Hyunjungsa

Morning broke, the sun rising as birds began to sing.

From a tent set up in a corner of the desolate factory—still littered with the corpses and traces of yesterday's fierce battle—Kang Dohun emerged with a weary expression.

"Aaah!"

He stretched his arms wide and worked through a light routine of stretches.

The scene around him was grim, bodies strewn everywhere, but it no longer fazed Kang Dohun.

He began wandering the factory, taking it all in.

The bandits had used this factory as their base. Several warehouses were attached to the main building, each with its own purpose.

"This one's the water storage."

There was a warehouse stocked with purified water and collected rainwater. Next to it—

"This is food."

Supplies gathered from various locations were piled inside. And the warehouse beside that—

"This is the general supplies warehouse."

It held clothing and a variety of other materials.

Dohun washed himself with water, checked what they needed, and set aside food for breakfast. Then he went to the office where his brother had slept with the women.

"Hyung, you still haven't woken up?"

"Zzzzzzz"

Three people—two women and one man—lay naked together in the office, deep in sleep.

Yesterday was quite a spectacle. All that noise… he really went at it hard, I guess.

The women's bodies were red and marked, evidence of how roughly Kang Dohyun had used them. Semen dripped from both their vaginas and their assholes.

Dohyun had finally let loose with a sadistic streak he hadn't indulged in a long time.

"Hyung, wake up!"

Dohun shook his sleeping brother awake.

"Wha—what time is it?"

"7:30."

At the time, Dohyun sat up, and the two women lying beside him opened their eyes and got up as well.

Dohun had prepared breakfast beforehand—canned corn and canned tuna. He carried the cans into the office.

"Let's keep breakfast simple."

"Sure."

The brothers opened the cans and began eating while the two women who had slept with Dohyun the night before—

Glug.

They swallowed hard, hungry but just watching, waiting for permission.

"You two eat too. You worked hard yesterday."

"Yes!"

Once Dohyun gave his approval, the women forgot their shame in their naked state and hastily opened cans, shoving food into their mouths.

It was a strange breakfast scene. The women ate frantically in the nude, while the brothers sat beside them, calmly putting food in their mouths and chatting.

"Drone again ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today?"

"Yeah, let's go fast on the drone. If we leave at breakfast, we'll reach Asan before lunch."

"So we leave right after eating?"

"Let's do it. But give me a little time to get ready."

"Alright, got it."

That was how they finished breakfast.

Once all nine cans Dohun had brought were emptied, the meal was naturally over. The women glanced at the brothers, waiting for their fate.

"Hyung? What about the ladies here?"

"Hmm? They were good last night, but…"

The word "good" came from his brother's mouth, but the rest of the sentence never followed. Before Dohyun could say anything else, Dohun made the decision for him.

"Since hyung said they were good, we'll let them live. Stay quiet until we leave, and once we're gone, you can figure out how to survive on your own."

At the words "let them live," the women immediately bowed their heads in gratitude.

"Thank you."

They hadn't done anything wrong—in fact, they had provided sexual service to Kang Dohyun—but being spared was enough to be grateful for.

Once Dohyun finished getting ready, the brothers went up to the factory rooftop and summoned their drones.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

The two climbed onto the drones and shot off, disappearing into the sky at high speed.

"They're gone?"

"Yeah, they flew away on some weird thing."

The two women left behind at the factory confirmed the brothers had departed.

"Let's run fast."

"Wait a moment. We need to grab what we can."

The two women put on the leather clothes the bandits had used, grabbed weapons, stuffed food into bags, and left the factory.

By lunchtime, the brothers had arrived in Asan. But the drone didn't stop in the city center—it flew further north.

"That's our destination."

Hyeonchungsa in Asan—a shrine dedicated to Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the Chungmugong, and a site managing various relics related to him.

As they approached the area around Hyeonchungsa, a thin blue barrier came into view.

"Hyung, is this one too?"

"Yeah, it's a dungeon."

At the word "dungeon," Dohun sighed.

