NTN 173

Chapter 173

The guards had been waiting outside the council hall for nearly twenty minutes.

Then, at last, the main doors slowly began to open.

What unfolded before their eyes was an utterly shocking sight.

Seong Geon‑woo, Heo Yang‑won, and all the nobles were walking out arm in arm, looking as close as old friends—and every single one of them was beaming with bright smiles.

Soon after, Jo Gi‑jeong, who had been glancing around for his confidant, burst into hearty laughter and shouted,

“The misunderstanding’s been cleared up! Follow this group’s instructions exactly. My brother’s business is my business!”

While the stunned guards stood there unable to close their gaping mouths, Jang Mok‑hwa, who followed behind, handed them photographs of the rescue team members, including Wi Bo‑bae.

“Hurry and search the area to see if these three are nearby.”

If the priest intended to pin all the blame on the missing rescue team, then they were surely hiding somewhere inside the lord’s estate.

Inside a study at the Jo family estate.

A man was sitting by the window, speaking on the phone.

He was Jo Yi‑han, the second son of Jo Gi‑jeong.

—Listen carefully later. There’ll be a big boom, a celebratory explosion just for you, the future city lord.

The slightly rough voice on the other end carried a hint of laughter.

“An explosion? Then what about my father and my brother?”

Jo Yi‑han asked in alarm.

The priest on the other end let out a soft chuckle.

—Of course, they’ll be going to heaven together. Think about it—if they survive, do you really think you could become city lord, even without Heo Yang‑won and the other nobles? I know you couldn’t do it yourself, so I’m doing it for you. No need to thank me. Don’t worry. As long as you secure that person’s backing in First City, no one else will dare do anything.

As Jo Yi‑han fell silent, his confidant entered the study and quietly whispered a report into his ear.

—So? Do you hear the explosion?

The priest asked with a laugh.

A strange expression crossed Jo Yi‑han’s face.

“There was no explosion. Those people are… apparently dancing inside the council hall right now.”

—Dancing?

The priest echoed the words in disbelief, then fell silent for quite some time.

On the rooftop of Yun Bok Firearms.

Bae Sae‑byeok braced an orange rifle against the rooftop railing and fired downward in a slightly awkward posture.

Bang!

One of the Wasteland Wanderers collapsed, blood spilling from his body.

At the moment, the group of Wasteland Wanderers was desperately trying to break through the barricades blocking the courtyard entrance.

Rather than pushing his luck, Bae Sae‑byeok immediately crouched low, avoiding the instinctive return fire from the group.

After a round of indiscriminate firing, the Wasteland Wanderers—having lost their leader and commander—panicked under the heavy fire pouring down from inside the courtyard and fled in all directions.

Seeing this, Yong Yeo‑hong finally let out a breath of relief and quickly checked his weapon, reloading it. The rifle was borrowed from Yun Bok Firearms’ owner, who happened to be the younger brother of Nam‑i’s aunt. It was more than adequate for sniping.

At present, Bae Sae‑byeok and Yong Yeo‑hong were positioned at a relatively high vantage point, fighting alongside neighbors behind the barricades against isolated Wasteland Wanderers and undisciplined remnants of the city defense force.

Yong Yeo‑hong had received sniper training in the past. However, lacking opportunities to practice, he wasted over ten rounds before gradually finding his rhythm, eventually landing hits every two or three shots.

Compared to him, Bae Sae‑byeok was on another level—every bullet he fired struck its target, and with keen observation, he precisely singled out and eliminated the leaders of clustered enemies. Once their heads fell to a handful of his shots, the remaining enemies scattered on their own.

“When do you think this’ll end…?”

Yong Yeo‑hong muttered with a sigh, looking down from the rooftop.

So far, several defensive waves had been successfully repelled without much difficulty. But if this situation dragged on, no one could predict how it would end.

Bae Sae‑byeok glanced toward North Street and said,

“It’ll end soon. As long as the upper echelon of With City isn’t wiped out, once they unite and rise up, the Wasteland Wanderers won’t be able to hold out.”

The most obvious clue was that the city defense force still hadn’t launched a counterattack. No matter how incompetent they were, a standing army that trained regularly and had real combat experience in the wasteland wouldn’t collapse overnight.

Moreover, the noble estates on North Street maintained private troops capable of deploying overwhelming firepower—machine guns and even cannons—at any moment.

Bae Sae‑byeok had also heard rumors that the lord’s estate hid secret weapons prepared through close cooperation between the Hunters’ Guild and Machine Heaven.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The instant he finished speaking, a series of heavy explosions thundered through the air.

They came from the direction of North Street. The continuous artillery fire made the ground tremble faintly, and Yong Yeo‑hong could feel the building shake beneath his feet.

But it was impossible to tell whether the city defense force had finally launched its counterattack, or if the Wasteland Wanderers had seized cannons and begun smashing through the barricades.

After the barrage, gunfire resumed.

Soon after, chaotic noise surged from North Street toward the south. It sounded as though countless people were sprinting madly toward the city gates. Then a voice, amplified through loudspeakers, rang out:

—Drop your weapons, put your hands on your head, and squat down. If you surrender, you’ll be spared. You can even live as slaves on the estate.

As the announcement repeated, the clamor and gunfire gradually died down. Few people were willing to resist to the bitter end when an escape route remained.

At last, Yong Yeo‑hong faced Bae Sae‑byeok and let out a long sigh.

