Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 63 - Flag (4)
Chapter 63 – Flag (4)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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-Suuuuuu!
Mok Gyeong-un held the head of the dead boy and used the Form of Attachment.
Not long after, he was able to absorb all the death aura remaining in the boy.
‘Nice.’
Mok Gyeong-un smiled.
He had absorbed death aura equal to a full sixteen people.
Even without gathering it into his dantian because his qi gates were sealed, the energy circulating through the blood vessels of his whole body was enough to make him feel full to the brim.
It seemed he had really been lucky.
Eleven of them had already killed each other to begin with, and the remaining five were badly exhausted as well.
That was why he had been able to kill them with almost no effort.
“Convenient.”
-Those people did something foolish, then.
Blue Spirit also agreed with what Mok Gyeong-un said.
Because the Forbidden Gate Lock had sealed all their qi gates, the situation had become favorable to Mok Gyeong-un.
If it had been a situation where internal power could be used, then killing the boys in this way would have been difficult.
But thanks to that, he was securing death aura easily.
‘Well, if they are all going to die through competition anyway, it is better that they become this sentient being’s death aura.’
Blue Spirit was a vengeful spirit from the start.
So she did not feel particularly sorry for them.
Besides, this was a place where they killed and were killed in order to pass the gate, so there was no point in dwelling on such things.
-By the way, that must be the flag.
“Looks that way.”
Mok Gyeong-un set down the head he had been holding and approached the flag.
He had not intended to seize the flag yet, but since it was the goal of this gate, he could not help but look at it.
-What will you do about the flag?
If you do not intend to seize it right away, then break it and throw it away.
“I should.”
-Or for later, it might be convenient to carry one around in advance.
“That is not a bad idea either.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un reached to grab the flagpole, but soon stared fixedly at something.
Even with his internal power sealed, his five senses were far more developed than an ordinary person’s.
-What is it?
“Something is written near the part of the pole just below the flag.”
-What do you mean?
“Hmm.
Samhyeonggeomji myeongugeyeongseon…”
Hearing Mok Gyeong-un read out the formula, Blue Spirit immediately realized what it was.
-That…
is the formula for sword-art moves.
“Sword art?
Hearing it, I suppose it is.”
Because it was a formula laying out the movements of a move, Mok Gyeong-un agreed.
“But why would something like this be written here?”
-Read the rest.
“Mujuseongyeol geomhailche yeongmulgimyeonse…” After reading through it, Mok Gyeong-un said, “It ends here.”
-What? It ends there?
At Blue Spirit’s questioning voice, Mok Gyeong-un asked as though puzzled,
“Is there some problem?”
-It seems the move cuts off midway.
“You mean it cuts off in the middle?”
-Yes. If the move were only this much, then openings would appear at four vital points: Gokji, Sinju, Gonryun, and Wijung.
“Then is it an unfinished move?”
-It does not seem so. Judging from how it remains faithful to the basics rather than being an advanced sword art, and how all the forms are arranged so that they do not overlap…
-“Judging from that?”
-It seems to be a move made for a sword formation.
“A sword formation, then is that something like a formation method deployed through swords?”
-Yes. But with only these moves, the weakness is too obvious, so even if one formed a sword formation, its quality would only be clumsy.
“Clumsy? That is an interesting way to put it.”
-I did not say it to amuse you. More importantly, it feels as though there is a reason they deliberately wrote an incomplete sword move here.
At Blue Spirit’s opinion, Mok Gyeong-un also nodded.
Just as numbers had been written on the iron beads, this seemed perhaps to be some kind of hidden assignment in the gate.
Staring at the formula written on the move, Mok Gyeong-un said,
“There may be more than one kind of flag.”
-Did they not say there were forty?
“I mean kinds.”
-Kinds?
“Yes. Might there not be flags with the rest of the moves written on them?”
-Ho. That does sound plausible.
This time Blue Spirit agreed with Mok Gyeong-un’s words.
It was plausible enough.
-As you say, sentient being, if there are two types of flags with hidden moves, then those who discover that will inevitably stop trying to defend their own flag and instead start looking for the other kind of flag.
“That is exactly what I think.”
Two kinds of flags.
Finding one flag did not mean the end.
In the end, the visible assignment was only for eight people to remain at the place where the flag stood until dawn, while the hidden assignment seemed to be completing the divided sword moves.
