BW C217

Chapter 217

“……”

Hoeun pressed the back of his hand holding the brush against his forehead.

He had never once seen more than one antenna-type Shikgoe. There had always been a single leader, and all commands came from that one. So how could it be possible for all the leaders to be present? Then how were orders given? Wouldn’t there be confusion?

Could the refugees have been mistaken? They must have been in chaos at the time. But the woman’s eyes were far too clear for that. The other refugees, though exhausted, didn’t seem delirious either.

Then… did it truly mean that all the antenna-type Shikgoe had descended upon their village?

Were there really that many people in the village?

Or was there another reason?

As if reading Hoeun’s confusion, the woman wrote again.

[An enormous number of monsters came. Our wide plains were filled with them, so many that we could not count.]

At that, Hoeun immediately began writing a reply—

[Where you lived—]

Then he stopped.

Even if they told him the location, it wasn’t certain he would recognize it.

After a brief moment of thought, Hoeun looked up at Taemuk.

“We need a map.”

At that, Taemuk glanced at Byeonguk.

“Yes, I’ll bring one.”

Byeonguk replied shortly, then swiftly ran out of the tent and returned almost immediately, carrying the map used during meetings.

The large map showed the Great Han Empire at the center, with Wei (Japan) below, Qing to the side, and Mongolia above.

After carefully spreading it out, Hoeun continued writing.

[Where is the place you lived?]

The woman placed both hands on the map and examined it, then pressed her index finger firmly onto a specific point.

“……”

Hoeun’s eyes trembled at what he saw.

The place where the refugees had lived was not far from the fir forest where Jeokudae had encountered the fan-type Shikgoe. Slightly below that area, near the border of former Qing and Mongol lands.

From this, it seemed likely that their village had been close to the Shikgoe’s base, which explained why they had encountered so many antenna-types.

But as soon as that thought formed, Hoeun tilted his head.

No—that didn’t make sense.

If the village was this close to the Shikgoe’s base, shouldn’t it have been the first to fall?

Why would the creatures leave prey so close by and go hunting farther away?

In fact, the northern regions were so frequently overrun by Shikgoe that towns and villages marked on maps had practically ceased to exist.

Mongolia had fallen eight years ago.

That meant these people had survived for at least eight years—right next to the Shikgoe’s base.

How was that possible?

Even Jeokudae had struggled against a single fan-type Shikgoe. How could these people—who couldn’t even properly handle firearms—have survived?

[Did you not know there was a monster base nearby?]

Hoeun wrote faster this time.

The woman tilted her head.

[Base? What is that?]

[The place where monsters gather and live.]

The woman frowned slightly, then shook her head.

[There were not many monsters near our village. That is why we could live there until now.]

“That can’t be…”

Hoeun muttered to himself.

There was definitely a Shikgoe base there.

…Or had they misunderstood something?

Had they been looking in the wrong place?

But the lone antenna-type had headed there. And the fan-type had been lying in ambush as if guarding something.

Was all of it just coincidence?

Hoeun pressed the end of his brush against his chin, deep in thought.

The woman flipped over the filled sheet of paper and wrote again.

[Originally, the monsters were more numerous in the capital. Because many people lived there. Our village had few people, so there were few monsters.]

“Places with many people…”

[But suddenly, their numbers increased.]

“Suddenly…”

Nothing made sense.

Hoeun alternated his gaze between the woman and what she had written, then turned to Taemuk.

But Taemuk wasn’t looking at him, nor the woman, nor the writing—

He was staring at the map.

Hoeun followed his gaze.

But at this moment, there was nothing they could conclude.

“……”

Hoeun, who had been in a deep sleep, suddenly woke to an unfamiliar chill.

The thick blanket was pulled up to his neck, and the floor was warm—yet he felt cold.

Because Taemuk wasn’t there.

He realized it the moment he woke, but still reached out to the empty space beside him.

As expected, Taemuk was gone.

Hoeun slowly sat up.

Just as he was about to wonder where Taemuk had gone at this hour—

he noticed a flicker of light beyond the paper door leading to the next room.

Without hesitation, Hoeun headed there.

Of course, he tidied his bedding and tightened his robe ties neatly before going.

Then he quietly announced his presence.

“General, I’m coming in.”

Taemuk, whose hearing was sharp, would have already known he was awake—but Hoeun still observed proper courtesy.

There was no reply.

But Hoeun took the silence as permission and opened the door slightly.

At once, the bitter scent of cigarette smoke poured out.

Then Taemuk’s unusually subdued voice followed.

“Why are you up?”

Taemuk was sitting at a desk, a cigarette between his fingers. A single oil lamp flickered beside him.

“Because you weren’t there.”

“I’ll come back soon. Go back to sleep.”

“How can I sleep when you’re not there?”

Hoeun pouted slightly.

Taemuk let out a small laugh and set the cigarette down in the ashtray, then dragged a nearby chair closer.

“Then want to sit here?”

“Yes.”

Hoeun quickly went and sat beside him.

Looking at the desk, he saw the map spread out.

“You were looking at the map?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Thinking about something.”

Taemuk replied while staring at the map.

Then he fell silent.

He narrowed his eyes, drew in a breath through his teeth, twisted his lips slightly—clearly deep in thought.

Watching him, Hoeun pulled his chair closer.

“Tell me too. I want to think about it with you.”

“It’s not certain.”

“All the more reason we should think together. If two people think, it might become clearer.”

Hoeun looked at him steadily.

“……”

Taemuk met his gaze, then tugged lightly at his earlobe before turning back to the map.

It was hesitation—unlike him.

Was it because he lacked confidence in his thoughts?

Or because he didn’t want Hoeun to know?

It was unclear.

Hoeun leaned slightly closer, urging him silently.

Taemuk let out a long breath through his nose, then spoke.

“If the Shikgoe came from Wei…”

“Yes.”

“…is it possible their base is still in Wei?”

“You’re asking my opinion?”

“Yeah.”

Hoeun looked at Wei on the map.

Being composed of islands, it was good for defense but not ideal for launching attacks.

He didn’t hesitate long before answering.

“…No.”

“Why?”

“For example, if there are ten thousand Shikgoe in the base, they would need at least twice that number in prey—people. Would it be possible to transport tens of thousands of people to Wei every day?”

“……”

“No matter how intelligent they are, and even if they’ve been seen using ships near Busan, that would still be difficult. It’s not efficient either.”

To Hoeun, Shikgoe were exactly what their name implied—creatures that existed to eat.

They existed solely to consume humans.

From that perspective, the probability that they remained in Wei was extremely low.

Taemuk nodded shortly.

“That’s what I think too. They must’ve left the islands for the mainland to find food.”

“Yes, that makes sense.”

“Then where did they go?”

“…Pardon?”

“There were plenty of countries nearby. The Great Han Empire, Qing, Mongolia—and further north, Noguk (Russia).”

Hoeun examined Wei again.

Its long horizontal shape meant it wasn’t far from any of those regions, depending on where one started.

“All possibilities have to remain open,” he thought.

“Our Yeosu or Busan would be closest… but that’s unlikely.”

“Right. Like Gilsang said, the navy guards those areas tightly. A few drifting ashore is one thing—but thousands? Impossible. And if they had, we wouldn’t have missed it.”

“And we would have found their base long ago.”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm…”

Hoeun made a low sound as he studied the map, then turned his gaze toward Qing.

“Then… did they go to Qing?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Qing had a large population and vast territory. Yet it fell after Wei. Could it be because the Shikgoe moved there from Wei?”

“Yeah. That’s what I think too.”

Taemuk nodded again.

But Hoeun didn’t feel entirely pleased by his agreement.