Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Tenth Trial （4）

Kim Myeong-min’s judgment.

Kang San also knew.

The relentless, plunging movement aimed for mutual destruction, but Kang San could never allow that.

‘If Kim Myeong-min dies, it’s all over anyway.’

In the event of a death.

The trial ends in failure.

The problem was that if Kim Myeong-min died, the chances of survival against the Werewolf Lord were slim anyway. The contemplation was very brief. In a situation where he wasn’t given enough time to think in the first place, Kang San used the Pain Sharing skill without hesitation.

『You have designated ‘Kim Myeong-min’-nim as the target for Pain Sharing.』

Simultaneously.

The Lord’s claws ripped through Kim Myeong-min’s chest.

Crack!

“Kuaaack!”

Kang San’s eyes widened.

With the tremendous shock that pierced his mind, he collapsed, vomiting blood.

It felt like his consciousness was momentarily cut off.

Kang San recognized that it was definitely death, but fortunately, he had a safety net in place.

『Guardian’s Will has been activated.』

『Your health is fully restored, and your defense is temporarily doubled.』

“Ugh.”

He slammed his head to the ground.

The Werewolf’s attack was unbearable, but fortunately, Guardian’s Will nullified the damage from a single attack that dropped him below a certain health threshold. If Guardian’s Will hadn’t existed, he wouldn’t have taken such a gamble against the Lord, even if it meant failing Azmoon’s trial.

“This is crazy.”

Kim Myeong-min also grasped the situation.

As the Pain Sharing description indicated, he understood why he had survived even after using the mutual destruction tactic.

‘Why on earth…….’

It was a series of absurdities.

However, rather than being caught up in emotions, Kim Myeong-min realized that this was an opportunity.

Although the blow had missed his heart, the Lord had still taken significant damage.

Just then, Yoon Ji-tae finished preparing the magic he had mentioned earlier.

“Everyone, get down! Fire Field.”

Boom.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoooooosh.

Flames flooded the area.

With the activation of a 5th Circle magic spell, flames that filled their vision surged forward, threatening to engulf everything around them.

This time, even the Lord couldn’t avoid it.

As the Lord was swept up in the flames, Kim Myeong-min threw a special smoke grenade and immediately ran towards Kang San.

‘I will never let you die.’

His health was restored, but…

Kang San hadn’t regained consciousness yet.

Kim Myeong-min lifted Kang San onto his back and quickly ran towards his teammates.

He knew it was just a desperate measure.

But as he had said before,

Now was the time to choose the best option for survival.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The Fire Field and the smoke grenade.

While they held back the Werewolves, Kim Myeong-min and the others successfully reached their destination.

The place where they had initially rescued the survivors.

It was a suitable place to face a large number of enemies, with a terrain surrounded by cliffs and dense undergrowth at the front. The survivors had hidden here because they knew this as well.

Kang San regained consciousness.

He quickly recovered from the mental damage, but the problem was Ju Seok-hun.

“Seok-hun! Seok-hun!”

Kim Myeong-min shouted his name and took out a potion.

It was an expensive potion, but as if the price tag meant nothing, he poured it generously onto Ju Seok-hun’s wounds.

The Priest also focused on healing him.

“Heal.”

“Gaea’s Touch.”

Whoosh-

A bright light emanated.

But he still didn’t regain consciousness.

It wasn’t because Ju Seok-hun’s defense was weak.

He knew that sacrifices were necessary to defeat an A-rank Werewolf Lord, and Ju Seok-hun had thrown himself at the Lord with the spirit of mutual destruction. He was slashed and stabbed multiple times while holding the Lord, and in the end, he suffered a fatal attack. It was a shock that even a B-rank wouldn’t be able to withstand. As his tattered body testified, Ju Seok-hun had clung desperately to the Lord’s body, even as he was drenched in blood.

Fortunately, his wounds gradually healed.

He hadn’t regained consciousness yet, but there were visible signs of recovery.

Kim Myeong-min finally stood up.

He instructed another teammate to continue using potions and then called Gu Yeon-su over.

“What about the radio?”

“……I’ve tried several times, but I can’t get a connection. I think it’s because of the full moon. Even when we were finding our way here earlier, the shape of the forest was unusual, so the full moon’s effect is clear. The overflowing energy of the full moon must have distorted the visible things.”

“That means there’s no way to contact headquarters.”

“Unfortunately, that’s right.”

It wasn’t good.

They had only bought some time; the Werewolves would soon be upon them.

The Lord was clearly aware of their presence and wasn’t foolish enough to let them escape.

Kim Myeong-min looked around at his team and said,

“The Rangers deployed on site and the headquarters conduct mandatory communication every 30 minutes. Even if we can’t report our situation due to communication problems, they will definitely send a rescue team if there’s no response during the mandatory communication. The last communication was 20 minutes ago. That means we have 10 minutes until the next mandatory communication, and considering the time it takes for the rescue team to arrive, we can survive if we hold out for about 40 minutes.”

40 minutes.

It was a daunting amount of time.

Kim Myeong-min tried to remain as calm as possible.

He knew from his past missions that if he wavered, it would be the end.

“Everyone, prepare for battle. The Werewolves will be here soon.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

After their brief conversation,

Kim Myeong-min approached Kang San.

“Why did you do that?”

Kang San’s face was pale.

Even though he had recovered with Guardian’s Will, his body couldn’t be perfectly fine as if nothing had happened.

“……It was something I had to do. If you died, our chances of survival would have been slim.”

