There are still users alive who ventured into the Steel Mountain Range three years ago?
At first, I thought it was impossible. I didn’t even entertain the slightest possibility. I had firsthand experience from the first expedition and had even strategized the assault, so I knew exactly what kind of place the Steel Mountain Range was.
Or so I thought.
But now, undeniable evidence has surfaced. That changes everything.
The contract that Jo Seong-ho laid out completely overturned everything I had taken for granted. And the moment I accepted that, I felt a twinge of embarrassment. Here I was, the one who had boldly shouted to “think outside the box,” yet I was the one trapped in a narrow mindset—putting all my faith in the meager experience of just one expedition.
Yes. The future has changed. But at the same time, it hasn’t. How many times do I have to remind myself of that?
“I apologize, Lord Goryeo. I truly thought it was impossible, and I may have been harsh earlier. I want to retract my previous statement.”
“No, it’s alright. Anyone would have thought the same. Even I thought just like Mercenary Lord before seeing the contract.”
Jo Seong-ho shook his head slowly, as if to say, “Don’t worry about it.”
I steadied my pounding heart and calmly gathered my thoughts.
First, let’s assume there are survivors.
“Anyway, very well, Lord Goryeo, and User Juho. After hearing both of you, a few questions have come to mind. I’d like to ask them now, and I hope for honest answers without holding anything back.”
“Of course. I swear on the honor of the Goryeo Clan. If you have a Truth Crystal, feel free to use it.”
Jo Seong-ho answered diplomatically. Honestly, I don’t put much stock in verbal oaths, but I decided to start asking questions immediately.
“First question: User Juho was the one who proposed the fire plan for the assault. And Lord Goryeo, you have been using the fire plan continuously since entering the Steel Mountain Range.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But you both have known for months that survivors exist there, haven’t you? Yet you pushed forward with the fire plan. Frankly, that’s hard to understand. Didn’t you consider the possibility that survivors might get caught in the flames?”
“I’ll answer that part,” Jo Seong-ho raised his hand immediately.
“We were certainly aware of that risk. But even so, we proposed and continued to use the fire plan because of the current situation in the Northern Continent and the survivors’ circumstances.”
“The situation in the Northern Continent and the survivors’ position?”
“Think about it. Three years have passed. That’s a long time. If they’re still alive, they’re probably hiding deep somewhere or captured by monsters. From that perspective, the fire plan has several advantages.”
“What kind of advantages? Be specific.”
“First, from the standpoint of assaulting the Steel Mountain Range, the fire plan is definitely attractive. Considering the opposing relationship between fire and wood in the Five Elements, it’s the most certain and fastest way to secure safety. But that’s not all. I also thought that the raging flames could serve as a signal to the survivors.”
“A signal?”
“Yes. But…”
“……”
Jo Seong-ho suddenly fell silent after a moment. Then, with a troubled expression, he glanced toward the area behind the curtain.
There lay a charred corpse. Despite all the advantages considered, the fire plan had led to the worst-case scenario—at least from Jo Seong-ho’s perspective.
I still can’t shake the thought that the corpse might be a monster. More precisely, it could be either a corpse or a monster. It’s best to keep all possibilities open.
“How did you find that corpse?”
“Near the monster tribe’s territory.”
I pressed further. Jo Seong-ho sighed deeply and bit his lip as he answered. The monster tribe’s territory must be the place where the eastern expedition suddenly changed direction from its straight path.
“Mercenary Lord, the eastern expedition’s advance is simple. They execute large-scale fire plans around them, secure safe zones, then advance. It’s a repetitive, straightforward process. …Then, one day…”
“……”
“Three days ago. While we were carrying out the fire plan as usual, I… no, we suddenly heard a scream.”
“A scream?”
“Yes. A scream. It was definitely a human scream. Truly, a horrifying scream. The kind of wail someone would make when their whole body is burning.”
“Hmm.”
Jo Seong-ho emphasized the scream repeatedly, as if to confirm that the corpse was indeed a user.