“Interesting.”
They were inciting conflict one way or another.
Those who failed to discover this would simply end there, but those even a little more observant would move in order to seize a different kind of flag.
The conclusion was that Mok Gyeong-un too had to find one flag of the other type.
And naturally, he had to have seven squad members along with that flag.
-That has made things slightly more troublesome.
“Still, now that I know the shape of it, I should choose accordingly.”
With those words, Mok Gyeong-un snapped the pole of the flag containing the formula with one hand.
-Taenggang!
It was to dispose of the flag, just as Blue Spirit had said earlier.
But the moment he broke it,
-Start!
Mok Gyeong-un frowned while looking at the flag.
“Ha…”
-What is it?
“There was spell power inside the pole of the flag.”
-Spell power?
Spell power.
Quite literally, the power of occult arts or spells.
After learning occult arts and absorbing death aura through reverse-flow circulation, Mok Gyeong-un had become even more sensitive to various types of energy.
But the moment he broke this, he felt the spell power escape.
Because she had been inside the wooden doll and could not confirm the spell power, Blue Spirit asked,
-Could it be a trap?
“It does not seem to be that.”
If it had been a trap, the spell power would have remained as it was.
But the fact that the spell power vanished the moment the pole was broken meant,
-Piiiiiiiii!
At that moment, something like the sound of a horn echoed through the entire mountain.
Because the sound was steady, it resembled some sort of signal.
-Kuguguguk!
-Hearing it, Mok Gyeong-un lightly crumpled the broken flagpole in one hand and muttered,
“It seems there is something else besides this as well.”
* * *
Not far away.
At a place on a ridge where one flag stood planted, another battle was just about to break out.
The squad of eight who had found it first tried to defend the flag, and a squad that appeared later tried to steal the flag from them.
The squad trying to defend the flag was led by a boy called Yeom Ga, from Crimson Kill Valley.
-Puk!
“Kuk!”
One boy struck by Yeom Ga’s fast kick flew backward.
‘Damn it. He is too strong.’
The boy who had been flung away felt bewildered as he caught himself.
Because Crimson Kill Valley boys also had their internal power sealed, he had thought they would be able to fight on roughly even footing to some degree.
-But the basics themselves were different.
Perhaps because he had also steadily trained his external arts, the power of his kicks was no joke.
‘No wonder he is from Crimson Kill Valley.’
-He began to wonder whether they had simply chosen the wrong opponent.
He looked to see whether the others were doing any better, but
-Kudangtang!
“Uhek!”
Unfortunately, there was not much difference.
No matter who looked, they were being overwhelmed.
-Perhaps because only those in the top ranks of the struggle over the iron beads had gathered here, their basic skill was different even without internal power.
They were no match from the start.
Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley seemed to understand the gap in level as well, and gestured provocatively with his hand.
“Hey. Since you bothered to come at us, show me a little fighting spirit.”
‘Damn it!’
He was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
-Udeuk!
“Kuhk!”
“O-jae!”
One of the boys had his neck snapped by one of Yeom Ga’s squad members.
They had only just engaged, and already two had lost their lives.
If they took any more losses, their squad would collapse.
Judging that it was hopeless, the leading boy shouted,
“Run!”
At the boy’s shout, the other boys who had been desperately trying to retake the flag also seemed to agree, because they immediately attempted to flee without even looking back.
Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley smiled darkly and muttered,
“As if I would let you go.”
It was their freedom to attack, but did they think he would let them go easily?
Only after killing them all and displaying their heads would the other bastards abandon the thought of boldly aiming for their flag.
“Catch them all…”
-Kwaduk!
“Kkeuak!”
‘!?’
In that instant, Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley shut his mouth.
What had that just been?
One boy, who had been trying to flee through the brush on the opposite side the fastest, suddenly had a black shadow brush past him and vanished with a scream.
An instant of silence fell.
From the boys whose blood had risen and who had been about to pursue, to the boys who had tried to flee, all stared in bewilderment at the place where the shadow had passed.
-Ugeojeok! Ugeojeok!
The brush rustled, and the sound of something chewing could be heard.
It sounded horrifying.
“Wh-what is that?”
“What was that just now?”
At that unbearable sound, the boys stepped back without realizing it.
Then from the shaking brush came a sound.
-Kkwek kkwek!
What was that?
At a glance, it sounded like a pig squealing.
