Chapter 91: Iron Demon Appears-1
Chapter 91: Iron Demon Appears-1
Gokjeong, Yunnan Province.
Dok Su-gwang, the Fifth Squad Leader of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads known as the Black Snake Shadow Spear, was making his afternoon patrol with the squad members.
As he led the squad members from the front, he heard the small whispers of the squad members following behind him come to his ears.
"Only one squad's missing, but the patrol rotation feels like it's coming back way too fast. My body feels more and more exhausted."
"Tell me about it. Seventh Squad needs to hurry up and return. Nothing's happened, right?"
"Well, what could possibly happen? Squad Leader Seol Pung might be Seventh Squad's captain, but he's as skilled as First Squad Leader Han Gyo-seong. And his squad members—like Lady Na Seo-yu, Miss Cheongyeon, Seonwoo Jin, and Bi Sa-yeong—are all talents who wouldn't look out of place being appointed as squad leaders themselves."
"That's true. In fact, I heard that First Squad Leader Han Gyo-seong himself admitted Squad Leader Seol Pung was better than him. Seonwoo Jin was even nominated for the vacant Fourth Squad leader position. That's why the Seventh Squad got dispatched this time too, wasn't it?"
"Heoh, to that extent?"
Dok Su-gwang's expression had been growing progressively twisted at the squad members' murmuring, and he finally shouted in a low voice.
"Quiet! Have you lost your minds?! Who told you to chatter during patrol?!"
At his thunderous rebuke, the squad members flinched and stopped talking.
Dok Su-gwang glared fiercely at them.
Chatting during patrol was, in truth, a common occurrence.
Sometimes Dok Su-gwang himself enjoyed chatting too.
But the Fifth Squad members apologized to him without a word of complaint.
"Yes! We apologize, Squad Leader!"
"We will be silent!"
The fact that Dok Su-gwang's standards changed depending on his mood—and that he was infamous for his eccentricity even within the Thirteen Squads—was something all the Fifth Squad members knew very well.
So they guessed that something in their conversation today must have soured Dok Su-gwang's mood.
The Fifth Squad members assumed it was the talk about Seventh Squad Leader Seol Pung.
Because Dok Su-gwang had never liked Seol Pung from the start.
But what had actually angered Dok Su-gwang was not Seol Pung, but the talk about Seonwoo Jin.
'That cocky bastard is squad-leader material? Fourth Squad leader? Hah! Give me a break.'
No one knew better than Dok Su-gwang that Seonwoo Jin had been nominated for the Fourth Squad leader position.
Because the one who had opposed it most violently was none other than Dok Su-gwang himself.
For Dok Su-gwang, who remembered the pig-like form Seonwoo Jin had shown up in when first arriving at the Flying Dragon Corps, that pretty-faced bastard—who had transferred to Seol Pung's Seventh Squad, whom he was already jealous of, and kept rising higher and higher—was completely displeasing.
And above all, what angered him most was the reason Seonwoo Jin had been nominated for the Fourth Squad leader position.
The reason he had been nominated was that he had received an evaluation stating he had completely overwhelmed Dok Su-gwang himself in their duel.
Dok Su-gwang, who had been pushed back from start to finish before obstinately forcing the duel to stop, found that these days just the thought of the bastard's face brought up feelings of humiliation along with it.
He ground his teeth as he thought.
'Just wait until he gets back. This time I'll smash him to pieces for sure.'
For the past month, Dok Su-gwang had been immersed in training, dreaming of revenge, and was counting the days until Seonwoo Jin's return.
It was then.
From deep within the dense forest, a beast-like howling sound rang out.
"Kiaaaaaak!"
It was a Liver Demon.
Dok Su-gwang immediately shouted.
"Liver Demons! Everyone into defensive formation!"
All the Fifth Squad members adeptly formed a defensive formation centered around Dok Su-gwang.
Shashashak!
There was not a single wasted motion in the actions of those who had endured every hardship on the frontlines.
Then, a moment later, the sound of something cutting through the forest and approaching could be heard.
Seuseuseuseu!
There were quite a lot of them.
Dok Su-gwang shouted again in a low voice.
"Numbers are considerable! At least twenty! Vice Squad Leader, fire the signal!"
At his swift command, the Fifth Squad Vice Squad Leader Jang Yeoyeo immediately sent up a support signal using a firework.
Peong!
The instant red flame and smoke shot into the sky, a horde of Liver Demons burst out from the jungle.
"Kiaaaaaaaa!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"
"Kkieeeeeeeek!"
