I signed contracts with two critically ill patients at the clinic and stepped outside.
Boom!
That’s when disaster struck.
Gumi Mil said she understood why they called her the Celestial Maiden and asked if I wasn’t an Immortal.
That was quite a harsh remark! So, I definitely denied it.
Just a simple monster, that’s all.
But maybe I said it a bit too strongly because we parted ways without another word.
Soo-oh looks at me with admiring eyes, and that gaze feels nice.
But knowing it’s fake, I have to keep in mind that when she discovers the truth, all that admiration could turn into hatred.
Will I be sad then?
Who knows!
Anyway, since light is a soul, after I take the warmth with me, I face quite a terrible fate.
Either crushed beneath the cold sea or turned to dust fluttering inside a glass bottle.
One day, the truth will come to light.
This warmth too.
But over here, it feels a bit daunting. Even Daegon doesn’t know anything about warmth as a resource. He would use souls, sure, but there was never a separate category for the warmth contained in souls.
Ah, speaking of warmth, I just remembered!
I need to prepare for winter.
A long and harsh winter is upon us, and it will keep coming.
Cheonma recently received a report from Woljedang stating that they would receive no more products, past or future.
Why? Because the place they had to give to vanished in the light.
Severance and Hematoma Mystic Art.
This wasn’t just a ceremony where humans from the human side offered offerings.
Whether it’s a human offering or a human becoming a fishman, they bring back a reward.
A large quantity of seafood and various jewels. They gained that.
Not many are engaged in productive activities, and Cheonma Church doesn’t conduct major plunders.
You could guess why they managed to maintain a rather affluent life without such profits.
But now that’s completely cut off, they’ll likely keep falling into poverty.
With the timing being so bad, the Murim Alliance is invading.
So, shouldn’t we prepare for winter?
At least for this winter, it seems we can survive somehow, but we won’t know how it actually goes until it comes.
*
The longest night passed, and slowly the warm season arrived.
Cheonma Church proved to be tougher than I expected.
They used to receive enormous amounts of goods from the fishmen, right? I thought they’d collapse immediately when that got cut off but…
Not at all!
Woljedang stopped generating income entirely, which reduced Cheonma Church’s profits significantly, but they weren’t weak enough to crumble right away without them.
But that’s only true during peaceful times.
In war, it would surely become difficult.
Rumors of the Jeongma Daejeon are circulating in the village.
Constant clashes are occurring along the border between Cheonma Church and Murim, and larger factions are sending their groups under the pretext of maintaining order.
But everyone knows that those factions only maintain peace within their territory!
Even among the righteous factions, the extremely small factions or crooked ones are starting to flee this intermediate area, replacing their signs with factions belonging to the Murim Alliance.
Weapons are being gathered, and more people are joining.
It’s obvious something’s about to happen.
With the increase in fights, the meetings among Cheonma and those above the position of head of households are also increasing.
More than half of the ten heads are saying they will have to fight the Murim Alliance.
They’ve already confirmed over 15 factions, and those from the Five Great Houses are keeping watch here; even government troops are starting to show up.
In my faded memory, the word “invulnerable” sparkles, and it would be strange for the nation not to pay attention when a gang fights on a large scale, right?
I’m hoping to ride that wave to the government.
Rather, that would be great.
I don’t even need to be treated specially.
Even if I’m treated like a criminal or an object, as long as I can ultimately gain warmth, I don’t care.
It’s just like playing the game this way.
Caution is necessary, though.
With an Immortal as a transcendent being building a nation there, they might possess some special techniques.
Whether it ends with just their clash, or two factions, or results in a chaotic melee with no rules, I can’t predict the future.
So, I’ve been steadily preparing.
While I couldn’t do it daily, I’ve managed to make a total of 26 harvesters.
I’ve turned a mix of ordinary people and those responsible for combat in Cheonma Church into harvesters.
When they start killing each other, I can gain warmth no matter where!
I spend my time acting oblivious while waiting for a big fight.
*
The season has arrived when water no longer freezes even deep in the night.
During this time, Soo-oh has grown strong enough to even be praised by Cheonma.
And now, I have more acquaintances besides myself and Cheonma.
Gumi Mil and Oh Myeong-seong. Surprisingly, even Inshimwon knows about me.
It’s a bit concerning that there are no peers, but I’m glad to see her socializing as well.
Of course, philosophically, it’s very unstable.
So far, I’ve shared various stories in the mornings, but since last winter, Soo-oh found them boring and tedious, so I stopped.
But given the state of the world, living too moral of a life seems likely to just make one unhappy.
