The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

The ghost, wheezing as its throat was squeezed, struggled to reply to Seol's question.

"Keek… Yaksha… Are you looking for Yaksha?"

"Yes, where is he?"

"I might feel like talking if you let me go."

"…"

Seol slightly loosened his grip.

Now that the ghost could breathe a bit more comfortably, it said.

"What are you? How do you know about Yaksha?"

"That's not something you need to worry about. Where's Yaksha?"

"Just like this."

The ghost rolled its eyes before starting to speak.

"No one knows where Yaksha is."

"Why?"

"Because Yaksha has torn down the boundaries—it becomes the path wherever it goes—no one can know where it went."

"Torn down the boundaries… does that mean…"

The ghost looked at the burning monsters and grinned.

"Yes. A huge hole has been torn between the Ghost Realm and the human world. The name of that hole is…"

Click…

The ghost's sword started to unsheathe itself.

"Yak… sha…"

Stab-!

As Seol's hand slashed horizontally, the ghost's head flew off with a spray of blood.

His expression darkened.

'Where are you… Yaksha.'

Seol frowned and looked around at the countless monsters and ghosts.

Even the flames from the cannon attack weren’t enough to kill them all.

He shook off his ominous thoughts and began eliminating the culprits behind the situation one by one.

Stab!

Crash!

As Seol and Chi Woo advanced, the already chaotic valley descended further into madness.

Kiik!

Thud!

Whirl!

Kwaaaa!

Biran and the transferees who assisted in tracking the monsters didn't engage in battle. Instead, they marked the ghosts and monsters fleeing from Seol—for Seong Jo to be completely freed from the threat, every trace of evil in this place had to be eradicated.

By the time Seol and Chi Woo beheaded the last marked ghost, five days had passed since they had emerged from the sewers of Seong Jo.

* * *

"Here! Please, look over here!"

"Lady Seol Hong! And Mr. Kang Seol! Please, say a word to my child!"

"Lord Chi Woo!"

Swoosh…

As Chi Woo slightly lifted the cloth covering the window of their lodging, he saw a huge crowd gathered outside.

"They've been there for two days."

"Let them be, Chi Woo."

"But… Oof. Being stuck inside all the time is a bit suffocating."

Not long after Seol Hong was dispatched, Seong Jo returned to normalcy. This was all thanks to Seol and Chi Woo, who had driven out the ghosts and monsters.

- The fragrance of a Dragon's Flower is only for the people.

Chi Woo’s words to the soldiers quickly spread throughout the city’s citizens.

As a result, Seol Hong and Chi Woo became revered as if they were saints who had appeared in Khan during times of chaos.

This caused inconveniences such as being confined to their lodgings, but there were also some positive aspects.

[Special Stat: Charm has been confirmed.]

[Special Stat: Charm has been unlocked.]

[Related Title: A Charming Individual has been deleted, and 30 points have been added to the Charm stat.]

Seol had unlocked at new stat.

He could now check the Charm attached to the equipment.

[Special Stat: Charm]

- A special stat that affects all beings that have intelligence. It sparks curiosity in those meeting you for the first time and fosters affection in those who already know you. The higher the value, the more likely others are to be captivated by you.

'Charm is also a good stat… as long as you don't overdo it.'

Charm had a similar effectiveness to Spirit.

If you have a good enough amount of Charm, you could easily overcome hard adventures.

However, excessively high Charm could lead to dangerous situations.

Like a duchess urging you to run away with her or a woman you've never interacted with seeking revenge for unrequited love.

'It isn't bad to have some.'

Having unlocked Charm through this incident was another decent reward. Seol Hong and Seol's actions breathed life into the chaotic situation in Khan.

Thanks to that, Seol Hong's name became known even in faraway regions.

In any case, Seong Jo would now gradually return to daily life.

"When is the Central Army withdrawing?"

"It hasn't been decided yet. But they will probably be dispatched to another region once the city is cleaned up."

Outside the window, citizens could be seen shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Lady Seol Hong will be the one to become the dragon!"

"Have mercy on the people!"

Oof…

Seol Hong sighed.

She turned to Seol and asked.

"They say we're the only ones who have completed the mission in this area… What do you want to do about our next destination?"

"Hmm…"

"Retreating and waiting for the situation to calm down is also an option."

Hearing those words, Seol and Seol Hong exchanged glances and smiled.

"There's no way we could do that."

"Right, the situation doesn’t allow us such a luxury."

Knock, knock…

Sibi knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"A messenger has arrived."

"A messenger? Whose?"

