Poison Forest
"Huff!"
I shot up from my bed drenched in cold sweat.
It had been a nightmare.
Looking around, I saw it was still the dark of night.
Bisa yeong and Bae Jonggwan were sleeping soundly beside me, and Captain Seolpung was nowhere to be seen—likely out training again.
Only after confirming that I hadn't lost anyone yet could I finally let out a sigh of relief.
That nightmare had been a memory from my past life.
Memories of when everyone around me had disappeared.
And perhaps of what might soon repeat again.
At least until now, I had been convinced that I was doing my best.
I had saved Bae Jonggwan—my friend whom I had lost in my past life—and I was training desperately to regain the martial skill I had once possessed. To push further still, to reach the minimum threshold of the peak realm, which I considered the bare requirement to act on my own.
After all, until I attained that level of power, there wasn't much else I could truly do.
But… was that really enough?
Could I really believe that was enough?
The dangers at the front lines would only grow worse as time went on.
Soon, Iron Demons would appear. And later still, the Venom Demons.
In my past life, we had endured by losing comrades one after another. But enduring in itself had ultimately been meaningless.
All the demons were only steps toward a single final product: Blood Demons.
Five years from now, Blood Demons would appear—peak masters, housed in demonic bodies.
And two years after their emergence, the front lines had completely collapsed.
The Blood Cult began to steadily unleash the power they had been amassing, expanding beyond Yunnan into Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi.
As if mocking the non-aggression pact with the Martial Alliance….
I had died during that time.
And so I did not know what came after.
Whether the whole martial world had managed to rally against the Blood Cult, or if the cult truly had conquered all under heaven.
Still, no matter what the future held, the only thing I could do now was continue to grow stronger.
And so, with each step, with each breath, I focused only on training.
But sometimes, tormented by nightmares like this, I could not help but ask myself again:
Is this really enough?
...
No. Of course not.
Two days remained until my duel with Sword Prodigy Joo Taegyeong.
That evening, it was the Seventh Squad's turn to patrol.
Since patrol duty replaced training, we skipped evening sparring and set out into the forest.
Vice-Captain Na Seoyu felt a pang of regret.
Evening sparring was her favorite time of the day.
Recently, she felt as though she had finally broken through her stagnation, finding a new path forward. And more than that, evening sparring was the one time of day she could duel him, one-on-one.
That alone made it the happiest moment of her day.
Smiling wryly at her own thoughts, Na Seoyu shook her head.
To think I'd be musing like this at the front lines.
When she had first been told she would be sent here, she thought she would die the moment she arrived.
"We cannot send your younger brother—he must carry on the family name. For the Na Clan, you must make this sacrifice."
Her second mother's voice had been cold and merciless, without the slightest trace of guilt.
When Seoyu's real mother had died at the age of seven, her father's second wife had seized control of the clan.
That woman had openly favored her own son—three years younger than Seoyu—while treating Seoyu with disdain, though always hiding it from her father.
It had been painful, unbearable even. But Seoyu endured.
She believed that her sacrifice was for the sake of her father, and for the Na Clan.
So when her stepmother demanded she "sacrifice" herself again, she had simply replied:
"Yes, Mother. I understand."
Even though she knew it meant certain death.
For she had long forgotten how to refuse. How to resist.
She had lived too many years only ever enduring.
And during my very first patrol, I nearly died indeed.
While tracking a Spider Demon, she had been ambushed and kidnapped by one of the Blood Cult's demonic masters.
Paralyzed by a pressure point strike, she had been helpless, his greedy eyes crawling over her body.
Even now, that grotesque face sometimes haunted her dreams.
Had it not been for him, she might never have overcome that memory.
No—she might not have survived at all.
He had come crashing in like a meteor, kicking the cultist aside, chasing him down with terrifying speed, pummeling him until he sprayed blood… and then turned back to her with the innocent, awkward smile of a country boy, asking if she was okay.
She had forgotten her fear and laughed despite herself.
Later, when he was appointed captain of the newly formed Seventh Squad, she had followed him here. And though there had been countless hardships since, Na Seoyu could say with certainty:
This was the happiest time of her life.
Even if she were to die tomorrow.
For a moment she gazed at his back as he walked ahead, then turned to the squad behind her.
Protecting them from danger was his role.
But looking after them, supporting them—that was hers.
It was what she did best, and the way she could make up for what he lacked.
"Prince Bi, your physique seems even more impressive lately. You were manly before, but now it's even more striking."
"Hmph! Vice-Captain's compliments are too common to be trusted."
"Oh, but I really mean it."
She had aimed the words at Bisa yeong, who had been grumbling to Bae Jonggwan that bulking up through external training had slowed his agility.
Though he insisted he didn't believe her, she caught the twitch at the corner of his mouth as his complaints faded. That made her smile softly.
Then she whispered via sound transmission to Bae Jonggwan:
— Prince Bae, women don't like it when men make their feelings too obvious. The charm is in caring subtly, letting them wonder. You understand me, don't you?
Bae Jonggwan, who couldn't take his eyes off Cheon Jueun lately, gave her a grateful look and tried to put on a brave front, scanning the surroundings instead.
Lately, Cheon Jueun had seemed slightly uncomfortable under his constant gaze.
