< Episode 17 Flag (3) >
-Even though you were reborn you are.
Cheongnyeong stuck out his tongue.
I wondered why I was doing this because I entered the garden in a way that did not suit me.
But I never thought he had a plan like this.
-Did you intend to do this from the beginning?
“How could you miss such a convenient opportunity?”
Mok Kyung-un grinned and approached the last remaining person or rather the corpse.
The first corpse was that of a girl named Sohwa whom Mok Gyeong-un killed by breaking her neck.
Mok Gyeong-un placed his hand on the girl’s head and absorbed the remaining moral energy by reciting the rite of death in his head.
-Shoooooooo!
The absorbed energy spread throughout the body.
During the battle for the iron ball it was possible to secure a larger amount by absorbing it directly rather than trying to scatter it into the air.
but
‘From now on I’ll have to do it in order of death first.’
As she absorbed the people closest to her a lot of her morale was lost.
That doesn’t mean it completely disappeared but it was lacking compared to others.
‘Still it’s not bad.’
We have already secured a much larger amount of morale than during the Yeonmok Sword Inspection.
It seemed like if I could just remove the gold gate engraved on the spiracle I could greatly increase my dantian through luck.
“I guess it’s a good idea to come here.”
-You did well? You can’t believe it…..
While I was doing that I heard a sound coming from somewhere.
-Rust!
Eventually someone appeared.
It was a boy.
Seeing the boy approaching with familiar eyes Mok Gyeong-un sighed and said with a smile.
“You could have just killed him but you possessed him?”
“I brought it because I thought you might need it.”
As soon as those words are over
-thud!
The boy’s body collapsed and a blurry demonic figure appeared.
Mokgyeongun said with satisfaction.
“Thank you so much.”
I asked him to do one and he was able to understand his feelings like this.
It must be a truly great food spirit.
Mok Kyung-un approached the fallen boy.
Then after twisting the boy’s neck he absorbed the energy of death.
It didn’t take very long.
After completing all of this Mok Gyeong-un stretched out and relaxed his muscles looking refreshed.
“Whew. “It’s nice.”
-Rebirth. What do you plan to do?
“What happened?”
-Looking at it I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just these guys.
Mok Gyeong-un smiled at the young man’s words.
Then he looked up the mountain and said:
“We must have a pleasant meal time until dawn. “As much as possible.”
Anyway if the passing criteria is followed wouldn’t it be enough to leave at least seven people at most?
* * *
A damp dark cave at the beginning of the mountain.
-Roaring!
A demon mask walked towards the entrance of the cave accompanied by two warriors holding torches.
The expressions of the two warriors who came inside became very stiff.
That was because a strange energy stimulated my senses from the moment I entered the cave.
This was quite different from the appearance of popularity or the energy of a person.
It was unpleasant and made me cringe.
‘frustrated.’
That was how the two samurai felt.
One demon mask strode inside as if it was familiar.
Then a voice came from deep in the cave.
“Are you a Sihyeolgokju?”
“Yes.”
“The lights are bright.”
At the voice coming from inside the demon mask held out its hand to the two warriors and told them to stop.
“yes?”
“You guys wait here.”
“Do you…”
“Wait.”
“insect!”
Leaving them like this the demon mask went deep into the cave alone.
Inside there was someone wearing a uniform with a yin and yang drawn on it.
He put his hands together and lowered his head as if he was waiting.
“Are you here?”
The demon mask asked him this.
“Are you ready?”
“Is it possible?”
“What is it this time? “I heard they are a lot more dangerous than last time.”
To these words the person in uniform smiled and answered.
“It would of course be dangerous if we just let it go.”
“I guess so. “Are they the ones in the cage behind you?”
“Yes.”
The demon mask looked back at the answer from the person wearing the uniform.
But then a peculiar sound came from there.
-Kkkkkkk!
‘hmm.’
It sounded like a pig’s cry.
There really is no way there is a pig so how did it come to be?
Out of curiosity the demon mask tried to look through the iron bars.
Then the person in uniform stopped and said.
“It’s better not to get too close. No matter how controlled it is even things that do not become adults are evil.”
“Pleural effusion….”
Did you say it was something more than an animal?
The demon mask looked behind the man in the uniform.
There was something dangerous with rat-like eyes staring at me.