The number of Liver Demons was roughly over thirty.
It was too many for the Fifth Squad to handle alone.
But Dok Su-gwang shouted calmly.
"Three Talents Formation!"
In an instant, the Fifth Squad members formed groups of three, and the horde of Liver Demons lunged at them.
The one who met the wave of Liver Demons at the very front was Dok Su-gwang.
A Liver Demon, howling like a beast, was charging straight at him.
"Haaap!"
Pu-hwak!
His spear blade, bearing a hazy spear qi, pierced clean through the Liver Demon's mouth like a beam of light.
And immediately, as he twisted his body and simply blew off the top of the Liver Demon's jaw, his Black Snake Spear began to whip away the surrounding Liver Demons like a storm.
Peo-beo-beo-beo-beo-beok!
The Black Snake Spear circled around his body as if alive, scattering the horde of Liver Demons.
Occasionally, the blade coated with spear qi would blow a Liver Demon's head clean off as well.
His skill had certainly improved from before.
Having succeeded at the vanguard in breaking the Liver Demon horde's momentum, Dok Su-gwang now glanced briefly at his own squad members.
Then he smiled thinly.
After Seonwoo Jin, Bi Sa-yeong, and Bae Jong-gwan had saved the Sixth Squad members from a Liver Demon horde in the past, the squad leaders of the Flying Dragon Corps had resolved to train their squad members intensively in brawling techniques.
This was because they realized that when a horde of Liver Demons swarmed them, it was better to prioritize survival by flinging the creatures away first, rather than killing them on the spot.
That was also the reason the Fifth Squad members had now formed groups of three.
Only the one with relatively high martial prowess in the center would use sword qi to kill a Liver Demon, while the two on either side would reliably respond by battering or throwing away the remaining Liver Demons.
Perhaps thanks to that, not a single one of the squad members looked to be in any danger.
Dok Su-gwang now slightly relaxed his tension.
There were no mid-level Liver Demons either, so it looked like they could deal with the creatures like this without any casualties.
'Seems I requested support for nothing.'
It was while Dok Su-gwang was thinking that.
Suddenly, Vice Squad Leader Jang Yeoyeo shouted.
"Squad Leader! These things are acting strange! The Liver Demons are passing right by us!"
"Hm?"
At Jang Yeoyeo's words, Dok Su-gwang furrowed his brow.
That was absurd.
Liver Demons leaving the humans they were fighting and passing by?
Wasn't the defining characteristic of demonic beings that once they targeted a human, they fixated solely on that person?
But when Dok Su-gwang turned his gaze toward the Liver Demons, he had no choice but to acknowledge that she was right.
The Liver Demons that the squad members had sent flying with their brawling techniques were not charging back, but were instead hurling their bodies forward and dashing toward the squad members' rear.
At the creatures' behavior, which shattered all prior knowledge, Dok Su-gwang unconsciously frowned and muttered.
"What the? Those bastards...?"
At that, Vice Squad Leader Jang Yeoyeo furrowed her face and said.
"Doesn't it look like they're fleeing from something?"
Dok Su-gwang scrunched his face hard and said.
"Does that make any sense? Liver Demons, creatures with no emotion other than hunger for humans...!"
It was then.
Peo-eok!
The head of a Liver Demon that had been running at the very rear of the horde suddenly burst like a watermelon.
"Huh?!"
Just as the Fifth Squad members' gazes shot toward that spot, the head of another Liver Demon running just ahead of it also burst like a watermelon.
Peo-seok!
The reason became immediately clear.
Someone was racing up from behind them, unleashing lightness arts and planting a palm strike into the Liver Demons one by one.
Jang Yeoyeo cried out in surprise.
"Who is that?!"
No one could answer.
Because it was a martial artist none of them had ever seen before.
He was a large-framed martial artist, wearing a blue martial uniform that had faded considerably, with his hair wildly disheveled.
Judging by the skill of bursting a Liver Demon's head with a single palm strike, he seemed to be a martial artist of at least upper first-class or higher, but his movements alone were as swift and rough as a wild beast's, to the point of comparing with a peak-level master.
"First-class? Peak?"
Since he wasn't using energetic force, he probably wasn't at the peak level, but the sight of him slaughtering the Liver Demons was so exhilaratingly savage it was beyond compare.
All the Fifth Squad members were watching him in admiration.
'Who in the world is he?'
While Dok Su-gwang was glaring at him with a frown, the man had already dealt with even the Liver Demons Dok Su-gwang had batted away, reaching up to them.
