The North Sea Martial Warrior - Chapter 04

========== 4. PACK HUNT ==========

Thud…!

A massive metallic sound tore through the silence of the snowy plains.

The sound of the Ice Palace’s North Gate closing.

The vibration created by the gate, forged from eternal ice, as it locked shut, traveled all the way to Airak’s feet.

It wasn’t just a gate closing. Thirty years ago, the thread of fate he had walked away from, turning his back on love, the years he had spent waiting endlessly because he couldn’t forget that thread… this was the sound of all of it being severed forever.

Airak did not look back.

There were hundreds of gazes behind his back.

The rough breathing of the Ice Palace warriors, a mix of awe and terror, faded beyond the ice wall. Now, all that remained for him was an endless white world and a wind that blew as if to peel the skin off his flesh.

Hwi-ing…!

The biting wind roughly grabbed and shook his wolf fur.

A murderous cold that an ordinary human wouldn’t be able to endure for even a single shijin. A cold that would freeze blood vessels until they burst.

But he didn’t even pull his collar tight.

To him, the cold was no longer a matter of sensation. His skin was paler than snow, and his breath was colder than the wind. His body temperature was already outside the realm of humanity, to the point where snowflakes landing on his eyebrows wouldn’t melt.

Jeobeok. Jeobeok.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the snow crystals turned into bluish ice.

Northern Sea Ice Essence Divine Art.

A martial art that freezes the time of the body.

In exchange, even though he was over fifty, he maintained the appearance of a young man in his early twenties, but he had lost human warmth. Then again… he hadn’t met a single person in the last thirty years.

‘Wait.’

He walked, and walked again.

Ttuk.

Airak’s steps stopped. Without any warning, he was nailed to the spot as if his movement had been abruptly severed.

The snowy plains reacted.

Seu-euk.

Ten jang ahead… black figures rose from the snowfield.

It wasn’t just one. A shadow stretched from behind a rock on the left, and a clump of snow dropped from a dead tree on the right.

The shadows seeped out like ghosts.

One, two, three, four.

Four men surrounded Airak and knelt.

Garkan spoke first. In the language of the Irak tribe.

“Borkan haira. Arkan haira.”

(The wolf is with us. The hunt is with us.)

The other three responded in unison.

“Haira.”

(Together.)

It was a short ritual.

But thirty years of waiting were contained in that one word.

Thirty years.

The time it takes for the rivers and mountains to change three times.

When Airak, a twenty-two-year-old youth, left them, Garkan was eighteen, Arko was fifteen, Taikan was twelve, and Harku was only ten.

Now, they had all become men who had passed middle age and were entering their twilight years.

Deep wrinkles were carved into their faces, and white frost had settled on their beards. Skin cracked by the harsh biting winds of the Northern Sea. Scars etched from dozens of battles. The heavy weight of the years they had endured on the frozen earth was carved into every part of their bodies.

But their eyes had not changed. Blind loyalty. Suppressed wildness.

“Chief….”

Garkan spoke first.

“It has been thirty years.”

“…….”

“It was a long time.”

Airak’s gaze slowly swept over the four.

Garkan. A giant with a bushy beard.

Arko. A hunchback with a bent back.

Taikan. Long arms with the eyes of a bird of prey.

And Harku. A vicious-looking man with a shaved head and a scar tattoo.

“…You’ve all aged.”

Airak opened his mouth.

A short sentence. But they recognized the emotion contained within it.

Harku grinned.

“Chief-nim, you’re the same. Just as you looked when I was ten.”

“…….”

“I’m hurt, seriously. Only I got old.”

“Harku.”

Garkan scolded him in a low voice. Harku shrugged.

“What, Hyung-nim? I can’t help feeling hurt. It’s thirty years, thirty years.”

“The Chief had to undergo training.”

“Honestly, isn’t training just an excuse? You went into the Extreme Yin Land because you got dumped by Karani, right? Even so… you didn’t even send a single message for thirty years…”

Taikan interrupted cynically.