But the strange gleam gradually visible between the brush was more than enough to chill a person to the bone.
As the boys who had been trying to flee stepped back, the brush shook.
Then something finally revealed itself from there.
‘!?’
The expressions of the boys who saw it all froze.
-Tak!
The thing extending hook-like forepaws was not human.
It looked rather like a wolf, yet it was different too.
It seemed about twice the size of a normal wolf, the fur on the top of its head was red, and its eyes were wholly black like a rat’s.
‘Wh-what is that?’
‘A wolf? Is there such a wolf?’
‘It is too… big.’
-Kkwek kkwek!
When the ferocious beast that made pig-like cries bared its teeth, a mouth filled entirely with sharp fangs was revealed.
-Gulp!
One boy, so tense that he swallowed his dry spit, shouted,
“Run!”
The moment the shout ended, the boys all turned toward the right.
Then,
-Pap!
-the red-haired wolf-like ferocious beast caught up to the rearmost boy in an instant,
-Kwaduk!
“Kkeuaaaak!”
and bit down on his calf.
Then with tremendous jaw strength, it flung the boy violently.
-Thud! Thud!
“Kuk!”
-After being thrown about only a couple of times, the boy seemed to lose consciousness, whether dead or unconscious.
The calf almost torn through by those sharp teeth hung in tatters.
The wolf-like ferocious beast then walked over and stuffed the boy’s head into its mouth in one bite.
-Ugeojeok! Ugeojeok!
‘!!!!!’
At that sight, the boys who had been defending the flag turned pale.
To have a ferocious beast chewing on a human head right before one’s eyes and not feel fear would have been stranger.
The same was true even for Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley.
‘Damn it!’
What was this, for a bizarre existence like that to appear right when their internal power was sealed?
-It did not seem to be an ordinary ferocious beast.
With their internal power sealed and only their bare bodies left, even handling an ordinary wolf would be difficult.
Much less a ferocious beast that large, which went far beyond merely difficult.
They might have to stake their lives on this.
-‘Should I avoid it?’
It no longer seemed like a situation where they could be defending a flag.
But it was also absurd to have to give up a flag they had only just obtained because of some damn ferocious beast.
It was right then.
-Kkwek kkwek!
The ferocious beast that had crushed and swallowed the boy’s head looked their way this time.
Then, as though choosing them as its next target, it scraped its hind legs against the ground and prepared to spring forward.
At this, Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley tried to shout,
“Ru…”
-Pap!
-Kkwoeooooo!
-At that moment, after charging only about five steps, the beast suddenly saw something and let out a scream, then staggered backward in panic.
Then, snorting angrily through its nose, it changed direction.
-Papak!
The direction it turned toward was where the boys who had fled after aiming for their flag were.
-One boy who had been about to flee in terror said,
-“Wh-what? Why did it suddenly do that?”
At this, Yeom Ga of Crimson Kill Valley muttered irritably,
“Fuck. How would I know that?”
He too could not understand why the ferocious beast had suddenly reacted that way.
It had looked as though it had been startled by something.
So he turned his head in the direction it had looked toward, and what he saw was,
‘The flag?’
* * *
“Huk! Huk!”
“Uuuuugh.”
Three boys were running like mad.
They had no fixed direction, and simply ran wherever they could see.
The frightened boys felt as though their hearts would burst.
‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’
While running, one more of them had been taken.
Because their internal power was sealed and they could not use lightness skill, their speed was only a little faster than that of ordinary grown men.
But that ferocious beast was nothing like that.
It seemed almost faster than a horse at a run.
‘At this rate, are we all going to die?’
As they ran, one of the boys saw a figure standing on the opposite side.
For a moment he was startled and tried to change direction, but when he realized it was a person, he felt relief inwardly.
‘What? Who is that?’
But the moment he saw him clearly, he recognized him at once.
It was that one, the one who had passed first in the struggle over the iron beads with his brutal methods.
Under different circumstances, he would have ignored or avoided him because the boy felt unpleasant, but now he shouted on the off chance,
“H-hey! Help us!”
He had surely gathered a squad too.
Then if all of them helped, they might somehow be able to handle this ferocious beast.
But why were that fellow’s clothes, and even his hands, stained with so much blood?
-Start!
And on top of that, he was smiling so that the corners of his mouth hooked up as he looked at those of them fleeing toward him.