Protein for Muscle Loss?
Screeeeech! Groooan! Boom!
The north gate of the Outpost on the outer Great Wall of the Yeon Empire—where the fiercest blizzards raged—split open with a agonized shriek.
The remnants of Cheonrangdae on watch atop the walls spotted the massive dust cloud rising from the horizon and rang the bells like madmen.
"They're back! The hunting party's returning!"
"It's Brother Doksa and Brother Beom Dal! The captain's alive too! Hey, you slowpokes! Open the gate wider!"
As soon as the gates parted, the 300 hunters burst into view.
But the soldiers waiting to greet them froze, gasping in shock.
Slave soldiers weren't allowed pack animals, so the men had shouldered ropes themselves and dragged five carts of unimaginable scale.
Heave! One, two! Heave! Raaah!
"The wheel's stuck! Push from behind! Harder! Hup-two! Hup-two!"
Crunch! Snap! Screeech!
Crossing the snow-blanketed plains, the carts' wheels plunged into deep drifts constantly, and every time they snagged on hidden rocks, dozens of burly men swarmed them, roaring like beasts as they shoved.
Ragged breaths met the frigid air in plumes of white vapor, while thick sweat beaded on the soldiers' foreheads, oblivious to the cold.
Two of the five carts were piled mountain-high with monster hides, stacked flawlessly.
The other two groaned under chunks of meat—game from the forest, mixed with herbs to mask the stench and neatly butchered—loaded to bursting.
Enough to feed 5,000 slave soldiers for a full week with full bellies.
"Shut your mouths! You're drooling, you idiots! Don't make a mess!"
"See this? This is what our captain and we risked our lives for! Don't just stand there gawking!"
Exhausted as they were, the hunters puffed out their chests and strutted under the stunned gazes of the outpost garrison.
"Whoa, all that meat? Look at those carts—the wheels are sunk into the ground!"
"Check out those hides. Clothes from that'd keep us warm all winter!"
"From today, Cheonrangdae's swimming in meat! Feast time!! Bow to these brothers and chow down, haha!!!"
But behind their triumphant swagger lurked a tightly guarded secret.
Before heading to the Outpost, in their deep-forest camp beyond the Great Wall, Hwang-yeonggam had stood before the 300 men, puffing his pipe fiercely.
"Listen up, greenhorns. We're heading back to base soon. The second you cross that Great Wall threshold, you're all mutes. Anyone who lets their tongue wag about what's buried deepest in those carts? I'll smash their skull with this pipe and feed 'em to the yokai. Got it? Huh?!"
Doksa, the 1st Company commander, backed him up with a venomous glare.
"Listen to the old man! Forgot how the captain saved our hides? Half of us should've been corpses dumped in that Ghost Cry Gorge pit! But look—we're all back alive, not a single loss. Who do we owe that to? Huh?!"
Beom Dal drove the point home with his thunderous voice.
Yes, sir!
The 300 men had sworn their fanatic loyalty with blazing eyes.
Deepest in the carts lay the Blue Ice Wolf's azure hide, camouflaged under hundreds of layers of common monster pelts.
At the entrance to Cheonrangdae's sector, past the gate, Jo Pil—chief of staff and adjutant to the Iron Blood Corps—waited with cold eyes fixed on the carts.
In the shadows, Jeonggi Corps' faction scouts gauged the load from the ramparts.
Bandit and pirate scum from the Black Snake Corps lurked by the walls, eyeing the meat carts like predators.
Jo Pil didn't draw his weapon. Instead, he calmly blocked their path.
"Adjutant Beom Dal, welcome back safe. But this haul far exceeds expectations."
Beom Dal narrowed his eyes, stepping in front of the lead cart.
"Adjutant Jo Pil. This is Cheonrangdae territory. Forgot the adjutants' council agreement? Private hunts and byproducts outside official supplies fall under faction autonomy."
Jo Pil nodded coolly.
"True enough. But that volume changes things. The Outpost's supplies are at breaking point. You know hunger breeds riots. I respect autonomy, but for the base's safety, I request some of that food for communal rations. Not Iron Blood pressure—this is counsel from the council host."
"Counsel? Our boys dragged this through snow without beasts—blood and sweat! You want it for free? Polite words, black heart!"
"Adjutant Beom Dal, seems you're confusing military law with righteousness. This ties to official audits from command. Let's find compromise now, before those lurking thieves or the Mad Demon Mine lunatics stir."
As Beom Dal faltered under the logic, the shadows' gazes grew fiercer.
Then, from behind the carts, Hwang-yeonggam emerged, puffing smoke.