"A dungeon related to Admiral Yi Sun-sin… this is gonna be tough."

"Of course it's not easy. Still—"

He recalled the drone as he continued.

"There's a weapon I absolutely need to get."

The two dropped from the sky and landed at the entrance of Hyeonchungsa.

A blue barrier wrapped around the center of Hyeonchungsa, but the entrance was surrounded by a White Barrier.

"Huh? Something's different?"

"This place is like Hyeonchungwon—multiple dungeons make it up. And a White Barrier is doable."

The two passed through the White Barrier and entered the dungeon.

"....."

It was quiet. Very quiet. Dohun looked around and signaled to his brother.

Hyung? What do we do?

Follow me.

Dohyun activated his scent detection and began moving carefully. His destination was the memorial hall within Hyeonchungsa, where relics were gathered.

Hyeonchungsa was an extremely dangerous dungeon—a special one housing quite powerful undead.

But the Admiral Yi Sun-sin Memorial Hall at the entrance was a relatively weaker dungeon.

Relatively, that was. It was weaker than the inner areas, but it was still a sufficiently dangerous dungeon.

They entered the memorial hall.

Woof.

A giant dog—a zombie dog—spotted the two brothers and charged.

"Zombie dog! It's fast. Be careful!"

Dohyun drew an axe, and Dohun took a fighting stance. The zombie dog sprinted forward and leaped—

Thwack!

Dohun kicked the zombie dog squarely in the head.

Woof! Grrr! Grrr!

The zombie dog writhed in pain on the ground, but—

Grrrr...

It got back up.

"Hyung, something's off?"

The kick had landed properly, yet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠zombie dog had risen again.

"Looks like a zombie dog with abnormally high defense or massive HP."

"Really? Then what do we do?"

"What choice do we have? Beat it to death."

Dohyun pulled out his crossbow and loaded a mana bolt.

"Alright, let's beat it to death."

Dohun charged the zombie dog and began pounding it with fists and feet.

The zombie dog became a punching bag.

Thwack, pow! Bam! Thwack.

Dohun's fists and feet struck the dog's head and body. Whenever the zombie dog tried to counterattack, lunging forward—

Thump! Thwack!

Grrr!

Dohyun's ranged attacks embedded in its body, foiling the counterattack.

The zombie dog was fast, but slower than the brothers chosen by the god of athletics, and it couldn't land a proper attack.

Still, the zombie dog kept charging stubbornly.

"Hyung, this zombie dog… its HP seems way too high?"

"I know."

No matter how much it got beaten, it kept getting up. The brothers had enough attack power to fell ordinary zombies in one hit, but this zombie dog had taken dozens of those hits and was still standing.

"I guess I have to use this."

Dohun finally pulled a shotgun from his pocket.

"Dohun, set up an opening for me."

Seeing the shotgun his brother held, Dohun replied.

"Okay!"

Dohun decided to pull a risky trick to create an opening for his brother's attack.

He charged the zombie dog first.

Grrr! Woof!

The zombie dog lunged to bite Dohun's neck, but—

As expected, its attacks are simple.

It was only a short time, but Dohun had already figured out the zombie dog's attack pattern. He moved his body fluidly, dodging the dog's attacks, and grabbed its neck with both hands.

"Got you, you bastard!"

Grrr! Woof! Woof!

The zombie dog barked and thrashed, but Dohun held on with tremendous strength.

His younger brother had successfully—and easily—grabbed the zombie dog.

"Dohun, good work."

Dohyun approached with ease and pressed the shotgun's muzzle to the zombie dog's head.

BOOM!

The shotgun fired, and half the zombie dog's head flew off.

With half its head gone, the zombie dog went limp, and Dohun let go of his grip.

"No! Don't let go yet—"

Pat pat pat pat!

Before Dohyun could warn him, the fallen zombie dog got up and bolted away at high speed.

"Damn it!"

Dohyun hastily fired three mana bolts into the zombie dog's ass, but he couldn't stop it from escaping.

