Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 7

Nine Dragons Chronicle (7)

“Damn it… Why does a mission like this require the entire unit to move? We lost six men in the last mission.”

Hyuk-kwang, the squad leader, questioned his superior, the commander of the Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit.

“Complaining to me won’t change the mission.”

“Son of a bitch, they’re openly telling us to die now. What the hell. What’s the point of protecting the country with all this effort when they just push us to our deaths?”

Curses spilled from Hyuk-kwang’s mouth, but the commander only sighed in response.

As he said, they were protecting the country at the risk of their lives, but no one seemed to remember their sacrifices.

“The target for this elimination is the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan of the Great Plains. Be ready!”

At the mention of the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, Hyuk-kwang narrowed his eyes.

“Aren’t they the most notorious bandit group in the Great Plains?”

“We recently received information that they are consolidating bandit groups, and it seems they have already attracted quite a few.”

“So?”

“If they unite the bandits and turn their blades towards the Central Plains or the Great Plains, both the Central Plains and the various tribes of the Great Plains could be stained with blood.”

“Now we have to think about the tribes of the Great Plains too?”

He asked with a dumbfounded expression, and the commander took a deep breath and said.

“If they absorb and merge not only the bandits but also the tribes of the Great Plains, where do you think they’ll go next? If they only absorb the bandits and come down to the Central Plains, we can endure some sacrifices, but if they devour the tribes and then come to the Central Plains, the corpses and blood of the people will form mountains and rivers.”

“Are you saying the Central Plains army can’t stop the Great Plains?”

“Haa…”

He sighed as if frustrated and then opened his mouth.

“If the Great Plains come down, do you think the other border regions will miss this opportunity? Xinjiang [Northwest China], Xizang [Tibet], Miaojiang [region in Southern China known for its ethnic minorities], Wolha, Tapri, Heilongjiang [province in Northeast China], and even the colored-eye countries [historical term for Western countries] above them and the ones across the sea… the entire Central Plains could be engulfed in war.”

“Isn’t that too much of an exaggeration? War doesn’t happen that easily.”

“Hyuk-kwang, as you said, war doesn’t happen easily. But if the circumstances align, war can happen very easily.”

“That damn war talk…”

“If you have nothing more to say, go back and wait.”

Hyuk-kwang glared at the commander once and then left his house.

“Haa, how many more have to die to wipe those bastards out? A hundred? Two hundred…”

Fighting against the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, the largest and strongest of the Great Plains bandits, would surely result in the death of most of the unit members.

After that, the strength of the Central Plains army would be known in the border regions and beyond, and they would lie low for a while, and during that time, new members would be recruited and driven to their deaths.

“How many martial arts masters are there in the Central Plains that they keep enlisting like this?”

This was another one of the unknown things. Was it really, as someone said, that they were sent to the Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit to eliminate rivals from the martial world…?

Hyuk-kwang grumbled to himself and arrived at the inn, which was doing quite well with the passing travelers. Hwa-rin said the assistant squad leader’s food was terrible, but among the inns in the trade city, it was known as an inn that cooked decent food.

As Hyuk-kwang entered the restaurant, he saw Hwa-rin and a few other unit members diligently moving between the tables and the kitchen, carrying food and clearing dishes.

“Have you arrived?”

Hyuk-kwang was acting as the owner of this inn.

“Hwa-rin, go to the kitchen and tell the head chef I want to see him. And you come too.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hyuk-kwang took a seat at an empty table, and soon after, Assistant Squad Leader Jin-sung and Hwa-rin came out together and sat across from him.

—The entire unit is deploying. The opponent this time is the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan of the Great Plains.—

As Hyuk-kwang sent the telepathic message, the two of them showed startled expressions.

“I’m thinking of letting go of some people from the inn this time.”

He pretended to be talking about the inn, unlike the telepathic message, to avoid arousing suspicion from the people sitting in the restaurant.

While being in this Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit, he had studied the powerful forces of the border regions and beyond, and he knew too well what kind of people were gathered in the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan.

—Are we closing the inn?—

Assistant Squad Leader Jin-sung asked.

