The Search
Search.
It literally meant to look for something, but in the Martial Alliance, a search was never that precise.
Well, to be exact, not the entire Martial Alliance—just our squad.
"Hey, dumbass. Find anything?"
"Not a thing, Vice-Abuse Leader."
"Ha, look properly, you... Wait, what did you just call me?"
"Nothing, sir."
Following the unit commander's orders, we split into squads and divided the territory.
Our destination was the forest west of Anhui. We had arrived and were currently searching the area.
Not that it was anything grand. We were mostly just killing time under the guise of looking for footprints or traces.
The Martial Alliance, supposedly responsible for the safety of the Central Plains.
If the common folk knew this was how they handled things, what would they say?
They'd probably curse them out, screaming that they didn't pay their sponsorship fees for this crap.
There are no footprints on the ground. No traces left behind. Besides, what kind of Peak-realm martial artist leaves traces in the first place?
If they wanted to find him, they should have sent someone of a similar level. But there was no such person in my squad.
Well, unless you counted Yeon Socheon... or perhaps...
"Senior, do you see anything?"
Yu Hyeongin.
"Hmm... You're right, I don't see anything either," Yu Hyeongin replied, wearing his signature good-natured smile.
As usual, I was paired up with him.
If even he can't see anything, we're truly hopeless.
Yu Hyeongin. My direct senior was a far better martial artist than he let on.
We were both low-ranking grunts in the Martial Alliance, but we were cut from different cloth.
While I was a nepotism hire, Yu Hyeongin had earned his place entirely through sheer talent.
We were both descendants of fallen noble families.
But unlike me, he actually had the skills to back it up. He might even be stronger than our current squad leader.
Of course, because of his gentle nature and lack of backing, he was treated almost as poorly as I was.
At least the seniors don't hit him or curse at him directly.
Unlike me, who got kicked around all day.
Not that I complained. A talent like Yu Hyeongin didn't belong in a place like this.
I had never asked about his exact realm, but I estimated he was close to the First-class realm.
I had asked him once before.
Why did he come to the Anhui branch with that kind of skill? Why not go to Henan, where the main headquarters was located?
When I asked, Yu Hyeongin had simply smiled.
"My mother and sister are here."
He couldn't leave his family behind. That was the kind of man Yu Hyeongin was.
I shifted my gaze elsewhere.
My eyes landed on a figure who stood out prominently among the crowd—a tall, handsome, annoying bastard.
Yeon Socheon.
He was also looking around for clues, surrounded by a flock of other recruits lingering near him.
They were all trying to suck up to him, hoping to ride his coattails.
It made sense.
Our squad is basically made up of the rejects, anyway.
It was bizarre for someone like Yeon Socheon to be assigned to our squad in the first place.
Normally, the unit commander would keep him close by his side.
For him to suddenly be here...
He must have pulled some strings.
And the reason for that...
Is it me?
I had a strong feeling I was the cause.
Tsk...
I felt like I had gotten tangled up in something incredibly annoying.
Even now, Yeon Socheon kept stealing glances in my direction while pretending to work.
Brat, just do your job. Why do you keep looking over here?
Meanwhile, the other guys were busting their asses just to get noticed by him.
Wait. Does that mean I'm the only one not working?
It certainly felt like it.
Actually, yes, I was. Excluding me, the other seven squad members were all moving around busily.
Hmm.
I needed to at least pretend to search.
Making up my mind, I slowly shifted my body.
I rustled through the bushes, rolling my eyes around to look busy while praying fervently in my head.
Please, let there be nothing.
Please, don't let me find a single thing. If something has to be found, let it be somewhere else.
With that thought, I pushed aside a thick patch of bushes in front of me.
Rustle!
I had only cleared it because it was in my way, but...
"...Uh."
My body froze of its own accord at what lay before me.
...Fuck me.
Why is life always such a piece of shit?
How could my luck be this terrible, even spanning across two lifetimes?
"Junior Yeon. What's wrong?"
Seeing me frozen, Yu Hyeongin walked over.
He probably suspected I had found something.
"Hmm?"
Yu Hyeongin tilted his head as he looked at the same spot.
To his eyes, there was absolutely nothing there.
But...
Dammit.
What I saw was different.
Those are Spirit Traces.
Right above what looked like an ordinary patch of grass, something faint was shimmering.
