-Seong cut off Park Chang-Cheon’s words. A smile returned to his lips, but it affected no warmth.

“You dare to worry about the Kang family? Where do you get the nerve? You people have stood on the sidelines for the past eight years while the Kang family was dragged through mud.”

Rage and killing intent.

Kang Dae-Seong had experienced the fall of the Kang family intimately. Unlike Jae-Hyeok, who’d been too young at the time, he’d been at the front of matters, fighting to protect the family before suffering a huge blow, leaving him unable to even set foot on the soil of his homeland for the last eight years.

Those living a normal life couldn’t imagine how much effort he’d put into returning to South Korea after learning about Jae-Hyeok’s National Treasure candidate exam.

“Korea’s guilds are all cockroaches. Say one more word out of line, and I’ll kill you.”

A heavy silence settled over the group.

Park Chang-Cheon’s face was scrunched as if he’d tasted something bitter; today should’ve been a joyous occasion for Jae-Hyeok, a time to celebrate his National Treasure candidacy, but instead, the festive atmosphere had been completely ruined. And the source of the trouble was as much the assassin’s appearance as it was Kang Dae-Seong’s return.

Kang Dae-Seong calmed down and smiled. “Ah, I’m sorry. This old goat almost made me lose my temper.” Looking past Park Chang-Cheon to the boy walking across the lawn, he continued, “It’s been a while, Jae-Hyeok.”

After eight years, the brothers had reunited.

“You know, I watched your performance from beginning to end. You really made me proud. You did really well.”

With a knowing look, Kang Dae-Seong spread his arms wide, waiting for his little brother to rush into his embrace. Instead, Jae-Hyeok stopped next to Park Chang-Cheon before assessing the current conditions of his friends.

Seeing their partially frozen state, Jae-Hyeok frowned and said, “Why didn’t you help them? They’re clearly my guests.”

“... Shouldn’t you properly greet me first?”

“Why should I greet someone who abandoned his family and home?”

Kang Dae-Seong received Jae-Hyeok’s vicious glare with a smile. “You must be remembering incorrectly since you were young. Why would I abandon my family? You’re the only ones in the world who deserve to be equal to me. Each of you is precious.”

“Misremembered? The, I guess I guess it was someone else who lost control of his temper and caused a mess?”

“Tsk. You must’ve suffered a lot after I left. But, it isn’t like I left carelessly; I was sure that no one would touch you since you were still young. And I was always going to come back before you became an adult.”

Jae-Hyeok shifted the topic. His voice dropped as he said, “First of all, apologize to them.”

The boy’s eyes were serious as he pointed to the Guardian Guild members and the children.

“These are the Kang family’s guests, here to celebrate the Kang family’s resurgence. They’re also the ones who’ve helped me, the Kang family’s successor, in countless ways both physically and mentally. Yet, as the eldest son, you actually threatened them instead of helping them. Be ashamed and reflect on it.”

A declaration that he was the successor!

The sight of Jae-Hyeok, who was ten years younger than the eldest, declaring himself the rightful successor could’ve come straight out of a melodrama.

The sight of the second son, who was ten years younger, declaring himself to be the successor to the eldest son could’ve come straight out of any melodrama.

Even Baek Do-Jin was surprised, blinking rapidly.

“You are quite rude.”

Unable to stand it, a diverse group of people with formidable auras appeared behind Kang Dae-Seong.

“So this is the younger brother the captain has been constantly boasting about? It is completely different from what I thought.”

“Hey, you disrespectful brat!” A Hispanic man with neatly tied black hair crossed his arms. “Our captain was so worried about you, but you decided to take care of your territory first and even argued with your older brother—” Before he could finish, the Hispanic man jerked to the side.

The gold necklaces around his neck fell to pieces.

Kang Dae-Seong re-sheathed his sword.

After a moment, the Hispanic man clapped a hand to his and complained,

“Aack

! How much did that cost? Is the captain crazy?”

Rather than his near-death death, the Hispanic man was more concerned with his necklaces. The sight of it left everyone debfounded.

Surprisingly, it eased the tension.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Everyone let out breaths—including Butler Hwang.

Kang Dae-Seong’s brows still twitched several times, but after glancing at Butler Hwang, he reluctantly nodded.

“I was too short-sighted. I should’ve stepped in before our guests got hurt. I apologize for ignoring you all.” He looked at Jae-Hyeok. “Of course, you won’t be satisfied with a mere verbal apology, right? How about I go to the punishment building?”

“No.”

Jae-Hyeok had no intention of letting Kang Dae-Seong into the mansion. After returning, one of the first things Kang Dae-Seong had done was leave a dirty corpse at the gate. Eight years had passed, yet it seemed Kang Dae-Seong hadn’t learned to value his family. Worst of all, he’d actually stood by at first while their father had been in danger. They might be blood-related, but he really couldn’t tell what Kang Dae-Seong was thinking.

Jae-Hyeok said, “If you want to come home, prove your worth first.”

“What should I do? Cut the necks of those who clung to Ji Cheon-Myeong and hang them at the gate?”

“... White Night.”

Everyone at the scene, including Kang Dae-Seong, was puzzled by the unexpected name. Jae-Hyeok’s expression became gloomy.

“We have to find Her Excellency Seol Su-Ah.”

His father’s closest confidant... she had always treated Jae-Hyeok kindly, so it was surprising that she hadn’t attended his candidate exam.

Just what type of reason would’ve kept her away?

Just as Jae-Hyeok was feeling curious about this, the answer had presented itself through the Baus family mage’s appearance.

Would the Bause family really have sent such a powerful figure to kill a young boy?

No.

From the mage’s words, his purpose seemed to be revenge for the Baus family’s loss of face. And there was no one more responsible for that than White Night, as she was the one who took away Loren’s zombies and banished Loren from South Korea.

Even if she’s a National Treasure, if a few people like that mage ambushed her, it would be hard for her to handle.

Jae-Hyeok’s intuition of White Night’s personality told him something had to have happened for her to miss attending his examination. And the involvement of the Baus family seemed highly probable—otherwise, there would’ve been no need to send experts like the mage.

If she’s in a crisis, I can’t just stand by. Therefore...

Therefore, Jae-Hyeok needed all the powerful players he could get.

Kang Dae-Seong asked, “I don’t know the story, but why should I? She also ignored our family’s crisis eight years ago.”

“No. She’s the one who provided me with refuge in Lion’s Castle. From the start, she must’ve been working hard behind the scenes. At the very least, she’s different from you, who left irresponsibly.”

Flinch.

For a fleeting moment, Kang Dae-Seong’s languid smile stiffened. Then he nodded. “Okay. I’ll go find Seol Su-Ah. Even if it is too late, I’ll bring back her corpse. We can have our reunion at that time.”

Kang Dae-Seong and his group left.

Kang Dae-Seong exhaled. His heart was light. There was nothing to worry about now that Jae-Hyeok had become a National Treasure candidate and their family had been cleared of their charges.

Jae-Hyeok silently glared at his brother’s retreating back. Then, he turned to Park Chang-Cheon, “I’m worried about the Shinra family. Could you come with me?”

“Of course.”

The Kang-Guardian alliance moved out.