Absolute Regression Chapter 584

Episode 584: I won’t work unless you give me meat

In the afternoon, the full-scale dismantling of the organization began.
Officials gathered in front of the iron wall. The work here was well-divided, and those gathered now were mainly in charge of exploring the organization.

Hong In was in charge of directing this work.

“The organs here are expected to be more sensitive than before, so from now on, except in special cases, use of internal energy is prohibited. As you all know, if you touch anything wrong, you will all die!”

Hong-in tried to keep his officials from letting their guard down, because a mistake could mean death.

“Get to work!”

The officials began their work nervously. They began to examine the ground in front of the iron wall using a thin and long iron-like tool. The officials’ hand movements were extremely careful.

Geommu-geuk stood a little distance away and watched their work. Hong-in didn’t give Geommu-geuk any instructions. He knew that Geomwang treated him specially.
Even if that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t entrust him with such an important task when he was just starting out.

How long had it been like that? One of the officials found something.

“I think it’s here.”

Then other officials brought out chisels and hammers and began to carefully dig the place. Since more than half of the floor was made of stone and they had to dig without using their internal energy, the work progressed slowly.

Geommu-geuk watched the work in silence. At this rate, even if it took ten days, they wouldn’t be able to remove the door at this entrance.

Geommu-geuk glanced at Geomwang. He didn’t say anything, as if telling him to do whatever he wanted.

“I will help you too.”

As the sword dance began, Hong In looked at the Sword King. Then the Sword King nodded slightly. It meant to give him orders.

Hong-in was not happy with this situation. To entrust such a dangerous task to a first-time Geommu-geuk! Even if he was an expert, this task required experience.
He told Geommu-geuk several times that he really had to be careful because he was not good at it.

“Don’t worry!”

Hong-in prayed in his heart, “Please! Don’t cause any accidents!” because it seemed like he would start swinging the hammer here and there at any moment.

Cancancancan!

The movements of the swordsman were quick and skillful.
Hong In and the other officials were surprised by his appearance.

“No!”
“Yes!”

The hand movements of the swordsmanship became faster and faster.
Hong-in looked at the sword king urgently and asked for help.
However, the sword king just watched silently.

When the sword dance drama came out, the work speed became incomparably faster. At first glance, it may seem like they are just digging roughly, but how could the sword dance drama be like that?

The swordsman was digging while sending out his energy at the end to check what was underground. It was several times more difficult to use energy to check what was underground than to send energy into the air. He was doing it so skillfully and without any trouble.

How far down did he go?
Finally, a part of the organ was revealed there.
Hong-in called out to another official who was waiting behind him.

“The institution has revealed itself.”

Then an official came over.

I could feel the sword dance.

‘This interest is not an official of the Hwangryongmu-gwan.’

He was hiding a special prayer that was not that of a regular official. He might have been able to avoid the eyes of others, but he could not avoid the eyes of the Geommugeuk.

Yes, I don’t know about other tasks, but dismantling an organization would require a proper organization expert. Since there are so many people at the Hwangryongmu-gwan, the ordinary officials wouldn’t even know that this man is the direct subordinate of the Sword King.

After examining the revealed organs, the man reported to the Sword King.

“It is an organ that prevents attempts to forcibly break down walls or dig into the ground.”

And then he said to Hong In.

“Please reveal as much as possible. Our group will take care of the rest.”
“Understood.”

Hong In looked at Geommu-geuk without realizing it. As if he had been waiting, Geommu-geuk went to the official who was working across from him.

“I’ll take this. Please finish my part.”

After changing with him, they started digging again quickly.
The officials who had been looking at them with concern at first changed their gazes. The amount of work that Geommu-geuk had already done was enough to take several days.
The other side also revealed the organ. They didn’t just dig randomly. The organ was installed at a different height than where they had previously worked, and they dug it out precisely without a single scratch.

Hong In couldn’t hide his surprise.

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

I should have said, “That’s amazing,” but I felt like if I praised this newbie, he’d get excited and use too much force when he hit the hammer.

“I have a very sensitive hand. I’ll do that side too.”

The swordsman began to skillfully hammer away at the exposed organs while circling around them.
The swordsman concentrated on his work. He didn’t think about what was beyond the wall, what the officials would do, or what the sword king was thinking. He was absorbed in hammering as if he had fallen into a state of ecstasy.

