The Frontlines. (1)
Rotting land filled only with dried, dead trees.
The sky was clear without a single cloud, but.
With the surrounding energy as it was, even that sky felt gloomy in reality.
'...Damn it.'
Bi Yeon-seom, the young master of the Rain Gate and almost its only surviving member, thought.
He resented his own situation in this bullshit scenario.
-Grrrr!
Along with the beast's roar, sharp claws flew at him.
*Thwack!*
Seeing this, Bi Yeon-seom pulled up his inner qi and quickly rolled on the ground.
His body rolled on the ground ungracefully, but.
Thanks to that, he was able to avoid the demonic beast's attack.
Of course, that didn't mean the danger was over.
'...Damn it...!'
He had heard that the frontlines were dangerous since he was young, but.
The reality was far more extreme.
Not only green demonic beasts, but rarely seen blue demonic beasts were everywhere.
The unintelligent demonic beasts were somehow even moving in packs.
-Kraaang!
A blue-class demonic beast resembling a tiger howled.
Perhaps because of that, other demonic beasts could be seen swarming from afar.
'...What should I do?'
Grinding his teeth, Bi Yeon-seom looked around, but.
Escaping from an open space was not easy.
How did it end up like this?
'Fuck....'
To save a crumbling sect.
It had already been half a year since he walked into the Martial Alliance on his own two feet.
Even when he was assigned to the frontlines, considering he had scraped by as a late-stage master.
Bi Yeon-seom thought it was somewhat okay.
The frontlines were a place where bloodlines of prestigious families often came and went by the Alliance's orders.
He thought he could build some connections there.
However.
The frontlines he actually arrived at were a far more nonsensical place than he had imagined.
The demonic beasts littering the surroundings due to improper handling, and.
The land ruined by the brutality of the demonic beasts was all that was guarding the frontlines.
'If I had known it would be like this....'
Late regrets rushed in.
If I had known it would be like this.
Whether it was the Martial Alliance or whatever, I should have just stayed holed up in the sect and trained.
*Thud!*
"Keugh!"
Bi Yeon-seom failed to properly block the demonic beast's attack and was pushed back.
If it had been just one or two, he could have blocked them.
The number of demonic beasts swarming in was just too many to withstand.
Rolling on the ground once more, he hurriedly raised his body, but.
-Grrr...
...
The demonic beast was already right in front of Bi Yeon-seom's nose.
Breathing out rough breaths, saliva dripping from its mouth from a spiked appetite.
The gaze of a beast of prey facing its catch was terrifying enough to give goosebumps.
"You son of a bitch...!"
The moment death loomed right before his eyes.
Bi Yeon-seom recalled the comrades of the Martial Alliance who had abandoned him.
No, comrades my ass.
They were nothing but trash...!
How could they do that while bearing the name of the Orthodox Faction.
'My sin is great for trusting such bastards.'
If not that, he should have at least engraved the warning given at the beginning into his mind.
The words spoken by the man who managed the martial artists when he first came to the frontlines naturally came to mind.
-By any chance, do not go in deep. It is not our domain, and moreover.
-Because it is a place managed by 'them'.
He should have engraved those words a bit more deeply.
The only thought that crossed his mind now was just that.
His sin for not following his grandfather's words that the world outside was too dangerous and one shouldn't easily trust others.
Bi Yeon-seom had such thoughts as the demonic beast gradually approached.
Just before the demonic beast widely opened its mouth to swallow Bi Yeon-seom's head.
At the foul stench and sharp fangs, Bi Yeon-seom squeezed his eyes tightly shut.
*Shhwik-!*
A gruesome sound was heard.
Bi Yeon-seom felt something was strange.
*Patter.*
"Ptoo! Ptoo!"
Unknown liquid poured down his face.
Spitting out dry coughs continuously, Bi Yeon-seom rubbed his face with the back of his hand and barely opened his eyes.
"...!"
At the sight revealed through his slightly opened eyes, Bi Yeon-seom had no choice but to gape.
The demonic beasts that had been surrounding him were all lying on the ground with their throats slit.
Even the demonic beast that had tried to swallow him was killed just like the others.
"W-What is this...."
Just as Bi Yeon-seom was about to look around in extreme bewilderment.
