Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 70

The giant monster wolf, frozen in a posture as if about to leap at Mo Ha-rang of the Demon Fire Hall.

Everyone’s eyes widened at this bizarre sight.

Then, a voice was heard from within the bushes.

“Ahhh. What a relief. To think everything I need is gathered here.”

‘!?’

Everyone’s gaze turned in that direction.

‘That guy?’

The person emerging from the bushes was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

Because he had left such a strong impression with his brutal tactics in the steel bead competition, everyone recognized him at a glance.

And…

‘……As I thought, he was alive.’

Mok Yu-cheon looked at Mok Gyeong-un and let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

Although he disliked the guy, he didn’t wish for him to die in a place like this deep down.

So he felt relieved, but the timing of his appearance was bad.

‘You idiot! What happened to your teammates and why did you show up alone?’

They were supposed to find the flag and have all eight members waiting until sunrise.

But of all times, he showed up alone leisurely when that monster wolf was rampaging here. His luck was truly rotten.

However, now was not the time to worry about that guy.

-Tap tap tap tap!

Mok Yu-cheon ran towards Mo Ha-rang.

He didn’t know why that monster wolf was acting like this, but now was the chance to save her.

At that moment, Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave shouted,

“Hey! You crazy monster wolf. What are you doing right now?”

Yeom Ga didn’t care whether Mok Gyeong-un appeared or not.

He didn’t know why the monster wolf that had been moving well according to their strategy suddenly couldn’t move in that posture, but he hoped it would hurry up and kill them.

That’s why he was shouting.

-Kwueeeeeeeek!

However, contrary to his wishes, the monster wolf howled but couldn’t budge an inch.

Its fur that had been standing up as if restrained by something was pressed down.

‘what the …. is it doing?’

As he was getting frustrated…

-Swoosh!

Mok Yu-cheon slid and pushed Mo Ha-rang, who was right in front of the monster wolf, out of the way.

And he caught her shoulders as she fell forward.

“Get a grip.”

Mok Yu-cheon urged Mo Ha-rang, who had a blank expression.

Then she spoke.

“Do you see this?”

“See what?”

She was gesturing towards the monster wolf with her eyes.

Of course he could see it.

He didn’t know why it was acting like this, but it couldn’t move at all.

But then, incomprehensible words came out of her mouth.

“It’s bound by chains.”

‘!?’

Mok Yu-cheon furrowed his brows.

What is happened was she talking about?

What chains? Why was she saying such nonsense?

‘Ah!’

Mok Yu-cheon bit his lip as he felt the wetness on her back.

It seemed she was seeing things due to excessive blood loss and faintness.

“Mo Ha-rang! Get a grip. We’ve endured until now, but if you collapse here, it’s death.”

“I’m…still…conscious.”

“Then walk.”

Mok Yu-cheon hoisted her shoulders and urged her on.

Then she looked in Mok Gyeong-un’s direction with an expression that said she couldn’t understand at all.

Was she really seeing things because of severe blood loss?

But something felt off.

Who was that half-white haired girl with a blurry form next to him that didn’t seem human?

As she was wondering this, she saw the half-white haired girl moving her lips.

‘!?’

Seeing this, her pupils trembled.

As someone from the Demon Fire Hall, once known as the Four Great Assassins, she had learned lip-reading.

Lip-reading was a technique to read the other person’s conversation through the movements of the lips, face, and tongue.

She could see it.

‘That…person seems to be able to see me?’

At those words, a chill ran down Mo Ha-rang’s spine for a moment.

Then she saw Mok Gyeong-un also muttering while looking at her with an intrigued expression.

‘Ohhh is that so?’

Mo Ha-rang became confused.

Was she really seeing things due to blood loss?

But why were that blurry existence and Mok Gyeong-un conversing?

Right then…

-Kwueeeeeeeeek!

At the tremendous howl that spread like a shockwave, Mo Ha-rang, Mok Yu-cheon, no, all the boys covered their ears in pain.

“Urk!”

“W-What is that sound?”

It was a howl no different from a lion’s roar imbued with inner force.

And with the howl, the ground the monster wolf was standing on shook nearly five jang and sank in.

-Rumble rumble!

At that moment, the frozen monster wolf moved.

‘Yes! That’s how it should be!’

Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave, covering his ears, inwardly cheered.

In any case, since they were within the protection range of this flag, it didn’t matter to them, but the other guys didn’t have that advantage.

So they had to die here.

“shit!”

A rough sound escaped from Mok Yu-cheon, who was supporting her shoulders.

He thought now was the chance, but it seemed he was wrong.

Right at that moment…

-Clang clang clang clang!

Dozens of chains burst out not from right below but from around five zhang away, once again restraining the body of the monster wolf, no, the demon wolf.

-Kwueeeeeeek!

This time, perhaps because the restraining force was too strong…

-Thud!

The chains tangled and pulled, smashing the demon wolf’s head into the ground.

“Huh?”

To the baffled Mok Yu-cheon, Mo Ha-rang said,

“You really…can’t…see it?”