“How many people?”

—We’re taking all the new recruits this time, and everyone except the minimum number will deploy.—

—How many are you planning to leave behind?—

—Five!—

“I don’t know yet, but the inn’s profits haven’t been good lately, so we need to cut labor costs.”

That many were needed to run the inn, so it meant that twenty-five people would be deploying, excluding them.

—And the three of us are definitely deploying.—

—Why?—

Hwa-rin spoke as if dissatisfied.

—Isn’t it to save even one more person?—

—Save my ass… Then the regular army should be sent for this kind of deployment.—

—Don’t you know that would mean war between the two countries?—

—So, you’re going to kill perfectly good kids?—

—They’re not perfectly good. They’re all guys who caused trouble in the martial world and guys who caused trouble in their families…—

—Excuses?—

“And save on ingredient costs too. If you keep giving them away like that, I’ll cut you off first.”

—Understood.—

—It’s not fair that some people only fight to the death, and some people only work to death in the restaurant.—

—Don’t worry. I’m taking them all out this time to be shields. We can’t endure it like this. We need to use the new recruits as shields to save the existing members and make them stronger. That’s how we can reduce sacrifices.—

—We’ve been talking about doing that since a year ago.—

Hwa-rin shouted telepathically, sounding annoyed.

—I thought they would be grateful to us for saving them and work harder.—

—You shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts [derogatory term for untrustworthy people] and bestow favors on them.—

—Alright. I can’t tell who’s the squad leader and who’s the subordinate.—

“Anyway, keep that in mind and take care of things. I’m going to the warehouse to check the inventory and come out.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two got up and left to do their respective jobs.

Hyuk-kwang sighed and got up from his seat, and the customers gave him words of encouragement one by one. Hyuk-kwang smiled awkwardly at the sight and walked to the warehouse.

Hwa-rin, who was clearing the tables, had an annoyed expression on his face, and the junior members carefully watched Hwa-rin’s mood and did their work cautiously.

“If you get on my nerves, I’ll kill you.”

The junior members flinched at Hwa-rin’s words and quickly cleared the tables before getting out of Hwa-rin’s sight.

“Oh, these guys… Not working? Want to get fired! I was already thinking of letting go of a few because business isn’t good. Ugh!”

Hwa-rin vented his anger on the strict junior members and then left the restaurant.

“I think that friend will be the first to get fired.”

* * *

The Great Plains!

It’s called the Great Plains, but in reality, it’s a place similar to a desert full of sand. Most of the tribes living here lead nomadic lives in search of green pastures, making it a barren land.

Some cities are developed like those in the Central Plains, and the people living there enjoy prosperous lives, but most of the tribes live nomadic lives.

The bandits of the Great Plains are robbers who raid these nomadic tribes, stealing their sheep and horses or plundering their food. There were about a hundred large and small bandit groups operating in the Great Plains.

The Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, the largest and most powerful of the bandit groups, was a force that dominated the shadows of the Great Plains. The people of the Great Plains called the leader of the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan the Dark Great Khan [title for a powerful leader] and feared him.

Rimha, where the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan’s base was located, was one of the few forested areas in the Great Plains.

This place, named Rimha because the green forest looked like the blue water of a river, was occupied by the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan and the bandit groups that cooperated with them, and even the other large tribes could not enter without permission.

In this Rimha, Yulappa, the Dark Great Khan, the leader of the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, was no different from a king.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

That lush Rimha was burning. The fire was not starting in one place but was breaking out from all directions, and a fierce battle was taking place in the burning forest.

“Damn it, I knew it. If you accept just anyone, spies can infiltrate and operate within the unit.”

The man who was cursing and fiercely wielding his sword was none other than Hwa-rin.

His sword was flickering with flames that seemed ready to melt the sword at any moment, and he was wielding such a sword without hesitation, fighting against the bandits of the Great Plains.

A man was strapped to his back, none other than Squad Leader Hyuk-kwang.

He appeared to be seriously injured, and Hwa-rin was fighting while carrying him to save him.

