A Lesson for the Proud
The massive drums mounted on every side of the inner fortress thundered through the frozen silence of the north.
Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!
This was no ordinary muster call.
It was Jinhyuk’s proclamation, summoning every new “horse” who had chosen to follow him after he had seized real power in the outpost through his secret dealings with Inspector So Jinpyeong.
Jinhyuk shoved a fistful of mixed-grain rice balls into his mouth at the desk.
The grains scraped against his tongue, but with his sense of taste and smell sealed, he simply washed them down with water.
[Taste/Smell Loss Remaining Time – 04:22:18]
“Chewing sand without tasting it is its own kind of ascetic training.”
He wiped his mouth roughly and strode out onto the second-floor balcony of the administrative hall, the one that overlooked the training ground.
The moment the door opened, a blade of wind tore at his hair, but his eyes were already fixed on the sea of soldiers filling the yard below.
“Beom Dal. Report on the outer perimeter and troop dispositions.”
At Jinhyuk’s quiet order, Beom Dal stepped forward from his post behind the railing, chest swelling.
“Yes, Brigade Commander! The beacon tower—our lifeline—has been reinforced with one hundred of the Black Wolf Army’s finest. Twenty-five watchtowers in total are now manned: ten northern towers, five mountain-sector towers around the beacon, and the ten western towers we recently acquired.”
Beom Dal pointed to the Black Wolf soldiers ringing the training ground.
“By regulation, each tower should hold fifty men, but per your orders we have trimmed them to thirty elite veterans each—seven hundred fifty in total. Fewer bodies, yet every shift is covered without a single gap. That leaves us the maximum number of troops available here to break the new recruits’ spirits.”
Jinhyuk nodded in satisfaction and surveyed the field.
Eight hundred fifty men on the outer perimeter and two hundred craftsmen already hammering away in the workshops under So Sam’s command had been subtracted. The remaining one thousand two hundred fifty elite Black Wolf soldiers now formed an iron ring around the training ground.
In the center stood the new arrivals: eight hundred Black Death Army men, including Sima Xiong, plus three hundred civilian slave soldiers—eleven hundred fresh faces in all.
“Beom Dal, are the kids all here? Good. Tell the new bloods who’ve ever shot a bow to step forward. Pull every veteran hunter and former archer from inside the Black Wolf Army as well. Get them all into the center.”
Beom Dal’s voice exploded across the yard like thunder.
“Attention! By the Brigade Commander’s order! The three hundred forty archers and crossbowmen previously selected will form ranks in the center at once! Any new recruits who served as archers in the Central Plains or hunted for a living—step forward! Administrator Noh Hui, cross-check the roster!”
Scornful laughter rippled through the ranks the instant the words left his mouth.
Three hundred forty Black Wolf veterans marched in perfect step toward the center.
Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!
Even with their dantians destroyed, the discipline drilled into their bodies remained flawless.
Especially the Black Death Army’s action leader, Akchung, who spat on the ground while adjusting the axe on his shoulder.
“Hey, Captain Kang! You want us to shoot bows like those old Black Wolf fossils? Even if our dantians are gone, we still have a warrior’s pride! Bows and crossbows are toys for weaklings and women who can’t cultivate qi. Sneaking shots from a distance isn’t our style!”
At Akchung’s instigation, the Black Death soldiers and even the slave soldiers brandished their weapons and roared in agreement.
“That’s right! What kind of warrior uses a bow?”
“Mocking us with archers? You’ve gone too far!”
In that moment, the eyes of the three hundred forty veterans turned cold.
Without a word, they unleashed a killing intent so sharp it felt like arrowheads aimed straight at Akchung and his men.
“…These bastards are running their mouths.”
“They’ll only learn once their heads are split by our arrow rain.”
Low growls of fury rose among the Black Wolf ranks. Several men gripped their spear shafts so tightly the wood creaked.
The pride of men who had mastered the bow and crossbow clashed head-on with the contempt of the unorthodox fighters.
Before the murderous atmosphere could erupt, Sima Xiong fixed Jinhyuk with a cold stare and spoke up.
“Captain Kang. My brothers prefer fighting face-to-face. Hiding in the back and drawing bowstrings isn’t the way of the unorthodox. If you intend to humiliate us with supplies as bait, let’s settle it here and now.”
