3
4.
And then, the opening makes a shocking announcement.
The Demonic Cult had been running rampant throughout the Central Plains even before the Great War between the Righteous and Demonic Cults, and had laid the groundwork for victory through numerous schemes before the war.
This shocking information plunged the leaders of the Murim Alliance into even greater fear, while at the same time causing them to turn a blind eye to reality, dismissing it as nonsensical false information.
Of course, no one pointed out the ridiculous situation that this information was only learned after the Great War of the Demons was almost over.
Because they could not afford to be ridiculed not only by the enemy but also by their own allies, and even by those they had looked down upon.
Thousands of confidential documents were all burned without the approval of Simhyeongak or Mantongbu.
Because of that, I could not access this information in my previous life.
What those guys have been doing.
Everything about the scheme they plotted.
At least we can predict what they want based on the fact that the things that happened by chance in the past life were nothing more than coincidences.
The fact that he attempted to assassinate Moyong Sangwon, and the fact that he intervened at the official time and killed the academy students, aiming for murder by borrowing the name.
The fact that the Black Alliance infiltrated and attempted to organize its forces as it pleased, etc.
Analyzing the series of events, it appears they want chaos to fill the Central Plains until they reveal themselves.
“They wouldn’t want to become public enemies the moment their true selves are revealed and attention is focused on them. But why now?” However, what happened in Mukrim is different from what has happened so far.
Although it wears the mask of a spirit, it shows no intention of clearly concealing its true form.
Like a tiger wearing a rabbit mask.
He shamelessly declared himself a rabbit, making no effort to hide the distinct stripes on his body or his massive physique. ‘You bastards… at least hide your claws.’ The vivid knife marks etched on the corpse.
If before, they at least showed some effort in haphazardly butchering it, now there isn’t even that.
As if to make it clear that it was their doing, they stabbed the vital points with a single stroke and killed the vital organs.
“It, it’s a curse from a spirit…….”
“It’s because you tried to hunt the spirits…….”
“No, I don’t want to die here!”
Is it because this is the first time there has been such a large-scale death?
Is it because their own deaths were by no means inevitable?
Even though it wasn’t the first time he had seen a corpse, he was unable to recover from the psychological trauma.
I checked our team members.
Our group members were also struggling immensely to control their turbulent emotions.
This cannot continue.
The first battle is when the most warriors are killed when they are first deployed.
And most deaths occur not due to a significant difference in physical strength, but due to carelessness caused by psychological trauma.
So, I mean, if this ‘fuck…’ atmosphere continues, we’re all going to die here.
“Everyone, snap out of it!!!”
He let out a resounding shout, channeling his inner strength.
Those who look back at me with vacant eyes.
You still haven’t come back to your senses.
I took another deep breath.
“…….”
“Snap out of it, you bastards!!!”
With repeated shouts, a sparkle gradually returns to the pupils.
Then, his face turns pale at the loud noise.
“J-Quiet! What if a spirit appears!”
“You lunatic…! Are you planning to reveal our location!”
To think that guys who lived as if they were the only ones in heaven and earth are scared of a spirit creature—they have definitely lost their reason.
The more that happened, the more I screamed.
“Fuck it, everyone, snap out of it!!!”
After repeating this about five times, no one was left staring blankly anymore.
Instead, they all got worked up and rushed at me, trying to cover my mouth.
Pow pow pow, pow pow!
Would that even work?
“That, that crazy bastard!”
“You bastard! How could you attack us!”
The guys sprawled on the floor gnashed their teeth.
Only then did I lower my voice and speak.
“Have you come to your senses now?”
“what?”
Stop blaming the damn spirits.
I pointed at the corpses.
Does that still look like animal claw and tooth marks?
Only then did the academy students stare at the corpses with blank eyes.
Those who have trained with weapons since they began walking cannot possibly fail to distinguish between scars from beasts and those made by tools.
As if they were ashamed themselves, their faces turned red.
The most dangerous thing right now is neither monsters nor the weather.
Haven’t you learned that losing your composure is the most terrifying thing?
There is no way he couldn’t have learned it.
For the importance of cool-headed and cold reason is the most basic and fundamental value learned from the moment one first grasps a sword and gathers internal energy in the dantian.
It is simply because it is so obvious that, the moment faced with a crisis, one easily forgets it and surrenders reason to excitement.
Perhaps they emphasized it so much because this is the true nature of humanity.
What needs to be done now is action, not thought. It is not too late to think after you have finished assessing the situation.
Move again.
The students at the academy were sluggish with the corpse right in front of them, but soon began to follow my lead.
Because they must also know what is important.
