Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 72

“This is much worse than what I saw on the news.”

In front of the Kang family mansion.

Jang Yeonju, who had stopped her bike, showed discomfort.

The old gate and walls were covered with graffiti mocking and criticizing the Kang family.

It was the act of the protesters surrounding the mansion.

They demanded the retrieval of the title from Duke Kang, claiming it was a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The signs they held suggested they were a civic group, but their actions were radical and political.

“That someone growing up in this environment hasn’t gone mad is impressive.”

Since joining Jang Yeonju, Noh Junyeob, who had been silent, finally spoke up.

It was just before dawn.

The protesters were quiet.

They were asleep in dozens of tents illegally set up around the mansion.

Bang!

Noh Junyeob’s gun muzzle spewed fire.

“Should I just burn all of it down?”

He didn’t particularly mean to side with the Kang family.

Like most peers, Noh Junyeob had no interest in the Kang family. He didn’t care how they were treated.

However, one sign around the tents annoyed him.

“Even the youngest son’s admission is fraudulent! All of Duke Kang’s children are criminals!”

The protesters were targeting Kang Jaehyuk’s admission to Lion’s Castle.

It had been years since he had proven his qualifications after a reevaluation, but the truth revealed back then was ignored, with the initial accusations still hanging over him.

“What’s the point if these guys protesting don’t even watch the news?”

Noh Junyeob had lost to Kang Jaehyuk and thus lost power.

If Kang Jaehyuk was being ridiculed, he, in turn, was being made a fool of.

Just as he was about to burn the annoying signs and tents.

“The news doesn’t report the truth.”

An aged voice murmured softly.

Turning his gaze, Noh Junyeob saw something huge, like a giant caterpillar… no, it was a sleeping bag wriggling on the asphalt.

“The stations that broadcast the live reevaluation of the young master’s admission mentioned him not even once after the broadcast ended. Videos shared through social media have long since been deleted. Some who didn’t see that broadcast still believe there were irregularities in his admission.”

An old man with white hair poked his head out from the sleeping bag.

In the early hours of the morning, he had slipped out of the mansion while the protesters were asleep.

The chilly dawn air had forced him to bundle himself in the sleeping bag, where he had fallen asleep.

Having removed the sleeping bag and tidied himself, he respectfully greeted Jang Yeonju and Noh Junyeob.

“You have been sent by Young Master Kang Jaehyuk, haven’t you? I must apologize for greeting you late after falling asleep. I am Steward Hwang, who has served the Kang family all my life.”

“Oh, um, yes…”

Jang Yeonju and Noh Junyeob seemed slightly confused.

First impressions are crucial.

No matter how much someone claimed to be the steward of a Duke family, if found sleeping on the roadside, it didn’t inspire confidence.

Steward Hwang, sensing the suspicion, pulled out several photos from his pocket.

They were pictures taken with Jaehyuk in his childhood.

“Wow, Jaehyuk had a real sword since he was young?”

“Why a sword instead of a bow?”

“It was taken when the young master was around nine years old. Even then, he practiced wielding the sword thousands of times daily.”

“When did he get time to shoot a bow thousands of times as well?”

“Uh… anyway, even when he would faint from swinging the sword, he would curse his enemies. His innate valor was quite remarkable.”

“When did he…”

“The expressions in the photos are rather gloomy. Though it’s not captured in the photos, was the mansion surrounded by protesters even back then?”

“Indeed. After his training, the young master would diligently erase the graffiti on the walls. Even when the protesters hurled insults and rotten eggs, he solemnly erased the graffiti with his small hands, showcasing a commendable equanimity from that age.”

“After erasing graffiti, he practiced shooting the bow?”

“……”

Unlike Noh Junyeob’s continuous obsession with the bow, Jang Yeonju seemed more serious.

The recollections Steward Hwang shared, as if precious memories, about Jaehyuk’s childhood, were quite intense.

‘At least I’ve ascertained that there are people trying to topple the Kang family.’

The media’s attitude, broadcasting the nationwide reevaluation of Kang Jaehyuk’s admission, then covering up the results; the civic groups persistently tormenting the Kang family for eight years.

It was irrational.

A certainty arose that there were forces moving behind them.

Naturally, suspicion grew.

Was the Duke Kang, who once rose to the level of a National Treasure, really a traitor?

Why does no historical record highlight him?

It seemed like a subject worth pondering.

“We should depart before dawn.”

Jang Yeonju, starting the bike, urged Noh Junyeob and Steward Hwang.

***

Transportations that implement magical engineering had superior energy efficiency.

Without using resources like oil or electricity, they operated at higher speeds using only magic power.

Constructed with metals from another world, having excellent magic conductivity, their durability outclassed steel.

They were able to traverse even rough lands in dangerous areas where infrastructure had been abandoned due to the spontaneous appearance of one-time gates.

“Do people actually live in such a place?”

The long-neglected road.

Even through the cracked asphalt, not only weeds but trees as well, were sprouting.

It was hard to believe people lived in an isolated city at the end of a road that no conventional vehicle could reach.

“Nothing special about it. Areas where gates appear frequently may be disasters for ordinary people like me but are lands of opportunity for players like yourselves.”

Regions like Gurisi, where gates repeatedly appeared unexpectedly, meant that even if roads and public facilities were built, they’d collapse again soon.

