Chapter 598 – 598. The Ascent Of Light
598. The Ascent of Light
In this world, being a caravan guard is an extreme occupation.
Their main duties are transporting goods or escorting people. And it’s not just about protecting against bandits or robbers.
Monsters.
In a way, they are the most troublesome opponents for caravan guards. At least bandits and robbers can be reasoned with. Only a very few monsters can understand human language. Even if there are monsters that understand, they deliberately ignore what people say.
“Earth Oni! Watch the ground!”
Seok Ji-don shouted.
Earth Oni.
Monsters that move underground. In terms of cultivation, they are roughly at the 6th stage of Entry. They are quite troublesome because they move underground, but they are not strong monsters.
I drew my sword and stared at the ground. I could feel the presence of Earth Oni underground. There were two near me.
“Aaaah! S-save me!”
One of the porters had his leg grabbed by an Earth Oni. The Oni’s long arm constricted his body. His companion next to him hurriedly began to help him. The Earth Oni burrowed into the ground and escaped. Fortunately, the porter did not die.
‘Here it comes.’
I thrust my sword into the ground.
The sword mercilessly pierced the head of the Earth Oni that was rising to the surface. Even if it was a monster, having its head pierced meant instant death.
Having reached the Entry stage, I could easily kill the Earth Oni by sensing their presence.
I looked to the side.
Seong Ji-gon also swung his sword at the right moment when an Earth Oni was rising, easily hunting it down. It seemed that Seong Ji-gon’s senses had become sharper since he reached the 8th stage of Entry.
After the Earth Oni attack ended, Seok Ji-don looked around and said,
“No one died. Those who are injured, do not hide your wounds and report to the guards. And check if the luggage on the wagons is safe. Those who have the time, take out the hearts of the Earth Oni. The hearts of the Earth Oni are good medicinal ingredients that enhance the recovery of bones.”
Seok Ji-don quickly organized the situation. He seemed used to monster attacks. He wasn’t a caravan leader for nothing.
I looked at Seong Ji-gon. Seong Ji-gon was trembling slightly. This battle was a real combat experience for Seong Ji-gon.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just a bit disappointing.”
“What is?”
“Because I didn’t properly utilize the martial arts I’ve learned so far. This time, it was just a matter of slamming my sword down without any martial arts.”
“Don’t be too obsessed with martial arts. Kill when you can.”
“Okay. I understand.”
Seong Ji-gon, with trembling hands, grabbed a dry cloth and wiped the blood off his sword.
•••
After dealing with several monster attacks, we encountered bandits.
Over 100 bandits had surrounded the transport group. The scale was quite large, but Seok Ji-don remained calm.
It wasn’t that he was looking down on the bandits, but he was putting on a show of bravado. If you are looked down upon by bandits, you will only be looted from that moment on.
“Your group looks rather shabby. Did you fight monsters? These days, Earth Oni are rampant.”
The bandit leader, with a carelessly grown beard, chuckled.
He was a muscular man with a large physique. In his hand, he held a huge sword that could split a person in half with one swing.
I didn’t know exactly how strong he was, but it felt like he was similar to or slightly stronger than Seok Ji-don.
“I am Seok Ji-don, the leader of the Jikga Escort Agency.”
“I am Oh Son-mo, the leader of the Oryeong Fortress.”
I looked around. Except for the leader, Oh Son-mo, the other bandits were all small fry. However, the number of over 100 could not be ignored. More than 30 of them were holding bows.
‘If we fight, we’ll be annihilated.’
That would be the case if I didn’t show my true skills.
“We are currently on a trial transport. We didn’t know this was the territory of Oryeong Fortress. We will pay the toll, so please let us pass.”
Even if we brought the Jikga Escort Agency’s military force later to wipe out the bandits, it was wise to avoid a fight for now.
There was a possibility. The bandits had revealed themselves without attacking immediately.
“Jikga Escort Agency, huh? That’s a name I’ve never heard before.”
“The Jikga Escort Agency has decided to expand its area of activity this time. The trial transport is also to find a route. Our Jikga Escort Agency is postponing a life-or-death battle with the Green Forest Bandits to the very end. The Jikga Escort Agency can coexist with Oryeong Fortress.”
