Chapter 37
"Is it here?"
The place they arrived at was a village deep in the mountains.
However, for some reason, the lush greenery of the mountains was nowhere to be seen, and the word "barren" seemed more fitting to describe the area.
The atmosphere in the village was gloomy.
The people all looked exhausted and had extremely despairing expressions on their faces.
What on earth had happened here?
These villagers seemed unable to muster any hope, even though the White Wolf Unit had just arrived.
Not long after arriving in the village, the village chief came out to greet them.
He soon gave O Chae-mu a detailed explanation of what had been happening.
Normally, Yeo Un-hwi, who had become the commander of the White Wolf Unit, should have been the one to hear this story. But since it was decided that for this mission, the White Wolf Unit would handle things as they had been doing until now, and Yeo Un-hwi would observe, they were proceeding as they always had.
Soon, O Chae-mu returned from his conversation with the village chief, his face hardened with a cold expression.
"There's a mountain stronghold nearby," he said.
Everyone listened intently to his words.
The beginning of the story was not unlike that of other villages suffering from mountain bandits.
The problem started when these already vicious bandits suddenly began doubling the tribute they collected from the village a few months ago.
The villagers were squeezed dry, and when they could no longer bear it, they requested help from the government. But there was no response, so they finally turned to the Peng Family for help as a last resort.
Everyone knew they wouldn't survive if this was discovered, but at this point, it was a matter of dying either way, so they had gathered the courage to ask.
But even the government had no intention of helping this remote village, so they didn't expect the Peng Family to help either. That's why everyone's faces were so dark, in a situation that had become utterly destitute.
"Hmm. They suddenly doubled the tribute, you say."
Yeo Un-hwi stroked his chin after hearing the whole story.
O Chae-mu then shared his thoughts:
"There's usually only one reason they raise the tribute. They're planning to leave the area soon. That's why they've clearly doubled the amount."
But Yeo Un-hwi's face showed he wasn't convinced by those words.
"Is that really the case?"
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Something doesn't quite add up. Couldn't there be other possibilities?"
O Chae-mu's eyebrows rose at Yeo Un-hwi's question.
He found it absurd that this nobleman, who had never experienced such a situation, was trying to argue about it.
Still, he had to at least pretend to listen, so O Chae-mu asked out of courtesy:
"What other possibilities did you have in mind?"
Just as Yeo Un-hwi was about to explain his thoughts in response to O Chae-mu's question,
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
A large number of bandits suddenly appeared in front of the village.
It seemed they had come to extort tribute money once again.
To run into them like this, as if by appointment.
It truly seemed like they had arrived at an incredibly opportune moment in many ways.
Seeing unfamiliar people in the village, all armed, the bandits' demeanor became extremely aggressive.
But they showed no signs of wanting to flee, indicating they had grown exceedingly bold.
Or perhaps they were confident.
"What's the meaning of this? Huh?"
"Yeah, what's going on? Who are you people?"
The bandits all drew their weapons and growled menacingly.
"We're from the Peng Family," O Chae-mu stated calmly.
At those words, the bandits flinched for a moment.
But their aggressive stance didn't diminish at all.
Though surprised, they acted as if the Peng Family name didn't frighten them in the least.
While their reaction was unexpected, the White Wolf Unit wasn't particularly fazed.
No matter where they went, there were always fools like this who didn't know their place and had more guts than brains.
And for such people, a good beating was the best medicine.
"I don't know if you're relying on your numbers or what, but you'll soon regret not getting on your knees and begging for forgiveness right now."
Gu Tae-san stepped forward, drawing his massive greatsword.
The White Wolf Unit members slowly followed behind him.
But,
"Don't make me laugh! We're the kings of this mountain! Boys! Attack!"
The bandits didn't back down easily and instead charged forward with a loud shout.
And so the battle began.
"Is there no need for me to step in?" Yeo Un-hwi asked O Chae-mu amidst the sounds of clashing weapons and the mixture of shouts and screams.
O Chae-mu and a few warriors were guarding Yeo Un-hwi's side while calmly observing the current situation.
"You mean us?"
O Chae-mu grinned at Yeo Un-hwi's words.
"You may not know this yet, Commander, but our White Wolf Unit is strong. Strong enough that we don't all need to engage against the likes of these."
"Oh, is that so?"
As if to prove O Chae-mu's confident words, indeed, over dozens of bandits were falling to the White Wolf Unit members' blades in an instant.
Every single one of them displayed extraordinary movements.
Among them, the twin brothers Gi-su and Gi-sang, the archer Do-gyeong, and Gu Tae-san were showing particularly exceptional prowess.
"Guh!"
"Aaaaargh!"
The White Wolf Unit showed no mercy in their attacks.
Thieves are not to be left alive.
That was the will of Peng Mugang, the head of the Peng Family.
So the White Wolf Unit's blades mercilessly cut down the necks of the bandits who had returned to this village.
And the reason they left a few alive at the end was for a purpose.
O Chae-mu approached the bandits who were now kneeling, bound and covered in blood.
"Now then, guide us to your stronghold."
"Not a chance. You think we'd talk?"
Someone answered firmly, shaking their head, and the other bandits looked ready to follow suit.
But,
Flash.
The White Wolf Unit's blade cleanly severed the neck of the bandit who had just answered so resolutely.