We passed the corpses of the academy students and moved forward again.
They neither slowed down nor took a break, but no complaints arose.
Because everyone knew very well that one should not speak carelessly.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp.”
Just hang in there a little longer!
Travel without rest, ceaseless attacks by monsters.
Not only the injured, but even among those who were healthy, people began to show signs of exhaustion one by one.
The most serious thing was the symptoms of poisoning.
Although we were fully prepared and on high alert for the poisons spewed by large monsters, we were not properly prepared for the poisons spread by small venomous insects.
Even poisons that I would have been able to withstand in my normal physical condition were very fatal in my current state.
Although the symptoms were minor—such as paralysis, vomiting, and mild chills—they were enough to slow down the entire group.
“Representative Jin, we can’t just keep moving aimlessly anymore. If we keep walking like this, we might all collapse.”
I checked our team members.
None of my team members suffered from poison.
“I am reaping the full benefits of the poison resistance work I did after entering Mukrim. ‘If the number of people who can fight decreases, there will surely be people who get injured.’ In a critical situation, the healthy ones will inevitably be the first to step forward.”
And this ultimately means that my team members have to shoulder a greater risk.
“I’ll give you half a shijin. Tell him to get back to normal physical condition within that time.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than all the students in the academy slumped down in their seats and began breathing exercises.
While watching that scene for a moment.
Young Master Jin.
Namgung Seon-hwa handed me a water bottle. Judging by the cold air, it seemed she had asked Eun Seol-ran for it.
Seol-ran prepared this specifically for you, Young Master. Please have some.
As the cold water went down my throat, I felt a surge of vitality throughout my body, like rain falling on parched land.
I thought it was okay thanks to the wind spirit, but was it not that great after all?
Is Seol-ran alright?
“Yes. Because that child also learned the exercises.”
If you had to pick the busiest person among those currently classified as non-combatants, it would undoubtedly be Eun Seol-ran.
Ever since the injured joined, Eun Seol-ran was constantly busy taking care of them.
Because Eun Seol-ran was the only one who could lower the body temperature of the injured with rising fevers.
Please tell him not to push himself too hard. After all, he is the most important person.
I have no intention of giving up on my team members.
Just because the student council members are currently included in the group, I have no intention of putting them on the same level as the group members.
Because staying with them in the first place was merely an extension of the choice made for the sake of the team members.
“……
The current situation is very serious, isn’t it?
Namgung Seon-hwa, who had been quietly gazing at my face, asked cautiously, and I tried hard to hide my expression.
“No. Once we get to the base, the instructors will be there…”
“Could it be… related to ‘those’ you met back then?”
Although nothing was explicitly mentioned, both she and I knew for sure what was being talked about.
While I hesitated, not knowing what to say, she continued.
“Young Master Jin’s expression… It’s the same expression he had at the Plains of Puyang.”
Was I unable to relax without realizing it?
May I tell her this… …
Or would it be better to keep it a secret like the other students in the dormitory?
The deliberation was brief.
Even if the worst-case scenario unfolds, she has to be someone who survives here.
“I’m not entirely sure, but… I think it’s as dangerous a situation as it was back then.”
For Namgung Seon-hwa, who has experienced the Dark Soul-Severing Sect, this might be the worst news.
After all, even during the past Great War of Righteousness and Demons, there were many people who suffered psychological trauma, lost their minds, and became sane after encountering the Dark Soul-Severing Squad.
However, Namgung Seon-hwa’s reaction was a little different from what I expected.
“okay.”
A look of firm determination, as if making a pledge.
Aren’t you afraid?
“I’m scared. But.”
Then, he looks at me with unwavering eyes.
There is someone who knows what to do.
At Namgung Seon-hwa’s bright, blooming smile, I involuntarily let out a chuckle.
Aren’t you overestimating me?
“I’m going to do my best. I have no intention of being helpless like last time.”
A faint glow flows from her eyes.
She is also a warrior.
Furthermore, Namgung Taeha’s granddaughter. ‘Is it impossible for someone raised under a tiger to become a cat?’ Watching her like that, the weight that had been pressing down on my chest somehow felt much lighter.
Is it because my expression relaxed?
Namgung Seon-hwa asked me with a slightly relieved expression.
But where on earth did the instructors go?
As she said, I also have doubts about that.
No, why was No Jin-ha kidnapped instead of killed in the first place?
And why aren’t the instructors who went to the garrison giving the order for a full assembly?
I got up.
Once you go to the base, something will come out.
