After the battle, the mercenary group gathered once again.

Fortunately, there were no deaths. Particularly, the superhumans who had jumped out of the truck had suffered almost no damage.

Five mercenaries had been hit by stray bullets, but they had the Saintess with them, who could use healing blessings.

The battle was nearly a flawless victory, but… the mercenaries couldn’t bring themselves to celebrate.

“…So it was a diversion tactic,” Commander Kwon Mong-ju gritted his teeth, staring at the wrecked truck.

He blamed himself for the failure in leadership, but the mercenaries thought differently. The enemy had simply done something beyond common sense.

Not only had they launched a massive force from behind, but they also attacked the truck with a flying superhuman.

As the gloomy atmosphere persisted, Tianlin, who had stayed behind in the truck, spoke up.

“Everyone who stayed with the truck is critically injured. Fortunately, there are no deaths.”

He sat slumped against a supply crate, his leg broken, and most of the other mercenaries who had guarded the truck were in similar states.

The driver had both arms broken, and the remaining mercenaries had been struck by mana-infused fists, barely able to move their bodies.

“…The enemy was meticulous. They didn’t kill us but instead broke our arms and legs one by one before leaving.”

As Tianlin finished his explanation, Commander Kwon clenched his fist.

It was obvious why someone with the power to destroy the truck with their bare hands had spared the mercenaries’ lives.

They intended to waste their time and resources taking care of the wounded.

The reason they were buying time was likely…

“…Their goal is also the Jade Seal.”

“Yes. It’s reasonable to think that, otherwise they wouldn’t have done all this.”

“Information leaked somewhere. An attack like this must have been planned for a long time…”

Just as Commander Kwon trailed off, the dwarf awoke with a violent cough.

He couldn’t gather his thoughts for a while and kept retching. Only after several long, dry heaves did the dwarf manage to speak.

“We… we must stop them.”

All eyes turned to the dwarf, their expressions growing serious.

“Darulma, it seems the enemy’s goal is the Jade Seal. What exactly happened—”

“They got me. They were after me from the start!”

The dwarf pounded the ground with a frustrated, tearful expression.

“…What are you saying? Darulma, explain yourself clearly.”

“The Jade Seal’s location, the one inside my head—that was their goal from the beginning!”

Commander Kwon frowned at what the dwarf had just vomited up.

A purple liquid infused with mana. One name immediately came to mind.

“…A truth potion?”

A magical potion that forces the drinker to speak only the truth. The problem lay in its ingredients.

It required the eyes and organs of living humans.

No further explanation was needed. The truth potion was a vile elixir banned under international law, used by evil necromancers.

“Yeomyeong, was there a necromancer among the enemies you fought?”

Commander Kwon turned to Yeomyeong, who was sitting in the back. His expression indicated he was asking more for confirmation than curiosity.

Yeomyeong nodded.

“Yes, their truck was filled with creatures that resembled zombies.”

“…I see.”

Commander Kwon mulled it over for a moment before speaking to Darulma again.

“Darulma, we need to ask the government and military for help.”

“…What? How could you say that? Do you know how much I’ve invested in you?”

The dwarf’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“If the military and government get involved, do you really think they’ll return the Jade Seal to the dwarves? They’ll demand a share and extort money, no doubt about it!”

“….”

“The Jade Seal belongs to the dwarves! It’s our blood, our legacy! Over my dead body, will I allow even a speck of it to fall into Earthlings’ hands!”

His desperate cry was intense, but Commander Kwon didn’t flinch.

“That’s precisely why we need to stop the necromancers from getting their hands on it.”

“…That’s…”

“Let’s be realistic. The mission has already failed. Without a truck, it’s impossible to beat the enemy to the Jade Seal in Manchuria.”

His words were an undeniable truth. The truth hit the dwarf like an arrow, sharp and painful. He shed tears instead of blood.

“No, there has to be a way… there must be a way.”

“There isn’t.”

When Commander Kwon coldly shut him down, the dwarf glanced around with a pitiful expression.

“L-Lady Saintess.”

The dwarf’s trembling eyes landed on the Saintess.

“If you help, it might be possible. Didn’t you defeat the skeletal dragon with Yeomyeong?”

The Saintess, who had been treating the wounded, shrank slightly under the pressure of the gazes focused on her.

“I…”

“We still have the motorcycles we took from the enemy. If you and a few superhumans ride them, you can recover the treasure!”

Before the dwarf could finish pleading, Commander Kwon interrupted again.

“…We only have three motorcycles, Darulma. And the fuel isn’t enough.”

“Three? If two ride together, that’s six people! Commander Kwon, I’m begging you. If you want, I’ll increase your investment five, no, twenty times over!”

“…Darulma.”

