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Chapter 334. Division
After the Great Righteous-Demonic War tilted decisively toward defeat, the Murim Alliance was deliberating whether to relocate from Wuhan to Bukhae to escape the Demonic Cult's advancing offensive.
And that was when the Beggars' Sect made a shocking announcement.
The Demonic Cult had been running rampant across the entire Central Plains since before the Great Righteous-Demonic War, laying the groundwork for victory through countless covert operations.
This shocking intelligence terrified the Murim Alliance leadership further, while simultaneously causing some to dismiss it as absurd disinformation and turn away from reality.
Of course, nobody pointed out the laughable fact that this intelligence had only come to light after the Great Righteous-Demonic War was nearly over.
Е̌ n û.m̆а
They couldn't bear to be mocked by their own side — and by people they'd looked down on, at that — on top of being mocked by the enemy.
Thousands of pages of confidential documents were incinerated without authorization from Sim Hyeon-gak or Mantongbu.
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Because of that, in my past life, I'd had no way to access this intelligence.
What they'd done.
What schemes they'd concocted — all of it.
At the very least, the events that had seemed like mere coincidences in my previous life turned out to be anything but, and from that I could speculate on what they wanted.
Wē b́ň ȯv̂ е l Ѐ ṅ u.m̃ а
The attempted assassination of Murong Sang-won. Infiltrating the regular exam to kill Academy students through a borrowed-knife murder scheme.
Embedding themselves in the Black Thought Alliance to build forces as they pleased, and so on.
Analyzing the chain of incidents, they wanted the Central Plains to be steeped in chaos before they revealed themselves.
Because the moment they showed their faces, all eyes and enmity would converge on them.
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'But why now?'
Yet what was happening in the Black Forest was different from everything that had happened before.
Е̊ ǹ ūm̂а̄. ĭd̄
They'd worn the mask of a Divine Spirit, but there was clearly no intent to hide their true nature.
Like a tiger wearing a rabbit's mask.
The bold stripes on its body and its mountain-sized frame weren't hidden in the slightest, yet it shamelessly declared itself a rabbit.
'Those sons of bitches...... At least hide your claws.'
The vivid blade marks carved into the corpses.
Where before there had at least been the semblance of effort — hacking messily to disguise the work — now there was none of that.
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As if they wanted us to know it was their doing, they'd pierced vital acupoints and slashed critical spots with single strokes.
"I-it's the Divine Spirit's curse......"
"It's because we tried to hunt the Divine Spirit......"
"No, I don't want to die here!"
Was it because this was their first encounter with mass death?
Because they couldn't accept that their own deaths were a very real possibility?
Е n̈ um̆а̌
Even though it wasn't the first time they'd seen corpses, they still couldn't escape the psychological trauma.
I checked on our squad.
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Our members too were struggling mightily to regulate the violent emotions churning inside them.
This couldn't go on.
The time when first-deployed warriors die the most is during their very first battle.
And the majority of those deaths aren't caused by an overwhelming gap in combat ability, but by lapses born of psychological trauma.
W̊ e b n o v e l̀ E n̂ u ḿ ă_
In other words.
'Shit......'
If this atmosphere persisted, everyone here was going to die.
"EVERYONE, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!"
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I put inner arts behind my voice and bellowed until it rang.
Blank eyes turned toward me.
Е ṅũ m̈а . í d_
Still not back to their senses.
I drew in another breath.
"EVERYONE, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!"
"......"
"SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU BASTARDS!!!"
With the repeated shouts, a flicker of awareness gradually returned to their eyes.
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Then, their faces turned white at the noise.
"Q-quiet down! What if the Divine Spirit shows up?!"
"Are you insane......?! You're going to give away our position!"
Brats who'd lived as if they were the center of the universe, now terrified of a spiritual creature. They'd definitely lost all reason.
The more panicked they became, the louder I shouted.
"EVERYONE, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!"
W eb n о̀ ve l̃. Еn ŭ m̌ă
"SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT!!!"
After about five rounds of this, no one was spacing out anymore.