"Well…"

It seemed that Sibi and the messenger were arguing outside.

And shortly after, the messenger spoke directly from beyond the door.

"Ehem… I'm going to tell you myself. I'm…"

* * *

A large man yawned as he spoke, "Yawn—! Lady Shin Yo, I'll go up there and take a look. I think I'll be able to get a better view from above."

"Go ahead."

"Yes…"

The large man was Jang Du, and the woman who was left alone was Shin Yo.

No, it wouldn't be accurate to say that she was left alone.

As she walked a bit, a group of people emerged. It was a Central Army camp.

The Large Soldier there was only mobilized to transport supplies. The only ones present were the infantry and cavalry.

Once it was revealed that ghosts were behind this incident and that the Large Soldiers were vulnerable to them, the Large Soldiers were relegated to being used solely as a means of transport.

"This is tragic…"

The camp was full of wounded soldiers.

The medics were doing their best to treat them, but they couldn’t make miracles like reattaching severed limbs happen.

"It's over… the rest of the people must be dead too…"

The people’s faces looked despondent.

The citizens of the city also received food rations at the camp.

They were staying outside the city rather than inside.

The reason the camp was set up on the outskirts of the city was simple: the city had been taken by the invaders.

How incompetent did one need to be to lose an entire city to ghosts?

Shin Yo approached a man whose face was full of worry.

"Elder brother."

"Shin Yo, so you've come. Where's Jang Du?"

"He's checking the surroundings."

"I see… Good job coming all the way here."

"The situation in Dam Heung wasn't severe, so I was able to get here as quickly as possible, but…"

"Does this situation look bad to you as well…?"

Shin Yo nodded.

Tae Yul was someone confident and fearless.

He wasn't someone who would get dejected after losing a city, but the fact that he lost it in the first place was suspicious.

'I wonder just what happened…'

Shin Yo changed the subject.

"Can't we retake the city with our remaining forces?"

"Probably not…"

"Then why not retreat? Even if we abandon the city, we could regroup and…"

"It isn't that we aren't retreating. It's that we can't."

"What…?"

Shin Yo assumed that Tae Yul was being stubborn. She thought that he was too afraid of failure to consider retreating.

However, the words that came out of Tae Yul's mouth shattered her expectations.

"The problem isn't Gi Seom."

Gi Seom was the name of the city Tae Yul had lost.

"Then…"

"There are citizens still stuck inside Gi Seom, according to survivor testimonies. They took shelter in the city’s underground tunnels when the air raids began. Until we escaped, there were no signs that they had been found."

"Oh my god… but even if they're alive, by now…"

"Should we believe that? For what purpose?"

"…"

"It isn't for the citizens of the Empire but for my own selfish desire."

Shin Yo remained silent.

That was her nature.

She understood what Tae Yul was saying, but she couldn't empathize with him; that's why people often called her cold.

She was suitable for managing a country but too rigid to rule one; that's why she did her best to suppress these flaws.

In contrast, Tae Yul faced everything head-on. While this approach often led to resistance and created many enemies, Tae Yul accepted it as an inevitable part of his path.

He was a man who, even if he became ridden with wounds, would keep moving forward.

Shin Yo thought that he resembled a certain aspect of someone.

"Shin Yo."

"Yes?"

"Geok Bi and Jin Ryeo have infiltrated Gi Seom."

"To check the underground tunnels…?"

"That's right. The citizens who took shelter in the tunnels…"

Tae Yul tightly closed his eyes.

"They are still alive."

"…"

Shin Yo clenched her fists tightly.

Knowing this, they couldn't retreat.

- Take care of the people.

She had to act according to the words of the Dragon Emperor, Hong Cheon.

"That's a relief. What about Geok Bi and Jin Ryeo…?"

"I haven't received news from them yet."

"Oh no…"

"We'll go after them if there's still no news by sunset."

* * *

"Oof… Oof… It's a monster!"

"Jin Ryeo… I didn't even see it."

"Geok Bi, shut up… Oof… We're running right now."

Paf!

Jin Ryeo leaped over a stream of water.

Although she couldn't feel any presence behind her, she kept running forward as if she were escaping from something.

"Oof… Oof… This is strange… today… I was told luck would be on my side."

"Hihi… What are you talking about?"

Jin Ryeo was carrying Geok Bi on her back.

Geok Bi was severely injured. Blood was oozing from her agape wound.

"You know… Every morning, Kunna reads my fortune. The fortune said I would have great luck today! I've never been this lucky in my life! So why…"

The two were tasked with the most dangerous mission.

