Book 26 Chapter 9

A hulking South Seas king?

-You're the Pig King!

Click, click, click, click!

He was seated at a rosewood desk, banging away at an abacus. His body was as large as his thick fingers. His desk was strewn with papers to be paid, indicating how busy he was, most of them for the day's sales and expenses. Auburn University was now in an emergency state, but not to catch an intruder, but for another reason.

"Tsk, tsk, there's a state of emergency, so we're not going to be able to do business for a while."

The burly man clicked his tongue as he continued to calculate.

"Yes, it is. There's a lot of grumbling among the crew that not a single customer is coming in."

"Sure, because we're all in a combat zone under a state of emergency, and everyone has to stay put, so I'll see what I can get you, tsk tsk."

We need students to be able to move around easily to get customers, and in an emergency like this, not a rat's ass was moving.

"No, no, no. At this rate, I'll be losing nearly five hundred pieces of silver a day, and the losses will only get worse as time goes on, and if it goes on long enough, I may have to go out of business."

"I think we're going to have to do something extraordinary."

"You, what do you think is the most pressing thing you need to do right now?"

The fat man asked the deputy next to him.

"It's all about getting this state of emergency lifted as soon as possible."

"And to do that?"

"We'll have to catch the intruders, I suppose?"

"Yes, I saw it coming, and we need to catch those damn raiders as soon as possible to minimize the loss of my troops."

Just then, the door to the office burst open, and a subordinate rushed across the hall. He was the officer in charge of security here, and his urgency was palpable. He leaned in and whispered something in the officer's ear. The officer's face stiffened as he listened.

"What's going on?"

The fat man asked, still not stopping his hand from bouncing the abacus.

"They say they were hit three times by two intruders. Several shops were also damaged in the aftermath of the fight."

"Two strikes and you're out, you're in a losing business."

Click.

The fat man muttered, bouncing the abacus so hard that the desk shook.

"Have them submit a damage report by this evening."

"I've already given them instructions, and two of those polite intruders want to see you now."

"It's the boss……. Let him in. Let's hear what you have to say, and I have something for you, too."

The officer went back to relay his message, then sat down at his desk and muttered quietly to himself.

"You saved me the trouble of finding it."

* * *

Nangong Shanshan frowned to himself as he looked at the fat man sitting at the head of the household.

"What's that scaffolding, is that really Captain Auburn, who goes by the fancy name of King of the South Seas?"

"You think so?"

"You don't look very old, do you?"

"It's bad to judge a man by his appearance, Sansan. What if you're a little weak? But you must be strong in numbers, don't you think?"

"You seem to be the one judging by appearances, don't you?"

Nangong Shanshan replied bluntly. Even though it was only a tone, her emotions were clear.

Then the mouth of the fat man bouncing on the abacus opened and the words spilled out.

"Well, four stores destroyed in the rampage, three store owners with high profit margins injured, and time lost in unnecessary interviews, um……."

The man who had been bouncing the abacus with his fingers stopped and looked at Hyun-woon and Namgungsansan with a frown.

"How are you going to pay me back?"

I blurted it out. Namgung Sansan's eyes widened at the sudden sound.

"What the hell do you want me to reimburse you for?"

"I'm not talking about the damage you two have done to Auburn, of course."

"Victims? Aren't we the ones who have been ripped off in the name of tolls, and who have been subjected to violent sales tactics?"

King Nanhai wasn't listening at all.

"With the four shops destroyed, the cost of treating the three wounded, and the losses due to their absence, the damage is at least eight hundred and fifty silver pieces."

"Par, eight hundred and fifty? Can you believe that? That's ridiculous!"

Namgung Sansan exclaimed in disbelief.

"You're lucky you don't have more than a thousand silver coins. Now, what are you going to do?"

"What the hell?"

"Wouldn't you have to pay for the damages, and are you going to get away with it?"

He seemed to believe that such an injustice could not happen, but Namgung San San was not about to let it happen.

"We don't have time for your pompousness. We're here because of a wooden pipe that was brought here, and once we know what's in it, our job is done. Now, where is that pipe?"

"That's a specially commissioned item, and you'll have to pay to see what's inside."

"Is this money again?"

Nan Gongshan was now looking very fed up. The people here were out of their minds.

"Isn't it obvious, then, that you wanted to see it for free? You'll have to pay at least five hundred silver coins."

