Chapter 17: Arson
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17: Arson
The mounted bandit, Choi Cheol-hyeol, let out a piercing scream as he stared at his severed ankle.
‘To think the North Sea actually sent a special task force down here.’
When he first heard the order to track down a special unit, he had wondered why they were being assigned such a tedious task for a group of only six people.
Choi Cheol-hyeol had been confident that he could wipe out six people all by himself.
But now...
‘He’s a lunatic.’
He hadn't been able to dodge the attack of the man charging at him—not even with a sword, but with a kitchen knife.
The moment he looked into the man's eyes, his first instinct was to run. Even with his ankle severed, that thought hadn't changed.
"Who... who are you?"
That was until he came face-to-face with four other figures who appeared to be the companions of the madman with the kitchen knife.
"I-I'll tell you anything you want to know, just please... spare my life."
Surviving at any cost—that was Choi Cheol-hyeol's way of life. He had lost an ankle, but he believed that as long as he stayed alive, he could find a way to manage.
"Name."
"It's... Choi Cheol-hyeol."
"Why were you loitering around here?"
"I heard news that the Ice Palace had dispatched a special task force, so I was looking for them."
He just hadn't expected to be taken down like this the moment he actually found them.
As he spoke, Choi Cheol-hyeol scrutinized the man who seemed to be the leader.
"Were you ordered to find and kill the special task force?"
The man currently questioning him appeared to be the captain of this unit.
Glancing slightly to the side, Choi Cheol-hyeol saw a woman with snow-white hair. She radiated an aura as cold as a sheet of ice.
He instinctively knew that this woman was the Young Palace Lord of the Ice Palace.
If so, then who was this man talking to him?
"Yes, I received those orders."
"Then why are you alone?"
Choi Cheol-hyeol stiffened.
Mounted bandits never moved alone. Before long, his comrades would realize he was missing and begin a search. He was waiting for that moment.
‘I... I need to buy more time...’
As Choi Cheol-hyeol’s eyes began to dart around restlessly—
"The way your eyes are darting around tells me you're plotting something else."
Whoosh!
"Aaaargh!"
The man who had been talking to him lightly tapped him. Instantly, Choi Cheol-hyeol’s entire body was engulfed in flames.
"...Is it alright not to dig for more information?"
At Seol Yerin's question, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom nodded.
"It seems there are others nearby who can talk besides this guy."
Clop, clop, clop!
The sound of approaching cavalry began to echo through the air.
"Shall we handle them?"
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom sighed at Baek Mu-yong's question.
They said even the most beautiful sights were best enjoyed on a full stomach, yet here he was, unable to eat or sleep properly because he had to deal with bandits.
"Little Snow Unit, this is our first engagement."
This battle would be the starting point for gaining recognition from the Ice Palace Lord.
Eun-bin, the deputy squad leader of the Little Snow Unit, swallowed hard as he watched Hyeok Ryeon-yeom burn the bandit to death without a moment's hesitation.
‘As expected, he is merciless toward his enemies.’
Those flames that could incinerate a person were a mysterious sight every time he saw them.
"Deputy Leader, I suggest we focus our attacks on the horses."
Baek Mu-yong spoke up while Eun-bin was still staring at the bandit who had been burned alive.
"The horses?"
"The enemies are cavalry!"
Neigh!
The cries of horses charging through the forest rang out.
"What should I do?"
Even Tae Un-seo turned to Eun-bin for instructions.
Eun-bin realized that this was the first official mission of the Little Snow Unit—the unit dedicated to protecting the Young Palace Lord.
Their captain, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, seemed to have absolutely no interest in commanding the unit's maneuvers.
"...Tae Un-seo, cut the horses' legs. Squad Leader Baek, handle the bandits who fall from their mounts."
"What about me, Deputy Leader?"
"Non-combat personnel stay back."
At those words, Weizhi Young pouted.
"Fine, I'll just look after the Young Palace Lord."
She quickly scurried off toward Seol Yerin, who was observing the situation from the rear. Eun-bin then made his move.
Slash— Slash— Slash—
Having already received his orders, Tae Un-seo began slicing through the horses' legs.
Neiiiigh!
"I-It's an enemy!"
As the lead horses collapsed, chaos erupted among the bandits.
Eun-bin began to cut down the bandits with a faint, narrow-eyed smile. Under his swift sword, the enemies fell before they could even spill a drop of blood.
Watching him, Baek Mu-yong shook his head.
He recalled the stories that before he was known as the "Ice-Cold Killing Star," it was said that when Eun-bin of the "Snow Shadow Sword" took to the field, not a single drop of blood would remain on the battlefield.
"Haaah!"
While Eun-bin’s swordsmanship was based on speed, Baek Mu-yong’s was based on weight.
With every swing of his heavy sword, a blizzard seemed to howl. Baek Mu-yong was doing an excellent job of finishing off the fallen enemies.
"Their coordination is top-tier, even though they haven't practiced together."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom watched the three of them fight with admiration. Eun-bin, in particular, was making the battle look easier than expected by positioning the members in the right places.
"It looks like they can handle all the bandits without us stepping in," Seol Yerin remarked.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom nodded. "But since a commotion has started, the rest of the bandits will be on the move. We need to strike their base before that happens."
The bandits would never expect a mere six people to raid their headquarters.
"I think we've finished them all."
The unit members stopped moving after finishing off the fallen bandits.
"Should we torture the survivors?" Tae Un-seo asked, his words sounding ominous as he brandished his kitchen knife.
"Forget it. Let's move."
Their target was the bandits' stronghold.
"I'll go check it out first!"
