It’s an open secret that founding a clan on the Hall Plain is no easy feat.
The exact criteria aren’t publicly disclosed, but I know they scrutinize everything—from achievements and track records to the number of members and even minor details—before making a judgment.
It’s notoriously, ridiculously difficult. Failing once or twice is expected. What’s strange, though, is that most users don’t complain about the evaluation standards.
There’s a reason for that, at least on the surface.
Because a clan is the smallest unit that can participate in major affairs on the Northern Continent.
In a world where user information is paramount, it’s basically proof that “we’re skilled users.”
Even after all the twists and turns to establish a clan, it’s far from over.
Being affiliated with a city grants various benefits, but from the moment a clan is founded, it stands at a crossroads: will it thrive, maintain the status quo, or decline?
There are many ways for a clan to prosper, but the best by far is discovering ruins.
I myself swept through the three ruins I knew of in Mule, earning recognition for founding the Mercenary clan in record time.
Success in exploration boosts a clan’s reputation and strengthens it internally.
In other words, if the first step this round was founding the clan, the second is discovering and exploring ruins.
The key is that this process shouldn’t be limited to just the Mercenary clan.
Monopolizing ruins might seem good in the short term, but it also means shouldering heavier responsibilities for future tasks.
For example, when multiple incidents break out simultaneously, clans that can assist the Mercenary clan and share the burden are essential.
That’s exactly why I insisted on cooperating with the Istantel Low clan to tackle ruins.
And, well, it was a good excuse to see Han So-Young, too.
“Hohohohohoho!”
On a dusky evening, returning triumphantly from the ‘Mountain Echo Valley’ raid I’d been eyeing for a while.
With Monica’s time running short, an annoyingly loud laugh rang out at the front.
I could tell who it was without even looking.
“Honestly, it’s nothing special!”
Vivian was puffing herself up, surrounded by three or four Istantel Low clan members.
She was the MVP of this ruin raid, if you will.
Mountain Echo Valley is a tough area, with restless spirits wandering all over the ridges, making passage difficult.
But Vivian commanded a legion of beasts that fed on those spirits, which made the raid much easier.
I knew this and brought Vivian along because she was indispensable…
“Hehehehe.”
It’s strange.
She did an excellent job and deserves praise, but every time she gets cocky like this, I just want to tease her.
No matter how I look at it, Vivian suits a dramatic, tearful breakdown better.
Watching her like this made me uncomfortable, so I turned my gaze to the center to clear my head.
Han So-Young was walking proudly, radiating her usual noble aura.
Just looking at her filled my chest with emotion, and also…
“…Huh?”
Oops, did she sense my gaze?
She suddenly looked my way, almost catching me.
Good thing I turned away in time, or I might have raised suspicion again.
Han So-Young is different from my brother.
My brother knows the situation and accepts things as they come.
For some reason, I thought Han So-Young would be the same.
After all, who would dislike ruins, being users themselves? I even neatly organized the raid info and presented it to her.
And she flat-out refused.
She said, “We appreciate the thought, but since the ruins were discovered by the Mercenary clan, it wouldn’t be right for us to take them.”
Even when Park Da-Yeon threw a fit, she stood firm.
Eventually, she only agreed to move after adding conditions: “The Mercenary clan is understaffed,” and “We’ll raid together and split the rewards.”
Honestly, I can’t say I wasn’t a little hurt.
But Han So-Young doesn’t know my secret, and given her meticulous nature, I understand her suspicion.
“She’s such a picky person.”
“Who?”
I nearly gasped.
Han So-Young had quietly approached and was staring at me with her usual expressionless face.
“Me?”
I shook my head quickly, but—damn.
I forgot about her extrasensory perception.
She must have seen through my lie.
Her jet-black eyes narrowed sharply—that was all the proof I needed.
Then, just when I thought I was cornered…
They say there’s always a way out, even if the sky falls.
Suddenly, a loud commotion broke out, and the front of our group started to falter.
Han So-Young frowned and looked ahead.
Following her gaze, I saw something unexpected.
