'It's the Dog Ghosts!'
"Dog ghosts!"
"To your positions!"
"Hold the line!"
The dog ghosts swarmed in, sending a wave of tension rippling through the air. But we were battle-hardened martial artists, tempered in real combat. We'd trained for this, and we'd picked up plenty more scrapping with those bastards. Once our combat formation locked in, our makeshift camp turned into a goddamn fortress.
We'd dug a dry moat around the perimeter—no water, but it did the job—and right behind it, piled up low barricades. Now, seasoned Nachal Bang warriors manned this perfect setup. Even human soldiers would've struggled to breach it in a short siege. What the hell could a bunch of yokai do?
"Arf!"
"Grrrrr!"
Emaciated human bodies topped with grotesque dog heads—those freaks charged on two or four legs. Their glowing eyes stretching through the darkness looked pretty damn scary, I'll give 'em that.
Whoosh!
The leaders kicked off the ground, launching toward our camp. That sealed their fate.
Splat!
They tried jumping the moat and barricade at once, hanging in midair—and that's when the I-sang Je-go, our Nachal Bang standard weapon, skewered their asses.
"Kek!"
"Nice shot!"
"Keep stabbing!"
You think we've only done this once or twice? We spent all day on the walls and barricades, picking off those little shit ghosts. Dog ghosts ain't any different.
Rumble rumble!
"Gaaarrrf!"
"Grrf!"
The dog ghosts barked menacingly, leaping high at our camp. Our warriors responded with crisp thrusts, impaling the horde and clearing them out.
"Ha-young!"
"Got it!"
Then Ha-young chanted her spell and flung a talisman.
Whoosh!
Flames swept the field. The dog ghosts didn't even breach the camp—hell, they didn't reach the moat before burning to ash.
"Kill 'em! Keep killing!"
"Your command's gotten slick, sir."
At this point, I didn't even need to step in from the back. My crew was handling everything up front. Just poke the jumping fuckers with I-sang Je-go, and they dropped.
If we were some typical sword or saber sect, we'd be tangled in a chaotic melee with that pack. Formations? Military ops? Like murim folk give a shit about that. They use on-the-spot tactics, sure, but nothing like our army-style setup. Fight that way, and you'd take massive losses.
But look at this. A solid camp and prep turned zero casualties into easy kills.
"Arf! Arf!"
"Grrraaarf!"
The frenzied dog ghosts kept jumping—and skewering themselves. Rinse and repeat.
How much time passed like that? Eventually, even they caught on, stopping the charges to circle the moat.
"They're wising up. Figures—not all yokai are brain-dead."
"Man, archers would've been perfect right now."
"Geun-hyeop...? You planning to turn Nachal Bang into rebels? Archers?"
"Tch."
Archers would've been ideal. Too bad. Murim sects running war-grade units like that? Straight-up rebellion charges. Even spear formations are dicey—they're excuse enough to smash you flat. That's why we're all on I-sang Je-go. Not quite spears, not faction weapons. Sneak it under the radar as non-military.
Kinda like a backdoor spear unit.
"Just sayin'. Look—with archers, we'd turn those loiterers into porcupines."
"True, but drop the rebel talk, Geun-hyeop."
"Fine, won't happen again."
Javelin squad next? That might skirt rebellion...
"Wooooaaah!"
"Come on, you cowards!"
"Hahaha! Run, you pussy yokai!"
Anyway. Our flawless fortress crushed 'em, boosting the troops' morale sky-high. They straight-up taunted the dog ghosts, talking big shit.
"Looks like we won. Still, stay sharp. Their boss might pull something."
"Then thin the herd before it shows. All hands, listen up! Time to butcher these cowards! Charge!"
"Waaaah!"
Our turn now.
Shing!
I drew my Cheon-rae Geom and led the squad out of camp.
"Grrr!"
Us stepping out lit their eyes—they thought we looked fightable and charged again.
Crack!
