We were running across the trees as if flying, heading into the western forest.
Bae Jong-gwan shouted while running.
“Will we be alright on our own?!”
Then Bi Sa-yeong asked back confidently.
“Why?! Are you scared?!”
“No, it’s not that, but the jungle is a bit dangerous these days?!”
“Hah! With the external arts and footwork of the three of us, a swarm of Wild Dog Ghosts is no problem now! Well, if it really doesn't work out, we can just run away! Besides, they said the Spider Ghost is in the eastern forest?!”
I was thinking the same thing.
Far from Wild Dog Ghosts, I wasn't even that afraid of Owl Ghosts these days.
Of course, that fellow would only come out at night anyway, so there was no need to worry about him.
And I already knew the fact that she had been murdered by a swarm of Wild Dog Ghosts.
So, as long as it wasn't the Spider Ghost, I was confident enough that I could escape even if I couldn't defeat them.
However, aside from not fearing the demons, finding the whereabouts of a single young lady in the jungle was by no means an easy task.
Even after running through the jungle for about a gok, I couldn't discover anything special.
Even when I searched the memories of my past life, nothing in particular came to mind other than the fact that she met her end in the western forest while the squad leaders went to the eastern forest to search for the Spider Ghost.
“Young Lady Son!”
“Young Lady Son Ha-rang! Are you nearby?!”
We moved while calling her name, but birds only flew up from here and there, and there was no particular result.
Eventually, I stopped walking and spoke to my friends.
“Let’s scatter for now. Don't go too far, but scatter and look for her while maintaining a certain distance.”
Even though there was no guarantee that Young Lady Son was exactly here, my friends nodded without hesitation.
I felt grateful for that trust once again.
It was then.
Suddenly, a woman's piercing scream was heard.
It was from deeper in the forest.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
Startled, we exchanged looks and immediately vaulted our bodies. A woman's scream in this jungle—it had to be Young Lady Son.
“Let’s go!”
My heart grew frantic.
The fact that a scream was heard meant she had encountered something.
It was likely a swarm of Wild Dog Ghosts, but if she had encountered a demon master of the Blood Cult...
Considering that most Blood Cult demon masters possessed martial prowess at the high-level first-class realm or above, it was certain that it would be difficult for us to handle.
However, when we arrived at the place where she was, we had to let out sighs of relief and lamentation at the same time.
The sigh of relief was because the things that attacked her were a swarm of Wild Dog Ghosts as expected, not Blood Cult demon masters or the Spider Ghost.
And the sigh of lamentation was...
“Uaaaaaaat! Vajra Meteor!”
Bae Jong-gwan charged toward a swarm of about twenty Wild Dog Ghosts.
It was a massive body slam, like a rock launched from a catapult.
Peo-peo-peo-peo-peong!
“Keeeeeek!”
“Kkiaaaaaang!”
The gathered Wild Dog Ghosts made beast-like sounds and were bounced away like pebbles.
And following behind him, I pounced on the remaining Wild Dog Ghosts.
“Ha-ap!”
Peo-beo-beo-beok!
The Wild Dog Ghosts that Bae Jong-gwan hadn't managed to handle were being sent flying into the air by my strikes and kicks.
Strikes and kicks that were as elusive as the wind and as fierce as a typhoon—it was the Gale Eighteen Strikes, the hand-to-hand combat method of the Sunwoo Clan.
Then, behind me in the clearing that was created for a moment, Bi Sa-yeong landed in front of a woman who appeared to be Young Lady Son.
However, upon seeing her, Bi Sa-yeong bit his lip, unable to even touch her.
“Damn it.”
She was already dead.
Being eaten by the Wild Dog Ghosts, her arms, legs, and even her torso were in a state of being brutally torn apart.
Bi Sa-yeong’s muttering voice was heard.
“We were one step too late.”
Huh? One step?
At that moment, I felt something strange.
Considering that we heard the scream earlier, it was true that we were one step late.
But...
“Ha-ap!”
Peo-ok!
I kicked a lunging Wild Dog Ghost and sent it flying back, then looked at her body more closely once more.
Then, her brutally torn body entered my sight.
Because Bae Jong-gwan was in front of us, grabbing the leg of one Wild Dog Ghost and swinging it like a club to strike the approaching ones, I was able to have a brief moment.
