By Zephyria 
136
Ho-eun tilted his upper body and looked ahead. Dozens of soldiers were running towards them not far away. Judging by the fluttering red flags with cloud patterns, they were from the same Crimson Rain Brigade. It seemed the ones who had gone ahead were returning.
The Crimson Rain Brigade had divided into four groups as they finished organizing the existing garrison and began to move.
The first group, to which Ho-eun belonged, had the largest number of people. It was a group that only moved without any particular mission. On the other hand, the second group went ahead to scout the road, the third group moved at a similar speed at a short distance to protect the first group, and the last, the fourth group, followed behind, erasing the traces of the Crimson Rain Brigade’s movement.
The group now returning was the second group that had gone to check the road in advance. Dong-ja was at the head, and Man-soo was also faintly visible behind her.
They went straight to Tae-muk and told him something. Then, they naturally joined behind Tae-muk. Ho-eun fixed his gaze on them and said.
“It seems there are no Devouring Ghouls in front.”
“Because it’s near the garrison. We already swept this area, so there aren’t many Eater Bugs around here. We’ll probably be able to go without any problems for a few days.”
“I see.”
Ho-eun smiled faintly at the welcome news. He felt that killing Devouring Ghouls over and over was indeed helpful.
After that, Ho-eun continued to talk with Gil-sang about various things, but he had to groan at the blowing wind. He narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.
The vast white plain stretched out endlessly.
The winter sun is short. It felt like they had eaten lunch on horseback not long ago, but the sun seemed to set, and before they could even admire the sunset, night arrived. The temperature dropped further, and the wind blew even more fiercely. It was hard to tell whether it was the wind scratching his face or the claws of a beast.
“…….”
Ho-eun couldn’t even groan anymore and just squeezed his eyes shut.
When will this torturous journey end? He had vaguely heard that they might have to move for a whole month. He wondered if he could endure this cold for that long, and he was feeling depressed.
Then, a stop signal came from the front. Ten thousand people stopped all at once. Ho-eun, with wide eyes, looked at Gil-sang. Then Gil-sang smiled slightly and said the words he had been eagerly waiting for.
“It seems we’re resting here today.”
At those words, Ho-eun smiled brightly for the first time since they had set off.
The soldiers diligently set up tents, stood guard, and started cooking. Perhaps because they were used to moving, their actions were very skillful and quick. It didn’t take long for a village of tents to be completed. The tents were a little smaller and lighter than the military tents used in the garrison, but they provided excellent protection from the cold wind and cold.
Ho-eun went into the tent, ate steaming potato soup, and slept in Tae-muk’s arms. Thus, the first day ended safely.
The second day continued with crossing the plain. Lunch was eaten on horseback as on the previous day, but Ho-eun was gnawing on a rice ball that he didn’t know if it was hardened or frozen when it was snatched away by the swirling wind. Gil-sang smiled and offered to share his rice ball, but he refused, thinking that it would only cause trouble if he ate it.
And that evening, Man-soo offered him alcohol. Unlike Dong-ja, the God of War, Man-soo, the Bondmate, was very sensitive to the cold, and he said that he drank alcohol whenever that happened. He said that a few drinks would make the cold go away.
So, Ho-eun drank alcohol for the first time in his life. He had only taken three sips, but it wasn’t bad that his solar plexus was getting warm.
He was strangely happy and smiling foolishly, so Tae-muk cursed and hit the back of Man-soo’s head. Man-soo covered his eyes, saying that his eyeballs had popped out, and stomped his feet in place.
Ho-eun found the sight funny and had to burst into laughter even louder than before.
The third day. Finally, the plain ended and the forest began. It was still cold enough to make his jaw chatter, but perhaps because the trees were dense, the wind didn’t swirl as much as on the plain. That alone made him feel much better.
But ironically, Ho-eun felt a fever rising in his body. His throat was stinging, and he was coughing, which was clearly a cold.
That night, Tae-muk, who had placed his hand on Ho-eun’s forehead, which was burning with fever, muttered a curse and called for ‘Old Man’.
The Old Man, who examined Ho-eun, scared him with terrible words, saying that Ho-eun was so weak that he could die if the fever rose further, that his brain could be damaged, and then offered treatments such as keeping his body warm, feeding him hot things, and making him sweat.