"That's stupid!"

"If you don't like it, you're going to have to stop watching it, and you're going to have to pay damages."

"What if I can't pay?"

Nangongshan Shan asked in a sharp voice, and the Southern Sea King shook his thick, two-layered chin and let out a woolly laugh. Then, with a suddenly vicious and unscrupulous glance, he swept his gaze across Nan Gongshan's chest and smiled with a lowly smile.

"What the hell, you should sell your body."

"You, what kind of nonsense are you talking about? And you think you're a martial artist? You should be ashamed of yourself. Hurry up and apologize to Southern Palace Sojae!"

Impatiently, Hyun-woon shouted. He couldn't understand their mindset.

"Figures? What's that, eating? Hey, do you know what they say in the business about a business with a conscience?"

The tone of the giant scaffolder's voice changed; it seemed to mock the man.

"……."

"'What an incompetent bastard.' Shame is something you have to throw away before you start a business. If you can't do that, you can't survive on this earth, because you have to eat illegality and breaking the law, and you can't do that with a heart that has a conscience and shame and all that nonsense. That's why you have white sandals."

King Namhae clicked his tongue as if to say, "How can you live in this harsh world with such a casual attitude, you'll have to work hard to survive? But Hyun-woon didn't want to know what King Namhae was thinking, because he was currently scanning the Southern Palace Mountains up and down with a sinister gaze.

"She's pretty. You're the right height, the right weight, though your boobs are a little small."

Namgungsansan didn't like that fat guy who treated women like objects and calculated them, even if he turned them into meatballs.

"Who, who, whose boobs are you calling a washboard, you fat ass!"

Namgungsansan protested vigorously.

"No, I think you're protesting the wrong thing……. Besides, a washboard isn't really a washboard……."

But right now, Nangong Shanshan's ears were not hearing Hyun-woon's words at all.

"So do you call a small thing small or a large thing large? A merchant shouldn't lie when appraising goods."

Fatty snorted.

"Her breasts are just the right size! Just because they're big like Instructor Jade's doesn't mean they're good. Men are stupid and think big is good, but it's not!"

The King of the South Sea disagreed with her assertion as much as his fingernails.

"Haven't you heard of the ancient saying in these parts, the Great Good?"

"It must be a multirotor!"

"Luckily, there's no need to worry. The world is a big place and tastes vary, so whether you're big or small, there are plenty of places to buy."

Respect for diversity of taste was a basic virtue of a merchant.

"People selling people, you think that's normal? You're crazy."

But I'm not the kind of fatcat to cringe at such moralizing.

"I can sell everything, and people are no exception, because if you can put a price on everything, there's nothing you can't sell, and people, especially women, are actually one of the best-selling things in the world, no matter how they're sold, whether they're rented for a day or owned for life."

Human trafficking, prostitution, it's been around for a long time, so it's nothing new to this guy.

"You conscienceless wretch, do you not know the word remorse?"

"A guilty conscience? Is that what you're eating? Woohoo."

The fat man didn't even twitch his sagging cheeks.

"Okay, fatty. I'm going to give you a mental education today, so clench your molars, and let's see how fluffy your little noggin is."

Finally, the spigot of Namgungsan Mountain was turned on.

"It's a little strong, hmm, it's going to burn some flavor, but if it's too strong, it's not going to taste fresh, so it's not bad."

Bam, bam, bam!

Mount Namgung's blood pressure has exceeded the threshold.

"This is going to be a very bad day for you, brace yourself, because those chunky fingers will never let you bounce off the abacus again."

Nangong Shanshan gritted his teeth as he glared at Hyun Yun.

"You stay out of this, Hyun-woon!"

His fearsome gaze was enough to make even Hyun-woon cringe.

"It's a toss-up. I don't want to do something so reckless."

Shrugging his shoulders, Hyunwoon replied coolly.

Apparently, the fat man's horoscope for the day was "Big Thorax.

CHANG!

Namgung Mountain's sword was drawn from its scabbard with a crystal clear glint.

"My godfather said, 'It's not worth talking to rats and pigs. It's a waste of time to try to talk to them!"

"I'm not that fat, they say I'm a hoot!"

The King of the South Sea shouted from the scaffolding, apparently quite concerned.

