The first day of the escort was very peaceful.
Before entering the mountain path, they only traveled on flat terrain, so the risk of encountering bandits was low, and they were far from areas suspected of demon sightings, so Baek Woo Jin could relax and drink.
“Here, some snacks…”
An Se Ha was full of questions as he watched the two people in front of him.
Are these really the children of noble families?
The heir of the Shaanxi Baek family spent the entire day drinking, and the ghost-like girl beside him… no, the daughter of the Jegal family just fidgeted with her fingers before seemingly making a decision. She opened a bundle, took out some jerky, tore it into small pieces, and handed them to the man each time he took a sip.
“This is the life.”
No matter how he looked at it, that guy was clearly a loafer.
An Se Ha closed his eyes.
The real escort mission started on the mountain path.
Not long after entering the mountains, the anticipated bandits appeared and the battle was about to start.
“Kuhahaha! If you don’t want to die, leave everything you have and go your way!”
Seeing that they were trying to take everything they could without even negotiating a toll, it was obvious that they were either overly greedy or had just started living this way and didn’t know how things worked around here.
“Foolish! To think you would reject my goodwill!”
The battle began with one of the most famous lines uttered by bandits.
At the request of the merchant guild master, Baek Woo Jin and Jegal Yeon Ji stood in front of his carriage. And they dealt with the bandits charging at them.
Though there were quite a few, they were all of mediocre skill, making it easy to handle multiple opponents.
“Urgh…”
But then it happened.
After quickly dealing with two bandits charging at him with glittering eyes, Baek Woo Jin immediately leaped away.
Once he was out of the fight, he leaned against a tree and started to vomit what he had eaten.
“Blergh, ugh!”
The fierce battle momentarily halted.
Bandits, guards, and mercenaries alike all stared blankly at this absurd situation.
“Sir Baek…!”
Jegal Yeon Ji who had subdued all the bandits targeting her with her advanced martial arts ran over to him.
“Are, are you okay…?”
As Jegal Yeon Ji approached Baek Woo Jin and patted his back with a worried look, one of the mercenaries muttered in disbelief.
“That guy… is a future leader of the orthodox faction…?”
The mercenaries that weren’t part of any faction made up their minds.
The orthodox faction will be destroyed like dogs!
They decided that if a war broke out between the orthodox faction and the unorthodox faction, they would join the unorthodox faction.
“Ugh… did I drink too much?”
It was all because of the jerky.
The jerky that Jegal Yeon Ji handed out was the best he’d ever had.
No matter what it was made of, the salty taste and texture were far too excellent to be mere dried food.
“Hey, here, some water…”
“Thanks.”
After rinsing his mouth with the water Jegal Yeon Ji handed him, he returned to the carriage to find the battle already over.
Since the bandits were such novices, there were no injuries, and everyone was busy with post-battle cleanup.
“Good, good work.”
An Se Ha who had been clinging to the carriage offered his thanks with a hesitant expression.
It was unclear whether he was thanking them for their hard work in fighting or in vomiting.
The caravan set off again and stopped just as the sun began to set.
“Begin preparations for camping.”
“Yes.”
They began setting up camp on the mountainside.
While the members of the caravan were busy preparing the campsite, Baek Woo Jin was lying in the carriage.
“Ugh, I can’t drink anymore…”
He continued to mumble.
He had drunk to refill his empty stomach and was now lying with his head on Jegal Yeon Ji’s lap and talking in his sleep.
“E-Eeek …”
Jegal Yeon Ji’s shoulders shook as she looked down at Baek Woo Jin’s face on her lap. An Se Ha who felt an inexplicable ghostly energy coming from Jegal Yeon Ji’s crown shivered and opened the door to escape the carriage.
“Hmm…?
The sound of the door opening woke Baek Woo Jin from his sleep.
“Oh, ah…”
The sense of euphoria that had been soaring plummeted to the ground instantly.
Jegal Yeon Ji’s eyes which were partially hidden by her bangs were now filled with resentment.
“Why did the door make a sound…?”
Feeling uneasy, An Se-ha hurriedly exited the carriage and grabbed the manager to scold him.
“How on earth do you manage the carriage…!”
Baek Woo Jin sat up, stretched his arms, and looked at Jegal Yeon Ji.
“Was it very uncomfortable for you? I’m sorry.”
