Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

Before receiving the call from Huang Ho, the Hojo couple was in a state of confusion.

The couple had suddenly recalled an existence they had forgotten.
A long time ago, when they were expecting a child, a small Hojo, Black Ho, had promised that once the child was born, he would come to greet them.
Playful, yet cherishing his friends, and playing beautiful music, the couple thought that the child would be delighted to meet Black Ho when he came.

Black Ho, who hadn’t been born yet, would collect leaves and play the flute, saying he would let the unborn child listen to his music.
"Could it be that you’re also thinking about Black Ho...?"
"Ah, how could I have forgotten!"

Few had realized that Black Ho had regained his presence.
Those born after Black Ho's disappearance, or those who hadn’t recognized him even when he was around, felt nothing.
Only those who had lived for thousands of years, and had known Black Ho, could sense this strange feeling.

Thus, the world did not suddenly become noisy or the topic of Black Ho’s existence did not become a subject of gossip.
But the couple was different.
The couple, who had lived in the same era as Black Ho and interacted with him, recalled the memories.

They didn’t think that Black Ho’s existence had been erased or that it was linked to a great conspiracy. They simply thought that they had forgotten Black Ho because they had been out of their minds for so long.
"When we fought the war with the Wung tribe, we didn’t meet Black Ho. At that time, we lost our child... Did Black Ho die then? Did our friends withhold news of Black Ho’s passing to spare us?"
"It’s a relief that the child is not here. If they saw us panicking, they’d be worried."

Just then, their child, Ahn Da-in, had stepped out to introduce her close friend, Kim Yu-ri, to a new acquaintance.
The friend, who came from Japan, was supposed to return once the typhoon passed, so Ahn Da-in had spent a lot of time with that child recently.
Although the weather was bad, this level of typhoon couldn’t stop Ahn Da-in from visiting her friend.

Thanks to that, the couple could hide their confusion and sadness from their child.
At that moment, Huang Ho summoned the couple.
The couple was staying in an annex on the estate, so they were able to join him immediately.
The location designated by Huang Ho was the main gate of the large mansion.

"There’s no time, so let’s talk right away."
The Hojo clan members near Huang Ho looked as if they were about to face a major battle, their expressions grim.
Chung Ho, who had recently returned, and Baek Ho, who had been scolded for his increasingly unnecessary laughter, both wore serious expressions.

The disciples of Chung Ho, who had joined later, were puzzled, but under their teacher's influence, they remained silent.
The couple looked around and realized something.
The people gathered here were those who had known them before they lost their child and lost their minds.

Except for one person—Jo Yi-shin, their benefactor.
"We’re going to rescue the Wung Woman."
At Huang Ho’s first words, the couple doubted their ears.

That statement was so shocking that it made even the disciples of Chung Ho, who had been silent, speak up.
"Huang Ho, are you talking about the Wung Woman of the Ten Great Wung Warriors?"
"That’s probably it. You must have misspoken about going to catch her. Would you say that in front of these two?"

"That makes sense. It’s raining, so shouldn’t we tell them to rest?"
"Enough."
When Chung Ho told them to stop, they fell silent, but the disciples had already spoken their minds.

The couple was speechless and silently gazed at Huang Ho.
The word "Wung Woman" stirred a torrent of emotions within them.
The thought that Black Ho might have died in that war, which they had just recalled, made those emotions even stronger.

Before the couple could say anything, Jo Yi-shin spoke first.
"I requested that the two of you join this mission."
"Benefactor...?"

At Jo Yi-shin’s words, the couple’s emotions, which had been on the verge of exploding, instantly calmed down.
If it was Jo Yi-shin, the one who had found their child and understood the pain of losing a family member, then it was difficult to prioritize their own emotions.
Jo Yi-shin, perhaps feeling guilty for asking them this, had a sorry expression on his face as he spoke.

