Chapter 8: Chapter 8
Manhwa: Chapter 7
The group that followed Yeom Iljung was disbanded. This was because both Yeom Iljung and his henchmen were found dead. Their corpses shocked the children who were busy quarreling in the underground cave.
As food decreased, murder became a routine, but never did so many children die at once. Moreover, one of the deceased was Yeom Iljung, the leader of a group.
Although he was humiliated by Pyo-wol once, no one could ignore Yeom Iljung.
Yeom Il-jung was one of the strongest in this underground community, and even the strongest group headed by So Yeowol could not afford to do anything about him.
But Yeom Iljung and his henchmen were all killed.
No one among them admitted that they killed the group of Yeom Iljung.
So Yeowol, Kang Il, and Go Youngsan were silent.
The children knew the meaning of their silence.
'It's Pyo-wol.'
'He killed the whole group of Yeom Iljung.'
After the murder amongst the children, Yeom Iljung openly talked about killing Pyo-wol. That is why the children knew that the Yeom Iljung would one day visit Pyo-wol.
Yeom Il-jung went to Pyo-wol to get revenge, but he ended up losing his life.
'How strong is he? To kill four people alone.'
'That demon-like child.'
'You can't be enemies with that bastard.'
It was a moment when the fear toward Pyo-wol was deeply engraved in the minds of the children.
Since then, the children's fight for food continued. Children continue to die day after day, but no one dared to go to the place where Pyo-wol was staying.
"He's clever and spiteful. He obviously knows how to make people fear him."
Go Youngsan murmured. He was also the leader of a group. As he tried to save his group, he, too, was forced to kill.
Some children even said this.
"Why don't we negotiate with the other groups instead? If we reduce the amount we eat even a little bit, we don't have to kill each other like this."
But in spite of his words, those who locked them here had their food distribution reduced to almost three quarters. They couldn't tell how much food would be further reduced.
In order for the children to survive, they had no choice but to kill.
"Haa..."
Go Youngsan sighed and looked at his group.
In the beginning there were twenty, but now only seven of them were left. Some went out to live separately, and some lost their lives in the process of fighting.
The size of Go Youngsan's group shrank.
There was another thing that changed.
The eyes of all those who survived were full of poison. The children, who had never even killed a dog before being kidnapped here, have now become toxic enough to kill without hesitation.
In order to obtain food, they had to kill others.
Even though it was already difficult to get food, they still always end up hungry because of the lack of quantity.
Because of the circumstances, there was always a vile intention in the eyes of the children. There are still some food left so they can still endure it, but if the food is cut off, they might start to crave human flesh.
"Pyo-wol, that guy had predicted this moment would come. That's why he took Yeom Iljung's eyes at that time and didn't align himself with any group".
They all knew they were going to be murderers anyway. And at the most opportune time, he killed one of the leaders and imprinted in everyone's mind the fact that he was the absolute strongest amongst them.
Go Youngsan once again trembled at Pyo-wol's scheme.
He was one of the older kids here. He had a lot of experience and had met a lot of people. However, there were not many people who had a vicious heart at such a young age as Pyo-wol.
He told his other members.
"You guys, never touch Pyo-Yeol. He's a different kind of guy."
"But he's alone..."
"That's what makes it scarier. There's nothing scarier than a bastard who has nothing to protect. Don't even try to approach him, alright?"
"Yes!"
"Okay."
The children could not help but agree.
"Boss!"
Then a child came running from the other side. It was the child Go Youngsan sent for reconnaissance. His feet are fast and he is quick-witted.
Go Youngsan stepped forward and said,
"Can't you just end it with my life?"
"The food situation is not good for that—"
"Will you only be satisfied after killing them all?!"
"If you were in my position, you would have done the same thing too. Why are you pretending otherwise?"
The request of Go Yeongsan did not work for So Yeowol.
Her face remained cold.
Food coming from the outside was becoming less and less. If the number of people is not reduced accordingly, everyone will end up starving to death. This was not the time to care at the situation of the other group.
"Kill them all."
A cruel command fell from So Yeowol's mouth.
The group following her rushed towards the group of Go Young-san.
"ARGHH!"
"Kill them all!"
The children twisted together and fought. The children's movements were clumsy because they haven't even learned the basics of martial arts. However, their intention to kill their opponent was no less than that of an adult who had mastered martial arts.
So it appeared more brutal.
The sight of children pounding their opponents' faces until they shattered with clenched fists and biting their opponents' flesh with their teeth looked devastating.
It is never easy for a man to kill another person with his bare hands.
Children are doing things that are difficult for adults to do. They didn't look like people at all.
The children look like beasts that have gone wild.
"KUGGH!"
"H-HELP ME!"
Screams and clamors rang out dizzyingly. It was Song Cheonwoo who faced Go Youngsan.
Song Cheonwoo put Go Yeongsan into a corner with such agility that others wouldn't be able to believe that he was a child who still hadn't mastered martial arts.
So Yeowol did not intervene in the fight.
Instead, she looked around and monitored carefully the other children who had gathered because of the commotion.
But the other groups did not dare to intervene in the fight.
This is because the power of the group led by So Yeo-wol is much stronger. A sense of danger that they could be annihilated by a counterattack made them hesitant in trying to aim for So Yeowol.
Pyo-wol watched the two groups fight on the roof of a nearby pavilion. The fight was about to end in favor of So Yeo-wol's group. It was a one-sided victory.
Pyo-wol watched their fight from start to finish.
From So Yeowol planning a trap to Go Youngsan being properly caught, he saw everything. They used the terrain thoroughly. They tried to deceive each other's eyes using open holes and all sorts of shortcuts, and lead the situation to their advantage.
What Pyo-wol paid attention to was how skillfully they used the terrain, just like the courtyard of their house.
Suddenly he muttered.
"So it was like that..."
Now it seems Pyo-wol understood what the captures wanted from them.
The way the children are now will be what they want them to be.
"There is a high probability that this place is a miniature or replica of an actual place. And there is a high possibility that it is a gentian blood that cannot be compared with this place."
One of the things that Pyo-wol felt while watching the entire fight was that it would be almost impossible to infiltrate if there were proper security everywhere.
The creators of this place wanted children to get accustomed to this place. They seemed to want no hesitation as they tried to kill each other.
There was only one answer.
"They are going to use us in the same terrain someday. In a place with such a large army, of course, there is a high probability that it is a manor of a large clan in Jianghu or a very influential person."
The red light in Pyo-wol's eyes grew even worse. Thinking up to this point, the question of why he had kidnapped himself and his children was resolved.
"We are tools that will be used once and thrown away, so that's why they're treating us so harshly. What they need is a usable tool, not a human who can think. In order to prevent a person from thinking and to forge them into the tools they want, no matter the nature of the person, when they are exposed to such an environment, they cannot think properly."
What's more, the people here were young and their identity had not yet been established. If they stay in this environment for a long time, there is a high probability that they will gradually stop thinking.
Children who do not have troublesome thoughts and would follow whatever orders they have.
Everyone would turn out to be ferocious and fearless. Since they've already experience killing in this underground cave, there would be no hesitation in taking another person's life.
There is nothing more suitable as a tool.
Pyo-wol stood up and muttered.
"They're going to turn us into assassins."