Absolute Warrior V1C9: Rescue Mission
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TL: FoodieMonster007 If you see this, you are at the wrong site!
Three hours later, Crimson Tiger and Yeon stood on a mountain slope. Far below, a manor was visible.
"How did you know he was here?" Crimson Tiger asked.
"I searched for and tracked a carriage matching your description, sir," Yeon replied.
"Even so, it can't have been easy to find exactly where it went."
"Indeed. I could only tell the general direction, so I tracked one more thing."
"What?"
"I searched the records for every messenger pigeon leaving the Association. Hundreds of messages are sent out every day, so it's impossible to go through them all unless one plans ahead, but…" Yeon's voice trailed off.
Crimson Tiger finished her sentence, "There aren't that many messages being sent in the direction the carriage was headed".
"That's right. I checked all the letters going in this direction and found this place," Yeon confirmed.
Crimson Tiger raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed. This investigation couldn't have progressed without assuming insider involvement from the very beginning. It seemed that much like him, the Radiant Hall had come to the conclusion that someone within the Association was behind the kidnapping.
He didn't ask who had sent the message. It wasn't information he needed to complete his mission, and the organization wouldn't easily tell him anyway.
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He turned his attention to the manor and asked, "How many kidnappers are there?"
"Between five and ten. I couldn't infiltrate too deeply for fear of being discovered," Yeon replied.
"Got it. Leave the rest to me."
Crimson Tiger put on a mask and dashed down the hill with light movements and silent footsteps, approaching the manor as carefully as possible. If there were only five to ten kidnappers, then it suggested that the kidnappers were a small but elite group. Still, to him, their strength was not so much of a concern as the possibility of them killing the hostage.
Soon, he reached the wall of the manor. Putting his ear against the wall, he extended his senses.
Around ten meters away, he could hear the sound of someone's breathing. If they were that close, then the moment he jumped over the wall, he had to subdue the enemy at once.
Taking a deep breath, Crimson Tiger leaped into the air. As expected, there was a man standing ten meters from the wall.
Landing inside the manor, he sprinted toward the man like a lightning bolt.
Startled, the man turned around and drew his sword, but…
SWISH! THWACK!
Crimson Tiger caught him as he fell backward, killed by a throwing knife to the neck. Looking around the courtyard, he found a large tree and hid the corpse behind it.
The man's reaction was indeed fast. If his strength was anything to go by, then the enemy group was composed of first-rate masters.
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Crimson Tiger continued his search. There were two more people outside the manor. One on the roof, and another behind the building.
He decided to go for the one on the roof first. Jumping up, he grabbed the edge of the roof and peeked over it. A masked man stood there with his back turned.
WHOOSH!
The man suddenly spun around, staring straight in Crimson Tiger's direction. Fortunately, Crimson Tiger barely managed to hide himself on a ledge under the roof.
The man scanned the part of the roof where Crimson Tiger was hidden, making sure no one was there, then turned back.
Crimson Tiger sighed inwardly with relief. These men are too skilled to be wasted standing guard in a place like this! They're probably professional mercenaries, and really good ones at that. Judging by their killing intent, their main job should be fighting and assassination.
Once he was certain that the masked man was looking away again, he climbed onto the roof silently, prepared to attack and kill the man in one strike… when he heard the sound of the building door opening and a short whistle.
The man on the roof casually raised his hand in greeting.
Crimson Tiger's heart raced. A third person was now patrolling the courtyard. With this many people, it was only a matter of time before the corpse behind the tree was discovered.
SHIING!
Sensing a presence behind him, the masked man on the roof spun around, drew his sword, and slashed in one smooth motion, as if to punish the foolish assailant who had dared attack him from behind.
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He had once cut down someone who had attacked him from behind like this, and the surprised look in the man's eyes as he counterattacked in a flash was still vivid in his memory.
Unfortunately, this time was different.
SPLURT!
Before his sword was fully out of its sheath, a cold chill pierced his chest.
The man could only watch blankly as the enemy who had stabbed him kicked off his chest and leapt into the air.
From start to end, the enemy never bothered making eye contact with him.
He could have at least have looked at me triumphantly… No way!
Even though he had been defeated, the man didn't want to die so easily. Like a panorama flashing before his eyes just before death, the surrounding scene unfolded in slow motion.
Seeing his attacker was making a beeline for his colleague, he whistled loudly to alert him.
His colleague, a much stronger man than himself, turned around, drawing his sword.
Unfortunately, the man flying towards him was too fast.
Why is only that guy so fast?
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Everything was unfolding in slow motion, except for the man who had stabbed him.
At this rate, his colleague's neck would be cut off.
No! Why is that idiot trying to protect his chest when the man's aiming for his neck? It's so obvious!