The moment I saw it, my brow furrowed.
Spirit Traces.
The lingering remnants of a dead soul. To be precise...
The souls of those murdered by others.
It referred to remnants left behind by souls that faded away without turning into ghosts.
Which means someone died here.
I scanned the surroundings.
There were no physical traces visible to the naked eye.
Spirit Traces usually fade within seven days.
The fact that they were still visible meant the death was relatively recent.
Judging by their state, it hadn't even been three days.
And yet, there isn't a single trace?
This meant someone had cleaned up the body and erased all evidence.
To put it simply...
This place is fucking dangerous.
Someone died just a few days ago, yet all evidence was gone.
Moreover, this was not far from the Anhui branch, yet nothing had been reported.
Which meant...
I need to get the hell out of here.
There was something lurking nearby.
I had to run. Whatever it was, I needed to escape.
Even if we were to investigate, it should be handled by the 1st Squad, the combat unit.
For all we knew, the killer could be Sancheon Gwiin himself. I had to leave immediately.
Professional duty as a member of the Martial Alliance? Screw that. My life was far more important.
"Junior?"
Forcing myself to stay calm, I spoke up.
"It's nothing. Let's look somewhere else..."
"Wait a second."
"Seni—!"
Ignoring my words, Yu Hyeongin stepped forward and began examining the ground.
"..."
His face darkened, as if he had found something.
"Squad Leader," Yu Hyeongin called out in a low voice.
At his tone, everyone rushed over in an instant.
"What is it? What's going on?"
At the squad leader's question, Yu Hyeongin scooped up some dirt and sniffed it.
"...There's a faint scent of blood mixed in the soil."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
My mood sank even lower, though for a completely different reason than the others.
Bullshit. Blood scent, my ass.
It had been days. How could there still be a scent of blood?
Did high-level martial artists have the noses of hunting dogs? It was ridiculous.
But apparently, I was the only one who thought so. The squad leader, his face tense, turned to Yu Hyeongin.
"Could it be the blood of a wild animal?"
"If that were the case, there would be animal tracks, but..."
Yu Hyeongin checked the area, his usual smile completely gone.
"There are absolutely no other traces."
The squad leader nodded at his words.
"Indeed. Looking at it now, it does seem artificial."
What do you mean artificial? It's just a forest. Just say it's a forest, damn you.
I prayed desperately, but my wishes were ignored.
"Something is definitely suspicious here."
"We will focus our search on this area," the squad leader ordered. "Song Yeok! Head back to the main unit immediately and report this!"
"Understood!"
"S-Squad Leader. As the youngest, shouldn't I be the one to go..."
"You're too damn slow! It'd take you ages just to get there! Shut up and do your job!"
My attempt to slip away failed miserably.
I was screwed.
Things were moving forward without me having any say in it.
At this rate... wouldn't it look like I was the one who found this?
"Good job, junior! You've made a huge find!"
"No... Senior, that's not it..."
"No, it really is amazing, Junior Bang. How did you even notice this? It's like you have a sixth sense."
"...Yeah. A sixth sense indeed."
I grit my teeth, barely holding back a sigh.
Why did I have to be the one to find this?
I should have just looked away the moment I saw it.
But the other squad members, thinking they were about to score some major achievement points, were practically glowing with excitement.
Meanwhile, Yeon Socheon was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.
It was a look that said, I knew it.
I tried to quickly clear the air under his gaze.
"This was just a coincidence—"
"Hey! Dumbass! Move it!"
Damn it.
Before I could even finish my sentence, the squad leader's bark forced my legs to move.
Fine. Since it had come to this...
I'll just pretend to search and slip away. I can hide somewhere and then wander back later.
I didn't know if this was truly Sancheon Gwiin's doing, but the ominous feeling was the same either way.
At least I had found something, which would look good on my record.
With that thought, I started moving.
I immediately began my "search." I scurried around, darting my eyes left and right.
Not there. Not there either.
I deliberately steered clear of any Spirit Traces, thinking those areas would be safer.
But as I kept moving, things started to feel off.
Wait, there's one here too... and over there... and there?
The further I walked, the stranger it got.
Why are there so many?
With every step I took, another Spirit Trace appeared. They were everywhere.
Before long, the number of Spirit Traces I spotted surpassed ten.
"..."