“What did that say?”
“It’s galjeo (羯狙). “It was brought from the North Sea near Beukhu Mountain.”
Go away…
Just hearing the name is scary.
The demon mask turned his body and said:
“good. Release when I give the signal.”
* * *
Half an hour has passed since the battle to secure the flag began.
Although the mountain was very large the flag was hidden so carefully that no one has discovered it yet.
However there was someone who discovered it first.
It was a boy of secret scriptures.
The boy’s name was Yeon Moo-ung and as soon as he found the flag he ran towards it in joy.
‘I found it!’
If the flag had been a brighter color it would have been easier to spot but the color was dark and the location was cleverly hidden by bushes making it difficult to find.
It was rewarding to search through it without stopping.
‘The price is quite long.’
Yeon Moo-woong approached the flag and grabbed its pole.
The purpose was to draw the flag and occupy an appropriate position.
however
‘huh?’
The flag that was thought to be easily pulled out could not be pulled out of the ground.
The stand itself isn’t that heavy so why is that?
Yeon Moo-woong who was puzzled soon found out the reason.
‘what?’
This was because the bottom of the flag was connected to a large piece of metal.
It was quite large and even for Yeon Moo-woong who had mastered external techniques and was very muscular and strong it felt quite heavy to lift.
‘It’s heavier if you hold on to the pole and move it.’
In that case I had to move while holding the piece of metal below.
At first he wondered why the flag was made this way but soon he thought it was a good thing.
If it is this heavy it will be difficult for others to move the flag.
Because inner strength is prohibited.
‘This gateway might be easier than expected.’
I thought that among those who found the flag there were those who maliciously tried to destroy or steal other flags to reduce the number of people passing through.
However if the flag was like this it would be difficult to carry and move so it would be rare for someone to go out of their way to steal someone else’s flag.
‘Good. Then we must gather our team and defend the position.’
Just hold on until dawn.
one side
A ridge about 200 miles northwest of where Yeonmuung in the Bigyeongmun Gate is located.
It was later than that but someone found another flag.
She was none other than the girl from Mohwabang.
Her girl’s name is Mo Harang.
“ah…..”
When she found the flag she was happy for a while but she also couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when she saw the metal piece attached to the bottom of her flag’s stem.
‘It’s heavy.’
The piece of metal was very heavy for her to lift.
Because her spiracles were blocked she had no choice and since the martial arts she learned were based on her quickness it was even more difficult because her muscles were not thick.
‘It’s impossible to move.’
Even if you wanted to hold a flag and occupy a good position you needed support.
It was difficult to defend the flag alone.
‘It would be nice if I could break the stem.’
[The flag must be intact.]
Because there was a warning in advance the piece of iron was one with the flag.
In the end waiting was the only answer.
however
‘huh?’
Mo Harang who happened to be fiddling with the top pole of her flag frowned at her.
That was because there was something engraved on the top of the flag.
She wasn’t carrying a torch but it was hard for her to see with the moonlight shining through the bushes.
– Swoosh!
When she touched it with her hand she seemed to know roughly what it said.
‘Double Geomse Jiwooyeokhyeon…!?’
As she fiddled with it and guessed what the engraved phrase was she was sure.
This was the standard method of swordsmanship.
It was also a little different from the normal swordsmanship.
‘Is this really it?’
If my guess is correct…..
-Tuk!
‘uh?’
Moharang’s eyes narrowed.
The phrase has been completed.
Up to this point she might feel like there wasn’t anything terribly wrong with her but she wasn’t.
‘It’s not enough.’
In her view her makeup was lacking.
If the basic method of swordsmanship was correct there was no way it would stop here.
Most martial arts are aimed at effectively suppressing and killing the opponent but on the other hand they also have the purpose of protecting oneself.
Moharang closed her eyes.
-Quick!
Swordsmanship is pictured in her mind.
Although it is of a low standard to be called a rising sword technique it is still not bad.
However if this rule is followed four gaps will appear.
This meant that there were exactly four areas that could not be blocked with just the swordsmanship he had.
‘…Imperfect swordsmanship.’
There was something strange about this.
I could have just passed by.
However the phrase of swordsmanship was engraved near the bottom of the flag which can be overlooked at first glance.
That too is an imperfect structure.