With the half-headed zombie dog running away—

"Hyung, I'm sorry. I thought it was dead."

"No, it can't be helped."

Dohyun was worried about the zombie dog escaping alive, but there was no time to think deeply about it.

"Let's go inside quickly."

The two brothers entered the memorial hall.

There was an exhibition room in the basement of the memorial hall. Dohyun looked through the various relics on display—

"Found it."

He had found what he was looking for. It was—

"Swords?"

"Yeah, Admiral Yi Sun-sin's long swords."

What Dohyun had been searching for were two long swords belonging to Admiral Yi Sun-sin.

Two long swords of Yi Sun-sin were displayed in the exhibition room.

Dohyun raised his axe and struck hard at the glass encasing the two long swords, shattering it.

Crash!

The glass broke, creating a hole. He reached through the gap and grabbed Admiral Yi Sun-sin's two long swords with his bare hands.

These were swords called "Yi Sun-sin's Long Swords." At 197.5 cm long, they were far taller than an adult human.

Engraved on the blades was the calligraphy: "A three-foot oath to Heaven, mountains and rivers trembled; a single sweep clean, blood staining the land." — "Three feet I swear to heaven, mountains and rivers change color; one sweep to cleanse, blood dyes the mountains and rivers."

These swords were not the ones Admiral Yi Sun-sin had actually used in battle, but ones he had used to steady his spirit.

Dohyun examined the two swords closely, and his curious younger brother asked.

"Hyung? Are these special swords?"

"Yeah, very special swords."

As unranked items, their effects and usage weren't revealed. But Dohyun knew these two swords well.

A lawless man who had used these swords had become quite powerful with them, eventually ruling a region of Chungcheong Province.

Satisfied, Dohyun stored both swords in his inventory.

"It's a long story to explain here. Let's just go."

As they tried to leave the memorial hall—

Grrrr...

Standing before the two brothers was the zombie dog with half its head blown off—the one that had escaped earlier. But it wasn't alone. There were more than ten zombie dogs.

"Hahaha. Hyung, this is a bit troublesome, isn't it?"

Dohyun nodded at his younger brother's words. And at the same time—

Woof! Woof woof!

Ten zombie dogs charged the brothers simultaneously.

The other zombie dogs had been called by the first one. These special undead were identical to the zombie dog they had fought earlier.

Fast, but without powerful attack strength. However—

Thwack!

Grrr!

No matter how hard the brothers attacked, they didn't fall. They got back up and attacked again.

With ten of them attacking in turns, the brothers realized they were just burning time while defending.

"Hyung, what do we do? These guys are undead so they don't tire."

"That's right."

"But we're getting tired."

Until now, they had been blocking the zombie dogs' attacks, but it was only a matter of time before their stamina dropped and their defense crumbled.

The brothers stood back-to-back, defending against the zombie dogs' attacks, until Dohyun reached a conclusion.

I need time.

So he said to his younger brother.

"See that bathroom over there?"

"Yeah."

His brother pointed to the bathroom in the exhibition hall.

"Can you go to the bathroom and block the entrance? I need a little time."

Dohun didn't know why his brother needed time, but—

"Sure. If I hold them off, you have a solution, right?"

"Of course."

At his brother's answer, Dohun nodded.

"One, two, three!"

The moment he counted three, Dohyun fired his shotgun at the surrounding area.

Click, BOOM! Click, BOOM!

Grrr! Grrr!

The wide shotgun blasts damaged the zombie dogs and pushed them back. A gap opened—

"Run!"

The two brothers sprinted toward the bathroom.

Woof! Woof! Woof woof!

The zombie dogs chased after them.

The brothers ran at full speed and reached the bathroom before the zombie dogs.

"Dohun, I'm counting on you! Block the entrance. I need time."

"Got it!"

When Dohyun entrusted the entrance to his younger brother, Dohun blocked the narrow bathroom doorway and shouted.

"You bastards! Come on!"

He held back the zombie dogs. The ones that arrived charged—

Thwack! Pow!