“What are you talking about? At a time like this…”

Before he could even finish his words…

Mok Gyeong-un had already approached the demon wolf pressed against the ground, unable to move its chin, no, its entire body.

Then…

“I should repay you for targeting what’s mine, right?”

With those words, he grabbed the demon wolf’s upper teeth with both hands, pressed the inside of its mouth with his foot, and…

-Riiiiiip!

He tore its palate.

The demon wolf, whose mouth was forcibly opened, thrashed its body and tried to twist its head as if in pain, but the chains’ restraining force was too strong for it to move.

Thanks to that…

-Rip rip rip!

-Kwueeeeeeeek!

Its mouth was completely torn off.

The demon wolf’s wailing as it shed bloody tears also stopped as if nothing had happened once the upper part of its head was completely ripped off.

‘!!!!!!!!’

Mok Yu-cheon, who was closest to this scene, and everyone else were at a loss for words.

Who could have imagined that the monster wolf that had devoured so many boys would end up like this in an instant?

‘T-This bastard, what the ….?’

Mok Yu-cheon was the most shocked.

Was this really the same cowardly guy he knew?

Mok Gyeong-un tossed aside the torn upper snout and head of the demon wolf.

-Thud!

There was a thud sound, perhaps due to the weight of the bones.

“Whew.”

The surroundings fell into silence at the sight of Mok Gyeong-un drenched in the demon wolf’s blood that spurted out as its snout was torn in two.

what the …. was with this guy?

Why did this monster wolf become unable to move and die like this as soon as this bastard appeared?

Moreover, what was that strength to tear its mouth off when inner force was sealed and unusable?

Everyone couldn’t hide their confusion.

However, there was one person who quickly snapped out of it.

‘shit.’

It was Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave.

He too was equally shocked by this unbelievable outcome.

But how this situation came to be wasn’t important.

The sun would rise soon.

They had to defend the flag no matter what, so they needed to retreat right now.

Yeom Ga whispered to his teammates.

“We have to fall back.”

His teammates understood this too, so they carefully tried to lift the iron lump of the flag.

But right at that moment…

“Bind them all.”

As soon as Mok Gyeong-un muttered softly…

-Clang clang clang clang!

Chains rose from the ground, instantly restraining the bodies of everyone present.

-Clink!

“W-What is this?”

“Something is restraining my body?”

The restrained boys couldn’t hide their consternation.

Although invisible, everyone could feel something like a rope, no, cold chains binding them.

They had no idea what was going on.

“Aaaaargh!”

Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave tried to break free with all his might.

However, with his inner force sealed in the first place, and no matter how much he had trained his outer force, his strength couldn’t surpass that of the monstrous demon wolf.

Naturally, this attempt was nothing more than a waste of energy.

-Thud!

Trying to force it, his body tilted forward and his knees sank to the ground.

Yeom Ga’s face flushed with humiliation.

‘You son of a bitch, what the …. did you do?’

As this was happening, Mok Gyeong-un approached the flag right in front of the mountain wall.

The eyes of the boys who had been defending it but fled trembled.

Could it be that he was targeting their flag?

As they were thinking this, Mok Gyeong-un examined the flagpole and then…

“Ahhh. This one too?”

He muttered and then broke the flagpole without any hesitation.

-Snap!

“Nooooooo!”

“Y-You bastard!”

The boys screamed as if wailing.

Although they had abandoned the flag and fled to escape the monster wolf, if that was gone, they would be eliminated from this gate.

But they didn’t expect Mok Gyeong-un to damage it like that.

-Grit!

“You son of a bitch!”

Mok Yu-cheon also couldn’t contain his anger and called out to Mok Gyeong-un.

He wanted to run over and punch him in the face right away.

But his body was restrained by something invisible and he couldn’t move an inch.

“This won’t do either.”

Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue and this time approached where Yeom Ga was.

At this, Yeom Ga shouted with bulging veins in his neck.

“Are you going to break this one too?”

In response to that question, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and shook his head.

Then he examined the flagpole and frowned.

[Don’t tell me this one too?]

Although the people around couldn’t hear it, Mok Gyeong-un could hear Cheong-ryeong’s voice in his ears.

As she suspected, the characters were identical this time as well.

Mok Gyeong-un licked his lips as if troubled.

‘What a coincidence.’

He didn’t expect all three flags he found to have the same characters he had memorized.

Now the sun was truly about to rise at any moment.

Even if he hurried, there wasn’t enough time to secure a flag.

[What will you do? Command that Soha girl to search for flags nearby right now.]

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un was about to nod, but then thought of another method.

Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be better to confirm this first?

Mok Gyeong-un was about to ask Yeom Ga and his teammates, who were bound by Soha’s chains and unable to move.

“By any chance…”

Before he could even start his question…

Someone shouted at that moment.

“I’ll…tell you…the remaining…characters…so let’s make a deal.”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un turned his head towards the one who shouted.

The one who shouted was none other than Mo Ha-rang of the Demon Fire Hall.

