Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 60 - Flag (1)
Chapter 60 – Flag (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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For some reason, there was a strange, unpleasant feeling that they should not work together.
Because of that, the Crimson Kill Valley boy, who had given up on joining forces with Mok Gyeong-un, whispered to the Mirrored Scenery Gate boy beside him.
“You are from Mirrored Scenery Gate, right?”
“That is right.”
“I will get straight to the point. Let us not waste our strength for nothing and work together for this gate.”
“……..”
At this proposal from the Crimson Kill Valley boy, the Mirrored Scenery Gate boy furrowed his brow as if considering it.
It was certainly not a bad proposal.
Joining together with more capable people was a way to pass the gate more easily.
‘Hmm.’
The Mirrored Scenery Gate boy had seen earlier how this Crimson Kill Valley boy had hidden in the water and pounced on another boy to steal his iron bead.
It could be called a fairly excellent strategy.
Seen from that point of view, he might also be helpful in this gate, where one had to build a more strategic cooperative relationship than in the struggle over the iron beads.
But,
‘…Do I really need to show even a little of my own sect’s secret methods to someone I may crash against again in the next gate?’
If they stayed together for three shichen, they would end up showing quite a lot.
The more one showed of one’s sect’s martial secrets, the more one lost.
He judged that it would actually be to his advantage not to cooperate with the boys of Crimson Kill Valley and Mo Hwa House, who were the most likely, along with himself, to endure until the very end in this Corpse Blood Valley.
So the Mirrored Scenery Gate boy said,
“I refuse.”
“…You will regret it.”
“Who will regret it, we will find out when we try.”
At that aggressive reply, the Mirrored Scenery Gate boy let out a snort.
Then he casually asked the short-haired girl from Mo Hwa House one last time.
“Hey. Mo Hwa House. What about you…”
“Get lost.”
“………”
She rejected him before he could even finish asking.
The Mirrored Scenery Gate boy shut his mouth with a face full of irritation.
It might have been impossible from the start to cooperate with those people.
* * *
“Hoo… hoo…”
The boys stared at the mountain beyond the valley with tense faces.
The moment the signal fell, a three-shichen ordeal more physically taxing even than the earlier struggle over the iron beads would begin.
It was in that instant, when their eyes and ears were focused.
“Begin!”
The moment the shout of the demon-ghost mask fell, the boys all rushed toward the valley water.
It had been the same before, but in this gate as well, the ones who hurried first could seize the advantageous ground.
-Splash splash!
The valley water, dyed entirely in blood because of the corpses of the dead.
The smell of blood rising from it foretold another trial.
Watching them, a warrior said to the demon-ghost mask,
“They will soon learn that the earlier gate was the easier one.”
“……..”
There was no gate that was not difficult.
But in this gate, it was not enough merely to gather squad members to one’s taste and hold a flag.
‘It would be better to find a flag quickly.’
Those with any sense would soon understand the meaning carried by the flags.
* * *
After the start signal, 468 boys entered the mountain.
Once the red-belted warriors were no longer visible, the boys’ behavior split into three types.
The first were those who did not stop at all and simply ran toward the mountain.
‘A flag… I need to find a flag!’
These were the type who believed finding a flag had to come first.
They thought that, because the number of flags was limited, that mattered more than finding allies.
Of course, that too was not the wrong choice.
If one found squad members but failed to obtain a flag, it would mean nothing.
This type made up roughly half, around two hundred people.
Among them were the Mirrored Scenery Gate boy and the Mo Hwa House girl, both spoken of as the strongest candidates to survive until the end.
And then the second type.
“Hey. Join hands with me.”
“…You mean work together?”
“Yes. It is meaningless to seize a flag first like those idiots. It is better to form a squad in advance and then take a flag.”
“Ah?”
“That way it is easier to defend the flag too.”
In this way, boys who had stopped in place each formed squads with people they found agreeable or useful.
Because time was short, it happened quickly.
Still, while they were forming squads like this, they did not attack one another.
It was also because they tacitly avoided fighting here, knowing that once the squads were formed and they entered deep into the mountain, the drain on stamina would grow much worse.
‘Yes. This is how it should be.’
The Crimson Kill Valley boy laughed inwardly.
Led by himself, he had succeeded in making those who came in between fifth and fifteenth his squad members.
