Chapter 61. You Are All Dead!

The party made haste toward Henan.

Whenever they stopped to rest, Bong Seok sat cross-legged and sank into meditation.

The others moved a little ways off so as not to disturb him.

Along the way, they passed through more than a few villages.

Children laughing and playing.

Adults lifting cups after a hard day’s work.

It was peaceful to a degree that made Swift Wind Beggar’s story hard to believe.

Yet now the group could sense the alien note mixed into that peace.

At night, strange cries rose from all directions.

They were unlike any beast’s. Sounds whose nature they could not grasp.

But none of the villagers found them strange.

They had already become part of everyday life.

“Fuck.”

At the howls from outside, Bong Seok rubbed his arms.

He had gone several nights without proper sleep.

For no real reason, he shot a resentful look to the side.

Gyo-ha was snoring away.

He was even scratching his belly as he slept. A short, disbelieving laugh slipped out at that carefree sight.

“There does not seem to be anything suspicious on this side.”

Saying so, Jeon Pyeong closed his eyes. Tang Ho lay down as well.

Seo Jong-dae was already asleep.

If there was some otherworldly being nearby, Gyo-ha would notice it before anyone.

Watching the others settle down to sleep, Bong Seok let out a sigh.

The unknown sounds from outside still went on.

‘You are all crazy.’

Sleeping in a place like this? Bong Seok screwed his eyes shut.

Yet he could not fall asleep.

Like that, the party eventually reached Henan.

---

Finding traces of the pursuit party was not difficult. Outside of major cities, martial artists could not help but stand out.

“So this is where they were ambushed.”

The marks of battle remained as they were.

The group examined them and began to infer what had happened.

“They were pushed back and fled that way.”

“Can you tell who the attackers were?”

At Jeon Pyeong’s question, Tang Ho shook his head. Too much time had passed.

Soon, all their gazes gathered in one place.

On Gyo-ha, who was blinking.

They were remembering the miracles he had shown so far.

Under their expectant stares, Gyo-ha slowly swept his gaze around.

He even sniffed the air, then nodded.

“About seven with swords, I think. And two with spears.”

“…”

“Oh, and one of them is a woman.”

The group looked back at the tracks.

Could that really be?

Doubt rose on their faces. Even so, things would not change much whether it was true or not.

But there was another person here used to this sort of work.

Bong Seok of the Beggars’ Union.

As their attention turned to him, Bong Seok spoke with a serious look in his eyes.

“Judging by the tracks here, there were about seven swordsmen and two spearmen. One of them…”

The group turned their heads away, thinking, so of course.

He had simply dressed up what Gyo-ha had already said.

“For now, let us follow the trail.”

At Tang Ho’s words, the others nodded.

There was no real need for Bong Seok to take point.

The next day, the party came to a halt.

“There was a second ambush here.”

The traces of another fight could be seen.

Blood splattered here and there.

“There’s a corpse too.”

At Gyo-ha’s words, the party’s eyes changed. They soon found a body not far away.

Animals had torn at it, leaving it in a terrible state, but it was not so bad that they could not tell who he was.

“He is a member of the Black Tortoise Unit.”

Which meant he was with the Murim Alliance. He was not from one of the Nine Sects, One Union.

The Azure Sea Sword Sect. A sect of some renown in Shanxi Province.

From the start, being in the Murim Alliance did not mean you would often see warriors of the Nine Sects, One Union.

The group calmly examined the wounds on his body.

“They are definitely sword wounds.”

“Mmh.”

“What is it?”

Seeing Gyo-ha tilt his head, Seo Jong-dae asked.

Gyo-ha pondered a moment, then shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

They found it strange but did not press him.

“What shall we do with the body?”

Normally, they should send it to the Murim Alliance or his sect. But they were in the middle of a mission.

“Let us bury him.”

Jeon Pyeong took only his identity plaque and dug the earth.

Then he left a marker nearby in case the man’s family or sect brothers came searching later.

Gyo-ha stared fixedly until the body was buried.

“…It feels a little different.”

Gyo-ha tilted his head.

What was different? Their gazes brushed him, but they soon went back to what they were doing.

It was not as if Gyo-ha’s odd behavior had only started yesterday.

They could not fuss over every single thing.

“Fortunately, there are still tracks.”

Tang Ho spoke as he looked at a broken branch.

They could tell the group had moved in greater haste than before. The party resumed the pursuit.

Gyo-ha swept his surroundings one more time, then followed after them.

After they had walked for some time, their pace began to slow.

“…Since when was there this much fog?”

They were in the mountains.

The thick fog was making it hard to follow the tracks.

From far away came the cries of some unknown beasts.

They sounded closer than the ones they had heard in the villages.

“Has night already fallen?”

“There is no way that much time has passed.”

At Tang Ho’s words, the group furrowed their brows. They all felt the same way.

At that moment, Gyo-ha suddenly spoke.

“…I smell something.”

At his words, the group hurriedly took up their guard.

The wind and the chirping insects were loud in their ears.

“From where?”

Bong Seok asked cautiously. Gyo-ha sniffed a few times, then nodded.

“Here.”

“Here?”

He nodded. At his answer, the others quickly moved away.

Only Gyo-ha stayed where he was.

The group gave him puzzled looks.

Feeling their eyes, Gyo-ha spoke slowly.

“The whole place. This forest itself has a smell.”

“…Since when?”

“I don’t know. The smell just started all of a sudden.”

At his words, they looked around and realized something was wrong.

“The fog has gotten thicker.”

It was hard to see it as mere night fog.

“Kiiiiiiiiiii!”

A monstrous scream rang through the fog like the wind.

The group swallowed dryly at the sound.

---

The man frowned as he looked at the fog that refused to disperse.