Although her face was so pale, she was somehow still breathing and mustering her remaining strength.

Mok Gyeong-un looked at her with intrigue.

“It seems you figured it out.”

“I checked…it…twice…”

Even she had thought Mok Gyeong-un breaking their flag they were defending was simply to forcefully eliminate them from the gate.

However, seeing him frown while examining the flag of Yeom Ga’s team, she realized it.

Mok Gyeong-un was searching for a different type of flag.

‘Characters?’

Yeom Ga also belatedly realized this fact at her words.

So he hurriedly shouted at Mok Gyeong-un.

“L-Let’s make a deal!”

“A deal?”

“Yeah. I also know the other characters, and we even have an intact flag and teammates here. It looks like you don’t have teammates, but if you join us, you can pass too.”

Yeom Ga thought this was fortunate.

At first, he was angry because his strategy was ruined because of this guy.

But in the end, this bastard played the role of that monster wolf for them.

He broke their flag for them, so if they just accepted this guy, the Demon Fire Hall bunch would naturally be eliminated.

At that moment, one of the boys said in a fluster,

“W-Wait a minute. We’re all fine. If we accept that guy…”

“Shut up.”

Yeom Ga reprimanded the boy.

Then he said to Mok Gyeong-un,

“I’ll take care of one guy myself, so will you make the deal or not? You need teammates, flag, and characters anyway, don’t you?”

He probably wouldn’t be able to refuse anyway.

It was more rational for them to make such a clear proposal.

But then, Mok Gyeong-un reached for the waist of one of the boys.

-Grab!

It was the broken flagpole.

“The characters are here.”

‘!?’

At this, Yeom Ga was momentarily taken aback.

Carrying around the pole with the other set of characters written on it had backfired.

A few of them hadn’t memorized it all, so he didn’t dispose of it, but who knew it would turn out like this?

Yeom Ga hurriedly said,

“T-That’s ours too. So you’ll make a deal with us, right?”

“Huh?”

“Huuuh?”

“This is mine.”

Mok Gyeong-un nonchalantly said while waving the flag he had taken.

Seeing this, veins bulged on Yeom Ga’s forehead.

“You!”

“And this flag here is also mine.”

Mok Gyeong-un lifted the flag with one hand.

At this, the boys’ eyes widened.

Even with their inner force sealed, it took two of them to barely lift it, but he lifted it so easily?

Mok Gyeong-un moved away from them, holding the flag with a satisfied expression.

“S-Stop!”

“I said it’s mine.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s mockery, Yeom Ga got angry but barely suppressed it and said,

“Y-You still need teammates!”

“Ahh. That’s right.”

Mok Gyeong-un nodded as if convinced.

Then this time, Mok Yu-cheon, who was supporting Mo Ha-rang of the Demon Fire Hall, shouted,

“Mok Gyeong-un, don’t trust that cowardly and weak bastard! They’ll stab you in the back. If that’s the case, accept us as teammates instead!”

He shouted on her behalf as Mo Ha-rang’s condition worsened.

In fact, he didn’t want to ask Mok Gyeong-un due to his pride, but there was no other way.

Once the sun rose, everything would be over.

To survive, he had to abandon his pride.

At that moment, Yeom Ga also shouted,

“What bullshit are you spouting? Everything this guy collected was what we defended. What have you bastards done to demand to be accepted?”

“You have the nerve to run your mouth after doing such cowardly things, even using a monster like that without any skill? Mok Gyeong-un! Ignore what that guy says and…”

“Hey. No, did you say Mok Gyeong-un? If you help me this time, I will definitely repay the favor. There are still gates left, so being indebted to me, someone from Vermillion Slaughter Cave, shouldn’t be bad…”

“Don’t listen to him! Although we may be half-brothers…”

“Shut up, you bastard!”

Then at some point, everyone started shouting at Mok Gyeong-un, who was holding the flag, pleading to be accepted as his teammates. Their voices mixed together, making it confusing to tell who was who.

Right at that moment…

-Clap clap!

Mok Gyeong-un clapped his hands.

At this, everyone’s gaze turned to Mok Gyeong-un. Since he was the one holding their lifeline here, they had no choice but to focus on him.

As they looked at him, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.

“This is quite a dilemma. With everyone wanting to join me like this, I’d like to accept all of you as teammates if I could, but rules are rules.”

-Gulp!

The boys swallowed dryly. It seemed he had made a decision on who to accept as teammates.

Mok Yu-cheon stared intently at Mok Gyeong-un. No matter how much they disliked each other, brothers were still brothers. He inwardly hoped that in the end, he would accept him as a teammate. But then…

“In a situation like this, it seems unfair to prioritize and look after certain individuals… So let’s do this instead.”

Mok Gyeong-un glanced to the side and nodded his head.

Then…

“Huh?”

“My body?”

The bodies of the restrained boys moved.

Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly at them and said,

“Kill each other.”

“What?”

“I’ll accept the seven of you who survive as my teammates.”

‘!!!!!!’

In an instant, everyone’s expressions stiffened.