Therefore, the government ceased pouring taxpayers’ money, but numerous players had made their homes there.

It was the establishment of a kingdom that law enforcement couldn’t reach, built by them.

There were dozens of such regions across Korea.

It wasn’t because South Korea was incompetent.

China and Japan, competing as the strongest in East Asia, and even the absolute powerhouse, the United States, refrained from pouring taxpayers’ money into danger zones, entrusting order to private players instead.

That approach had proven far more efficient.

“I’ve never experienced such sites even when dispatched by the guild…”

“The guilds affiliated with Lion’s Castle probably wouldn’t assign any dangerous missions to students. Likely, they’d send you to farm in already cleared gates… Ah, that doesn’t mean our young master intended any harm to you two. Perhaps he deemed you two sufficient for this mission… Yes, perhaps, which might be why you were sent. Perhaps.”

“……”

How many times is he going to say perhaps?

Jang Yeonju and Noh Junyeob became more anxious.

The party was already entering Gurisi.

Although signs like ‘Welcome to Gurisi’ were absent, buildings that were long since collapsed or barely standing attested to the city’s existence.

“The name’s quite strange. What does Gurisi mean?”

“It’s likely a distorted place name. The full name has probably been forgotten.”

There were many cases of lost place names.

The scars left on the world by the upheaval were still very vivid.

Vroom.

Exchanging glances, Jang Yeonju and Noh Junyeob switched the magical engineering-powered bike to low output mode, drastically reducing the noise.

Their destination, a junkyard, was across the silent city.

It was where they were to rendezvous with the Smith of the Song clan.

“Old man Song, what was he thinking? When he hurriedly packed his belongings, I thought he’d been scouted by a guild, but he was just waiting for those brats? Has he gone senile?”

Upon arrival, the worst scenario awaited the party.

Song, the blacksmith of the Song clan, was restrained by several thugs.

Having sized up Jang Yeonju, Noh Junyeob, and Steward Hwang, the leader of the thugs aimed a baseball bat at Song’s head and spoke.

“Hey, kids. What’s your relationship with this old geezer?”

“What the hell, now even neighborhood thugs are talking to me?”

Noh Junyeob sneered in disbelief.

A second year at Lion’s Castle.

They were on a different level than first years, an already evolving player.

Moreover, Noh Junyeob was the former captain of the rifle club.

Skill-wise, he ranked among the top of the second-year students.

He wasn’t the type to be intimidated by bullies holding an old man as a hostage.

“You have quite a tongue, kid. Riding such an expensive bike, are you a noble or something? Works for me. If I take your ransom along too, I could make a decent haul.”

The thug leader gestured, and new figures emerged from atop the piles of junk around the scrapyard.

People with tattoos on their necks and foreheads, just like the thugs holding Song.

Clearly, they were the same group as the thugs.

Noh Junyeob slowly took a step back as the number surpassed fifty.

“Steward Hwang? Isn’t it too much that the meeting point information got leaked? Clearly, it’s the client’s fault, so would it be fair if we just abandon the mission and flee?”

“I’m already grateful enough that you’ve come this far with us. Should you flee, I’d have no right to question it. However, I do not know how the young master might perceive this…”

“……”

“Do you think you can run away?”

The thugs snickered.

The entrance to the scrapyard was blocked with several 10-ton trucks.

In an atmosphere growing severe.

“How much should I pay for his ransom?”

Jang Yeonju cautiously raised her hand.

“Hahaha! At least you’re reasonable! But do you brats have what it takes?”

Laughing uproariously, the thug leader responded with a sinister tone.

“Three million.”

‘… That’s doable.’

“In dollars. Or forty thousand community points. How about it?”

“……”

They never intended to release the blacksmith or even let us go in the first place.

Jang Yeonju, having understood, signaled to Noh Junyeob.

Her glance conveyed that fighting was the only option.

Even amidst usual bickering between them, Noh Junyeob could read her meaning.

“Alright. I can’t miss this opportunity for Kang Jaehyuk to owe me.”

Clicking his tongue, Noh Junyeob discreetly loaded his bullets.

He reminded himself that the woman beside him was Jang Yeonju.

Yes, it was Jang Yeonju.

In confrontational circumstances, there were few as threatening as her, but thinking of her as an ally, she was the most reassuring.

“Hoo.”

With a deep breath, Noh Junyeob heightened his focus.

The target was the thugs restraining the blacksmith of the Song clan.

I must ensure the hostage’s safety for a moment so that Jang Yeonju can run wild…

As he pondered and searched for his path of escape, his expression crumpled suddenly.

“Hey, put that bow down, will you? Are you trying to get us both killed?”

“……”

Regardless of his affiliation with the Ocean Shipping or her lineage to Bow Saint, Noh Junyeob saw Jang Yeonju as the best when she put down the bow.

Boom!

As if in frustration, Jang Yeonju stomped strongly.

Tatata-tat-tat-tat!

Noh Junyeob’s gun spewed fire, and her figure swiftly reached the thug leader.

Already twisting her upper body.

Her blue hair fluttered as she spun.

In that instant, a golden lion crest on her riding jacket became visible.

“Lion’s Castle…?”

By the time the leader recognized the identity of the girl, it was too late.

A spinning kick from her blind spot smashed his jaw.