Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Laying the Mat and Waiting (1)

Lee Ga-heun's lips trembled.

"How dare you!"

Her eyes blazed with fury.

Lee Ga-heun was a woman who had risen to the seat of Chieftain of the Blue River Stronghold—one of the Eighteen Forest Strongholds—despite being a woman. Her path to that position could not have been ordinary.

At first, she had been too weak to resist and had suffered greatly.

Her beauty had drawn the attention of many who coveted her body, and she had endured countless assaults. She had desperately wished for rescue, but no one had extended a hand.

When both body and spirit lay in ruins, she came to a realization.

'In this wretched world, the only one I can trust is myself.'

Once her thinking changed, her actions changed.

She no longer cowered. Instead, she took the initiative.

Her weapons were her beauty and her seductive body.

Her first target was Geum Han-tae, the second-in-command of the Blue River Stronghold. Geum Han-tae was a trusted confidant of the former Chieftain Gwak Han-sul, possessing a brilliant mind that served as strategist.

Wrapping Geum Han-tae around her finger had not been difficult. Lee Ga-heun had granted him heavenly pleasures.

In return, she obtained a portion of his martial arts.

It was not the complete secret techniques but merely a fraction, so Geum Han-tae had not been particularly guarded.

The problem was that Lee Ga-heun had not obtained martial arts from Geum Han-tae alone. She had extracted techniques from every capable martial artist in the Blue River Stronghold, then sowed discord among them.

By the time the Chieftain Gwak Han-sul learned of this, the internal strife had already spiraled beyond control. In the end, Gwak Han-sul attempted to kill Lee Ga-heun to prevent future trouble.

But Lee Ga-heun had instead incited Geum Han-tae to launch a rebellion. Caught off guard, Gwak Han-sul crumbled.

Lee Ga-heun had stolen the martial arts manual from the dead Gwak Han-sul, used it as a foundation to train, and eventually grew strong enough to kill even Geum Han-tae.

That was how Lee Ga-heun had, by her own vicious strength, become Chieftain of the Blue River Stronghold. For such a woman, Dam Ho's insult was an unbearable humiliation.

"I will tear you to shreds!"

As Lee Ga-heun snarled with venom—

Crack!

Her head snapped to the side with a heavy impact. Dam Ho's massive palm had struck her across the cheek.

Lee Ga-heun's pupils trembled.

For a moment, she could not comprehend what had happened. But she quickly grasped the situation, and fury rose within her.

"How dare you! You—"

Crack!

Dam Ho's palm struck her cheek again.

Lee Ga-heun's head snapped sideways once more, and the side of her face struck by Dam Ho swelled instantly.

"Chieftain!"

"You bastard!"

The Blue River Stronghold warriors, enraged at seeing their Chieftain humiliated, charged forward.

In that instant, Dam Ho's body and fist arched backward like a bow.

"Brother!"

"Brother!"

Bang Jin-bo and Hwang Hye-ryeong cried out simultaneously.

The next moment, Dam Ho's fist hammered into the ground.

Ka-boom!

Kwa-kwa-kak!

The stone floor shattered with a deafening roar, sending fragments flying in every direction.

"Kuh!"

"Gah!"

The Blue River Stronghold warriors rushing to Lee Ga-heun's aid were struck down by flying stone shards.

Some had their heads split open and bled freely; others had their arms broken and groaned in pain; still others were struck in the abdomen and could barely breathe.

There were dozens of them.

Lee Ga-heun too had been struck by a flying shard, and blood trickled from her forehead. Having suffered a wound to her face, she collapsed to the ground.

Dam Ho seized the collar of the fallen Lee Ga-heun and hauled her upright.

"You! Die!"

In that instant, Lee Ga-heun struck like lightning. From her hair she had drawn the jade hairpin—a weapon known as the Blood Dragon Dagger. Once it pierced flesh, it could never be removed, and it induced such profuse bleeding that the victim was brought to the brink of death in moments.

Clack!

But the Blood Dragon Dagger did not even reach Dam Ho before it stopped. In the blink of an eye, his hand had seized her slender wrist.

"You?"

The next moment, Dam Ho applied pressure.

Crack!

"Aaaaah!"

Lee Ga-heun's slender wrist shattered like a straw.

With her wrist broken in an instant, she let out a piercing scream. The sight of her was ghastly enough to make one's blood run cold.

Crunch!

Dam Ho's fist crashed into Lee Ga-heun's face. Without even the chance to resist, she lost consciousness.

"……"

An oppressive silence descended upon the hall.

This was the Tyrant's Stronghold.

In the very heart of the Eighteen Forest Strongholds, one of their own Chieftains had been ruthlessly crushed by an outsider.

Dam Ho ground his foot into Lee Ga-heun's supple body as she writhed on the ground like a worm.

"No matter how in heat you are, you should at least choose your target."

His voice, devoid of any emotion, sent a chill through Lee Ga-heun's body. Though she had lost consciousness, her body still reacted.

The Chieftains of the Eighteen Forest Strongholds rose in alarm.

"The—the—"

"How dare you cause a disturbance in the forest!"

But no one moved rashly.

Dam Ho was a guest of Grand Chieftain Hwang Gyeong-mun. Though he had committed an offense, without Hwang Gyeong-mun's permission, they could do nothing.

Gwak Sam, Chieftain of the White Deer Stronghold, stepped forward.

"Grand Chieftain."

"Speak."

"An outsider has caused a disturbance within the Tyrant's Stronghold. Is it wise to leave him be?"

"A disturbance, you say…"

"This Chieftain has been humiliated. Such a debt must be repaid in blood."

"Is that so?"

"It is. The way of the forest is to return what is received. You must punish this man at once to uphold the law."

"I see."

