Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 155
>Chapter Title: Practice (5)
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After the White Sparrow Squad Leader's explanation had wrapped up.
The group, divided into six teams, first split off by team to find lodging and get some rest.
Thanks to the massive oasis that had given rise to the town of Toro-burn, Il-mok was finally able to enjoy a proper bath for the first time since starting the practical training.
And the next morning.
Il-mok, assigned to Team One, set out on the journey with his teammates.
His team consisted of the White Sparrow Squad Leader and four squad members, Instructor So-hong and her assistant, plus four cadets including Il-mok.
The other three cadets were from Class Eul, so Il-mok had almost no connection with them.
Of course, Il-mok had zero interest in who else was on his team.
He simply turned his head with a gaze full of regret, staring at the receding Toro-burn.
"Damn. If only I could've just kept resting there."
As Il-mok lamented, reminiscing about that refreshing bath from the night before, the two White Sparrow squad members riding in the carriage with him exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming.
To disguise themselves as nomadic merchants, they were traveling by carriage and horse.
To lure in their target—who was engaging in banditry—they had to avoid using lightness skills.
And somehow, the two squad members who ended up sharing the carriage with Il-mok seemed to draw a certain conclusion from how he kept looking back toward Toro-burn.
'Even the famous Eighth Young Master can't help feeling the tension, huh.'
'Well, it's his first mission, so it's natural he'd be nervous.'
Nodding to each other, the two squad members seized the chance to strike up a conversation with Il-mok.
"No need to be so tense, Cadet Il-mok."
"Bandits like them won't even be worthy opponents for you."
Il-mok turned to look at them and replied.
"I'm not particularly tense, sirs."
The two squad members took his response as bravado and burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha. I was the same at first."
"Of course. Everyone's like that in the beginning—no need to be embarrassed."
"......"
What exactly was there to be embarrassed about?
As Il-mok fell silent, unable to grasp their intentions, the White Sparrow squad members kept chattering away.
"No matter how much you've honed your skills at the Demonic Path Academy, you don't have much real combat experience."
"True. Real battles are different from training. You know it in your head, but your body still trembles. Come to think of it, it reminds me of when I first graduated from the Demonic Path Academy and joined the White Sparrow Squad."
As they started regaling him with tales from their green days, as if offering advice, Il-mok quickly cut in.
"Sorry, but may I get some sleep?"
It was a request that could come off as rude. But far from being offended, the White Sparrow squad members looked at Il-mok with fondness, like he was adorable.
'Heh heh heh. Pretending to sleep out of embarrassment, eh?'
'Yeah, at that age, they always want to hide their nerves.'
On top of that, the carriage they were in was bouncing harshly as it raced across the wasteland.
Even someone not tense would struggle to nap in such rough conditions. The squad members, with years of experience, couldn't easily doze off either.
"Go ahead and try to sleep."
At the teasing words from the man on the right, Il-mok simply closed his eyes and leaned back against the carriage wall.
Just as they'd predicted, the intense vibrations traveled up his back.
It wasn't just his back. Constant jolts came from the seat under his butt as well.
"Snore. Zzzzuuuuul."
But mere seconds after closing his eyes, Il-mok started snoring loudly.
At Il-mok's bold snoring, the two men shared the same thought.
'Heh heh heh. All bravado, huh.'
But that thought didn't last long.
"...No way. Is he actually asleep?"
Faced with snoring as steady as if he'd deployed some ultimate sleep technique, the two squad members could only stare in bewilderment.
"...Looks like he's really out."
"Can't tell if it's boldness or just stupidity."
At his comrade's words, the man on the left pondered for a moment before speaking.
"...Probably boldness, right?"
"From what we've seen since day one, it feels more like he hasn't got a thought in his head."
"That's part of it. Think back to the Eighth Young Master's tales."
Only then did the man on the right nod in understanding.
"Now that you mention it, from his perspective, a mission like this isn't worth getting tense over."
"Exactly. At fifteen, he already provoked and lured out that rampaging Young Lord."
Unlike Il-mok, they had been Heavenly Demon Divine Cult followers since birth, so they'd heard and read about Young Lord Wi Jin-hak from childhood.
The one the Central Plains unbelievers called the "Mad Demon" and trembled before—that was the rampaging Young Lord.
And a mere fifteen-year-old punk had provoked and led that Mad Demon around.
"And that's not all. I heard he even went to Mareung Ridge."
"...They call it Dohwa Ridge now, but just thinking about going there gives me chills."
Once those thoughts crossed their minds, even Il-mok's behavior over the past few days started feeling different.
Despite it being his first practical training as a Demonic Path Academy cadet, that mad obsession with bathing every night.
Now it seemed like he was just acting relaxed because the mission was too easy.
And the more they talked, the more that guess solidified. After all.
"Snore."
Even as the two chattered excitedly right in front of him, the Eighth Young Master showed no sign of waking—still snoring away boldly.
It was the fruit of diligent nap training from the meditation club.
* * *
How long had it been since he drifted off into pleasant dreams and leisurely time?
"Damn."
