Squad 5, led by Choi Hyojeong, had moved deep into the forest over the course of two days.
Even if the number of demonic beasts had increased, the number a typical reconnaissance unit faced rarely exceeded ten.
Their sole objective was to eliminate demonic beasts that had been pushed out to the forest's edge.
But this time, the situation was different.
"Everyone, stick together!"
They were surrounded by dozens—no, more than a hundred—demonic beasts.
Choi Hyojeong shouted, but the mid-level warriors had long since become food for the beasts.
Only then did Choi Hyojeong realize that she had become too separated from her subordinates.
At that moment, she spotted Kim Gyuyeon, on the verge of being bitten to death by a Giant Black Wolf.
"Gyuyeon unni!"
Choi Hyojeong charged forward and swiftly severed the giant wolf's neck.
But Kim Gyuyeon's thigh had been torn nearly in half, and her left arm was gone below the elbow.
She spoke with a hollow expression.
"…Ah, if I knew I'd end up as wolf food, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of taking the military exam."
With trembling eyes, Choi Hyojeong faced Kim Gyuyeon's final moments.
"Hyojeong… you have to survive…"
Choi Hyojeong raised her head and looked at the approaching Giant Black Wolves.
"…That's too difficult a request, unni."
The wolves circled around Choi Hyojeong as if tightening a siege.
"But since it's the end, I'll grant that request."
There was no time to grieve.
From the first mission to what had now become the last.
Kim Gyuyeon had always been by her side.
But rather than sink into sorrow, Choi Hyojeong focused on the fight.
Because a warrior had to become accustomed to such farewells.
"Come at me, you sons of bitches!"
Giant Black Wolves charged from all directions.
Choi Hyojeong cut them down in a single stroke, forcing open a path.
"Hm."
Atika was watching all of this from atop a tall tree.
"She's strong, that woman."
Atika had been given a single directive.
Maintain about ten percent survivors, and if possible, leave Immortal Choi Hyojeong alive as well.
"They said to spare her if possible, but…"
When she first received the order, she hadn't thought much of it.
What impact could a single Immortal have even if she lived?
But little by little, her thoughts began to change.
Choi Hyojeong was showing potential.
When the Rakshasas and humans eventually went to war, she would undoubtedly become a problem.
"Should I kill her?"
Atika fell into thought.
There was no need to care about the Immortals in their forties or fifties who were struggling somewhere in this forest.
They were warriors whose growth had already ended, with no future.
Those still wearing white robes in their fifties weren't going to suddenly improve overnight.
But Choi Hyojeong was different.
Twenty-five years old.
Despite her youth, she was displaying strength that overwhelmed other White-Robed Immortals.
She would probably wear colored robes in her thirties.
And in her forties, she would become a general.
"We may be allies now, but eventually it'll be a war between Rakshasas and humans."
She was cooperating with Second Prince Shin Taemin according to her teacher's plan, but someday she would have to fight him as well.
When that time came, that Choi Hyojeong would be a major obstacle.
"Killing her would be better."
Atika made her decision.
If possible, spare her—but if not, killing her should be acceptable.
Atika formed a dagger out of yin energy.
The dagger, created by mixing yin energy with wind, turned transparent, and Atika hurled it toward Choi Hyojeong.
Choi Hyojeong was too busy dealing with the Giant Black Wolves charging from all sides to notice.
She was reaching her physical limit, and her energy reserves were nearly depleted, though the number of wolves had decreased significantly.
"I can do this."
If she could just break through these beasts and rejoin the main force, she could escape this damned forest.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a chill ran down her spine.
Killing intent surged through her veins, jolting her brain awake.
Choi Hyojeong instinctively twisted her body, and at that instant, the dagger—merged completely with the wind—came flying in.
"Damn it…!"
She avoided the one aimed at her head, but couldn't completely dodge those flying toward her torso and legs.
One pierced her abdomen, one her shoulder, and another passed through her thigh.