He blocked their attacks with his hands and feet, holding them off.

While his younger brother struggled against the zombie dogs, Dohyun went deeper into the bathroom. He was worried about Dohun, but—

I have to trust Dohun.

In one-on-one combat, his younger brother was stronger than him. There were many zombie dogs, so he was concerned, but right now he had to trust him.

Dohyun steadied his mind. He needed to focus. He sat calmly on the bathroom floor in a proper posture.

"Hoo……."

He took a long, deep breath, then pulled Admiral Yi Sun-sin's two long swords from his inventory.

The heavy, massive swords were gripped one in each hand.

Dohyun gazed at the swords with a reverent heart, then gripped them and swung.

Clang!

The two blades met with a clear ring. Then—

A special message appeared, and Dohyun answered firmly.

"Yes!"

"Ugh!"

Tremendous heat began radiating from the swords as they merged. The heat was intense and painful, but—

Endure it! I have to endure it!

Dohyun bore it with superhuman patience, waiting for the two swords to fuse.

While his brother was inside the bathroom, Dohun was struggling at the entrance, blocking the zombie dogs' attacks.

"Haa… haa…"

He had been holding off ten zombie dogs for over thirty minutes, so it was natural that he was exhausted and couldn't avoid getting injured.

His arms and legs were covered in wounds, and there were even bite marks. So—

The infection is treatable with medicine, but the problem is—

His stamina was dropping rapidly. Dohun was using all his mental strength to block the zombie dogs' attacks.

Dohyun, sitting on the bathroom floor, endured with great difficulty—

A new sword about one meter long appeared in Dohyun's hand.

"Hoo, finally."

The new sword was beautiful—a legendary blade that emitted a faint blue glow. Dohyun admired its appearance, then checked the item's information.

"....."

He had known it was an incredible sword. But—

"It reduces lifespan too?"

It was a sword that consumed the user's life force. But—

"Aaagh!!"

His younger brother's pained cry came from outside the bathroom.

I need to go out there fast!

There was no more time to think. Dohyun grabbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sword and ran outside to help his brother.

The zombie dogs were cunning too—they knew Dohun was getting tired. The leader zombie dog decided it was time to finish things.

Woof!

At the leader's signal, all ten zombie dogs charged Dohun simultaneously.

With ten attacking at once, Dohun thought this was it.

"Damn it!"

Dohun kicked the head of the first zombie dog that charged. He punched the body of the second one. He pushed away the face of the third with his other hand. But the fourth dog's attack—

Chomp!

"Aaagh!!"

It bit his forearm. He swung his arm to block the next zombie dog's attack and shook off the one biting him, but he had no choice but to let the continuous attacks land.

As Dohun took zombie dog attacks on both arms and reached his limit—

"Dohun! Move!"

Dohyun burst out of the bathroom, swinging his sword. The blade—

Shing… swish!

—sliced through the body of the zombie dog attacking Dohun.

Tear!

The zombie dog, which had possessed tremendous defense and stamina, was split in half and collapsed to the ground.

"!"

Both Dohun and the zombie dogs were shocked by the powerful attack, but Dohyun swung his sword again and again.

"Die!"

Each time he swung—

Shing!

The sword, imbued with blue energy, split the zombie dogs in half. He swung nine more times, and all ten zombie dogs lay on the ground, each split in two.

When the ten zombie dogs died, a message window appeared.

The moment the dungeon clear message appeared—

"Haa… that was close."

Dohun sighed in relief.

Dohyun, who had swung his sword to kill the zombie dogs—

"Dohun… I'm passing… out."

His brother, who had just demonstrated incredible attack power, had exhausted all his stamina and collapsed right there.

"What? I was the one who suffered more, and I'm in more pain!"

Dohun was flustered, but the unconscious Dohyun couldn't answer.

"Argh!"

He hastily put the sword his brother had dropped into his inventory, then—

"Ah! I'm hurting too."

With his injured hands, he hoisted his brother onto his back and quickly escaped the Hyeonchungsa dungeon.