“N-No! Not at all! You can rest on my lap again next time…!”
“O-Okay…”
It was an overwhelming force.
Beyond the open carriage door, the campsite preparations were almost complete.
Baek Woo Jin spoke to Jegal Yeon Ji who was smiling widely for some reason,
“We should start getting ready for camp too….”
It was then that someone interrupted.
“Young hero, young lady! We’ve prepared your sleeping quarters, so please head that way.”
“…Already finished?”
He was impressed by the goat-like manager’s preparations.
The campsite was naturally divided into two areas.
One area was for the merchants and laborers while the other was for the hired mercenaries.
As Baek Woo Jin and Jegal Yeon Ji stepped out of the carriage, quite a few gazes turned their way.
“Hmm.”
Most of the stares came from the mercenaries.
Perhaps it was because he vomited after drinking, but he felt that the looks directed his way were quite hostile.
Look at these guys.
Baek Woo Jin who had vowed never to read any fantasy novels after returning from that other world, had immersed himself in martial arts for months.
He knew that most mercenaries were self-taught martial artists without formal training or masters.
Without strong backing, they had to be extremely perceptive to survive.
Distinguishing between those they could fight and those they couldn’t was essential for them to survive for at least a few more years.
To them, disciples of major sects or children of noble clans were like walking disasters.
This was because if they provoked the wrong person and caused an explosion, whether they themselves were destroyed or their sect or family was ruined, it wouldn’t end well.
So the fact that these people were sending such insolent looks meant only one thing.
They really are looking down on me.
Even taking everything into account, if they thought their opponent looked easy, they would act this way.
Sometimes, a significantly weaker member of a noble clan wasn’t seen as a threat but as a potential badge of honor.
Winning a formal duel or match against them could provide not only lifelong bragging rights but also opportunities to boost one’s reputation and honor.
“Heh.”
Baek Woo Jin was very familiar with this kind of situation.
So, it annoyed him.
“I was hoping to rest because I wasn’t feeling well….”
During his first otherworldly life in that fantasy world, Baek Woo Jin had many comrades.
….
As battles ensued, inevitably some positions would open up and new people would fill those spots. Among them, there were quite a few who dismissed him and looked down on him just because he was so young.
At first, he didn’t want to make enemies and thought he could prove himself through his actions in future battles.
But he was wrong.
Even in battles where they ended with minimal losses, they would spout nonsense. They would say things like he should have won without a single scratch or whatnot. This made Baek Woo Jin realize something.
Oh, these guys only understand if you beat them into shape!
It started from that point.
Baek Woo Jin’s specialty was establishing hierarchy.
This is for their sake too.
Although Baek Woo Jin and the mercenaries couldn’t be called comrades, there was no doubt that they had to coordinate in the upcoming battles.
But what if those who harbored resentment toward Baek Woo Jin ignored the chain of command and acted as they pleased?
What would happen to the lives of those who made wrong choices?
So, swiftly organizing the hierarchy and reshaping their mindset was also a way to save their lives.
Hmph, hmph… Later, they will all thank me for this.
Smiling contentedly at the thought of everyone expressing their gratitude with clasped fists, Baek Woo Jin moved towards the mercenaries.
As the distance gradually closed between them, the scattered mercenaries began to gather one by one.
This was a characteristic of the mercenaries.
They had no solid backing or connections; they just ventured into the harsh world of Moorim with nothing but their guts.
Having lived tough lives to survive, they would fight each other to the brink of death but naturally come together to unite against external threats.
It’s somewhat similar to a close-knit family.
It was okay for an older brother to beat his younger sibling, but if the sibling got beaten outside, the older brother would go crazy and would ask to know who did it.
“What’s going on here?”
As Baek Woo Jin approached the campsite, the commander of the mercenaries Seok Dae stepped forward.
He was certainly someone worthy of being the commander.
His skills aside, he had an instinct that surpassed others.
For example, while everyone else looked at Baek Woo Jin with disdain, only Seok Dae watched him with a calm gaze.
“Oh, it’s nothing special.”
Baek Woo Jin casually spoke down to him, causing a few of the mercenaries’ expressions to turn more hostile.
Baek Woo Jin singled out a few of those hostile men with his finger.
“You, you, you.”
There were three in total.
“There’s still some time before dinner. How about we warm up a bit?”
Let’s have a match, you bastards.
Leave a Reply