He wanted to shout, but no sound came out, and his vision faded to black permanently. The last sight he saw was his colleague's head falling to the ground.
The two men had died almost simultaneously.
SWOOSH!
Crimson Tiger immediately ran to the left side of the building, where the last kidnapper was. Although the third man should have heard the disturbance, for some reason, he didn't show himself.
He's a cautious man, but I can't give him any more time to think. I need to finish him off before he shouts and alerts his colleagues inside the building!
The moment Crimson Tiger turned the corner…
SWISH!
He turned his head just as a sword grazed his face, then grabbed the kidnapper's wrist before he could aim for his neck. Pivoting on one foot and rotating his body strangely, he dislocated the man's wrist.
CRACK!
Before the man could scream, Crimson Tiger reached out and covered his mouth from behind him.
CRACK!
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The next moment, he broke the man's neck.
Crimson Tiger let out the breath he had been holding. From the time he ambushed the man on the roof till now, he had breathed exactly twice.
Nevertheless, he had no time to rest. Originally, he had intended to infiltrate through the roof, but there was no time for that now. If anyone inside had sensed the scuffle, the hostage would be in danger.
Crimson Tiger opened the door and silently walked down the long, quiet corridor. Soon, he saw stairs leading up to the second floor and down to the basement.
He chose to go down into the basement. Although not always the case, most prisons were located in the basement because it was more difficult to escape. Even if there wasn't a prison, given the kidnapper's experience, it was likely that they would have locked the Director in the basement.
"Just how long are you planning to keep me locked up?" Gu Yangseo boldly complained, confident that his kidnappers had no interest in killing him.
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The masked man who had kidnapped him visited every hour to check on his condition, but rarely said anything, so Gu Yangseo wondered if he could provoke the man and perhaps get some information out of him.
"Well, I guess a well-trained dog doesn't bark without its master's orders," he taunted.
The masked kidnapper, who was about to leave, paused. "You previously said that we would regret not knowing who you are."
"I did," Gu Yangseo confirmed.
"We know that you're a Director of the New Righteous Association."
Gu Yangseo pretended to be surprised. "How dare you do this despite knowing that?!" he whined loudly.
"You're nothing but a rotten and corrupt man. Don't use the word 'dare' so carelessly."
Oh? Gu Yangseo's eyes lit up. Judging from the man's words, he didn't seem to know anything more than the Radiant Hall's surface-level information. Well, he probably wouldn't have taken on this job if he knew, and Yagong wouldn't have told him his true identity anyway.
"Did the one who hired you say that? That I'm rotten and corrupt? If you have anything but shit in your head, think about it. How clean can the one who orders this kind of thing be?"
"It doesn't matter. We simply do what we are paid for."
"How much did you get? I'll give you double… no, triple."
The masked kidnapper chuckled. "Do you know what's most important in this business? Skill? Of course, that's important, but more important than that is credibility. If you don't have the skills, you can still easily live as a third-rate mercenary, just with lower pay. However, the moment you lose credibility, you can't do this job anymore. That's why, never mind triple, it's useless even if you give me a hundred times more money."
"Damn it! If I survive this, I'll have to hire you guys too," Gu Yangseo joked.
The masked kidnapper sneered. "Well, we're very expensive, but we definitely give you your money's worth."
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Still laughing, he opened the prison door.
SPLURT!
A sword pierced his chest.
There was no killing intent, no sound of wind even. If there had been, he wouldn't have been defeated so easily.
As he looked as his masked killer, the kidnapper's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Like himself, the opponent had eyes that never wavered even when killing a person, but he didn't feel like a mercenary or assassin.
He slowly turned his head to look at Gu Yangseo.
Gu Yangseo grinned. "Now that's a man who definitely gives you your money's worth, though he's more expensive than all of you combined."
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SHIING!
Crimson Tiger pulled out his sword, and the man collapsed, blood pouring out from the hole in his chest. He was the last of the kidnappers.
"So you're Crimson Tiger!" Gu Yangseo exclaimed. His job was simply to give out orders and relay messages, so this was his first time meeting Crimson Tiger, but he recognized the man at once.
Crimson Tiger nodded. His first impression of Gu Yangseo was of a cunning fox who he wouldn't want as either an enemy or a friend, especially in this conspiracy-ridden jianghu.
Gu Yangseo asked eagerly, "You came knowing who I am, right?"
"Yes, sir," Crimson Tiger replied politely. First impressions aside, the Radiant Hall Director was his superior.
Gu Yangseo smiled. As opposed to Crimson Tiger first impression of him, his first impression of Crimson Tiger was a good one, especially his martial prowess. As expected, Crimson Tiger was the only agent who could successfully carry out the First Young Lord's mission and pave the way for both of their successes.
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"Thank you for all the missions you've completed so far," he said.
