At that moment, at the entrance of the northern valley.
An old cart stopped at the cave entrance.
On the cart were two men with their legs wrapped in splints and bandages, their faint moans continuing.
"All the wounded are loaded?"
A man with a tattoo on the back of his head asked, grinding out a cigarette on the ground.
"All on board. But—what are you going to do with the talkative one?"
The man leaning against the cart chuckled and asked back.
"He's got some decent skills, so let's hand him over to the gladiator arena in the Sodador Territory. A gladiator slave fetches a good price."
"Sounds good. We'll report to Lord Melverton that he 'died trying to escape'."
The tattooed man brushed the dust off his boots and curled the corner of his mouth.
His eyes held the relaxed ease of someone for whom everything was already over.
"That guy delayed our plans a bit. We're leaving before sunrise.
Assign someone to night watch tonight. You never know if another strange one might pop up."
"Understood. Let's drink our fill when we get to Sodador Territory."
The sky was nearing dawn.
Two moons rose through the faint mist.
The red and blue light overlapped, slowly pushing back the darkness beyond the valley.
Min-chan's group was silently sprinting through the rocky terrain of the northern valley.
It was the fastest path to the Sodador Territory.
And at its end, a faint light was flickering in the mist.
"Stop. From now on, we move slowly."
Min-chan raised a hand and clenched his fist while running.
It was a short, decisive command. Everyone's movements instantly stopped.
Dam-bi lowered her waist, exhaling ragged breaths.
Min-chan approached her and asked quietly.
"Are you okay? You would have been safer waiting in the village."
"Just waiting… doesn't change anything."
Dam-bi wiped the sweat from her forehead and raised her head.
"Whatever this world is like, we have to go through it together. For my own sake, too."
After a brief silence, Min-chan nodded quietly.
Young-ho and Young-beom looked at each other silently, exchanging glances,
and Tae-geon silently exhaled, clenching his fists.
U-am and Pungpyo, their bodies low behind the rocks, scanned their surroundings with eyes that wouldn't miss a single detail.
The air was filled with the smell of food, the scent of burning smoke, and low laughter carried on the wind.
The atmosphere before the ambush was thick with tension.
"I'm good. I think we can go now."
Dam-bi said quietly, having caught her breath.
They moved silently, as if melting into the darkness like shadows.
Min-chan's group lowered themselves into the shadows where the light didn't reach.
Not far away, beneath the flickering torchlight, a few slave hunters were laughing as they ate gruel.
A moment later, Tae-geon signaled with his hand.
'Three in front of the campfire, one on each flank.'
Min-chan replied with his eyes.
'Acknowledged. Operation start.'
At that moment, the shadows scattered.
Pungpyo and U-am spread out to the left and right, quietly climbing into the trees.
Bowstrings were drawn, and arrowheads aimed at the necks of the men on watch.
Min-chan, along with Tae-geon and Young-ho, crept low through the bushes.
"Begin."
Min-chan whispered, putting a hand on the ground.
He picked up a small stone and threw it towards the cave entrance.
"…Did the relief team come already?"
The glances that reacted to the sound simultaneously turned in that direction.
With a short twang, two arrows tore through the darkness.
The arrows lodged into the throats of the two men on watch.
Without a single scream, they clutched the arrows and collapsed.
"W-what?! An… an enemy—!"
Before he could finish his words,
Min-chan, Tae-geon, and Young-ho's bodies simultaneously burst out of the bushes.
Min-chan, who rushed out first, ran in a straight line without a moment's hesitation,
planting his foot directly into the man's chest.
His ribs caved in, and the man's body skidded across the ground, bouncing away.
Tae-geon grabbed the man right next to him.
With a twist of his hair, he shifted his center of gravity and slammed him to the ground.
The man's body went limp, his neck broken.
"Ugh, Aaaah—!"
The last remaining man, terrified, screamed and turned to run.
Young-ho's thrown hatchet flew in a silvery arc.
It lodged into his back, and his body arched like a bow before he crashed to the ground.
"I'm pretty good at throwing stones."
Young-ho shrugged his shoulder.
Min-chan searched the fallen man's clothes.
The feel of old paper touched his fingertips.
A folded map.
When he opened it, it showed a rough drawing of the cave's passages and a location marker.
"That must be… their temporary dwelling."
Dam-bi, who had approached, said.
