The Full Moon Fort
It was a night when a bright full moon rose over Manwolchae. In these quiet forest depths, there was a mountain stronghold whose name perfectly suited a night like this.
"Bwahaha! The moonlight is incredibly bright tonight!"
"Hey, you bastard! No matter how bright the moon is, can it shine brighter than our big brother's face?!"
This was where such boisterous 'heroes' resided — a place called Manwolchae, the Full Moon Fort.
...Yeah, right. This was just a den of bastard bandits who had shamelessly given themselves a name that sounded like they were ruling the world. But they weren't your ordinary run-of-the-mill bandit scum. This stronghold had proudly earned its spot as one of the 72 Bandit Dens of the Nokrim! A lair with real pedigree(?), don't you know! That meant they were a cut above the common thugs and street punks!
As proof...
"Heu heu heu..."
Before Jang Cheol, the chief of Manwolchae, who was laughing with a slimy and sticky lecherousness, knelt a chest full of silver coins and poor women who had been dragged from nearby villages against their will, trembling in fear.
"Which bitch should I go for today... heu heu heu..."
A beastly gaze filled with lust and greed scanned the trembling women. An utterly one-sided and violent humiliation. In the face of such miserable, horrible shame, all the women could do was...
"Hic... sob..."
"Huuuh..."
...forcibly swallow the wails bursting from their throats. If they failed to suppress their emotions here and dared to resist, they would be dragged to his quarters and brutally ravaged. No, they might suffer something even more terrible than that. And on top of that, it wouldn't just be them; their families left behind in their respective villages could be massacred too.
"Heu heu heu... Which bitch should I choose today... hmm...?"
Drooling as he sank into his lecherous deliberation, Jang Cheol's brow suddenly furrowed deeply. And then right away—
Thump—!
"Ugh!"
He swatted the head of the young man he was using as a seat. The young man, who looked to be barely twenty years old, was named Jeong Jin. His name meant 'Upright' and 'Progress', an ambitious name that urged him to walk the straight path. In contrast to this grand name, he was currently groveling.
"The chair is getting lower, you worthless worm."
"Heheh... M-my deepest apologies, master..."
Jeong Jin forced a groveling smile, tightened the muscles in his thighs, and pushed his body up.
"Tch tch... What a pathetic bastard. Can't you even manage this much?"
"Kuh... heheh... I'm sorry, master... I'll try harder..."
Bowing and scraping, Jeong Jin could only cry bloody tears of injustice inside. 'This much, he says...!'
Based on his personal experience, he was certain that Jang Cheol, though he'd never actually put him on a scale, easily weighed over three hundred geun[1]. So, of course, enduring the weight of this pig was naturally fucking hard!
Regardless, whether it was due to his physical limits or the sheer heaviness of the bastard's load, Jeong Jin's body kept trembling, threatening to give way beneath the crushing weight.
Reacting to this, Jang Cheol snorted in displeasure, and his quick-witted lackeys stepped in immediately.
"Ahem! The human-chair bastard keeps losing his height!"
"You should know it's an honor to support Brother Jang Cheol's august body and keep yourself stiff and at attention! Want me to just snap your spine in half?"
Taunts meant to curry favor with the chief rained down from all sides, all of them mocking him.
"K-Kuh...!"
This time, Jeong Jin couldn't help but let a pained groan escape his lips as his legs trembled violently. Jang Cheol, reading their pathetic and resentful emotions like a ghost, curled his lips nastily.
"You pissed off? Thinking about drawing a sword on this lord again like you did that day, screaming, 'You dirty dark path bastard'?"
As he asked this, Jang Cheol casually rested his hand on the massive greatsword embedded in the ground beside him. It was a murderous threat, as if he would pull it out and sever Jeong Jin's neck in an instant.
"N-no! Not at all, master! How could I, a humble wretch, dare to harbor any disrespect towards the great Silver Moon Greatsword wielder, the esteemed Jang Cheol! When I think about my foolishness that day, I am filled with such shame I wish I could crawl into a rat's hole! Heheh..."