"Whether or not to participate in this mission is entirely up to you. Please make your decision after hearing everything."
At Jo Yi-shin’s words, the couple nodded slightly and then looked back at Huang Ho.
Huang Ho then took out a leaf wrapped in a barrier.

The leaf carried a presence that wasn’t Huang Ho’s, and a faint dark hue lingered, resembling Black Ho’s energy.
"Black Ho was erased from existence by a conspiracy of some Wung tribe members. Thanks to our benefactor, his presence has just been restored. Didn’t you just think of Black Ho? While delivering a message, Black Ho met with misfortune."
The leaf contained information about a conspiracy regarding the Hoshinchong, the Wung Woman’s request for support, and the Seal of Sorrow.

The couple knew that Black Ho, who was quick on his feet and good at hiding, often acted as a messenger. He loved children and frequently visited the homes of Jeok Ho and the Wung Woman.
The couple realized what Huang Ho was trying to convey to them.
A shock even greater and heavier than when they had remembered Black Ho hit them.

‘Then what about Jeok Ho and the Wung Woman... That child, Jeho...’
To them, those three were the cause of their madness for thousands of years.
They had lost everything, and seeing that Jeok Ho and the Wung Woman still had a child filled them with jealousy and resentment.

But the truth was different.
They were victims who had suffered for thousands of years, not knowing why they couldn’t be with their family.
Jeok Ho had to endure for thousands of years in a red prison, the Wung Woman had to endure in the heart of enemy territory, and Jeho had to endure amidst the coldness of his own people.

In front of everyone, Jeok Ho and the Wung Woman, who had decided to share their life and death together, gazed warmly at each other, and the sight of Jeho being embraced, unable to open his eyes, flashed in the couple’s minds.
"There’s no time. Hurry and make a decision. Jeok Ho is fighting alone."
When the couple hesitated, Baek Ho spoke.

That helped them regain their senses, but they also heard Jo Yi-shin’s soft voice whispering, "Don’t rush, wait a little."
Huang Ho, Chung Ho, and their disciples were all looking at the couple with calm eyes.
If the couple decided they couldn’t fight, they would understand.

Perhaps they hadn’t planned to call them at all, knowing the couple would be confused from the start.
Nonetheless, Jo Yi-shin had called them.
‘The benefactor is giving us a chance.’

If the Wung Woman were to fail, Jeok Ho would lose his companion, and Jeho would lose his mother.
The couple might fall into despair as deeply as they had resented the Wung Woman.
The couple looked at each other and nodded.

They were thinking the same thing, and they reached the same conclusion.
"We’ll fight."
Upon hearing the couple’s answer, Huang Ho didn’t show much emotion but explained the strategy and positioning with a slightly brighter voice.

The Hojo clan members arrived just in time and quietly observed the battle between Jeok Ho and the Wung Woman from afar.
When Huang Ho gave the signal, the couple could finally see the Wung Woman properly.
Looking into the Wung Woman’s eyes, the couple could instantly read her emotions.

Resentment towards those who had taken her family, hatred, and exhaustion from the deep longing she felt.
It was the same emotions they once saw in each other’s eyes.
‘If only we had seen that gaze before Black Ho returned... perhaps...’

As the Wung Woman gazed at the couple, they stared at each other for a little longer, even though they were facing the enemy.
In fact, I didn’t need to come here, but I insisted on staying.
Eun Ho tried to stop me, saying, "Are you really going there with that look?" but after mentioning the possibility of variables, I barely convinced him and received the lens to cover my left eye.

However, a few conditions were added.
I agreed to stay far from the front line, right next to Huang Jiho’s clone.
The battle was to be fought by Huang Jiho in his twenties, while my protection would be taken care of by high school-aged Huang Jiho. Although I protested about the waste of resources, no one else opposed it, so we went with it.