I closed my eyes briefly, then nodded in understanding.
“Understood. Then, Lord Goryeo, let me summarize the situation so far.”
“I’m listening.”
“There are survivors in the Steel Mountain Range. Lord Goryeo and User Juho want to rescue them. But during that process, a user presumed to be a survivor was caught in the fire plan and died.”
“Exactly.”
Jo Seong-ho and Juho nodded in agreement.
I spoke again.
“After that, the eastern expedition halted their advance, and the search for survivors stopped. But you want to request the southern expedition, which is planning a second assault, to continue the search. Is that correct?”
“That’s right. However… um… the request is not to the southern expedition but to Mercenary Lord. It wouldn’t be good if the information got out.”
I stared at Jo Seong-ho quietly. If he brought that up, it meant he knew the southern expedition’s composition—and what he was worried about. Or rather than worry, maybe it was a concern.
Anyway, I still had one more question. But instead of asking it bluntly, I decided to phrase it more tactfully. From Jo Seong-ho’s words, I could roughly guess the eastern expedition’s situation.
“Do the users in the eastern expedition know about this?”
“They probably don’t know the details. But almost all users heard that scream. As a result, they never spread the news, but now it’s an open secret. They’re just keeping it quiet.”
“And… that’s why you stopped the advance.”
“…Yes. I won’t deny it. I wanted to keep advancing, but every time I tried, I met strong resistance. I wish I had just been upfront about it before we left. You have no idea how many times I’ve regretted it.”
What Jo Seong-ho was saying was that the users’ selfishness had exploded.
The eastern expedition’s advance relies on the fire plan.
Suddenly, a good reason to halt the fire plan appeared. A reason is something you can create. And after advancing for two weeks, they had almost met the minimum required time. The users in the eastern expedition thought they had done enough and refused to advance further.
Of course, it’s natural for any user to value their own life, but it was a bitter reality.
If other expeditions learned this, they would never look kindly on the eastern expedition.
In the end, Jo Seong-ho was stuck in a no-win situation.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Unlike the southern expedition, all authority in the east was concentrated in Jo Seong-ho’s hands. Yet even he had given up his will. How fierce must the resistance have been?
“…I have nothing more to say. It’s a clear lack of ability.”
Jo Seong-ho gave a bitter smile, as if he felt the same way.
Anyway.
That was about all the information I could get. Jo Seong-ho and Juho fell silent, looking at me with apologetic eyes. Now, the decision was mine alone.
And not long after, I was able to make that decision.
The next day. Morning dawned.
Nothing special happened in the morning. We held the commanders’ meeting we had postponed the day before to exchange information. (Though, honestly, there wasn’t much to exchange.)
After the uneventful meeting, Han So-young ordered that she would leave the fortress around noon, so we should finish preparations before then. The true assault of the southern expedition was finally about to begin.
But before finishing preparations, I took a moment to find Ko Yeon-ju. After last night’s talk about survivors, I had some questions and wanted to borrow her abilities. She was currently the clan member I trusted most.
“User Ko Eun-sol?”
After hearing the whole story, Ko Yeon-ju blinked in surprise. Judging by her reaction, she seemed to know the name.
When I asked her to tell me more, she started spouting nonsense about how gentle Eun-sol was, how pretty her tear mole was, how kind she was, how big her chest was, and how great her figure was. I narrowed my eyes at her. When I glared at her to stop joking, she cleared her throat and looked away.
“Ahem. Alright. But Ko Eun-sol… it’s been a long time since I heard that name.”
“You know her?”
“Of course. How could I not? We were both rank 10 users.”
“What kind of user was Ko Eun-sol?”
“She was a no-touch user. Anyone who knew her respected and acknowledged her. …By the way, that Nightingale is still alive? This is really interesting.”
“……”
Maybe because of her experience, or because she thinks differently from me, Ko Yeon-ju accepted the shocking news very quickly. Or maybe she just didn’t care.
“Suhyun, so you’re going to accept Lord Goryeo’s request after all?”