"Hey, Pig King. Let me be clear. I don't intend to pay the damages, and I don't intend to pay the five hundred pieces of silver to see the inside of the pipes. But I'm going to see the inside of the pipes, and I'm going to take back the hundred silver pieces of toll money I unjustly paid earlier, and as a bonus, I'm going to hand you a terrible defeat. G. Gold. Zhang!"

At that moment, Namgung Sansan leaped toward the desk where King Namhae sat.

Flash.

A lightning bolt of lightning crashed through the desk.

"Die, fatty!"

Kagang!

The black fat man from Namgungsanshan, who was about to take the fat man's desk with him, was stopped by an iron grating. He had risen from his seat and was now standing in front of the desk. His movements were so fast that it was impossible to believe they came from such a big man.

"Uh-huh, now there's a woman who's going to get in trouble. Do you have any idea how much this rosewood desk costs? It's a specialty item, made from a very expensive wood imported from the Tian Axis. You could sell your body to pay for it."

The fat lady seemed more concerned about the safety of this desk than her own.

"Well, if you like that desk so much, I'll give it to you in two pieces, and you can cut it up and use it as a coffin."

Once again, Nangong Shan Shan's sword stabbed at Fatty Sanai, but her sword pole suddenly bent in front of his ungainly sixty-five year old body, sneaking through his side and aiming for the desk behind him.

"Whoa, what are you doing!"

King Nanhai, who hadn't expected the desk to be targeted instead of him, panicked and swung an enormous iron abacus that looked like it was three times the size of a normal abacus, deflecting the sword of Nan Gongshan. It was a very unreasonable move, but he must have valued the desk enough to risk it.

"Are you deaf, woman, this is an expensive item!"

King Nanhai let out a roar. Seeing this, a satisfied smile crossed Nangongshan's lips, and he said, "Ho, ho, laughter.

"Oh, I know, I know, I know, I know, I'm trying to break it, why would you want to break it for cheap?"

If you're going to hit a guy like that mentally, you're going to hit him financially, not physically. He wasn't the kind of guy you could talk down to anyway.

"How dare you deliberately break this rosewood desk, this precious thing. I will capture you and sell you for a high price."

"Well, we'll talk about that after I catch it. Who wants to be caught by a dull looking fatty like you?"

Then a smug smile crossed the fat Southern Sea King's lips.

"Kahaha. I wonder if that's true. I guess we'll see who the real dullard is in a bit."

Poof!

Suddenly, the Nangong King's huge body charged toward the Nangong Mountain at an unbelievable speed.

"Oops!"

The attack was so unexpected and unorthodox that Namgung Shanshan had no choice but to bite back. The fat king bounced around Namgungsanshan like a ball bouncing off the ground, repeatedly attacking him with the iron plate.

'What is it, you fatty, you're pretty quick on a fat subject!'

The bizarre attack, which was doubtful to even use feet, quickly outnumbered Namgung San San.

"It's a ball, bounce and attack!"

A nervous Namgung Shanshan exclaimed loudly.

"I don't know if you know it's a natural dairy, you fucking bitch, because who needs a man with that kind of personality?"

His frantic ramblings in all directions made Namgung Sansan's blood boil.

"Don't worry, it's none of your business, a pig king like you. I don't think you're going to get any women with a scaffold like that, what kind of woman would like a pig who only cares about money?"

"Hahahahaha! You don't know the world yet, don't worry. I'll just go out with a girl who only knows money! Money is justice. There's nothing money can't buy. Whether it's a woman or love!"

Without pausing to speak, King Nanhai continued his attack, repeatedly slashing at Nan Gongshan with the iron plate, ducking in, slashing out, and ducking back.

"That's funny. That's not love for you, that's love for money."

Namgung Shanshan exclaimed with a snort.

"No, it's love! Love for money. That's love for me. Because I am the money, and the money is me. Didn't you know that, khahahahahaha!"

Gridiron's offense has intensified.

"Scaffolding is a woman's enemy, die, I'll burn you!"

Even the horny King of the South Seas cries out.

"It's not a sin to be fat!"

Bang, bang, bang!

Sparks flew as iron plates and swords clashed. His enormous weight, coupled with his speed, put a tremendous strain on Nan Gongshan's hands as he blocked each blow.

"We've got to win this game!

Stalling would only put him at a disadvantage. He needed to win the fight with the fastest and most powerful herbivore. To do so, he needed to create a gap. But how?