But...
Something was strange.
No matter how many Wild Dog Ghosts there were, could they eat her that much in that short interval?
Then, the moment I scanned her body in detail, her neck, which was still intact for some reason, caught my eye.
For some reason, her neck and face were not eaten by the Wild Dog Ghosts, and there were four holes on that neck that looked like they had been pierced by something.
...Four holes?
Could it be?!
I shouted urgently.
“Jong-gwan! Come back right now! We have to run!”
At my frantic voice, both Bae Jong-gwan and Bi Sa-yeong looked at me with puzzled faces.
“We have to go right now! There is a Spider Ghost nearby!”
The four marks on Young Lady Son’s neck—those were the teeth marks of a Spider Ghost that I had seen in my past life.
A Spider Ghost.
Why on earth was that fellow here?
But now was not the time to question that.
We had to run as quickly as possible before the fellow returned.
However, as I shouted for my friends to run and was about to vault my body immediately, I froze right where I was.
It was already there, on a tree in the direction we had come from.
A naked Miao woman with black skin was watching us and laughing.
Four fangs protruding sharply inside that mouth entered my sight clearly.
I muttered to myself without realizing it.
“Oh, damn it...”
It was a Spider Ghost.
The strongest existing demon that even peak-level masters could not easily handle. The fellow was already targeting us.
Bi Sa-yeong, who discovered the fellow around the same time as me, muttered with a pale face.
“That thing... it’s laughing at us, isn't it? For a mere demon.”
I also swallowed hard.
I couldn't even guess how high its intelligence was.
But that wasn't the end.
At that moment, the fellow opened its mouth while laughing.
“Kyaaaaaaaaak!”
The sound that came out of its mouth was a woman's blood-curdling scream.
The very same scream we had heard earlier.
Bi Sa-yeong muttered with a dazed face.
“That scream... that thing made it? To lure us?”
At this level, it could be called a specter rather than a beast.
I gritted my teeth and spoke quietly.
“When I count to three, everyone runs south. Now, one, two, three! Run!”
Simultaneously with my words, Bi Sa-yeong and I shot out!
Bae Jong-gwan also threw away the Wild Dog Ghost he was holding and swinging, then kicked off the ground.
We were confident that in terms of footwork alone, we wouldn't fall behind even peak-level masters.
So, things like Wild Dog Ghosts wouldn't even be able to follow our heels.
But...
Pa-bak!
When we kicked off the ground and shot toward the south, the fellow also vaulted its body with us.
And at a similar speed to ours.
Startled, we increased our speed to the maximum, but the fellow maintained a constant distance from us, running beside us at the same speed and laughing toward us.
It was an incredibly blood-curdling laugh.
Eventually, we had no choice but to stop walking.
Bi Sa-yeong asked me with a face that had turned ghostly pale.
“This is nonsense. It’s too fast. What do we do? Should we split up?”
The three of us splitting up...
Judging coldly, the fellow’s speed seemed to be as fast as mine, but it wasn't quite up to Bi Sa-yeong’s level.
So, if the three of us split up, it seemed we might be able to live.
However, only about two of us.
But at least one person would become a sacrificial lamb.
And that person would likely be...
Bae Jong-gwan suddenly spoke.
“Run, friends. I will hold the fellow back.”
Behind him, as he smiled innocently as if telling us not to worry, I saw the Wild Dog Ghosts running toward us like crazy.
“Kyarrrrrr!”
“Kyaaaaaak!”
And when I turned my eyes, there was the Spider Ghost in front of us, giving a blood-curdling laugh.
At times like this, the choice workers at the front had to make was clear. To have another person sacrifice themselves for the person with a higher chance of living. That was the unwritten rule of the front-line workers.
Knowing that, Bi Sa-yeong was also trembling while clenching his fists, unable to meet Bae Jong-gwan’s eyes.
We had to abandon Bae Jong-gwan first in order for at least one person to live.
And my friend Bae Jong-gwan, as always, smiled innocently as usual and said to us.
“I’ll leave the rest to you. You must survive.”
The fellow was like that in my past life as well.
After sending me away because I was too weak to even stall for time, he stayed behind and smiled the exact same way and said the exact same thing.
Something welled up from inside me.
Blood was bursting from my tightly bitten lips.