Jinhyuk let out an incredulous snort.
“What the hell are these old men on about? Is this some kind of martial pride meta? Beom Dal, hit them with some hard truths. Ask them if pride puts food on the table.”
Beom Dal’s voice cracked like a whip.
“Shut your mouths! How dare you question the Brigade Commander’s wisdom? If you want to spout nonsense about a warrior’s pride, go feed yourselves to the monsters!”
“Ah, Beom Dal—run to the warehouse and bring ‘that.’ Showing them the goods will be faster than words.”
Beom Dal saluted and sprinted toward the inner fortress storehouse with a squad of men.
Moments later, a massive cart rumbled into the center of the training ground, its load hidden beneath a heavy tarp.
Jinhyuk leaned lazily against the railing and looked down at Akchung.
“Hey, axe guy. Let’s see if your pride is tougher than whatever’s under that tarp. Beom Dal—uncover it.”
The tarp whipped away.
A crushing demonic aura rolled across the entire yard.
“…!!”
What lay revealed was the massive, ashen hide of a Great Snow Bear.
The pelt was flawless, not a single scratch marring its surface.
Then the crowd’s eyes reached the head, and gasps of horror erupted.
Both eye sockets were empty, pierced clean through by arrows. The roof of the gaping maw had been riddled with dozens of shafts, the flesh torn and shredded until even the brainstem looked like a tattered rag.
Akchung’s face went white. He instinctively stepped back from the lingering demonic energy.
While the Black Death soldiers stood frozen in shock, the three hundred forty Black Wolf veterans straightened their shoulders with pride.
Their commander had slain this seemingly invincible monster with nothing but arrows.
‘This wasn’t luck. He ignored the impenetrable hide and hammered arrow after arrow into the single weak point—the roof of the mouth—until the brain was pulp.’
While Sima Xiong stood lost in thought, Jinhyuk spoke softly to Akchung.
“Hey, axe guy. Think your precious axe can even scratch that hide or those bones? Want to bet whether your axe breaks first?”
Beom Dal translated the words in a booming roar. The three hundred forty veterans stomped the ground and howled in unison.
“Uwooooooo—!”
Akchung’s face flushed crimson and purple. With every eye in the yard on him and his axe, retreat was impossible.
He seized the heavy double-bladed axe he had barely managed to obtain through backroom dealings.
Though his dantian was destroyed, the raw strength in his frame remained.
“This damned beast bone…!!”
With a shout, he raised the axe high and brought it crashing down onto the Great Snow Bear’s white ribs with all his weight.
Clang—!
A piercing metallic ring tore through the training ground.
The bear’s bones showed not even a mark, gleaming like polished ivory.
The axe, however, was ruined.
Crack—! Snap!
The blade split down the center like shattered glass, fragments flying in every direction.
The recoil flung Akchung’s arms upward. He staggered back five or six steps, a strangled groan escaping his lips.
Blood welled from his torn palms.
“…What… what is this?”
Jinhyuk leaned against the railing and spoke quietly.
“Hey. Do you really think you could’ve killed that thing without a bow? All that pride in swords, axes, spears—none of it matters when you’ve got no internal energy left. If you’re going to cling to pride instead of results, go let the monsters eat you or starve to death. Or follow my orders, take what I give you, and survive. Choose.”
Beom Dal’s thunderous translation shook the yard.
“Listen well! Is the worthless pride you spit at the bow stronger than that monster’s bones? Look at yourselves—your qi sealed, your cultivation gone—and ask how ridiculous it is to scorn bows and crossbows! The Brigade Commander has given you one final chance. Will you die choking in a monster’s maw, or will you obey his orders, chew meat, and live? There is only one choice!”
While Akchung stared in stunned silence at his broken axe, Sima Xiong dropped to his knees and clasped his fists.
“…I will follow you, Captain Kang. If you truly look after my brothers, we will become the sharpest fangs of the Black Wolf Army.”
Seeing this, one hundred sixty of the new recruits—those who valued survival over face, including hardened civilian hunters—stepped forward as if drawn by an invisible thread.
Experience raiding merchant caravans or hunting beasts with bows in the unorthodox factions could not be denied.
Jinhyuk lifted his chin from the railing and drove the final nail home.
“I’m an archer too. Never look down on bows or crossbows again. If you don’t want to die…”