WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Episode 17: Flag (3)

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-Mortal, honestly, you...

Blue Spirit clicked their tongue.

Blue Spirit had wondered why he was joining a squad when it did not suit him.

To think he had been planning this all along.

-Did you intend this from the beginning?

“How could I let such an easy opportunity slip away?”

Mok GyeongUn smiled as he approached the last remaining person, or rather, the last remaining corpse.

It was the girl named So Hwa, whom Mok GyeongUn had killed first by snapping her neck.

Placing a hand on the girl’s head, Mok GyeongUn recited the verse formula for the movement of Adhesion in his mind and absorbed the remaining deathly aura.

Whoooooosh!

The absorbed deathly aura spread throughout his body.

Compared to when it had been about to scatter into the air during the battle for iron beads, directly absorbing it allowed him to secure a far greater amount.

Still,

‘I should absorb them in the order they died from now on.’

Since he had absorbed those closest to him first, much of the deathly aura from the girl named So Hwa had dissipated.

It had not vanished completely, but there was less than from the others.

‘Still, this is not bad.’

He had already secured far more deathly aura than he had at Yeonmok Sword Manor.

If he could remove the Golden Gate Locks embedded in his ki gateways, he would likely be able to greatly expand his dantian through ki circulation.

“It seems I made the right choice coming here.”

-You made the right choice? Do not tell me...

Just then, he sensed someone approaching.

Rustle!

Soon, someone appeared.

It was a boy.

Seeing the boy approach with a familiar look in his eyes, Mok GyeongUn chuckled.

“You possessed him instead of simply killing him?”

“I thought he might be needed, so I brought him.”

No sooner had the words left him than,

Thud!

The boy’s body collapsed, and the hazy form of the Demonic Monk appeared.

Mok GyeongUn spoke with satisfaction.

“Thank you very much.”

He had given it one task, yet it had understood his intentions so well.

It truly was an excellent spirit familiar.

Mok GyeongUn approached the fallen boy.

After twisting the boy’s neck, he absorbed his deathly energy.

It did not take long.

When he was done, Mok GyeongUn stretched, loosening his muscles with a refreshed expression.

“Whew. This is nice.”

-Mortal. What do you intend to do?

“What do I intend to do?”

-Looking at you, I do not think you will be satisfied with just these people.

Mok GyeongUn smiled at Blue Spirit’s words.

Then he looked toward the mountain and said,

“Until dawn, I should enjoy a pleasant meal. As much as I can.”

According to the requirements for passing, all he had to do was leave at least seven people alive.

* * *

In a damp, dark cave at the foot of the mountain.

Fwoooosh!

Evil Spirit Mask entered through the cave entrance with two warriors carrying torches.

The expressions of the two warriors stiffened as they entered.

From the moment they stepped inside, a strange aura had stimulated their Ki sense.

It was quite unlike the presence or aura of a person.

It was unpleasant enough to make their skin crawl.

‘This is stifling.’

That was how the two warriors felt.

However, Evil Spirit Mask strode deeper inside as though accustomed to it.

Then a voice called out from deep within the cave.

“Are you the Valley Lord of Corpse-Blood Valley?”

“I am.”

“The torchlight is bright.”

At the voice from within, Evil Spirit Mask raised a hand to stop the two warriors.

“Yes?”

“You two wait here.”

“But...”

“Wait.”

“Yes!”

Leaving them behind, Evil Spirit Mask entered the depths of the cave alone.

Inside stood a figure in a Taoist robe marked with Yin and Yang.

As though waiting, the figure clasped both hands and bowed.

“You have arrived.”

Evil Spirit Mask asked the figure,

“Is everything ready?”

“Of course.”

“What is it this time? I heard they are considerably more dangerous than the last ones.”

The Taoist-robed figure smiled and answered,

“They are dangerous, of course, if simply released.”

“I suppose so. Are they the ones behind those iron bars?”

“That is correct.”

At the figure’s response, Evil Spirit Mask looked toward the back.

Then a peculiar sound came from there.

Squeal! Squeal!

It sounded much like the cry of a pig.

Surely there could not actually be a pig there. What sort of creature was it?

Curious, Evil Spirit Mask tried to peer through the iron bars.

The Taoist-robed figure stopped Evil Spirit Mask.

“It would be best not to get too close. Even those that have not yet reached adulthood are ferocious beasts, no matter how well they are controlled.”

