Let the trick unfolded by the right hand be hidden from the left hand.

-Matthew Sutra-

Under the reign of Nicholas I, the 11th emperor of the Romanov dynasty, who devoted all his efforts to maintaining the old order and made Russia known as the gendarme of Europe.

The emperor, wielding strong authority, suppressed those who cried out for freedom while attempting reforms in various fields.

Nicholas I’s plan involved investing huge funds to introduce new Kung-Fu manuals and weaponry to strengthen military power.

Drawn by this, a Swedish architect and pyrotechnician named Immanuel Nobel migrated to Russia.

He, trusted by the emperor and the military, began producing powerful lethal weapons one after another.

The military business initiated by Immanuel Nobel, who moved to Russia in 1837, rapidly grew under the royal patronage.

In just a few years, Immanuel earned vast wealth and amassed a fortune no one could ignore, gaining a status he had never enjoyed even in his homeland Sweden.

However, people soon heard dark rumors about Immanuel.

Immanuel Nobel, the Merchant of Death whose infamy echoes across all of Europe.

The rumor that he had entered into a pact with some unknown, wicked Great Demon Head.

Due to these strange rumors of unknown origin, Immanuel’s friends began to distance themselves one by one.

However, Immanuel’s four sons showed no interest in such baseless rumors.

They knew full well.

That if one wished to find the Demon Head, the fixture of countless rumors in the martial world, there was no need to venture off to some far and pointless place.

The demon they witnessed did not roam the streets in the dark dawn.

As recorded in the traditions of Northern Europe and Russia, he neither devoured others nor bathed in their blood.

The demon did not hide his identity.

He walked proudly in broad daylight, and everyone he met took off their hats to show respect.

He was a generous businessman to his employees.

He was also a warm husband to his wife.

And a more caring father than anyone else.

However.

The Kung-Fu he taught his children were undoubtedly demonic arts.

The weapons he crafted by applying these secrets possessed brutal lethality.

The weapons created by Immanuel Nobel daily turned countless lives into ashes and blood.

Of course, this fact had no emotional impact on him.

The demon lived a happy life in peace and prosperity.

The business prospered, and except for the youngest, his children were gifted in Kung-Fu and achieved accomplishments meeting his expectations.

And then.

October 1849

Twelve years after the Nobel family settled in Russia.

An unexpected event occurred as he sat at the table with his children who had endured hellish training as usual.

“I ask you, Alfred. What do you intend to do if you succeed me?”

Immanuel sat at the head of the long table, and his four sons gathered on the opposite side.

Beyond the thick curtain-like distance between father and sons, the demon’s voice echoed.

“……”

Among the four sons, sixteen-year-old Alfred, resembling Immanuel, stood out in Kung-Fu, language, and business sense, and was chosen as the successor.

He, who diligently trained under Immanuel’s orders, was by no means the pushover his father thought.

He possessed a five-star intellect incomparable to peers and siblings and had the ability to combine fragmented information to grasp truths no one had taught.

And the truths Alfred Nobel realized in his short sixteen years were as follows.

1. All things move through action and reaction.

2. By the same principle, karma exists as the result of good and evil deeds.

3. Immanuel Nobel has yet to pay the price for his evil deeds.

Though he habitually says everything has a price, the demon who took parents from countless children still fills his belly with fine wine and rich meat today.

임마누엘이 치르지 않은 대가가 자신과 형제들의 머리 위에 쏟아질 거란 사실은 불을 보듯 뻔했다.

For this reason, Alfred deeply hated his father.

He was ready to do anything to offset his father’s evil deeds and break the karma.

His long-standing contemplation of the greatest loss he could inflict on Immanuel was part of this effort.

He found the answer on the day he was appointed successor.

Immanuel sought eternity.

He sought to obtain the elixir of immortality and eternal life.

At the same time, he wanted his achievements to be praised forever through a son who resembled him.

Alfred realized.

What fatal wound a mere sixteen-year-old boy could inflict on a Demon Head who wished to erect an immortal monument over others’ corpses.

“My dream is—”

Alfred, who had been silently pondering the Demon Head’s question, suddenly spoke.

Immanuel Nobel’s face slowly twisted as he heard the answer.

Because the goal set by his third son, in whom he had the greatest hope, denied everything he had built.

-Bang!-

When Immanuel struck the table with his palm, half of it vanished without a trace amid a loud boom.

In the demon’s eyes as he stood, a rage and hatred burned that the Nobel children had never seen before.

“…From today, I revoke all rights I gave you. You are not my successor. Get out. There is no place for losers in my house.”

“As you wish. I will take everything you have in the way you taught me.”

That night, Alfred left the mansion with his brothers.

It was six years later that they defeated Immanuel and seized the business.

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Emil Nobel.

The youngest of the four Nobel brothers, raised with the love of his older brothers since childhood, Emil’s role was to handle all matters concerning the personal affairs of his third brother, the iron man Alfred Nobel, who led the massive military company Dynamit Nobel.

It was well known that despite approaching middle age, he often displayed frivolous behavior due to being overly pampered, drawing frequent criticism.

However, it was undeniable that he had demonstrated excellent work ability as Alfred’s secretary.

