Chapter 380: Byeol Takes Action

After all, ever since they had started living together, Joo Joowon had not even allowed Byeol to catch mice anymore. He had said something about there being rat poison around.

Therefore, Byeol understood very well that the fact Joo Joowon was even considering sending it out meant that he was already somewhat at a loss.

At that moment, Byeol had inexplicably developed a premonition that this was something only it could handle.

Originally, it had planned to call Hwi over and have him give it a buff before it went into battle. However, the moment this idea arose, Joo Joowon shut it down.

One of the fascinating things about the Path of Fate was that if an obstacle appeared the moment someone first came up with an idea, it meant that the idea was definitely not the best way to resolve the situation.

Therefore, Byeol had not insisted on its plan at the time. After all, it was not as though it could not handle things on its own.

Byeol did not agree with Joo Joowon's method. To capture the bandits, one had to capture their leader first. What was the point of wasting energy on those little underlings? Back when it had been the boss of a group of cats, it could gather a whole new crowd of feline followers around itself whenever it wanted. Obviously, the best approach was to take out the other side's leader directly.

If it had enough strength to do so, that was.

For Byeol, making one unit of Star Fiend produce ten times its usual effect was practically an innate talent.

But even that was not enough!

The moment Byeol saw the zombies in the red mist, it understood. The red mist boss might indeed know nothing about Fate, but the ability to change Fate itself was a sign of great strength. Moreover, it was also being favored by Fate.

That might sound contradictory, but it was actually quite normal.

The so called favor of Fate came from several sources. Half of it was innate, while the other half depended on one's personal circumstances. Talent, personality, and even the powerful backing one possessed could all elevate someone to a position they did not deserve.

As long as that backing remained intact, this portion of the 'Fate' bestowed from outside would continue to favor them.

During the past few days, Byeol had followed Joo Joowon and encountered quite a few beings who possessed this kind of 'favor'. However, their blessings had all been far too weak, nowhere near what it was witnessing now.

Sometimes, external fortune was actually much harder to shake than one's innate Fate.

The strong could crush everything. As long as the being bestowing its favor was powerful enough, there was no such thing as someone being undeserving of their position. After all, every crisis capable of threatening their external fortune would be directed toward the powerful being granting that favor, rather than reaching the undeserving person themselves.

Of course, the one before them had not yet reached that level.

It was more like something that had been left to grow on its own. Whatever it eventually became, the being behind it would no longer interfere.

Otherwise, Byeol would definitely consider taking Joo Joowon and running away with him.

It was not as though it had never encountered situations where someone it could not possibly resist had taken over its territory. It could simply find another place. It was no big deal.

While Byeol was thinking about how to deal with them, the zombies within the red mist suddenly began to move.

Under the cover of night, they scattered in all directions as though they had received some kind of instruction. However, some of the red mist zombies remained where they were, as if guarding something.

Byeol glanced at them but paid little attention. It tucked away its conspicuous tail and used the cover of the dense leaves to keep itself from being detected.

As a cat whose fur was not particularly suited to surviving in the wilderness, hiding itself was much more difficult than it was for other animals. Fortunately, Fate would lead any creature on the verge of discovering it away to somewhere else.

Joo Joowon was slowly making his way closer to Byeol.

When the green dot representing Byeol remained motionless, he knew that it had already reached its destination and had certainly found a good hiding spot where it could conceal itself properly.

However, Joo Joowon could not do the same. A cat was small, so hiding itself was easy, but he was different.

Therefore, he still had to return to the small hillside where he had been staying earlier.

Seeing that the red mist zombies had begun to move while the green dot representing Byeol remained completely still, Joo Joowon could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

Good. It was being very cautious.

That made sense, considering a cat's habits. Cats were naturally elusive. Even if someone turned the entire house upside down while searching for one, as long as the cat did not make a sound, they might still have no idea where it was hiding. In a place like a forest, cats were even more at home.

Kang Taewoo, who had been following behind, was completely confused. Seriously, what exactly had this person come here to do?

Should it just go back instead?

Judging by how cautious and sneaky the other party had been throughout the journey, Kang Taewoo felt that Joo Joowon was unlikely to encounter any danger, either.

It touched its body, where its fur had been scratched by tree branches and had several cockleburs and other kinds of plants that clung to fur stuck to it. Kang Taewoo felt a little hopeless.

It was not like an ordinary bear. It had never lived in a forest. It was used to staying in a clean and tidy house, so it was actually even less accustomed to the wilderness than Joo Joowon.