Chapter 333

Chapter 333
Chapter 333. Shadow Tracking (3)

—

*Thump.*

Images of my earliest combat deployment flashed through my mind.

The terrain had been a swamp of muck, heavy with gore and waste. Wounded soldiers cried out as they lay neglected, left behind without receiving medical aid. Bitter vitriol erupted whenever anyone wavered, and incompetent officers took out their frustrations directly on their own troops.

*Thump.*

The commanding officer who commanded us to blindly execute orders disappeared without warning right in the heat of battle. Whether he perished or deserted remained a mystery. No one possessed the breathing room to investigate such matters. I scanned the area for any alternative authority figure just to be certain, but as anticipated, none remained.

*Thump.*

Every single leader at headquarters, the very individuals who had demanded unquestioning compliance with their dictates, had vanished. It was impossible to determine whether they had been slain or had simply run away. I could only pray it was the former. Indeed, I preferred the former scenario.

*Thump.*

Hostile forces surged from every direction, leaving us completely bewildered. Up until that point, we had merely functioned as cannon fodder with no agency or understanding of how to take initiative.

*Thump.*

Corrupted humans lunged forward, brandishing blades dripping with crimson. Beneath the descending sun, the entire landscape appeared saturated in a deep scarlet hue. It felt as though everything lay drowned in slaughter.

*Thump.*
*Thump.*
*Thump.*

“…Survive…”

*Thump.*
*Thump.*
*Thump.*
*Thump.*

It was a crisis where guidance was utterly absent. In that instant while I remained paralyzed, trapped in recollection amidst that literal crimson tide, a firm grip caught my shoulder and a voice roared out.

“Dae-sa-hyeong!!!”

“…!!!”

What just happened? A moment ago…

Shifting my gaze, I found Eun-ho looking at me with deep anxiety while keeping his hand on my shoulder. So that was it… I had simply lost myself in thought.

*Thump.*

My pulse raced violently, refusing to slow down, as though the memories I had just relived were happening right now.

*Thump.*

Even though the reality of my current situation was completely distinct from my past existence. Even though I was no longer the exact same Jin-so-un from my previous incarnation.

“Dae-sa-hyeong, are you alright?”

Besides, I was not navigating this crisis by myself.

*Slap!*

“…!!!”

I struck both sides of my face using both hands. The impact stung sharply, but it successfully restored my focus.

“It’s nothing. A sudden wave of fatigue just washed over me.”

“……”

I tapped the shoulder of Eun-ho, whose gaze had widened in surprise, offering reassurance before the scout moved toward me.

“…Representative-nim. The remnants of the tracking scent persist, but…”

The inquiry was a silent prompt, waiting to see if we would pursue the trail. My primary motivation for trying to link up with the main force despite my friction with the leaders was, above all, to brace for a worst-case eventuality. These individuals were not low-level mentors from the Education Pavilion; they were seasoned figures holding authority comparable to Hall Masters within the Alliance. Regardless of how strained our relations were, they would still serve as highly effective blades in an environment like this.

‘The error is mine for failing to foresee that they would be such worthless scum.’

Because I valued my younger martial siblings enough to step away from my role as a Hall Master to guide them here, I had harbored a shred of hope, but how could they remain so utterly pathetic?

“We will not pursue them.”

“Pardon? The conditions are deteriorating at the moment. If it starts to pour, we will lose our ability to track the scent entirely…”

“Are you blind to the meaning of the signal flares that ignited the moment twilight fell?”

Though they had faded by now, crimson distress signals had burst across the sky precisely as dusk arrived. That could not have been a mere coincidence.

“Wa—wait, then what is your plan?”

A representative from the Orthodox Society who had been tracking the exchange between myself and the scout stepped forward to intervene.

“If the tracking scent is still viable, we ought to move immediately to catch up with the instructors!”

Without offering him a direct gaze, I responded in a low tone.

“We are not pursuing the instructors.”

“What? Jin-so-un, have you lost your senses entirely right now…”

“You are the one who needs a reality check!”

“……”

When confronted with immense peril, the path people instinctively gravitate toward is denial. Every novice stepping onto a field of conflict for the first time finds it incredibly difficult to resist that alluring escape. Yet, that path never yields the right outcome.

“Do you still fail to comprehend? I am asking if the reality hasn’t dawned on you even after witnessing those flares. The instructors are not returning for us. Trailing after them at this point is a futile effort.”