Vice Squad Leader Jang Yeoyeo, who had glanced at the frowning Dok Su-gwang, stepped forward first and cupped her fist in greeting as she asked.
"Hello, Senior! We are martial artists of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads!"
At that, his eyes turned toward Jang Yeoyeo.
And Dok Su-gwang, who was observing him, could discover between the strands of disheveled hair covering his face a pair of eyes emanating a crimson light.
Like a blood-red light, just like a demon's....
"!"
Startled, Dok Su-gwang threw himself toward Jang Yeoyeo.
"Dodge!"
But at the same moment, the monster also launched a surprise attack, hurling a palm strike at Jang Yeoyeo.
Boom!
The powerful palm force grazed past Jang Yeoyeo's head, whipping her hair into the air.
Dok Su-gwang had thrown himself forward and shoved her with the shaft of his spear, and only because of that was she able to narrowly evade it.
As Jang Yeoyeo, having barely survived, hurriedly retreated backward, the one who had saved her, Dok Su-gwang, immediately twisted his body in mid-air. Then his spear whirled around him like a living snake and lashed out at the man.
Wiiiiing!
Wham!
The man, who had exposed an opening while striking at empty air where Jang Yeoyeo had been, took the spear shaft squarely to the body and was sent flying backward.
Dok Su-gwang immediately kicked off the ground to launch a consecutive attack against him.
His thought was that while he didn't know who the man was, he was clearly an enemy.
"I don't know what kind of bastard you are... Ugh?!"
But he was forced to swallow his shock and resume a defensive stance.
The opponent, who had been struck solidly by the spear shaft and sent flying, kicked off the ground completely unharmed and pounced again.
"What?!"
The man thrust both palms toward Dok Su-gwang.
It was a powerful momentum, as if he could shatter even boulders.
"Ee-ik!"
Dok Su-gwang twisted his body once more.
Then his Black Snake Spear, whirling fiercely around his body like a serpent, struck the man's twin palms from the side and succeeded in deflecting the palm force.
Thud!
And then immediately, an attack.
Dok Su-gwang's Black Snake Spear became a single line and stabbed into the man's exposed chest.
The spear qi formed at the tip of his spear blazed vividly, like energetic force.
"Haap!"
Clang!
"Keuk?!"
But in the next instant, Dok Su-gwang had to use all his strength just to keep hold of the madly vibrating spear shaft.
It felt as if the sensation in his hands had gone numb.
"Wh-what is this."
He could not believe it.
His full-power thrust, as a peak first-rate martial artist, had not only failed to pierce the man's chest, but had bounced off without leaving a single scratch. It was as if he had stabbed an iron plate.
"Eu-euk!"
As Dok Su-gwang barely managed to hold onto the ceaselessly vibrating spear, the man's red, fierce glare suddenly caught his eye.
And the beast-like growling, too.
"Grrrrrrr."
Dok Su-gwang murmured with a groan.
"A demon... you say?"
***
"Feels strangely poignant, doesn't it?"
"Right. Feels like I've been away for a whole year and just got back."
We finally returned and saw the unchanged sight of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' headquarters, and we fell into a strange sense of emotion.
The sight of the Thirteenth Squad buildings, discovered deep in the dense forest, felt as dearly as if we had returned to our hometown.
Bi Sa-yeong murmured with a wistful expression.
"To feel like I've come home when I've returned to this hellish frontline... I don't know whether I should be happy about it or feel wronged."
If Bi Sa-yeong felt that way, then my own feelings, having spent over ten years here since my last life, needed no further mention.
I smiled faintly and murmured.
"Me, I'm grateful, you know? For having a place to come back to."
This was the place that became a sanctuary for me across two whole lifetimes.
It was only natural that just looking at it made my heart ache with emotion.
But not all the squad members were lost in sentiment like we were.
"We were only gone for thirty-four days. I'd like to go back quickly, report our return, and get some rest, if possible?"
The person walking along, speaking in that toneless way, was none other than Cheongyeon.
"Cheo-Cheongyeon."
"Let's go together, eonni."
Behind her, Na So-jeo and Cheon So-jeo glanced at us and quickly followed her.
Cheongyeon, who originally had little emotional fluctuation, had, unusually, seemed to be in quite a poor mood the entire way back here.
And that was also something that had never happened since she had come to the Flying Dragon Squad.
Because of that, Na So-jeo and Cheon So-jeo were paying a great deal of attention to her.