There are standards fitting to each era.
People look down on those with standards that don’t match the times and label them madmen.
They generally had to live unhappy lives.
Such things are only done by exceptional individuals.
Ordinary people can’t endure such trials.
So while I’m pondering just how much I should tell Soo-oh…
The fighting officially began!
Yes!
The Jeongma Daejeon has erupted!
Murim folks are a collection of superhumans.
As the full-scale battle begins, the situation shifts rapidly.
In no time, the Cheonma Church’s stronghold gets obliterated, and people pour down.
In that, if there’s a particularly strong superhuman compared to the surroundings, they get overwhelmed instantly.
Conversely, if we have a stronger superhuman, they push them back instead.
It’s a bit different from ordinary warfare.
This is a space where power that can’t simply be represented by numbers runs rampant, rendering front lines meaningless as people die left and right.
And amidst it, there are those shining particularly bright.
None other than my harvesters!
They all pull me in and use me.
When it became clear that war was happening, Cheonma gathered the harvesters and taught me how to use my skills as attributes.
Very few can wield a sword with the power of Cheonma, most can only hold a spear and poke!
Yet, the significant difference is that the piercing also sends out purple beams.
It’s used like a gun!
Of course, it’s more akin to long-range spearmen than a kind that sweeps away foes from afar.
They march forward in line, simultaneously poking and shooting.
Most Murim warriors get pierced and die as they approach.
If any Murim warrior can bounce that back and get in, someone will step forward, wielding me in a sword.
Primarily, they gather in one battlefield, so you can’t clearly see what’s happening overall.
But on the very first day of war, I gained a lot of warmth.
Hehe.
*
On the second day after the war began.
Finally, Soo-oh sensed something was off.
“Choseol. The forest seems strange.”
Soo-oh pointed towards the forest in the north.
Soo-oh was unaware.
There hadn’t been any significant commotion within Cheonma Church yet.
Cheonma didn’t come yesterday, but such events happen occasionally, so Soo-oh went through the day unaware.
“What’s strange about it?”
I felt nothing at all.
So, I asked if it was something genuinely felt or merely instinct.
Soo-oh squinted and looked around the forest.
Then pointed to the center of the forest while looking back at me.
“The forest is too quiet. It’s like it’s asleep, no sound at all.”
Ah, that side?
Now that I think about it, the background sounds of chirping birds are absent!
Whether the animals are silent due to sensing something or if someone’s actually entered the forest, I have no idea.
The only harvesters around here are Cheonma and Oh Myeong-seong.
And both are presently debating with the heads about what to do.
But they aren’t discussing how to fight; they’re considering whether to negotiate or not, which makes me sigh a little.
In the case of Cheonma Church, I thought they’d cut down dying people without question for the gods!
Cheonma has softened a lot since she became a woman, or rather; her heart has become more feminine.
Instead, Oh Myeong-seong is the one advocating for a more aggressive approach.
She claimed they targeted her purple hair so persistently, declaring they would never negotiate.
But someone disputes that.
None other than the head of the Jigan faction!
Not only is he a mere leader, but also a senior member of Cheonma Church. He pointed at Oh Myeong-seong and suggested offering her up.
He argues that this old man’s causing Cheonma Church to suddenly be attacked and that we should first give up Oh Myeong-seong, regain our bearings, and hope for better times ahead.
The face of the elder expressing this weariness is so apparent.
You can estimate it from his expression.
His so-called better days are after he’s dead!
He figures that if they can just get through now, that old man has nothing left to leave behind.
But the person making such a statement is, in some ways, among the highest in Cheonma Church.
So no one can easily refute his words.
And part of that silence isn’t just from an inability to oppose what Jigan said; there’s also a ton of resentment toward Oh Myeong-seong.
She suddenly showed up and snatched the position for the next Cheonma, not to mention the position of Gongmyeongusa.
A position enviable enough to be jealous of, right?
Perhaps that’s why the balance of the situation tilted towards handing Oh Myeong-seong over and negotiating.
The heads who don’t even know why the Murim Alliance is attacking are thinking, “Let’s get rid of what we dislike here.”
No, maybe for the heads, this Jeongma Daejeon is also someone else’s problem.
Because excluding the head of Woljedang, no one here is a harvester!
With the leadership confused, the war continues.
I turned my gaze to Soo-oh, who kept checking the forest, and said,
“Soo-oh, something big is going to happen.”
While I initially thought it would be a simple war finishing quickly with Cheonma and Oh Myeong-seong sweeping through, now the outcome is uncertain.
And so…
It seems like it’s about time to reveal the truth.