When you block individuals from executing reckless decisions, they push back. This was, after all, a crisis that directly impacted their physical survival.

“Jin-so-un, what gives you the right to issue directives to us?”

Just as predicted. A faint, mocking smile touched my lips. Had this been an explicit battlefield scenario, I could have compelled compliance through authority, but currently, we were mired in total ambiguity.

“I have zero desire to dictate your actions. If anyone feels compelled to depart, then leave. I will not lift a finger to obstruct you. However, if your choice is to remain, you will obey my directives from this moment forward.”

“…!”

“Academy Regulation Article 4. During a crisis where instructors are absent, the student body shall defer to the directives of the Academy Representative.”

“Tha—that…”

“I am offering a final crossroad. Anyone wishing to leave may do so now.”

Finishing my statement, I turned my back to them. The individual who had challenged my authority muttered a profanity and immediately began consulting with those who seemed to be his companions. Shortly after, they approached the scout and started organizing a party. During that interval, I made my way back to my immediate companions.

“We will set up camp at this location for the evening. Coordinate the lookouts in shifting intervals to maintain absolute vigilance. Direct as much field medicine to the wounded as possible so they are capable of marching under their own power by dawn.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“For now, Jin Gong-ja should also take the opportunity to rest.”

Even though the instructions were brief, Nam-gung-seon-hwa stepped forward to manage the logistics, delegating duties across the group as they swung into efficient motion. Meanwhile, the faction intent on tracking the instructors completed their arrangements; roughly twenty individuals commenced their departure, guided by the scout into the dark.

‘They deliberately selected only the able-bodied.’

Naturally, those attempting a midnight trek had no intention of slowing themselves down by transporting the maimed.

“Is this truly the right call?”

As I turned around, Horse-nose was observing the departing figures while binding up a casualty.

“With them gone… half of our remaining numbers consist of the wounded.”

Their strategy was transparent. They undoubtedly reasoned that reducing their party size to catch the instructors gave them the highest probability of success. It was a blunder unique to those who had never witnessed the true nature of warfare.

I directed my gaze toward the Horse-nose fellow and inquired.

“Horse-nose, what kept you from joining them?”

“…You made a statement previously, did you not?”

Horse-nose met my gaze squarely as he replied.

“That you would exhaust every effort.”

He then offered a subtle nod toward the direction the others had gone.

“In contrast, the path those individuals chose represents an abandonment of their duties.”

A faint laugh escaped me. It felt genuinely refreshing.

“Correct. Setting out right now is an error. However, compelling them to remain stationary by force is equally flawed.”

“ Silence fell between us.”

I gestured toward an injured youth resting some distance away and questioned the Horse-nose fellow again.

“Can you ensure they can march by sunrise?”

“Jin-so-un, do not look down upon the medical expertise of the Cheong-seong…”

“Representative-nim.”

Horse-nose paused for a brief reflection before correcting himself in a muted tone.

“…Representative Jin.”

Was the honorific suffix ‘-nim’ truly an impossible concession for his pride to make?

“Very well, let us leave it at that. Ensure the medical duties are performed flawlessly, Horse-nose.”

“My name is—!”

“I am well aware. Jong-chu-ak.”

“…!”

Observing his startled expression, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.

“If that fellow is marching smoothly by dawn, I shall address you by your actual name.”

“……”

Leaving him with that parting glance, I strode toward the newly integrated faction. Despite the late hour, an immense number of tasks demanded attention.

“What exactly prompted the instructors to abandon you?”

“……”

This remained the pivotal riddle. If the instructors—who ought to have recognized intuitively that they required every available hand for a Spirit pursuit—had disappeared while leaving the student contingent behind, the catalyst could not possibly be the Spirit itself. Moreover, they claimed their objective was to reach the stronghold and return with reinforcements? If they failed to grasp that abandoning academy students within the heart of a corrupted territory was an act of extreme peril, then those individuals deserved to face a tribunal by the Execution Hall. Short of a calculated plot to erode the combat capabilities of the Murim Alliance, no one could commit an act of such staggering stupidity.

If that held true, only a single deduction remained valid.

“What specific motivation forced the instructors to act independently?”