The Sword King silently watched the sword dance with frightening concentration.
The officials who had been watching with concern soon changed their gazes to admiration. Now, the sword dance looked like an artist carving a sculpture.

When the land on all sides was eroded away, the hidden organization was revealed.

“That’s it for today. It’s meal time.”

At Hong In’s words heard from behind, Geommugeuk put down his hammer.

“It’s already this late.”

The officials gathered around the sword dance.
Since their lives were at stake, the people they liked the most were neither good-natured nor kind to me.

The people they liked the most were the ones who were good at their jobs. Because they were doing work where one person’s mistake could kill many people. If the work went well, they could get out of this hellish place as soon as possible.

In that sense, I don’t know how much the sword dance drama shortened my work time today. Plus, the personality was good.

“I’m starving! Give me meat, meat! If you don’t give me meat, I won’t work starting tomorrow!”

The Geommu-geuk sat around with the officials and ate. Meat was served.
Several people came over and declared their names. Since they were from the military, they were not fundamentally evil people.

This is always the first thing I wondered.

“Why did you come here?”

He looks strong and has good dexterity. No matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to come to a place like this.

At someone’s question, Geommugeuk’s gaze turned to Geomwang, who was sitting across from him eating.

“I came here because they said I could become stronger.”

The officials nodded. They did not deny that statement. Many of those who had held out until now had become experts who could unleash their sword energy.

“You said you were a hundred against one?”
“Is there no end to human greed? They just want to be a thousand against one, or a thousand against one. Why did our senior come down here?”

The first day of work underground ended with the sword dance naturally blending in with them.

That night, something unexpected happened.
The Sword King brought several large bags and distributed them to the officials.

“Everyone, take one.”

As the tightly pressed inner energy was released, it swelled up like a flower and surprisingly, it was a cotton quilt.
No matter how tightly the quilt was pressed, it must have been moved up and down several times to move this much.
Geommu-geuk cheered in joy.

“It’s a new blanket!”

He immediately took the quilt, laid it on his bed, and threw himself on it.

“Eww! It’s so soft!”

The officials looked at him with surprised faces because the Sword King’s appearance was so sudden.

“The hard work has begun, so get some rest and prepare yourself. Take it.”

Only then did the officials relax and take the blankets. Who wouldn’t like to be given a new blanket? Everyone was happy.

Of course, the voice of the newcomer was the loudest.

“The smell of a new comforter is so good!”

At dawn, when everyone was asleep, Geommu-geuk met Geomwang at the place where he had been working during the day.
Geomwang sat on the exposed organ without fear and stared blankly at the wall. He knew Geommu-geuk had come without even looking back.

“If you weren’t going to sleep anyway, why were you complaining about the blanket? Wasn’t it because of you?”
“Work is hard, so you should at least get some proper sleep.”

The Sword King asked without turning his head.

“Tell me the real reason.”

He was convinced that there was another reason for the sword dance. That was why he had brought the blanket to hear that reason.

“You might feel offended when you hear that.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been cursed at a lot.”
“Teacher? Who would dare curse at a teacher?”
“Aren’t you the one who’s prepared to curse? So speak comfortably.”

The sword dance revealed the reason.

“Everyone looks so tired.”

The Sword King turned his head and looked at Geommugeuk. Is that something to be offended by? Geommugeuk said calmly at the look in his eyes.

“If I were those people’s parents, I would have sworn at the teacher.”

The Sword King was completely unperturbed, as if he understood even those words.
However, a sharp remark was added to them.

“But here, they only selected officials who had no family.”
“!”

As if chiseling a stone with a hammer, the swordplay began.

“You said you were called a big shot here?”

The expression on the Sword King’s face, as he turned his gaze back to the wall, was slightly stiff.
The word “large” certainly meant more than just a superior, but also had a sense of being close to family. That must have been why it sounded like this to him.

Aren’t you now being called a big shot by someone who doesn’t have a family and getting cursed at by their parents?

“I told you that you would be offended.”
“Don’t be offended. It’s something you chose for yourself. It’s a lot of money.”
“That’s why you would be even more offended. Your child was tricked for money, of all things.”

The Sword King glanced at the Sword Dance again.

“Of course, the person who planned and carried out that work would have been the Hwangryonggwanju.”

The sword dance pretended to offer a carrot, but ended up swinging a whip.

“But you knew what kind of officials he had gathered.”

