Absolute Warrior Prologue
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TL: FoodieMonster007 If you see this, you are at the wrong site!
The Radiant Hall is one of the subordinate organizations of the Mystery Pavilion, which is part of the New Righteous Association. It's a place known outwardly for managing low-ranking spies, and working here is considered a cushy job within the Association.
I am Eom Baekyang, the Deputy Director of the Radiant Hall.
The Radiant Hall consists of only six members: the director, the deputy director (me), and four regular employees.
Please, I hope that you at least won't question why this department with only six staff is called a hall and not a division. There's already enough gossip about us within the Association, because even though we're only six people, we have all the frills, including a director and a deputy director. If you've ever been part of an organization, you can probably imagine how much gossip goes on behind our backs.
Anyway, most people have concluded that we're a gathering of incompetent slackers who bought our positions with money.
Well, all the people here do have rather unimpressive and shady pasts… though of course, all our backstories are completely fabricated.
See that yawning chap over there sitting with his legs crossed? His name is Hong Sabaek. You may not believe it, but ten years ago he was known as the greatest prodigy in Jiangdong. According to official records, he was stabbed to death in a brawl with drunken thugs.
The guy next to him peeling potatoes is Im Yeongdal, also known as the Genius of the Century. If you believe the official records, he supposedly slipped off a cliff and died.
As for that dirty fellow in the back casually picking his nose and smearing the boogers under his desk, he goes by the name of Wang Sochan. He prides himself on having the best memory in the Central Plains, capable of memorizing an entire book in only an hour. I've seen it with my own eyes. I handed him a thick scripture, and it took him, well, not one hour, but two. When that happened, I smacked him on the back of the head and told him I could memorize it in two hours too, but honestly, with my memory these days, I can't even remember how he was supposed to have officially died.
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Now that you understand what a group of geniuses we are, do you still believe we were gathered just to manage low-ranking spies?
Not a chance. As you might have guessed, this place is a shell corporation.
The Radiant Hall is actually one of the most important departments in the entire Association.
Before I explain what we do, allow me to briefly explain what the Association is.
After the Demonic Cult declared a sixty year shutdown due to internal strife over succession, the jianghu entered a new era.
In this new era, a certain individual appeared like a comet: the Martial God and Chairman of the Association, Cheon Ahseong. His alias speaks for itself, right?
Well, the jianghu is full of eccentric geniuses, so we can't guarantee that the Chairman is the absolute strongest, but he is definitely the strongest among those who have revealed themselves. Even the proud Nine Sects One Gang recognized the Chairman as the world's number one master.
Anyway, the followers of the Martial God went on to form the New Righteous Association, a union that quickly rose to dominate the jianghu. Their primary mission is to stand against the Evil Coalition, an alliance of villains.
Under the Association led by the Martial God, we have one assembly, two pavilions, three heavens, four clans, five corps, and six squads. You'll remember the details gradually, so for now, just remember that our Radiant Hall belongs to one of the two pavilions, namely, the Mystery Pavilion.
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So, what is it that we do?
…Before I continue, I forgot someone. Besides the people I've introduced, we've also got a shaggy-haired newcomer called Jo Birang who was assigned here two days ago.
Jo Birang was rummaging through documents under a desk in the corner, but he suddenly stood up walked over to me with a document in hand. He was called the greatest talent in Shanxi, but here, in just two days, he's earned the nicknames 'troublemaker' and 'idiot.'
"Something about this is strange," he said, handing the document over to me.
I smirked as I looked at the document. The other guys also smirked. They already guessed what he found strange. After all, this was a kind of rite of passage for members of this department.
"What is it?" I asked, pretending not to know what he was going to ask.
Jo Birang pointed to a person's personal information. Every other line was blacked out, and the subject's background section was completely blacked out.
"This person here. All of his important personal information is redacted."
"So?"
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"Are there classified files that we can't see?"