Crimson Tiger replied plainly, "I was just doing my job."
"And thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome. Please go up first. My handler is waiting for you upstairs, and several reinforcements will be arriving soon," Crimson Tiger said.
"What about you?"
"There's something I need to check."
"Alright, I'll do that."
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As instructed, Gu Yangseo left the building.
Once he was alone, Crimson Tiger took off the kidnapper's mask. He was a middle-aged man with sharp features, but he didn't recognize the face, so he took off the man's shirt next.
They're the Seven Wolves!
When he saw a wolf tattooed on the man's shoulder, he immediately understood the identity of the kidnappers. The Seven Wolves were a famous band of mercenaries, known for being both trustworthy and skilled, and they were said to all have wolf tattoos.
Crimson Tiger quickly searched the kidnapper's pockets, but found nothing that could be a clue about who gave the order.
He frowned. A nagging feeling told him that a power struggle was taking place between the leaders of the Association, and it would be bad for him to be dragged along blindly or get too deeply involved.
From now on, he had to keep his wits about him and judge everything coldly.
Just then, Yeon came down the stairs.
"Thank you for your work," she said.
"……" Crimson Tiger smiled, but said nothing.
Yeon added, "The reward for this mission will be added to the next mission."
Crimson Tiger sighed. I thought so. Since this doesn't appear to be an official mission, there's a good chance that the money comes from out of the Director's pocket, too.
"You will receive new orders soon. Please wait at the safe house until then. Don't go back to your job at the warehouse," Yeon instructed, handing Crimson Tiger a piece of paper.
Crimson Tiger checked the contents and handed the paper back to Yeon. The location of the safe house where he was to wait was written on it.
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Damn it, I wonder if my days as a warehouse manager are over now. Gong Cheol will be sad that I left without a word.
Yeon bowed politely. "I'll see you again in the evening."
Just as she turned around, Crimson Tiger asked, "Want to grab a drink?"
Yeon smiled weakly, a faint gleam in her eyes betraying how badly she wanted to accept Crimson Tiger's offer. Still, she couldn't agree if she wanted to maintain their current relationship.
Making sure that Crimson Tiger couldn't see the expression on her face, she replied as always, "Next time."
"Thank heavens you're safe," Eom Baekyang sincerely congratulated Gu Yangseo on his return.
Gu Yangseo firmly clasped Eom Baekyang's hands. "No, thank you. Good job arranging my rescue."
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Eom Baekyang had handled the incident exactly as he would have done in his situation, even guiding the Inquisition into concluding that this incident was a provocation by the Nine Ironblood Brigades.
This result worked out perfectly for him and his allies. Not only did he now have a valid reason to go after the Nine Ironblood Brigades, but even his bodyguards had a good excuse for failing to prevent the kidnapping.
Gu Yangseo said to his subordinates, "Can you cover the sky with the palm of your hand? Even if you can, you can't always live looking up at the sky, can you? Sometimes, you need to keep your heads down."
Everyone instantly understood the true meaning behind his metaphor—to look away and pretend they didn't know anything.
"Well, I will definitely repay you for saving me."
"In the form of a performance bonus, I presume?" Hong Sabaek asked playfully.
Gu Yangseo grinned. "Of course! Look forward to it."
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Hong Sabaek, Im Yeongdal, and Wang Sochan had no intention of reporting their director's kidnapping to the higher-ups, and they had already missed the window of opportunity anyway. They were still curious about the details, but no one dared ask about it.
Gu Yangseo might be smiling because he was in a good mood now, but compared to Eom Baekyang, he wasn't one for jokes. They didn't want to needlessly get on the Director's bad side.
"But…!" Jo Birang began to protest, but Hong Sabaek ruthlessly smacked him on the back of the head.
"Alright! Let's get wasted today!" Im Yeongdal shouted, dragging Jo Birang out of the office by the ear.
With the four gone to celebrate, Gu Yangseo and Eom Baekyang were the only ones left in the office.
"Don't worry about the kids. They know what they're doing," Eom Baekyang said.
Gu Yangseo nodded. He also trusted his subordinates.
The two sat facing each other across the desk.
Eom Baekyang remarked, "I never thought they would kidnap you in broad daylight."
"This is nothing to the Pavilion Master. He will stop at nothing to prevent me from organizing this mission. "
"But resorting to kidnapping?"
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"That's how important it is to him. Anyway, this squabble between me and him is merely a proxy war between the First Young Lord and the Third Young Lady. We should just enjoy it," Gu Yangseo laughed.
He was not at all angry about being kidnapped, and would not hesitate to do the same to his foes.
"What do we do now?" Eom Baekyang asked nervously.
As Gu Yangseo said, this 'squabble' was a power struggle, a battle of wits, and a game of nerves all at the same time. It was a game-like fight, but with lives at stake, where one could lose their head at any moment even while laughing gleefully.