So, Ho-eun filled his stomach with hot herbal medicine, was surrounded by a brazier, and fell asleep almost wrapped around Tae-muk’s body.
The fourth day. The day was still cold, the forest had deepened, and Ho-eun was still groaning with a cold.
Because of the densely packed trees, the Crimson Rain Brigade couldn’t find a place to set up tents even though it was late at night. So, as they had done in the bamboo forest before, they decided to huddle together and sleep. Ho-eun was also wriggling to find a place on the ground.
Dong-ja and Man-soo, along with a few soldiers, cut down trees and made a flat ground, and went out of their way to set up a tent. Ho-eun was very embarrassed and refused, but by Tae-muk’s order, he had to spend the night in that tent with him.
Ho-eun closed his eyes in the warm tent, leaning against the even warmer Tae-muk, and vowed to get better tomorrow and not cause any trouble.
The fifth day. Ho-eun opened his eyes in the swaying tent. The tent was swaying. Was it an earthquake? Or had a Devouring Ghoul attacked? His heart sank, and he hurriedly lifted the tent.
The tent… was moving.
What that meant was that the tent was being carried on a cart.
Because Ho-eun, intoxicated by the fever, couldn’t get up even when it was time to leave, they had put the entire tent on a cart and moved it. Ho-eun’s horse was pulling the cart, and the various luggage that had originally been on the cart was being carried by the soldiers.
Horrified, Ho-eun immediately tried to jump off the cart, but Gil-sang stopped him, saying it was Tae-muk’s order, so he had no choice but to stay trapped in the tent.
At lunchtime, everyone else was eating cold, frozen rice balls on horseback, but only Ho-eun received steaming porridge and herbal medicine. He wanted to say he was okay, but he couldn’t refuse properly because his mind was hazy with fever.
However, the sense of shame was clearer than ever.
Ho-eun, crumpled up inside the tent, criticized his foolish self and squeezed out tears. He cried like that, and his fever rose even higher at night, so he had to be scolded severely by Tae-muk.
Tae-muk said that he would pluck out his eyeballs if he cried again in the future, but he still hugged Ho-eun with all his might.
He had no memory of the sixth and seventh days. The illness, whether it was a cold or a fever, had not gotten better but had worsened. Ho-eun was mostly unconscious and carried on the cart like luggage.
When he occasionally opened his eyes, he saw the swaying ceiling of the tent, and sometimes he saw Tae-muk’s bare chest holding him, and then he saw the swaying tent again.
He had to get up, he shouldn’t cause trouble, he thought, and he tried to open his eyes wide, but it was only for a moment. Ho-eun fainted repeatedly without even realizing he was falling asleep.
Sometimes he woke up and made eye contact with Tae-muk, and then Tae-muk would not scold him but would check his forehead for fever, hug him tighter, or touch his cheeks, which were red with fever, and say.
“You have to eat before you sleep.”
“I told you not to get sick, and you still don’t listen, just like a nobleman.”
“Do you even know who I am?” Ho-eun would answer, “General… My God of War…” and then fall asleep again. He thought he heard a small laugh then.
And it was the eighth day, or the ninth day, or perhaps it was some day after even more time had passed.
“…….”
Ho-eun opened his eyes to the feeling of the tent shaking violently. His throat was still scratchy and his vision was blurry, and he wanted to sleep more, but it was a shaking that he couldn’t possibly ignore.
The cart was bumping so much that the wooden planks that made up the cart were rattling and twisting. The wheels were also bouncing up with a thud, and Ho-eun’s head was also bobbing up and down.
Sensing an unusual situation, Ho-eun struggled to raise his upper body. Then the scenery inside the tent came into view.
The tent was exactly the size for Ho-eun to lie down alone. There was a brazier on one side, which was nailed to the floor to prevent it from falling over. However, due to the violent shaking, the charcoal had already been scattered everywhere. It was fortunate that it was cold.
On the other side, there were blankets and furs that seemed to have been neatly folded, and below, Ho-eun’s shoes, turned upside down, were visible.
Ho-eun, not knowing the situation, picked up his shoes and put them on. He put on his right shoe, and then he was about to put on his left shoe. Then, thud! The cart shook again.
“Ugh…….”
With the tremendous upheaval, one side of Ho-eun’s butt floated up. Ho-eun hurriedly grabbed the floor to regain his balance. However, his weak body could not withstand the shaking and rolled sideways, hitting the wall with a thud.