Ch. 38
We headed to the mountain bandit stronghold we had seen before.
On the way, whenever we stopped to feed the horses, we gathered the children and told them where we were going and what we were going to do.
I hadn't counted the children one by one when I brought them out, but when I lined them all up and counted, there were a total of fifty-seven.
I wondered how long those children could maintain that number.
At first, there must have been many more.
Then, the number must have been forcibly reduced by the Valley Lord and the instructors.
They were children who had survived by fighting life-and-death battles and killing other children.
Just like me and Pae Maseong.
"Even if you increase from here, don't decrease."
When I said that, the children's eyes reddened as if they had understood the meaning of those words.
Having endured in Nether Shadow Valley and lived a harsh life, their tears should have dried up by now, but seeing their eyes redden, I felt a sense of pity.
"I'm sorry, but you have to get stronger quickly. Other people won't fight for you. We were lucky to have a good master, so we learned martial arts and have endured until now, but you won't be so lucky."
At that, a child shook his head and said.
"We are lucky enough."
Then he glanced at me and continued.
"Can we call you Senior Brother?"
"Senior Brother? Me? Why?"
At that, the children pleaded to be allowed to call me that.
Since I wasn't much older than them, I could understand them wanting to call me Senior Brother, but I didn't understand why they were doing it to me and not Pae Maseong.
Anyone could see that Pae Maseong was stronger, and it was Pae Maseong who had been leading the rescue until now.
But Pae Maseong also had a pleased face and nodded.
"Yes, do that. You can be the Senior Brother, Socheong."
Since even Pae Maseong said that, I was bewildered and looked at the guys and asked.
"Then what are you going to call Pae Maseong?"
"We can call him Senior Brother Pae."
The children said without any hesitation, as if they had been thinking about it for a while.
Come to think of it, the children must have often seen Pae Maseong even from a distance.
Even after we left Nether Shadow Valley, Pae Maseong had been to Nether Shadow Valley a few times as a member of the Cho family.
'Is that why? To these kids, Pae Maseong is perceived as a person from the Cho family?'
But since it didn't seem like I would get an answer just by racking my brain, I decided to just go with it for now.
The Senior Brother of the children.
So many junior brothers.
Somehow, I had ended up with fifty-seven junior brothers at once, and I was confused about whether I should be happy about it or not.
Well, it'll work out somehow.
The children had much more comfortable-looking faces than at first.
Are they happy because they suddenly got a Senior Brother like me?
On the way, Pae Maseong and I told them about the method to attack the mountain bandit stronghold we were going to.
And Pae Maseong tamed the poisonous creatures in his spare time.
At that time, several children would gather around Pae Maseong and watch him tame the poisonous creatures.
It was the same for me.
Since I also had to learn that diligently from now on, I tried not to miss what Pae Maseong was doing.
"Socheong, you definitely seem to have more talent than me."
When Pae Maseong said that, it seemed like he was trying to boost my confidence in front of the other kids, but it still felt good.
Even if Pae Maseong was better at swordsmanship and other martial arts, I couldn't help but feel good thinking that I was better at one thing.
Among the other children, there were also children who had a talent for taming poisonous creatures.
They were agile and bold children, and Pae Maseong fed the children a small amount of poison to build up their tolerance.
As he did so, he explained to the children.
"The children who have been trained in Nether Shadow Valley are much stronger against poison than other people. A very strong poison energy seeps out from the underground cave and always stays in Nether Shadow Valley, and it gets thicker and thicker as time goes on because it is blocked by the formation around Nether Shadow Valley. You have been enduring until now by always drinking that. The same goes for the horses that lived in Nether Shadow Valley."
That was something I didn't know.
But after hearing the story, it really seemed to be the case.
The children seemed to be glad to hear that they had developed a tolerance to poison without even knowing it.
"In fact, the fact that you drove the carriages with the poisonous creatures is proof of that. Other people would have collapsed from the enormous energy that the poisonous creatures emit."
It really seemed that those words were right, and we nodded repeatedly.
"Even if you can't see them, the poisonous creatures are in a state where they are very angry, so a huge amount of poison energy is being emitted. That's also why we can't go to the inns. If we had passed through a village, there would have been a succession of people collapsing wherever our carriages passed. The same goes for other horses and livestock."
"Ah, we're really amazing."
"Yes, that's right."
From then on, the children showed great interest in the poisonous creatures.
If the children were not attacked by the poisonous creatures or put in danger because of them, there was no reason to spare the poisonous creatures.
On the spot, Pae Maseong distributed the poisonous creatures to the children.
At first, the children who had been vaguely scared gradually gained courage after knowing that their bodies had already developed a tolerance to poison.