*Wuuung-*
A very faint sound brushed past Bi Yeon-seom's ears from behind.
It was a sound Bi Yeon-seom's grandfather, the sect master, had often let him hear when he was at his sect.
Sword Resonance (Jianming).
The proof that a swordsman had synchronized with their sword.
It was proof of becoming an outstanding-level swordsman.
When Bi Yeon-seom hurriedly turned his head toward the direction of the sound.
An unknown young man was looking at Bi Yeon-seom, holding his sword down.
With his face crumpled as if he didn't like something.
The corpses of demonic beasts, slashed to pieces everywhere.
And the blood flowing from them soaking the ground.
Leaving Bi Yeon-seom sitting blankly behind, the young man organized the situation.
I wondered how he would handle the demonic beasts, but.
He just roughly pulled out the profitable fangs, claws, and eyeballs, and gathered them in one corner.
If left like that, people from the Martial Alliance would probably appear and clean them up.
Or another demonic beast would eat them.
After the situation was roughly sorted out.
The young man started walking somewhere.
Bi Yeon-seom followed the young man with a limping gait.
The young man didn't tell him to follow, but.
For Bi Yeon-seom, there was no other choice.
He couldn't survive in this foul land with a half-broken body.
The problem was.
"Y-Young Hero...! Just a moment!"
No matter how desperately Bi Yeon-seom called out, the young man's steps did not stop.
"Young Hero! Please! Just wait a moment!"
Calling out until his throat burst.
Finally, the young man stopped walking and turned his head toward Bi Yeon-seom.
"..."
Only then able to properly see the young man's face, Bi Yeon-seom had to gasp.
'...He's handsome.'
He hadn't been able to see properly earlier because he was in a hurry.
Because the young man's appearance was quite outstanding.
And yet.
'He looks like someone I've seen somewhere...?'
It was a face that felt familiar for some reason.
The young man asked Bi Yeon-seom, his face thoroughly scrunched up in displeasure.
"Why are you following me."
"That is... If I stay there, I'll just die in vain...."
At the words spat out as if miserable, the young man's brows furrowed deeply.
"Aren't you a person of the Alliance?"
"...I am."
The clothes Bi Yeon-seom was wearing were clearly the uniform provided by the Alliance.
The sword hanging at his waist was the same.
Meaning, his attire was unmistakable.
"Then you should go there, why are you following me."
"..."
Bi Yeon-seom couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.
That his Alliance comrades had abandoned him.
Let alone that it happened because he foolishly didn't pay attention to his superior's words.
With his rat-sized pride, Bi Yeon-seom couldn't possibly bring himself to say it.
Did he notice something from looking at Bi Yeon-seom like that?
The young man let out a deep sigh and then moved his steps again.
However, if there was a slight difference.
It was that his walking pace had become somewhat slower than before.
As if telling Bi Yeon-seom to follow him.
In the meantime, the young man muttered quietly.
"Why does this kind of shit always get tangled up whenever I go out on reconnaissance?"
"...Excuse me?"
"It is nothing. Do not mind it. Ah, they're going to throw a fit again when I go back. Ugh...."
As if something was bothering him, the young man rubbed his forehead.
"Um.... Young Hero."
"Why are you calling me."
"Are you perhaps not a person of the Alliance, Young Hero?"
"Can't you tell by looking? I am not."
"Then, are you at least from the Orthodox Faction...?"
"If you keep annoyingly asking questions, I will leave you behind."
At the young man's firm words, Bi Yeon-seom clamped his mouth shut.
At the same time, he had to churn his thoughts in his head.
'Where is he affiliated...?'
It was somewhat ambiguous at a glance.
The frontlines were a place where various forces took turns coming.
Right now, the Huangbo Clan was separately stationed at the frontlines.
However, it was hard to see this young man as a martial artist of the Huangbo Clan.
Seeing as he lacked the sturdy energy characteristic of the Huangbo Clan, the young man was at least not from the Huangbo Clan.
Moreover, unlike the Huangbo Clan who were martial fighters, the young man was a swordsman.
'And one who can evoke Sword Resonance at that.'
That was why it was even more questionable.
If he could produce Sword Resonance at that age.
He should definitely be making a name for himself as an outstanding late-stage master.
At the very least, there was no such person among those he knew.
