It had already been quite some time since I started training with Kang Museong.
At last, there were moments when I began to win during sparring sessions.
Even so, it was only about one win out of ten, but wasn't that still something?
It meant I could boss him around with push-ups, after all.
"You can go lower! There's still space underneath!"
"There isn't! There isn't! My chest is already touching!"
"Ah, if it's touching, then there's nothing we can do. That still counts as one."
"I'm going to die. Seriously."
"That's the hundredth time you've said you're going to die."
Let's stop teasing him.
It's fun to tease, but I have to think about when I'm the one getting punished too.
"Alright, playtime's over. Hurry up. Just do nine and get up."
Kang Museong said through gritted teeth.
"Thank you so very much."
"Oh, it's nothing. This much is easy. Hahaha."
I'm just repaying exploitation with exploitation.
Ah, right. I started it first.
It was then, as Kang Museong was quickly doing push-ups.
"Kang Museong?"
Someone was walking toward us from far away.
A face I hadn't seen in a very long time.
My cousin, who hadn't shown his face at the Cheongsin Mountain House, always using being busy as an excuse.
Lee Geonha.
Behind Lee Geonha were about twenty warriors.
The moment I saw their heavy armaments, I knew.
"So today's the day!"
Today was the day the Northern Great Forest expedition was annihilated.
I didn't know why, but Lee Geonha had been patrolling near the Northern Great Forest, and thanks to that, he was able to respond the fastest to rescue the expedition.
There were many suspicious points, but that was how the records stated it.
But now, suspicion turned into certainty.
"They're all fully armed."
As if they knew something was going to happen.
Everyone was perfectly equipped.
No matter how you looked at it, they weren't just out on a patrol.
No idiot would go on patrol carrying water, food, and even medical supplies in such abundance.
Kang Museong sprang to his feet and said,
"What is it? Lee Geonha? Why are you here?"
"That's what I want to ask. What are you doing here?"
"As you can see, I'm training with my disciple. Here. Your younger cousin."
Kang Museong stepped aside while pointing at me.
I smiled and greeted my cousin.
"Hello. Geonha hyung. I'm Seoha."
"Lee Seoha?"
Lee Geonha thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Ah, right. So you're the one. I heard someone from Cheongsin got into the Seongmu Academy."
"Yes, it's been a while. How many years has it been?"
"Who knows."
Lee Geonha answered indifferently, then shifted his gaze to Kang Museong.
"The Seongmu Academy's standards have really fallen. You're an instructor, and that half-wit is the top student?"
"…What did you say? He may be a half-wit, but I'm a pretty great instructor. Our military exam scores were almost the same."
"I was first, and you were third. Not even second—third."
"Tsk."
Wait a second.
Did he just acknowledge that I'm a half-wit?
Whether you like it or not, I'm your disciple, Kang Museong.
"Fine. I'll concede you're a good instructor. Anyway, I'm busy, so I'll be going."
With that, Lee Geonha disappeared, and Kang Museong ground his teeth.
"Ugh, that unlucky bastard. 'Well then, I'll be going~.' Just like that. Tsk."
"Yeah. Really unlucky."
"He's your cousin, isn't he? Is it okay to talk about him like that?"
"A guy who calls me a half-wit—why shouldn't I talk back? And like I said before, I'm on the Immortal's side. Don't forget that."
"I like that."
"I'll definitely connect you with Immortal Choi Hyojeong."
"…I'm not even expecting it, you punk."
I subtly turned my head and looked toward the forest.
Anyway, today was definitely the day.
"Kang Museong has to save Immortal Choi Hyojeong before Lee Geonha does. It'd be even better if we can save others too."
To do that, we needed to get closer to the forest.
"Shall we go take a look at the forest?"
"Don't be ridiculous. If a demonic beast comes out, you'll wet yourself."
"Do you not remember that I killed the Baekdu Sword Demon?"
"Oh, right. That did happen."
Kang Museong nodded.
"Then want to go a bit closer? I'm in the mood. No matter what comes out, I'll protect you."
"Oho! A true master."
"What true master."
Kang Museong started walking toward the forest.
If we stayed near the forest entrance, sooner or later someone would come out asking for support.
And sure enough.
Just as we reached the forest entrance—
"The forest entrance is only in one place. We made the map based on this entrance, so it's best to go in from here. Later, you too—"
"…Support! Support!"
A desperate shout came from deep inside the forest.
Perfect timing.
"…What?"
Kang Museong spotted a blood-soaked man and ran into the forest.
"What happened?!"
The man gasped for breath, grabbed Kang Museong's shoulder, and said,
"Rakshasas! Rakshasas have appeared!"
An expedition for reconnaissance usually only surveys the outer areas of the forest.
Since Rakshasas mostly live deep in the forest, they rarely encountered expeditions.
Kang Museong said with a grave expression,
"Isn't Immortal Hongui inside? He should be able to handle it."
"Immortal Hongui was taken down. He was caught in an ambush…"
"Taken down?"
Rakshasas are born with strong internal and external energy, but among them, there are those with battle experience and those without.
If Immortal Hongui was defeated, this wasn't some run-of-the-mill Rakshasa.
"We need support… We need to call for support."
"We do."
Kang Museong turned to me.
"Lee Seoha. Take this man and run to Lee Geonha to call for reinforcements. I'll go in first."
Without even looking back, Kang Museong ran deeper inside.
Charging in without thinking—his personality hadn't changed at all.
The man shouted after Kang Museong,
"No! Immortal! Alone, it's—!"
I calmed the man down.
"There, there. Don't worry. Are you okay? Please go request reinforcements. You have the mission map, right?"
"The map? H-here."
The man handed me a map.
It was such a crude map that I couldn't even jokingly call it detailed.
"Wow, this map is bad."