According to what other squad members said, she hadn't seemed that way before we returned, but apparently, she had become like that after we came back.
It could not help but be a very strange thing.
'What in the world is going on?'
I, who had known her the longest, was the most bewildered. She was absolutely not the sort of person to act like that.
I tried to recall my memories, wondering if there was some incident I had passed over without noticing.
Just then, Bi Sa-yeong quietly asked.
"I've been thinking about it, and did you do something wrong to Lady Hae by any chance?"
Startled by the guy's sudden question, I retorted.
"Me? What did I do wrong?"
"No, I mean, Lady Hae's mood suddenly soured after we came back, so that's why. It's not like she would act that way because of me, right?"
Was that it?
Had I done something wrong to her?
Just in case, I used my excellent memory to quickly scan through my past actions.
But nothing in particular came to mind.
We hadn't even spent much time together, so there was no reason for me to have done anything wrong either.
"Nah, no way. She must just be tired."
It was then.
Bang!
Suddenly, an explosive sound rang out from the other side of the jungle.
As all of us, startled, turned our heads toward it, a faint red smoke rising above the distant trees entered our vision.
"Isn't that a support request?"
"An emergency?"
At that, Seolpung Jojang spoke with a hardened expression.
"It's only one firework so far. Support will be dispatched immediately. Still, we can't be sure, so it's best we return quickly."
We hurried back to headquarters and reported our return to the Thirteen Squads' Commander, the Storm Blade Ronin, Pung Yang.
Commander Pungyang, as taciturn as ever, listened for a long while and then spoke curtly.
"So that's what happened. I'll have to discuss this with the Sword Saint Elder. Everyone did well. Go and get some deep rest."
It seemed that while we were away, the Sword Saint Elder had come to hold near-complete control over the frontline.
Then Seolpung Jojang asked again.
"We saw an emergency signal earlier."
But Pung Yang shook his head as if it were nothing.
"Han Gyo-seong, First Squad Leader, went at once. If there's a problem, another signal will come. All of you, get some deep rest for now."
Everyone nodded at his words.
We thought that if it was Han Gyo-seong, the squad leader who was said to be Seolpung Jojang's equal, it would probably be fine.
Of course, the talk of them being equals was only true until before this dispatch, but still.
Just as Seolpung Jojang was giving his farewell to the Commander and we were all about to leave, I suddenly asked cautiously.
"By any chance, have these sorts of incidents been frequent while we were gone?"
At that, Commander Pungyang shook his head.
"No, not once. This is the first time since you all departed."
The first time, huh...
This meant Cheol-gwi had not appeared yet.
Then perhaps?
With an ominous feeling suddenly dawning on me, I asked again.
"By any chance, do you know which squad is on duty this time?"
"...It's the Fifth Squad."
The Fifth Squad, of all squads, it was Dok Su-gwang's squad.
The one that had reacted most negatively when I warned them about Cheol-gwi.
And it was the same Fifth Squad that, in my past life, had been annihilated by Cheol-gwi.
An emergency signal had come on the very day we returned, and it was Dok Su-gwang's squad...
It was far too much of a coincidence.
The ominous feeling grew thicker and thicker.
I suddenly made an assumption.
What if this was truly because of Cheol-gwi's appearance?
And if even Han Gyo-seong, the squad leader who had gone to provide emergency support, had not brought the Fire Bone Powder with him?
It seemed like it couldn't possibly be that coincidental, but didn't accidents usually happen precisely because such things piled up?
Once I was outside the Commander's hall, I urgently said to Seolpung Jojang.
"Squad Leader, I have a very bad feeling about this. Could you please come with me?"
Seolpung Jojang, who had briefly worn a puzzled expression, immediately hardened his face and nodded.
"Understood. Jin, your gut feelings are absolutely not something I can ignore."
Bi Sa-yeong asked with a serious expression too.
"Should we come too?"
"No. If my guess is right, we'll need someone who can use energetic force for this. First, the Squad Leader and...."
As I spoke, I looked at Cheongyeon, and she readily nodded as well.
"Let's go quickly. Are we going right away to support the Fifth Squad?"
As expected of Cheongyeon.
I had worried for a moment because she seemed to be in a bad mood, but it seemed it had been a needless concern after all.
I grinned and answered her.
"No. First, let's go to Sojeo Dang Yeoeun."
At that, as if my answer was unexpected, she paused for a moment and asked.
"You mean Lady Dang?"
"Yes, because we need the Fire Bone Powder."
And then I immediately launched myself forward.