She was still thankful for his kindness and attention, but if her unease continued, it could sour things between them.
Here on the front lines, romance was more liberal than anywhere else in the martial world—people never knew how long they had left to live.
But that also meant that when relationships went sour, it could tear squads apart, sometimes forcing one person to leave entirely.
Na Seoyu wanted to prevent that.
And if possible, she hoped good people would form good bonds with each other.
At least while they were alive in this fleeting moment.
Having smoothed out the small matters, she turned her attention to the one person she wasn't sure how to handle.
Someone whom even she couldn't easily read—
Cheong Yeon, staring with an unreadable gaze at a certain person.
Prince Seonu.
Comet-like in his arrival, Prince Seonu Jin had completely changed the mood of the Seventh Squad.
But lately, his demeanor had grown somewhat darker.
He didn't show it openly when dealing with others, but whenever he sat lost in thought alone, the difference was clear.
Everyone assumed it was because of his impending duel with Joo Taegyeong, so they pretended not to notice. Still, the sight of him brooding cast a shadow over the rest of the squad as well.
After all, Seonu Jin had by now become someone who could set the entire mood of the Seventh Squad.
And then there was Cheong Yeon.
So beautiful that when her true face was revealed, one might think it only natural that she kept it veiled, she had made a bombshell declaration not long ago—right in front of Cheon Jueun and herself.
It had been when they heard the rumor that Seonu Jin harbored feelings for Tang Yeoeun.
As always, the three women of the Seventh Squad were training together in the afternoon when the thought occurred to her and she casually brought it up:
"Honestly, when Seonu Jin and Yeon first came here together, I thought the two of them were lovers. Or at least that one admired the other. Especially when I saw Yeon follow him into the Seventh Squad—I was sure she must have feelings for him."
Cheon Jueun, listening beside her, burst out laughing and agreed.
"Puhuhu! Elder sister, you too? I thought the same. Later, when I saw Yeon's true face, I felt a little guilty about it."
"Really? Hehe, me too."
The two laughed, but then Cheong Yeon, who had been quietly listening, spoke in her usual expressionless voice.
"That's correct."
"…What's correct?"
"That I like Prince Seonu."
"…Huh?"
They both froze.
Cheong Yeon spoke so calmly, as though stating the most obvious fact, that Na Seoyu and Cheon Jueun were at a loss.
"W-well of course you'd like him. I do too. He's a precious squadmate and someone we can trust."
"That's right. Prince Seonu is truly a good man. And after losing weight, he's become surprisingly handsome. But sister, that's not what we meant…"
But Cheong Yeon cut off Cheon Jueun, speaking again—this time with rare firmness.
"I know what you meant. And I mean it that way too. I admire Prince Seonu as a man."
"…Eh?"
"…Truly?"
The two were thrown into confusion.
Why on earth would Cheong Yeon say she admired Prince Seonu?
And what was with that tone? She didn't sound like someone confessing love, but rather like someone declaring a vendetta.
Na Seoyu barely managed to gather herself enough to ask:
"Wait, Yeon—why? No, that's not the point. If it's true, then why are you so calm when you've heard he admires Tang Lady?"
Cheong Yeon answered matter-of-factly:
"Because it isn't true. He may be interested, yes, but not in the way of a man toward a woman. In fact, he…"
She glanced briefly at Na Seoyu, then changed the subject.
"And besides, I liked him when he was still fat. I've always liked round things. At first, I was drawn to his plump figure, but even after he slimmed down, my feelings didn't vanish. I think it's because I began to see what lay beneath his appearance."
Her confession, delivered as though she were clinically reporting an observation of nature, left Na Seoyu and Cheon Jueun speechless.
It was only later that Cheon Jueun managed to think of another question.
"Then… why don't you do anything about it?"
"Do anything? Like what?"
"Well, like trying to get closer, or—yes! Showing him your true face, for example!"
Cheong Yeon smiled faintly—another rarity.
"Why should I do anything? I'm content just being by his side, watching him."
Na Seoyu and Cheon Jueun could only once again conclude that Cheong Yeon was incomprehensible.
Since then, Na Seoyu had been reluctant to involve herself in the matter any further.
And so, she had said nothing to either of them as the squad set out on patrol.
By the time they had completed about half their route, the western sky was turning red. Suddenly, Captain Seolpung, leading at the front, raised a palm.
It was the signal to halt—something had appeared.
The squad instantly froze, guarding their surroundings. Then Seolpung shot forward like a streak of light into the jungle.
Shaaa!
Moments later, a cry rang out.
"Ahh! Spare me!"
At the utterly unexpected plea, the Seventh Squad's eyes went wide.
"Spare me?"
To hear such ordinary words of terror—here, at the front lines?
Seolpung returned, having stayed his killing blow just in time, dragging along a lithe, dark-skinned Miao youth.
To their further shock, the Miao spoke in halting but intelligible Han speech, bowing and pleading.
"Th-this one is not one of those who became monsters. I am but a tribesman living deep in the forest."
The squad was stunned.
Every Miao they had ever seen at the front lines had been warped into demonic creatures by the Blood Cult.
This was the first time they had met one still in his right mind—and this youth was begging them desperately.
"Please, I beg you. Help us. Our benefactor, Tokno, is coughing blood and near death."