A desperate groveling to survive. It was truly a pitiful struggle of survival instinct. Fortunately, it seemed to work.
Snort.
"Keu... yeah, if you know your place, then do your duty as this lord's chair properly. I am already deeply troubled over which one of those bitches to pick."
Satisfied, Jang Cheol turned his greasy gaze back to the women.
"Y-yes, master... as you command, heheh..."
Jeong Jin swallowed the twisting humiliation and forced a smile onto his face.
And so...
"Hic... sob..."
"Huuuh..."
The women could only sob silently in despair under that beastly gaze.
"Bwahaha! That's our chief for you! So meticulous!"
"Brother! You know the leftovers after you're done are ours, right? Heheh!"
The weak and powerless wept in silence. The strong and wicked laughed heartily and ruled. The martial world was truly a fucking godforsaken shithole!
That was when it happened.
KWA-BOOOOOOM---!!!
An ear-splitting explosion rang out from the entrance of the mountain stronghold, and the ground shook.
"Wha, what in the world?!"
"Is it the orthodox bastards?! Or could it be a surprise attack from the river bandits?!"
The bandits lost their wits and panicked at the sudden blast.
However, Chief Jang Cheol glared and barked out a command.
"What crazy bastard dares..."
He grabbed the hilt of his greatsword and stood up from his seat in a single motion.
"What bastard is making a ruckus at this Great Manwolchae!!!"
Along with his furious shout, from within the white dust cloud of the shattered main gate—
"Tee-hee-hee~~"
A very clear and cheerful laugh flowed out.
"Can I kill them?"
###
"..."
Jang Cheol unconsciously froze on the spot.
This wasn't just him.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Not only Jeong Jin, who was crushed under Jang Cheol's ass, and the surrounding bandit lackeys—
"Hic...?"
"Sniff...?"
The crying women also held their breath and froze.
Because—
"Can I kill them?"
The girl who appeared in this savage bandit lair and asked for permission to kill with such a bright voice was covered in fresh red blood from head to toe, a truly horrifying sight.
In response to the girl's eerie question—
"Hmm..."
The young man who looked to be barely past his coming-of-age casually stroked his chin, pondering. In the young man's hand was a very bizarre and terrible object.
"Cra... crazy...?!"
The first to identify what it was was one of the lackeys in the front.
"Du-Paal!!!"
"What...? Du Pal...?"
"Th-that thing...? That isn't an animal thigh... but a person!?"
The bandits were struck dumb with horror. The object dangling in the bastard's hand like a club was Du Pal, who had been on gate duty today!
If that was really Du Pal, then Du Pal must have crossed the Samdo River and the Yellow Springs long ago! His form was completely unrecognizable. That chunk of perfectly minced meat was supposedly Du Pal!
"W-what in the world..."
"H-how can a person end up like that..."
The bandits trembled like aspen leaves at the gruesome and grotesque sight!
But whether they were paralyzed with fear or not—
"Can I kill them?"
Do Hwa looked up at Do Gwang and asked once more with a bright smile. In response, Do Gwang gave a very light nod.
"Yeah. You can kill everyone except those sisters over there."
As soon as the permission was granted—
"Okay!"
Do Hwa answered cheerfully, as if she were delighted, and adjusted her grip on her dagger.
At this illogical and insane scene, a clueless bandit in the front lost his mind and tried to bluster.
"You little bastards! Do you know where this is that you dare...!"
He had no idea who—what kind of calamity—had just walked into this place. Completely oblivious to the situation, the fool tried to act tough with a classic line straight out of a third-rate villain's handbook.
"If you crazy little shits aren't tired of liv..."
But before he could even finish his sentence—
Sweesh-!
The life he was yapping with... his head was sent cleanly flying into the air.
Thud thud...
"...?"
"...?"
The bandits were frozen like mute dumplings. Why was the head of their buddy Dongchil, who was just yelling a second ago, rolling on the ground like a watermelon? Their brains simply couldn't keep up with a situation that had unfolded in an instant.