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On the contrary, several charged at me in agitation, trying to cover my mouth, but.
THWACK-THWACK-THWACK, THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!
As if that was going to work.
"Th-that lunatic!"
Ẽ nù m ã
"You bastard! How could you attack us?!"
The ones sprawled on the ground ground their teeth.
Only then did I lower my voice.
"Are your heads clear now?"
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"What?"
"Stop blaming it on some bullshit Divine Spirit."
Е n̂ ûm а.і̄ d̈
"......"
I pointed at the corpses.
"Do those still look like claw and fang marks from an animal to you?"
Only then did the Academy students turn their blank gazes toward the bodies.
People who'd held weapons and trained since they could walk — there was no way they couldn't distinguish between wounds made by beasts and wounds made by tools.
"......"
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They reddened with shame, apparently aware of their disgrace.
"The most dangerous thing right now isn't the Demonic Beasts, and it isn't the weather."
"......"
"Have you not been taught that losing cold, clear reason is the most terrifying thing of all?"
There was no way they hadn't been taught.
The importance of sharp, cold rationality was the most fundamental and essential value drilled into them from the moment they first picked up a sword, from the moment they first gathered inner arts in their qi center.
Ēñ ŭm̆ а̂ . і̇d̀
It was simply so obvious that in the moment of crisis, they forgot it too easily and surrendered their reason to agitation.
Perhaps that was precisely because it was human nature, and why it had been emphasized so heavily.
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What needed to be done now was not thinking, but action. Thinking could wait until after the situation was assessed.
"We move again."
With corpses before their eyes, the Academy students were sluggish, but they soon began following me.
They, too, knew what mattered most.
Wе b̆ n o̊ v ẽl Ѐ n̊ ùm ӓ
We passed the Academy students' bodies and pressed forward once more.
We didn't slow down, didn't take breaks, yet not a single complaint emerged.
Everyone understood well enough that running their mouths carelessly was something they couldn't afford.
"Huff, huff, huff."
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"Just a bit more, hang in there!"
Uninterrupted marching, ceaseless Demonic Beast attacks.
W ě bn̂о v èl̇ È ṅúm̌ а
Not only among the wounded, but even among the able-bodied, people began showing signs of collapse one by one.
The most serious issue was the poisoning.
We'd been sufficiently prepared and vigilant against the toxins spewed by the larger Demonic Beasts, but there was no proper defense against the poisons spread by small venomous insects.
Toxins that their bodies could have easily endured under normal conditions were now utterly lethal in their current state.
The symptoms were minor — numbness, nausea, mild chills — but they were more than enough to slow the entire group's pace.
"Representative Jin, we can't just keep marching blindly anymore. If we keep walking like this, everyone might collapse."
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I checked our squad.
None of my squad members were suffering from the poison.
The toxin-resistance work we'd done after entering the Black Forest was paying off handsomely.
'If the number of people who can fight drops, there'll definitely be more casualties.'
In dire situations, the uninjured inevitably had to step forward first.
And that ultimately meant my squad would have to shoulder an even greater burden of risk.
Ė n̂ ǔm̂ ä_
"I'll give you half a shi-chen. Tell them to get their bodies back to normal within that time."
The moment my words ended, the Academy students all plopped down where they stood and began Qi Circulation and Breathing.
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While I watched the scene for a moment.
"Young Master Jin."
Namgung Seon-hwa offered a water flask. Judging by the chill, she must have asked Eun Seol-ran to prepare it.
"......"
Е̌n̆uṁ а . і̂d̃
"Seol-ran prepared this especially for you. Please, drink some."
As the cold water slid down my throat, it felt like rain falling on parched earth — vitality seemed to course through my entire body.
I'd thought I was fine thanks to the Wind Spirit, but perhaps I wasn't quite as fine as I'd believed?
"Is Seol-ran all right?"
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"Yes. She's learned Moving Circulation, after all."
If I had to name the busiest person currently classified as a non-combatant, it would be Eun Seol-ran without question.
Е̃ ñ ǔm̃а̃
Since the wounded had joined us, she'd been ceaselessly busy tending to them.
