Episode 1442. Did you come out after being deep in the mountains somewhere?
A magic field swirled in the empty air and soon a man fell down.
The man landed lightly and jumped.
“…Is it Hirhera?”
The familiar snowy landscape resembles the Hirhera of my memories.
However the ice wall that should have stretched like a wall to the north was not visible.
I tilted my head and looked closely at the rolling snow field.
The hollow pits scattered throughout the flat snowfield were clearly traces of the Meteor Swarm.
While he was pondering something he slowly climbed the hill in front of him.
As expected!
At the bottom of the hill I could see the city built at the Hirhera garrison.
No more accurately it is a trace of a city.
The wooden building was completely destroyed and only the stone building retained its shape.
Beyond that stretching across the snowy field like a long belt were the remnants of an ice wall.
The completely collapsed ice wall and the destroyed Hirhera Garrison.
It meant the downfall of man.
Yeon Jeok-ha who was sighing suddenly looked up at the sky.
Next to the dazzling sun a black sphere floated side by side like the daytime moon.
I searched my memory but this is a phenomenon that never occurred in the past.
Suddenly Ushas Undra’s words came to mind.
―When the black sun rises Manatra will fall asleep and this world will return to its primordial state. Manaptras has no power to stop the change.
Yeonjeokha slumped his shoulders.
I was hoping it was all Ushas Undra’s bluff but it seems to have been true.
I don’t know exactly what it means that Mana Prass fell asleep but that may be why the ice wall disappeared leaving only a trace.
Did the human world perish like the ruins of Hirhera Garrison?
‘Probably not.’
The humans he knew from this world were not weak enough to be destroyed by demons.
Thinking of the weapons made by knights wizards and magic towers he tried to shake off his anxiety.
I slowly walked towards the Hirhera garrison.
Just looking at the ruins of the destroyed building I could see how fierce the battle had been here.
It is time for him to enter the Hirhera garrison.
Suddenly two Cerberus came out from behind the stone building.
“Kung! “Kung!”
The monsters barked like dogs and attacked Yeonjeokha.
Rather Yeonjeokha ran forward and kicked Cerberus.
‘puck! puck!’ With a heavy sound the Cerberos flew into the stone building and crashed down.
Cerberus who woke up in a flash ran away as if he was scared.
Yeonjeokha did not bother to chase after the fleeing monster.
“Where are the bastards….”
Even while grumbling he once again realized the power of the upper world.
Although the kick was clearly intended to kill Cerberus did not die.
This is difficult.
After thinking for a moment he took out the ‘Void Sword’ from Mahadam tied it diagonally behind his back and started walking again.
As the familiar camp site appeared before his eyes Yeon Jeok-ha’s steps slowed down.
This is the Escatos Kingdom military garrison.
He visited Rufus Company which he previously commanded.
As expected there was nothing left of Rufus Company’s camp.
“What now?”
I looked at the sky and saw that it was slowly getting dark and it seemed like the sun would set completely soon.
When he couldn’t think of a place to go right away he took out a tent from Mahadam.
As I was about to set up the tent I was very disappointed by Fabian and Howard’s absence.
For the first time in a long time Yeonjeokha completed the tent with his own hands.
Once I put the bedding in the extra bed it finally felt cozy.
“But can I just sleep?”
He used to take turns keeping watch but now he is worried because he is the only one there.
After racking his brain for a while Yeon Jeok-ha lit a fire with a fire stone in front of the tent.
He hoped that nearby monsters would flock to see this light.
He thought that if he cleared away all the monsters before going to sleep he wouldn’t have to be on guard.
It was a terrible move that could not have been imagined without the ability.
Just as I thought monsters flocked to me like moths to fire.
It makes sense since I saw the light in a snowy field with no suitable prey.
Yeon Jeha swung the Void Sword without hesitation.
The Nine Heavenly Sword was not even used.
In fact the Nine Heavenly Sword has not been used for quite some time since learning the Heavenly Mountain Sword Spirituality in the Xiaoyo Sect.
However I wasn’t using the Cheonsan Sword Spirit right now.
The monsters collapsed in front of a sword attack that surpassed herbivorous abilities.
The highly intelligent monster ran away in a panic when it saw the death of its compatriot.
I didn’t care about the monsters running away.
Even if that wasn’t the case there were too many monsters he had to kill.
After about two hours the monster attacks began to slow down.
After retrieving the Void Sword I took out a wooden chair and sat down in front of the fire.
He had made a comfortable bed in the tent but he preferred this spot now.
Watching the burning flames gave me a strange feeling.
When I first came to this world all I wanted to do was quickly return to Seokgyeongjang.
So no matter what I did I didn’t feel comfortable.
But now sitting in front of the fire the flimsy tent feels as cozy as home.
‘Is it because there’s no one waiting for me when I get back?’
I think so.
In front of the burning fire I enjoyed a sense of peace that I had never experienced in Seokgyeongjang or Soho.
“Good!”
I felt like I could understand Confucius’s sentiments: ‘If you listen to the Tao in the morning you can die in the evening.’
Right now even if I die right now I have no time left.
My heart which had been sagging after losing Namgung-yeon was as light as a feather at this moment.
I heard an unidentified cry from afar beyond the hill but I didn’t pay any attention to it.
It was said ‘Gucheongi comes in the midst of nothingness so wait with emptiness’ but I don’t think that’s necessarily true.
An energy that I could not tell whether it was spiritual energy arising from the Danjeon or nine heavenly energy enveloped my entire body.
Soon seven-colored flowers bloomed and withered on Yeonjeokha’s head.
Yeonjeokha knew intuitively that he had entered a new realm.
He didn’t try anything and just waited for his energy to subside on its own.
The flower bloomed nine times and stopped blooming after it fell.