Jo Birang's words were loaded with pride, but that was to be expected. He was someone who grew up being called a genius, and indeed he was, even though he was bullied and called an idiot by us seniors.
"This is all the information about 'them' that you can access with your clearance level."
The 'them' I was talking about are none other than the Twelve Phantoms, the twelve martial artists who carry out the Association's secret missions, managed and supervised by us, the Radiant Hall.
Now do you understand what the Radiant Hall does?
We are the commanders who assign missions to the Association's most elite martial artists.
Given their importance, those who command them cannot be mere squad leaders or captains. If there are power struggles among the various organizations within the Association, only someone at least at the director level can lead a secret agency. The only reason we don't operate as a completely secret unit is to take full advantage of the capabilities of the Mystery Pavilion, the best intelligence organization in the jianghu. Still, only the most prominent members of the Association know of our existence.
Each of the Twelve Phantoms has a code name based on an animal in the Chinese zodiac, and the total number of Phantoms is always twelve. When one dies, another takes his place. Although they belong to the same organization, they don't know much about each other. Although they sometimes carry out joint operations, for the most part they carry out their missions independently.
The missions are varied, ranging from escort work to espionage, infiltration and assassination.
The personal information the new recruit handed me was that of the tiger, code name Crimson Tiger (赤虎). He was the one with the most redacted information among the Twelve Phantoms.
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"Even so, does this make sense?" Jo Birang asked, pointing to a line in the document with a scowl. "This person's annual base salary alone is two thousand silver taels. Is that a mistake? Shouldn't it be two hundred taels?"
It was natural for him to be surprised. Even though we're among the best paid in the Association, Jo Birang the newbie's annual salary is seven hundred taels, while mine, the Deputy Director's, is fifteen hundred.
Well, there's something else that would truly surprise him.
In addition to their base salary, the Twelve Phantoms receive an additional bonus per mission.
And how much is that allowance, roughly? It varies depending on the mission, from a few dozen to a few hundred taels.
Regardless, the new guy seemed to have missed the part of the document that would have absolutely made him faint.
For a moment, I was tempted to ask him: Do you know how much Crimson Tiger was paid for a single mission two years ago? Twenty-seven thousand silver taels.
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As far as I know, that's the highest compensation in the field, and it's a record that hasn't been broken yet. What that mission was is classified, so even I, the deputy director, don't know anything about it. When I become the director, the first thing I'll do is open that classified document. It sounds like a joke, but I'm dead serious here.
Looking at Jo Birang, I asked, "Why? You jealous?"
"No, but… Isn't it too much?" Jo Birang mumbled.
His pride must be hurt, a genius scholar getting less money than field agents who are nothing more than muscle.
"Do you know how skilled they are?" I asked again.
Jo Birang replied, "I read about them during my training to join this department. They're on average at the level of six squads' captains."
"Do you know how much a captain's initial annual salary is?"
"No, I don't."
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"It's four hundred and ninety taels. Less than yours, right?"
"Yes."
"If the Twelve Phantoms are really at captain level as you say, then why don't we just use those captains instead? Why spend so much money on those guys?"
"That… I don't know."
"Then remember this. What you saw during your training is only their official documented ability. However, in the official records of murim factions, there are only two types of data: exaggerated ones and understated ones. Most of the time, people exaggerate the strength of their assault corps. If they have a power of five, they make them try to look like ten. Now, what about the Twelve Phantoms? Use that smart head of yours and guess."
"I guess… it's downplayed?"
"Correct. Since the Phantoms are basically secret agents, there's no point in exaggerating their abilities, especially since the Evil Coalition knows about their existence. Well, we also know about their elite secret agents called the Ten Evils, so it's only fair, I guess."
"Are you saying the Twelve Phantoms have skills worthy of that absurd salary?"
"Definitely. Those are guys who climbed their way to the very top through unimaginable hardship. The training they underwent is something ordinary people can't endure for even a single day. Since we're the ones commanding those guys, you should be proud."