Thud, roll roll.
That head fell to the ground without even closing its eyes, then rolled until it met the gaze of the surviving bandits.
Eek!
It was the moment when the other bandits, who had been trying to muster their courage, felt their minds go blank.
"Ah, I forgot to mention earlier, but we only need one guide. And now there are three of you left."
The bandits quickly realized this was no time for pointless stubbornness.
And so,
"I-I know! I'll tell you!"
"N-No, I will!"
Leaving only one bandit who was quickest to choose survival, the rest had their heads fall to the ground.
"Quite merciless, aren't they," Yeo Un-hwi remarked, clicking his tongue.
Or rather, he pretended to do so.
This time, O Chae-mu responded without hiding his true feelings:
"I have no desire to show mercy to irredeemable villains like them. Rather than waste time on such pointless acts, it's better to save even one more innocent person."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
O Chae-mu answered with a resolute expression.
Yeo Un-hwi liked that.
After all, he agreed with that sentiment more than anyone.
"I hope you'll maintain that mindset going forward."
"Pardon?"
"I agree with your thinking. Very much so, in fact."
O Chae-mu was taken aback. He had expected Yeo Un-hwi to say something about how even villains should be given a chance, spouting pretty words. Instead, he strongly agreed with O Chae-mu's perspective, which was surprising in its own way.
Soon, Yeo Un-hwi and the White Wolf Unit headed towards the mountain stronghold, led by the bandit who had volunteered to guide them.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.
The stronghold was unexpectedly not too far away.
"W-Who are you people?!"
One of the bandits guarding the entrance shouted with a startled face.
They weren't fools either.
It was only natural for them to react that way when only one of their comrades who had gone to the village returned, accompanied by a group of suspicious warriors.
The bandits guarding the entrance tried to run inside and lock the gate.
But the White Wolf Unit had revealed themselves from the start because they had their own confidence.
"Gi-su, Gi-sang."
"Leave it to us!"
As soon as O Chae-mu called their names, the twin brothers' figures shot forward swiftly.
They stepped hard on Gu Tae-san's hands, who had already moved forward and turned his body.
"Uooooh!"
In that instant, Gu Tae-san's arms, already as thick as an adult man's head, swelled up as if about to burst.
Then Gu Tae-san threw the two White Wolf Unit members high into the air.
It was truly an incredible display of superhuman strength.
Soon, the two figures that had soared high spun in the air and fell inside the stronghold.
"W-What the? You bastards! Aaaagh!"
Chaos immediately erupted inside.
The bandit gatekeepers were cut down by Gi-su and Gi-sang's hands before they could even lock the gate and report inside.
Clang clang clang clang!
At the same time, other bandits frantically rang a bell to alert everyone of the intruders, but,
Creeeeak.
It was already too late.
The twin brothers had accomplished their mission.
The closed gate of the stronghold opened.
"You bastards!"
The thieves who belatedly saw this charged towards Gi-su and Gi-sang.
At that moment,
Whoosh!
Thud! Thud!
Do-gyeong's arrows pierced through the heads of all the charging thieves.
Soon, as O Chae-mu raised his hand to point forward, the White Wolf Unit members, who had already drawn their swords, rushed into the stronghold.
"How the hell did they get here?!"
"Guuuuuurk!"
"Aaaaargh! S-Spare me!"
"S-Stop them! Stop them!"
The bandits, completely unprepared, fell helplessly to the White Wolf Unit's attacks.
'Impressive.'
Yeo Un-hwi let out a small exclamation of admiration.
It was an extremely skillful and rapid series of coordinated moves.
Though they looked more like a group of wandering warriors than a prestigious family's military force, their skills were undeniably real.
For Yeo Un-hwi, who had always fought alone, the White Wolf Unit's fluid coordination and movements were simply fascinating.
They truly showed signs of having worked together for a very long time.
Yeo Un-hwi watched the current battle with great interest, stroking his chin.
Meanwhile, O Chae-mu was utterly perplexed.
He had clearly heard that this man was a scholar who had only studied.
Someone who hadn't properly learned martial arts.
A son-in-law whose fortunes had changed after meeting Young Lady Paeng Seo-yeon.
Such a person should have been horrified just from seeing someone's head being cut off before his eyes.
He surely would have never seen people dying like this before.
And yet, for some reason, this man wasn't shocked at all. Instead, he was observing the current situation with an interested expression, nodding his head.
As if such scenes were familiar to him.
That couldn't be possible. No, but then how...
Above all, showing such a reaction even in this current situation, which was little different from a war with blood splattering everywhere, meant that his plan was facing a major setback.
'Huh. This is troublesome. Just what kind of person is he...'
Somehow, it felt like this operation was going to end in failure.
It seemed he would need to go back and come up with a different strategy.
But before that, they needed to finish this job first.
Fortunately, taking control of the stronghold was going more smoothly than expected.
It was then.
Boom.
A massive killing intent suddenly appeared.
"You bastards! How dare you cause such havoc in my stronghold!"
Along with a voice infused with internal energy, a massive axe fell to the ground.
Crash!
The floor cracked with a thunderous sound.
Faced with this fierce attack, the White Wolf Unit members halted their assault and stepped back.
It was the moment when the flow of the battle, which had been one-sided until now, suddenly changed.