'...I've definitely seen that uniform somewhere.'
He had a clear memory of seeing the uniform with a deep reddish tint somewhere before.
When was it?
He had definitely seen it before....
"I'm telling you in advance."
"Yes?"
"If you're going to follow, it would be best not to do anything useless."
"...What do you mean?"
Is it a threat?
For a moment, he wondered if it was a threat and examined the young man's face, but.
It didn't seem like that.
'Is the place we're going to... a very dangerous place?'
He was very anxious heading there without knowing the destination.
Perhaps seeing Bi Yeon-seom trembling with anxiety, the young man added a word.
"This is not advice for you, but for me, so please be careful."
"Excuse me? What do you mean for you, Young Hero."
"...Because it looks like I'll be beaten to death for bringing another weird guy."
"...Excuse me?"
Beaten to death...? Who by whom?
"Damn it.... If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have followed."
Y-Young Hero?
"I wish you'd just go off somewhere and die."
The young man spitting out gruesome words one after another was somehow frightening, but.
Bi Yeon-seom had no other way.
Trembling in such a bizarre situation, he followed the young man on the road.
Passing the dried land, a forest came into view.
'That place is....'
It was a place Bi Yeon-seom knew as well.
The most dangerous place on the frontlines.
Was not the plains where Bi Yeon-seom almost died, but that forest.
Furthermore, the reason his superior told him not to go deep.
Was also because of that forest.
"That, Young Hero...."
"What is it."
"Is that where you are staying, Young Hero?"
"It is."
Answering roughly as if asking why such a thing was questioned.
The young man quickened his pace a bit.
Perhaps due to what happened earlier, with his legs all stiffened up, it was slightly overwhelming for Bi Yeon-seom to follow.
'...That place is.'
At the words that 'they' manage it.
Bi Yeon-seom hadn't been able to ask his superior who 'they' were.
Because there wasn't time for that.
"Y-Young Hero..."
"..."
...Ah.
Perhaps tired from the continuous calling, the young man's sigh was full of irritation.
Noticing this, Bi Yeon-seom flinched, but.
It was unavoidable. He had to ask what he had to ask.
"...It is nothing else. I am Bi Yeon-seom of the Rain Gate. If it isn't rude, I would like to ask for your name...!"
Ah."
Had he not even said his name?
The young man nodded with such an expression.
"Gu Jeol-yeop."
It was a short introduction.
However, perhaps feeling something was lacking, he added afterwards.
"...Gu Jeol-yeop of the Gu Clan."
There seemed to be a hesitation in adding the prefix.
As Gu Jeol-yeop turned his head awkwardly.
Bi Yeon-seom had to hide his inward shock.
'...The Hot-blooded Sword (Lie Xia Jian)?'
Surprisingly, Gu Jeol-yeop was a figure Bi Yeon-seom also knew.
Hot-blooded Sword Gu Jeol-yeop.
Although not a name widely known throughout the Central Plains.
He was a figure whose name was gradually spreading at least around the frontlines and its vicinity.
A figure who was slowly making his mark with his handsome appearance and skilled swordsmanship.
The name of the Hot-blooded Sword started to be heard a little from half a year ago.
It was around the time Bi Yeon-seom had just joined the Alliance at the frontlines.
'A young hero who takes care of martial artists left alone on the frontlines.'
He heard he was called something like that roughly.
Martial artists losing their lives on the frontlines was a common occurrence, but.
In the past half-year, that number had relatively decreased.
There was even a joke that if you were lucky, the Hot-blooded Sword might appear and save your life.
'He's much younger than I thought.'
That was why he hadn't even considered the possibility. He didn't know the Hot-blooded Sword would be the same age as him.
Bi Yeon-seom thought so while looking at Gu Jeol-yeop.
'But still.'
The Sword Resonance heard earlier was small in sound and shallow in vibration, but.
It felt vividly clear to his body.
While he himself was still struggling to even produce proper Sword Qi, let alone Sword Resonance.
'...A year has already passed since then.'
Last year, when he attended the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering with his grandfather's help.
The catalyst for Bi Yeon-seom, who was full of complacency and arrogance, to crash to rock bottom.
Bi Yeon-seom recalled last year's Martial Arts Tournament.
In the moment he resolved to definitely take the championship.