As Weizhi Young dashed ahead, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom gave Eun-bin a meaningful look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Didn't you say non-combat personnel should stay back?"
Is it okay to let her handle the scouting?
"Deputy Leader Eun, hurry and go with Lady Weizhi," Seol Yerin commanded, unable to watch the awkwardness any longer.
Swish—
Eun-bin instantly deployed his lightness technique and chased after Weizhi Young.
"What should I do?" Baek Mu-yong asked.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom ordered him to move with Tae Un-seo.
Somehow, they ended up split into pairs.
‘Scouting Team – Diversion Team – Arson Team.’
Once Eun-bin and Weizhi Young returned from scouting the bandit base, Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo would enter first to cause a distraction. Then, taking advantage of the thinned-out guard, the arson would begin.
In other words, it was a classic strategy of feinting in the east to strike in the west.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom intended to burn the bandits' Great Plains stronghold to the ground.
"When we arrive, I'll freeze everything," Seol Yerin declared with burning enthusiasm.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s expression turned troubled as he began to wonder how on earth he was going to talk her out of that.
At that same moment...
Weizhi Young frowned as she watched Deputy Leader Eun-bin overtake her and speed ahead.
‘I only followed the Young Master to the Ice Palace as his maid...’
But since the Young Master had recognized her as a member of the Little Snow Unit, she felt she had to pull her own weight.
However, Eun-bin, the man she considered the unit's second-in-command, had relegated her to "non-combat personnel."
‘It’s frustrating.’
Weizhi Young knew all too well that most people looked down on maids. But that prejudice didn't apply in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
No one could be just "anybody" to serve as the maid of the Third Young Master, the son of the Heavenly Demon. Weizhi Young had been personally selected by the Cult Leader himself. Within the Heavenly Demon Cult, the members respected her simply because she was the Third Young Master's attendant.
But...
‘In the Ice Palace, I have to earn recognition on my own.’
The Young Master was also being ignored in the Ice Palace. And every time that happened, he proved himself.
He had subdued Eun-bin, rescued the Young Palace Lord, won the duel against Elder Gwak Tae-san, and recruited Tae Un-seo into the Little Snow Unit.
Weizhi Young felt gratified every time the number of people following the Young Master increased. She liked the clearly changed version of him.
‘The Young Palace Lord, too...’
She was a perfect match for the Young Master. Seeing the two of them together—a handsome man and a beautiful woman—brought a smile to her face.
In a way, it felt like she had one more person to serve, but to the quick-witted Weizhi Young, the Young Palace Lord seemed to be someone who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
In short...
Now, it seemed only Weizhi Young needed to be recognized by the others.
Fortunately, the newly joined Tae Un-seo followed her well. She was also already quite close with Baek Mu-yong, having traveled with him from the Cult to the Ice Palace.
The problem was...
‘Deputy Leader Eun.’
She had heard he was a man who had lived his life as the Young Palace Lord's bodyguard. A man who would seemingly embrace death at a single word from Seol Yerin, yet he treated Weizhi Young as nothing more than a common maid.
"I believe I told non-combat personnel to stay back."
"This isn't a combat situation right now, is it?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
Eun-bin suddenly touched his head, realizing that Weizhi Young wasn't winded at all.
"What is the task of a scouting team?"
"Identifying the number of bandits. Investigating and reporting areas vulnerable to infiltration. Something like that, right?"
"You're certainly not an ordinary maid."
"I've learned a fair bit of martial arts myself."
"I'll acknowledge that much."
Though he had overtaken her, Eun-bin began to see Weizhi Young in a new light because she hadn't tired out.
Satisfied with his answer, Weizhi Young asked with a bright, innocent expression, "What should I do now?"
She was mimicking Tae Un-seo's tone. Eun-bin thought she looked a bit cute.
‘What am I thinking...’
How long had it been since he had conversed with a woman other than the Young Palace Lord?
‘My priority is to do my best to protect the Young Palace Lord.’
"Just stay still."
In front of the bandit stronghold, Eun-bin and Weizhi Young suppressed their presence and began to observe the bandits standing guard.
- There don't seem to be many guards, do there?
- Yes, it seems so.
Eun-bin knew that Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo were following behind them.
Their captain, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom, had said it: wiping out the bandits was as simple as burning everything down.
Therefore, the plan was...
‘A diversion.’
Their mission was to identify the best spot for Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo to cause a commotion.
And then...
- Over there! I think that would be the best place to send Warrior Baek and Warrior Tae!
Weizhi Young was telling Eun-bin exactly what he wanted to hear via secret voice transmission.
By the time Hyeok Ryeon-yeom and Seol Yerin arrived at the bandit base...
"Young Master! I've told Warrior Baek and Warrior Tae to enter as soon as we give the signal!"
The scouting team had returned. The two of them had accurately grasped exactly what Hyeok Ryeon-yeom wanted.
"How did you know where I was going to set the fire?"
"Didn't you say you were going to burn it all down?"
True.
"I've prepared a spot that looks like it'll burn very well!"
Checking the location Weizhi Young pointed out, he saw that the weeds were growing thick and overgrown.
"I still think freezing it wouldn't be bad..."
Seol Yerin continued to argue that freezing would be better than burning. When he asked her to use her Extreme Yin Qi if the flames spread in the wrong direction, she finally agreed.
"Give the signal."
"Understood!"
As soon as Weizhi Young gave the signal—
Boom!
"Enemy attack!"
"Intruders!"
Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo charged into the midst of the bandits and began to wreak havoc.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom watched them and stood up. Moving slowly and undetected by the bandits, he reached his target.
Whoosh!
At the bandits' stronghold...
He set the Great Plains ablaze.