Deep down, he didn't want to take part in this mess at all, but it was too late.
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"What else? They've picked a fight, so we have to fight back," Gu Yangseo replied casually, taking out an envelope from his pocket and handing it over to Eom Baekyang. "I received this from the First Young Lord before I got kidnapped."
"What's this…" Eom Baekyang's eyes widened. "Wait, is this the Minor Heavenly Order you told me about before?"
Gu Yangseo nodded. "That's right."
"Are you going to command Crimson Tiger using this?"
"Yes, so we don't have to worry about getting the Pavilion Master's approval anymore. We can issue the command to send Crimson Tiger out right away."
"Understood."
"Also…" Gu Yangseo activated the mechanism on the wall, opened the safe that appeared, and took out a book. "Give this to Crimson Tiger. It will be essential for this mission."
Eom Baekyang blinked in astonishment. "Where did you get this?"
"The First Young Lord gave it to me."
"Crimson Tiger will be pleased."
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BAM!
Suddenly, Hong Sabaek ran into the office. "Director! The Pavilion Master is summoning you!"
Eom Baekyang frowned. "Shameless son of a bitch."
On the other hand, Gu Yangseo smiled. "That's the Pavilion Master for you. Don't forget who we're dealing with."
"You've arrived? Congratulations on returning safely," Yagong greeted as Gu Yangseo entered his office. As usual, he did not take his eyes off his work.
"Thank you for your concern."
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"So, the Nine Ironblood Brigades was behind it?"
"We haven't found any definite evidence yet, but we're looking into it."
"Well, whoever is behind it, at least you managed to get away. Not that you're someone who would be easily silenced just like that, haha."
"Hahaha," Gu Yangseo laughed, but deep down, he was disgusted. Still, at least at this moment, he was the winner of this little kidnapping game. "Why did you call for me?" he asked.
Yagong held out a document. "Take this. I've approved the mission to assassinate the Ironblood Commander."
"Yes?" Gu Yangseo's expression hardened.
Damn it!
He could have commanded the operation without Yagong's approval, but the man was one step ahead of him.
He could read Yagong's mind. If the mission was going to be issued regardless, then Yagong intended to be involved in everything and receive frequent reports on the mission's progress.
With just one simple move, the Minor Heavenly Order had been rendered useless.
Truly, Yagong was a sinister serpent who remained still when poked with a stick, but the moment you turned around, he would open his mouth wide and lunge at you.
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"Thank you," Gu Yangseo said, trying his best to suppress his anger.
"Judging from this kidnapping incident, it seems that your claim that the Nine Ironblood Brigades were planning to assassinate the key figures of the Association was true."
Gu Yangseo retorted slyly, "Yes, and now that they know how incompetent I am, they won't come after me anymore. You're the one who needs to be careful now, Pavilion Master."
The two men locked gazes. Amidst the tension, both of them laughed at the same time.
"I'll report the results to you later. If this is all, I'll take my leave now." Gu Yangseo bowed his head politely, then left the office.
When Gu Yangseo was gone, Yagong's smile crumpled, and he tried his best to suppress the anger that made him want to flip his desk.
WHOOSH!
Appearing out of thin air, Ganghae asked, "Are you going to approve the operation as is?"
"I don't have a choice. If the order is going to be given no matter what, then it's better to keep it under our control. Anyway, we still have time. Even Crimson Tiger can't kill the Ironblood Commander overnight. In the meantime, as long as Milyeong can only dig out the First Young Lord's secret, we can still win this. Oh, and send a message to the Third Young Lady. I wish to meet her."
Yagong had faith in Milyeong. If Gu Yangseo had taken the First Young Lord's side, he also had to firmly take the Third Young Lady's side.
There was a time for everything. If one moved too early, they would be taken advantage of, and if one was too late, they would be discarded. It seemed that Gu Yangseo had judged that the time to show his fangs was right now, so he had to move before he was left too far behind.
"By the way, did Crimson Tiger really kill all of the Seven Wolves?" he asked.
Ganghae nodded. "Yes. Not a single one survived."
Yagong shook his head. "He really is a monster."
"That's exactly why… we must never lose Crimson Tiger to the Radiant Hall Director."
Yagong nodded gravely. For some time now, he had badly wanted to make Crimson Tiger his own subordinate. It would be perfect if he could persuade him into revealing the truth about this mission, but even if the agent didn't know anything, having his loyalty was enough.
"How can I get him on my side?" he asked.
Ganghae answered without delay, "At the end of the day, he's a martial artist, and all martial artists like the same thing."
"You mean… are you saying we should give him that?"
Ganghae nodded. "One can't achieve great results without bold investment. However, you should be patient for now. It is not yet the time to use that."
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