“……”

An ulterior factor was at play. They merely swapped uneasy glances, refusing to provide an explanation. Scattered glances of animosity were directed toward me, signaling a collective vow of silence. Have these fools genuinely failed to comprehend the gravity of their environment?

“Are you aware of exactly how many student casualties I encountered along the path to this location?”

“ silence.”

“Several among them possessed martial cultivation superior to your own. Is your goal to linger here until the instructors return, transforming yourselves into corpses in the interim?”

“……”

“As stated previously, emergency protocols dictate that you defer to the Representative. You surely noted the volume of crimson flares that saturated the sky, correct?”

As I pressed this grim reality upon them, the stubborn facades of the youths began to crumble. Indeed, regardless of how much they had been coddled as young prodigies, an unmitigated disaster of this scale was entirely foreign to them. To make matters worse, the capable members had deserted them alongside a scout to hunt for the mentors. Inevitably, their psychological resolve would fracture first.

Predictably, a response manifested without delay.

“Jin-so-un. Do you truly mean to discard us here?”

“Representative-nim.”

“…Representative-nim. Is it truly your intention to abandon us?”

Their speech hovered uncomfortably between formal respect and casual defiance. I let out a sharp scoff.

“What reason do I have to defend followers who refuse to execute directives?”

“……”

The color drained entirely from their countenances. Erasing the traces of amusement from my expression, I continued.

“However, provided you adhere strictly to orders, I will exert my absolute maximum effort to ensure your survival.”

“…!”

“That is my sole requirement.”

The faction from the Orthodox Society hesitated, weighing the proposition. Following a brief period of hushed deliberation among themselves, a single individual finally stepped forward to speak on behalf of the group. What sort of profound classified intelligence could possibly warrant such evasive behavior?

“Instructor No-jin-ha, the reality is…”

“That useless inst—no, what exactly occurred with the instructor?”

The youth swallowed hard, steeling his nerve before finally uttering a single revelation.

“…He was taken captive by the Spirit.”

Curse it all, it was no wonder their tongues had been tied.

The midnight raid I had anticipated with the greatest anxiety failed to materialize. Naturally, that did not equate to a peaceful interval of recuperation. The woodland was thick with suffocating dread. Corrupted entities could materialize from the foliage at any given second. The crimson distress signals deployed by our peers hung heavily in memory. No sane individual could achieve deep slumber while burdened by such profound apprehension.

*Snore.*
*Zzzzz.*
*Mumble, mumble.*

…Save for the practitioners of our own Tae-eul Sect and my immediate group who were resting soundly nearby.

“…Do they completely lack a survival instinct?”

“Given the chaotic lives they lead, it is safest to assume they are entirely devoid of terror.”

“If that were the explanation, Nam-gung-seon-hwa and Moyong-jae-hwa would not be sleeping quite so peacefully either.”

“I witnessed it personally; they deliberately sealed their own sleep acupoints…”

“…Have they lost their minds entirely?”

While the survivors from the Orthodox Society muttered about my team with hollow, exhausted glares, Sa-ryeon walked over to my position.

“Did you manage any sleep?”

“None.”

“What exactly… is your angle here? Forcing everyone into slumber by targeting their acupoints.”

“I was anticipating an event. Though, in the end, it failed to manifest.”

“Anticipating what?”

The crimson distress signals. The emergency markers that the Orthodox Society faction who departed with the trackers ought to have triggered. Yet, throughout the entire night, not a single flare illuminated the canopy. This indicated two possibilities: either they had successfully integrated with the instructors, or…

“What are you referring to?”

There was zero utility in exposing Sa-ryeon to the absolute bleakest interpretation of our reality.

“…It is of no consequence.”

Even if the worst had occurred, I had no intention of altering my course due to a crisis of conscience. The weight of remorse carried over from my past incarnation was already more than enough.

“Assemble the squad leaders immediately. Our march begins now.”

“At this hour? Dawn has not even broken.”

That is precisely the logic behind our immediate departure. While our adversaries maintain a lowered guard.

“Are we genuinely attempting to march alongside the wounded? …Representative Jin?”

“I cannot fathom the Representative’s strategy, but given the sheer volume of our numbers, it seems far more prudent to organize a lean vanguard force to press ahead.”

“Agreed. Moving the entire collective together feels like an exercise in cumbersome futility, does it not? Representative… Jin.”

