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“There happens to be an escort job. Recently, the Taizhou Merchant Guild[1] from Jiangsu Province came here and seems to have had issues with the Tai’an Escort Agency[2] they usually deal with. They urgently sought another escort agency but apparently couldn’t find a suitable one.”

“Aren’t there other escort agencies around?”

“Escort agencies fight like enemies usually, but act like brothers when they need to join forces.”

“They’re siding with the Tai’an Escort Agency?”

“Yes, it seems so. Anyway, they can’t afford to waste time, so this escort job is paying very well.”

“How much?”

“Two thousand taels.”

The value of the goods to be escorted must be considerable.

“Therefore, it might be a bit dangerous.”

If I were sending only the squad members, I would have refused this job. But since it’s the first practical mission, I plan to go along.

“Alright, we’ll take this job.”

I went straight to the armory and bought twenty daggers used for throwing. I was quite skilled in flying dagger techniques, and there’s nothing better than a dagger in urgent situations.

Though I didn’t show it outwardly, I was just as tense.

***

The next day, we took charge of the Taizhou Merchant Guild’s goods.

It was enough cargo to fill three carriages.

We didn’t hire separate drivers. The load wasn’t too much, and since one of our squad members had experience working in an escort agency, we decided to handle it ourselves.

While we were preparing to depart, a merchant from the Taizhou Merchant Guild approached me.

“I heard you’re not the official sword squad of the Byeok clan, but a small sword squad.”

We had clearly stated in advance that we were the small sword squad of the Byeok clan.

“That’s correct.”

“These are precious goods. Please take good care of them.”

They chose us because they had no choice due to time constraints, but it seems they still don’t fully trust us.

“Don’t worry. The goods will arrive safely.”

“Then I’ll entrust them to you.”

How could his worry compare to my father and mother’s concern? They were truly mountains of worry.

I calmly persuaded them both. I pushed forward with the two arguments that always work well: not wanting to live like a frog in a well, and not raising someone like a flower in a greenhouse.

In fact, this mindset was also my attitude towards the sword squad.

We can’t keep them like flowers in a greenhouse forever. One practical experience can be more helpful than a hundred days of training alone. They need to withstand the wind and rain outside the greenhouse.

Our destination was Xuzhou[3] in Jiangsu Province. We just needed to deliver the goods to the Taizhou Merchant Guild people there. The estimated travel time was ten days.

We set off smoothly.

I assigned five people to each of the three carriages, and the remaining five were on alert at the front and rear.

Of course, I brought Gwang-du along. For Gwang-du, who still didn’t know how to ride a horse, I personally drove the first carriage. I seated Gwang-du next to me.

“Is it really okay for me to come along?”

Gwang-du asked cautiously. He seemed to feel awkward about going with the squad members.

“Of course. Aren’t you my right-hand man?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

His tense expression relaxed at the words “right-hand man”. These days, the person Gwang-du was most conscious of was Gwan Hwi.

Gwan Hwi commanded the squad members with discipline. The squad members’ discipline was properly maintained.

Watching this, Gwang-du whispered,

“He’s like an older brother. Even though he’s two years younger.”

“I think so too.”

“No, you shouldn’t say that too, Young Master. I’ve just given up being mature for your enjoyment.”

“Haha.”

Yes, I have to acknowledge that. That I’m happy because of you.

In fact, Gwan Hwi was also conscious of Gwang-du. He probably naturally responded to Gwang-du’s awareness. Plus, he must want to gain my trust.

Probably because Gwang-du is here, Gwan Hwi is trying harder not to make mistakes.

This kind of productive competition was what I wanted.

Nothing happened for several days.

We mainly camped in forests.

At night, four people took turns standing guard. We set the order and time.

I believe all these processes will become the foundation for the growth of a sword squad.

Inner energy can be increased all at once with elixir.

But experiences like these can never be achieved at once. There’s a world of difference between hearing about something and experiencing it directly. Even something as simple as lighting a campfire only truly becomes one’s own when experienced firsthand.

Just as the tension of the journey was easing, figures appeared blocking our path.

It was about thirty masked martial artists.

The one who seemed to be the leader spoke coldly.

“Hand over the goods and leave, and we’ll spare your lives.”

Their aura was indeed formidable. They weren’t just randomly gathered bandits.

That confidence is why they showed themselves openly in broad daylight instead of ambushing us at night. This was fortunate for us.

