By Zephyria 
Gil-sang let Ho-eun join the group. Ho-eun awkwardly steered his horse, mingling among them.
At first, he sweated from the unfamiliar horseback riding. He couldn’t fall behind, nor could he go too fast. Not knowing how to control his speed, he glanced around, learning from others. Fortunately, his clever horse adjusted its pace on its own. Ho-eun just had to sit still.
By the time he had somewhat adjusted to riding, the faint sun had disappeared, and it was night. If they kept going like this all night, they would be able to leave the capital by sunrise.
“……”
Ho-eun slowly looked around. Although still within the capital, the scenery felt foreign, as if he were in another country. The only road Ho-eun was familiar with was the one to the hospital.
He quietly observed the new roads, new buildings, and new people. And, in turn, the people being observed also watched Ho-eun. More precisely, they were watching the Crimson Rain Brigade to which Ho-eun belonged.
People greeted them with welcoming faces. He often heard words of encouragement and gratitude. Children giggled and followed them, only to be caught by their parents. However, the crowd wasn’t large. It was late at night, so the streets were deserted.
“I wanted to leave in broad daylight…”
Ho-eun muttered, rubbing the reins with his thumb.
“Pardon?”
Gil-sang, who was nearby, asked as if he hadn’t heard. Ho-eun was startled and shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
But his disappointment remained. In truth, Ho-eun wanted to leave when the streets were most crowded, bustling with people. The first scene he had imagined when he became a Bondmate was that.
Him, wearing a military uniform, leaving in style. And people, seeing him, widening their eyes in surprise.
It wasn’t that he wanted to take revenge on them or play a trick on them. He just wanted to show that he, too, was a man of use. To the people, to his family, and to himself.
But this send-off was so quiet. A sorrowful departure, leaving behind his parents’ tears. A departure where Tae-muk, his God of War, wasn’t even to be seen.
Ho-eun sighed softly when a flashing light approached from afar. It was a military vehicle. A dozen or so military vehicles swept past the Crimson Rain Brigade, creating a sandstorm. Everyone slowed down, lest the horses get startled by the rough engine noise.
Watching this, Ho-eun asked Gil-sang.
“Why doesn’t the Crimson Rain Brigade use military vehicles?”
Automobiles were expensive, but the nation didn’t skimp on supporting its soldiers. Especially the Crimson Rain Brigade, which should have been able to receive hundreds of military vehicles.
“Ah, the places we go to don’t have roads, you see.”
“…No roads?”
“Yes. There aren’t any well-paved roads like this, of course, and there aren’t even many dirt roads. Sometimes, we even have to leave the horses behind because they can’t go any further.”
“Ah…”
Ho-eun nodded as if he finally understood. Of course, there wouldn’t be roads on the battlefield. He felt embarrassed for asking such an ignorant question. As he wondered how to change the subject, he asked another question.
“Then are we going to a place without roads now?”
“Yes. We’re going to the Crimson Rain Brigade’s base.”
“Where is that?”
Jeolla Province? Hamgyong Province? Or somewhere even further? Mountains? Plains? The coast? Ho-eun estimated many places in his mind. For some reason, Gil-sang was silent. Ho-eun looked at him with an innocent face, waiting for an answer. But Gil-sang said, as if he were in trouble.
“That… I can’t tell you.”
“Pardon?”
“……”
“Ah…”
After a brief silence, Ho-eun sighed. His hand, holding the reins, loosened for a moment. Gil-sang hurriedly added.
“You’ll find out soon enough, so don’t be too disappointed-.”
“It’s okay.”
Ho-eun wasn’t yet part of the Crimson Rain Brigade. As proof, he wasn’t wearing a military uniform, nor did he have the Crimson Rain Brigade cloak that everyone else was wearing. In fact, there was a military uniform among his belongings. It was a new military uniform that his father had somehow obtained last night.
But he hadn’t received a rank separately, hadn’t gone through the formal enlistment process, and didn’t seem to have the qualifications to wear it yet, so he had only packed it away.
He had found and put on the darkest Military tunic he could, but wearing silk clothes alone among military uniforms made him feel out of place. It was like that externally, and also mentally. He was clearly mixed in with the unit, but he felt like he was alone.
Eighty percent of that empty loneliness was because Tae-muk wasn’t there. It wasn’t comfortable facing him, but he was still his God of War, wasn’t he? Seeing everyone paired up, it seemed like they were between God of War and Bondmate, so why was he the only one… Or did something happen during the night…?
“The General isn’t here.”
Ho-eun asked, looking back and forth at the people. Gil-sang answered, staring ahead.
“Ah, he left early in the morning.”
“…He left first?”
“Yes. He said he would pave the way.”