“How many days has it been?”

“Only two.”

The woman answered his question in a curt tone.

“The elders must be worried.”

At the concern in his voice, the woman looked at him as if she could not believe it.

“You are worrying about the elders in a situation like this?”

“We came without even asking their permission and left only a single letter.”

It was little different from running away from home. The man sighed and looked back at her.

“Yul. You need to rein in that temper of yours.”

“…So this is my fault now?”

The woman’s brows shot up, but the man spoke with a firm look.

“We could have asked the elders for help. Or at least moved together with the Alliance people.”

“…Those guys rub me the wrong way.”

The man let out another sigh.

“Even so, I sent word, so the clan will send people.”

“Sent word? When?”

“Three days ago, when you were drinking.”

At the unexpected reply, the woman blinked.

Three days ago was when she had fought with the Alliance people.

So the man had contacted their clan the moment they parted ways.

She did not like that fact, but she had no grounds to scold him.

“We just have to hold out until they arrive.”

The man gripped the spear lying beside him.

He spoke calmly, his eyes fixed beyond the fog.

At some point, numerous shadows had begun to waver there.

Beside him, the woman also sighed and picked up her spear.

“What in the world are those things?”

“I do not know.”

The man did not know either. The shadows took not only human forms but beasts as well.

They were just shadows.

They could be killed, of course. Yet when they died, they were absorbed into the fog and appeared again the next day.

“Fine. We only have to hold out until then, right? They’re all dead!”

The woman strode forward with reckless bravado.

Her spear swept through the shadows.

It was said that in duels, spears were at a disadvantage to swords.

This was because they were heavier and longer.

Not everyone agreed with that, yet there was one point no one denied.

Namely this.

‘When you are facing many foes at once, nothing beats a spear.’

Watching the woman smash through the shadows in bold strokes, the man settled into his stance as well.

His expression darkened.

There was something he had not told her earlier.

‘…Even if the clan sends people, will they be able to get out of here?’

But he quickly shook his head.

Now was not the time to doubt.

If he did, even his resolve would break. All they could do was believe and press forward.

The man’s spear pointed toward the enemy.

---

The battle continued.

It did not look like it would end anytime soon. Shadows poured endlessly from beyond the fog.

They had expected that much.

‘There are more of them every time we fight.’

His spear pierced a shadow’s head. When he swept it sideways, the bodies of human and beast shadows alike bent and broke.

The shadows fell and were swallowed by the fog.

There was no way to know if they were truly dead.

But if they kept taking them down like this, the assault would eventually stop.

He knew it from experience so far.

‘…At least they are weak.’

The movements of each shadow were sluggish. They did not move like real people or animals.

The problem was their numbers.

“Heh. Now I am finally working up a sweat!”

The woman shouted in high spirits, yet her face was full of fatigue.

She had not yet recovered from the exhaustion of their previous fights.

The intervals between the creatures’ attacks were growing shorter.

‘…This is going to be dangerous.’

The man was not in good shape either.

He had been conserving his internal energy, yet that too would soon hit its limit.

But he could not show it in front of the woman.

He swung his spear and a shadow’s head burst apart.

The shadow collapsed.

Not even a sound was heard.

Just then.

Kwaang!

The ground shook.

The woman and the man naturally turned their eyes that way.

A massive shadow could be seen in the distance.

Yet it was different from the other shadows.

Kwaang! Kwagang!

With every swing of its fists, the air and earth exploded.

It had a proper body. The things that writhed beyond the fog were clearly muscles.

On top of that, the newcomer was attacking the shadows.

Their numbers dropped in an instant.

‘Reinforcements!’

The man’s eyes shone. Life returned to the exhausted woman’s face as well.

“Urat-cha!”

Heat ripples rose from the woman’s spear.

Each time the spear spun, shadows burst apart.

The man clicked his tongue at the sight.

‘She should think a little about what comes after.’

If she spent her internal energy like that, she would collapse in no time.

But there was no way she could hear his words. She was still gleefully smashing the shadows even now.

She was clearly being influenced by the newcomer.

Punches as bold as the woman’s spearwork.

He had clearly trained in an overbearing martial art. His movements were as nimble as a beast’s.

It ran along a different track from any martial arts the man knew.

‘He’s from the Alliance.’

The man recognized it at a glance. The shadows dwindled and soon their assault ceased.

He walked toward the one who had appeared first.

“Thank you for your aid. I am Shin Gi-yang.”

“And I am Shin Yul!”

Shin Gi-yang, the man, shot a look at Shin Yul as she greeted the newcomer so brightly.

“My apologies, benefactor. My younger sister grew up far too unruly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Yul.”

Shin Gi-yang’s gaze sharpened.

Shin Yul jutted out her lips and muttered.

“…He looks about our age though.”

She was not talking about Shin Gi-yang. At her words, Shin Gi-yang looked again at the man and surprise came into his eyes.

Because despite his massive body, the face he saw was still quite young.

The man wore a thoughtful expression.

As if she knew why, Shin Yul opened her mouth.

“Do not worry. He is collateral, collateral. You are with the Alliance side, right?”

“Ah, something like that. I am called Gyo-ha.”

At Shin Yul’s words, Gyo-ha found he could smile as well.

But the reason was different from what she imagined. It was the word “Alliance.”

Watching from the side, Shin Gi-yang tilted his head. Gyo-ha. It was an unusual name.

He let it pass without much thought.

Shin Yul likewise paid it no mind and spoke up.

“We look about the same age, so you should speak casually too.”

“Shin Yul.”

Her body flinched at the quiet call, but when she saw Gyo-ha nod, she regained her confidence.

“See, Benefactor says he is fine with it.”

“Haah.”

Shin Gi-yang shook his head, as if there was no dealing with her.