‘Anyway, the forces are sufficient, and the siege formation is complete. If we go like this, I won’t have much to do.’
I was using Cheondongha’s Gwanglim, ‘The Eye that Holds the Universe,’ to check the vast siege formation.
Having folded my wings, I landed, but aside from the warrior who wasn’t participating in the battle and the bear of Ugi, who was fainting from a distance, there were no significant variables yet.

But something was bothering me.
‘The Great Sword that the Hate Bear, the Rage Bear, and the Lust Bear use... something about it bothers me.’
They had mentioned that the Great Sword contained corrupt darkness.

After Baek Ho had split the sky, when the corrupt darkness was about to vanish with the enemies, they seemed to have crafted the sword using a clever trick.
It was a powerful weapon that only three out of the Ten Great Wung Warriors could handle, so it naturally contained immense strength.
But when I viewed it with Cheondongha’s eyes, the corrupt darkness seemed to be something far larger and more difficult to control than even the three could manage.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
‘At first glance, it looked like just a corrupted, powerful substance, but looking closer, it feels like an abyss. In the worst-case scenario, if those three fail to control it, the corrupt darkness could spread. And what’s the warrior doing now?’
Although I felt dizzy from the flood of information, I spoke to Huang Jiho.

"Tell the Hojo clan to use their bright eyes while fighting. Be careful not to touch that sword directly. The warrior is moving strangely, so catch him quickly."
"..."
"Huang Jiho?"

Huang Jiho’s response was slow.
His energy had been overflowing right after the battle started, but now he looked absentminded.
He spoke in a broken voice.

"The barrier... the subordinate... the spiritual energy..."
Had the dark forces manipulated the land around here?
The spiritual energy was violently shaking, as though it had been stirred by something.

Huang Jiho began fighting to gain control of the spiritual energy that was trying to overpower the Hojo clan.
"Just as that person said, this corrupt darkness is pure evil!"
There was a spatial formation where the spiritual energy was inscribed.

The warrior, using one hand to touch the ground and the other to grip the remnants of the corrupt darkness, made a move.
Huang Jiho created a barrier in the sky to prevent the warrior from escaping, and the warrior had to land within the boundaries of the siege formation.
However, this didn’t seem like a forced movement due to being cornered, but rather a calculated one.

‘I didn’t see the scene where the formation was inscribed. The dark forces must have given it to the warrior in advance, and it was directly transferred to the land!’
Boom!
As the warrior, clutching the remnants of the corrupt darkness, flapped his wings, the air seemed to tear apart, and a powerful gust of wind surged through the area.

The disciples of Chung Ho, who approached to stop the warrior, used Taeho-kwon to redirect the flow of the wind, but blood started flowing from their skin in several places.
The force used by the warrior had pierced through the energy shield around them.
The warrior, having brushed aside Chung Ho’s disciples, rapidly approached the Hate Bear.

"That person said that before the Wung Woman dies, if the Hojo clan appears, use this formation. Please cooperate."
Upon hearing the warrior's words, the bloodied Hate Bear nodded.
Before the spiritual energy could erupt, the Hate Bear, the Rage Bear, and the Wung Woman were already under attack from Chung Ho and Jeok Ho, and the Hate Bear found himself in a disadvantageous position.

The form of cooperation requested by the warrior was incredibly simple.
The warrior placed his hand on the dark blade of the corrupt sword the Hate Bear had extended.
At that moment, the immense strength of deception and malice within the warrior surged violently.

‘No! If we keep going like this, we’ll miss it!’
The siege formation hadn’t even been broken yet, but as I saw the warrior, I had a sudden premonition.
I hesitated, wondering if I should intervene now.

That was when the warrior suddenly turned his head and looked at me.
Although I had kept my distance far enough that the Wung tribe couldn’t detect it, and I had set up Huang Jiho’s barrier, the warrior, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) having come into contact with the corrupt darkness, was able to sense me through all of it.
As the warrior’s sharp eyes met mine, they softened.

‘I found you.’
The warrior silently mouthed the words.