So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 33: Recruitment (2)

After finalizing negotiations with the former bandits—now enslaved—we headed to Hejing County.

Since marching into Hejing County with nearly twenty slaves would draw too much attention, we decided to take the bandit leader as a hostage. The rest were instructed to camp some distance away from Hejing County.

Due to the delay caused by dealing with the bandits, it was already completely dark by the time we reached Hejing County. As we did in Kuqa County, we stayed at an inn for the night and began our inspection of Hejing County the next morning.

After walking around the village for quite some time with the former bandit leader, who was being dragged along with a face full of resentment, I stroked my beardless chin and concluded, “It’s not much different from Kuqa County.”

The scene was similar—the martial artists of the branch headquarters were helping villagers with their work, and someone who appeared to be the Branch Leader was struggling to teach children while being bombarded with their endless chatter.

The one fortunate difference was that this Branch Leader wasn’t flying into a rage.

Just as I concluded there wasn’t much else worth examining, a loud commotion caught my attention.

“Warriors! Please help me!”

A middle-aged man was clinging to the leg of a young man in Demonic Cult attire, crying for help. The young warrior, who appeared to be from the Demonic Cult’s branch, wore a troubled expression. Judging by the items in his hands, he seemed to be in the middle of helping with other tasks.

‘Hmm. Are they shortstaffed??’

It made sense—even with warriors trained in martial arts aiding households in rotation, supporting an entire village’s labor demands was no small feat. Still, the labor of martial arts-trained warriors would be far more efficient than that of children, so even if they took turns, the efficiency would be higher.

‘Tsk. He should just wait his turn patiently. Or could it be that this branch is already showing signs of corruption, only helping those they’re close to?’

That thought crossed my mind, but the ensuing conversation proved me wrong.

“Please wait a moment. I’ve sent a message to the Cult. They’ll dispatch a force soon.”

“What if those bastards escape in the meantime!”

“Have faith in the Divine Cult’s forces. No matter how far those bastards run, they will be hunted down and punished.”

“We’re grateful for your help with chores and teaching our children, but catching criminals is your duty too! This is why we pay tithes to the Cult!”

It seemed someone had been robbed or had their property stolen.

Feeling the need to understand the situation better, I approached them and asked, “Is there a problem?”

In response to my question, the man clutching the warrior’s pants explained his grievance.

He was a nomad who traveled across Xinjiang with his companions, herding goats and donkeys, and selling milk and animal byproducts in villages along the way. While heading to Hejing County, they encountered bandits.

Though they fortunately escaped with their lives, they lost all their livestock and were on the verge of becoming beggars.

After hearing the story, I immediately struck the back of the former bandit leader’s head who was standing beside me.

Thwack!

“Ugh…”

While the bandit leader, whose pressure points had been sealed rendering him powerless, groaned in pain, both the pitiful nomad and the branch warrior looked at me with expressions questioning my actions.

Meanwhile, I lifted the chin of the bandit leader who was clutching his head and asked, “Don’t you recognize this face from somewhere?”

The nomad’s eyes widened as he scrutinized the bandit leader’s face.

“Th-this is him!! He’s definitely the leader of that bandit group!!”

“!!!”

At his shout, everyone around, including the branch warriors who had been watching, looked back and forth between me and the bandit leader in surprise.

I turned to look at Jin Hayeon, who was holding my identity token.

Since we had roughly finished inspecting Hejing County and people’s attention was already on us, I saw no need to hide our identities any longer.

Understanding my intention, Jin Hayeon pulled out the identity token from her sleeve and held it forward.

“This is the Eighth Disciple of the Supreme One, Young Master Il-mok.”

“We greet the disciple of the Heavenly Demon!!”

As soon as her introduction ended, the branch warrior performed a full kowtow, and the onlookers gradually began kneeling one by one.

“Rise.”

Still not used to this kind of power play, I told them to get up and said, “As the Eighth Disciple of the Supreme One, I came here after hearing news of those who disturb our Cult’s territory.”

“Th-then, have you eliminated all the bandits who were terrorizing us?!”

“Indeed.”

I answered with complete confidence.

Though our original purpose was inspection, there was no need to explain that in detail.

Moreover…

‘As expected, some are starting to lose faith.’

As I’d told Master, people tend to take kindness for granted. The nomad clinging to the warrior’s leg was proof of that.

So, I needed to take this opportunity to reinforce their wavering faith.

‘Though I’m not sure why I have to be the one to do this…’

Just then, the nomad, whose faith was lacking, cautiously asked.

“B-but why only the leader?”

“I killed the rest. It would be troublesome to drag dozens of corpses here, so I captured this one as proof that we eliminated the bandits.”

“!!!”

This time, Jin Hayeon, the two escorts, and even the bandit boss looked at me with shocked expressions.

I glared at all four of them, trying to convey with my eyes:

—Play along!

“Ahem. That’s correct.”

Seemingly understanding my intention, the two escort warriors coughed, and Jin Hayeon returned to her usual stoic expression.

Just then, an observant onlooker asked a sharp question.

“But weren’t you walking around the village with that bandit leader since morning? Why did you hide that fact?”

Well, it was for the inspection. Additionally, I had other plans for this bandit leader rather than killing him.