Drooling dog maws and razor claws led the assault on me.
"Where you think you're going!"
Just a casual sword swing.
Slash!
Sent its head flying.
"Die, die!"
"Wipe 'em all!"
"Shoulder to shoulder! Don't break formation!"
The pack hit our unit next, but their numbers were way down. No way they broke our I-sang Je-go phalanx. Just got shredded.
"Gaaaaarrrf!"
Right then—a mighty roar from over there.
"Dog Ghost King! Boss is here!"
Their leader finally showed. But it paid dearly for slacking. Over half its pack wiped out without touching us. Harsh price for showing late. Even at full strength, it'd be a toss-up. Now?
"Dog Ghost King! Show yourself!"
I bellowed, and from the dark lumbered a beast twice the size—standing on two legs, freakish. Some troops gulped in fear at the sight.
"Gasp."
No need to freak.
"Human."
"Huh? It talks?"
Yokai talking ain't rare.
"We... eat human brains."
"Kuhaha! Want my brain? Come get it!"
"Arrogant. I'll eat it. Your brain."
"Dumbass. Can't count our numbers?"
"Gaaaaarrrf!"
The Dog Ghost King roared.
"Arf! Arf!"
"Arf arf arf!"
The others went berserk, barking. Then charged us full tilt. King included.
"Geun-hyeop. Hit it together."
"Yeah!"
Its arms were freakishly long. Could ignore the spears and strike. Time for me and U-ho-beop to step up.
We advanced from the formation, facing the king head-on with Serin.
"Hah!"
I surged inner energy, unleashing Dae-ryu Geom-beop. Purple ghost energy cloaked my blade. Not full sword aura yet, but it amped the power hard.
"Human. That power."
"You sense it?"
"Looks tasty. Eat brain."
"Shut your trap!"
Whip!
The king lashed its long arm like a flail. Fist like an iron mace, claws like hooks.
I could block. Casual upward slice.
Clang!
Its arm bounced skyward.
"Kraaah!"
It kicked off hard, closing in.
"Gui-gyeok-cham!"
I unleashed full-force Ghost Slash.
Splatter!
"Kweeeeeek!"
My sword tore into its body and exploded. Total obliteration. Chunks flew everywhere.
Power's way up. And I still had tons of inner energy left after one shot. Proof my total capacity exploded.
"Guh?!"
The pack freaked at their boss exploding, leaping back.
"B-Bangju took out the enemy leader!"
"So brutal...!"
"One shot!"
"Mun Do! Amazing!"
Troops in awe.
"What're you gawking at? Sweep the remnants!"
"Waaaah!"
The dog ghosts were already turning tail. Our squad broke formation, chasing and stabbing backs.
"Well done, Geun-hyeop. Your proficiency's sharpened."
"Serin. Check this—no fatigue, no shortness of breath after that nuke. Could fire off three, four more easy."
"How's my inner energy growing this fast..."
"Hey! Killing like that ruins the yodan!"
Oh shit, right!
I rushed to the Dog Ghost King's corpse.
"Gotta be a yodan...!"
Mangled mess. Heart sinking, I rummaged through.
Burst but not pulverized. Dug through guts.
"Ah! Found it!"
Yodan secured!
"Phew!"
"It was there? Almost pissed me off."
"Hahaha! Think I'd just hack without thinking? I'm a murim master, guys!"
"Ugh, bullshit."
Near-yellow hue, but that ominous vibe intact. I grabbed a waterskin, rinsed it, wiped with a cloth. Clean it proper later before swallowing.
"Heh, done. Zero casualties. A few runners, but who cares."
"See? Your I-sang Je-go's a beast."
"Knew you'd get it deepest. Heads up—guild'll love 'em for the coffin quest."
"On it."
Big payout on that coffin job, but with me and the crew? Cakewalk. Plus yodan spoils. Jackpot.
Wonder what this one's boost? Last one from Ha-dong upped my swimming. Can't wait.