I froze in place, breaking out in a cold sweat.
The further I went, the clearer the traces became.
Clearer traces meant the deaths were more recent.
And when I encountered traces that looked barely a day old, the realization finally hit me.
...Something is wrong.
Very, very wrong.
I looked to the side with trembling eyes.
The Spirit Trace was incredibly vivid.
It belonged to someone who had died just yesterday, or perhaps early this morning.
What on earth had happened here to leave such a trace?
Moreover...
Of all places for the trace to be.
I looked past the trace and raised my head.
There was a cave.
It was so well-hidden that I wondered if such a place had always existed in this western forest.
The moment I saw it, I knew.
"Ugh..."
My luck was truly abysmal. I had definitely found something I shouldn't have.
It was a highly unusual cave.
Naturally, the first thing I did upon finding it was alert the others.
"Was there always a cave in the western forest?"
"I've definitely never seen this one before."
Even the members who had been in the squad for five or six years had never seen it.
Part of it was because we never patrolled this deep, but it was still strange that it had remained completely unknown.
No, not just strange.
It's suspicious.
For such a cave to be discovered right now, of all times.
While the others were eagerly scanning the cave entrance, eyes lit up with the hope of finding clues...
Tsk...
I was staring at the clearest piece of evidence right in front of us.
A vivid Spirit Trace. It looked less than ten hours old.
Someone had been killed here very recently.
Right at the entrance of the cave, no less.
I can feel it.
The scent of misfortune. That chilling, shitty sensation was washing over my entire body.
"Hmm... It will take at least a short while for reinforcements from the main branch to arrive."
Fifteen minutes to get there, and about twenty minutes to bring people back.
That was the squad leader's estimate, and everyone agreed.
"Squad Leader, what should we do?"
What do you mean, what should we do? It looks dangerous as hell.
Obviously, we retreat and bring back reinforcements.
There were only eight of us heading into an unknown location.
Furthermore, the guy sent to call for help didn't even know the exact location of this cave yet.
The correct move was to head back, prepare properly, and return.
But...
"We're going in."
The squad leader's command was, unfortunately, far too bold.
"...What?"
The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
"We're going in there?"
At my words, the squad leader's gaze snapped to me.
"Dumbass. Are you raising your voice at me right now?"
"Does this look like a situation where I should whisper? Are you out of your mind, Squad Leader?"
"Why, you little...!"
The squad leader's face contorted in anger.
I trembled slightly, knowing I was about to get beaten, but today, I couldn't let it go.
I could see it in his eyes. They were filled with a completely different emotion.
"I get that you want the credit, but this is going too far."
First discovery of the cave. Traces nearby.
And with the promotion evaluations coming up soon, the squad leader's eyes were blinded by greed for achievements.
"Are we a combat unit? We're a search squad!"
"Exactly. We're searching, so what's the problem with going in?"
"We've searched enough. Now that we've found this place, the rest is the 1st Squad's job. It's not our responsibility anymore. Frankly speaking, if Sancheon Gwiin is inside, do you honestly think we can win?"
Winning or losing aside, the standard protocol was to stop here.
What did this bastard even learn during his Martial Alliance search training? Did he suffer from amnesia?
Or was he just pretending not to know?
I bet it was the latter.
Even if Sancheon Gwiin wasn't inside, the state of the Spirit Traces and my own ominous gut feeling made me refuse to take another step forward.
"I'm not going. I'll head back to the branch and report this."
"What?"
The squad leader's face twisted in fury.
"Dumbass. Are you disobeying a direct order from your superior?"
He called me a dumbass even with Yeon Socheon standing right there. He was clearly pissed off to the extreme.
"It's not disobedience. I'm just following the branch guidelines and regulations," I retorted, refusing to back down when my life was on the line.
"The one breaking the rules right now is you, Squad Leader. Doesn't that mean you're disobeying the branch's orders? Fine, then I'll just take the insubordination charge. Fuck it, I'd rather take the punishment."
So what if my pay got docked or I had to do manual labor for a few months?
Was money more important than my life? Absolutely not.
Screw this. I was going to live. Even if they got all the glory from this, I wouldn't envy them one bit.
I trusted my gut.
I spat out those words and turned to head back to the branch, but...
"Haha. First that bastard from the 1st Squad, and now even a piece of trash like you is looking down on me?"
