Chapter 233: Battlefront (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: Battlefront (3)
Bi Yeonsum’s nerves only grew sharper the longer he sat alone in the tent.
Nearly half an hour had passed since Gu Jeolyub left, and in all that time, no one else had entered.
…Am I really allowed to be here?
The thought nagged at him. If this were the Murim Alliance, they would have at least detained him for questioning—some basic identity verification. This laxness felt almost sloppy.
Staying any longer felt risky. If someone stumbled upon him—a complete stranger—things could easily go wrong. Restless, he shifted in his seat, unable to keep still.
Slide.
The tent flap drew back abruptly, letting in a gust of cold air.
Bi Yeonsum wondered if his nerves were dulling his senses. It was nearly summer—why did the air feel so chilly?
“Hmm?”
The person who stepped inside seemed surprised to find him there.
But it was Bi Yeonsum who was truly struck speechless.
“Huh… Huhhh?”
She was no ordinary woman. Her beauty was staggering—porcelain-pale skin, flowing black hair that seemed to ripple with elegance, and gem-like pupils the color of a clear sky.
Just looking at her made his heart stutter.
Worse—he recognized her. He’d seen her from a distance once, long ago.
“…S-Snow Phoenix…”
“Who are you?”
The Snow Phoenix herself—Moyong Hi-ah.
There was no mistaking it. He remembered watching her during last year’s Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament. No man could forget a sight like that.
“Oh… I-I am…”
Why was the Snow Phoenix here? The question flashed through his mind, but his tongue felt heavy. He was speaking to the Snow Phoenix.
Moyong Hi-ah studied him for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before speaking again.
“Are you the one the Sword of Heroic Flame brought?”
“Ah… Yes! That’s right. M-My name is Bi Yeonsum.”
“Tch. He brought another one. You must have had a difficult time.”
“N-Not at all… It was no trouble.”
“Where did the Sword of Heroic Flame go?”
She showed little interest in him, her expression cool and detached as she fired off questions.
“…He said he was going to bring someone, then left.”
“He left you here? Alone?”
“Yes…”
“…That guy.”
Moyong Hi-ah fell silent, pressing a delicate finger to her lips in thought. The gesture was so captivating Bi Yeonsum had to consciously steady his breathing.
After a moment, she spoke again.
“Follow me.”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t sit right leaving you here, and I was heading that way anyway. Come along.”
“U-Understood!”
Part of him wondered if he should stay put, but disobeying the Snow Phoenix was unthinkable. Something in her tone left no room for refusal.
Moyong Hi-ah exited the tent, and Bi Yeonsum trailed after her, feeling as though he’d stepped into a dream.
I’m walking beside the Snow Phoenix…
He was in a dangerous forest, abandoned by his companions, and yet here he was, accompanying one of the most famous women in the martial world. For a moment, all his worries seemed to vanish.
But as they ventured deeper among the trees, a slow unease began to prickle at him.
Why… is it so quiet?
None of the usual forest sounds reached his ears. No birds, no insects, not even the rustle of leaves. He couldn’t sense so much as a stray presence.
The Snow Phoenix seemed to notice the strangeness too, but she pressed on calmly, as though it were perfectly normal.
How long have we been walking?
They passed through a thicket of trees, and Bi Yeonsum stumbled into a vast clearing.
“Gasp…!”
The air caught in his throat.
The ground was littered with corpses—Blue-Grade Demons. Too many to count. And from the look of them, they hadn’t been dead long.
Some were charred black, others torn limb from limb. The brutality of it made Bi Yeonsum—no stranger to combat—recoil in horror.
He glanced at the Snow Phoenix, expecting shock, but she simply stepped over the bodies as though they were nothing more than fallen branches.
“I-It looks like a Gate of Demons opened here,” Bi Yeonsum stammered awkwardly.
She didn’t seem to hear him. Swallowing his discomfort, he shut his mouth and followed, doing his best to ignore the carnage.
…Who could have done this?
