Chapter 48
Whoosh!
As the air rippled, Peng Do-hwan felt as if invisible walls were closing in around him.
"Urgh!"
The tremendous pressure from this sensation constricted his breathing.
Kuuung!
At the same time, Yeo Un-hwi's wooden saber slowly descending towards his head seemed to grow larger and larger.
What in the world was this impossible situation?
Surely it must be an illusion, yet Peng Do-hwan felt terrified to the point of death.
He had never experienced anything like this before.
As the wooden saber approached right in front of his face, Peng Do-hwan involuntarily squeezed his eyes shut.
With pressure bearing down from all sides and the saber looking impossibly huge, what else could he do?
"Aaaagh!"
Peng Do-hwan screamed without even realizing it.
But then,
The wooden saber stopped right in front of his nose.
Immediately, the massive aura that had been tightly filling the surroundings completely vanished as if washed away.
Hmm?
Peng Do-hwan opened his eyes.
He looked around in confusion.
The surroundings were quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Just like when he first arrived here.
In the distance, he could hear birds chirping.
Thud.
Only then did his legs give out and he collapsed to the ground.
"Huff... huff... gasp..."
His whole body was drenched in cold sweat.
He couldn't make sense of what had just happened.
What on earth was that just now?
"Are you alright?"
Yeo Un-hwi extended his hand towards Peng Do-hwan, who was still panting and unable to collect himself.
Peng Do-hwan found himself staring blankly up at Yeo Un-hwi.
Who in the world was this person?
"Oh? What's going on over there?"
No Il-bong, who had just returned after finishing his business, called out from a distance.
Meanwhile, Yeo Un-hwi flashed a slight smile at the dazed Peng Do-hwan.
Seeing that expression, Peng Do-hwan involuntarily gulped.
For the first time in his life, he thought someone's smile looked frightening.
He felt as if he had been bewitched by a ghost.
A few days later.
The entire White Wolf Unit gathered at the training ground.
But the location was the most remote training ground among the large training grounds within the Peng Family compound, where very few people ever visited.
Why was that?
"Commander. All twenty-four members of the White Wolf Unit have assembled!"
"Hmm."
At O Chae-mu's report, Yeo Un-hwi stepped forward in front of the White Wolf Unit, and all the members greeted him in unison.
"Greetings, Commander!"
"Yes. Did you all rest well?"
"Yes sir!"
Yeo Un-hwi nodded at their resounding response.
It all felt very natural.
As if he had been the White Wolf Unit's commander for a long time.
Even the White Wolf Unit members who had previously been displeased now seemed to accept this scene naturally.
The fact that this man was their superior.
Their attitude towards Yeo Un-hwi had completely changed since he beheaded the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon.
Those who had been injured in various ways back then all looked well-rested now.
Today was the day they had all returned after finishing their leave, which they had received upon returning to the Peng Family after beheading the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon during the bandit subjugation mission.
Now that the White Wolf Unit's standing had changed, they needed to determine what kind of work they should take on going forward, and also resume training.
Until now, O Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san had taken care of everything, but things had to change from now on.
They had a new commander, after all.
But before that,
"You said you have something to discuss?"
Earlier, before gathering like this today, O Chae-mu had approached Yeo Un-hwi first.
He said that he and all the members had something they wanted to say to Yeo Un-hwi.
O Chae-mu nodded.
Yeo Un-hwi smirked and said:
"Don't tell me you're all still unhappy with me being the commander and want me to step down on my own? Is that it?"
"Ah, no, of course not. How could that be?"
Yeo Un-hwi had meant it as a playful jab, but O Chae-mu stammered and waved his hands in denial.
This would surely be good material to tease him about for a long time to come.
At that, Gu Tae-san and the other members behind him glanced at each other and grinned, then turned to Yeo Un-hwi with aggrieved expressions.
"That incident was entirely O Chae-mu's doing. We're just ignorant grunts who knew nothing about it."
"That's right. We were simply used. The real culprit is Deputy Commander O Chae-mu!"
O Chae-mu's face reddened at the enthusiastic betrayal of the twins Gi-su and Gi-sang.
He quickly looked to Gu Tae-san and Do-gyeong for help, but they too averted their gaze and stared off into the distance, abandoning him.
"What?! You ungrateful bastards, stabbing me in the back like this?! They say there's no one you can trust in this world..."
"I see. I'll keep that in mind."
As Yeo Un-hwi nodded in understanding, O Chae-mu once again waved his hands and pointed accusingly at the other members.
The utterly wronged look on his face was quite a sight.
"No, Commander. That's not it at all. These guys were in cahoots with me. They're all just acting!"
"My, my. It seems the squad leaders are just as disloyal as the members? How am I supposed to rely on any of you at this rate."
"I'm sorry, but if you lean on any of us, our shoulders will collapse under the weight. It's too much pressure."
"What did you say?"
Hahahahaha!
Everyone burst into laughter.
Before they knew it, the White Wolf Unit members and Yeo Un-hwi were trading jokes back and forth.
It showed how much their hearts had opened up to each other.
The experience of fighting together in a life-or-death battle had created a strong bond among the warriors.
Of course, it seemed the commander Yeo Un-hwi hadn't actually needed to risk his life in the first place.
"Alright, that's enough joking around. Let's get to the main point."
"Yes, Commander."
O Chae-mu nodded, then after briefly scanning the members behind him with his eyes, he turned to Yeo Un-hwi and spoke.
"Through our last battle, we truly realized how lacking we are. The fact that we survived was entirely thanks to you, Commander."
"And?"
"We want to be able to fight even better if we ever encounter someone like the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon again. And we'd like to be of at least some help to you, Commander. So..."