“Form up as you’ve been trained!”

At my command, the squad members moved quickly. The squad’s training included ways to deal with various types of enemies. In cases like this where all enemies appear in front, we form a human-shaped (人) formation. The strongest stands at the top front, the second and third strongest on the left and right, and the rest are arranged according to their martial arts skill.

The masked man gave the attack order without further words.

“Attack!”

The masked men charged.

Normally, I would have left it to them, but this time the number of enemies was large, and their skills were no less than our squad members’.

Swish swish swish swish swish!

Five masked men fell, flipping over from the daggers I threw suddenly.

It was partly to reduce their numbers, but more to break their momentum.

Sure enough, the following masked men hesitated.

At that moment, I shouted,

“Attack!”

Though it happened in an instant, our side’s morale had risen.

“Squad Leader Gwan, take the left, Gwang-du, take the right! Just do as you’ve been trained!”

And I faced the enemy leader in the center.

I didn’t use the Soul-Chasing Asura Sword Arts. I faced him with my clan’s martial art, the White Moon Sword Technique.

Swish!

I dodged the incoming sword and raised my sword diagonally. I intended to finish it quickly.

Surprised by the faster-than-expected speed, the man twisted his body in confusion.

As this movement was what I had anticipated, my second attack became a fatal strike.

Swish!

Slash!

The man’s side was deeply cut, and blood sprayed.

As he fell to the side, he threw a hidden weapon.

Clang!

I deflected the hidden weapon and rushed in.

Thuk!

My sword pierced straight through the man’s heart. He opened his eyes wide, as if unable to believe he had been defeated so helplessly, then quickly died.

I pulled out my sword and immediately turned around.

The entire battlefield entered my eyes in an instant. I’ve spent my whole life on battlefields. I’ve experienced all kinds of chaotic fights.

I immediately saw who was in the most dangerous situation.

Swish!

A dagger flew from my hand.

Thuk!

The dagger lodged in the back of a man who was about to stab one of our squad members in the stomach.

I threw myself towards the second most urgent situation.

One of the two men cornering a squad member turned towards me.

“How dare you!”

The man swung his sword fiercely.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t someone who should hear the words “How dare you!”

I slightly twisted my body to dodge the incoming sword. The sword brushed past my ear. But my sword was different.

Thuk!

My sword pierced through the man’s heart in one go.

At the same time, I shouted, infusing my voice with inner energy.

“Snap out of it!”

At my words, the squad member who was being attacked snapped to attention. He immediately threw himself to help another comrade.

I surveyed the battlefield again.

Already, three men had fallen to Gwang-du’s hand, and two to Gwan Hwi’s. The rest were engaged in chaotic fighting.

Because Gwang-du and Gwan Hwi had displayed their skills, we were fighting advantageously.

From now on, I started to calmly observe the battlefield and cut down enemies.

I left the fights we were sure to win alone and intervened in the close ones first.

As I started to coordinate the battle, the balance between both sides collapsed rapidly.

Every time I swung my sword, without fail, one enemy fell. The White Moon Sword Technique was demonstrating its extreme power.

The one who struck down the last enemy was Gwang-du.

Thuk!

It was the fourth enemy he had killed. It must have been his first time killing people, yet he had killed four. Despite not having proper inner energy yet, he achieved such results due to the power of the Seven Forms of the Southern Sea. Gwang-du’s hand holding the saber dripping with blood was trembling.

I first checked on the squad members.

“Anyone injured?”

Several had cuts on their arms and legs. But fortunately, they were just flesh wounds, not critical injuries. It was thanks to my quick response.

“Treat the wounds with wound-closing medicine. Those who are unharmed, guard all directions!”

At my order, everyone moved quickly. They were all in shock. Some had experience with large-scale fights like this, but more than half were experiencing it for the first time. Even Gwan Hwi, who had performed well, had killed people for the first time today.

After treating the injuries, I gathered them.

“Is everyone alright?”

“Yes.”

I approached Gwang-du first.

“First time?”

“Yes.”

Gwang-du’s voice trembled. His hands and clothes were covered in blood. He was just in shock, but normally people find it hard to endure this smell of blood.

“Gwang-du.”

“Yes.”

“Turn around and look.”

Gwang-du turned around.

“If you hadn’t killed those four men, four of these people would be gone now.”

