Chapter 274
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 274
Chapter Title: Ten Left
The night was deepening.
The elimination flares shone even brighter in the night sky.
Not with smoke, but with flashes of light.
They burst one after another, like fireworks lighting up the Mokran Mountain night sky.
It was because everyone had grown frantic with the anxiety that night had fallen.
And so.
Time passed.
"Ten left."
Nak Woo-jin said, having counted the elimination flares.
Ten.
At that number, everyone in Wa Dragon Corps Squad 20 thought the same thing.
Themselves: five.
And probably four from Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1.
They were all but certain that it added up to exactly ten.
"What do we do?"
Im Dae-chi asked.
"We wait until dawn tomorrow. That's when they'll be the most exhausted."
Eun Hwa-ryang said.
Everyone nodded.
They knew all too well how draining that time of night could be, having experienced it themselves.
"Then we need to wear them out even more."
Eun Hwa-ryang held several hunted rabbits in his hands.
The others were the same.
At this point, hunting rabbits on Mokran Mountain was something they could do with their eyes closed.
It hadn't been that long, but the grueling experiences along the way had honed their skills.
The five quickly finished preparing the rabbits and moved swiftly.
"This spot good?"
Everyone agreed with Sim Cheol-san's words.
They gathered the dry branches they'd collected and lit a fire.
They carefully surrounded it with stones to prevent any risk of a forest fire.
Then they skewered a rabbit leg on a wooden stick and placed it over the flames.
Soon, the savory aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
"Tell them to look carefully before it burns up."
Nak Woo-jin grinned.
They lit bonfires in various spots like this, placing small portions of rabbit meat over the flames.
Letting the smell spread far and wide.
Since it was a premeditated plan, they'd stocked up on flint and tinder beforehand, making it quick to start the fires.
After scattering bonfires everywhere.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad 20 settled deep in the forest, lit their own bonfire, roasted the remaining rabbits, and had a hearty dinner.
They'd skipped lunch too, so they devoured it ravenously.
"Senior Yeon Ha-min, you're ruthless."
With full bellies, they could afford some leisure.
Sim Cheol-san muttered, recalling the strategy they'd just executed.
Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.
As they extinguished their bonfire and slipped into hiding for the night, they remembered Yeon Ha-min's plan.
"If night falls and only you and Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1 are left, you won't need to forage for raw food anymore."
"Why not?"
They'd said earlier that lighting fires would expose their position, so they'd need to eat raw.
"The risk of exposure drops since fewer people remain in the mountains. But deliberately exposing yourselves can be part of the strategy too."
"A strategy?"
Nak Woo-jin's question.
"The Summer Combat Festival doesn't give time to eat after it starts. They don't even bring food to begin with."
The five nodded.
"They've skipped meals, fought exhausting battles, and now night has fallen. What do you think that feels like?"
"Exhausted, starving... like they're dying."
Yeong Hu-in answered, drawing from their own training.
"And then they catch a whiff of roasting meat and see firelight?"
"They'd lose their minds."
Im Dae-chi said sincerely. He'd been through it himself.
"But when they get there, there's only a tiny bit of meat—or it's burned to nothing. What then?"
"They'd snap. In a whole different way."
Nak Woo-jin replied.
"And then they smell meat from another spot?"
Yeon Ha-min continued.
"Ah...! They'd chase after that sliver of hope again. And if it keeps happening, their stamina aside... their minds..."
Eun Hwa-ryang answered as realization dawned.
"Exactly. Once you're sure only you and Squad 1 remain at night, give it a try."
Of course, a Fierce Dragon Corps cadet was still in the running right now.
One who wielded her bow threateningly.
However.
She'd fall for the bait just the same.
Judging it irrelevant, Yeon Ha-min executed her plan anyway.
Gong Ya Hwi-yeon fell for the first bait.
Drawn by the meat's aroma, hoping she might snag a spot without the hassle of hunting.
But what greeted her was a single rabbit foreleg dripping fat into the bonfire, crackling as it roasted.