No matter how much I thought about it I couldn’t help but worry about it.
Then she suddenly had this thought.
‘no way?’
She hoped not but she felt like she had to check.
She boldly decided to give up the flag she had barely found.
Still Mo Harang looked at her flag for a while perhaps feeling regretful and then broke the top part of the pole where the inscription was engraved.
-Chaenggang!
‘If it’s not mine anyway.’
She didn’t have to let the other guys have it.
Moharrang buried the top part of her broken flag in the ground out of sight and ran.
* * *
About two hours passed like that.
Unlike before people or group members who discovered the flag appeared here and there.
And of course as Lee Gwan-moon had intended both groups found the same flag at the same time leading to a close match.
The two groups fought fiercely to take the flag.
It was almost a box battle due to lack of internal strength but in the end the winner was the difference between victory and defeat.
“Gasp…”
The winning group members were covered in blood and breathing heavily.
They realized once again how difficult it was to fight because internal energy was banned.
A boy barely got up and looked around.
‘ah…’
Of the eight members only five survived.
I hoped no one would die but that was just wishful thinking.
The good news was that the flag had been saved and all that was left to do was to rescue three team members.
I don’t know if it would be easy though.
“What should I do?”
“Shouldn’t we just wait and protect the flag?”
“That’s right. “If you wander around for no reason you might get your flag taken away.”
Everyone seemed to agree.
But one boy had a different opinion.
“wait for a sec. “If we just defend the flag here and another healthy group shows up won’t we be at a disadvantage?”
“ah…”
That was right.
It was so embarrassing.
However I couldn’t give up the flag I barely had.
It was a car like that.
“Did you find the flag?”
-Shudder!
Everyone’s eyes turned to where the voice was heard.
Everyone felt relieved for a moment because they were nervous at the sight of someone standing there.
Because I saw only one person standing.
‘thank god.’
If it had been any other sane group they would have been in trouble.
As one of them came closer and his face was revealed the relieved expressions of the group members hardened.
He was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
The cruel guy who was reluctant to accept him as a member of his team appears.
“Stop for a moment! Don’t move from there! “What are you?”
A boy asked stopping Mok Kyung-un from approaching.
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you join a group with a certain woman?”
This boy had seen Mok Gyeong-un enter the Hongil-jeom group of Sohwa.
So I was asking this.
Mokgyeongun said with a sad look on his face.
“iced coffee. “I lost everything.”
“Did you get hit?”
“yes.”
Mo Gyeong-un moved his eyes glanced at the bodies around him and spoke casually.
“Just like you our group fought over the flag with another group and was defeated and barely escaped.”
“Did you run away alone?”
“yes. “I couldn’t face four people alone with my exhausted body.”
The boys looked at Mok Gyeong-un’s words with suspicious eyes.
It wasn’t just that I had any doubts.
This was because they thought it was quite possible because they had just experienced something similar.
Mok Kyung-un spoke to these people in a soft voice.
“I think this is correct since we are both in a situation where we have lost our support but if it is not a nuisance can you accept it?”
“…”
They hesitated at this suggestion.
The reason I didn’t accept Jo Won at first was because he was so creepy.
There was no way that vigilance could be easily diluted.
That’s why they carefully whispered and discussed.
“What should I do?”
“Should I just send that kid away?”
“But then what about the flag? “It’s only been one hour.”
There are still more than two o’clock left until dawn.
If other guys attack in the meantime there will be a situation where the flag is taken without a single move.
Then we had to find the flag again but it was too much for five people.
“…Let’s accept it.”
“Let’s accept it?”
“okay. “Anyway he knows that we have to cooperate to get through this gateway right?”
“That’s right. “It takes eight people to pass.”
No matter how bad he is he will still think.
We must join forces to defend this flag in order to pass through this gate.
If you look at this no matter how much that guy is he will never be able to harm them as much as they do.
One of them a boy who became convinced like this said to Mok Gyeong-un:
“good. Instead remember that we are one until dawn. If we betray each other our lives are dead. “Keep that in mind.”
Mok Gyeong-un nodded his head at the boy’s words.
But his lips were twitching as if he was holding back laughter.
‘iced coffee. It’s so good.’
It feels like setting the table for yourself.
< Episode 17 Flag (3) > end
ⓒ Hanzhongwolya