"…Rakshasa. Damn it."
Rakshasas used sorcery.
It was a bloodline ability, something one always had to be wary of when facing them.
Enduring the pain, Choi Hyojeong looked around.
Even though she had reduced their numbers significantly, she couldn't keep fighting with injuries like this.
Looking down at her, Atika said,
"Oh? She dodged."
It was a dagger whose form was invisible, like the wind itself.
Even in the midst of such a fierce battle, Choi Hyojeong had sensed it and avoided it.
But that was as far as it went.
She couldn't avoid it completely, and with injuries like these, escaping through the pack of Giant Black Wolves was impossible.
"This works out."
Better to let her die naturally at the hands of demonic beasts.
If the wolves tore her limbs apart and devoured her, there would be no trace of Atika's involvement.
"Shall I go check on the other side?"
Atika vanished like the wind, and Choi Hyojeong continued fighting.
Blood flowed from her abdomen, her shoulder, and her thigh, and her already depleted stamina drained even faster.
Gradually pushed back, Choi Hyojeong finally collapsed against a large tree.
Before her stood dozens of Giant Black Wolves.
"So this is how it ends. As dog food."
It was the moment she finally gave up.
Then she saw a man charging forward, screaming wildly.
"What…?"
Through her fading vision, she saw a familiar face.
"Why are you…"
At the same time, Choi Hyojeong closed her eyes.
"Choi Hyojeong! Choi Hyojeong!"
Kang Museong swung his blade like a madman.
With each swing, one—no, two or three—beasts were cleaved in half.
As expected, he was strong.
Before the regression, Kang Museong had been the sword Lee Geonha boasted about.
The image of Kang Museong, always fighting at the forefront for Choi Hyojeong, came to mind.
"He was the man who even pledged loyalty to Lee Geonha for Choi Hyojeong."
Simply to avoid becoming enemies with the woman he loved from afar, he followed his romantic rival.
"If he becomes my man, he'll become my sword."
But first, Choi Hyojeong had to live.
Then came the bodies and the blood.
They were almost there.
Following the trail of blood, we saw Choi Hyojeong leaning against a tree amid the Giant Black Wolves.
"We found her!"
The moment I saw Choi Hyojeong, my mind went completely blank.
Her abdomen and shoulder were pierced.
The blood loss was severe, and there was no way to know how long she had been in that state.
In the worst case, she was already dead.
"Why?"
Before the regression, Choi Hyojeong had been rescued without a single wound.
This was different from what I knew.
"Was I too late?"
No. I was faster than Lee Geonha.
I arrived before Lee Geonha—so why was Choi Hyojeong gravely wounded?
At that moment, I felt killing intent behind me.
"…Move."
Upon finding Choi Hyojeong, Kang Museong lost all reason, roaring as he slaughtered the Giant Black Wolves.
His killing intent was so overwhelming that even the demonic beasts, terrified, parted to make way.
Only then did I realize why the future had changed.
"Kang Museong wasn't here."
When it came to Choi Hyojeong, he was a man who completely lost himself.
Kang Museong would have rampaged like a madman to save her.
Naturally, Rakshasas and demonic beasts alike would have been forced to focus on him.
But this time was different.
Kang Museong had been outside the forest with me, and because of that, Choi Hyojeong had faced even greater danger.
"Now that I think about it, Kang Museong almost died back then, unlike Choi Hyojeong."
The situation had changed, so the outcome changed as well.
"Hyojeong! Hyojeong! Wake up!"
Kang Museong was completely out of his mind.
Seeing him on the verge of tears, I forced myself to calm down.
Focus.
I didn't yet know if Choi Hyojeong was dead, and I had the Life-and-Death Acupuncture Technique.
"Move!"
I checked Choi Hyojeong's pulse.
She wasn't dead yet.
But the bleeding was severe.
No matter how well I stopped the bleeding, at this rate she would die before we made it out of the forest.