The face of the boy he faced at the tournament.
A boy who looked fierce and ill-tempered, and far younger than himself.
Bi Yeon-seom had rather felt sorry looking at the boy.
Because he had to trample over such a boy to rise.
However.
'I didn't know my place at all.'
Like that, the match began.
Just one exchange.
The victory was decided in an incredibly short single exchange.
The single exchange shared with the boy was impossible to even comprehend with Bi Yeon-seom's level, and furthermore.
With just that one time, he lost consciousness and had to roll on the floor of the tournament.
Recalling that time, Bi Yeon-seom muttered the boy's moniker.
'True Dragon (Zhenlong).'
True Dragon Gu Yang-cheon.
A martial artist whose whereabouts over the past year had many wondering what he was doing.
Judging by the overwhelming prowess and talent he showed at the tournament.
It was also a boy that many were certain would grow into a tremendous master in the future.
'There are far too many geniuses in the world.'
Bi Yeon-seom thought he himself stood in the same place as those kinds of people, but.
After meeting Gu Yang-cheon then, he had to change his mind.
It was right to say he realized his place.
'...Looking at it now, this Young Hero's surname happens to be.'
Gu.
It was a familiar ring.
Since the Hot-blooded Sword himself called it the Gu Clan, could they be from the same Clan?
...Could they be brothers? But they look too different for that.
'Their eyes are a bit similar, though....'
For True Dragon to be the Hot-blooded Sword's younger brother, the resemblance was too unfair.
If the younger brother looks like that, can the older brother look like this?
"...Did you say Young Hero Bi?"
At Gu Jeol-yeop's sudden question, Bi Yeon-seom reacted with a flinch.
"Ah, yes. I am Bi Yeon-seom."
"I see. We're almost there."
At Gu Jeol-yeop's words, Bi Yeon-seom glanced at what was straight ahead.
Only trees and rocks were visible so far.
The forest was safer than expected.
Unlike what was said about it being swarming with demonic beasts and covered in foul energy, making it quite dangerous.
To Bi Yeon-seom, the forest looked safer than the plains.
However, Bi Yeon-seom wouldn't know.
That Gu Jeol-yeop was pulling his internal energy to the extreme and only heading in a safe direction.
Glancing at Bi Yeon-seom following behind, Gu Jeol-yeop continued speaking.
"First, after we reach a safe place, I will send a separate message to the Alliance."
"My, to go through such trouble because of me.... Thank you truly...."
"...Yes, you really should be thankful."
"Excuse me?"
"Thanks to you, it seems I'll have to roll on the floor for a long time."
*Grind.*
The sound of grinding teeth came from the front.
It was definitely the Hot-blooded Sword grinding his teeth.
Did I hear that wrong?
"Now, I will tell you the precautions."
"Precautions...?"
"Yes, you must definitely follow them."
He felt a chill.
Was it about the characteristics of the demonic beasts, or how dangerous the forest was?
Having heard too much about the forest, he swallowed involuntarily.
Soon after, Gu Jeol-yeop began speaking to Bi Yeon-seom with a serious expression.
"...Even if it sounds like nonsense, don't act smart."
Huh?
"Excuse me? Young Hero, what did you just say..."
"Keep your mouth shut during meals. Especially if they seem to be eating steamed buns, do not mess with them."
"I'm sorry, but right now... what are you talking about?"
"These are words that will become your flesh and blood, so don't cut me off and make sure to engrave them in your mind. This is really important."
"...Yes."
"They already look ill-tempered normally, but especially when they look even more ill-tempered, don't even go near them. If you catch their eye, consider yourself dead and give up."
"..."
"And finally, though it shouldn't happen, if you have a question, you must ask it only when they are with a woman. If possible, ask when they are with a woman with blue eyes or blue and white hair."
"...Excuse me? A woman?"
"That's when they at least seem to try to hold back. This is the most useful tip."
What the heck.
He wondered what kind of joke this was, but.
Bi Yeon-seom couldn't dare object to Gu Jeol-yeop's words.
Because, to call it a joke, Gu Jeol-yeop's expression while speaking to Bi Yeon-seom was far too sincere.
Although he thought, what kind of bizarre words are these...
Realizing just how important those words actually were.
Didn't take very long.