She was the only one who could bring down the body temperature of feverish patients.
"Please tell her not to overdo it. She's the most important person here, after all."
I had no intention of abandoning my squad.
Just because Academy students happened to be traveling with us didn't mean I'd place them on the same level as my squad members.
From the very start, traveling with them was nothing more than an extension of the choices I'd made for my squad.
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"......The situation right now — it's quite serious, isn't it?"
Namgung Seon-hwa, who'd been quietly studying my face, asked carefully, and I tried to mask my expression.
"No. Once we reach the base camp, the instructors should be there and......"
"Could this be...... related to 'them,' from that time?"
She hadn't explicitly named anything, but she and I both knew exactly what we were talking about.
While I hesitated, unsure what to say, she continued.
Еn̂ŭ m̆а̄. і d̃
"Your expression, Young Master Jin...... It's the same one from the Puyang Plains."
Had I been unable to relax my tension without even realizing it?
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Could I tell her?
......Or would it be better to keep her in the dark, like the other Academy students?
The deliberation was brief.
Even if the worst-case scenario unfolded, she needed to be someone who survived this place.
Ẃ е̃ḃ n̂ õv е l. Е̄ n̊ ǔm̈а
"I'm not certain, but...... I believe the situation is as dangerous as it was back then."
For Namgung Seon-hwa, who had experienced the Dark Soul-Severing Unit, this might have been the worst possible news.
In the Great Righteous-Demonic War of the past, too, many had lost their minds from the psychological trauma of encountering the Dark Soul-Severing Unit, becoming mute and withdrawn.
However, Namgung Seon-hwa's reaction was slightly different from what I'd expected.
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"I see."
A look of steeled resolve, as if making a vow to herself.
Е̂ n ŭ.m̂ a. і̌d̊
"......Aren't you afraid?"
"I am. But."
Then she looked at me with unwavering eyes.
"There's someone who knows what to do."
A clear smile bloomed on Namgung Seon-hwa's face, and before I knew it, a small laugh slipped out of me.
"Aren't you overestimating me?"
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"I'll do my best. I have no intention of being helplessly overwhelmed like last time, either."
A faint killing gleam flickered in her eyes.
She was a warrior too.
And more than that — the granddaughter of Namgung Tae-ha.
'I suppose those raised under a tiger don't become house cats.'
Watching her, the weight pressing down on my chest somehow felt lighter.
Еn̄uḿ а . і̆d_
Perhaps because my expression had softened.
Namgung Seon-hwa, looking somewhat relieved, asked me.
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"But where on earth did the instructors go?"
I shared her question.
No — in the first place, why had No Jin-ha been kidnapped rather than killed?
And why hadn't the instructors who supposedly went to the base camp issued a general assembly order?
W e̊ b ňо̄ v еl Ě n u̇m̂а́
I rose to my feet.
"Once we get to the base camp, we'll find something."
Half a shi-chen had already passed. It was time to move again.
***
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"Hmm...... They said he was the White Tiger Pavilion's Guild Master, but he doesn't taste very good. The Zhongnan ones last time were quite decent."
Thud—
Е̄ṅ u m̈.а̊ .i d̀
A watermelon-like lump, clearly marked with bite marks, dropped to the ground.
The head of a person, dead with eyes bulging wide.
The dropped head rolled until it came to rest at the feet of a figure draped in a long cloak.
"Must've neglected training and spent every day indulging in pleasures — he tastes stale. Expected more from a Daoist, tch."
"......"
Human words scattered from a beast-like elongated snout, yet the cloaked figure said nothing.
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"By the way, heard that Jin So-un's arrived?"
"......"
The one who'd shown no reaction to the beast's words raised its head for the first time.
"He's—mine. Touch him—and I'll kill—even you."
A grinding metallic rasp flowed from the cloaked figure's mouth, but the beast merely cackled.
"Can't allow that. If you happen to die trying, I'd be the one held responsible."
Ĕnu m a
"Grind. ......Do you think—the Ever-Changing Monstrous Demon Art—can protect—you?"