“Honestly, I can’t figure you out. When I first saw the test footage at the Promotion Test Center, you were selfless and bold enough to throw yourself in harm’s way for your colleagues. But today, you seemed so scared, talking about potential dangers that haven’t even happened, making me think that what I saw back then was a mistake. For a moment, I thought you weren’t fit for the Ranger unit, but now it doesn’t matter. Thank you. Thanks to you, I’m not dead.”

“I’ll accept your thanks after we survive. By the way, can we hold out without a main Tanker?”

He checked on Ju Seok-hun.

Even if he regained consciousness, he wouldn’t be in his right mind.

Kim Myeong-min said,

“It’ll be tough, of course. Actually, that’s why I have a favor to ask. Normally, Gi-dong would take over as the main Tanker, but a C-rank Tanker is no match for a Werewolf affected by the full moon. I know it’s not the right time to ask this, since you’re only D-rank, but could you take the front lines with Gi-dong? The terrain allows us to ignore our backs, so if we can hold the front, we can hold out for a while.”

“Alright.”

“……I’m really sorry to ask this of you.”

There was no other choice.

They had to do something.

If they didn’t have teeth, they had to use their gums; if Ju Seok-hun couldn’t fulfill his role, everyone had to contribute.

Kim Myeong-min didn’t add anything else.

In fact, if he had listened to Kang San’s advice during the mission preparation, he could have prepared for the worst-case scenario.

But that was hindsight.

Even if they could go back in time, he couldn’t deny that thorough preparation was impossible for Rangers, given the nature of their work.

Kang San prepared for the upcoming battle.

Then, he suddenly felt Yoon Ji-tae’s gaze on him.

“…….”

His gaze.

It seemed complicated.

It was understandable.

Before the mission, and even during the mission,

He had been harsh towards Kang San, so he must have had a lot on his mind after seeing Kang San’s actions in the face of danger. They needed to talk. The problem was that there was no time for that now.

Kang San said,

“……If we have something to say to each other, let’s do it after we get out of here alive.”

Clank, clank.

He adjusted his shield.

In the distance,

He heard the howls of wolves.

The approaching sounds indicated that the Werewolves would soon arrive.

“Let’s get ready to greet those bastards.”

He suddenly wondered.

If he died without resolving the karma from his past life,

Would he have to bear that karma again in his new life, or would he be sent to hell to settle it?

What was certain was that

The eyes glinting one by one in the darkened undergrowth, ironically, proved that he was still alive.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

It was as Kim Myeong-min had predicted.

10 minutes later,

When the mandatory communication failed, headquarters went into emergency mode.

The loss of communication meant that danger had occurred, so the main force was immediately summoned.

Unlike the Ranger unit,

It was government-affiliated Hunters.

This meant they were being sent for the rescue.

And in connection with this incident, orders were also issued to the Capital Defense Force.

The orders stated that some troops should be deployed for reconnaissance and that the Capital Defense Force should be on standby in case monsters emerged from the Gate. This role was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the Capital Defense Force. Amidst the flurry of activity, the commander of the 2nd Company of the 3rd Battalion communicated with his superiors to grasp the situation.

“Yes, yes. The 1st Company will be in charge of reconnaissance. Soldiers from the 1st Company who have proven their abilities will enter in advance and gather information so that the main force can carry out the operation quickly upon arrival. The 2nd and 3rd Companies will remain on standby outside and bombard the area to resolve the issue if an Outbreak occurs.”

This incident,

It was an unusual situation.

Rangers thoroughly checked information before deployment, so their isolation rarely occurred.

Click.

The communication ended.

The 2nd Company commander frowned as he reviewed the documents.

“……What the hell is going on?”

Inside the documents,

There was information about the incident.

The operation area was Moon’s Hill, a C-rank area, and multiple explorations had confirmed that only C-rank Werewolves appeared there. There were no special variables. That’s why it was classified as C-rank, and even if a large number of Werewolves appeared, there was no reason for Kim Myeong-min’s Ranger unit to lose communication to the point of isolation.

Whatever it was,

They needed to consider the worst-case scenario.

Even if it turned out to be a simple radio malfunction, he knew that it was always best to be overly prepared when it came to safety.

He checked his equipment.

Since he had finished reporting, he had to go outside and command the soldiers.

But then,

“What? Why are you here when the mobilization order has been issued?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Outside the company commander’s office,

The 2nd Company commander saw a familiar face as he opened the door.

It was Kim Chun-sik.

The mobilization order had already been issued to the soldiers, and judging by Kim Chun-sik’s attire, he was fully armed, including receiving ammunition. Therefore, he shouldn’t have been here. According to the orders, he should have been gathered on the parade ground, awaiting his commands.

If he were an ordinary soldier,

He might have been reprimanded.

However, the 2nd Company commander recalled Kim Chun-sik’s past performance and the battalion commander’s favorable opinion of him.

“Make it quick.”

“Understood.”

This situation,

It was far from normal.

Kim Chun-sik himself knew that, but his heart had been pounding like crazy since he received the operation details.

『Ranger Unit』

━Team Leader: Kim Myeong-min

━Yoon Ji-tae

━Ju Seok-hun

.

.

.

━Kang San

The name mentioned at the end.

His eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

He could be sure that the Kang San mentioned was the Kang San he knew, even with just the basic information.

That was why,

No matter what disadvantages might arise from this choice, Kim Chun-sik had no choice but to seek out the 2nd Company commander.

Kim Chun-sik said,

“I heard the 1st Company is in charge of reconnaissance.”

“So?”

“I want to volunteer. Please deploy me with the 1st Company.”