Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: White Tiger Squad
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Im Hyehyang's white and delicate hand gripped the hem of her skirt so tightly it seemed it might rip apart at any moment. The raw urge to shove something into her great-uncle's mouth and silence him was etched plainly across her face.
Baek Muhyeon, who had been savoring that chilling atmosphere, soon raised both hands in surrender and let out a hearty laugh.
"Haha, alright, alright. This old man admits defeat. I just got carried away teasing my granddaughter after so long apart."
Im Hyehyang didn't respond with words, merely snorting derisively, but the tension in her clenched fist slowly eased. Only then did the mood in the room soften a bit.
Baek Muhyeon dropped his playful demeanor and regarded his granddaughter with a more serious expression. His gaze carried the dignified depth befitting the leader of the Healer Immortal Sect.
"Hyehyang."
He called her name softly, then slowly opened his mouth to speak.
"You've probably heard by now, but unidentified treasure maps to secret caves have been scattered across the Central Plains. Even the Vermilion Bird Squad of the Murim Alliance, compiling what they've gathered so far, reports the number exceeds twenty."
Im Hyehyang nodded quietly in response. Her expression was calm, as if she had already known this.
But I was different.
'Over twenty?'
I was stunned inwardly. Beyond the cave with the Mad Demon Sword that the Azure Dragon Squad had headed to, there were over twenty more such dangerous sites? The situation was far graver than I'd imagined.
Baek Muhyeon's grave voice echoed lowly through the room.
"You know the Alliance Leader dispatched the Azure Dragon Squad and White Tiger Squad to these secret caves everywhere to prevent meaningless clashes between righteous and evil factions."
He paused for a moment and let out a sigh. A heavy weariness was laced into that single breath.
"The Azure Dragon Squad had no major worries with their squad leader being so exceptional from the start... but the White Tiger Squad was a different story. Though their numbers were several times greater than the Azure Dragon Squad's, their individual martial prowess fell far short... so the casualties were inevitable."
White Tiger Squad. I'd heard it was one of the Murim Alliance's two major combat units alongside the Azure Dragon Squad. So while the Azure Dragon Squad relied on a small elite force, the White Tiger Squad pushed with sheer numbers.
"There are plenty of physicians dispatched with them and those stationed here at the Murim Alliance. However... we're sorely lacking in those capable of properly directing them and handling severe injuries."
The picture became clear.
There were more than enough nurses, but a shortage of skilled surgeons to lead the operations.
Baek Muhyeon looked at his granddaughter with eyes filled with apology and earnest plea.
"If this old man could oversee it all, that would be ideal, but with so many patients, one body just can't keep up. That's why I called you here."
His face softened with the affection of a father sending his daughter to the battlefield.
"So... please help those children out."
Im Hyehyang replied without the slightest hesitation.
"Understood."
At her concise answer, Baek Muhyeon finally seemed relieved, offering a faint, apologetic smile.
It was right then.
"Sect Leader. May I enter?"
A cautious voice came from outside the door. Baek Muhyeon permitted it in a kindly tone.
"Come in."
The one who entered was the chief steward who had guided us earlier. He bowed deeply to Baek Muhyeon and reported.
"The Fourth Vice Squad Leader of the White Tiger Squad has just returned leading the troops."
'They have multiple vice squad leaders, huh.'
Unlike the Azure Dragon Squad, where I'd just received a temporary vice squad leader position, the larger White Tiger Squad apparently had several.
Baek Muhyeon's eyes sharpened at the report. He rose from his seat without delay.
"Let's go see them."
The chief steward led the way, followed by Baek Muhyeon. Im Hyehyang naturally fell in step behind her great-uncle as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Eh?
In an instant, I was left alone in the room.
Should I go too? It'd be smart to follow along, right?
As I hesitated, lost in thought, a cold voice pierced into my ear.
-Follow.
It was Master's telepathic message.
Ah. Yes. Of course I should. Absolutely.