The squad leader's voice sounded dangerously close.
"Squad Leader! Wait—!" Yu Hyeongin called out in a panic.
But before he could finish, the squad leader's hand grabbed the back of my collar.
"Huh?"
"You're too scared to go in because you don't know what's inside? Then I'll send you in myself."
"Wa—!"
The squad leader, a Second-class martial artist, channeled his strength and threw me straight toward the cave.
Whoosh!
Before I knew it, I was flying through the air.
Through my spinning vision, I saw the squad leader's sneering face.
I tried to scream a curse at him, but...
"You son of a bi—!"
Thud!
"Ack!"
My body slammed into the ground, and I began rolling down.
To my surprise, the cave sloped downward.
It was a moderate incline, but the momentum of being thrown sent me tumbling endlessly down the slope.
Roll, roll, roll... Thud!
By the time my body finally came to a stop...
"Cough, cough."
I pushed myself up, coughing roughly.
"Pah!"
I spat out the dirt that had gotten into my mouth.
He actually threw me?
The man was completely insane. Throwing me into an unknown cave meant he didn't give a shit whether I lived or died.
Is he even human?
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but I forced myself to hold back.
I had already yelled once, and making more noise in an unknown environment was suicide.
It was pitch black.
Nothing but darkness lay before my eyes.
Tensing every muscle, I tried to control my breathing.
Would it get better once my eyes adjusted?
Even the slightest sound made my body shiver.
It's damp.
The inside of the cave was incredibly humid. I could feel moisture in the air, and the dirt on my clothes was wet.
Was there water flowing nearby?
Moreover...
What is this fishy smell?
A strange, metallic stench filled the air. It was a foul odor that stung the tip of my nose.
As I stood there, frowning and on high alert...
Thud! Thud!
Someone else tumbled down behind me. It was the other squad members.
"Junior! Are you alvi—!"
"Ha, see? Dumbass. There's nothing to be afraid of..."
"Ah..."
The squad members who had followed me in cut their words short, their faces freezing in sheer horror.
What was wrong with them?
As everyone stared ahead, stiff as statues, the squad leader gestured behind him.
Seeing the signal, one of the members pulled out a wooden stick and flint from his robe, quickly striking a spark.
Click, click! Whoosh!
The bright flame illuminated the interior of the cave.
In that instant...
"...!!"
My stomach did a violent flip at the sight before us.
The cave was filled with human corpses.
Some were already rotting, while others were relatively fresh.
Which meant...
...Holy shit.
The reason the dirt was so damp was because of the blood pooling from the corpses.
And that stinging, metallic stench was the smell of blood.
Nausea surged up my throat. My body was reacting instinctively.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I stared at the clothes the corpses were wearing.
They were all dressed in the same uniform.
Blue fabric with gray embroidery.
The emblem stitched onto the chest was so famous it was impossible not to recognize.
...Namgung?
The great Namgung Family.
One of the Five Great Families of the orthodox faction, responsible for the province of Anhui.
These corpses all belonged to them.
"This is impossible...!"
Someone gasped.
It was Yeon Socheon. His eyes were wide with disbelief.
His reaction was rather strange, but now was not the time to ponder it.
Danger. This is extremely dangerous.
Suppressing my nausea, I forced strength into my stiff legs.
I had to move. Before trying to figure out what was going on, I needed to get out of here first.
"Squad Leader... we need to get out of here first—"
"Ah, so you finally came in."
"...!"
An unfamiliar voice echoed through the dark.
Whoosh.
The sound of wind followed. Before I could even process what it was—
Slash!
Something rolled on the ground and bumped against my foot.
"Gah!?"
I looked down, my eyes widening in horror.
It was a human head.
It belonged to Dong Baegu, one of the senior squad members.
His severed head had rolled right to my toes.
Thud!
Right after, Dong Baegu's headless torso collapsed to the ground.
"This wasn't part of the plan."
Along with the voice, someone stepped out from the darkness.
It was a man carrying a massive nodachi, nearly as tall as my entire body, slung over his shoulder.
He wore an eyepatch over one eye, and a large scar ran across his face.
He was a giant of a man, radiating an overwhelming aura of death.
Staring at him, I muttered his name.
"...Sancheon Gwiin."
The rogue martial artist who had likely created this mountain of corpses.
My terrible luck had finally caught up with me.