Chapter 55: Before the Next Crisis

I learned a lot from this recent incident.

‘I’m short-handed.’

I am only one person.

I cannot step forward for everything forever.

‘I was lucky this time. Or rather, the timing was perfect.’

Marquis Owen had sent people to the Spiritual Land.

He had clearly put a lot of effort into this scheme, but I had finished it in an instant.

It was thanks to the fact that I already controlled the Underworld before he could deploy his people.

When I first took control of the Underworld, it took time just to identify who the enemies were and where they were hiding.

But now that I held the reins, it was as simple as striking down any organization that wasn’t part of Reton’s.

Because of that, I thwarted Marquis Owen’s schemes easily.

Perhaps because of that…

“W— we will arrive shortly.”

“I know.”

Reton looked even more intimidated after witnessing my power.

It seemed his loyalty had risen as a side effect of his fear.

‘The important thing is that I can’t guarantee I’ll be lucky when the next incident occurs.’

I could not move while relying solely on luck.

To the north were monsters, to the south was a Marquis, and to the east was a Duke.

‘There is also a border to the west. It’s a total mess.’

The situation within the territory was also overflowing with enemies.

This time, only one Marquis had moved, but what if a Duke and a Marquis moved together?

‘What if monsters began to swarm from the North while a territorial war was breaking out?’

It was terrifying just to imagine the enemy nation of Resen to the west moving after being quiet for so long.

Therefore…

‘I need to become strong enough so that things are fine even if I don’t step in personally.’

At the same time, I needed people who would move like my own hands and feet.

‘There are too many enemies.’

I couldn’t handle everything myself forever.

This task was one of the preparations for that.

“We are here.”

Clang! Clang!

“Open up! You bastards!”

Reton stopped at the door right next to the prison where the designer, Birence, was held.

“Still the same, I see.”

“He’s quieted down compared to before. I’m sure a conclusion will be reached soon.”

“Time is on my side. It doesn’t matter when.”

Birence was still shouting and pounding on the walls.

He was full of energy, meaning his spirit hadn’t broken at all.

He was a stubborn one.

‘The more stubborn they are, the greater the joy in breaking them.’

I had given him a choice, but he hadn’t chosen anything yet.

I was the one with the advantage, after all.

I had no intention of rushing his decision.

Pressuring him just to make him mine faster could ruin everything.

For someone like him…

‘I have to make him bow his head first.’

One must invest time and effort to earn such a person.

It felt ridiculous to do so while keeping him in a cell, but everyone had a different way of being won over.

“Argh!? You damn noble! Look over here!”

Clang!

Noticing my arrival late, Birence called out to me.

However, I ignored him and looked at Reton.

“Open it.”

“Yes!”

Rumble—

A door to a new area opened in the room next to Birence’s, within the rapidly expanding Underground Fortress.

Today was the first day I would see the people who would become one of my countermeasures.

Over 100 people were crammed into the narrow prison.

All of them were prisoners.

‘They really managed to stuff them into this small space.’

It was a space so cramped that just being there would cause stress.

But there was no other way to bring them all in at once.

Some were skin and bones, while others were stout.

Some were short, some were tall.

Their faces ranged from fierce to innocent-looking.

Except for the slave brands prepared on their necks, their characteristics were all distinct.

It seemed Reton had briefed them beforehand, as they remained silent even when I arrived.

Despite there being over 100 people, not a single one spoke.

However, they all shared one thing in common: their eyes.

Their gazes were filled with intense, concentrated malice as they stared at me.

Even the ones with innocent features looked villainous because of their eyes.

‘Persistent. Good.’

An ordinary person would have shrunk back just from looking at them.

On the contrary, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

“You managed to catch them all?”

“I can catch anyone within the Outercity. It’s all thanks to the Lo… I mean, Older Brother.”

Reton was instructed to call me “Older Brother” instead of “Lord” when others were present.

Correcting his mistake, Reton showed me the prisoners one by one in detail.

“There are many from the South. They were likely brought all the way from there.”

“Probably.”

These were the people brought from the South by those we had captured this time.

The Marquis had used people from the Count’s territory for his undercover work.

While the Underworld executives were the Marquis’s own men, the subordinates were recruited from the Count’s commoners.

He had intended to set up an Underworld organization in my Direct Dominion using them.

‘He probably did it so he could just cut off the subordinates if things went south.’

He was thoroughly calculating.

Even if the attempt to create an organization in the Underworld failed, most of the people who died would be my father’s subjects.

If he succeeded, he could defile the Direct Dominion with my father’s own subjects.

He must have calculated that there would be no loss either way.

If I hadn’t intervened in the middle, the men sent by the Marquis might have retaken control of the Underworld and caused all sorts of damage to the territory.

“I heard the South is as prosperous as the East, but according to these guys, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“It’s only prosperous for the nobles.”

“I… I didn’t expect you to say something like that, Older Brother.”

“There’s nothing strange about it. That’s just how the world is. Hmm… You’ve managed to gather people who all seem to have some skill.”

“They certainly seem to have a knack for it.”

“Interesting.”