“Please, we can’t let the government and military get involved. I’d rather watch Manchuria burn than let that happen!”

Hearing the dwarf’s talk of destruction, Tianlin muttered a curse under his breath, but most of the mercenaries remained silent.

In the awkward silence that followed, the Saintess carefully raised her hand.

“Uh… Darulma? I can help.”

“O, merciful gods! I knew I could trust—”

Before Darulma could continue his praise, the Saintess held up her hand to stop him.

“But I can’t risk my life.”

“….”

“If it becomes impossible, I’m going to run. Is that okay?”

She wasn’t speaking to Darulma, but to the mercenaries. The Saintess looked around, seeking their approval.

Fortunately, a few of the mercenaries nodded.

Seeing this, Commander Kwon finally nodded as well, though reluctantly.

“If that’s your condition, we’ll do our best.”

Only then did Darulma sigh in relief. After wiping his nose, he turned to the mercenaries.

“Raise your hand if you’re willing to come. Even if the mission fails, I’ll compensate you out of my own pocket.”

The first to raise his hand was Kim Mansu. His determination flared up as he looked at his comrades with broken limbs.

With both the commander and vice commander ready to go, the other mercenaries slowly raised their hands as well.

All except one.

“…Yeomyeong?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not…”

“I’m not going.”

Darulma’s face twisted in disbelief. His voice trembled as he spoke.

“How can you say that? Do you know how much that elixir cost?”

Yeomyeong tilted his head and responded nonchalantly.

“Was the elixir part of the payment? I received it as a token of apology, didn’t I? Or am I wrong?”

“That’s not…”

“And I’ve already fought against enemies not mentioned in the mission, even saving you from a hostile superhuman. Haven’t I already done more than what the original job required?”

Yeomyeong’s cold response prompted the Saintess to intervene.

“Hey, no matter what, you shouldn’t talk like…”

Yeomyeong raised a finger to her lips, giving her a subtle wink that others couldn’t see.

It was a signal to play along.

However, the Saintess seemed to misunderstand the wink, turning her head away sharply as if she had just seen something she shouldn’t have.

Regardless, after making sure the Saintess was quiet, Yeomyeong turned back to Darulma.

“So, I’ll need to set new terms for extending the contract.”

“…Terms?”

Darulma glanced at Commander Kwon for help, but Kwon only shrugged, arms crossed.

Yeomyeong’s demands seemed reasonable even to him. Darulma had no choice but to nod.

“Fine. What are your terms?”

“First, you need to request help from the military immediately.”

“What? Didn’t I already explain why we can’t involve the military…”

“You don’t have to mention the Jade Seal.”

“….”

“If we fail, the military will stop them. If we succeed, it’ll just be a minor incident.”

“…An incident? You think the military will see it as a joke? They won’t just let it go.”

“So what? At most, they’ll ask for a piece of the dragon’s bones. With all the money Dunghan Heavy Industries has, is that really a problem?”

Darulma fell silent, considering Yeomyeong’s response.

Setting aside his aversion to involving the Earthling military, the logic was sound.

The worst-case scenario was the Jade Seal falling into the hands of the necromancers.

If the military were involved, it would lower that risk significantly.

And even if the military did recover the Jade Seal, what if they didn’t understand its true value?

It was a thought that hadn’t crossed Darulma’s mind, blinded as he was by his deep-seated hatred for Earth’s military. Now, he realized his mistake.

“…Fine. I’ll agree to that condition. What’s next?”

“My second condition is the right to use the Dwarven workshop.”

This demand was unexpected. Darulma had already promised to forge the dragon’s bones for him.

By asking for direct access to the workshop, it implied Yeomyeong had something even more in mind.

“…If you recover the Jade Seal, you can have it. I’ll personally convince the craftsmen.”

Darulma didn’t need to think long. It was clear who held the upper hand in this situation.

“Is that all?”

“No, there’s one last condition.”

The word “last” immediately drew the attention of the mercenaries. They began drawing straws in anticipation.

Three motorcycles. Even if they rode in pairs, after the Saintess, Yeomyeong, the commander, and the vice commander, there would only be room for two more.

Unconcerned by the commotion, Darulma waited anxiously for Yeomyeong’s final demand.

“My last condition…”

The moment Yeomyeong revealed his final condition, the dwarf’s expression contorted in frustration.

 

As the eastern skies of Manchuria darkened and the west glowed red with the setting sun, Pasun gazed at the two mountain ranges cutting through the region.

Though they were separated by distance, Earthlings called both ranges by the same name.

The Xing’anling Mountains.

“They call the larger western range ‘Da Xing’anling’ and the northeastern one ‘Xiao Xing’anling.’ Both are decent mountains.”

