Hunting the Yaguja Pack
I suffered from nightmares for a while. They were about a sinister fairy who appeared during the Sui Dynasty, wreaked havoc for a thousand years, and finally found me to make me her son. She'd half-turned me into a slave with her sweet milk, trying to train me like some pet. Under hypnosis, I craved that sweetness. It was so damn good I wanted more—but wait, is that a good thing? Hell no, fuck that. Snap out of it.
Saseon-nyeo had given me a command. Raise my cultivation realm. And she specified how: by taking down strong yokai and absorbing their yodan.
Now that I was the leader of an organization, heading out for yokai hunts myself seemed like it'd cause all sorts of headaches. But with Nachal Bang undergoing a massive overhaul, those worries vanished. Yokai extermination was now one of our main gigs. Plus, the county office had put us in charge of all yokai-hunting requests, so opportunities to bag big ones were overflowing.
"Absolute Fury Nachal! We've got a high-priority request!"
Galbi Jong came rushing to find me, all worked up.
"Oh? What's the job?"
"A pack of Yaguja has shown up nearby!"
"Yaguja?"
Yaguja. Grotesque yokai with twisted human bodies topped by dog heads, total cannibals. Obsessed with human flesh, but their favorite? Brains. So if you find a corpse with its skull cracked open and brains scooped out, Yaguja are suspect number one.
They're strongish yokai, but still just small fry. Nothing to sweat over.
"Yaguja ain't shit. Wait, don't tell me it's because of the Sa-gwi?"
"Spot on. With corpses piling up, they've got brains in excess supply. So the Yaguja have banded together. And at that scale, their leader's probably shown up too."
"Fair point."
The boss of those man-eaters would be around Central Plains Vicious Killer level. Exactly the kind Saseon-nyeo wanted me hunting—yokai a Peak master could handle without breaking a sweat. If that's the case, I could take it down too, right?
"Got it. We gotta nip this before their numbers explode. I'll head out."
"Kuhaha! Another big score incoming! As expected of Absolute Fury Nachal! Here's the details in the letter!"
Galbi Jong handed over the official request from the county office and left. It was straightforward: massive Yaguja pack swarming the area—clear 'em out fast before shit hits the fan.
Perfect. Time to move.
"Hey, Jae Mi-son. Got a county request."
I went straight to him. He was training, stabbing his I-sang Je-go into a wooden puppet like mad.
"What kinda job?"
"Yaguja pack showed up. Looks like they're bulking up by eating Sa-gwi brains."
"Kuk kuk. Big enough for the boss to appear, huh."
"Exactly."
"Yaguja pack leader's Central Plains Vicious Killer tier. Classification-wise, same as Ma-du Nachal."
"But not quite that level."
Back then, Ma-du Nachal had just been summoned from hell and was buffed inside the Ghost Gate, overwhelming even Peak master Serin. These Yaguja weren't from hell or hunkered in a Ghost Gate. Totally doable.
"Anyway, we need a subjugation squad. It's a big pack. Jae Mi-son, pick some solid guys. We're going hunting."
"I lead the squad against the small fry?"
"Yeah. Then I'll take the Left and Right Protectors to snipe the leader."
Left Protector: Ha-young. Right: Serin.
"Smart plan. I'll assemble it... kuk kuk. Been a while since I hunted yokai. Time for my I-sang Je-go to sing."
Jae Mi-son had leveled up big time lately. Look at the ki in that spear—any thug it hits gets a hole straight through the skull.
"Prep properly. The pack's huge."
"Don't hype me up... kick."
"Heh heh, you crazy bastard."
I left squad assembly to him and rounded up the Protectors.
"Serin. Ha-young. County mission. Yaguja pack. Gear up."
"Understood. About time I loosened up."
"Hope we score some yodan. You've been slacking on research? I'll test it on you if we do."
"Treating me like a lab rat, huh? Bring it!"
"What're you on about."
And so, we set out to exterminate the Yaguja pack.
The force consisted of the Bangju, Protectors, and one combat squad. Me, Serin, and Ha-young? Unbeatable combo—Nachal Bang's top firepower.
The combat squad? Weaker than us, sure, but Jae Mi-son's picks had me nodding in approval.