Before he knew it, Il-mok was no longer in the carriage but astride a horse, grimacing.
To keep things fair, those in the carriage and those on horseback had switched off.
As he galloped across the wasteland on horseback, sand and dust relentlessly pelted his face and clothes.
With his mouth covered by a cloth mask, Il-mok sighed and muttered.
"Still better than the first time, at least."
Compared to racing with lightness skills, horse and carriage were a blessing.
'If we just keep riding straight to Hamil like this, it'd be a dream come true. Let some other team handle the target nice and easy.'
With the odds at just one in six, Il-mok considered it a modest wish.
But the White Sparrow Squad Leader's mutter from the front shattered that dream.
"They're coming."
Following the leader's gaze, Il-mok turned to the side and saw a group charging toward them, kicking up a fierce sandstorm.
Sighing deeply at the sight, Il-mok said.
"Man, does my life really have demons stuck to it?"
As he muttered to himself, Il-mok realized an important fact.
'Come to think of it, it's already demon-infested. And not just any demon—the Heavenly Demon.'
Ever since being dragged into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, his life hadn't just been demon-touched; it was drowned in demons from all directions.
While Il-mok grumbled about his cursed life, the White Sparrow Squad Leader murmured softly and issued orders.
"Don't panic. Keep moving forward, but slow down a bit. When they get close, on my signal—target their horses first."
Following the leader's orders, they kept charging straight ahead.
But by now, a strange tension hung in the air among them.
The seasoned White Sparrow squad members maintained their usual calm demeanor, but among the cadets experiencing this for the first time, tension inevitably leaked out.
"Take deep breaths."
As the White Sparrow squad members and Instructor So-hong offered advice to calm the cadets.
Neigh!!
The horses' whinnies and hoofbeats grew louder, and the bandits' outlines gradually came into view.
'More than twenty, looks like.'
Unlike the calm White Sparrow squad members or the tense cadets, Il-mok scanned them with a face screaming utter annoyance.
As the squad members calming the cadets lit up at Il-mok's fearless attitude, the bandits—now dangerously close—spread out, encircling them.
"Uhahaha!"
"Kekeke."
As if to intimidate, they drew their weapons and burst into laughter.
"W-what business do you have b-blocking our p-path?"
The White Sparrow Squad Leader was quite the actor. Like a certain upright fellow, he stuttered in feigned terror.
"Uhahaha! You don't need to know who we are! Drop your weapons, hand over the horses and carriage, and we'll let you live! But! Leave the women behind."
At the shout from the ugly brute who seemed to be the leader, the surrounding bandits kekeked again, leering with filthy gazes and spewing dirty talk.
"Boss! Can I have first taste of that one?"
"Kekeke. Once they sample my lower half, they won't ever wanna leave."
Despite the blatant stares and crude words, Instructor So-hong and the female White Sparrow squad warrior skillfully feigned terrified expressions.
On the other hand, the female cadet from Class Eul flushed red with rage.
"Her embarrassment just makes me wanna play with her more!"
"Heh heh heh. No need to be shy. It's something you'll experience someday anyway. This old man will show you paradise."
Seeing the young female cadet's flushed face, the bandits mistook it for shame.
Meanwhile, the encircling bandits inched closer, applying pressure.
The White Sparrow Squad Leader pretended to tremble in fear as he set down his weapon—then suddenly swung it in a surprise attack. The cultists, waiting for his signal, swung their weapons in unison.
Slash!!
Countless silver arcs streaked through the air. The first strike felled most of the horses as they were shredded, though not all.
The cultists were outnumbered, and two cadets had botched their strikes.
Neigh!!
The gutted horses let out pitiful cries, blood spilling everywhere.
Much of the blood soaking the desert came from the horses, but some bandits caught in the attacks meant for the mounts had limbs or torsos hacked off too.
In the midst of it, green smoke began billowing from the rod the White Sparrow Squad Leader had drawn.
"Let's see if your filthy lower half stays perky after it's chopped off."
Instructor So-hong, who had worn a scared face, now glared coldly as she swung her sword at the bandit who had insulted her.
The other insulted female cadet and White Sparrow squad members charged at the bandits with fire in their eyes, while the remaining cultists calmly pressed forward.
Even amid the chaos, the boss—true to his position—quickly regained his wits and shouted.
"Just eleven of them! Take them out quick, steal some horses, and bolt!"
With most horses dead, it was the boss's improvised solution.
Running on foot would just mean getting caught eventually anyway.
"Charge!!"
With the bandit boss's yell, the melee erupted.
Il-mok grimaced at the ugly faces of the two bandits charging him.
It wasn't just the sweat and blood-stink wafting off them.
'Damn. If I swing around too much here, it's gonna be dangerous.'
It was because of the sidekick in his head starting to twitch now that combat loomed.
- Let's draw the world's most beautiful sword path!
- Your sword is the brush, their bodies the paper!
- Heh heh heh. And use their blood as ink—perfect!
- Horse blood wasn't enough! Let's paint with human blood!
Especially hyped because it was real combat, not sparring—the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.