Every one of these demons was Blue-Grade. Bi Yeonsum could handle one alone, but this number was far beyond him.
Was it a group?
That was the only explanation that made sense. How could any one person take on a horde like this? Not even the Sword of Heroic Flame who saved him, nor that Peak Realm expert named Muyeon, could manage such a feat alone.
He lost track of how far they walked.
Finally, the Snow Phoenix halted, and Bi Yeonsum stopped beside her.
And then—
“…Wh… What…?”
His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
“Wh… What is… all this…?”
At first, he mistook it for a hill—too small to be a mountain, too large for a ordinary mound.
But it wasn’t earth or stone.
It was a hill made entirely of demon corpses.
Now he understood why the forest felt so empty. Every fearsome demon in these woods had been slaughtered and piled high right here.
At the top of that gruesome mound sat a figure, legs crossed, chin resting on his hands as he stared at the ground.
Bi Yeonsum couldn’t make out his face clearly in the dim light, but he could see the gleam of two bright red pupils blinking slowly.
“Didn’t I tell you last time?”
A voice rang out from the hilltop, sharp enough to make Bi Yeonsum flinch. It was younger than he expected—somewhere between a boy and a man, deep but not fully matured.
“Why is it that every time you go out, you come back with extra baggage?”
The voice was thick with annoyance, aimed at someone Bi Yeonsum couldn’t see.
He looked around, confused, until his eyes landed on a figure across the clearing—on his knees, arms raised high above his head, holding a massive boulder.
It was a punishment posture Bi Yeonsum recognized from his own childhood, something his grandfather had made him do.
“…Huh?”
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The person being punished was none other than Gu Jeolyub, the Sword of Heroic Flame, who had saved him.
The same man who had radiated such overwhelming Sword Resonance now looked utterly humiliated.
The Sword of Heroic Flame…
“Just what is going on here…” Bi Yeonsum whispered.
“I’m here.”
The Snow Phoenix’s voice cut through his daze. She was speaking to the figure on the hill, paying no mind to Gu Jeolyub’s plight.
Though her voice was soft, the man heard her. Those terrifying red pupils shifted toward her.
Bi Yeonsum shivered under that gaze, but the Snow Phoenix stood her ground, calm. If anything, she seemed more alert than before.
“You know it’s almost mealtime, right? If you’re finished here, let’s go.”
“You came to pick me up?”
“You were taking too long.”
Bi Yeonsum was taken aback by the warmth in her tone—a stark contrast to her usual icy demeanor.
“…Hm.”
Tap.
A soft sound drew Bi Yeonsum’s attention. When he turned, someone was already standing there.
He hadn’t seen him move at all, but the young man had descended from the hilltop in an instant.
“Put it down.”
Slam!
The moment the order was given, Gu Jeolyub dropped the boulder.
Tsk.
The young man clicked his tongue, shooting Gu Jeolyub a look of pure disdain.
Bi Yeonsum couldn’t make sense of anything, but he couldn’t look away from the young man’s face.
“…Ah?”
He looked more like a young adult than a boy. Dressed in red, he brushed his hair back impatiently, fierce eyes burning with discontent. The intensity of his gaze was hard to meet for long.
And then it hit him. He knew this person. He was the boy who had left a searing impression during last year’s tournament.
No—not a boy anymore. A young man.
“True… Dragon?”
Bi Yeonsum didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until the young man—Gu Yangcheon—turned his gaze squarely on him.
“What did you say, you punk?”
Hearing that low growl, Bi Yeonsum had a sudden moment of clarity.
Yeah, this has to be a dream.
No wonder he’d run into the Snow Phoenix and the True Dragon on the battlefield, with a Peak Realm expert standing guard nearby. None of this was realistic.
“Haha, I must be losing my mind from lack of sleep.”
He nodded to himself, certain now.
Thud.
His vision went black as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
“What the hell is wrong with this crazy bastard?”
Gu Yangcheon could only stare down at Bi Yeonsum’s limp form, utterly baffled.