“Heh. People change their tune when they’re in a tight spot. Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe your words?”
“Are you going to fight? Let me tell you in advance. Our Jikga Escort Agency is not easy to deal with. The Jikga Escort Agency is a place that always pays back what it owes.”
“…An escort agency must have some level of power. It’s troublesome to make them an enemy, so I’ll just take the toll. 10 silver coins per person. There are 13 of you, so that’s a total of 130 silver coins.”
“That’s too much for a toll. We don’t have that much money.”
“Is the Jikga Escort Agency a group of beggars?”
“Do not insult the Jikga Escort Agency. You are the one making unreasonable demands.”
The air grew cold. The bandits’ murderous intent mixed with the air, making the caravan guards’ chests feel tight.
Ten silver coins. In Korean currency, that’s roughly worth over 1 million won. It was excessively expensive for a toll.
Oh Son-mo, who had been serious, soon drew a twisted smile on his lips.
“I was just joking.”
“……That was not a funny joke.”
“Was it? I thought it was funny. The toll is 1 silver coin per person. That’s a total of 13 coins. If you don’t want to pay, say so now. I’ll just take it myself.”
The bandits all drew their weapons. The caravan guards also drew their weapons and took a stance.
“Who said we wouldn’t pay? Here are 13 coins.”
Seok Ji-don took out the money and gave it to Oh Son-mo. Oh Son-mo checked the 13 silver coins and nodded. The bandits lowered their weapons and grinned.
“A satisfactory transaction. You may use the mountain.”
“Thank you.”
“See you again. Hahaha.”
Oh Son-mo let out a boisterous laugh and disappeared into the mountains with his subordinates.
The caravan guards finally relaxed when the bandits were out of sight. However, some of the porters looked dissatisfied. They were martial artists from the Yoo Seong Sword Sect.
“…Hah. Looking at your faces, it seems you’re dissatisfied that we didn’t fight.”
“Leader Seok! They were just bandits! If we had fought, we would have won!”
“You fools. Don’t underestimate bandits. Bandits are also people. They know how to be cunning. Do you think bandits can’t learn martial arts? Right now, their leader, Oh Son-mo, is a skilled martial artist at a similar level to me.”
“……!!”
“And didn’t you see? The bandits are armed with bows. With your skills, can you perfectly block or dodge arrows flying from all directions?”
“…….”
“Let me give you some advice. Don’t be too overconfident. Martial arts are not exclusive to you.”
Seok Ji-don sighed and checked his pouch. 13 coins. It was not a small amount of money.
“Move quickly. The bandits might change their minds and ambush us at any time.”
The transport group began to move again. However, six hours later, in the evening, they encountered the bandits again.
It was the bandits of Oryeong Fortress that they had seen during the day.
“Hahaha! It’s good to see you again!”
Oh Son-mo, the leader of Oryeong Fortress, laughed loudly. I frowned. I wanted to drop lightning on them, but I couldn’t reveal my power openly here.
“……Oh Son-mo. What is the meaning of this? We paid the toll during the day.”
“You’re talking nonsense. The place during the day and the place in the evening are different. Of course, it’s still our territory, but the toll must be calculated separately. I won’t make it long. It’s 1 silver coin per person.”
“This is absurd…. Where has the way of the Green Forest gone?”
“Hahahaha! I don’t know what way of the Green Forest you know! As far as I know, what I, a bandit, am doing is the way of the Green Forest! If you don’t follow our way, draw your swords! I’ll turn you into porcupines!”
The bandits with bows all drew their bows.
Seok Ji-don bit his lip. Instead of drawing his sword, he opened his pouch.
“……Here are 13 coins.”
“I’ve received it. I’ll allow you to pass this road. Everyone! Let’s go back!”
“Yes, boss!”
The Oryeong Fortress bandits left.
The faces of the caravan guards, including Seok Ji-don, were not bright.
Seok Ji-don sighed weakly and gave an order.
“Let’s go. We’ll move a little further and camp in a suitable place. Even if it’s hard, keep moving. We should arrive in Payang City tomorrow or the day after.”
However, the ordeal did not end there.
