Chapter 38. Leader Kim Song-cheol (3)

Kim Song-cheol had team members.

He also had the duty to bring them back alive.

That responsibility was incredibly heavy. And before him stood a leader who had lost all his team members—someone who had returned alive alone.

Their positions were starkly opposite.

Frank met Kim Song-cheol’s gaze for a moment.

He soon realized the intent behind Kim Song-cheol’s question.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m desperate, but I’m not a madman. I’m not crazy enough to lure you in with lies. Everything I said is true.”

He spoke while looking at Kim Song-cheol, his shoulders slumped.

Kim Song-cheol read the sincerity in his attitude.

More than anything else, he could sense a feeling of being wronged.

And if his words were true, it was time to prepare.

“…I understand what you mean. Then shall we start with the enemies? What kind of guys were they?”

“Now we’re finally getting somewhere.”

He nodded and continued.

“I don’t know where they’re from, but their composition is similar to Earth. There are swordsmen and mages. Four guys wearing armor and two guys using magic. I saw six of them in total.”

“What kind of armor?”

“Armor like you’d see in the Middle Ages. Simple metal armor that knights wear. But two out of the four had different armor. Two wore high-quality armor, while the other two wore shabby armor. There was a difference in their skills too.”

“What was the level of the swordsmen?” Lee Yong-chan asked.

“The two swordsmen are the main ones. You can tell just by looking at them. Their armor is flashy. Their level is quite high. We were just unlucky. No one can beat them one-on-one.”

He pointed at Lee Yong-chan, Park Ha-su, and himself in turn.

However, he tilted his head slightly while looking at Kim Song-cheol and Kang Hye-seong.

“I’m not sure about the mages. You might be able to win. But they aren’t low-level. They were using Circle Magic, and their skill was at the 3rd Circle. The only magic I saw was elemental attack magic.”

“Two excellent swordsmen, two average swordsmen, and two average mages. Is that right?”

“Probably. But as I said, I don’t know about the remaining two. There are definitely eight people, but I didn’t see two of them.”

“In the worst-case scenario, it could be four excellent swordsmen.”

“…That’s right.” He nodded heavily.

“Any other information?”

“That’s all.”

“…That means we need at least one more team by our calculation,” Kang Hye-seong muttered.

Everyone had no choice but to agree with those words.

There were eight enemies. Currently, Team 24C had four members, plus Frank, making five.

By numbers alone, it was eight against five.

But if they recruited one more team, they would have nine people, at least giving them the upper hand in numbers, regardless of skill.

“Right. At least one team.”

He put strength into his voice.

He thought the discussion was going according to his plan.

But.

“Actually, I think even one team will be difficult.”

Kim Song-cheol, who had been quiet, threw in a word.

That was the reality.

Every Hunter they had encountered so far was busy avoiding them.

This was a place rife with all sorts of schemes and machinations.

You couldn’t tell who was an enemy or an ally, and it might even be foolish to trust a promise to fight together.

In such a situation, what would make someone trust Kim Song-cheol’s team and join hands with them?

“Still, we should try for now. Let’s move south and try to recruit any Hunters we encounter. Oh, what’s your name?”

“Francis Bennett. Call me Frank.”

“I’m Kim Song-cheol. Let’s move.”

Team 24C headed south with Frank.

After passing through the rugged rocky terrain, the coniferous forest spread out again.

They entered the forest and continued heading south.

Then, at some point, a group of Hunters was glimpsed through the trees.

Lee Yong-chan was the first to spot them.

“Wait, let’s talk for a moment!” When Lee Yong-chan waved his hand and shouted, the group of Hunters was startled and immediately turned to run away.

“Hey!?” Despite Lee Yong-chan’s call, they disappeared into the forest without looking back.

“Finding a team isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

The outlook wasn’t bright after being completely ignored on the first attempt.

“Let’s just keep moving. We have time.”

Kim Song-cheol spoke as if it were nothing, but he was actually in a hurry.