O Chae-mu paused for a moment, took a deep breath, then said in a loud voice:
"We want to become stronger! Please make us stronger, Commander!"
"Make us stronger, Commander!"
As soon as O Chae-mu finished speaking, the entire White Wolf Unit shouted in unison.
It seemed they had gathered at this remote, rarely visited training ground within the Peng Family compound to say these words.
"You want to become stronger, is that it?"
They didn't carelessly say they wanted to win.
They knew better than anyone.
The gap between themselves and a Great Demonic Master like the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon.
Not recklessly becoming arrogant and acknowledging the difference was very important.
Only when one accurately recognizes their own level are they truly ready to become stronger.
In that sense, the current White Wolf Unit was sufficiently prepared to move forward.
And these men would become stronger through their own efforts, even without Yeo Un-hwi.
Yeo Un-hwi alone already knew their future selves.
Even the Combined Formation they had shown during the battle with the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon had much room for improvement.
But above all, they had swallowed their pride and asked Yeo Un-hwi for help.
Since they had come to him like this, Yeo Un-hwi couldn't simply ignore it.
It was an interesting situation.
The fact that he, who had been the Blood Demon before his regression, was now connected to these men who had been the Red Wolf Unit in this way.
Just as Yeo Un-hwi would no longer live the life of the Blood Demon, these men too would not follow that path.
Yeo Un-hwi made up his mind.
He would make them far stronger than the Red Wolf Unit he alone knew.
Of course, Yeo Un-hwi had become stronger without any particular training thanks to the Martial God's legacy, but just as only those who have reached the peak can understand certain insights, he had already grasped what these men needed and what was unnecessary for them.
And above all, as someone who had long studied and taught literature, Yeo Un-hwi was fully prepared to train and lead these men.
"Alright. Let's do that."
Soon, Yeo Un-hwi nodded.
At that, the faces of all the White Wolf Unit members brightened.
"But you should all prepare yourselves properly. My methods are quite strict and grueling."
"Yes, Commander!"
They all responded with determined expressions at his words.
O Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san's eyes also shone brightly.
'This worked out well, I suppose.'
Since he had become the White Wolf Unit's commander anyway, they would have had to go through this process if they accepted him.
But admirably, they had come to ask first.
So Yeo Un-hwi would make them stronger.
Far more than they imagined.
And to the point where no one could ignore them.
"Ugh... No! Nooo! Aaaaagh!"
In a dark room.
A man was tossing and turning, drenched in cold sweat as if having a nightmare.
Then he woke up screaming.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
It was Peng Do-hwan.
Ever since encountering Yeo Un-hwi at the training ground that day, Peng Do-hwan had been plagued by constant nightmares.
It had reached the point where he could barely function in daily life.
At first, after experiencing such an incident and returning home, he had felt incredibly humiliated and angry.
The pathetic sight he had shown and Yeo Un-hwi's smiling face as he looked at him kept flashing through his mind.
How could he have ended up in such a state after so confidently offering to teach martial arts?
But those emotions were short-lived as the shock from that day continued to haunt him, growing stronger and tormenting him over and over.
As a result, Peng Do-hwan had shut himself in his room for days, refusing food and drink.
Naturally, no one could understand why he was suddenly acting this way when he had been perfectly fine until recently.
They simply assumed he must not be feeling well.
Soon, Peng Gyeong-ho, who had learned of this, came to see him.
"What on earth is going on here? Why are you like this?!"
His son was sitting with the blanket pulled up to his face.
But he looked anxious and agitated.
It was bizarre how much his son had changed, considering how confidently he had said he would use the orthodox method to make Yeo Un-hwi step down from the commander position on his own.
Something must have happened.
But the problem was that he refused to talk about it at all.
So Peng Gyeong-ho tried to press him for answers.
But when he saw his son's face, he was at a loss for words.
"My goodness, what's happened to you..."
"Please, Father. I beg you. I want to be alone right now, so please leave."
Sunken eyes in a gaunt face after just a few days.
Who would believe this was his son, who had been so tall and confident with a bright smile?
In the end, faced with his son's plea, Peng Gyeong-ho could only leave the room in a daze.
It seemed he would need to call for a doctor.
"Ugh..."
In truth, Peng Do-hwan was more frustrated than anyone.
After experiencing that incident that day, Peng Do-hwan couldn't stay in his right mind.
That moment kept replaying over and over in his mind.
Kuuung!
The massive pressure bearing down from all sides, leaving him unable to move, and the image of the enormous wooden saber descending towards him.
"Urgh..."
Just recalling it made Peng Do-hwan squeeze his eyes shut.
He felt like he might be on the verge of qi deviation.
No, it felt like qi deviation was right at his doorstep.
Amidst all this, one question refused to leave his mind.
'That man... just what is his true identity?'
An ordinary scholar?
Nonsense!
He must be an incredibly powerful master.
Someone who had reached a realm Peng Do-hwan couldn't even dream of approaching - an absolute master.
Perhaps he was on par with Peng Mugang, the Peng Family Head and one of the best in the martial world. And at such a young age, no less.
How could this be possible?
'Come to think of it, does the Family Head know about this? No, from accepting him into the family so readily to entrusting him with the White Wolf Unit... Perhaps he knew everything from the start...'
It was a complete misunderstanding.
All sorts of wild thoughts like this tormented him.
After suffering for two more days, Peng Do-hwan finally made a decision.
He couldn't go on like this.
If he continued this way, he would surely fall into qi deviation.
At this point, he no longer cared about the White Wolf Unit commander position.
That was no longer important.
Now, even at the risk of qi deviation, he wanted to know.
The true identity of that monster everyone thought was just a scholar who only knew books.
And so, after several days, he finally left his room.