But that moment of silence was very short. Because—
"Tee-hee-hee~~!"
Along with the creepily cheerful laughter—
Sweesh-!
Sweesh-!
With every flash of an invisible blood-red blade, their necks fell like rice stalks in harvest season!
"T-this crazy little bitch...!!!"
Finally grasping the situation, Jang Cheol was horrified and drew his greatsword.
"K-kill her!! Crush that crazy little bitch!!"
His subordinates screamed belatedly and raised their weapons to resist, but—
Sweesh-!
Sweesh-!
They couldn't even mount a proper resistance before their heads were sliced clean off.
Faced with Do Hwa's blade dance, like a demon cavorting in a storm of blood—
"Hiiieek!!"
"Sp-spare me!!!"
The remaining bandits, completely losing their will to fight, screamed and turned tail to flee for their lives.
"Don't run, you bastards!!!"
Jang Cheol roared at the top of his lungs, his veins bulging, but there was no way the chief's orders would reach the ears of his subordinates, who were already terrified out of their wits.
Jang Cheol himself raised his greatsword with trembling hands, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He could instinctively sense that this blood-soaked little girl's martial arts were far above his own. That was when—
Drag... drag...
The sound of something heavy being dragged along the ground clearly struck Jang Cheol's ears.
"...!!!"
He turned his gaze towards the sound and felt his heart stop.
If a tiny little girl was a crazy monster who could slice people up that well, then the bastard approaching him now, dragging a bloodied corpse like a club, was definitely a hundred times crazier!
"Y-you bastard! Do you know who I am!"
Jang Cheol stepped back and spat out a typical pathetic line from a third-rate villain.
In response—
Snort.
Do Gwang's lips curled into a cold sneer.
Infuriated by the blatant mockery, Jang Cheol screamed—
"How dare you cause trouble in Manwolchae, ruled by the great Silver Moon Greatsword wielder, Jang Cheol! You must have an extra life to spare!"
A scream full of bluster and bravado from a man pretending to be a chief.
Snort.
Do Gwang sneered once more, as if utterly dumbfounded, and spoke.
"A bottom-tier trash bastard from the Nokrim sure gave himself a grand alias and a grand lair name."
"What, what?! You bastard, how dare you!!!"
Struck at his most tender spot, Jang Cheol's eyes rolled back as he raised his greatsword.
However, he wasn't a fool who would just charge in angrily. Though his heart burned hot with rage, his head remained cool and calm. 'This crazy bastard is definitely no ordinary expert as well...!'
As Do Gwang had said, Manwolchae was at the bottom of the 72 strongholds, but even a rotten horse has some meat left on its bones. As the nominal leader of one of the Nokrim's top powers, he made a quick decision.
'I have to end this in a single strike!'
SWOOOSH---!!!
Jang Cheol's heavy greatsword, infused with all his inner energy, came crashing down towards Do Gwang's head with deadly force. The greatsword, coated in a fierce blue blade energy, boasted a massive presence that could split a house-sized boulder in two at a stroke!
But of course—no, quite naturally—the greatsword did not split Do Gwang in two as Jang Cheol had hopefully anticipated.
Because the one blocking his path was none other than...
WHOOOOSH---!!!
Do Gwang, swinging the 'human club, Du Pal' which was emitting a piercingly clear blue blade energy in a full-power swing!
KWA-BOOOOOM-!!!
Jang Cheol's greatsword and Do Gwang's Du Pal clashed, creating an explosive sound like a thunderclap! At the moment of that brutal collision—
"Kuaaaaagh!!!"
Jang Cheol couldn't help but let out a scream of agony.
Thud-!
His muscular arm, which had been gripping the greatsword, was completely shattered and sent flying backwards!
"Y-you... what the hell are you...!"
Shocked by the despair that his full-powered strike had not only been blocked by a mere piece of a corpse but had also cost him his arm, Jang Cheol stared with bloodshot eyes.
But Do Gwang wasn't the type of person to bother answering a loser's question.
"Oh..."