I hurried after Master and Great-Grandmaster without a word.
Under the chief steward's guidance, we arrived at the heart of the massive hall—the Murim Alliance's Medical Pavilion.
The moment we stepped through the doors, a scene like a miniature hell unfolded before our eyes.
The air, thick with the mingled scents of blood, sweat, and bitter herbs, clawed at my nostrils.
Moans erupting from all sides, agonized screams of pain, and the urgent shouts of physicians tangled into a massive wave of noise.
The vast space, large enough for a training ground, was packed with injured without room to step. Those lying there in tattered armor, covered in blood, all wore the White Tiger Squad's uniforms. They leaned against walls, lay on makeshift beds, or had simply collapsed on the floor.
Weaving between them were the squad's own physicians and those stationed at the Alliance, frantically tending to the wounded. But their movements lacked any order. They were frantic, awkward, and inefficient.
It was like walking into an open-book exam without studying, only to find problems you couldn't solve even with the book in hand—floundering, unsure how to use what you had.
Honestly, I had no confidence I could do better than them.
The only physician work I'd done was casting area-wide recovery hypnosis on the Righteous Alliance martial artists in the secret cave and slathering herbs on bruises for Paeng Daesan and the others in the Azure Dragon Squad before adding hypnosis. This was on a whole different level from the severe injuries before me.
Above all... there were just too many.
Hundreds filled my view alone. Factoring in the groans from deeper inside, the total was undoubtedly much higher.
'One vice squad leader brought back this many?'
The force led by this Fourth Vice Squad Leader matched the entire Azure Dragon Squad in size. That was the scale of the White Tiger Squad. Excluding them, the manpower needed to bring all these wounded back to the Alliance must have been immense.
Overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, I stood dazed when Baek Muhyeon and Im Hyehyang had already sprung into action. They plunged into the vortex of chaos without hesitation, seamlessly inserting themselves into the command structure.
With every sweep of Baek Muhyeon's gaze, his finger pinpointed a patient precisely.
"That abdominal laceration patient first! Severe internal bleeding!"
"You there, stop fumbling and staunch the bleeding properly!"
The old man's gentle yet firm voice gave direction to the scattered physicians' movements.
Im Hyehyang was even more hands-on. She strode into one section like she was claiming it outright and snatched the herb basket from a frozen physician's hands.
"Those herbs are for neutralizing poison. They're barely effective on trauma patients. Take them over there."
"You don't wrap bandages that loosely. Tighter. Compress until the bleeding stops."
Her commands were as cold and precise as ice. Her voice brooked no argument. The area under her command visibly stabilized.
Just the addition of these two experts began to birth pockets of order amid the chaos.
All I could do was watch.
What could I even accomplish here?
Cast recovery hypnosis on the entire White Tiger Squad?
Admittedly, after the secret cave experience, my mental strength was incomparably greater than before. But the White Tiger Squad before me was overwhelmingly vast. Easily over five hundred, by rough estimate.
I could cover some of them, but that would be just 'some.'
Moreover, these grave injuries required intense, focused hypnosis on each individual for any real effect. A weak 'You'll be fine' suggestion wouldn't touch shattered bones or ruptured organs. But treating them one by one properly would exhaust my mental energy before I could even handle ten.
Inefficient. Far too inefficient.
What should I do?
Was there no way for me to help this situation with my abilities? As efficiently as possible?
I pondered, scanning my surroundings.
And that's when I saw it.
The physicians moving with utmost effort, yet the most inefficiently of all.
One young physician trembled at the sight of blood, unable to even grind his herbs properly.
Another middle-aged one, after grabbing medicine for a just-treated patient, dashed to the opposite side for the wrong remedy, his path completely tangled.
Everyone was sweating, giving their all, but panic and inexperience were eating away at their efficiency. Every two or three wasted steps prolonged a patient's suffering.
I stared at them—the dozens of physicians flailing about.
Ah.
I see.