Be calm, Sunwoo Jin. You must be calm.
I examined the situation as calmly as possible.
The swarm of Wild Dog Ghosts almost right behind us, and the Spider Ghost who, for some reason, was not pouncing on us immediately but just watching as if playing with us.
A happy ending where the three of us joined forces to overcome the crisis here was absolutely impossible.
Since all the squad leaders had gone east, there wasn't even anyone to come to our rescue.
So, someone clearly had to stay behind and stall for time so that the other two, or at least one, could survive.
That was it. This was unavoidable.
Having made my decision, I said to Bae Jong-gwan.
“Jong-gwan, I leave the Wild Dog Ghost swarm to you.”
Then Bae Jong-gwan smiled good-naturedly and nodded.
“Right, leave it to me and go. You must hurry.”
But I turned to Bi Sa-yeong and said.
“Go, Sa-yeong. I will handle the Spider Ghost.”
Then Bi Sa-yeong, who had his head lowered, snapped his head up to look at me.
Bae Jong-gwan also cried out in surprise.
“...Wha-what?!”
I tried to analyze the Spider Ghost as calmly as possible.
Why was the fellow not pouncing on us immediately?
I speculated that the reason was because the fellow didn't want to miss any of the three of us.
If not all three, then at least two.
So, if one stayed and two ran away anyway, the fellow would chase after those two.
And if those two split up again, it would catch one of them and then come back to catch Bae Jong-gwan.
But there was no time to explain that now.
I slightly drew my sword and gripped the blade tightly with my hand.
Blood flowed out with a chilling pain.
I shouted while splashing that blood toward the Spider Ghost.
Hwa-ak!
“Go, Sa-yeong! Bring the Squad Leader! Before I die!”
“Kiiiiiiii!”
The face of the Spider Ghost, smelling my blood, was distorting horribly. No matter how clever the fellow was, now that it smelled blood, it wouldn't be able to suppress its malevolent nature.
My shocked friends shouted.
“Jin!”
“What kind of act is this?!”
Now that the fellow had smelled my blood, I could no longer escape.
Because the fellow would follow me as its top priority.
Then, realizing what I had done, Bae Jong-gwan vaulted his body and charged toward the approaching Wild Dog Ghosts.
“Uaaaaaaap!”
Peo-peo-peo-peo-peong!
“Kieeeeeek!”
“Kruaaaaaaang!”
Then he shouted toward Bi Sa-yeong.
“Sa-yeong, go quickly! Bring the Squad Leader and save Jin!”
Bi Sa-yeong gritted his teeth and let out a groan.
“Uuuugh!”
Tears were flowing from his bloodshot eyes.
He kicked off the ground, vaulted his body, and shouted.
“Don't you dare die, you bastards! If you die, I’m following you!”
I gave a smirk and vaulted my body toward the Spider Ghost.
Stupid fellow, do you think I’ll forgive you if you do such a foolish thing?
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
The Spider Ghost was lunging at me with speed comparable to a peak-level master.
“Ha-a-a-ap!”
I performed a sword form with all my might.
It was the first form of the Thirteen Swords of Sunwoo, Divine Eagle Soaring.
In an instant, misty sword-images filled the space as if large wings were unfolding.
However, those wings were easily torn apart by a single gesture the Spider Ghost swung while letting out a shriek.
“Kki-i-i-i-i-ik!”
Shu-ha-a-ak!
It was regrettable that the sword form was broken so easily, but I hadn't performed the sword form to fight the fellow either.
The moment the fellow broke my illusion-sword, I had already jumped over the fellow’s head and was running away.
The fellow, discovering me fleeing belatedly, let out an enraged shriek and chased after me.
“Kki-i-i-i-i-ik!”
This was my aim.
Even if the fellow’s physical abilities surpassed those of a peak-level master, figuring out what an illusion-sword was would only be possible if one truly knew martial arts.
Escaping with all my might to avoid the Spider Ghost following my tail, I let out a cheer in my heart.
‘I didn't stay behind because I wanted to commit suicide! I had confidence in my plan!’
.......
Right, to be honest, that was a lie.
I just moved as my heart led me.
Why?
Because if I swore not to lose my friends again after finally returning, and then left a friend behind again, my second life would also be a failure.
I didn't want to repeat such a life once more.