His gaze was fixed on the greatsword that was rolling on the ground along with Jang Cheol's severed arm.
"As expected of a trash mob. It was carrying a pretty decent item."
Do Gwang lightly picked up the greatsword from the ground with one hand.
"Th-that's mine, you bastard!!!"
Jang Cheol wept tears of blood and screamed. He had never heard the word trash mob in his life, but since it had the word 'trash' in it, it was definitely an insult that treated him like a bug. And above all, to have his Silver Moon Greatsword, which was like an extension of his own body as a martial artist, stolen right before his eyes!
"Give it back!!! Give me back my greatsword! Aaaaagh!!!"
Unable to regain his lost composure, Jang Cheol lunged at Do Gwang like a wild beast in a final desperate struggle.
However—
Sweesh-!
With an incredibly light and clean sound, Jang Cheol's vision was completely inverted. He saw his own fat body spinning through the air as his last sight.
"Yeah, it's a Rare item, so the durability is decent."
Do Gwang smiled with satisfaction. This greatsword seemed like he could infuse it with his inner energy and swing it around freely without worry. It was the kind of weapon he used a lot in the early game, too. It wasn't a legendary or mythic-grade weapon with a grand name like 'Silver Moon Greatsword', like that dead bastard had called it. The item name was probably just 'Rare Greatsword'. Well, still...
It was a decent weapon marked as a blue, rare grade item. So I'll use this for now.
He spun the hilt of the greatsword lightly in his hand and looked around. Right on time, it seemed Do Hwa's blade dance had also been perfectly concluded. The heads of the bandits that had been rolling around the once-bustling Manwolchae were all laid out on the floor.
"Tee-hee-hee~~!"
Painted red from head to toe, Do Hwa laughed brightly and walked steadily forward.
Not towards the poor women that Do Gwang had ordered to be spared, but towards another survivor who was still breathing.
It was none other than...
"H-hiik...!"
...Jeong Jin, who had been prostrating himself from the very beginning!
"D-don't come...!"
He stumbled backward on his butt, desperately trying to retreat. But his terrified expression seemed to pique the child's interest.
"Tee-hee-hee~~!"
Do Hwa twirled the dagger in her hand and closed the distance step by step, her expression bright. She could have slit his throat in a single stroke like the other bandits, but she was like a cat playing with a mouse!
But fortunately, the tragedy of Do Hwa's dagger slitting Jeong Jin's throat did not occur.
"Ah, Do Hwa. Not that one."
Because Do Gwang stepped in at just the right moment. He rested the greatsword lightly on his shoulder and jerked his head.
"Other than that person..."
Trudge. Trudge. Do Gwang walked past the field of corpses until he stood before a small wooden structure built from roughly nailed planks—the outhouse, which reeked of filth.
Sweesh-!
A casual swing of the greatsword shattered the wooden plank door like a sheet of paper.
"One bastard hiding in here is the last one."
Do Gwang pointed the tip of his greatsword at the guy cowering in the corner of the outhouse.
"HIIIIIEEK!!!!"
The last remaining bandit, fitting perfectly for his location, was openly shitting and pissing himself while trembling like a leaf. At the filthy and disgusting sight, Do Gwang openly pinched his nose.
"Ugh... this is disgustingly filthy."
"Tee-hee-hee~~ I'll finish it quickly!"
Do Hwa, acting as if she didn't care about the smell, happily adjusted her grip on her dagger and prepared to pounce.
"P-please spare me... just let me live...!"
The bandit rubbed his hands together and begged, his face a mess of tears and snot.
But of course, there was no way that pathetic begging would work on these crazy bastards. Any second now, his head would be rolling on the ground.
But at that moment—
"H-hold on!"
A trembling voice interrupted.
"Stop this at once!!!"
The owner of the shout was none other than Jeong Jin, the human chair who had narrowly escaped death. Though trembling in fear, he spread his arms wide, shielding the bandit and standing firmly before the two monsters.
"Stop this senseless killing RIGHT NOW!!!"
---
[1] A geun is a Korean unit of weight equivalent to about 600 grams.