I had the terrain of the Northern Great Forest memorized.
For the same reason I memorized the terrain of Namak Mountain.
I had wandered around and even lived hidden in the Northern Great Forest before.
Of course, memorizing a forest's terrain is even harder than memorizing a mountain's.
It's harder to get your bearings, and there are fewer reference points.
But I have a good memory.
What was in my head would be more precise than most maps.
Even so, there was only one reason I took the map.
"I need to know which area Immortal Hyojeong is responsible for."
Only then could I bring Kang Museong to Choi Hyojeong before Lee Geonha did.
There were numbers written on the map.
They were the numbers of the squads assigned to each area.
But I didn't know which number belonged to Immortal Choi Hyojeong's squad.
"Do you know which squad Immortal Choi Hyojeong is in?"
"T-that… I can't remember…"
He seemed to have lost his memory from the shock.
He would probably remember once he calmed down, but we didn't have time to wait.
Kang Museong was already far ahead, almost out of sight.
"That's fine. Please go call for reinforcements. They should be nearby."
Let's hurry.
I gave the man from the forest a gentle smile and then moved inside after Kang Museong.
Kang Museong, who had been running madly forward, stopped and calmed himself.
After all, he had just charged in without knowing the way.
I shouted to him.
"Immortal! Let's go together."
Kang Museong turned to me with a shocked expression.
"What are you doing here? I told you to go request reinforcements. Do you know where you are?"
"Where else? The Northern Great Forest."
"Get out. This isn't a place for you."
"Then you won't be able to save Immortal Hyojeong. You ran in without even bringing a map—what are you going to do?"
"The map…"
Kang Museong looked at me, flustered.
I showed him the map and said,
"This is the map that man had earlier. There are numbers on it. Do you know which squad Immortal Choi Hyojeong is in?"
"No, I don't."
"Then let's go to Squad 1 first."
I pointed to the number 1 at the center of the map.
"Number 1 is usually the commander's squad. If there are survivors, we can find out where Immortal Hyojeong's area is."
"Good thinking. Then you should leave now. From here on, I'll handle it."
"Do you know the way to Squad 1?"
"..."
Kang Museong's eyes wavered.
"Follow me. I know the way."
"How could you?"
"I memorized the entire map of the Northern Great Forest."
Kang Museong looked at me as if he couldn't believe it, but what could he do?
If I say so, then that's how it is.
"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to save Immortal Hyojeong?"
"…I'm counting on you. I'll protect you with my life."
I let out a small laugh.
Even now, he was still trying to do his duty as an instructor.
"I'll take care of my own life. Just protect Immortal Hyojeong well. Let's go."
The Northern Great Forest was easy to get lost in.
Trees so tall and dense that you couldn't see the sky.
Similar-looking scenery everywhere.
It was hard to even get your bearings, but even in the Northern Great Forest, there was one reliable landmark.
The river that flowed through the forest.
The crude map the man gave me was also made with this river as its reference, so if we headed toward flowing water, we'd be on the right track.
I kept running toward the sound of water, and eventually, we found Squad 1.
"Haa, haa…"
I was too out of breath to say anything else.
Squad 1 had already been completely wiped out.
Kang Museong stood behind me, panting heavily, and said,
"Damn it. That's Immortal Hongui."
In the middle of the field of corpses lay a man in red robes.
Immortal Hongui, the one responsible for this operation.
Kang Museong examined the man whose forehead and chest were pierced and said,
"What do we do now?"
"Let's search the bodies first."
"What are we looking for?"
"If there's something like an operation chart, we can find out which squad Immortal Hyojeong is in."
I began searching Immortal Hongui's clothes.
After stripping off his outer garments and emptying even his inner pockets, a notebook fell out.
"Found it."
Kang Museong immediately rushed over behind me and examined the notebook.
Inside, just as expected, were the names of each squad leader.
Choi Hyojeong was in Squad 5.
I immediately checked the area assigned to Squad 5.
Unluckily, it was the farthest from Squad 1.
"We'll have to cross the river first."
"Alright."
Kang Museong picked up a longsaber from among the corpses.
"Excuse me for borrowing this."
While Kang Museong observed a moment of silence, I drew Immortal Hongui's sword.
It was a fairly high-quality blade.
A sword that could be called a famed weapon.
With this, maybe I could hold out this time.
"Which way is Squad 5?"
"We need to cross the river. I'll lead the way."
I crossed the makeshift bridge set over the river.
I wanted to sprint at full speed, but I couldn't.
"There are demonic beasts everywhere."
There were so many that I could even feel the twisted yin energy.
When I hesitated, Kang Museong said,
"Lee Seoha. Don't worry. Run at full speed."
"What if the demonic beasts ambush us?"
Kang Museong took a deep breath and said,
"I'll handle that. You just run."
From Kang Museong's body, battle energy rose like a mirage.
Just as yang energy shines golden and yin energy shines silver, the aura of ordinary warriors rose like this translucent haze.
Unlike the clearly colored energies of yin and yang, this translucent energy was almost invisible.
For it to be visible at all meant he possessed an unimaginable amount of internal energy.
Kang Museong was showing, through his body, how he had become an Immortal at the young age of twenty-five.
"…Alright. I'll trust you and run."
"Trust me. I won't let you get a single hair harmed."
Trusting Kang Museong, I began running forward.
As expected, Giant Black Wolves charged at me from both sides.
But those enormous wolves were instantly cut in half and rolled across the ground.
"Sword energy… He's been using it since he was twenty-five."
A technique of projecting energy through a blade.
Not only did it require a tremendous amount of internal energy, but shaping it into something solid and sharp was on an entirely different level of difficulty compared to other techniques.
"Don't worry. Just run."
For the first time in a long while, I felt truly secure with someone watching my back.