Ice shards began forming around the cloaked figure.
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The bleeding head at his feet froze solid under the cold, and a thin layer of frost crept across it.
"Look at you, devouring the Ice Purity and immediately biting the hand that fed you. This is why they say you should never take in a black-haired beast. Tch."
"How dare—you call me—a beast."
The one with the beast's snout let out a snicker.
W̌ е̊b nŏv̊ el̄ Еń ǔm а
"Anyway, just remember that you're under my command, Je Geum-hak."
"Then carry out—your mission—properly. Where did you—sell off—the Fire Purity?"
The cackling beast swallowed its laughter.
"I'm tracking the other instructors as we speak. Don't worry."
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"I wonder—what possessed them—to entrust work—to such trash."
"......Shall I carve up the rest of that patchwork face of yours?"
Еnùm̌.å
"The Fire Purity—is the item—that will realize—the Little Demon's Extreme Demonhood. Remember—that this operation—is not mere—slaughter."
"Hmph. I'll finish the job a hundred times more perfectly than anything you could manage."
SWOOSH—
With that, the beast's body vanished in an instant.
"......"
In the silence that settled over the space, Je Geum-hak flipped over the head at his feet to check the face.
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No Jin-ha, was it?
Trash that had begged pathetically to be spared until the very end, only to die all the same.
Crackle.
No Jin-ha's face froze solid.
The one he'd wanted to feel this despair and terror wasn't No Jin-ha.
Je Geum-hak's foot rose above No Jin-ha's head.
W ѐ b ń ӧ v̀e l̃ E̊ n ŭ ḿа
And then.
CRUNCH.
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No Jin-ha's head shattered into pieces, scattering across the ground.
"Jin—So-un."
Along with a metallic rasp, a thin trail of blood dripped from Je Geum-hak's mouth.
"I'll show you—hell."
W̌ë b̈ ṅ.о v́ӗ l Enǔ m å
***
Third day since departing the Demonic Reaches.
The group's bodies were reaching their limits.
More than half could no longer walk on their own, and the continuous Demonic Beast attacks in between had swelled the wounded count, sharply reducing the number of people who could still fight.
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Even so, they didn't stop walking until sunset on the final day.
The base camp was right around the corner.
Ẃе bnоv̈_е l̈ Ӗ n̊ŭm̄ a
At the very least, the attack from demonic practitioners I'd feared never came.
That was the only reason this many people had barely managed to make it this far.
"Hang in there, just a bit more!"
"......"
Among those who'd stood at the vanguard alongside me, fewer than half were still upright.
"Insane...... You're insane, Jin So-un."
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"Representative."
"Haa, haa......"
Jong Chu-ak shook his head as if appalled.
Then looked ahead.
"But...... we made it, just like you said."
Jong Chu-ak must have sensed it too — the presence of numerous people registering in his sensory perception.
W е̌ bnӧ v̊ѐl̇ Е num а
A faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
I smirked along with him.
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"Yeah. I promised, after all."
"......Can I ask one more thing?"
"What?"
"When we meet the instructors at the base camp, can you punch one of them for me?"
Ѐ n ûḿ а̄ . i̇d̀
"Huh?"
Jong Chu-ak's smile deepened.
"If I did it myself, it'd be the crime of betraying one's teacher and destroying one's ancestors."
Hm, he was a more decent guy than I'd thought.
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I nodded readily.
"Sure. I promise."
Е̂ nū m̃à .і̃ ď
"Good. That gives me a bit more energy."
And so, dragging feet that refused to move, we finally arrived at the base camp.
But.
WAAAAAAAH!
SHIIING-SHIIING-SHIIING!
We couldn't hide our shock at the scene unfolding before our eyes.
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"It's the Righteous Path Association! They're the ones behind all of this!"
"The Orthodox Path Association and the Twelve Peak Citadels launched an ambush! Get them!"
"Trying to frame us? Ha, how naive!"
The Academy students gathered at the base camp were locked in fierce combat against each other, as if every person were every other person's enemy.
What a never-ending parade of utter bullshit.
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