Geok Bi followed out of loyalty, but Jin Ryeo had taken on this mission because she believed that only they could accomplish it.

They had used their special abilities to infiltrate the city and confirmed the existence of underground tunnels in Gi Seom.

"Help us…"

"Get us out of here…"

"Oh my god…"

Having found hundreds of survivors, Jin Ryeo and Geok Bi couldn't hide their surprise.

Since things had turned out like this, they had no choice but to retake the city.

They scribbled the bad news in a letter, trying to make it sound positive.

- Survivors confirmed.

They promised they would return later and were planning to escape. If they hadn't encountered that creature the moment they tried to leave the city, they might have succeeded.

If that had happened, they would have truly been lucky.

Whoosh…

"Huh"

Geok Bi was wounded in the blink of an eye.

They couldn't see what had happened.

At that moment, Jin Ryeo used all her assets.

No—she offered it to Kunna.

'Kunna! Get us out of here!'

BOOM-!

Jin Ryeo and Geok Bi ran away from that place at blazing speed.

Geok Bi briefly lost consciousness.

While carrying her on her back, Jin Ryeo just kept running.

She wasn't sure where the camp was.

She just thought she had to keep running to survive.

That was the situation they were in.

"Jin Ryeo, leave me behind and leave…"

"Shut up! It's already hard enough!"

"No one will doubt your loyalty to Lord Tae Yul even if you leave me behind…"

"Tae Yul? Who cares! I'm only tied down here because of money!"

"That's more of a reason to leave me behind… There's no need to fight that creature…"

"Hey! I have dignity!"

Jin Ryeo screamed in frustration.

"I'm not fighting that monster. I'm fighting your death! Don't you dare die in front of me!"

"Jin Ryeo…"

"I should have stayed in the North… I shouldn't have come here… They said there was money to be made in Khan… I just kept spending everything I earned… Oof… Damn it…"

"Haha… The creature's here, Jin Ryeo."

"I don't have any money left! Try to stop it!"

"Understood…"

Whoosh…

As Geok Bi exhaled, the hissing of cicadas began echoing from all directions.

Cri…

Cri… Cri… Cri…

"AAHH! MY EARS!"

"Shut up. It's hard to mask the sound."

"Oof… Oof…"

"Didn't you hear me? Be quiet."

"Are you saying I shouldn't even breathe?"

[Geok Bi used Sound Theater.]

[You reproduce the sound stored in your memories.]

From a distance, the voices of Geok Bi and someone else could be heard.

"Geok Bi, I want you to fight for me."

"Lord Tae Yul, that would be an honor."

Fwoosh…

The creature chasing them tore through the sound.

Geok Bi whispered to Jin Ryeo.

"The creature cut through the sound. It's still chasing us."

"…"

She added one more thing.

"I can hear it. At this speed, we'll cross paths with a carriage in about 10 seconds. One… Two…"

The hairs on the back of Jin Ryeo's neck stood on end.

"A carriage? Damn it… Why here of all places…?"

The current situation in Gi Seom had spread across the entire continent, yet someone was leisurely riding a carriage nearby!

She needed to make a choice.

Was the person in the carriage an ally or just someone who hadn't heard the news?

"No matter who it is, they'll get killed by the creature!"

In that case, she needed to make a difficult choice.

Would Jin Ryeo and Geok Bi die? Or would the people in the carriage die?

The decision was postponed until Geok Bi finished counting to ten.

Fwoosh-!

As the carriage came into view, she felt a murderous intent from behind her.

"I'm sorry!"

Jin Ryeo leaped over the carriage.

BOOM-!

The monster clashed with the carriage.

Even at that moment, Jin Ryeo kept moving.

Because of the thought that she might die if she stopped moving, she kept running.

And a few seconds later, she came to an abrupt stop.

"Jin Ryeo? Hurry…"

"Oof… Oof… So this was the huge luck that Kunna was talking about."

"What…?"

As Jin Ryeo turned around and looked at a dark figure emerging from the wrecked carriage, she made an ambiguous expression, unsure whether she was crying or laughing.

"The fortune was right!"

"That man… who…"

Creak…

Creak…

There was a dark figure holding a crimson blade with both hands.

"Fingers! Those fingers!"

GRRR…

Shaking from the impact, Seol whispered to the opponent, who was holding a sword.

"You…"

The swordsman wearing a terrifying mask struggled to cut down Seol.

"So it's you."

[Sudden Adventure 'Usurper Yaksha' is now active.]

[This Adventure is very dangerous.]

…

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