Ch.272272. Suddenly, at That Moment! (2)

From an objective standpoint, the Eastern Continent nations—especially those near the Wu Empire—have remarkably excellent public security. Unlike the Western Continent, where bandits emerge from every mountain valley, highway robbery is commonplace, and even civilians typically experience at least one encounter with goblins or bandit groups.

The harsh natural environment and abundance of dangerous creatures that prevent people from settling freely in forests could be one reason, though the Western Continent faces similar challenges.

Since both regions have forests with comparable danger levels, there are too many commonalities to consider this the main factor.

If one were to identify the reason for such high security, it would likely be the public authority derived from centralized governance that has persisted despite being in a pre-modern stage. The scale of military force that rulers can mobilize is simply different.

Mediocre bandit groups become excellent opportunities for local officials and administrators who eagerly hunt them down. Considering how visible achievements affect promotions, these officials probably view bandits as walking promotion tickets.

Additionally, the Kingdom of Kore possesses an almost unbelievable level of regional control for a nation of this era, allowing them to dispatch local officials with practical authority throughout the country without major issues.

As a result, Kore’s public security is extremely stable. At the very least, one need not worry about being ambushed by humans while traveling on secluded paths—wild beasts are another matter entirely.

However, where there is light, darkness also exists.

No matter how excellent the public security or how powerful the authority and administrative capabilities, as long as humans inhabit a place, the emergence of criminal organizations remains virtually impossible to prevent.

This is especially true in a world where individual power can easily overwhelm public authority, and where undeserving types like cultists can obtain such tremendous power without much difficulty.

Therefore, criminal organizations certainly exist in the Kingdom of Kore, and despite strict crackdowns, they have managed to survive and persist until now.

The first king of Kore’s operation to eradicate criminal organizations—known as the “Great Purge”—took the extreme measure of deploying the military to subdue criminals, completely eliminating gangs that had been trying to crawl into the light amid the chaos.

At that time, Kore’s underworld had an abnormally high distribution of mid-level criminals due to the characteristic disorder of the nation-building era. After the Great Purge, only a few who went into hiding managed to survive.

These surviving organizations adapted to the rapidly changing political landscape.

A significant number of organizations changed their names and identities, abandoning their criminal identities altogether. Even without crime, they still retained modest wealth and influence, which they used to establish quasi-legal businesses to make a living.

Meanwhile, a comparable number of organizations blurred their identities to avoid crackdowns. In other words, they submitted to public authority, barely surviving in some ambiguous area between legality and illegality.

The ninja organization “Ryuuga” from the underworld underwent similar changes.

Originally, they were ninjas from the “Ryu” family that operated in the Kingdom of Yamato. They were a branch family established by the main family in Yamato to expand their influence.

Before the Kingdom of Kore was founded, this peninsula was in constant political turmoil, making it relatively easy to expand one’s influence amid the chaos.

Indeed, as a group of professionals who specialized in assassination and intelligence gathering, serving as an information agency, their skills were undeniable—their main family had been handling intelligence work for one of the kuni (domain, subordinate kingdom) in the Kingdom of Yamato.

In an era where violence overwhelmed the power of law, assassination was an easier and faster method of eliminating competitors than politics. The information gathered through their unique intelligence network and disguise abilities was truly overwhelming.

There was no shortage of demand for their services, which were similar to those of real-world intelligence agencies, and unlike in Yamato, they had no significant competitors here—a fortunate circumstance for them.

Thanks to this, they were able to rapidly expand their organization, achieving remarkable prosperity at the time. However…

Shortly after the kingdom’s founding, they became the primary target of public authority precisely because they had been too active.

In truth, once the country stabilized and the Kingdom of Kore was established, such groups were inevitably prioritized for elimination.

Their ties with foreign countries (potential enemies) were openly revealed, and there was clear evidence that they had assassinated high officials and hidden their spies everywhere.

Moreover, in their commitment to organizational autonomy, they hadn’t secured any particular backing, and they had grown too large to remain hidden.

Far from winning public support, they had gained notoriety in local communities and slums for wage theft and violence. As a result, they became a perfect target and achievement, literally torn apart.

Their headquarters, exposed due to internal betrayal, was reduced to ruins by the magic of spellcasters. Most of their bases in slums and throughout the city were discovered and eliminated. Those captured were publicly humiliated, becoming totems that raised social stability.

Having suffered such devastating damage that the organization practically disintegrated, the Ryu branch family was decimated, with its mid-level members captured and only a few bases remaining.

While some remnants survived, they had too many external enemies to either regroup or completely disband… and so 100 years passed.

During these hundred years, the structure of the Ryu branch family’s remnants changed… but they survived nonetheless.

However, their structure had long since changed from what it once was.

The original system, which maintained a tight organization through blood ties, had collapsed long ago. With even the methods for training specialized “ninja” agents completely lost, they ultimately contracted with the foreign deity “Infinite Librarian” to survive.

Thanks to this, they developed a ritual that used extremely simple procedures and several evil ceremonies to create one ninja at the cost of about 100 sacrifices. They recovered their strength by recycling ninja souls and resumed their activities.

Their main business was assassination and information gathering. Thus was born “Ryuuga,” a group that sought money and profit rather than the prosperity of the organization itself.

And so, the newly born “Ryuuga” had been gradually increasing its influence through covert assassination activities. Their headquarters, disguised as a warehouse and rooted in the slums where Seoul’s poor and ordinary urban workers lived, was now—

[—■■■■■!!!!]

Under attack by a massive monster—a hideous yet sacred beast that seemed to be a mixture of tiger (feline predator), bird, and human.

※ ※ ※

That day was like any other.

Publicly calling themselves “Ryuuga Trading Company” and actually functioning as a small trading company, they were in the middle of a meeting to analyze and organize various issues at their headquarters disguised as a warehouse.

Mid-level members (ninjas) scattered throughout Ryuuga’s branches and executives who could be considered the leadership were all gathered in one place for this regular meeting, and the topic was—

“Trade! We must increase the proportion of the trading company!”

“The front company? Don’t be ridiculous, Elder Seo!”

It was about whether to expand the scale of their front, Ryuuga Trading Company.

It might seem strange that they were raising their voices and clashing over a mere front company, but there was a reason for this.

Namely, the front company was now earning more money than their main business of assassination and information brokering.

Logically speaking, the unstable income from freelance assassination and self-employed information brokering couldn’t compare to that of a formal company—a trading company operated soundly without corruption based on the information they had gathered.

In particular, Ryuuga’s leader, who had somewhat perfectionist tendencies, had made this company more than just a shell corporation to avoid leaving any traces. This perfectionism influenced how they grew the company.

As a result, the trading company’s income share had grown to overwhelm their original organizational business. Just as the meeting was becoming heated over this seemingly unsolvable situation—

—Ding ding ding ding ding!!!

“Attack! We’re under attack!”

With the screaming cry of the organization member guarding the meeting room and the ringing of the magical alarm, the ninjas in the room tried to rise to intercept the intruder, but…

They didn’t actually need to intervene.

—KWAAAAAANG!!!

[—■■■■■!!!!]

Because immediately afterward, the meeting room wall was shattered, revealing a massive and hideous monster that appeared to be the intruder.