Everyone was looking at Gwang-du with newfound appreciation. They thought he was just someone who made silly jokes, but he had demonstrated remarkable skill. Gwang-du’s eyes wavered at their gazes filled with gratitude.

“Yes, I know it’s not easy. But becoming a martial artist means being willing to get blood on your hands for righteousness and for your comrades. It might seem like anyone carrying a sword is a martial artist, but that’s not true. The real martial artists in this world are those who are prepared for this. Those who overcome these difficult things. Gwang-du. Do you want to become a real martial artist?”

Gwang-du took a deep breath and said loudly,

“Yes, I want to become a real martial artist.”

“You fought really well today. Thank you.”

“Young Master. Thank you.”

How could Gwang-du not know? That I was taking such care of him in case he might have been traumatized by killing.

I called Gwan Hwi.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

Having already heard what I said to Gwang-du, Gwan Hwi’s eyes were also alive.

“This is something you have to experience once, and you’ll have to overcome it repeatedly in the future. Now, everyone look at the person next to you.”

The squad members turned to look at their comrades standing next to them.

“You fought well. Because you all fought admirably, you were able to protect the lives of the comrades next to you. Say a word of appreciation to each other for your hard work.”

The squad members exchanged words of thanks with each other.

Finally, I said,

“Thank you for finishing the fight without anyone dying. I’m proud of you all.”

At my words, everyone had moved expressions. They had witnessed my performance. So they knew that if it weren’t for me, it would have been our side that was annihilated. Their gaze towards me had changed.

“Thank you, Master!”

“Long live the Small Sword Squad!”

It was the moment of our first victorious battle, and also the moment when their respect for me became firmly established.

As the battlefield was cleared, the squad members removed the masks from each corpse one by one. Everyone came forward to check if there were any recognizable faces.

One of the older squad members shouted,

“These men are from the Wild Beast Squad[야수대(野獸隊)]]!”

“The Wild Beast Squad?”

“Yes, they’re a bandit group that only targets valuable goods. They’re very famous in Shandong.”

The other squad members were shocked.

“You mean we just killed members of the Wild Beast Squad?”

“Good heavens! I can’t believe it.”

The Wild Beast Squad had quite a notorious reputation. It was said that many escort agents had lost their lives because of them.

“I believe there’s a bounty on them at the Martial Righteous Alliance.”

“How much?”

“I think it’s several thousand taels.”

“Haha, then we’ve hit the jackpot.”

After the Wild Beast Squad’s attack, there were no more assaults.

We safely delivered the goods and received the payment. We had earned the large sum of two thousand taels.

We handed over their corpses to the nearby Jiangsu branch of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

Since the leader was among them and we had all thirty corpses, the confirmation didn’t take long.

The bounty on them was a whopping seven thousand taels. Five thousand for the leader, and two thousand for the rest combined.

We set out to earn two thousand taels, but seven thousand taels came along as a bonus. It was truly like a pumpkin vine rolling in with its fruit.

We had earned nine thousand taels from one mission.

Through Kong Su-chan, I gave everyone a special bonus of thirty taels each, in addition to the mission allowance they were to receive. I gave fifty taels to Gwang-du and Gwan Hwi, who had performed exceptionally well. Everyone was overjoyed.

Money is important, but for now, people are the real asset.

After successfully completing our first mission, the reputation of the Small Sword Squad rose. Moreover, when it was revealed that those who attacked us were the famous bandit group, the Wild Beast Squad, some people even found it hard to believe. I don’t need to mention how happy my father and mother were.

From the money we earned, I gave the rest to Kong Su-chan, keeping a few hundred taels aside.

“Here’s eight thousand taels. Use this as capital to grow it more.”

Kong Su-chan, who had been silently looking down at the large sum of eight thousand taels, asked me,

“But why do you trust me this much? Is it just because of the master?”

“At first, it was. But not now.”

“What do you believe in now?”

“My fate. The belief that in my fate, there’s no chief administrator who would just steal money and run away.”

“I see. Alright, I’ll manage it well.”

“Thank you.”

Kong Su-chan, who had been walking away, stopped his steps.

“I’ll ask again next time. Then, I hope to hear that what you believe in… is because of me.”

I gave him a smile.

Around Kong Su-chan walking away, heat haze was rising.

The sunlight was hot.

It was the first summer I was facing after reincarnating.