"Ha. These bastards pulled off something fun."
She knew at a glance.
Their goal and intent.
So she left it be.
She wanted Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1 to suffer too.
But she did revise her mental assessment.
'Not all the righteous faction kids grew up soft.'
Who knew they'd resort to tricks like this.
But the soft ones surely would fall for it.
"Hunting myself would be a pain."
Gong Ya Hwi-yeon muttered as she vanished into the darkness.
She'd already nocked an arrow on her bow.
After she left, Ha Mu-baek appeared.
He stared intently at the bonfire.
"Not bad. Using their heads. As expected of Yeon Ha-min. The situation helped too..."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
He'd overheard them whispering about the plan earlier, nearby.
He hadn't expected them to actually use it.
Ha Mu-baek glanced in the direction Gong Ya Hwi-yeon had gone.
Her appearance had twisted the game in this odd way.
Who'd have thought only Wa Dragon Corps Squads 1 and 20 would remain.
Ha Mu-baek had expected it to end sooner.
Gong Ya Hwi-yeon was strong, true to her status as the granddaughter of the Sapa Alliance Leader.
Her stealth, mobility, and archery were all top-notch.
She'd taken out Wa Dragon and Hidden Dragon Corps cadets alone as dusk fell, dragging things out this far.
'Huh? Idiots. Rushing in leaking their presence like that, thinking there's something at the firelight. Tsk.'
Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue at the approaching presences and quietly withdrew.
Wondering at which bonfire those amateurs would finally stop wasting energy.
'They might eliminate each other through infighting.'
Once hunger drove them mad, they might fight over scraps.
Given their solidarity, it was all too possible.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1's four had some talent, regaining their senses near the bonfire.
And approached cautiously.
Maybe too late.
Only the bonfire remained.
No one around.
They scanned for hidden figures reacting to their approach, but nothing.
"What the...?"
Hwa Bo-myeong muttered uneasily.
Cheol Ryeong stepped out and strode toward the fire.
"Stop!"
Byeok I-gyeom shouted in alarm.
This could be a trap.
From Fierce Dragon Corps bitch or Squad 20 trash.
But Cheol Ryeong didn't hesitate.
He was sure no one was around.
And he'd smelled the meat.
He was starving beyond belief.
They'd never known true hunger.
Raised with fine treatment in their sects.
Especially Cheol Ryeong.
How tenderly his mother had cared for him.
That's why he dashed so easily toward the fire.
Cheol Ryeong's face twisted upon arrival.
A small piece—presumably a rabbit foreleg—half-burned over the flames.
He snatched it and shoved it in his mouth.
Hot, but he didn't care.
Hunger came first.
Crunch crunch.
Cheol Ryeong gnawed the half-burnt rabbit with his inadequate teeth.
At the sight, the other three bolted forward.
They were starving too.
But the bonfire had nothing.
Just the one piece Cheol Ryeong was eating.
They glared at him desperately, but.
He'd already devoured it, tossing the bones aside.
"You fucking bastard..."
A curse slipped from Hwa Bo-myeong's lips.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"Shut up. Finder's keepers."
"Wait, calm down!"
Byeok I-gyeom wedged himself roughly between them.
He shared the resentment toward Cheol Ryeong for hogging the only meat.
But Byeok I-gyeom was fiercely battling basic human hunger with his mind.
"This is weird, right?"
The three turned to the bonfire at Byeok I-gyeom's point.
"They lit it blatantly and left barely enough meat for one person. This is clearly a ploy to make us fight over it."
A reasonable analysis.
Even Hwa Bo-myeong, flames in his eyes, couldn't erupt further.
"Sniff sniff. But I smell meat again?"
Tak Mu-jeon caught a whiff from somewhere.
Before Byeok I-gyeom could stop them, two dashed off.
Cheol Ryeong and Hwa Bo-myeong.
A mere scrap had entered their starved bellies.
Cheol Ryeong, having eaten something, was even more feral.
"This..."