The torches planted on either side of the entrance flickered, their shadows dancing on the rock wall.
Min-chan nodded, folded the map, put it in his pocket, and straightened up.
"Tae-geon hyung. Just in case, go around the entrance and secure an escape route.
Dam-bi, wait here in front.
U-am, Pungpyo, go up to the high ground. Signal immediately if reinforcements come."
Their eyes met for a moment.
Dam-bi nodded, and Tae-geon replied curtly.
"Inside…"
Min-chan looked at the remaining members.
"Me, Young-ho, and Young-beom. We'll go in as a trio."
"Are you sure?"
At Tae-geon's question, Min-chan replied firmly.
"It's the only way to be quiet."
His eyes pierced through the dark.
"If they're alive—we'll bring them back, no matter what."
After he finished speaking, Min-chan, Young-ho, and Young-beom lowered their bodies and disappeared into the darkness.
The cave was filled with the smell of dampness and rock dust.
Beyond the narrow, winding passage, a faint light tore through the darkness.
"There are… two men on watch. Their defenses are weak."
Young-ho whispered, holding his breath.
Min-chan narrowed his eyes, his vision focused.
Beyond the darkness, under a faint torch, two men were leaning against the fork in the path, dozing.
"Hyung-nim, just say the word. I'll get them all."
Young-beom showed his teeth in a fierce smile.
Young-beom and Young-ho were ready to pounce at any moment, their feet tense.
'They're more careless than I thought. Now would be the time…'
For a moment, a short furrow appeared between Min-chan's eyebrows.
This was one of the slave hunters' dwellings on the way to Sodador.
If enemy reinforcements were to come, the Guryeo team, with their small numbers, couldn't handle it.
The best option was to deal with them quickly here and now, and erase all traces.
'After rescuing the hostages, kill everyone. Erase all traces.'
Min-chan's eyes became chillingly cold.
Min-chan pointed forward with his fingertip.
A small gesture.
With just that signal, the three of them chose the shadowed areas and moved forward.
The distance to the sentries shortened.
Holding their breaths, they felt the unevenness of the stone floor, approaching step by step.
Min-chan signaled with his eyes.
'Start from the left.'
Young-ho leaped out of the shadows towards the man on the left.
One hand covered his mouth, while a knife glinted in the other.
The blade went into the first sentry's side at a diagonal angle, just brushing the surface.
His eyes wide, he let out a sound like air escaping and sank to the ground helplessly.
The man dozing next to him felt something was wrong and turned his head.
"Hey, you there…"
The moment the sentry's head turned, Young-beom slid behind him and covered his mouth.
The man's eyes widened, and he trembled.
A blade was already touching his Adam's apple.
Min-chan walked slowly out of the darkness.
An expressionless face, a low voice.
"Don't answer, just nod your head.
Inside there—are the people you captured still alive?"
The man inhaled sharply.
His eyes wavered, and his jaw trembled subtly up and down.
'They're alive.'
Min-chan nodded.
"Good."
His vocal cords were slit, and blood frothed from the man's throat before he went limp and fell.
"Let's move."
Min-chan said curtly.
After a short walk in the darkness, a faint light appeared where the path bent.
Min-chan pressed his body against the wall, slowly peeking his head out.
A flickering torch inside cast chaotic shadows on the floor.
'It's the Guryeo people.'
On one side, slave hunters were sleeping in a huddled group covered by blankets,
and on the adjacent wall, two people were slumped inside a crude iron cage.
'Do-yoon…'
Min-chan's gaze shifted, and he saw a familiar crown of a head.
Next to a pile of supplies, like a piece of baggage, was Do-yoon, his arms chained to the wall and his head lowered.
"That's Do-yoon."
Young-beom said, peeking his head out from behind Min-chan.
Do-yoon blinked and raised his head at the familiar presence.
"…Hyung?"
"Shh!"
Min-chan put his index finger to his lips and said in a low voice.
"Kill everyone now."
Young-beom and Young-ho moved quietly, precisely ending the lives of the sleeping slave hunters.
Not a single sound of breath or scream escaped.
After a brief tremor, a strange silence fell as their bodies grew cold.
"How did you know to come here? I was planning to go back tomorrow…"
Do-yoon said with a hoarse voice.
The corners of his mouth barely turned up, but his voice was exhausted.
"Oh my, look at the state you're in, all tattered like a rag."