Someone was pushing past a flustered Istantel Low clan member, running breathlessly.
“Lord! Lord!”
The man gasping for air was none other than Jo Seung-Woo.
What’s he doing here?
“User Jo Seung-Woo?”
“Why! Why haven’t you answered my calls?”
Jo Seung-Woo shouted without catching his breath.
His words made no sense, but the question about why we hadn’t responded was surprising.
Vivian, who manages the communication orbs, went pale and even turned her face away with a creak.
That damn spider.
I stood still for a moment, scanning the surroundings.
If this is the area…
We should be about four hours from Monica.
We’d contacted them two days ago, and since there’s only one safe route, it wouldn’t have been hard to track their path.
But what could have happened for him to run all this way?
“Calm down and tell us slowly.”
“No, there’s no time for that.”
Jo Seung-Woo quickly looked around, and Han So-Young, quick to catch on, stepped back calmly and activated a block field.
A hazy veil enveloped us, and only then did Jo Seung-Woo begin to speak rapidly.
As I heard the brief explanation, the slight excitement I’d felt moments ago plummeted instantly.
“…What did you say?”
“I’ll explain everything on the way, Lord!”
At his urging, I quickly tapped the block field, and the veil faded in an instant.
Before I could say anything, Han So-Young, standing silently in the middle of the quiet, nodded.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s go first. We’ll talk later.”
What Jo Seung-Woo told us was nothing short of shocking.
During a Golden Standard Nation mission, they were ambushed by a group of assassins.
The result: out of twenty Golden Standard Nation personnel on the mission, ten were killed, and two were kidnapped.
Of the six Mercenary clan members participating as mercenaries, two were also kidnapped.
And to top it off, their achievements were stolen.
In other words, the Mercenary clan failed the mission.
After hearing the situation, I left Jo Seung-Woo, who insisted he was fine, and rushed back to Monica at full speed.
Despite the late hour, Jung Ha-Yeon was waiting for me at the city gate, and Kim Han-Byul, Shin Jae-Ryong, and Heo Jun-Young, who had just returned, were waiting in the conference room.
Go Yeon-Joo was nowhere to be seen.
“Lo-Lord…”
Shin Jae-Ryong hesitated and stood up from his chair as soon as he saw me.
His face was full of shame.
I motioned for calm and took the seat of honor.
“…”
A heavy silence filled the room.
None of them had serious injuries, but their clothes and coats were badly torn, hinting at the fierce battle they’d endured.
Anyway, first things first: understanding the situation.
“I heard some of it on the way. You were ambushed?”
“That damn thunder-stripped bastard…!”
The moment I asked, Heo Jun-Young suddenly exploded with anger.
Jung Ha-Yeon calmed him down, and though he settled, the clenched teeth remained.
Heo Jun-Young rarely shows emotion, so this outburst was unusual.
By the way, who was this ‘thunder-stripped bastard’?
“How many attackers were there?”
“Around twenty… I think.”
“Twenty?”
“…”
I couldn’t believe it.
Kim Han-Byul, Ahn Hyun, and Ahn Sol were still rookies, so that was understandable.
But the trio of Go Yeon-Joo, Shin Jae-Ryong, and Heo Jun-Young could easily take down a hundred users.
And yet, they were overwhelmed by just twenty?
“Explain in detail.”
Heo Jun-Young stared at me with blazing eyes.
What followed was beyond absurd.
On the way back to Mule, a swarm of pitch-black scorpions suddenly attacked from all sides.
Thanks to the Mercenary clan’s efforts, they were repelled without much trouble, but the surprise attack caused many minor injuries among the Golden Standard Nation personnel.
Since the city was close, the leader decided to treat only the wounds quickly and continue marching through the night.
The problem arose during treatment.
One female user from the Golden Standard Nation secretly approached Ahn Sol.
She said she’d been poisoned and asked if she could be treated somewhere more isolated.
“That makes no sense. If she was poisoned, why move her to another place for treatment?”
“She said she was assaulted in a private area and wanted to be treated somewhere out of sight. That’s what the person being treated by Ahn Sol testified.”