There was no guarantee how long those guys would stay in the north, and in the worst case, they might have already pinpointed Team 24C’s location.

If there were only six of them, he would have considered a direct confrontation.

However, the remaining two and their scouting methods were too big of a variable.

Therefore, they had to secure at least one team as quickly as possible.

‘I think I could talk to that team.’ Kim Song-cheol thought of the Spiritist he had met before.

He had proven he had no ill will by letting the spirit that accidentally flew to him go free.

They had also kept their promise to provide information.

It was as if a relationship of trust had been established to some extent.

But the problem was that he didn’t know where that team was.

‘Should I try sending a telepathic message or something…’ Kim Song-cheol looked around, hoping a spirit would fly by once more.

But it was quiet all around.

” ” Kim Song-cheol could only smack his lips and give a hollow laugh.

“Is there something, Big Brother?”

Park Ha-su, who was following behind, asked when Kim Song-cheol suddenly stopped.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Kim Song-cheol brushed it off vaguely.

He couldn’t exactly say he was trying to send a telepathic message to a spirit.

***

A knight in flashy armor took off his helmet and sat on a tree trunk.

His bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes were as striking as his armor.

“What are you doing?”

When he glared, a knight in shabby armor hurried over.

He pulled out a cloth and worked hard to wipe the blood off the magnificent armor.

The other knight was the same.

They rested while being attended to by the knights in shabby armor.

The pair in the flashy armor was a man and a woman.

The woman also had blonde hair and blue eyes—noble colors only seen in aristocrats.

“Did you say Petamin Territory?”

When the blonde man asked, a middle-aged knight with grey hair nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’m surprised you managed to raise knights in a place like that.”

“…Yes, we are practicing knightly training, though it is lacking.”

“Consider yourselves lucky. Thanks to meeting us, you’ll be able to earn a decent amount of points.”

The blonde woman spoke in a generous tone often heard from high-ranking nobles.

In a way, it was natural.

This pair of young knights were members of the knighthood of the prestigious House of Duke Elun.

The order was composed entirely of nobles, and just two or three of them could wipe out a rural territory.

Although this man and woman had only recently joined the order, their futures were guaranteed just by being members.

“We are very grateful. I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t met you, my lords. It felt like my future was dark.”

The black-haired young knight wiping the blonde woman’s armor poured out sweet words like a sycophant.

“Heh, you have a silver tongue.”

The blonde man laughed as if he were in a good mood.

The two mages sat quietly and watched the scene.

It wasn’t that they had nothing to say, but they didn’t bother opening their mouths.

They were reinforcements dispatched to assist the blonde pair.

In terms of status, they were below them. Staying quiet was the best policy.

Just then, a young man in leather clothes and a child in a cloak walked through the trees.

They were people conscripted from the Petamin Territory, residents who had come with the two knights in shabby armor.

The man was a ranger raised in a mountain village, and the commoner child was a rare Spiritist.

They were the perfect status for conscription.

“We’ve returned from scouting.”

The man bowed his head toward the blonde pair.

His movements were stiff, as if he wasn’t used to showing such courtesy.

The child just watched them, looking completely terrified.

“You brat, can’t you greet them properly!?”

The middle-aged knight, who had been watching, jumped up and walked toward the child.

He raised his hand as if he were about to slap him.

“Stop.”

The blonde woman spoke up.

“It could happen once.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

The middle-aged knight hastily lowered his hand and bowed.

The blonde woman smiled at the child and opened her mouth.

“Don’t do it again. Because I might actually kill you. Understood?”

Her bright smile turned chilling in an instant.

“Ye-yes…”

The ranger gently pushed the child’s head down.

The child bowed his head without realizing it.

“I will report.” The ranger shifted the attention from the child to himself.

“I discovered two more groups. Their locations are…”

“Stop.” The blonde man waved his hand dismissively, cutting the ranger off.

“Why look for more after finding two? I’m going to harvest them all at once anyway.”

