The Blue Woman #8
The fierce battle raged on. Thanks to the powerful reinforcements, we broke through the front lines, pushed deep into enemy territory, surrounded the corpse ghosts, and annihilated them in repeated maneuvers. If the enemy had been a human army, they would've countered these tactics aggressively. But our foes were mindless corpse ghosts. The Yuan cavalry were tough, sure, but with more Murim warriors flooding in, they couldn't keep up—and hell, these undead bastards didn't even have proper command structures to begin with. The tide turned dramatically.
The soldiers, who'd been stuck on defense, started advancing, synergizing massively with the Murim reinforcements for victory after victory. In the end, we successfully drove out the corpse ghost legion occupying the county seat.
"Waaaaah!"
"Oooooh!"
Countless people embraced each other, cheering and sobbing uncontrollably. Even our Nachal Bang underlings collapsed to the ground, bawling their eyes out.
"Mun Do! I'm so happy!"
"We survived! We made it!"
"Uwoooooh!"
I was thrilled too, no doubt about it.
"Whew! We finally fucking won!"
"It was a trying time, but to overcome it like this... my heart swells with pride."
"Same here. Ahh, we pulled it off!"
Serin and Hayeong had fought harder than anyone, racking up massive contributions. True Murim beauties, through and through. Every time they shone, the crowd erupted in awe.
"Everyone, you fought well! To aid the donors in righteous deeds—truly impressive, Anti-Demon Monk Dojin!"
The Shaolin monks announced the crisis's end. They looked overjoyed too.
"Kuk kuk, we scraped by somehow."
"Having the Royal Guards handle the monsters made it a breeze."
"That's the Royal Guards for ya... But there's something bugging me."
"What?"
Just as Jae Mi-son was about to speak, Galbi Jong cut in.
"That flying mummy. Ma-seon. Haven't seen him."
"Ah, that fucker."
The flying mummy. He'd vanished the moment we switched to offense. Acted all mysterious and shit, then bolted the second the Murim heavy hitters showed up.
"He's definitely Saseon-nyeo's subordinate. Feels like there's more to it."
"..."
Of course there was. Saseon-nyeo. That's the kind of existence she was. She'd already infiltrated this county once without getting caught. What the hell did that crazy bitch really want? I couldn't read her intentions behind stirring up this mess, but one thing was clear: exterminating her corpse ghost legion wasn't something she'd take lightly.
"..."
Thinking that far sent chills down my spine, a needless fear creeping in. That psycho called me her son and said we'd meet again. Would she sneak up on me? Nag me about why I killed her corpse ghosts? Because of her, I couldn't even enjoy the pure joy of victory.
"Geun-hyeop?"
"Ah, just thinking. What's up?"
"The Ma-seon's presence bothers me too. But even that thing couldn't do much against the Royal Guards. I think it hid once they stepped in."
"You think?"
"Yes. Anyway, the corpse ghost crisis is over, but our work starts now."
With that, Serin took my hand.
"Time for merit rewards and networking. Let's handle both."
"Aigoo, seriously."
This felt more exhausting than the battle. But Serin wasn't letting go.
The merit awards ceremony began.
"Attention!"
The county magistrate, seated at the head, bellowed down at the Murim folk. Officials brought documents, and he began the official speech holding them. I focused less on his words and more on scanning the warriors around me. So many familiar faces missing. This crisis had claimed heavy sacrifices from the local righteous sect fighters. Back during the initial recon, all sorts of faction members were around—now, barely half remained.
Of course, that proved how hard they'd fought, so the magistrate praised their merits generously with rewards. Still, rebuilding their forces would take time.
"And Nachal Bang!"
Our turn.
"Bangju Jeolgyu Nachal, Okhwa Geom, and even Geophwa Buyong! They've earned tremendous merit!"
As pre-notified, we stepped forward for the formalities. Our Nachal Bang took losses too, but compared to factions nearly wiped out, we were in damn good shape.
"Waaaaah!"
"Oooooh!"