"Whoooo... Hey, Adjutant Jo Pil. You're crossing the line."
Jo Pil's face hardened instantly.
Even as an ex-Imperial officer, the Survival Ghosts—who'd haunted the Great Wall for decades, evading even spirits—carried a presence on another level.
With Hwang-yeonggam at the fore, elders like Cheonun, Dogwi, and Dokan were living legends among the conscripts, objects of awe.
Veterans finishing five-year terms warned kinfolk back home: "Touch those old ghosts at the Wall, and you won't survive."
"Elder Hwang-yeonggam, this is just adjutant business..."
"Business my ass! Half those carts are byproducts we Survival Ghosts harvested ourselves. Your 'communal rations' include our pension too? Huh? You know the Wall—anyone touch our stuff and walk away clean? Want me to crack your skull with a crack?"
Hwang-yeonggam's fierce bark silenced Jo Pil.
Demoted to slave-faction staffer, he knew better than to feud with Wall veterans.
Cheonun's hand gripped his sword hilt, radiating chill menace.
Dogwi grinned wickedly, clicking his skull club.
Dokan stamped his staff—thud!—cracking the stone slabs with a crunch! split!.
The Survival Ghosts' overwhelming killing intent flooded the yard, sending lurking thieves scrambling back.
"Shut it. Anyone touches my stash, I'll grind 'em into dumplings. Scram! Now!"
Dokan's savage roar forced Jo Pil to bow and retreat.
"My apologies. Elder goods? No argument. Adjutant Beom Dal, carry on."
Jo Pil yielded with a bitter look, and the watchers melted into shadows like receding tide.
Only then did Jinhyuk, slumped on the last cart against Beom Dal's shoulder, murmur weakly.
"Beom Dal... get the cauldron going quick... I'm dying from muscle loss here... hurry... meat... protein... starving to death..."
Jinhyuk was rushed straight to his barracks.
The Survival Ghosts' perfectly sealed jars entered too.
Thanks to the northern freeze, no spoilage—the prime essence preserved flawlessly.
Inside the sealed tent, Jinhyuk pried open a Flame Oil jar with trembling hands.
The seal broke, unleashing icy aura, thick blood scent of true essence, and the inner core's fishy, chilling yokai energy—filling the tent.
"System! You expect me to eat this raw? My stomach's weak! This stench is insane! How do you choke down raw fishy—"
[Vital Energy Depleted]
[3 Hours Without Intake]
[Cardiac Arrest Expected in 2 Hours]
Hwang-yeonggam's voice boomed from outside.
"Fool! Fire destroys the essence! Survival Ghosts sealed this priceless treasure with care! Want to live? Gulp that stink and chew! Only way! Eat before it cools!"
Jinhyuk squeezed his eyes shut and pulled out the fist-sized inner core.
Frozen with arctic chill like ice, yet harboring the Flame Oil's explosive heat within.
"My fate... seriously... what a mess. Crunch! Chomp! Crack! Grind!"
Chewing icy shards and swallowing fireballs—the agony mingled with foul blood-tang flooding his mouth.
"Urk! Hack! Cough! Blech!"
Nausea surged, but he forced it down desperately.
Sticky fresh blood dribbled from his lips.
Having devoured the core and true blood, Jinhyuk rolled on the floor.
Heat exploded through his body.
"Gaaah! Burning! My body's on fire! I'm dying! System!"
Icy crunch and fiery torment, blood-stench overwhelming—
The Blue Ice Wolf's rich nutrients from blood, flesh, organs surged through his veins, rapidly repairing his collapsing body.
Simultaneously, the core's pure yokai energy converted to destructive experience, slamming the system.
Proficient Archery (D-) Stabilized
Shoddy Muscles (F-)
Shoddy Skeleton (F-)
Shoddy Physique (F-)
Nausea surged, but Jinhyuk forced it down, sticky blood dribbling from his lips.
Core fully devoured, true blood gulped—he rolled on the floor.
Heat exploded through his body.
For five straight days, Jinhyuk never stepped outside, consuming every treasure the Survival Ghosts provided.
The monster essence's yokai ceaselessly converted to experience; nutrients remade his shoddy body from the ground up.
System alerts bombarded his mind nonstop.
> [Yokai Purification & EXP Conversion In Progress]
Five days later, at dawn, the Outpost's south gate creaked open.
"Main force inspectors arriving! All hands up! Polish weapons and form ranks!"
Fully armed Great Wall troops poured in—razor spears, iron shields, red leather and plate gleaming.
Among them shuffled Han Noya in ragged uniform, pipe clenched in teeth.