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Join the Server“We don’t really know either. But there’s that thing, you know Chilgap’s place? Listening to his wife, she said something grabbed their dog in the yard at night and carried it off. So it must have come down.”
“Wait a minute. So was the disappearance of a s*ave from Magistrate Song’s house also the tiger’s fault? Yesterday, even a soldier vanished, and the troops were ransacking the village.”
“The s*ave supposedly went out at night to pick up the young master from the gathering. Ah, so he probably ran away! I heard they’ve already sent s*ave hunters from Magistrate Song’s place. It’s not like there are only one or two runaways like that.”
“Hey, cut it out and just drink. You’re ruining the taste of the liquor with all this tiger talk.”
“Maybe because of these rumors, everyone’s been raising dogs lately. When I went around offering to give away a pup from my Doruk’s litter, no one even looked at me. Tsk!”
One man grumbled sulkily, and the men on either side of him chuckled, shaking their shoulders.
“By the way, should you be here? I heard if your wife catches you this time, she’ll cut off your topknot.”
“What? No! Topknot, my foot! My wife, she’s… gone to the stream to do laundry. So I’m free today. I told her not to go because it looked like bad luck today, but that woman is as stubborn as an ox. She’ll go when the weather warms up. Who does laundry in ice-cold water, I ask you!”
“Okay, okay, keep your voice down and drink. You’ll spread rumors all over town.”
Ju Uiryeong, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, was lost in confusion. The woman washing clothes at the stream seemed to be the wife of one of those men. She must already be dead. Already… her head was crushed. He was in turmoil, wondering whether to tell them or not.
A commotion came from the marketplace.
“What’s that noise now?”
“Isn’t it those thugs? Who else would be causing trouble on a cold day like this but those lowlifes?”
The commotion grew louder. Murmurs spread among the people gathering at the market, engulfing the street. Hearing the creaking of a cart amidst it, the men felt a sense of unease, put down their liquor bottles, and hurriedly ran out to the marketplace. Ju Uiryeong quickly followed.
Creak.
The source of the murmurs was a cart crossing the marketplace. On the old cart lay a person, with straw covering their face. Yet the body itself was uncovered, as if to announce this ill omen to everyone.
The corpse wore the same clothes as the soldiers pulling the cart, and huge claw marks from a beast were torn into it. The people stared at the wounds in horror.
“T-tiger… It is a tiger.”
“Why does the tiger keep coming down to the village? What are we going to do…?”
“This is an omen of the world’s end… The mountain god is angry… We must hold a ritual on the mountain.”
“No, but… Eomdongi’s mother lives on the mountain. I wonder if she’s okay.”
“Eomdongi is already grown up, nearly eight feet tall. He’ll be fine.”
Ju Uiryeong, picking up on all the various stories circulating in the marketplace, stopped all movement at the mention of ‘Eomdongi’. Scenes he had seen before opening his eyes flashed through his mind. The tiger… and the child. And the child’s mother. The tiger that had bitten people to death, and Eomdongi, who had driven off that tiger. And the torchlight flickering in the distance. A trembling smile tugged at Ju Uiryeong’s lips.
“…So that’s how it was.”
Ju Uiryeong smiled brightly. Maybe things would go smoothly. If he could incite these villagers. For that, first, he needed to reveal what he had seen at the stream.
How could he effectively attract people’s attention? Ju Uiryeong slipped out of the crowd and looked around. He stole a piece of clothing from a fabric shop and roughly draped it over himself. Taking advantage of the diverted attention, he ran back out of the village, this time not through the fence but boldly toward the main gate.
Thud.
The somber atmosphere of the village immediately became apparent. Ju Uiryeong ran with all his might, even adding the strength he had from nursing. He held his breath and exhaled, making his face as pale as possible.
With cheeks red from the cold and eyes wide with fear, he ran for a while. As soon as he saw the people on the street, he shouted.
“Something terrible happened!! Someone help!”
He saw the cart stopping in the distance. People’s attention immediately focused on Ju Uiryeong’s pale face. Amid unfamiliar gazes, gripping the rough cotton cloth tightly, he shouted again.
“A p-person…! A person was taken! A tiger took a person!!”