"See? Didn't I tell you that when you use big technology, you inevitably have big holes, so don't try to use big technology at any time, and that's what you're doing because you can't control your temper. You need to work on that personality of rushing in like a wild boar when the tap is turned, otherwise it will become a poison and self-destruct. Why don't you grow up, so you don't get a boyfriend?"

Namgung Sansan suddenly remembered the words of her godfather. He had said it while riding on her back with his face buried in the ground. It was right after she had used a powerful secret technique against him in a fever and was counterattacked. The bitter taste of defeat mixed with the humiliating taste of earth and tears was unforgettable even now.

"Heck, I can't believe I'm sitting with my ass on the back of a grown man!

It had been an outrageous thing to do. But thanks to him, the lesson had been imprinted on her mind like a seal, and now it was coming back to haunt her. Nangong Shanshan calmed down and became a little more sober. If he couldn't control his rumbling temper, he'd only end up like he had then. If she lost this time, she would be sold to an unknown place and subjected to this or that, the so-called 'Great Crisis of the Chaste Maiden'.

The giant iron plates crashed down like a storm on the front lines of the Namgung San Mountain, but this time, instead of losing my temper, I used a technique to dodge them. The more I dodged, the more intense the attack became. But Nan Gongshan didn't budge.

"Hahahaha! What are you doing, woman? You can't move, can you? How do you like the taste of this body's 'Iron Mountain Seven Deadly Sins'? Are you scared? Can't you move? Then be a good little commodity!"

"……."

Namgung Shan Shan didn't reply, but his eyes were sharp. The fatty's spirit was rising. An elevated spirit often lulls itself into complacency.

"It's the last one, the Iron Mountain Seven Deadly Sins, the National Bankruptcy!"

The abacus began to tremble with terrifying force, and the great iron plate crashed down on Nan Gongsan Mountain like waves crashing on a beach. As far as Nan Gongsan Mountain could see, the sculpture was now wielding its power with all its might, with the intent that nothing would stand in its way.

"Now!

This was the time that Namgung Sansan had been waiting for, deliberately guiding him.

"Hey, grab a fistful of that money you love so much and start rummaging, you fatty!"

Thunderbolt Quickstrike (迅速式)

Righteousness (奧義)

Thunderclap (雷光斬影)

With almost no preliminary movements, the fastest herbivore to unfurl was drawn from the tip of Namgung Mountain's sword.

Countless sword beams of light became arrows of thunderbolts and flew toward King Nankai. The swift sword, which was fast enough to cut through shadows, pierced precisely into the heart of the iron-plated fatty Nankai, just before his strongest herbivore, the financial crisis sovereign default, was about to unleash its greatest power.

Because it's such a powerful skill, it's perceived as unstoppable once it's activated. It's like trying to stop a snowball once it's rolling down a mountain. It would be impossible for the King of the South Seas, who was already being drawn in by his own skills, to stop the skill he was currently casting and stop her sword energy from penetrating the gap. Unable to react quickly enough, he could only be pierced by Nangong Sanshan's thunderbolt.

Crispy!

The iron plate that King Nanhai was holding shattered into pieces. At the same time, the greedy fatty's best trick, the financial meltdown, also fell apart halfway through.

WedgeWedgeWedgeWedge!

A few strands of spare thunderbolts struck the South Sea King. He escaped death, but not unharmed. The Southern Sea King was now completely incapacitated, but not for long.

"You win!"

With a smug grin on his face, Namgung Sansan is about to deliver the final blow,

Phew!

A flash of light flew at his back at terrifying speed as he was about to bring his sword down. Without knowing what it was, he almost instinctively raised his sword to block it.

Ta-da!

Boom!

Her sword, the one that had blocked the flash, snapped in two.

The flash that had broken her sword hadn't slowed her momentum, and she'd slammed it into Namgung San San's shoulder.

"Ouch!"

With a scream, her body swelled and floated away.

"Shatter!"

Another scream came out of Hyun-woon's mouth as he watched in relief that the victory had been secured.

Boom!

Namgung Sanshan's body floated up into the air. It was as if he had been pushed aside by an immense force. Like a lie, Nangongshan's body formed a parabola and fell headfirst to the hard bluestone floor.

"Shatter!"