And the naive Ahn Sol moved her without suspicion.
It sounded plausible—exposure in a crowded place is embarrassing, so she asked to be moved.
But was there anyone to cover for her in the chaos?
Or did they decide on a night march and didn’t bother setting up a tent for privacy?
No.
They could have done it if they wanted.
It was just a nearby spot where she could avoid prying eyes, and they probably thought treatment would be quick.
In hindsight, it was clearly Ahn Sol’s mistake for not being more cautious.
Heo Jun-Young continued.
“I… didn’t have time to worry about that. I was on alert under the Shadow Queen’s orders.”
“What about Go Yeon-ju?”
“She went out to scout the area. Even though the Pitch-Black Forest is an uncharted territory, it seemed strange that monsters would attack as if to surround us.”
“Did the woman and Ansol disappear in the opposite direction from where Go Yeon-ju went to investigate?”
Heo Jun-young’s eyes snapped open.
There was no need to think further.
“That woman—it was an ambush.”
“Exactly… Ah, I heard she was a new recruit from a few weeks ago. Her behavior was decent, and there was nothing suspicious in her past records… so there was no reason to doubt her.”
So they had already looked into that.
When I asked about the Golden Province before, Go Yeon-ju said there was nothing noteworthy.
That meant the woman was likely a hired outsider, someone unremarkable on the surface.
“So, what happened next?”
“…Not long after, I heard Ansol’s scream.”
This was the crucial part.
Even if they easily took Ansol hostage, the opponent was the Shadow Queen.
And the location was the Pitch-Black Forest—Go Yeon-ju’s home turf, where she could manipulate shadows at will.
“The Shadow Queen returned immediately, but at that moment, a massive flash lit up the entire area. At the same time, the assassins launched their attack.”
“What orders did Go Yeon-ju give?”
“Hold position at all costs. Form a defensive perimeter around herself.”
“Not a bad call.”
Go Yeon-ju was a user capable of turning the tide.
Even if the situation was bad, rescuing just one person like Ansol should have been possible with the ‘Black Shade’ ability.
Of course, that meant breaking formation, which was risky.
But Heo Jun-young was there.
Someone like him could have held the line until Go Yeon-ju returned with Ansol.
The fact that they couldn’t meant something unexpected happened…
“They weren’t ordinary opponents. As soon as the fight started, six of them swarmed the Shadow Queen, and four came after me.”
“Not ordinary?”
“Yeah. Their skills were beyond what I imagined, but it felt like they were avoiding direct confrontation and only trying to capture me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake them off.”
“…”
The vague unease I’d felt began to take shape.
Heo Jun-young had fought dozens of vagrants alone before.
For someone like him to be pinned down by just four people?
“And… hard to believe, but among those who went after the Shadow Queen, two were as skilled as I am, maybe even better.”
“What? What did you say?”
“I’m not trying to make excuses, but the Shadow Queen was truly a monster. Even though her feet were trapped, she subdued them one by one and summoned shadow minions to support our side. There was definitely hope. That’s why I fought like hell…!”
“…”
His voice, which had been steady, grew heated at the end.
“Anhyun, that damn bastard, went rogue…!”
When Ansol screamed again, he abandoned the battlefield recklessly.
His mind snapped, blinded by the thought that his younger brother was in danger.
And he was taken hostage too.
From there, the situation was basically over.
Even if the assassins threatened Ansol with a knife to his throat, Go Yeon-ju had the power to rescue him instantly.
But Go Yeon-ju had only one body.
Doubling the hostages meant the burden multiplied several times over.
More than anything, it risked one of them dying.
‘Please take care of the kids.’
Go Yeon-ju must not have forgotten my request.
In the end, once Anhyun was captured, the plan to tie up Go Yeon-ju and Heo Jun-young and take the weaker users hostage succeeded.
Heo Jun-young closed his eyes tightly, as if he had said all he needed to.
Let’s sum it up.
The enemy managed to slip past Go Yeon-ju’s intelligence and plant the ambush.