"Mun Do! Fight hard!"
"We'll give it our all!"
"We've got this!"
Perfect selections. All vets from the Sa-gwi crisis—proven grit and guts. Skills lacking? Maybe. But for mopping up small fry, they were more than enough.
"Good! I trust you all! Follow Jae Mi-son's orders to the letter—it'll make you stronger just doing that!"
"Yes sir!"
"Mun Do! Got it!"
Classic Bangju move: rally the troops with a speech. Chest puffed, feeling like a big shot—mood lifted instantly.
"Kuk kuk, enough peacocking. Let's move."
"Yeah."
Plan was simple: fight when the Yaguja show. Jae Mi-son and squad handle the trash mobs; we hit the boss in the chaos.
We headed to the reported area.
"Ah, fuck."
Corpse stench hit like a wall. We'd cleared bodies in town, but not out here in the wilds. Natural decay? They'd become mountain fertilizer. But this? Man-made disaster. Sa-gwi corpses everywhere, rotting and tainting the air itself.
"Three-man teams, scout the perimeter. Stay in sight of another squad at all times."
"Yes, squad leader!"
Jae Mi-son sent his men out. I moved with the girls.
Soon, Serin spoke up.
"Geun-hyeop. Corpse over there."
"Let's check."
Up close: "Fuck."
Skull caved in from behind, brains gone.
"No doubt. Yaguja work. Only they eat brains like that."
Ha-young shot it a dirty look and clasped her hands lightly.
"Tracks?"
"Lots of footprints. See? All Yaguja."
Weird prints: human soles, but toes clawed like a dog's. Scattered everywhere.
"Definitely a big pack. They get bolder with numbers. They'll sniff us out soon and come hunting."
"After dark, specifically. Camp or track?"
If they're coming to us, better set up camp in a good spot.
"No need to fight at a disadvantage. Find a defensible position, fortify, and hold."
"Sound judgment."
Serin smiled faintly, nodding.
"I like that plan too."
"Then let's go."
Straight to Jae Mi-son.
"Find anything?"
"Corpses and tracks. Keep tracking?"
"Nah. They're close. Let's build a base in a strong spot. Darkness falls, they'll come."
"Right."
He stroked his chin, then called the squad. We found a good site and got to work fortifying.
"There! Dig proper!"
"Yes!"
"Mun Do! Dig!"
Jae Mi-son commanded like a seasoned platoon leader. We watched, pleased.
This is what leading feels like. Wiggle a finger, men move. No wonder folks crave power.
Then.
"Ha-young? What're you doing?"
"Fortified the camp? Now reinforce it. Hold on—barriers, traps, that sorta thing."
"Whoa! Daoist master!"
Ha-young planted wooden posts, slapped up talismans. Our makeshift base? Ironclad now. Tears of trust welled up. Mages are OP.
"Good. We're set. Rest till they hit. Jae Mi-son, set sentries. Rotate shifts."
"Thorough as hell..."
"What?"
"Fortifying and sentries. Geun-hyeop, old question: you ex-military?"
"Military?"
I'd served, yeah.
"This ain't Murim style—it's army. Like you served in the Great Ming Imperial Army or something."
"Heh heh, what's that? Just logical."
"...Right."
Sharp look from him, but how do I say I was a modern soldier? Sentries posted, we rested till dusk.
"So, Geun-hyeop. What's the realm of that Western hero Haira Gulsu? Western tales always make me curious about their ranking system."
"Can't say—it's myth, different from Central Plains. Set in Shang Dynasty era; no way we judge those warriors' realms."
"Fair."
Strongest Greek hero? Probably Mysterious Realm.
"But how do you know it's Shang? And Western myths so well?"
"Yeah, Geun-hyeop. Spill your secrets."
"Just a guy who knows random trivia!"
I was killing time, spinning Greek myths for Serin and Ha-young as usual.
"Ah!"
Ha-young shot up.
"Yo-ki...! Yaguja incoming!"
"Situation! Yokai sighted! Light the fires—now!"
My order, and the squad lit up the camp.
What we saw:
"No, fuck!"
A horde of dog-headed yokai charging from the dark!