With a scream, Hyun-woon deployed the Shaman Vision's Divine Law, the Qi Yun Sect, and rushed over to catch her as she was about to be thrown onto the stone floor. He narrowly caught her just before her head hit the stone, but after nearly throwing her to the ground, Hyun-woon was left with scratches and tears, but he didn't let that stop him from embracing her.

"Boom!"

His back burned like it had been scalded by a fire, but now was not the time to be concerned with such things. Gritting his teeth, Hyun-woon endured the pain of his flesh being sliced away, and he used the momentum of his slide to push himself back to his feet. At the same time, he drew his sword and took a wary stance toward the direction the mysterious flash had come from.

"Who the hell did this?"

There stood a man, with a crisp, hospitable smile.

Ting!

The coin was bouncing up and down with a clear sound. He was playing with it, flicking it up with his thumb.

"I can't believe it… why would you……."

The young man standing there with a pleasant smile on his face was the white-robed young man who had led them here.

"What the hell is this?"

The ex-husband didn't answer the shout, but strode with unhesitating strides to his office desk and sat down in the chair without a second thought. It was the same desk that the fat man had so desperately defended earlier.

Then the fat man, who had been beaten to a pulp by Namgung Sansan a short time before, sprang to his feet and ran towards him in a cold sweat, and instead of shouting at him, "How dare you tell me where to sit," he bowed his head in submission.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've done a great disservice to the battalion, and it's really inexcusable."

The words startled Hyunwoon.

"No, I mean, why is a man who looks like a king of the South Seas punishing a young gatekeeper?

"You're the 'ex-wife'?!"

The fat man's face grew paler and paler with fear, and he crawled to his knees in front of him and bowed his head deeply. The fat man's body was shaking violently.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how can you be so incomplete in your work that I can trust you to represent me?"

Throw in a pathetic tirade.

With a shudder that ran through his body, the fat man replied.

"Sin, sorry, boss."

The words startled Hyun-woon.

"What, Captain?!!"

Are you telling me that the captain of this Auburn University wasn't that sleazy fatty? The ex-husband turned to face Hyun-woon and said with a friendly smile.

"This is a late formal introduction, I'm Namhae Wang Jeonhon, the Auburn University captain in charge of the Auburn University Merchant Marines."

You're talking out loud……. The polite hospitality shown to the two of them earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Then, before Hyun-woon could say anything, he cast a cold glare at Fatty Sanae again. Fatty Sanae was still rubbing his hands together and shaking his head.

"You know, I'm not a big fan of the race of losers, especially losers who fail at things they shouldn't fail at. When it matters most, they screw up. And their failures always cost those around them dearly."

His tone was more even-keeled than I'd expected, but the fat man's complexion only grew more miserable.

"Da, give it another chance, and I'm sure it will be perfect……."

But the ex-husband flatly shook his head. As if it wasn't worth a damn.

"No, you can't be perfect again. You didn't do a good job of what I asked you to do. You caused losses, and as you know, in my unit, you are responsible for the damage you do. You understand that, right?"

"Nothing, of course."

It was an absolute, immutable iron law of marriage.

"To lead people, you need to keep your cool at all times, but you were too easily provoked by that woman, Namgung Shanshan. It's not a good idea for a merchant to give himself over to his desires. If you don't control your desires, it will cost you dearly at some point. But you couldn't control your own instincts, and as you already know, I don't need people who can't control themselves."

The verdict was unrelenting.

"Please, please, just once……."

Fatty, I begged. I feel like I'm about to burst into tears, but the stoic young merchant doesn't raise an eyebrow. Then he declares.

"You're fired!"

With a thud, the fat man's body collapsed.

"Fired!

It was a language spoken only at Auburn, and it meant being permanently expelled from the organization. An expelled member becomes an unaffiliated member, but there is no recruitment, and very few organizations are willing to take back an expelled student. Failure to perform as a member meant being labeled a failure or incompetent.

Not belonging to any of the ten thousand twelve, the only thing left to do was to get out.

It was a "permanent ban". For the fat man, it was a death sentence.

However, the decision is not reversible.

"Drag him away."

Then three other troopers rushed in and dragged the fat man out of the room. He cried out pitifully, "One more time!" but his ex-wife didn't budge.

Turning to Hyun-woon, who was still slightly stunned by the injustice of the situation, the real King of Namhae added one more word.

"I'll buy your lives."

Ting!

Once again, the coin in his hand bounced up into the air.