"Hyojeong. Wake up. Wake up…"
"Immortal!"
At my shout, Kang Museong seemed to calm down slightly and turned toward me.
As I pulled out my needle case from my back pocket, I began explaining.
"She's lost too much blood. At this rate, she'll die. We have to stop the bleeding here. Do you understand?"
"…How? How are you going to stop it?"
"I'll block the blood vessels to minimize the bleeding."
There was a passage in the Life-and-Death Acupuncture Technique.
The human body is like an intricately constructed network of roads.
All acupoints influenced one another, and depending on where you stimulated with a needle, blood vessels could open or close.
I was about to block every blood vessel leading to Choi Hyojeong's wounds.
In theory, it was possible, and I had memorized it thoroughly.
But it wouldn't be easy.
The positions of acupoints vary slightly from person to person.
Just as a person six cheok tall and one five cheok tall can't have perfectly identical acupoint locations, they also differ depending on whether one has a strong or weak skeletal structure.
But I had to do it.
Otherwise, Choi Hyojeong would die from blood loss.
"Can you do it?"
"I will. I have to."
"Then I'm counting on you."
Kang Museong squeezed his eyes shut and stepped back.
Because he knew there was nothing he could do.
He had to entrust the woman he loved to someone else's hands.
"…Please save Hyojeong."
"I will."
I took up the long needles.
"One mistake and it's over."
If I placed even a single needle incorrectly, widening a vessel instead of closing it, it would be the end.
But there was no time to hesitate either.
Perfectly—and quickly.
After placing the first needle, I did my utmost to maintain my composure.
"A physician grows by killing people."
Of all times, that saying surfaced in my mind.
Would this be my first sacrifice?
As the thought crossed my mind, my hand began to tremble.
"No. I can do this."
Calm down.
I will grow without killing a single person.
Ordinary people learn through experience, while wise people learn through history and records.
I must become a wise person.
That is the best path for someone who returned using the Stone of Regression.
Without hesitation, I began inserting the needles.
Blocking the acupoints in the abdomen, the thigh, the shoulder.
After placing a total of thirty-seven needles, the bleeding stopped as if it were a lie.
"Hoo."
Letting out the breath I'd been holding, I looked at Kang Museong and said,
"It's done. It worked. But it's not over. We need to get her to Yakseon as quickly as possible."
Kang Museong nodded and lifted Choi Hyojeong into his arms.
Because the position and depth of the needles had to be maintained, he couldn't carry her on his back.
Which meant Kang Museong couldn't use both arms.
"Now we have to break through that."
I looked at the approaching Giant Black Wolves.
Since Kang Museong couldn't use his arms, I had to clear the path.
There was the option of me carrying Choi Hyojeong while Kang Museong cleared the way, but that would be even more dangerous.
No matter how well he cut a path, the wolves would attack from all sides.
I wasn't confident I could protect Choi Hyojeong without using both arms.
As if he understood my thoughts, Kang Museong said,
"Just look forward and run. I'll handle what's behind us."
"Sounds good."
"And if it gets dangerous, prioritize your own life. If you recklessly try to save everyone with half-baked skills, everyone dies. Got it?"
"I know. I know."
I did know.
I knew all too well.
I had followed that advice before, fleeing without looking back whenever my companions were in danger.
But all that behavior left behind was regret.
I had rationalized my escape, telling myself I would take revenge someday, but such opportunities didn't come easily.
No—they never came at all.
Someone who runs once will always run again.
So this time, I won't run.
"Oh, and what you see today stays a secret."
"A secret? What do you mean—?"
I smiled faintly and began converting yin energy into yang energy.
Soon, my body began to blaze with golden light.
The look on Kang Museong's face was something to behold.
I said to the stunned Kang Museong,
"Keep up. We're moving fast."
I had thrown away too many things while living.
So this time, I plan to live without abandoning a single thing.