No, it would be more accurate to say that they had joined under him of their own accord from the start.
Ordinarily, up to the eleventh place would have made eight members together, but because a few among them were of the type who prioritized finding a flag first and did not stop running, this was the squad that formed instead.
‘Good.’
It could be called the most overwhelming squad.
Because they had all passed high in the struggle over the iron beads, it was composed of boys who possessed both skill and strategy.
That was why, once they obtained a flag, all they would need to care about was preserving their strength as much as possible.
“Come on, let us go!”
Thus the Crimson Kill Valley boy, who had formed a squad first, headed toward the mountain.
The other boys also rapidly formed squads and moved.
Mok Yu-cheon was among them as well,
‘…Not that bastard.’
as he shook his head while looking at Mok Gyeong-un in the distance.
Even though they were half-brothers, they were still brothers, and he had debated asking him whether they should combine their strength.
But he simply did not want to.
Having been unable to move at all because of the acupoint strike on the journey here, any feeling of closeness had already fallen away completely.
‘Whether he dies or not is not my probl… no.’
For now, his own survival came first.
Fortunately, some boys nearby proposed that they work together, and Mok Yu-cheon was able to join them.
They were not from the righteous side and it felt unpleasant, but there was no helping it if he wanted to live.
He had to grasp even at a straw.
‘I will survive.’
No matter what.
Convincing himself inwardly like that, Mok Yu-cheon also set out with his squad.
Meanwhile,
-What are you trying to do, sentient being?
Blue Spirit inside Mok Gyeong-un’s robes asked.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un answered quietly in a whisper,
“I was thinking of trying to find some squad members.”
-…Why do something pointless? If you simply find a flag, people will gather on their own.
Mok Gyeong-un shrugged.
Of course, what she said was true.
It was still early, and since no one knew where the flags were, if he simply seized one first, there would be no need to recruit squad members in advance, because they would gather by themselves.
-Are you trying to conserve your stamina, perhaps?
Recruiting squad members beforehand was a way of combining strength to reduce risk and preserve stamina.
It would not be wrong to say it was also preparation in advance for the next gate.
But,
“That is not it.”
-What?
If that was not the reason, then why was he trying to recruit a squad now?
Blue Spirit could not help but find it puzzling.
After all, she knew well that he was not someone who shared anything with others in the first place.
Yet at this point Mok Gyeong-un ran into an unexpected problem.
“This is troublesome.”
-Pfft.
Blue Spirit let out a mocking laugh.
That made sense, because when Mok Gyeong-un approached others to recruit squad members, the boys stepped away as if wary of him.
Some had seen Mok Gyeong-un’s brutal hand when he passed first.
Perhaps for that reason, they were reluctant to form a squad with him.
They spoke in low voices, but he could hear them.
“It might actually be better to get rid of that guy now.”
“Did you see it? He ripped out the throat to pull out the iron bead that had been swallowed.”
“He is completely insane.”
That was what made them avoid Mok Gyeong-un.
Quite a few felt burdened by the idea of teaming up with someone of his disposition, and instead thought it better to isolate him and eliminate him.
Perhaps because of that judgment, whenever he approached, all they did was hurry to avoid him.
-You seem to have made yourself very disliked, sentient being.
“It would seem so.”
-It looks like all you have done is waste time.
“Hmm.”
At Blue Spirit’s words, if things went on like this, it might truly be difficult to gather squad members.
He had wanted the start to go a little more comfortably, but should he change methods?
He was just thinking that, when
a short-haired boy timidly approached Mok Gyeong-un.
“…Do you need squad members, by any chance?”
“Yes. Why?”
“There are seven of us. Do you want to join us?”
At that proposal from the boy, the people nearby began murmuring.
Who in the world was trying to draw that guy in?
If they had even a little brains, it would be better to exclude that troublesome boy now rather than later.
It was
-Slide!
a girl who was stretching out her hand toward Mok Gyeong-un and waving.
She was quite beautiful, and around her were five boys standing like escort warriors.
It was a squad formed around a single girl.
One boy whispered softly,
“So-hwa. Are you sure about this? That bastard is a bit…”
“Right. It seems the others are also refusing to take him into a squad because they judged it is better to exclude him now.”
Another boy agreed.
At that, the girl called So-hwa smiled and said,
“Trust me.”