“Leave me. Then you can live.”

Hyuk-kwang told him to abandon him.

“Don’t say unlucky things. If the squad leader dies, who will be the squad leader?”

“You can do it.”

“Are you cursing me? Do you think I’ll stay in this damn unit forever?”

Hwa-rin leaped into the air, did a somersault, and swung his sword as he came down, and flames shot out from the sword, engulfing the bandits.

Boom!

The fireball covered the bandits, burning them cruelly, and some of the flames spread to the trees and grass, burning them.

The Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit had ambushed the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, which was consolidating bandit groups as planned, but their surprise attack was exposed by a spy who had previously entered the Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit, and they were being surrounded and hunted by the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan and its subordinate bandit groups.

Although they were surrounded by the Blood Wolf Bandit Clan, all the members of the Man-Eating Vipers Special Assault Unit were soldiers who had achieved some level of martial arts, so they were concentrating on the fight and trying to break through the encirclement.

“Hwa-rin, please. Put me down.”

“Shut up. You’re making me crazy enough as it is.”

Hwa-rin’s figure moved sideways instantaneously as if using an illusionary shift.

Swish, swish, swish…

Instantly, a dozen arrows fell where Hwa-rin had been.

Hwa-rin looked into the distance and searched for the ones who had shot the arrows. Then, as he swung his sword at them, the energy gathered at the tip of the sword was released through the sword.

“Sword… Sword Qi [energy blade]!”

The Sword Qi stretched out forward, cutting through anything that blocked it, and covered the place where the archers were.

The bandits hurriedly moved to avoid it, but the speed at which Hwa-rin’s Sword Qi stretched out was faster than they had expected.

“Kuaaaak!”

As screams erupted, Hwa-rin quickly moved away. Staying in one place for too long would make him a target for the enemies.

“Please. Hwa-rin, put me down.”

Hyuk-kwang opened his mouth with difficulty and spoke.

“Squad Leader!”

“Hwa-rin.”

Hwa-rin, who was moving between the trees, put Hyuk-kwang down against a tree only after he had distanced himself from the bandits to some extent.

“Wait a moment. I’ll stop the bleeding again.”

“It’s okay. Stop it. I know my body better than anyone.”

“Squad Leader…”

Hyuk-kwang gave Hwa-rin an awkward smile. Then, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“If you survive and get discharged, please do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

Hyuk-kwang nodded.

“What favor?”

“Have you heard of the Danri family in the Central Plains?”

“The Danri family? No, I’m not connected to the Central Plains yet.”

“Is that so? The Danri family is my brother’s family.”

Hwa-rin looked at Hyuk-kwang.

“Danri Hyuk-kwang, the name my parents gave me.”

“So what?”

“Actually, my brother’s family wasn’t doing so well. My parents passed away early due to martial arts disputes, and I raised my younger siblings, but it became increasingly difficult.”

Hwa-rin looked at Danri Hyuk-kwang.

“I was so tired that I abandoned my siblings and ran away. I hated the miserable life.”

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“There’s money I’ve saved in the inn’s warehouse. Can you find my siblings and give them that money? There was a servant at the time. So, my siblings are probably living with the servant.”

“The squad leader can go and give it to them himself.”

“Hehe. Look at my state now, whether I can live. Hwa-rin, please promise me you’ll do it. Think of it as the price for me saving your life in the past.”

“Damn it…”

Curses came out of Hwa-rin’s mouth involuntarily. He knew it too.

That Danri Hyuk-kwang would die soon!

“Please.”

Eventually, Hwa-rin nodded, and Danri Hyuk-kwang, seeing that, leaned against the tree and smiled. Then, he closed his eyes.

Hwa-rin bit down hard enough to break his teeth. He was forcibly holding back the tears that seemed about to come out, and from Hwa-rin’s appearance, one could feel how angry he was right now.

“That’s why this thing called affection is…”

Hwa-rin turned his back on the closed-eyed Danri Hyuk-kwang.

“I’ll survive and get discharged, even if it’s just because I’m disgusted by it. Brother!”