Mr. Han Dokyeom.
“Over there at the stream…!! I saw a woman washing clothes being carried off! It was a tiger. An enormous tiger…!”
I’ll take this Authority this time. So, Mr. Han Dokyeom, just sit back and watch this time.
The atmosphere in the marketplace sank coldly as if doused with cold water. Someone covered their mouth and turned away, while others scrutinized Ju Uiryeong with suspicion.
Then someone trudged out. It was one of the men who had been drinking under the tree earlier.
“My wife… my wife went to the stream today… to do laundry… My wife…!”
“You can’t go alone! We have to go together! It wasn’t just the tiger…!”
At Ju Uiryeong’s scream-like cry, the uneasy stirring subsided. The atmosphere was eerily still. It was a precarious situation where one wrong word could make them attack and kill him.
Ju Uiryeong calmly swallowed his saliva. Then, pretending to tremble with fear, he spoke with difficulty.
“There was a person. But that person… seemed to have ordered the tiger to bring a person. I saw it. I definitely saw it! As soon as he aimed an arrow at a person, the tiger lunged at them and bit their head off! I’m telling the truth!”
He secretly used his skill. [Affinity]. It was a sanctity skill that made him trusted and loved by people and strengthened allies. And as expected, it seemed God was on his side.
“On the mountain… Eomdongi’s mother lives…”
“Come to think of it… it was strange. Even when Eomdongi was just a little thing, that mother and son often came to sell wild game to the butcher… I’m not suspicious, but… it’s true! They always came carrying a full load of venison and wild boar meat. How could that woman, always sick with a cold, catch those?”
“So you’re saying… that they sold what the tiger brought them? Then Eomdongi’s family would have been killed first! Who can tame a tiger?!”
“I’m just saying it’s possible!”
The people’s eyes, filled with fear and anger, turned toward the distant forest. As a sharp light formed in the gathering dark gazes, Ju Uiryeong secretly smiled.
He had succeeded in inciting the ignorant populace.
****
The true nature of the ‘Authority of Greed’ was nothing more than a newborn life craving affection. It had awakened here after an eternal sleep, and first filled the child’s interest into its hungry, empty belly.
The ‘Authority’ probably didn’t expect much from Eomdongi. It got angry because it was prevented from getting that. That was the setting Dokyeom had put in when he created the ‘Authority of Greed’.
“No, ha… but still, there wasn’t this kind of thing.”
Dokyeom sat on a wide rock, chin resting on his hand, making a grim face. No matter where he looked, front, back, left, right, all he saw was the snow-covered forest. Among the spiky trees, there was no path to be seen, even if he looked carefully.
So, the current situation was simply this.
“…My clingy kids must be going crazy.”
It meant he was alone, separated and lost. To be precise, it wasn’t just Dokyeom; everyone was probably experiencing the same thing.
Scattered in all directions, each starting from a different point, they were taking their own paths. Perhaps that was what the ‘Authority’ wanted.
Even though it was a gate without a fixed boss, it was a place where a boss-level entity existed, making it possible to control and command the gate. Until the boss was decided, the ‘Authority’ seemed to take on that role.
“Phew, whether it acts in its place or not, what does it matter now…”
Yes, at this point, that wasn’t a very important issue for Dokyeom.
Rather, it was more important to Dokyeom that some demon bastard was sticking to him again, hovering around.
[The demon ‘???’ of ‘Remegethon’ is staring intently at you.]
[The demon ‘???’ of ‘Remegethon’ is trying to talk to you.]
In other words, it meant that ‘Orias’, who had been silent and just watching without saying a word, had left Dokyeom’s side again.
“Tsk, must have gone to report to Taeseongyeon again. I’d have no greater wish than to grab him and pull his ear.”
[The demon ‘???’ of ‘Remegethon’ is beating its chest, pleading with you to talk!]
[The demon ‘???’ of ‘Remegethon’ explodes in frustration, saying it’s never seen such a hard-hearted human, and how can you not say a single word!]
Dokyeom looked at the white text blocking his view with an annoyed gaze and let out a deep sigh.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Strongest Tactical Maid Absolutely Refuses to Serve!! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Strongest Tactical Maid Absolutely Refuses to Serve!