“I do, but…”
“The other idiots think excluding him right away is the answer, but it is not. If we bring him along, it will benefit us too.”
So-hwa had thought it over and judged that accepting Mok Gyeong-un would be to her advantage.
Putting aside his cruel hand, he was a boy strong enough to tear out a throat with one hand even with his dantian sealed.
If they brought this boy along, other squads would not be able to attack carelessly from the start.
And,
“We can use him until before dawn, then kill him and be done with it. No matter how strong he is, do you think he can handle seven people alone?”
She had already made a plan to use him and then eliminate him.
Naturally, this would leave one person missing at the very end.
But for that purpose, one person had already been arranged to follow from a distance.
If that boy died, that empty spot would be filled.
‘Idiots. Useful cards exist to be used and then thrown away like this. We can make him fight in our place, preserve our stamina, and get two birds with one stone.’
She laughed inwardly at both her own squad members and the others.
The head existed to be used.
* * *
Thus, within one gak, most of them formed squads and entered the mountain.
The same was true for the squad centered around the lone girl called So-hwa.
From here on, it all depended on finding a flag quickly and seizing it first, so they had to hurry.
Otherwise, they would have to steal a flag another squad had taken.
As they moved, So-hwa approached Mok Gyeong-un slightly.
“You were pretty impressive earlier.”
“Was I?”
“I am called So-hwa. What is your name?”
“I am called Mok Gyeong-un.”
“Mok Gyeong-un?”
So-hwa tilted her head.
It was a name she had never heard before.
Because his cruel hand and apparent skill were no joke, she had asked to learn where he was from, but from his name alone she could not tell.
‘Among martial clans, there should be only one righteous-side place with the Mok surname.’
Yeon Mok Sword Manor, the prestigious martial family of Anhui Province.
But there was no way someone from that righteous Mok clan would be here.
Then there was no choice but to ask directly.
“Where are you from?”
“Is that important?”
‘So he has no intention of telling me? Then again.’
Even if they were in a cooperative relationship now, later they would have to compete again.
The correct answer was to hide as much as possible about oneself.
‘This boy… but he is quite handsome.’
To say quite handsome would not be enough. Mok Gyeong-un’s looks were handsome enough that beautiful-faced was the right description.
Seen up close, it was even more so.
Because of that, her interest shifted slightly from her original plan.
‘Should I try seducing him once?’
Men were simple, and unexpectedly weak to a woman’s temptation.
If she only pretended to be slightly interested, they would fall over on their own.
In that sense, if she could make this boy hers, then instead of eliminating him, she might be able to use him even more.
-Slide!
So-hwa loosened the front of her chest garment slightly to reveal a hint of cleavage, then moved in close to Mok Gyeong-un.
At this age, boys’ sexual desire was strongest.
So when she showed a full cleavage like this and merely let their bodies touch, the effect was certain.
Pressing her body against him, So-hwa whispered,
“You know, I rather like boys like you.”
At this, Mok Gyeong-un glanced at her.
Then he smiled faintly and said,
“I feel the same way.”
‘Heh. As expected.’
It did not matter whether he was handsome or not.
Whenever she decided to seduce someone, any man fell this way.
-Tak!
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un placed an arm over her shoulder.
‘Heh. Look at this.’
So now that she was seducing him, he was showing confidence openly.
At this rate, she would probably be able to wrap him around her finger faster than expected.
If she manipulated him well enough to use him as her shield and they survived to the end, then at the proper time…
“I have been choosing since earlier.”
“Hm?”
What kind of nonsense was that now?
-Clench!
The arm that had been around her shoulder wrapped around her neck.
Then,
-Udeudeuk!
he twisted her neck in an instant.
It happened so suddenly that she could not even scream, and died on the spot.
‘!!!!!’
Everyone was momentarily unable to hide their confusion.
They had been merely watching, thinking So-hwa was about to wrap Mok Gyeong-un around her finger.
Who could have imagined that this would happen instead?
One boy shouted.
“Y-you crazy bastard, what the hell are you doing?”
At that shout, Mok Gyeong-un’s lips twitched as he said,
“Shall I call it a pleasant mealtime?”
All of them before his eyes were appetizing prey that would fill him with death aura.
The mountain was wide, so should he not make the start comfortable?
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