Kneel

From the seat of the command tent, I had a bird's-eye view of everything below. I felt like some dungeon's final boss surveying his lair.

The interior was vast enough to serve as a banquet hall, and it swarmed with soldiers. The assembled force was larger than usual—troops drawn partly from the surrounding passes. A precautionary exercise, you might say: concentrating soldiers toward whichever point the enemy appeared.

Since I was no longer at odds with the Su-gyeong-dae commanders, consolidating like this should reduce casualties, or so I'd reasoned when I devised it.

The hunters' arrival was a foregone conclusion, so I'd decided to test the system with this opportunity—and it was working better than expected. Satisfying.

Barbarians unlike any we had ever seen. Yet there wasn't a trace of tension on the soldiers' faces.

"They definitely look different from the Sisim or the Yashin, sir. Their clothes are all mismatched too... Especially that woman draped in a hide like a silkworm's cocoon—something's off about her."

"What's off about her?"

"Well, for one, she's floating in midair."

"You shameless brat, Cheukmu! Why are you the only one looking?"

"That's why I'm giving you a detailed description, isn't it? Or shall I gouge out one of my eyes and hand it over, Park Gyu-hyung?"

"You've gotten awfully mouthy lately, huh. Fine, hand one over."

The youngest of them, capable of grasping whatever lay outside his comrades' line of sight—and interfering with it. The others crowded around Cheukmu. One of them even brought the spoon from his meal, intent on digging out an eye.

Dress them up all pretty and the true nature shows in the end, no matter where they go. Truthfully, I was curious what the hunters were up to as well, but I didn't call for Cheukmu. There was one other person nearby who could do something similar—not the same discipline, but close enough. And besides, she was mine exclusively.

"Yeonri."

"Yes."

Standing behind my chair, she stepped forward at my call. As always, I expected her to be my perfect eyes and ears, dissecting the hunters' every capability.

"How long until they reach us?"

"I don't know."

For some reason, it wasn't working. Had she broken?

"I thought you'd at least cleared the monsters off the road."

"O lost her way."

"Then what about the sorcery the barbarians use?"

"She's eating walnuts right now."

"Yeonri."

"Yes."

"Did I do something wrong, by any chance?"

I prided myself on knowing Yeonri well. But I genuinely couldn't find a single thing that might have stung. Sure, the increased patrols meant I'd been dirtying my laundry a bit more often, but she wouldn't sulk this much over something so trivial.

Perhaps my silent brooding got on her nerves, because Yeonri was the one to broach it first.

"There were flowers in the garden behind the residence."

"Oh? They won't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last long, though. That's where Bunhee is staying."

"It seems Commander Bunhee planted them."

"...I see."

So those were the flowers I'd given her, apparently. No idea why Bunhee went and planted them, but I suppose it's like a squirrel burying acorns under a tree to survive the winter when the supply grows too plentiful. Same reason, more or less.

There wasn't much I could do to appease Yeonri on the spot. So I decided to play my most reliable card.

"I'm planning a flower-viewing outing to the nearby city soon. Want to come along?"

"Truly... Your Excellency?"

"Of course."

"I shall look forward to it."

Technically it was a trip to replenish our convict conscripts, but I figured we'd make a pleasure of it while we were there. And so, for a while, Yeonri relayed the hunters' route through her crows—until, without warning—

"How do you intend to treat those barbarians, Your Excellency?"

At her sudden question, the other members turned to look at me as well. Understandable—my intentions would soon become their actions.

I decided to throw the question back.

"What would you lot like to do?"

"Kill them and burn the bodies."

"You idiot. If that's the plan, why let them get this far? Wipe them out from so far off they never even smell us."

"Or how about we rough them up a little and scare them so badly they never come back?"

"Didn't you say even the Yeo clan had its good eggs?"

"Right, they came to rescue them, didn't they. Should we cut off their heads and put them on display?"

Everything my subordinates proposed was how the Tianyu Empire had dealt with outside peoples for the past five hundred years—what we ourselves had always done.

Had this been the past, I would have reached the same conclusions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as my men regarding Earth's hunters. But the me of now had one more option on the table.

Sadae—submission to the greater power.

Grand Marshal of Military Affairs: a post of absolute authority, empowered to conduct independent diplomacy with forces beyond the Central Plains. So long as one did not challenge the Heavenly Emperor's prestige, showing mercy to barbarians was well within my rights.

In other words—

"So what's the conclusion, Commander?"

"I'll decide after watching what they do."

At best, it was wishful thinking. The moment that rift opened, they were bound to keep coming regardless. The Association. The guilds. Parties like Birang, even poor souls lost inside a monster's belly. Rather than driving them off every single time, wasn't this arrangement better for everyone involved?

The only thing that mattered was whether anyone beyond that barrier could read my intentions.

"You three stay here."

"Excuse me? But..."

"What if the rift closes behind us? I'll put up a barrier so no monsters can approach the area. Keep watch."

The moment Shin Yuyu gave a light wave of her hand, a membrane of blue light enclosed them. The hunters marveled at the sheer sophistication of the spell, but she herself scowled.

She was shouldering more than ninety percent of the team's combat power on her own, so Moon Seoyoung asked carefully, half-choked by the pressure of the qi hanging in the air.

"Is something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the matter? Don't tell me you're having trouble using your magic properly..."

"I told you, we're subject to different rules. Why would my magic or my divination reading weaken just because it's this place? It's not that. It's more..."