"Don't let people know that you can handle poisonous creatures, and don't rely on it. Make people perceive that your main and only weapon is the sword. Then you will be able to survive when your life is in danger. And be sure to kill the people who know that you have poisonous creatures. As long as the secret is kept, the poisonous creatures will become an extra life for you."
When I said that, the children all nodded at once.
"When you go to the mountain bandit stronghold, you should stay in a safe place and watch what Pae Maseong does diligently. At this stage, there is nothing more important for you than a good observation."
"Can't we watch you, Senior Brother?"
"No. I'm also going to watch Pae Maseong."
At that, the children said, "Ah," and nodded.
If they heard what I said, they would know that Pae Maseong was much better than me, but it was strange that their respect for me did not fade in the slightest.
* * *
Although the order of things had changed, Pae Maseong and I headed back to the mountain bandit stronghold we had been aiming for.
Our next target, Biryongchae, was fully prepared even before we went.
It was to the point where it seemed as if they knew in advance that we would be coming.
That was something we could also easily predict.
Other mountain bandit strongholds had been subjugated one after another, and it would not have been difficult to find out that they had the commonality of having plundered the cargo of the Danli family's Silver Wind Force.
So, it was easy to imagine that the places that had plundered the Silver Wind Force's cargo would be trembling in fear by now.
Because we had stopped by Nether Shadow Valley without attacking the mountain bandit stronghold right away, the fear and anxiety they felt might have grown even more.
It was as if we had unintentionally tortured them.
Pae Maseong circled the mountain bandit stronghold again.
"He's grasping the structure and terrain. That's how he can find out the guys' escape routes. Pae Maseong is going to completely subjugate them so that not a single one escapes from here. So it's important to know in advance who is likely to escape where."
While I was explaining, the children listened diligently with sparkling eyes.
"First, he'll use the poisonous creatures to create chaos. This method is useful because the mountain bandits live in a crowded, narrow space."
Not long after I spoke, Pae Maseong flew on the buildings, and from then on, loud screams erupted without end.
"If this happens, it will be difficult for the mountain bandits to carry out their orders even if they are given. Even if they are told to gather or to protect the chief, if a scorpion is attached to their body and they feel pain, they can't do that. Then, confusion will arise in the chain of command, and it will collapse."
The children nodded with surprised faces.
They had faces that said they hadn't known that even that was intended.
"Now it's fire. At times like this, there's nothing more frightening than fire. We might hesitate if we see a pitiful person, but fire doesn't. It swallows everything, regardless of who or what is in front of it. When we're on the defending side, fire is tricky, but since we're in the position of subjugating the mountain bandit stronghold, fire becomes our ally."
Almost at the same time as I finished speaking, fires erupted from various places.
"If this happens, people will now run to the places where there are things to protect. Then, we can wait there and hunt them easily. Now, we can go there and see how Pae Maseong kills people."
The children seemed to be anxious to see it quickly.
"Everyone, move carefully. You must not be discovered. Since you are children of Nether Shadow Valley, I believe you will be good at hiding your presence."
At that, the children nodded with proud faces.
The results of the harsh training showed at times like this.
Even after saying that, I thought that there would be children who would make mistakes, but since they were children who had survived until now, they were different.
Without needing my hand, they quietly followed and each climbed up a tall tree and took their positions.
They were hiding their presence quite plausibly, to the extent that you wouldn't be able to find out where they were unless you spread your ki sense.
Pae Maseong, perhaps knowing that the children were watching him, moved like the wind and efficiently took care of the mountain bandits.
Pae Maseong, who had been fighting like that for a long time, perhaps thinking that it would be good to teach the children of Nether Shadow Valley a sword art that they could use in a real battle, suddenly changed his martial art.
What he had been unfolding until then was too much for the children of Nether Shadow Valley to follow, but when the sword art suddenly changed, it seemed that the mountain bandits were rather flustered.
The children of Nether Shadow Valley would be watching with more concentration than ever before.
Just because he was unfolding a sword form that children with low martial prowess could do, did Pae Maseong's sword techniques become even a little dull? That was absolutely not the case.
When a master who had reached the pinnacle unfolded even the most basic sword form, it was by no means ordinary, and Pae Maseong's was like that.
Although the current Pae Maseong could not be said to have reached the pinnacle, his sword form was definitely sharp.
The children who saw that would be able to realize what they had to do when they did it in the future, and what they had been doing wrong until now, and correct it.
At that moment, a group of people from behind Pae Maseong tried to attack him.
Pae Maseong must have also noticed it, but there was no reason to make him fight a complicated battle when he still had a lot to do here.
When I kicked off the ground and flew, swinging my sword, the people who had not known I was there were surprised and hastily blocked it.
(End of Chapter)