“That’s right. The portal is behind us anyway. They can’t run away.”

The blonde woman nodded in agreement.

She pulled out some dried fruit with a refreshed expression and pushed it between her pearly white teeth.

“Yes, I understand.” The ranger bowed deeply and left with the child.

The two walked through the forest in silence.

The child’s slow pace could have been frustrating, but the ranger matched it without rushing him once.

“What’s going to happen to the people I found?”

the child asked. The child’s name was Fern.

He was 13 years old this year.

“…Don’t ask when you already know.”

The ranger replied quietly.

Fern lowered his head.

He already knew, but he asked just in case.

In the silence, only the sound of Sylph’s wings echoed emptily.

They walked without speaking for a long time.

Unable to bear the silence, Fern asked another question.

“Then what happens to us in the future?”

“…We’ll probably have to keep doing this.”

The ranger didn’t hide his annoyance, but he answered anyway.

“For the rest of our lives?”

“If those two die, we might be able to escape.”

If the knights, who were the masters of the Slave’s Mark, died, the two would become free.

Then they could run away.

There were no particularly great knights in Petamin Territory.

The two knights in shabby armor were the strongest, and below them were honestly just husks.

It was then.

Swish! Suddenly, Sylph began to fly somewhere.

The ranger quickly looked at the child, but Fern just watched Sylph silently.

“Did you send her?”

“No, she’s just going.”

“…Then why are you just standing there?”

“Because I know where she’s going this time.”

“Where?”

“To that person.”

“That person?”

“The person who let Sylph live.”

The ranger also recalled that group wearing combat uniforms.

They were quite impressive people to him as well.

He had expected them to destroy it, but to think they had actually just watched Sylph.

“Why is she going?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you really a Spiritist? That spirit is totally out of control. She just leaves without you giving an order.”

“A Spiritist isn’t someone who gives orders. They’re someone who makes requests. And kids don’t usually listen well, even if you ask.”

“Like you?”

“Not me. The spirits.”

“You’re a kid too.”

“It doesn’t seem that way to other people.”

The ranger was speechless.

There were people who had blatantly brought Fern into the dungeon as a Hunter, even branding him with a Slave’s Mark.

“You only talk back like this to me,” the ranger lamented.

“…I found him.” Fern said, closing his eyes.

He was mentally communicating with Sylph.

Even if they didn’t share vision, he could at least tell what state Sylph was in.

“I hope she comes back quickly… Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

Whoosh! Instantly, the wind surged around Fern.

His cloak fluttered violently, and his long hair rose toward the sky.

Simultaneously, a spirit that looked like a small hawk appeared.

The glowing green hawk, boasting a long tail, landed on Fern’s shoulder.

It was the intermediate wind spirit, Sylpheen.

“Wh-what’s going on?” the ranger asked hurriedly, scanning the surroundings.

He thought an enemy might have appeared since Fern had suddenly summoned an intermediate spirit.

“Ah, it’s nothing major. I think he wants to talk. I opened a Wind Path. Just a moment.”

A Wind Path was a means of communicating with someone far away.

An intermediate spirit was at the level of the 3rd or 4th Circle.

To open a Wind Path, an intermediate spirit was needed.

Fern’s lips moved slightly while his eyes were closed.

The ranger, watching this, grabbed Fern’s shoulder. “Don’t say anything useless.”

“Like what?”

“Like giving a warning. Things you don’t need to say. If it’s found out that we let something slip…”

“I already told him. That we are two of the eight people. And I told him the knights are bad people too.”

“No, why would you…”

“I can trust that person. Sylph trusts him, so I trust him too.”

The ranger just opened and closed his mouth before running his hand through his hair in resignation.

“So… what did he say?”

“He says if I give him the location, he can disintegrate them in a surprise attack? But what does ‘disintegrate’ mean?”

It was translated into the language Fern used, but he didn’t understand the word.

Having grown up as a farmer’s son, Fern’s vocabulary was weak.