Compared to the mountains of his homeland, they fell short, but for Earth, they were impressive enough.

“Yeah, a fateful encounter should be in a place like this.”

With that brief thought, Pasun descended to the ground.

Every step he took tore the sky apart as the cold winds of Manchuria whipped around him.

Whoosh—

After falling for some time, almost like a freefall, Pasun halted over the deep valley of the Xiao Xing’anling range.

Having arrived, it was time to wake his meat shield. He shook the figure he had slung over his shoulder.

“Ugh, cough.”

The horse-head mage awoke, coughing up a mixture of mana and blood.

“Awake?”

The mage, still half-dead, glanced around before trembling at the sight of the mountain beneath him.

“Did you… find the location?”

“The dwarf under the truth potion gave us the coordinates. This is the spot.”

“So… it’s finally…!”

As the mage trembled in anticipation, Pasun landed on the ground. The earth, untouched by human footsteps for eons, released a cloud of dust.

The sharp cliff they stood on barely had space for a few steps.

Pasun and the mage gazed down at the deep, dark valley below.

“Ah, I can feel it. The old mana mixed with the earth…”

As the mage spoke, Pasun, too, sensed the mana.

Deep below the valley, writhing magical energy… and the mana of a massive creature.

“A dragon, huh? This will be fun.”

As Pasun licked his lips, the mage pulled out a cursed artifact from his robes—an ominous tool made from the skull of a dead bird.

“First, I’ll call for reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements? You still have troops left after that?”

Pasun smirked, but the mage shook his head.

“Those disposable troops weren’t even worthy of being called soldiers.”

“…Ah, so someone like you counts as real strength? Quite the noble lineage, huh?”

The mage ignored Pasun’s sarcasm.

There was no point explaining patriotism and honor to a damned criminal he had bought with money.

The next moment, the mage gathered mana in his hands and activated the cursed artifact.

CRACK! The bird skull shattered, transmitting the coordinates to their reinforcements, waiting in northern Manchuria.

Soon, Korea would obtain the treasure and the corpse of the dragon they had long coveted.

As the mage felt assured of this, Pasun suddenly spoke up again.

“Hey, that guy who wiped out your troops earlier. I think his name was Cheon Yeomyeong?”

“….”

“What’s his deal?”

The mage recalled the sight of Yeomyeong, covered in blood, charging through the battlefield.

That mysterious regenerative ability, beyond even a superhuman, and those murderous golden eyes.

He had been an unexpected opponent. An extraordinary being capable of withstanding an army’s worth of soldiers and corpse explosions.

“…His exact identity is unknown.”

“Unknown? So, you do know something about him, don’t you?”

The mage grabbed his empty right sleeve, where his arm had been severed. The wound still throbbed.

“He’s a rookie who just became a mercenary. We didn’t expect him to be this strong.”

“Haven’t you heard of ‘talent rising to the top’? A guy like that wouldn’t stay unknown for long.”

“There was a rumor that he was involved in cutting the ribcage of Kahal Magdu.”

“…Ribcage?”

“He didn’t do it alone. It’s said that the Saintess, the vice commander, and Yeomyeong worked together to accomplish that, but…”

As the mage trailed off, Pasun remembered the skeletal dragon that had returned to Siberia with its ribs missing.

‘He said he had met a good ally.’

Is this what you call a good ally? Damn bonehead.

Suppressing a smirk, Pasun continued his questioning.

“So you’re sure there’s something special about him? What do you… no, what do you think?”

“…I can’t be certain, but I have a theory.”

“Oh?”

Pasun’s eyebrow twitched.

“If you trace his actions, he’s always linked to the Saintess, isn’t he?”

“The Saintess?”

“It’s simple. He arrived in Manchuria around the same time as the Saintess, and he’s always at her side during battles. It’s obvious…”

“Hey, hey, cut to the chase.”

“…He’s likely the Saintess’s secret bodyguard or a next-generation holy sword trained by the paladins.”

A plausible story… maybe? Pasun, knowing little about the Saintess, scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“So can I kill him? They said we can’t kill the Saintess.”

“…Unlike the Saintess, no one would care if an unrecognized sword breaks.”

The mage’s voice was filled with certainty. That level of confidence meant it was likely true.

Pasun nodded and moved behind the mage.

“Thanks for the info. Now I know exactly what to do.”

“It was just a hypothesis, so don’t be too…”

Before the mage could finish, Pasun’s foot slammed into his back.

There had been no warning, no sign. It was a sudden, brutal betrayal.

The mage couldn’t even scream. He flailed his remaining arm as he plummeted into the valley below.

Moments later, the sound of something smashing into the ground echoed through the gorge.

Pasun gazed down calmly and muttered to himself.

“As expected, I’ll take this fortune for myself.”