“Ferocious beasts...”

Creatures beyond ordinary beasts, was it?

Evil Spirit Mask looked behind the Taoist-robed figure.

There, something dangerous with eyes like a rat’s was staring directly at him.

“What did you say that was?”

“A Galjeo. It was brought from the Northern Sea near Bukho Mountain.”

Galjeo...

The name alone sounded ominous.

Evil Spirit Mask turned away and said,

“Good. Release them when I give the signal.”

* * *

An hour had passed since the Flag Defense Battle began.

The mountain was enormous, and perhaps the flags had been carefully hidden, so no one had found one yet.

However, someone found the first.

It was a boy from Matching Vista Sect.

The boy’s name was Yeon Mu-ung. As soon as he found the flag, he rushed toward it in delight.

‘I found one!’

Had the flag been a brighter color, it would have been easy to spot. But it was black, making it difficult to see in the darkness, and its location had been cleverly concealed among the bushes.

Still, his relentless search had paid off.

‘The pole is quite long.’

Approaching the flag, Yeon Mu-ung gripped its pole.

He intended to pull it out and claim a suitable position.

But then,

‘Huh?’

The flag he had expected to pull out easily would not budge from the ground.

The pole itself was not particularly heavy, so why?

Yeon Mu-ung soon learned the reason for his confusion.

‘What is this?’

The bottom of the flag was connected to a large chunk of iron.

It was quite large. Even Yeon Mu-ung, who had trained in external energy and possessed a muscular, powerful build, found it rather heavy to lift.

‘It will be even heavier if I carry it by the pole.’

Then he would have to carry it by the chunk of iron at its base.

At first, he had wondered why the flag had been made this way, but soon decided it was actually for the best.

If it was this heavy, the others would also have difficulty moving it.

Their internal energy was restricted, after all.

‘This gate may be easier than I expected.’

He had thought that among those who found flags, some would maliciously destroy other flags or steal them to reduce the number of people who could pass.

But if the flags were like this, they would be difficult to move, so few would go out of their way to steal someone else’s.

‘Good. I should gather squad members and defend this position.’

He only had to endure until dawn.

Meanwhile, on a ridge roughly two hundred jang northwest of Yeon Mu-ung’s location, another person found a flag, though later than he had.

It was a girl from Flower Hat House.

The girl’s name was Mo Ha-rang.

“Ah...”

Her joy at finding the flag was brief. Seeing the chunk of iron connected to the bottom of its pole, she could not hide her distress.

‘It is heavy.’

The iron was extremely heavy for her to lift.

Her ki gateways were sealed, and her Martial Arts were centered on speed, leaving her with little muscle mass. That made it even more difficult.

‘Moving it is impossible.’

Even if she wanted to carry the flag to a favorable location, she would need squad members.

Defending the flag alone would be difficult.

‘It would be nice if I could break the pole.’

However, there had been a prior warning.

[The flag must remain intact.]

That meant the chunk of iron was part of the flag as well.

In the end, waiting was the only answer.

Then,

‘Hm?’

Mo Ha-rang frowned as she happened to run her fingers over the upper part of the pole.

Something had been engraved there.

Without a torch, it was hard to see by the moonlight filtering through the bushes, but,

Rub, rub!

By feeling it with her fingers, she could roughly make out what had been written.

‘Dual-Origin Sword Stance, Rightward Reverse Arc...!?’

As she felt the engraving and guessed at its meaning, she became certain.

It was the opening stance of a sword style.

And it was somewhat different from an ordinary sword style.

‘Could this be...?’

If her guess was right...

Tap!

‘Huh?’

Mo Ha-rang’s eyes narrowed.

The verse formula ended.

Others might not have found anything strange about that, but she did.

‘It is incomplete.’

In her view, the verse formula was lacking.

If it truly was the opening stance of a sword style, it would not end there.

Most Martial Arts were intended to effectively subdue and kill an opponent, but they also served to protect oneself.

Mo Ha-rang closed her eyes.

Swish, swish!

The sword style took shape in her mind.

It was not a superior sword style, but the sword techniques were not bad.

However, if she followed this verse formula, four openings would appear.

That meant there were exactly four areas she could not protect with the sword forms she possessed.

‘...An incomplete sword style.’

Something about this was strange.

She could have let it pass.