What he loathed most was the detestable woman who, after once sharing an intimate bond with Alfred and becoming his first secretary, had abandoned the post in a mere week to throw herself into another man’s arms, leaving him with a wound that could never be cleansed.

“I should have helped my brother from the start.”

Emil, the younger brother, knew everything about Alfred.

His brother’s light and darkness, his anguish and pain, all of it.

“Only I can understand and embrace everything about my brother.”

Emil accepted all of Alfred.

Therefore, whenever people in the martial world slandered his brother as the Merchant of Death or worse, Emil could not hide his anger.

Alfred Nobel was not a merchant who sold dangerous weapons solely for his own gain as the world believed.

He was also a human who had shed blood and tears.

In the face of countless provocations from those who did not understand the chivalry and righteousness Alfred hid deep inside, Emil and his brothers never backed down.

Anyone who obstructed their atonement to break the curse and evil deeds flowing through the Nobel bloodline would be crushed, no matter who.

…There stands Alfred Nobel.

“Ha! Who would be scared! No matter who the opponent is, my brother will never lose!”

Emil shouted with a booming voice.

“I, Emil Oscar Nobel, bet ‘this’ on the perfect victory of Mr. Dynamite Alfred Bernhard Nobel!”

Was she called the Discharged Medical Maiden?

Betting a dagger made of Snow Halation Iron, it seems Emil made an effort for a pauper, but living beside Europe’s richest man, it only makes him scoff.

-Bang!-

Emil placed a heavy metal briefcase on the railing.

Unlocking and opening the case revealed a viscous liquid in a transparent glass bottle.

“Millennium Nitroglycerin, 2 pints.”

Millennium Nitroglycerin is a miraculous elixir created through long research by the Nobel family and the source of power supporting Alfred Nobel’s domineering Kung-Fu.

The bottle contained a sample intended as a gift for Queen Victoria for business purposes.

-Gooooo!!!!-

Despite being sealed in the bottle, the powerful vitality emitted by the elixir was enough to astonish the attendant overseeing the bet and the gathered masters.

Seeing them, Emil felt an indescribable superiority, but only for a moment.

“Interesting.”

Queen Victoria, unnoticed by anyone, approached Jane Watson, the Discharged Medical Maiden, her eyes shining.

“I will serve as the judge for this bet.”

“…Your Majesty?!”

“The attendant shall tally the stakes and give ten percent to the winner between the Little Heavenly Demon and Mr. Dynamite.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Emil had no chance to object.

As soon as the Queen intervened, those gathered in the Music Room called the attendant one after another to place their bets.

The stakes rapidly increased.

“Ah, still, this is a bit…”

Though belief in Alfred remained unshaken amid the uncontrollable situation, a trace of unease sprouted in Emil’s mind.

“My brother cannot lose.”

Alfred Nobel is considered a prodigy among prodigies who entered the path of grandmaster through his self-created Distinct Kung-Fu.

His skill is regarded as unparalleled even compared to other martial artists who reached the transcendent realm at a similar age.

Even having trained under an excellent master, the Little Heavenly Demon’s level has barely entered the peak realm.

Though having such skill at twenty-eight is impressive, it means an unbridgeable gap exists between them.

Though he tried to convince himself so.

“Let the Royal Garden Party begin!”

The attendant struck a gong in the garden as a signal, and after witnessing Alfred and the Little Heavenly Demon confront over the Blue-Eyed White Snake, the real reason the Nobel brothers visited Buckingham.

“…An unknown spirit beast. Since a fight broke out over it, the outcome should be judged in a way that respects them.”

Emil’s steadfast faith cracked.

“Considering the difference in their distribution and level, the one who takes the Blue-Eyed White Snake’s core will be the winner.”

After the Sword Queen declared the rule, her face twisted mercilessly.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your fair judgment.”

The Discharged Medical Maiden smiled deeply.

The odds, which had been extremely tilted toward Alfred Nobel, began to gradually balance.

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“…It seems you have a serious level of duel addiction.”

“Hmph! Ridiculous!”

The type who tries to solve everything by force was not the kind of person I preferred.

Separately, Alfred Nobel’s level, carefully gripping the Blue-Eyed White Snake with his right hand to avoid injury, seemed higher than mine no matter how I thought about it.

DN are initials taken from the military company Dynamit Nobel he owns.

A type with excellent Kung-Fu power as much as pride.

I already know why the man wants the Blue-Eyed White Snake.

I didn’t expect that, like me, he had already noticed its existence when entering the palace.

“No, perhaps he obtained information beforehand.”

Either way, the opponent will fight carefully not to hurt the spirit beast, so he won’t be able to use the right hand holding the snake.

If the opponent is a transcendent master who can only use one hand, it’s worth trying.

I also have business with that snake.

“Emil!!”

“Yes! Brother!!”

Alfred Nobel caught the briefcase flying from the balcony with his leg, unfolded Poltergeist to open it, and an alloy gauntlet sprang out and fitted onto his left hand.

-Kaang!-

“Draw your sword, Little Heavenly Demon!”

“Please, could you lower your voice?”

Though he’s a tiring opponent, I have no choice but to try for now.