“Harku. Your mouth was like that thirty years ago, too. How do you not know how to filter what you should and shouldn’t say?”

“What? Do you want to say something too, Hyung-nim?”

“No. I’m just amazed that you haven’t changed in all that long time.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“No.”

Arko twisted his hunched back and chuckled.

“The youngest is still the youngest even after thirty years. His head is still the same.”

“What did you say, Hyung-nim?”

“I just stated a fact.”

“Ah, seriously…!”

“Enough.”

Airak raised his hand. The bickering stopped instantly.

Silence flowed. Only the sound of the wind was loud.

Airak looked at the four in turn.

Something flashed in his eyes. The weight of time… and a faint longing for things that could not be undone.

“…Where are the others?”

Airak asked.

Garkan’s face hardened. A heavy silence descended.

“…I will report.”

Garkan bowed his head while still kneeling.

“For thirty years… many things happened.”

“…….”

“The Northern Sea winter was harsh six times. Three attacks by Ice Demons. Four invasions by Ice Beasts. Only about twenty people survived.”

The Irak tribe fights against nature.

The freezing cold where you’d freeze to death just by opening the door, and the Ice Demons. If the Ice Demons attacked three times… when the Ice Demons come, they don’t leave for over a month. During that time, you can’t take a single step outside the house.

Ice Beasts are black bears.

Giant bears that can even tear polar bears to shreds.

When Ice Beasts attack the Irak tribe… it’s because food is scarce. They rush in to eat people. Their hides are so thick that swords don’t work, their agility surpasses that of flying tigers, and their strength… goes without saying. They are creatures that even the Irak tribe’s martial arts have no countermeasure for.

Airak listened without a word.

“Those who have surpassed the realm of Ülhan… are only the four of us, Chief.”

Ülhan.

The limit of martial arts as spoken of by the Irak tribe. Only after surpassing that could one finally be recognized as a ‘warrior’.

“The rest?”

“…They died.”

Garkan’s voice trembled.

“Surkan Hyung-nim died in battle against an Ice Beast. Baikan too. Orkun was killed by an Ice Demon…”

Every time a name was mentioned, Airak’s eyes darkened.

“Stop.”

“…….”

“I understand.”

Airak closed his eyes.

The wind blew. The cold wind shook his wolf fur.

Thirty years.

While he was training alone in the ice cave, his tribe had endured while bleeding. While he cut ties with the world and explored only martial arts, they were dying.

“I’m sorry.”

Airak said.

The four’s eyes widened.

“Chief….”

“I should have been by your side.”

“No, sir!”

Harku tried to jump up but was restrained by Garkan.

“Why are you apologizing, Chief! You were training to become stronger!”

“…….”

“We died because we were weak, it’s not your fault, Chief!”

Taikan opened his mouth for the first time. A cynical and raspy voice.

“The youngest is right, Chief. We were just lacking.”

“…….”

“Instead.”

Taikan’s bird-of-prey-like eyes flashed.

“This time, we go together.”

Airak raised his head.

“…Did you know?”

“We are fully aware of what happened at the Ice Palace.”

Taikan said calmly.

“Karani… no, is it even possible for the Ice Palace Master to be murdered? Especially in the Ice Palace.”

“Why is it impossible?”

Airak asked. It wasn’t a joke. He asked with eyes pouring out cold light. He didn’t ask because he didn’t know the reason. He also thought it made no sense. But he asked because among the tribe, Taikan thought the most calmly and logically.

Taikan smirked and said.

“First… have you confirmed the cause of death?”

“Only that it was Central Plains martial arts.”

Airak said calmly.

The four’s eyes shook simultaneously.

“Central Plains? You mean the southern land?”

Harku asked, licking his lips.

“That’s right.”

“They came all the way here from there? Why on earth?”

“I don’t know. I have to find out.”

Taikan said, narrowing his eyes.