In the morning, when they were about to leave after a simple meal, the bandits of Oryeong Fortress came again.
“Hahahahaha! Did you sleep well? The mountain’s energy must have been good, so you must have slept well!”
“Why are you here again?!”
“I’ve come to collect the toll.”
“We paid the toll yesterday! We haven’t moved far from where we paid yesterday!”
“Yesterday’s toll and today’s toll are different!”
“You’re just being unreasonable! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”
“Why, are you going to attack us? Fine. If you want to attack, go ahead. I’ll kill you all and loot everything, even your underwear!”
“……Tch.”
Life was more precious than money.
It was a fact that everyone knew.
Seok Ji-don took out 13 coins from his pouch.
“Wait. It’s 2 coins per person.”
“Why has the price suddenly doubled?!”
“Because yesterday and today are different. If you don’t want to pay the toll, draw your swords.”
“……We don’t have enough money. All I have is 17 coins.”
“Don’t keep stalling. Don’t those guys have pouches too?”
Oh Son-mo pointed at the porters. Seok Ji-don, feeling humiliated, distorted his face and approached the porters to borrow money.
“……24 coins…. We’re 2 coins short.”
“Don’t keep acting like a fool. There are those underlings over there too.”
Oh Son-mo pointed at the porters. Seok Ji-don, feeling humiliated, distorted his face and approached the porters to borrow money.
“……26 coins.”
“Hahahaha! Money is the best, after all!”
The bandits left.
However, around noon, the bandits of Oryeong Fortress surrounded us again.
“This is our fourth meeting. We might end up getting attached to each other.”
“…Why are you doing this to us?”
“Our Green Forest does not mistreat guests.”
“Bullshit….”
“It’s 2 coins per person. If you don’t want to die, hand it over.”
They collected the money the porters had. It wasn’t even 10 silver coins.
“We don’t have any money. This is all we have.”
“Don’t you have goods loaded on the wagons? Even the horses are worth money…. Your clothes and weapons are also worth money.”
“…These are different from money. We cannot hand over the transport goods. Although it is a trial transport, it is a matter of the Jikga Escort Agency’s pride. If word gets out that we surrendered the transport goods to bandits, who would entrust their goods to the Jikga Escort Agency?”
“Then hand over your weapons and clothes.”
“If we don’t have clothes, we’ll freeze to death at night, and if we don’t have weapons, we’ll be killed by monsters. Since we’re going to die either way, it’s better to die fighting. Even though we look like this, we are martial artists who have formally learned martial arts. Those guys are from the Yoo Seong Sword Sect. Even if we are annihilated, we will take half of you to the afterlife with us.”
Oh Son-mo narrowed his eyes. Then, he burst into a hearty laugh again.
“Hahahaha! To think you would resist this much. It can’t be helped. If you don’t have money, you have to pay with your body. Follow me. I’ll give you work that suits you. If you don’t follow, we’ll fight.”
Seok Ji-don bit his lip and pondered. He pondered for over 10 minutes.
The bandits who surrounded us on all sides were glaring with their eyes.
“How long are you going to keep your mouth shut? Answer me.”
“……I understand. I’ll do as you say.”
“Hahahaha! Good thinking! Follow me! I’ll show you our mountain fortress!”
We were dragged to the mountain fortress and had to do hard labor. We did mountains of laundry, chopped wood to make firewood. We moved heavy logs to make fences, and we had to carry rocks within the fortress.
Their intention was obvious.
To exhaust our stamina as much as possible. And then to attack and kill us all in the middle of the night.
It was a plan to minimize their own losses.
The transport group was only able to leave the mountain fortress after working until evening.
•••
They made one mistake.
That was showing us their mountain fortress.
In the Oryeong Fortress, there were women. They were the families of the bandits. Among them, there were some pretty women. Of course, there were also some old women that were Seong Ji-gon’s type.
Seong Ji-gon and I were very excited to see the women. We hadn’t even seen the back of a woman’s head for the past few days. The effect of forced celibacy was great. Our balls were swollen and full.
Late at night.
We secretly slipped out of the barracks and put on human skin masks.
“Ready, Jin?”
“Yeah…. Of course, Gon.”