The people gathered here were thugs from the South, beyond the Direct Dominion.

The Marquis’s subordinates had done well to gather such spiteful individuals.

‘It’s a shame to waste such talent.’

Gathering people like this is usually no easy task.

True to being the subordinates of an old fox like the Marquis, they were quite capable.

And so, I took those carefully gathered individuals for myself.

I suppose you could say I snatched up the people gathered to defile my father’s lands.

‘Since I now hold the sword intended to stab this place.’

It was a situation the Marquis likely never imagined.

Even so, I had no intention of looking upon them kindly.

Even if they were my father’s subjects, they were people who had moved to act as thugs regardless of the circumstances.

‘It was the same in the Murim.’

People like this are everywhere.

In the Murim, they are called ronin at best, and on Earth, they are gangsters.

People who choose to steal what others have built rather than building something with their own strength.

There was no reason to look upon those who moved to steal from others with kindness or pity.

If the Marquis’s plan had succeeded, they would have been a poison to the territory.

‘I will use you thoroughly and reform you completely.’

Look at them.

Even now, they stared at me with malice.

Despite being imprisoned, they were showing off their bravado.

There was no need to speak to such people with a smile or treat them with kindness.

I released my pressure upon them.

“…Ugh.”

Sixty years of Qi becomes an overwhelming pressure that ordinary people cannot withstand.

Though they didn’t speak, a sense of intimidation began to appear in their flinching eyes.

They lowered their gazes and dared not look at me.

“I will thoroughly rehabilitate you. You trash.”

I intended to reform them from their very roots.

And I planned to use them thoroughly.

A good subordinate must be obedient, and a good sword must be well-honed.

Enhancing my vision, I inspected them one by one.

“You, to the left. You! You, to the right!”

I divided the people according to their aptitudes.

Those with developed physical strength went to the left.

Those with naturally agile bodies went to the right.

To act as a thug in the Underworld meant one had at least one natural knack.

Whether they were smart or stupid, they could act as thugs because they knew how to use their innate strength.

‘The problem is that they use their talent for evil.’

And among them, the most wicked were those who lacked a natural physique but knew how to use their heads.

I placed those who looked physically weak but had sharp eyes in the center.

In an instant, three groups were formed.

“Done. Is it 124 people in total?”

“That’s correct! We might need to catch a few more, but for now, that’s all of them.”

“Good. Curiously, the numbers are quite similar.”

About forty people each.

Three groups had been made.

While I was performing a final check on those groups…

“My Lord! I’m here!”

“Hehe. I’ve arrived as well.”

“Umm…”

The three I had summoned in advance had just arrived.

Gajei, Hoden, and Sian.

Gajei, who had the most solid build, was looking at me with reliable eyes.

As for Hoden…

‘He’s excited.’

He was clearly happy to have escaped the training he had to do all day.

He had a cheerful expression.

Sian had a heavy expression the entire time.

‘I guess she still hasn’t figured it out.’

I had taught Sian lightfoot techniques intensively.

Her progress was good, so I had given her a task for her training, but she clearly hadn’t solved it yet.

That’s why she had that look on her face.

Regardless, the three of them were surveying their surroundings as soon as they arrived.

The impatient Hoden stepped forward first and asked.

“When on earth did you build something like this? I see there are still many places under construction.”

“It’s just one of the things I’ve been working on.”

“Wow… You really are amazing, no matter what.”

One is supposed to become more serious as their skills improve, but Hoden seemed to become more frivolous as time went on.

‘It might just be his original personality.’

Still, his natural talent was high, so his training results were not low.

Hoden was the strongest after Gajei, who trained as if his life depended on it.

“By the way, are these the guys?”

“Yes.”

“Ho. There are many decent ones here.”

Hoden moved around, inspecting the prisoners one by one.

Looking at them as if he were evaluating them, he sometimes nodded in satisfaction or shook his head side to side.

Before long, he chose one group.

“I like these guys.”

“I figured as much.”

Hoden stood in front of the people in the center.

Soon after, Gajei and Sian also chose a group and stood before them.

Gajei stood before the group with strong physical strength, and Sian stood before those with naturally quick movements.

It was a very natural movement.

“Have you all chosen?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Complaints… there’s no need to even ask. It seems there are none.”

Since I had told them in advance, it was only natural.

All classification and selection were finished.

If so, there was no need to drag out the conversation.

“Then, let us begin with the master’s branding.”

“Oooh!”

Hoden was excited for no reason.

“They will be my slaves, not yours.”

“Ah… Is that so? I got excited for nothing.”

“Quiet. If you keep acting like that, I might have to give you a good thrashing one of these days, Hoden.”

“Mmph.”

Leaving the disappointed Hoden behind, I activated my mana.

Whirrrr—

The mana instantly fully activated the slave brands engraved on their necks.

‘Quite flashy.’

The four thick circles hummed as they activated every brand, lighting up the inside of the prison brilliantly.

Flash—!

The moment all the brands were activated towards me, a final burst of light exploded.

After all the light disappeared…

“Good.”

I had become the one and only master of every prisoner in this dungeon.