As we received the commendation and stepped back, our underlings roared. Nachal Bang's fame would spread far and wide now. As the most intact righteous force here, locals would recognize us, and with outsider warriors still around, rumors would fly. We'd leverage these rewards and rep to expand. With the county in ruins, folks would flock to our relatively unscathed, prestigious outfit. Time to turn this into a chance to grow Nachal Bang into a massive sect.
"Next, commendations for the brave souls who risked all to reinforce us!"
The reinforcements got their rewards too, wrapping up the ceremony.
"Whew, tiring."
"Still more to go, Geun-hyeop."
I tried to leave, but Serin grabbed my hand. Right, networking.
"Serin-ah. Gotta be today?"
"Of course. When else to make faces known? Fresh off rewards and fame—perfect timing. Move it, Geun-hyeop."
"Ugh."
Serin yanked my hand. But Hayeong showed up right away.
"Exactly. Time to network."
Super naturally, she grabbed my other hand.
"What're you doing?"
"Huh? You said make introductions. So I gotta be there too, right?"
"..."
Competing over me again...! This was straight-up Solomon's baby-splitting verdict shit!
Whoosh!
"Ack!"
I immediately wrapped arms around both their waists.
"Let's go like this!"
A pose screaming, these women are mine.
"W-what, arms around waists?!"
"Eek!"
Embarrassed after all—they squirmed out, claiming it was rude in public. Magic trick to smoothly end the tug-of-war.
Thus, I went to greet the righteous reinforcements.
"Ahh! Donor! You've come!"
The Shaolin anti-demon monks welcomed us warmly. "Greetings" was nominal—we'd already chatted amid corpse ghost fights. No formal bows, but we'd bonded as comrades in the thick of it.
"You must've suffered, monks."
"Trifling matter. But... seeing you up close, it's real. How'd a guy become husband to Murim beauties Okhwa Geom and Geophwa Buyong?"
"Heh heh, fateful connections."
Shaolin monks weren't big on Murim romance gossip. Just curious icebreakers. But other warriors?
"Lady...!"
"Wei Taoist!"
Namgung Family's combat unit hid their displeasure poorly; Maosan Sect Taoists shot Hayeong sharp glares of reproach. Not all warm fuzzies. But they'd all witnessed Jeolgyu Nachal's feats up close. So we mingled problem-free, turning greetings into a drinking party.
"Quite remarkable, though."
Anti-Demon Monk Dojin remarked.
"Young hero Jeolgyu Nachal—neither from a great house nor sect, yet your inner energy feels pure and abundant."
"Oho, you can tell?"
"No boast, but I sense it to some degree."
A Shaolin monk appraising my inner energy highly. Nice.
"And your corpse ghost-slaying prowess was stunning. Where'd such a talent emerge? Delighted to meet you."
"Hahaha! I'm thrilled to meet famed anti-demon monks too!"
From Dojin's eval, few here matched my inner energy reserves. What amazed them most? Its purity rivaled that of Buddhist cultivation monks.
Proof my inner energy was monk-approved pure.
"Jeolgyu Nachal, honestly thought you were an unorthodox warrior at first. But such pure energy... you're a true hero."
"High praise from the most upright monks—I'm humbled. Heh heh."
Flattery felt good, but if they knew it came from gobbling yokai cores? Probably not thrilled. Anyway... that Udu Yacha core from Saseon-nyeo must've been legit primo stuff. Even I felt the power surge. Stronger inner energy meant more sword power, stamina—the works. That's why the monks rated me high.
"..."
But I couldn't fully bask. Post-crisis drinks should've been liberating, yet I only felt pressure. What the fuck was that woman plotting?
The next day, postwar cleanup kicked off. Had to clear the corpse ghost bodies littering the city. Demolished buildings, debris—everything. Plus quarantine to prevent plagues. Even I, who'd grown as a warrior, found it draining. Relief supplies from neighboring counties helped reconstruction along, though.
Then one day, off guard.
"Son? Mommy's here. Missed me, right?"
Saseon-nyeo appeared again!
"Gahk!"
What the actual fuck!