"But since your mouth is still alive, you must be doing alright."
Young-ho and Young-beom said, chuckling as if joking.
But a hint of pity flashed in their eyes.
Min-chan approached Do-yoon without a word.
The wrist chained by the iron manacle was caked with dried blood, and his eyes were swollen and bruised.
But—his gaze was still alive.
"Young-ho, the key."
Min-chan said curtly.
Young-ho rummaged through a dead slave hunter's waistband, pulled out a clumsy bundle of iron keys, and tossed it.
Min-chan unlocked the chains binding Do-yoon.
With the sound of the chains coming undone, Do-yoon's body slumped forward helplessly.
Min-chan instinctively caught his shoulder, holding him.
"When we get back… you and I are doing some special training."
Min-chan's voice was low and indifferent.
But the tips of his fingers, supporting Do-yoon's shoulder, were gentle.
"Uh… hyung."
Do-yoon barely raised his head, then thought for a moment. He managed a smile and said.
"Can't you just… tie me back up?"
Min-chan blinked for a moment as if bewildered, then sighed and gently patted Do-yoon's head.
Young-ho and Young-beom also let out a small laugh, and for a moment, the tension was released.
Meanwhile, outside the cave…
Two slave hunters returning from an outside patrol stopped at the cave entrance.
"Hey… do you smell blood here?"
The man in front wrinkled his nose.
His companion behind him sniffed and stopped abruptly.
"Yeah. Where's the relief team? They were here a moment ago. …Huh?"
He looked down at the ground.
Under the torchlight, a dark smear.
A trail of something dragged on the ground, along with a red bloodstain, led into the cave.
"…What is this?"
Suddenly, the sound of a small twig breaking was heard from somewhere.
The two men simultaneously raised their heads.
"W-who's there? Hey! Don't play games!"
But—at that moment.
Something long flew from the darkness and wrapped around one of their necks.
"What?!"
A rope that shot out from the darkness tightened, wrapping around the man's neck.
"Ugh!"
One of the slave hunters was dragged into the dark bushes without a scream.
The sound of something breaking was heard, and the bushes fell silent.
"Damn it…"
The remaining man instinctively pulled out his knife.
But at that moment—a gentle breeze brushed past him.
A red talisman from a branch above fluttered down like a swallow and stuck to his back.
"…Guh… Ugh, no…"
His eyes clouded over.
The tip of his knife, held in his trembling hand, wavered towards his own jaw.
A clear, yet sharp sound of a bell.
Then the man's body collapsed.
Tae-geon walked out of the bushes quietly,
and Dam-bi slid down from the branch above.
In her slightly trembling hand, a bronze bell was hanging.
The vibrations that had just rung were still on her fingertips.
Tae-geon approached quietly, looking at her fingertips.
"…Dam-bi. You don't have to push yourself."
His tone was as calm as ever, but there was a clear concern in it.
Dam-bi quietly inhaled.
The trembling in her fingertips hadn't faded, but the corners of her lips turned up.
"I'm okay. I was a priestess of Chiyoo in my past life."
"I've seen… countless deaths."
But—
that was just a story from some distant memory.
With these hands, at this moment,
it was the first time she had led a person to death.
Dam-bi slowly nodded and
bit down hard on the inside of her lip.
The taste of blood in her mouth made reality even clearer.
"I'm… really okay."
She carefully put the bell into her pocket as if nothing had happened.
However, the fist that clenched her fingertips was white.
Just then.
From the old cart parked in front of the cave, a low, hoarse moan emerged.
"Ugh… w-what is this…?"
"Why… why…?"
Poking their heads out from under the tarp on the cart were—
the injured men who had collapsed after Do-yoon broke their ankles and tore their ligaments.
At that moment.
From somewhere, a hatchet the size of a man's torso flew, cutting through the darkness.
Heads were crushed and upper bodies were mangled, scattering red blood.
There wasn't even a scream.
The bodies, which had toppled out of the cart like logs, fell with a thud.
Tae-geon and Dam-bi instinctively lowered their bodies, scanning their surroundings.
From beyond the forest—two familiar presences were running towards them, their breaths ragged.
"Pungpyo? …U-am?!"
Dam-bi exclaimed in surprise.
However—behind them, something caught in the moonlight was chasing them.
Bigger than a person…
With yellow eyes that exuded a more ferocious energy than a beast.
'What is that?'