"Then why can't we see their personal details?"
SMACK!
Something flew from behind and hit Jo Birang on the back of the head. It was a shoe thrown by Im Yeongdal.
"Stop grumbling and get over here! A chick that hasn't even shed its eggshell yet is trying to flap up to the roof already?" Im Yeongdal yelled.
Pouting, Jo Birang bent down and picked up the shoe.
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CLANK!
Just then, the wall next to Wang Sochan opened, revealing a circular mechanical device.
WHIRR…
The device, engraved with the twelve animals of the zodiac with a small hole above each animal, began to rotate.
CLANK.
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The device stopped at a picture of a snake.
WHOOSH!
With a cool, sliding sound, a report scroll slid out of the hole.
Grabbing the report and reading it, Wang Sochan quickly shouted, "Report! We have a situation!"
Everyone's previously relaxed gazes immediately sharpened.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Green Snake has requested support."
"Green Snake? Wasn't he on a spy mission at the main base of the Evil Coalition for six months?"
"We just received an urgent report that his identity has been exposed and that he's currently on the run."
Wang Sochan swiftly planted a white flag onto the Central Plains map hanging on the wall, which was already dotted with flags of various colors.
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"This was Green Snake's location when he requested support. He's currently heading to the emergency rendezvous point."
CLANK, WHIRR…
The rotating mechanism moved again, this time stopping at the picture labeled 'Evil'.
WHOOSH!
A new report came down from that hole.
Im Yeongdal ran over and quickly read it, then said, "Report! A large force made up of the Seven Ghost Corps of the Evil Coalition is moving. They have spread out to surround Green Snake."
"Damn it! Who's the closest to him?"
If Green Snake was surrounded, his chance of escape was less than one percent. I quickly checked the positions of all the flags.
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The flag closest to the rendezvous point was red.
"Crimson Tiger just so happens to be on a mission nearby."
"Order him to deploy as soon as his mission ends."
"Understood. Issuing mission to Crimson Tiger."
Hong Sabaek promptly handed me a new mission order scroll. After stamping the mission approval seal on it, I returned it to him. With practiced ease, he rolled the scroll up tightly and slid it into a small cylinder before tossing it to Im Yeongdal, who operated the mechanical messaging device.
WHIRR!
This time, the device stopped at the tiger picture, and Im Yeongdal inserted the scroll into that hole. With a whoosh, the scroll disappeared down the pipe.
"Mission order sent," Im Yeongdal reported. "If Green Snake arrives safely at the designated location, the expected rendezvous time is tomorrow at dawn."
That was all we could do. The lives of the field agents were now in their own hands.
The emergency situation ended in an instant.
Jo Birang gaped in wide-eyed shock. To him, one moment we seniors were lounging around like sick chickens, and the next, we were suddenly capable and highly functional individuals.
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"Still want to see the details of that document?" I asked Jo Birang.
"Huh? Ah, no," Jo Birang replied, hurrying back to his desk.
I silently looked at the Crimson Tiger's profile that he left behind. I didn't know much about him either—why he started this job, what martial arts he learned, what his family is like. Hell, I don't even know his exact age.
All I know are the incredible feats he's accomplished in the past seven years.
Well, that's not the only thing we don't know.
Were any major events awaiting us in the future? Not even the brightest prodigies here can foresee that. We're not fortune-tellers, nor can we read the will of heaven.
For now, the magma that threatens to overturn the jianghu was quietly writhing deep beneath our feet, and the night sky before a potential storm was exceptionally clear.
For now, it was peaceful. The New Righteous Association, the Radiant Hall, the Evil Coalition, and him.
For now…
Translator's Note: A highly-rated series by Jang Yeonghun, the author of Absolute Regression, Absolute Dominion, Absolute Demon God, and Rebirth of the Heavenly Demon. Since this is a printed novel and not a webnovel, the chapters will be longer and the pacing very different.
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