Monsters lurked in the shadows, watching them. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could feel a human gaze among them too.

Her instincts told her all she needed to know. This gorge was land steeped in death.

"One look and you can tell—people aren't meant to live here."

"..."

"Let's move. Quickly."

"Right. Jihye-ssi."

"Ah—yes! This way!"

So about thirty minutes after they set out, they got lost.

"I-I'm so sorry! I remember up to this point, but after that I'm not really..."

It was more or less expected. The Birang party had been wandering the forest on their own until they met Yuhyeon.

Shin Yuyu stepped on a trail of stone dust that looked like the residue of a basilisk and opened her book. She was checking her first divination.

"I'll take the lead. Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

And so, after a stretch of climbing that bordered on mountain scrambling, the survey team encountered an orc coming from the opposite direction.

Moon Seoyoung rested her hand on the hilt of the sword hanging at her waist.

"Shall we detour?"

"No. If we do, we're deviating from the divination, and I can't guarantee we'll actually reach the destination."

"Then Jihye-ssi and I will engage. Captain, please stay behind me."

The battle wasn't long, but it was fierce. An ordinary monster by Tower standards, yet it took two B-Ranks considerable effort to finally bring it down.

Shin Yuyu did not participate. It had been agreed in advance that an S-Rank like her would only enter combat if the survey team's safety came under direct threat.

Either way, the monsters being this strong was not good news. While the team rested, Park Ingyu was sealing the harvested magic stones into ziplock bags when he caught Shin Yuyu watching him and smiled sheepishly.

"It doesn't look like an ordinary byproduct. It might be worth quite a bit, so I'm thinking of handing it over to the lab when we get back."

"..."

"Ah—your share, Ms. Shin Yuyu, will be calculated by the agreed percentage once the valuation comes through and deposited to your account."

"That goes without saying. There's something I want to confirm first."

"What would that be?"

She asked about the purpose of this expedition. Rescuing the captives, gathering intel on the Hidden Stage, making contact with a new civilization—the list went on, but there had to be priorities among them.

"First, we have to meet this Yuhyeon person."

"And after that?"

"Once we've formally apologized for what the Birang party did, I intend to open genuine negotiations. Once they understand who we are, they'll surely want something from us too."

Judging by precedent, it was a reasonable judgment. Other nations hadn't limited their relationships with other civilizations to one-sided taking, either.

Japan, in particular, had gone so far as to establish formal diplomatic ties in exchange for having one of their hunters appointed a 'Hero' by a saintess of the Holy Nation. It wouldn't come to that here, but Park Ingyu had been delegated a considerable degree of authority by the Association's director.

"In my estimation, there's a decent chance this goes well. Magitech engineering, especially, is a world-leading field. The problem is the guilds smuggling magic stones from the monsters they hunt overseas so nothing ever shows up on the books..."

"That part's beyond me, honestly. Anyway, understood. I signed a contract with the Association, so I was always prepared to align my words and actions with what you people want, within reason."

"You're already being a tremendous help, ma'am."

They rested briefly and kept walking. Before long, the first traces of civilization finally came into view.

A fortress wall built into sheer cliffs. A colossal wave of black stone, stacked stone upon stone, rolled endlessly along the ridgeline without end.

Atop the wall, a man with one eye covered stood watch, bow in hand. Having confirmed the presence of other soldiers as well, Shin Yuyu opened the Cheongirok once more.

"Let's see here."

That was the moment.

"Huh?"

Fweeng!

"...Shit."

"Are you all right?!"

"An arrow? Did it stick in a tree or something?"

"I-I can't see anything at all?"

She hadn't reacted. More precisely—she couldn't react, even with her detection spell wrapped around her.

Powers that were distinct from one another did not fail to collide. The arrow loosed by that soldier had pierced clean through Shin Yuyu's magic.

They're saying the least of them is A-Rank, aren't they?

If she had checked the divination one second later. No—if she hadn't dispelled her flight the instant she read it, that invisible arrow would have skewered her throat. That was the speed of it. That was the power of it.

"Cheukmu, I knew you'd pull this. Didn't I tell you not to wound them and bring them in alive?"

"They brazenly marched right up to the pass spouting that freakish sorcery of theirs, Chunsik-hyung. How could I just let them be?"

"Ahem! I told ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, when the two of us stand together, you address me as Jo Un! Honestly, have you no shame? If you can't even hit the mark, don't embarrass yourself by loosing in the first place!"

"My apologies. I was certain I'd hit."

The soldiers atop the fortress wall, for their part, chattered among themselves as if nothing had happened.

Before long, one of them opened the gate to receive the survey team.

"Pardon our intrusion. We're the ones who arrived a few days ago—"

"Follow me."

"Pardon?"

"The Great General awaits."

Park Ingyu moved to produce a business card, but the man called Jo Un—or rather, Chunsik—didn't so much as glance at it, simply beckoning the group along with a jerk of his chin.

No order to surrender their weapons. No warning against funny business. It spoke volumes about how great their confidence in their own strength was.

"Inside, all of you."

"Is Yuhyeon-nim here?"

"You dare, as mere barbarians, speak the Great General's name so lightly?"

"Th-that was not our intention...!"

Shin Yuyu quietly picked up the Cheongirok. Once she stepped inside, opening the book would likely prove difficult.

This was her last chance to check the final divination.

And so, heart pounding, the moment she turned the first page—

.

.

.

.