Half an hour had already passed. It was time to get moving again. “Hmm… You said you were the leader of the White Tiger Pavilion, but this isn’t very tasty. The ones from Zhongnan last time were quite good, you know.”
Thump
A watermelon-like lump with a clear bite mark fell to the floor.
The head of a dead person with their eyes wide open.
The head that had fallen with a thud rolled down to the feet of the man wearing a long robe.
It tastes heavy, as if you neglected your training and indulged in pleasure every day. I had high expectations since you’re a Taoist, tsk.
Human words scattered from his beast-like long snout, yet the opponent, draped in a long robe, remained silent.
“Anyway, did you hear that Jin So-un is here?”
The one who had shown no reaction to the beast’s words raises his head for the first time.
That guy is mine
-da. If you touch it
– Even you would die
-inda.”
A rough, metallic sound came from Jangpoin’s mouth, but the beast only let out snickering laughter.
“That won’t do. If you end up dying because of that, I’ll be the one taking the responsibility.”
Crunch. ……
Byeonbyeon Gweoma Gong
I can protect you, you bastard
I think that
Are you saying that?
Ice shards began to form around Jang Po-in.
The bleeding head lying at his feet hardened under the influence of the cold, and soon a thin layer of ice began to form.
Ice Pure
Look at him completely losing his nerve the moment he stuffed his face. This is why they say you shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts. Tsk.
“persimmon
-Hi who
– The beast
Is it?
The person with the beastly snout let out a snicker.
“Anyway, just know that you are under my orders, Jegeumhak.”
That’s right.
– Discharged from the mission
Perform it as follows. Fire Purification
Where is it?
-Sell everything
“Wasn’t it?”
The giggling beast swallows its laughter.
“I am chasing the other instructors right now, so don’t worry.”
“this
-In the trash
What makes you trust them enough to entrust them with the work?
-Geunji.”
Shall I smash that rag-like face into pieces as well?
Hwajung
– is Soma
-‘s extreme magic
It is an object that will form – this work
– Transference only slaughter
– The point that it is not
“Be hard.”
“Hmph. I’ll finish the job a hundred times more perfectly than a nobody like you does.”
Swoosh
With those words, the beast’s body vanished in an instant.
In the space where silence had settled, Je Geum-hak turned over the head lying at his feet to check the face.
Was it No Jin-ha?
A piece of trash who groveled and begged to be spared until the very end, only to eventually die.
Crackle.
No Jin-ha’s face freezes stiff.
The person who wanted to make him feel this despair and fear was not No Jin-ha.
Jegeumhak’s foot is placed on Nojinha’s head.
And soon.
*Thud*
Noh Jin-ha’s head was scattered into pieces on the floor.
“jin
“-Sowoon.”
With a metallic sound, a stream of blood flowed from Jegeumhak’s mouth.
“I will show you hell.” #It has been three days since leaving the Demon Realm.
The personnel’s bodies were reaching their limits.
More than half were already unable to walk on their own two feet, and the number of injured increased due to the monsters that kept popping out in the meantime, drastically reducing the number of people available to fight.
Nevertheless, on the last day, I did not stop walking until the sun set.
Because the garrison was right in front of us.
Fortunately, there was no attack by the mines that we had feared.
That was the reason why so many people were barely able to make it this far.
“Just hang in there a little longer!”
Among those who stood together at the front, less than half remained standing upright.
“Crazy… You’re a lunatic. Jin So-woon.”
“CEO.”
“Haa, haa…….”
Jongchuak shook his head as if he were fed up.
Then he looked ahead.
“Still… in the end, we arrived just as you said.”
It seems Jongchuak also sensed the presence of the numerous people affected by the energy.
A faint smile played on his lips.
I also chuckled along with him.
“Right. Because I promised.”
May I ask one more thing?
What is it?
“If you run into the instructors at the base, can you hit them just once?”
“huh?”
Jongchuak’s smile deepens.
“If I hit him, it would be the crime of destroying the knights, you see.”
Hmm, I think he’s a decent guy, better than I expected.
I nodded readily.
“Okay. I promise.”
“Yeah. I feel a little more energized.”
After moving my immobile feet again and again, I finally arrived at the base.
but.
Waaah!
Chae chae chae chae chae chaeng!
We could not hide our surprise at the sight unfolding before our eyes.
“It is Jeong Do-hoe! The culprit behind all this is Jeong Do-hoe!”
“The Baekdohoe and the Twelve Peaks have launched a surprise attack! Strike them!”
“Do you intend to frame me? Ha, how naive!”
The students gathered at the garrison were fighting fiercely against each other as if they were enemies.
It’s just that this goddamn messed-up situation goes on endlessly.
