By Zephyria 
77
“…….”
Ho-eun pursed his lips. He wanted to retort, but no words came to mind. It was a statement he couldn’t deny or confirm. At that moment, the doctor handed him something he had placed on the side of the desk.
“Take this with you. It looks valuable.”
It was Ho-eun’s handkerchief. Ho-eun took it but didn’t take the money. Just as he was about to thank the doctor again,
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
A thunderous sound came from outside the building. It was a sound so immense that the entire building trembled, and he had heard it before. It was the same sound he had heard when he first arrived at the hospital.
Cannons.
Ho-eun involuntarily moved towards the window. Seong-im, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Then, she looked out the window instead.
Just then, thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound of cannons echoed again. The hospital shook as if it were about to collapse.
Seong-im drew her sword. Ho-eun also held the child tightly. The startled child wrapped his arms around Ho-eun’s neck. The three of them stiffened.
“…….”
“…….”
The doctor and the nurse, however, were not surprised. They even seemed indifferent, as if it were a common occurrence.
The cannon fire sounded a couple more times before stopping abruptly. However, Seong-im remained vigilant with her sword drawn, constantly checking the windows and the door. Then, the doctor said in a monotonous voice.
“You should leave quickly. They’ll be back soon.”
“Excuse me? What is…….”
As Ho-eun questioned, the door to the examination room burst open, and a soldier covered in blood appeared.
“Doctor!”
At that, the doctor sighed deeply and stood up. The nurse also brushed her cheek with her shoulder and stood up. They only gave Ho-eun a nod before leaving the examination room.
So, ironically, Ho-eun and Seong-im, the guests, were the last to leave the examination room.
Outside the examination room, after the cannon fire, was even more chaotic than before. People bleeding profusely were everywhere, especially the soldiers who were badly injured.
Ho-eun then realized why the cannons had been fired. The Devouring Ghouls, who came in droves from time to time, seemed to have stormed the hospital again.
“It seems the Devouring Ghouls have attacked. I wonder if Officer Oh is alright? The cannon fire has stopped……. Now that the child has been treated, we should return.”
Ho-eun said to Seong-im. He was worried that Gil-sang hadn’t contacted him yet, even though he said he would come once the situation was under control.
Ho-eun carefully crossed the blood-soaked hallway with the child in his arms. Seong-im followed him with an unreadable expression.
As they left the hospital, they smelled the pungent and acrid odor of explosives. Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers and town soldiers were moving busily amidst the chaos.
Ho-eun craned his neck and looked around, searching for Gil-sang. Fortunately, Gil-sang was directing something near the fence. Although there was blood splattered on his face, it didn’t seem to be his own.
Following his instructions, the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers fought the Devouring Ghouls that had crossed the fence. The Devouring Ghouls that had been hit by the cannons were easy to deal with, as their limbs had melted away, leaving only their Helmet Bones intact. However, the fact that they had crossed the fence meant that there was a breach in the defense system.
Ho-eun, who had been observing the situation from a distance, squatted down on the edge of a flower bed in the yard, as it was a bit tiring to hold the child. Seong-im stood beside him as a matter of course, and Ho-eun looked up at her and said.
“I’ll stay here. Seong-im, please go and do your work. Thank you for accompanying me.”
But Seong-im shook her head.
“Do you mean to stay by my side?”
This time, she nodded.
“…….”
Ho-eun tried to send her away again, but then he just closed his mouth. It didn’t seem like she would leave if he told her to. There was also something Gil-sang had said once.
‘If I die here protecting you, Young Master, another one will come. If that one dies, another one will come. Even if they all die, you must stay still, Young Master.’
Perhaps Seong-im also had such a belief. Thinking that far, his heart suddenly felt heavy. It felt like he was a burden to them.
Should he have just stayed at the garrison? Would that have been the right thing to do? Ho-eun sighed silently as he pondered.
Tae-muk, who had entered Ramjae Town through the west wall, had to stop in his tracks. His dark eyes narrowed at the unexpected sight.
“Ha……, what is this?”
This wasn’t the first time he had come to help a town invaded by Devouring Ghouls. Sometimes the Devouring Ghouls had just stormed in, causing chaos, and sometimes the news was late, and the Devouring Ghouls had already devoured everyone and left. He had seen all sorts of situations, but this was a first.