“It’s finally over…”

Inside the noble council hall at the lord’s estate.

Seated at the far end of the table, Seong Geon‑woo fiddled with a small speaker as he looked around at everyone present. A deeply satisfied smile was plastered across his face.

“Isn’t it great when everyone lives together in harmony and peace like this? If conflicts ever arise, you should settle them with dance battles, arm‑wrestling, or snowball fights.”

Heo Yang‑won nodded vigorously, breathing heavily.

“Exactly. What obstacle have we brothers ever failed to overcome?”

“That won’t do. There still needs to be hierarchy. We’re your uncles, after all.”

Morichi countered slowly.

Heo Yang‑won was about to snap back when a guard rushed through the doors, his face lit up with excitement.

“My lord! The first counterattack force has completely scattered the Wasteland Wanderers! Many of them gave up resisting after being promised amnesty. Order is gradually being restored in the city! We’ve also located the city defense force that had gone out of contact!”

Heo Yang‑won exhaled in relief and smiled.

“Doing two things at once was the right answer. In times like this, you can’t afford to be stingy. Showing mercy isn’t always a bad thing. Different situations call for different tactics.”

This incident made Heo Yang‑won feel that his position had solidified considerably. But now that everyone was “family,” there was no need to flaunt authority.

As orders for post‑incident cleanup were being issued, another guard hurried in.

“My lord, a report from the First City frontier outpost. A unit of First City’s regular army has appeared and joined up with several slave‑catching squads.”

Heo Yang‑won narrowed his eyes.

“As expected…”

Jang Mok‑hwa wasn’t surprised in the slightest. After confirming the priest’s true objective, she had already suspected that a particular faction in First City was behind this incident—possibly even the will of the First City Senate itself. They had long coveted With City, an autonomous strategic stronghold.

Heo Yang‑won surveyed the room, then smiled.

“If we hadn’t calmed things down this quickly, they would’ve found some excuse to march in here.”

Turning to Secretary Yu, he continued,

“Deploy the drone unit and bombard the wasteland ahead of that force. Inform them that we’ve already dealt with the refugees, so they’re not to approach any closer—or they might be attacked. Ha‑ha, a grand fireworks display should be plenty of entertainment for our citizens.”

“Yes, my lord. As always, peace comes first.”

Secretary Yu replied calmly.

“I know.”

Though angry, Heo Yang‑won hadn’t lost his composure. Considering the resources, trade, protection, and degree of autonomy they could gain, relying on First City was still the most pragmatic choice.

After confirming the situation was resolved, Jang Mok‑hwa signaled to Seong Geon‑woo. He immediately stood up and stowed the small speaker into his tactical backpack.

“We have some business to attend to, so we’ll be going now.”

Jo Gi‑jeong’s eldest son invited him with visible regret.

“Once everything’s settled, you must attend the ball!”

“If I have time.”

Seong Geon‑woo replied with a gleam in his eyes.

Heo Yang‑won glanced around, then spoke again.

“You’ll be taking three people with you—traveling without a car would be inconvenient. Here! Bring my specially modified bulletproof SUV.”

After giving the order, he looked at Seong Geon‑woo and spoke sincerely.

“I hope you like it.”

“I’ll gratefully accept.”

Seong Geon‑woo replied with a smile.

The olive‑colored bulletproof SUV left the lord’s estate and headed toward City Hall along North Street. Inside were Seong Geon‑woo, Jang Mok‑hwa, and the three rescue team members, including Wi Bo‑bae.

As expected, the rescue team had been found within the lord’s estate.

Ordinarily, confronting them while hypnotized would have been difficult, but with U‑dik’s help, the three quickly fell asleep.

With plenty of guards nearby, Jang Mok‑hwa hadn’t asked Seong Geon‑woo to use his Reasoning Clown ability, nor had she awakened them to undo the hypnosis and exchange awkward greetings.

Instead, she chose anesthetic gas—knocking them out and planning to handle the aftermath later.

Jang Mok‑hwa glanced back at the rear seats, then turned to Seong Geon‑woo, who was driving.

“How long will the Reasoning Clown effect last this time?”

That would determine how soon they needed to leave With City.

Seong Geon‑woo shifted slightly and replied,

“Since a circular argument has already formed, it should last at least ten to fifteen days unless something extraordinary happens. Even if they encounter situations that contradict the reasoning, unless the contradiction is extremely strong or completely opposite, it’ll just get absorbed into the loop—until those experiences accumulate past a critical threshold.”

Nodding, Jang Mok‑hwa asked curiously,

“That works out nicely. But all you really did was make them see you as a brother and feel inspired by your ideas, prompting them to help you. That has little to do with their everyday lives, and there’s almost no chance of an opposing situation arising. If no contradiction ever appears, what happens then?”

“Then the Noble Council will become the Brotherly Council.”

At his serious reply, Jang Mok‑hwa burst out laughing.

“That’s unlikely. They have real, practical conflicts. Over time, they’ll notice something’s off. Now then—what mistake do you think you made back there?”

She fully turned toward him, staring sternly.

After a moment of thought, Seong Geon‑woo answered,

“I should’ve sent you out first, Team Leader!”

Jang Mok‑hwa rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

“No, that would’ve been even worse! At the very least, you should’ve given me a signal before pulling something like that. Don’t just charge in all of a sudden! If I’d reacted even a little slower, we might’ve actually died!”

“Understood.”

Seong Geon‑woo replied.