Suddenly Yeon Jeok-ha let out a long exhalation.
What can I say?
Now I feel like my previous messy life has been cleaned up.
When the fire died down he took out another piece of fire stone and threw it in.
The fire which had subsided flared up fiercely as if it had never happened before.
Yeonjeokha took out another chair from Mahadam and put his feet up.
Since I’m leaning back against the backrest and stretching out my feet I’m telling you to leave the cot.
But the long-awaited comfort did not last long.
Snowflakes seemed to be fluttering but soon heavy snow began to fall.
In the end Fire Stone could not overcome the heavy snow and went out.
There is a certain amount of strength that no matter how old and invulnerable a body is it can be endured.
As soon as the fire stone went out Yeon Je-he of the world could not hold on any longer and stood up.
He threw the chair into Mahadam and entered the tent.
Even if you just block the snow and wind you can beat the cold as long as your temperature is low.
He climbed onto the cot and tried to sleep.
Fortunately there were no monster attacks due to the sudden heavy snowfall.
The next day.
I woke up late and went out only when the sun rose in the sky.
In the snow that had fallen all night none of the corpses of the many monsters were visible.
Yeon Jeok-ha lit the fire stone again and hung the pot on it.
When he scooped up the snow and put it in a pot it immediately turned into water.
This is when he takes out rice and beef jerky from Mahadam puts them in a pot and boils them.
A voice was heard from afar.
And soon after five humans appeared.
The man in front seemed to be a wizard and the people following the staff were holding magic guns.
As soon as he made eye contact with the young man in unfamiliar clothing the wizard Viscount Stema Griff spoke.
“We are the Northern Kingdoms Alliance Phoenix Unit. “Who are you?”
“I am a knight from the Kingdom of Escatos.”
“Are you going to sleep alone?”
“Yes.”
“You are a bold person to wander around Hirhera alone. I think they are preparing a meal. Can you excuse me for a moment? “I want us to take a rest next to you too.”
“Sure.”
Yeonjeokha nodded his head willingly.
Even so since they were people I met for the first time in this world I had a lot to ask them.
Viscount Griff and his party gathered around the Fire Stone.
Viscount Griff said as he sat down next to the young man.
“When did you come to Hirhera?”
“Yesterday.”
“You’re a lucky friend. “If it hadn’t snowed all night we would have met monsters by now instead of us.”
Yeon Jeok-ha who was nodding his head asked as he passed by.
“You said it was the Northern Kingdoms Union right? What happened to the war with the Empire?”
At that moment Viscount Griff glanced at the young man’s face with suspicious eyes.
Yeonjeokha looked back to see if he had made a mistake but he found nothing wrong.
The answer came not from the mouth of Viscount Griff but from Baron Jan Conrad the Musketeer sitting opposite him.
“Did you come out after being deep in the mountains somewhere? “You’ll say that sometime after the war with the empire ends.”
“Oh it happened because I went to a very far place. Is the war over?”
“It ended five years ago when that damn black sun rose.”
Baron Conrad pointed to the sky with his chin.
Yeonjeokha could guess what the situation was without further explanation.
Since we have to fight against demons the war between humans will have stopped.
“I saw the ice wall was gone. Have the demons of Tameon invaded?”
“exactly.”
“Did the Empire support the North?”
“Do you think the emperor was kind and agreed to end the war? “The empire is on fire so what about support?”
“Is there fire in the instep?”
“Monsters are emerging from the forest and sweeping the empire.”
“It’s not a monster?”
I asked again and again with a dumbfounded look on my face at the unexpected words.
I can understand if it’s a monster from the Abyss but I don’t know what you mean when you say it’s a monster.
“They say the thing in the north is a monster and the thing that invaded the empire is an unprecedented creature. Does the Viscount know about that? “I only went that far.”
Yeonjeokha and Baron Conrad’s eyes turned to Viscount Griff.
Viscount Griff reluctantly opened his mouth.
“The monster that invaded the empire is a creature that has never appeared before. Monsters vary in size and appearance for each type but they have one thing in common. That means they resemble humans. Of course it’s not the face it’s the action. They walk on two feet like humans and even use tools with their hands. “I told you so much that you know how to use a sword and a shield.”
“It’s amazing.”
As Yeonjeokha shook his head Viscount Griff said with a wry smile.
“It’s too early to be surprised. They only resemble humans in their actions but they reproduce as fast as rats. They become adults a year after birth and females give birth five times a year. “It seems like they have advanced into the empire because the main forest is saturated.”
“….”
Not only Yeon Jeok but even Baron Conrad looks very shocked.
Yeon Jeok-ha finally came to his senses and asked.
“Then what happened to the monsters in the Great Forest?”
“You must have become food. Monsters are carnivorous… they eat anything that is alive. “But it seems like there’s a burnt smell from earlier. Isn’t the food burning?”
Yeon Jeok-ha who was preoccupied with the story hurriedly took out the pot.
He was so sleepy that the stew was black and burnt.
I threw away the mixed porridge that had turned into a lump of charcoal and quenched my hunger with beef jerky.
Baron Conrad moved next to the young man with a listless face and spoke.
“I am Baron Jan Conrad. As you can see it was a total accident. You seem to be skilled enough to travel around the North by yourself but do you have any intention of enlisting? “There is an opening for a knight in our unit.”
“Even so I am on my way to visit the Escatos Kingdom army. Do you know where the Escatos Kingdom army is?”
“Oh really? “The Northern Allied Forces headquarters is in Raminov Kingdom so we can go there.”
“okay. thank you.”
Baron Conrad did not encourage the young man to join the Escatos Kingdom army any further.
After a while Viscount Griff and his group having warmed up left quietly.
After dismantling the tent Yeonjeokha ran across the snowy field using the divine method of Dapseolmuheun.