But a sword style’s verse formula had been engraved just beneath the flag, on the pole, where one could easily pass it by without thinking.

And it was an incomplete verse formula.

No matter how she thought of it, she could not simply ignore it.

Then a thought suddenly came to her.

‘Could it be?’

She hoped not, but it seemed she needed to confirm it.

She boldly decided to give up the flag she had barely managed to find.

Still reluctant, Mo Ha-rang stared at the flag for a long while before breaking off the upper part of the pole where the verse formula had been engraved.

Clang!

‘If it cannot be mine anyway.’

There was no need to let anyone else have it.

Mo Ha-rang buried the broken upper portion of the flagpole where it could not be seen, then ran off.

* * *

About half an hour passed.

Unlike before, people who had found flags and formed squads began appearing here and there.

And, as this gate had intended, clashes broke out when two squads found the same flag at once.

The two squads fought fiercely over the flag.

With their internal energy unavailable, it was nearly a bare-knuckle fight, but a winner was eventually decided.

“Huff... Huff...”

The victorious squad members, covered in blood, breathed heavily.

With their internal energy restricted, they were reminded anew of just how exhausting fighting was.

One boy barely managed to stand and looked around.

‘Ah...’

Only five of the eight squad members had survived.

They had hoped no one would die, but that had only been wishful thinking.

At least they had defended the flag, and only needed to find three more squad members.

Whether that would be easy was another matter.

“What should we do?”

“Should we not defend the flag and wait?”

“That is true. If we wander around unnecessarily, the flag could be stolen.”

Everyone seemed to agree.

However, one boy voiced a different opinion.

“Wait. If we just defend the flag here and another healthy squad appears, will we not be at a disadvantage?”

“Ah...”

That was true as well.

It was an extremely difficult situation.

They could not abandon the flag they had barely secured, either.

Just then,

“You found a flag.”

Everyone flinched and turned toward the voice.

At the sight of someone standing there, their tension instantly eased.

Only one person stood there.

‘Thank goodness.’

If it had been another healthy squad, they would have been in trouble.

But as that lone person came closer and his face was revealed, the relieved squad members’ expressions stiffened.

It was Mok GyeongUn.

The ruthless one they had been reluctant to accept as a squad member had appeared.

“Stop! Do not move from there! Who are you?”

One boy stopped Mok GyeongUn from approaching and questioned him.

“What do you mean, who am I?”

“Did you not join the squad with that girl?”

The boy had seen Mok GyeongUn join So Hwa’s squad, which had only one girl.

Mok GyeongUn put on a sorrowful expression and said,

“Ah. They were all taken out.”

“Taken out?”

“Yes.”

Mok GyeongUn glanced at the corpses around him, then said casually,

“Our squad also fought another squad over a flag, like yours did. Everyone was taken out, and I barely escaped.”

“You escaped alone?”

“Yes. I could not face four people alone with an exhausted body.”

At Mok GyeongUn’s words, the boys looked at him suspiciously.

Still, they were not merely suspicious.

Having just experienced something similar themselves, they believed it was entirely possible.

Mok GyeongUn spoke to them gently.

“We have both lost squad members, so I think it would make sense to join together. If it is not too much trouble, could you take me in?”

“...”

They hesitated at the offer.

The reason they had not accepted him as a squad member at first was because he had made them uneasy.

That wariness would not fade easily.

Thus, they cautiously whispered among themselves.

“What should we do?”

“That guy seems suspicious. Should we just send him away?”

“But what about the flag? It has only been about a two-hour period.”

There were still more than two two-hour periods until dawn.

If others attacked them in that time, the flag would be stolen without them being able to do anything.

Then they would have to find another flag, and that would be impossible with only five people.

“...Let us take him in.”

“Take him in?”

“Yes. He must understand that, at least for this gate, he has to cooperate with others to pass.”

“That is true. Eight people are needed to pass.”

No matter how reckless he was, he still had to be capable of thought.

To pass this gate, they had to join forces and defend the flag.

If they considered that, even he could never harm them.

Having convinced themselves of this, one of the boys said to Mok GyeongUn,

“Fine. But remember, until dawn, we are one. If either side betrays the other, it will mean death. Remember that.”

Mok GyeongUn nodded.

Yet his lips twitched as though he were holding back a smile.

‘Ah. This is wonderful.’

It felt as though they had set the table for him themselves.

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