Finally, Ko Yeon-ju crossed her arms and glanced at me. I looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then shook my head quietly.
“No. I refused the request.”
“Huh? Then why did you ask? Weren’t you planning to rescue her?”
“Not at all. Even if they’re survivors, I barely know them. And I don’t like how the Eastern Expeditionary Force has been acting, so there’s no way I’m going to take on their burdens too.”
“…Right? I was listening earlier, and honestly, their behavior really rubbed me the wrong way.”
I felt the same. But on the surface, there was nothing to criticize, and I didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble, so I kept quiet. I answered inwardly and fell into thought.
That’s right. Last night, I turned down Goryeo Road’s request. Because the objectives of conquest and survivor search were clearly separate.
However.
The news that survivors existed was quite intriguing. That curiosity stemmed from the assumption that the distribution of the Steel Mountain Range must have been seriously disrupted.
After all, at this point, I had no idea how things I once knew had changed. If I could find any trace of survivors who had lived there for three years, it might somehow help with the future conquest.
…but still, conquest comes first. Always conquest.
So I refused Jo Seong-ho’s request but accepted it as a favor. A request carries responsibility, but a favor doesn’t demand the same burden. In other words, conquest was the top priority, and the search was only a secondary goal.
In short: it’d be great if we find something, but if not, so be it.
From a desperate standpoint, that might seem cold, but this was already a big concession. Since I wasn’t in a position to make demands, both Jo Seong-ho and Joo-ho seemed satisfied with that.
Then, it happened.
— Southern Expeditionary Force. One hour until departure.
— Repeating: Southern Expeditionary Force, one hour until departure. We need to check personnel, so please gather at the fortress’s south gate within 30 minutes.
The amplified voice echoed through the air twice. At least they called it a fortress, not just a camp.
“Well, we can talk details on the way.”
Feeling the departure was imminent, I grabbed Go Yeon-ju’s arm and pulled her along. Since I had to prioritize the conquest, I planned to leave the search to her—sorry, but that was the way it had to be.
Just as we were about to move—
“Sniff! Sniff sniff! Sniff sniff sniff! Sniff sniff sniff sniff!”
“Oh my. You’re such a pervert. Hey, pervert, do you really like my scent that much?”
Turning my gaze, I caught sight of a strange scene slowly approaching us.
A woman with an utterly calm expression, responding nonchalantly while briskly walking away. And a man—or rather, a vampire—following her closely, sniffing the air.
The two were none other than Pyo Hye-mi and Sasha. …More precisely, Jegal Haesol disguised as Pyo Hye-mi.
“Sniff~ Suspicious! Something smells fishy! This isn’t Pyo Hye-mi’s scent?!”
“Uh? Wait a minute. All right, but don’t shove your nose into my butt. That’s just embarrassing.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, I thought I smelled something a bit ripe. Hey, did you poop this morning or something?”
“W-what did you just say? Hey, is that something you say in front of a lady?”
Jegal Haesol was clearly getting angry now, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows. But Sasha just stared blankly, tilting his head. They sure know how to have fun.
By the way, I thought Helena had made sure no one would notice, but as expected, Sasha’s dog-like nose caught on to something strange. Looks like I’ll have to ask Cha So-rim for more favors to keep Sasha quiet.
Just as I licked my lips watching Sasha—
“Ah.”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Hmm. I read through the comments from yesterday. Some of you expressed concerns. I still trust your tolerance levels. Experience has shown me that no matter how much I rant or throw a fit, you’ll probably just say, “Not impressed. What’s so strong about this?”
But for those few with more sensitive hearts, if any such content appears, I’ll include a warning in the previous chapter. So you can skip those parts if you want.
And about the name. Go Eun-sol. Yes, Go Eun-sol.
Why? Go Eun-sol is a pretty name. Really pretty. It’s the same name that came up before. Originally, I planned to name Im Han-na Go Eun-sol, but I held back until now. It fits the image I have perfectly. Please like it. ㅜ.ㅠ