Byeok I-gyeom muttered forebodingly.
Tak Mu-jeon nodded.
"It's a trap, but..."
Still, they leaped after them too.
Couldn't leave those two alone—who knew what might happen.
And so they roamed Mokran Mountain all night.
Not every bonfire had meat.
"Wh-what the hell... Why, why's it gone! You fucking bastards!!"
Hwa Bo-myeong, first to arrive sprinting at firelight, screamed in despair.
He'd run hoping this meat was his.
Nothing.
Just crackling empty flames—his rage had been indescribable.
One more person swallowed fury inwardly amid this.
The judge overseeing Wa Dragon Corps Squad 1.
He'd starved all day too.
Human, after all—wouldn't he get hungry?
Those punks at least scavenged meat from the obvious traps by Squad 20.
The judge just trailed them all night, neither eating nor sleeping.
Whether the blatant-trap Squad 1 idiots wandering endlessly.
Or the vicious trap-setters of Squad 20.
Both fueled the judge's wrath.
'Stupid bastards... and cunning pricks...'
His eyes grew hollow.
The night's toll:
Cheol Ryeong: three pieces.
Hwa Bo-myeong: three.
Byeok I-gyeom and Tak Mu-jeon: one each.
They hadn't fought over meat—a miracle.
Well, they'd come close.
But Byeok I-gyeom and Tak Mu-jeon's insistence that it was a ploy for infighting barely stopped them.
'Fuck. It's also a ploy to drain our stamina...'
Byeok I-gyeom realized at the third bonfire.
And warned them.
But.
Couldn't rein in hunger-maddened Cheol Ryeong and Hwa Bo-myeong.
The tiny scraps only stoked their appetites further.
Unable to leave them, Byeok I-gyeom and Tak Mu-jeon followed grudgingly—their states were pitiful.
Eventually, even they rushed bonfires.
Snagging one piece each.
All night without sleep, sprinting mountain paths.
Hunger overpowering sleepiness...
Without that meat, they'd have given up and slept.
One day without food wouldn't kill them.
But those meager bites ignited hunger explosively.
Paralyzed the pair's reason.
This was the result.
Dawn's light pierced the sky strongly.
The sun chasing away the twilight.
In stark contrast to them.
"Hoo."
A weary sigh escaped as they caught their breath.
Rustle.
Footsteps.
Looking around: Wa Dragon Corps Squad 20's five.
"You fucking dogs..."
A feeble curse from Byeok I-gyeom.
"You trash!!"
With their arrival, Cheol Ryeong finally realized.
They'd been toyed with all night.
Those bastards looked well-fed and rested, faces glowing.
In rage, Cheol Ryeong kicked off toward the five.
Wa Dragon Corps Squad 20 turned and fled as if waiting.
Cheol Ryeong pursued without thought.
"St-stop!"
Startled Tak Mu-jeon shouted, but Cheol Ryeong sped up, ignoring him.
Hwa Bo-myeong bolted too.
No choice.
Grimacing, Byeok I-gyeom and Tak Mu-jeon followed.
'We're completely played.'
Byeok I-gyeom looked utterly defeated.
From the spot they left.
Gong Ya Hwi-yeon emerged.
"Hmm. Entertaining."
She smiled brightly.
"I'll just watch the show and enjoy some rice cakes."
While eliminating many overnight on Mokran Mountain, she'd made one decision.
Win the Summer Combat Festival.
Prove Fierce Dragon Corps could win it too.
They'd won the winter one last year anyway.
Of course, the bet required Wa Dragon Corps Squad 20 to win.
Given the flow, they would.
But she'd intervene midway.
To win herself, she needed to maximize Squad 20's losses.
So she had to keep their fights in view.
Her foot quietly pushed off the ground.
Well-fed and rested herself, her movements were light and swift.
"About time it wraps up?"
Ha Mu-baek appeared with casual steps.
Having grasped the situation via presence sense.
This tiresome affair was nearing its end.
Unaware that something more annoying awaited in Muchang.