But explaining all that would only weaken the impact of my words.

“It was to test your faith!”

I decided to choose an answer befitting a disciple of a cult leader’s disciple.

“I observed the village to see how much faith you have in our Cult, but honestly, I am quite disappointed!”

At my rebuke, the villagers—including the nomadic herder with the weakest devotion—dropped to their knees again, babbling pleas.

“Oh, Savior!!”

“Please forgive us!!”

“We have committed a mortal sin, Young Master!!”

A wave of guilt washed over me as I looked at them fervently repenting, but there was no turning back now. It was best to wrap things up quickly.

Thud

“This is compensation for what you lost to those bandits. If it’s not enough, I’ll have the headquarters send you more.”

First, I threw my emergency money pouch to the nomad who had lost everything, then declared.

“The Divine Cult strives to help and protect you. If you take our kindness for granted, we won’t be able to help you. I’ll overlook this incident, but I expect you to have more faith in our Divine Cult and follow us.”

“Ahhh!!”

“We will follow you, Young Master!”

“Long live! Long live! Long, long live!!”

“Please save us!!”

Perhaps believing they had been forgiven for their sins, the villagers bowed to me as if I were Master himself.

“Then I shall take this scoundrel to the Cult and conclude this matter. All of you, return to your work.”

Having said that, I turned around without delay and headed towards the inn where the carriage was parked.

It wasn’t just because playing the role of a cult leader was burdensome.

‘Damn. I should have sent them farther away if I’d known this would happen.’

We had wasted too much time, and there was a risk that others might discover the bandits waiting outside the village.

Especially since, according to what we just heard, they had already requested support from the headquarters.

While we were wasting time here, the bandits might be annihilated by the Cult’s forces.

Not only would that expose my lie, but it would also be troublesome if the men I had other plans for died so meaninglessly.

‘Sigh. To think we have to leave without even receiving hospitality.’

The hospitality we received in Kuqa County flashed before my eyes, and when I glanced back, Jin Hayeon, the two guards, and the bandit leader were all looking at me with various expressions.

Some seemed impressed, others curious. I smacked the bandit leader, who still had a sour look on his face, on the back of his head again.

Thwack!

It was because of this guy that we had to leave without receiving any hospitality.

* * *

The carriage that left Hejing County headed toward the location where we had arranged to meet the bandits.

Perhaps because their leader was held hostage, they were waiting there obediently. We set off for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult headquarters with them in tow.

As a precaution, all the bandits had their pressure points sealed, blocking internal energy, as they rode horses following us.

And the bandit leader, who was essentially a hostage, was kept in the carriage with us to prevent any rescue attempts by his men.

I asked Hang Geon, who still wore a sour expression.

“What’s with that sour face?”

“How could I not be displeased when I’m being dragged around like this?”

I chuckled and replied, “Didn’t you hear back in the village? They called in the Cult’s forces to kill you. If it weren’t for me, you’d all be headless in a few days.”

“I’d rather die than be treated like this!!”

I was starting to get annoyed.

“I’ve been thinking this since yesterday, but you’re truly an idiot. It’s a waste that those men risked their lives to save someone like you.”

“Just kill me if you’re going to insult me like this!”

“Is your life just about you? If you have people following you, you should have a sense of responsibility. Right? It was the same yesterday when you were robbing people. You, the leader, were acting like you didn’t want to be there, making your subordinates do all the work while you just watched. You idiot. It’s obvious why you were framed.”

“Wh-what did you just say!”

“Shut up and listen! You’re a moron with nothing left but your pride. That newbie guy was from a well-off family, right? That guy would have risen so high that he wouldn’t even see the likes of you after a few years anyway, was it that hard to endure those few years? Did it have to come to your men risking their lives to desert en masse just because of your ego?”

“!!!”

Hang Geon’s eyes shook violently.

If at this point he had responded, I didn’t tell them to! They deserted on their own!’ I would have either killed him or thrown him out, regardless of my plans.

Working with such a worthless person who lacked any sense of responsibility would only lead to failure.

“If it were me, I would have seen it as an opportunity instead. I would have swallowed my pride, flattered him a bit, and grabbed onto his coattails. Sure, that punk might have seemed incompetent to you. But then, couldn’t you befriend him through some flattery first, and then gradually offer some bits of advice later? Don’t you think you should have done at least that much for the sake of these men who trust and follow you?”

“…”

Perhaps because I kept pushing him, Hang-geon, who had been stubbornly resisting, hung his head low, seemingly defeated.

Seeing him lost in thought, my anger subsided a little

A moment later…

As if he’d organized his thoughts, Hang-geon asked in a calmer voice.

“So, are you planning to spare us?”

“I’ll have to discuss it with Master, but if you do as you’re told, I have no intention of harming you.”

“I must survive, even as a slave. For the sake of my brothers.”

In response to Hang Geon’s bitter final words, I smiled gently and replied.

“Don’t worry. If you do your work well, you won’t have to live as slaves. Though I’m young, I am the Supreme One’s disciple. This time, shouldn’t you try to grab the right connection?”

“!!!”

Hang Geon, who looked startled, suddenly knocked his head against the carriage floor despite his bound arms and bowed.

“I shall serve you as my lord!”