*Tsk.* They are truly putting on a pathetic display. Honestly, is adopting a standard military hierarchy such a massive blow to their egos? They should either challenge me in open combat or drop the act. The way they hedge their words with half-hearted respect because they are terrified of misstepping is simply miserable.

“If the plan is not to your liking, you are entirely free to stay behind.”

“……”

Yet, not a single soul volunteered to remain stationary with the casualties.

“In that case, hold your tongues and follow.”

“……”

With our consensus established through blunt dialogue, we concluded our marching preparations instantly. Due to the high volume of incapacitated individuals, maintaining a textbook tactical formation was an impossibility. From the outset, I had no intentions of attempting one.

Those possessing functional upper limbs were tasked with securing the individuals unable to walk, binding them securely to their bodies with lengths of fabric. To anyone capable of wielding even a single hand, I distributed our entire surplus of concealed projectiles and stones to facilitate ranged suppression. In the forward position, I deployed our peak martial artists who were entirely uninjured, while positioning the remaining forces along the left and right flanks based on a descending scale of combat proficiency. Yang-ja-pyeong, our singular scout, was stationed directly behind the vanguard. His role was to offer immediate navigation the moment I surged ahead.

“Maintain a uniform pace. Consistent momentum takes priority over raw speed.”

“What is our final destination, Representative Jin?”

“The main stronghold. That is where we are heading.”

“Without attempting to locate the instructors first?”

“Was it not stated that the instructors’ ultimate objective was identical to our own anyway?”

“……”

The exchange dissolved into silence. Not from a lack of talking points, but because a corrupted entity blocked our path.

“White-faced Blood Spider!”

The majority of anomalies active during this twilight hour mirrored this specific creature. I lunged forward, manifesting my Sword Astral (*Geom-gang*). The beast was capable of launching web projectiles with the velocity of ballistics. Even ignoring the potential toxicity of the threads, once they adhered to flesh, stripping them away was a massive ordeal.

I deliberately radiated a blinding luminescence, executing the intricate patterns of the Tae-eul Eight Myriad Spirit Footwork. The creature’s eight eyes whirled in utter confusion against the light-saturated afterimages, causing its massive web clusters to crash harmlessly into the earth. The exact instant the anomaly attempted to recalibrate its tracking, I shore its abdomen completely open.

*Screech!*

Securing the kill and falling back into the ranks, the vanguard members who had matched my pace bore expressions of absolute bewilderment.

“The Sword Astral…”

“Since when did his martial attainment reach…”

The youths were catching their breath, processing an reality they could scarcely credit.

“Maintain focus. This is no time to let your attention wander to irrelevant details.”

“…Y—yes, let us proceed.”

“Understood, Representative Jin.”

As dawn advanced, the frequency of corrupted entities obstructing our path multiplied steadily.

‘The behavior is distinctly altered from our initial entry.’

In stark contrast to the anomalies encountered during our arrival—which displayed caution around humanity and avoided straying from their domains—the beasts currently materializing lunged with frantic aggression, as though humans represented a specific threat or prime targets. Consequently, our vanguard was rapidly drenched in corrupted fluids.

“Curse it… had I anticipated this slaughter, I would have taken a position in the rear guard.”

Naturally, the trailing element did not escape unscathed. Select beasts lay in ambush for the column to pass before striking at our most vulnerable links.

“Miserable corrupted abominations…!”

Barely an hour had transpired since our march toward the stronghold commenced, yet the entire group exhibited profound physical strain. Despite this, not a single voice requested a reprieve. They too had begun to perceive the reality—that the density of hostile entities was climbing exponentially as time ticked away.

By the time two hours of continuous movement had elapsed, we executed our initial halt.

“These individuals…”

“Why at this specific location…”

Several practitioners holding the vanguard immediately broke formation to inspect the bodies littering the terrain.

“A count of twenty-one… how could every single one perish without a survivor?”

While the Orthodox Society members stared blankly at the carnage, I knelt to scrutinize the trauma on the casualties.

‘Is it that they have discarded any pretense of concealing human involvement in these executions?’

The precision of the lacerations left no doubt that they were inflicted by forged weaponry. Furthermore—

*Vibrate.*

The Jeok-bong-hwan pulsed with renewed energy. I had hesitated to voice my suspicions without absolute proof previously, but now ambiguity was stripped away.

“Curse it all.”

The Demonic Cult operates within these woods. And their explicit objective is the total annihilation of our group.