There were two experts equal to or stronger than Heo Jun-young.
They restrained the strong and targeted only the weak.
It’s likely the monsters attacking from all sides were just a diversion.
…They planned this assault with full intent.
I pressed my throbbing forehead and lit a cigarette.
About twenty assassins.
Where else could such an organized group come from?
Maybe if there were twenty high-level users among the vagrants, it’d be possible.
But now, after the war, with the encirclement in place, it’s hard to believe they did it.
That left only one possibility.
The Salmun—the elite vagrant brigade that even the best avoided during the first cycle.
“Salmun, huh.”
“Yes, Salmun.”
At that moment, a familiar voice came from the door.
Go Yeon-ju was entering.
“Ah, where have you been…?”
Jung Ha-yeon stood up but ignored her and passed by.
Her usual playful smile was gone, replaced by a terrifyingly cold expression.
She handed me the orb she had been clutching until her hand ached, then took a few steps back and knelt on one knee.
“I’m sorry, Lord. This is entirely my responsibility.”
She could have blamed Anhyun, but Go Yeon-ju bowed her head without a word.
Her voice was flat, but even lower than usual.
In truth, she had done all she could, and arguing now was pointless.
Right now, rescuing Anhyun and Ansol and handling the aftermath of the mission were the priorities.
I fiddled with the orb in my left hand.
“Hmm… what is this?”
The orb glowed with a blue light.
It looked like a communication orb.
Go Yeon-ju spoke.
“After returning to the city, I searched every hideout I knew like a hawk.”
“Salmun’s hideouts.”
“Yes. But… that’s all I found.”
“…”
Well, it had been years since she left Salmun.
The enemy must have anticipated Go Yeon-ju’s pursuit and quickly moved their hideouts.
To places unknown even to the Shadow Queen.
But leaving behind a communication orb…
“Lord.”
Go Yeon-ju looked up.
And then—
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Oh dear, why is preparing New Year’s food so exhausting? Peeling bean sprouts and trimming bellflower roots has left my hands smelling like vegetables.
But I have to work hard and prepare for the ancestral rites.
My father always says that sincerity is half the ritual.
And…
I read a few comments and messages, and I’m a bit surprised.
Why are some of you saying I’m leaving Joara…? ^^;
Dear readers,
I’m not leaving Joara.
Actually, Joara is the only place that accepts me. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
If I tried serializing my new work elsewhere, I’d probably get kicked out…
Anyway, the new work will be serialized on Joara’s adult Noblesse section.
I’m still inexperienced, but I hope you’ll continue to support me and please don’t kick me out(?). (__)
Pufunyaong / Thank you for understanding that the stories about Haemil and Halo have been ongoing for a while. ㅜ.ㅠ Also, the communication with the Salmun leader appears in chapter 466, and I’ll definitely include Mar and Unicorn in the side stories. :)
Bemo / Think of it as between the first and second year. Honestly, I’m a bit confused myself and need to review it again. ㅜ.ㅠ
hohokoya1 / Kim Soo-hyun’s demon transformation will appear after chapters 2 and 3. I’m still worried about how much to reveal. ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Shatien / The Golden Province! Honestly, I cringed a bit writing that too, haha.
PsychoHopeful / The Golden Province was a clan that once reached into the Night District but has since withdrawn. Their relationship with Salmun will be revealed next chapter!
zkslwarden / No! I didn’t do that, haha.
Bug / Is ‘ㅈㅇ’ an abbreviation for something? I’ve been trying to figure it out but can’t…
BlueSky / No, I’m not leaving. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
ReadingDead / No, absolutely not. I’m not leaving Joara.
Altenia / Of course. I’ve seen it. The problem is that Suna hates everyone except Kim Soo-hyun and won’t let anyone near him. Hehe.
Maehue / No, unfortunately, they won’t survive. I’m just thinking of changing the plot.
jsh4671 / Right? The concept has become clearer.
P.S. I’ve checked the messages and comments about the stickers.
I’ll review everything during the Lunar New Year and send them out.
Wishing all readers a happy Lunar New Year!