Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

The previously grand Heavenly Demon Palace was now in ruins.

Wreckage of broken walls and collapsed buildings were everywhere. Corpses of the sect members were scattered on the ground along with the destroyed remnants of the battle. The place was like hell itself, filled with broken stone debris, fallen bodies, bloodied weapons, and screaming people.

As soon as the old man walked away from the building, he saw many people in dark clothes emerging. They were all holding daggers coated in poison.

Even if the students didn’t know their identity, he knew them.

"Poison Sect... Why did the Tang Clan attack us? We have nothing to do with your business and we never will." The Sect Leader, often known as Heavenly Demon Mok-Rang, asked with a hoarse voice.

But all he heard was a mocking laugh.

"Do you think we can just let you off after seeing that kid? I’m sorry to say that it is impossible for you to raise such a monstrous talent, the Murim Alliance refuses to let another Demonic Human to be born." A bearded man in his forties with a dangerous aura answered him with a grin.

"Oh well, it doesn’t matter if he’s not here anyway. The Demon Sect will be gone from the continent after this."

Mok-Rang frowned when he heard that. He didn’t want to admit defeat, but he already saw his entire sect half-destroyed in front of him. No one could’ve imagined that his enemy would be so vicious to come to this extent.

A purple aura gathered in his palm as he channeled his Qi. He clenched his fist and felt the Qi flowing inside his body, warming him up and giving him strength to fight once again.

The group of dark robed people also prepared themselves. They spread out and surrounded Mok-Rang immediately.

In a normal situation, Mok-Rang wouldn’t be afraid of them. He could easily defeat them with a flick of a finger.

However, after fighting for a few weeks straight without rest, dealing with ruffians harassing his sect without rest and using a large amount of Qi and lifeforce to create a seal so no one could follow his disciples, he was at his limit.

His Qi was almost depleted. His body was poisoned to the core. All his internal organs were ruptured beyond saving.

In fact, being able to channel his Qi alone in this condition was impressive.

That being said, he was one of Murim’s strongest. A 8 Stars martial artist, someone who was about to reach the apex. Only by getting attacked by all sides that he was rendered to this condition.

And he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

As he was about to make the first move, he suddenly felt a new presence. The bearded man also felt it and they looked in the same direction.

"This is such a mess."

A group of four people appeared from the destroyed gate, walking carefully toward them. Their clothes were strange, at least for this world’s standard.

The one leading them was a young man with a ponytailed black hair and a woman wearing strange pink-tinted glasses.

Mok-Rang’s focus was on them for some reason. There was something wrong with them. It wasn’t as simple as their strange clothing. Rather, it was something that had to do with the way they carried themselves. And more importantly... They had no Qi in their bodies.

"What are civilians doing here?" The bearded man asked with a frown as he pointed at the group approaching them. "Stay out of here. This is Murim business."

Even if he led a group to attack the Demon Sect, the man was still a member of Poison Sect, one of the Neutral factions within the Murim Alliance. They had rules not to attack civilians as it would only lead to trouble for the Alliance itself.

But surprisingly, the young man turned his attention to him. A pair of intelligent eyes stared at the bearded man who flinched a little as if he was an insect being stared down by a predator.

"Guk-Bo from Poison Sect, huh?" He muttered under his breath. "Don’t worry, we’re no civilians. If you have to call us... then we’re Mercenaries. We will work with whoever has the highest bid. That being said, old man."

He turned his attention toward the Heavenly Demon. A devil-like grin formed on his face as he extended his hand.

"If you need help, just say how much you are willing to pay us."

Mok-Rang fell silent when he saw the grin on the young man’s face. It was so innocent yet at the same time so sinful. Then, he saw how confident these people were as they walked as if they didn’t care about Poison Sect or him at all.

However, just extending a hand to offer Demon Sect something was a mistake. The bearded man, Guk-Bo, realized their intention and exploded in anger.

"You’re trying to help the Demon Sect?!"

"No no no." Leo shook his head as he placed a finger on his lips as if he was hushed.

"We’re mercenaries. We just take whoever has the most money. If you offer something to us, we will even help you take down the old man over there. From the look of it, he will sweep the floor against you before falling. In short, both sides need a variable to win. And we offer our services."

He made a confident smirk that irked Guk-Bo more than it should be. Even Mok-Rang who listened to them didn’t know how to react and remained silent. He could feel the extreme confidence radiating from these people and that made him confused about what to do.

"We don’t need your help. Dealing with a dying Heavenly Demon is easy." Guk-Bo snarled at them, "Now stay out of here if you don’t want to get hurt."

"Is that so? What a shame." Leo shrugged his shoulders, "What about you, old man? You want to hire us to save you?"

Pride or not, Mok-Rang knew that his sect couldn’t afford to lose any more people. If they all died here, it was only a matter of time before Heavenly Demon Palace would be rebuilt by someone else.

’Even if they are weak, they will be able to at least stall the Poison Sect and let my disciple escape further.’

As a proud Sect Leader of a Martial Arts World, Mok-Rang didn’t like using others to fight for him. However, he had no choice but to do so. He couldn’t let his hard work be destroyed just because of some unfortunate circumstances.

"I will give you 500 Gold if you help me fight against the Poison Sect. 50 Gold extra for each kill."

It was an extraordinary amount of money. Especially in this world where normal people rarely saw more than one Gold in their lifetime. But he decided that it was necessary to keep his sect from annihilation.

Leo’s eyes brightened when he heard the money.

’Look at that. He’s desperate but doesn’t trust our ability. Poor Heavenly Demon. He should’ve died here if it went according to the story. But he offered such a nice pay. To establish ourselves, taking that gold is necessary.’

A first job in a new world. Even though it was given to him without expecting much, he would make sure that he completed it to the best of his ability. And this would be a good test to compare his group’s abilities against these martial artists.

’Guk-Bo are at least 4 Stars martial artists. He’s quite strong in this world and is able to make a name for himself. If we complete this job, there might be problems but our abilities will also be known. No risk, no reward.’

After thinking for a while, Leo had finally made his decision.

"It’s a deal."

"You’re dead, young man. You have chosen a grave mistake." Guk-Bo spat to the ground before shouting at his subordinates. "Kill them!"