He used to tell Yeon Baek-in that a bad person should go away while getting cursed at. But now he didn’t show that shamelessness.

“Don’t hit it when you’re angry. It’ll explode.”

The Sword King, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly threw the shoe he was wearing on his waist at the Sword Dancer.

“Why are you complaining about your parents at such a young age!”

The swordsman caught the flying shoes one after another.

“Aren’t I an unusually rich person? I know a little about parents’ feelings.”

The sword dance could be seen. The sword king did not say sorry, but he apologized by throwing his shoe, breaking his composure.

The swordsman took the shoes and placed them next to the organ where he was sitting.

“Still, I was grateful for the blanket.”

The Sword King looked down at the shoes placed next to each other and answered.

“I didn’t give it to you because of you. You heard a noise from beyond that wall? Bring me a blanket.”

The swordsman laughed at his joke, walked to the wall, and put his ear to it again.

“I hear that sound again.”
“What is it this time?”

Geommugeuk closed his eyes tightly.
After a while, unexpected words came out of Geommugeuk’s mouth.

“The officials want to see the stars.”

In an instant, the smile disappeared from the Sword King’s face.

“That’s nonsense!”
“Why doesn’t it make sense?”

Geommugeuk lifted his ear from the wall and turned to the Sword King.

“Are you worried that they might go out and run away? Are you worried that their hearts might waver?”

Geommugeuk added after a brief pause.

“What’s wrong with that? That’s what the teacher said. When I asked what would happen if the officials spread rumors about this place, he said this. What’s wrong with that?”

The Sword King said nothing.

“What if someone runs away? What if that happens? If I look inside later, I’ll let them go. Are you sure you don’t plan on letting them go?”
“Why are you doing all this to show favor to the officials? It’s something they don’t want or understand.”

The Sword King picked up the shoe next to him. It was an expression that he would throw it again if he didn’t like the answer. This time, it would not be an apology, but anger.
Sword Dance answered calmly.

“Because for some of them, this might be the last sky they ever see while alive.”

The shoe did not fly out of the Sword King’s hand. But it did not put it down either.

“And this isn’t a favor to them. It’s a favor to you, Teacher.”

Geommugeuk said to the Sword King, who was making an expression asking what he meant.

“I’m giving you a chance. Do what you have to do, even now.”

One of the shoes flew back to Geommugeuk.

“You said I was too sentimental?”

The Sword King asked, holding the remaining shoes.

“So? What do you get out of me being a better person?”

Geommugeuk answered with a smile.

“You told me last time. Even if you win, it’s more proud to beat eight stars than seven, and even if you lose, it’s less shameful to lose to eight stars than seven. I’m the same way. I also want to fight someone who’s a little better.”

In the end, the Sword King couldn’t throw the remaining shoes he was holding. It’s been a day since the Sword Dance came down, and I never thought I’d make such a joke.

“Hey! Can you stop climbing?”

Kwonma opened his eyes wide and asked again.

“What did you buy and bring in?”

The person who answered his question was Ian.

“It’s a blanket.”

Ilhwageomjon, who was listening to the report together, confirmed it again.

“A blanket? You mean the blanket we know?”
“Yes, it’s a blanket.”

That master who was nervous about swordplay bought a blanket?

At this moment, the best martial artists in Tongcheon-gak and Eunwol were closely monitoring Hwangryongmu-gwan.
In particular, they were thoroughly monitoring the entrance to the underground stage, where the Sword King was caught buying a large number of blankets in the market. He said that he did not bother to hide his actions.

That wasn’t the only strange report.

“And they say there were dozens of people there last night.”
“Dozens? So?”

Did he move somewhere? Did he carry out some kind of mission? Or maybe not?
But the answer Ian gave was incomprehensible.

“They gathered on the stage and then went down again.”

In fact, Ian, who was reporting, couldn’t understand it either. So I asked the Tongcheon-gak unmanned person several times. Was that really true?

“He just went down?”
“Yes, he just stood there and looked at the night sky and then went down.”

Kwonma looked at Ilhwageomjeon, but she also didn’t understand. This was a report as bizarre as buying a blanket.

“Was there a cult leader among them?”
“Yes, it is said that the cult leader and his teacher were together.”

Ilhwageomjon smiled and said that the sword dance was going on. He couldn’t imagine what was going on, but one thing was certain.

“I told you at the beginning, no matter who the enemy is, it won’t be easy to stay with the cult leader for ten days.”