“Now it’s even more certain. This is clearly a murder. Has the Ice Palace interacted with the Central Plains? It doesn’t seem like they have in the last thirty years. Naturally, they wouldn’t know the location of the Ice Palace… and how many people from the Central Plains would even know the location of the Ice Palace? Also, the Ice Palace Master’s martial arts are strong enough to surpass us, so if they were able to hack such a person to pieces, it means they were considerable experts… This was a deliberate, calculated attack.”

“There’s a rat on the inside?”

“Probably?”

“The purpose of killing Karani?”

Airak’s eyes shone coldly.

“That’s the question. No matter how much I think about it, there’s absolutely no reason to kill the Ice Palace Master.”

Silence.

Arko asked, twisting his hunched back.

“Exactly… what did you see in the wounds?”

“It wasn’t Northern Sea martial arts. Sword wounds imbued with fire energy. The fast swords of the Central Plains.”

“What about traces? They must have left something.”

“It was clean. They are experts.”

Taikan asked, stroking his bowstring.

“How many?”

“At least seven. Maybe eight.”

“Eight people against one Palace Master…”

Anger mixed in Garkan’s voice.

“Cowardly bastards.”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re cowardly.”

Airak’s eyes shone coldly.

“I’m going to kill them all anyway.”

Harku grinned.

“Wow. Listening to you, Chief, I’m getting excited.”

“…Excited?”

“Yes. It’s something exciting for the first time in a while. I’m curious about the taste of the Central Plains bastards’ blood.”

“Crazy bastard.”

Taikan clicked his tongue. Harku didn’t care.

“You too, Hyung-nim. When we go to the Central Plains, you’ll just be shooting arrows from high places all the time.”

“That’s my role.”

“Boring.”

“Fighting shouldn’t be fun, youngest.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll die. Chief. Please give the order.”

Garkan opened his mouth heavily.

Airak looked at Garkan. Then Garkan placed his hand on his chest and said.

“I will not ask for the reason. Thirty years ago, and now. We only follow the Chief.”

“…….”

“Where the Chief’s blade points is our battlefield. As it has always been.”

Arko lowered his hunched back further.

“I will dig in like a rat, Chief. Their secrets, their weaknesses, down to the roots.”

Taikan plucked the bowstring.

Paeng…!

A sharp sound of piercing the air.

“Not even a single fly within ten li can escape my eyes. Just give the order.”

Harku grinned and caressed his twin blades.

“I’m simple. Who do I kill?”

The corners of Airak’s mouth rose slightly.

This is his pack. Things that haven’t changed even after thirty years. Loyalty that doesn’t change even if they grow old, sick, or die. A wolf does not abandon its pack.

“First, we go to the Central Plains border.”

Airak gave the order.

“No need to rush. We go slowly. In the meantime, gather information. Merchant groups, escort agencies, even rumors floating around. Anything that could be a clue to the culprit.”

“In case something happens and we can’t meet up in the middle… what is the final meeting point?”

“Yumen Pass. In fifteen days.”

Airak’s fingertip pointed to the southern horizon.

“Go. We will not lose the prey.”

Pat!

Arko melted into the shadows. Taikan leaped like a monkey and disappeared into the forest. Harku sprinted across the snowfield like a beast running on all fours.

It was instantaneous.

Only Airak and Garkan remained.

Garkan gripped his iron chain and stood behind Airak.

“Chief.”

“…….”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Yes.”

“…I missed you.”

Airak’s steps stopped.

The wind blew. The cold wind shook their leather clothes.

“Me too.”

Airak said.

“I missed you too.”

Garkan’s eyes turned red. But he didn’t say anything. He just guarded the Chief’s back and walked silently.

Two sets of footprints stretched long toward the south.

At that time.

On a distant ice wall, figures in white camouflage were lying prone, holding their breath.

The Ice Palace’s secret reconnaissance team, Ice Shadow.

The team leader lowered his telescope and swallowed dryly.

“…They are moving. Heading south.”

He took a carrier pigeon from his bosom.

[Wolf, heading south. Pack of five. Pursuit started.]

A white hawk flew up into the gray sky.

The march of death had begun.

Hwi-ing…!

The wind blew.