Ho-eun blinked rapidly. He left first? But everyone he had seen in the restaurant yesterday was in the formation. He was sure. Even if he didn’t know anything else, he was good at memorizing.
“He went… alone?”
“Yes.”
“Is that okay?”
“It’ll be fine. He seemed to be overflowing with energy.”
“Pardon?”
Ho-eun questioned the incomprehensible words, and Gil-sang looked at Ho-eun.
“He met his Bondmate, so it’s understandable. It must be his first time feeling like that. Like his body is about to burst with power.”
“……”
“Good days are coming for our Captain now.”
Gil-sang smiled as if he were truly happy. Ho-eun, pondering those words, murmured softly.
“Good days…”
Around dawn, the Crimson Rain Brigade left the capital. Ho-eun thought that as soon as they left the capital, Devouring Ghouls would rush at them as if they had been waiting. That a battlefield filled with screams and blood underfoot would unfold.
But it was peaceful, even serene. Densely packed trees, a road that was as well-maintained as in the capital, though not quite as much. Even the birds didn’t sing, making it feel more peaceful than inside the capital.
The Crimson Rain Brigade didn’t seem particularly tense either. They yawned widely, chatted with the person next to them, and even joked around, giggling. The atmosphere relaxed Ho-eun, who had been gripping the reins so tightly that his fingers were numb, and he took a deep breath of the forest air.
“Hoo…”
And around that time, the fatigue that had been suppressed began to rear its head. He had suffered from a fever for several days, became a Bondmate, went to the Bond Ceremony, hadn’t slept properly yesterday, and had been riding a horse all night today, so it was impossible not to be tired.
“How much further do we have to go?”
Ho-eun asked Gil-sang.
“Ten days.”
“T-Ten days?”
Ho-eun’s complexion turned pale at the time that far exceeded his expectations. But soon, he thought, yes, that could be the case. The country had become so vast.
Devouring Ghouls had been called Myriad Calamities since ancient times, meaning ten thousand misfortunes. That’s how numerous they were, and he had heard that their numbers were increasing every day.
As the Devouring Ghouls increased, humans could no longer stop them. Soldiers died, and the people were devoured. Since a nation without people could not be maintained, nations began to disappear like falling leaves.
At some point, all the surrounding countries had fallen, and only the Great Han Empire remained. This was thanks to the unusually large number of powerful Gods of War emerging from the Korean Peninsula. Like Ho-eun’s older brother, or Tae-muk.
In any case, the land of the Great Han Empire had reached from the starting point of one sea to the starting point of another, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It meant that the number of people and the territory to be governed had increased accordingly.
So now, the Crimson Rain Brigade had to travel for a full ten days by horse to get to their destination. They must have come that way when they came to the capital. He felt like he knew why Tae-muk had only arrived at the Bond Ceremony at night.
He came all that way to meet me.
…And then he only did bad things.
Ho-eun shook his head, remembering what happened that night. Anyway, they had to go for ten days. His heart felt heavy. He wondered if he would even be alive during those ten days.
As Ho-eun was thinking this and that, he suddenly felt something strange.
“The forest…”
It was too… quiet. As if no one lived there. There seemed to be no people, and no animals. The sun was rising, but he couldn’t hear any birds. Inside the capital, it was noisy with chirping birds every morning, but how could there be no birds in a forest so densely packed with trees?
Then, Ho-eun suddenly remembered an article he had read in the newspaper. He quickly said to Gil-sang.
“Isn’t it dangerous to follow the road?”
“Pardon?”
“I read an article that said Devouring Ghouls were ambushing people on the roads, causing severe damage.”
“Ah…”
Gil-sang nodded with an expression that said such things happen from time to time. But he didn’t seem to be thinking about it seriously. His reaction was calm, even indifferent.
“Is there… a reason why we’re going this way?”
“The Crimson Rain Brigade doesn’t avoid Eater Bugs.”
“……”
Ho-eun, wondering what he meant, soon realized.
Each military unit has its own mission. For example, protecting the Emperor. Or protecting cities, farms, or the people.
But the Crimson Rain Brigade was a little different. The Crimson Rain Brigade’s mission was to eradicate the Devouring Ghouls of this land. Unlike other units whose purpose was protection, their purpose was slaughter and subjugation.
It wasn’t an easy task. They would face more Devouring Ghouls than anyone else. The risk would be great, but they were so nonchalant about it. He thought it was an amazing unit. It was also cool.
But Ho-eun’s worries only increased. He felt like his already thin lifeline had become as thin as a thread. They were used to Devouring Ghouls, but Ho-eun was someone who was holding the reins properly for the first time today.
He looked around with an even more nervous expression when something black appeared.
“Hick…”
Ho-eun’s thin shoulders jumped up.
It was a Devouring Ghoul.