Soil covered the entire area. Not just the ground, but literally the entire town. Buildings swept away by the soil had collapsed or fallen, and trees were uprooted and lying horizontally or even upside down.
“…….”
Tae-muk scanned it with narrowed eyes. It was hard to see this as the work of the Devouring Ghouls. It had to be a landslide.
He turned his head to look at the Ramjae Town soldier at the front. It was the soldier who had come to the Crimson Rain Brigade’s garrison. He asked with his eyes what had happened, but the soldier also looked bewildered. He was gaping and looking around, as if the town wasn’t like this when he left two days ago.
Tsk, Tae-muk clicked his tongue and jumped off his horse. Then, the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers followed him and dismounted in unison.
“…….”
Tae-muk strode towards the pile of dirt, looking around. He was trying to deduce the reason for the landslide.
It wasn’t strange for a landslide to occur. Nature was always capricious and mischievous.
But it was strange that a landslide had occurred at this time when the Devouring Ghouls had attacked.
Had it rained particularly heavily in the last two days? Or had there been strong winds?
Ramjae Town, as its name suggested, was a windy valley with huge mountains on both sides, where the valley wind blew fiercely. It was a place where the wind always blew throughout the four seasons. That’s why it made even less sense.
The mountains here must have endured the valley wind for a long time that humans could not fathom. They must be that strong. They couldn’t have been brought down by mere wind or rain.
“…….”
Tae-muk stepped hard on the soil with his foot. The dark brown soil didn’t allow his foot to sink in deeply, even when he stepped on it with force. It was hard soil. It was because they had been in that place for a long time, standing on the boundary between soil and rock.
It was hard to see this kind of soil as collapsed. Unless it was broken.
“Bring the map.”
Tae-muk gestured behind him.
“Yes.”
Byeonguk, the soldier who always guarded Tae-muk’s back, quickly brought the map and unfolded it.
[Map of Ramjae Town]
“…….”
Tae-muk examined the map. He looked at the castle gate, the guest house, the government office, the armory, the Yeonghwa Restaurant, and the Geumgyo Herbal Medicine Store before going back up the map. His gaze stopped at.
[Armory]
It was the armory. It was located right below the mountain.
“Do they also store gunpowder in the armory?”
Tae-muk asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the map. He was asking the Ramjae Town soldier. However, he was lost in the pile of dirt that covered the town so densely. At that, Byeonguk, who was holding the map, called out, “Hey.” Only then did the soldier come to his senses.
“Yes, yes?”
“He asked if they also store gunpowder in the armory.”
“Ah, yes. I believe so.”
At that answer, Tae-muk’s brow furrowed.
“What kind of idiot puts gunpowder under a mountain?”
“Ah, uh, that, that is…….”
The flustered soldier stammered. Tae-muk waved his hand as if to say it was enough. What would the soldier know? It must have been something a stupid superior did. He probably thought he was putting the gunpowder in a shady place, but that decision had brought about this disaster.
Tae-muk slowly looked around at the buildings that had been crushed and buried in the soil. Even if the Devouring Ghouls had attacked, the buildings wouldn’t have collapsed this much. At this rate, what were the people who lived here supposed to do…….
“What should we do?”
Byeonguk asked.
“…….”
Tae-muk pondered. The soldier had been away for two days. Since he said that the town was fine when he left, even if the landslide had occurred immediately after he left, it meant that at most two days had passed.
If there were people buried under the buildings, they would likely still be alive, even if they hadn’t had water or food. At the same time, the longer they were left, the more likely they were to die.
Tae-muk clicked his tongue. He roughly swept back his bangs. It seemed like things were going to get complicated.
Originally, killing was easy, but saving was difficult.
The original plan was to secure shelters, rescue people, and kill the Devouring Ghouls. It seemed like he would have to completely change the order. Tae-muk pointed to the ‘West Shelter’ on the map and said.
“Pick a few of the fastest runners and have them go check if this place is intact.”
“Yes.”
“The rest of us will rescue people here. Be careful when lifting buildings or rocks. We can’t let them collapse further and bury the people underneath.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And I will…….”
Tae-muk trailed off and slowly turned his head. Towards the collapsed buildings in the distance.
Caw!
Caw, caw! Caw!
The Devouring Ghouls, having smelled humans, were running towards them one by one.
“I’ll take care of those.”
Tae-muk’s eyes turned black.