"Anyone outside the forest who dares to touch one of its own must be brought to justice."

"Hmm."

Hwang Gyeong-mun nodded.

He turned to look, and Jo Yun-san and Oh Jong-sam were watching him with cold, appraising eyes—waiting to see what decision he would make.

Hwang Gyeong-mun's eyes narrowed.

Gwak Sam was not wrong.

He did not know what Dam Ho intended by humiliating Lee Ga-heun, but this was a place governed by the law of the forest.

If Dam Ho were left unpunished, the entire order of the forest would crumble.

"Tch!"

Hwang Gyeong-mun clicked his tongue and rose. A mountainous aura surged forth, dominating the surroundings.

"Hmm!"

Jo Yun-san and the others let out low murmurs.

'The old man still has this much power?'

'As expected of the one who has ruled the forest for decades.'

But they never let their true feelings show.

Hwang Gyeong-mun passed the fallen Lee Ga-heun and approached Dam Ho.

"Father!"

Hwang Hye-ryeong called out, but Hwang Gyeong-mun did not so much as answer.

His gaze was fixed solely on Dam Ho.

Dam Ho was still grinding his foot into Lee Ga-heun's body. The supple figure that had likely driven countless men wild was now nothing more than a filthy piece of meat under his boot.

Hwang Gyeong-mun finally spoke.

"Do you intend to continue?"

At that, Dam Ho kicked Lee Ga-heun in the waist.

"Ah!"

Even unconscious, Lee Ga-heun screamed as she was sent tumbling.

Hwang Gyeong-mun watched her ragged body roll across the ground like a discarded rag.

His gaze was deep and inscrutable; one could not tell what he was thinking.

"This is the forest."

"I know."

"She is a Chieftain of one of the Eighteen Forest Strongholds."

"I know."

"I am the Grand Chieftain of the Eighteen Forest Strongholds."

"I know."

"What you have done is tantamount to smearing mud on my face."

"I know."

"So you know everything. And yet you still did this to Lee Ga-heun. How interesting."

Hwang Gyeong-mun let out a faint laugh.

In the next instant, an overwhelming aura rose like a tidal wave, crashing toward Dam Ho. But Dam Ho did not so much as blink and continued speaking.

"I have no fondness for a bitch in heat who throws herself at anyone."

"Even if she is a bitch, she is a member of this stronghold."

"And?"

"If you commit a crime, you must pay the due price. Behind this hall is a place called the Penitence Cave. Stay there for three days, then come out."

"Very well."

Dam Ho nodded readily.

"Grand Chieftain!"

"We cannot allow this!"

The chieftains behind Hwang Gyeong-mun protested.

Hwang Gyeong-mun turned to look at them.

"Then you deal with him yourselves."

"Grand Chieftain!"

"You know his epithet, I trust? The Fist Demon."

"……"

"He is said to be the finest fighter in all the martial world. But I am old now—my bones rust with every movement. Are you asking me to fight him personally? You jest."

Hwang Gyeong-mun smiled faintly. The oppressive aura that had dominated the hall vanished as if it had never been.

Jo Yun-san glared at Hwang Gyeong-mun, grinding his teeth.

'The old fox is trying to avoid getting his own hands dirty.'

But opposing Hwang Gyeong-mun's decision now was not easy either. A reckless move could drain their strength in a battle with Dam Ho before the true operation even began.

At that moment, Yun Chung stepped forward.

"If you insist on confining him in the Penitence Cave, then at least put the Demon Binding Chains on him."

"The Demon Binding Chains?"

At Yun Chung's unexpected suggestion, Hwang Gyeong-mun's brow furrowed.

The Demon Binding Chains were one of the treasures passed down through the forest for generations. Forged from Dark Iron—the hardest and heaviest metal in the world—they weighed a thousand jin.

Once locked onto the limbs, their crushing weight made it impossible to free oneself by one's own strength. They were known as the most terrible restraint in existence.

Yun Chung approached Hwang Gyeong-mun and whispered.

"That much is necessary to quell the other chieftains' discontent. Brother."

"Hmm!"

As if waiting for this, the remaining chieftains raised their voices.

"Put the Demon Binding Chains on him!"

"It must be done!"

"Hmm!"

In the end, Hwang Gyeong-mun let out a low murmur.

At that moment, Dam Ho stepped forward and extended both arms.

"Put them on."

"Is that truly acceptable?"

At Hwang Gyeong-mun's question, Dam Ho nodded silently.

"Brother."

Hwang Hye-ryeong gazed at him with anguished eyes.

She could not understand.

Even if Lee Ga-heun had provoked him, there had been no need to react so savagely.

The aftermath of his excessive response was consuming the entire Tyrant's Stronghold. Hwang Hye-ryeong was deeply unsettled by this.

At that moment—

"It will be all right."

Bang Jin-bo comforted her.

"What do you mean?"

"Brother would never do such a thing without good reason."

"But…"

"Trust Brother."

While everyone else looked on with doubt, there was not a trace of suspicion in Bang Jin-bo's eyes.

He trusted Dam Ho.

'When Brother does something like this, there must be a worthy reason.'

His faith bordered on devotion.

The Demon Binding Chains were locked onto Dam Ho's arms and legs.

The weight of a thousand jin bore down upon his limbs. An ordinary person would not merely be unable to move—they would be unable to breathe.

Jo Yun-san approached Dam Ho and whispered.

"You will never leave the Penitence Cave alive."

"Still haven't remembered, have you?"

"What?"

"You'd better start searching your memory. Because if you don't, I'll make you remember."

Dam Ho's voice left an eerily chilling aftertaste.

When Jo Yun-san looked up again, Dam Ho was being led away by the forest warriors, heading toward the Penitence Cave.