The Siege of Onseong: Betrayal Unleashed (Part 1)
One month earlier, at Kim Gwi-ju's mansion in Hanyang.
The head of the Noron hardliners, Kim Gwi-ju, stared at the steam rising from his teacup and spoke. "That young pup the king planted as magistrate in Onseong has ruined my sleep. Wielding a brass ruler instead of upholding the way of the scholar-officials, deceiving the court with vulgar tricks... If we leave him be, the kingdom's discipline will crumble entirely. Isn't it time we cut out this wicked sprout at the root?"
Yi Pan-sul, a third-rank senior official standing attendance at Kim Gwi-ju's side, bowed obsequiously. "My lord, worry not. I have a connection in Onseong, planted from the ground up. A sixth-rank gatekeeper at the east gate named Oh Pan-seok. Back when I was at the Ministry of Rites, he nearly lost his head over a bribery scandal, but I quietly pulled strings to get him shipped off to the frontier."
Kim Gwi-ju narrowed his eyes and set down his teacup. "Oh Pan-seok... So you're the benefactor who holds his lifeline?"
"Yes, my lord. The man's greed is pathological—he'd sell the kingdom itself for a few lumps of silver. And with this new arrival, Yi Si-woo, clamping down so tightly, his backroom cash flow has dried up completely. He's shedding bloody tears over it. By now, he's like a starving dog waiting for someone to toss him a scrap of meat."
A thin smile crept across Kim Gwi-ju's lips. "Starving dogs bite their masters. Good. Send someone personally. Don't just sweet-talk him—show him something tangible that'll make his eyes roll back. Let him taste how sweet the power of Hanyang can be."
"I am deeply grateful, my lord. I'll dispatch my trusted aide with dozens of silver ingots and a secret letter. Promise him a fourth-rank post in Hanyang and wealth to last a lifetime if he just opens the gate. He'd sell his own parents for that—no way he'll fail."
Kim Gwi-ju gazed out at the darkened courtyard and murmured softly. "Tell him this: Yi Si-woo's defeat will prove the king's misjudgment and show whose hands truly carry the kingdom's vital cause."
A few days later, in a dingy back room of an inn in Onseong.
The trusted aide sent by Yi Pan-sul flung open a chest, and dozens of silver ingots gleamed white under the cold moonlight. Oh Pan-seok's pupils trembled as if entranced by the silver glow.
"What... what is all this?"
The aide pulled a nameless sheet of paper from his bosom—no signature, no seal—and thrust it under Oh Pan-seok's nose.
This is just the beginning. Lord Kim holds your loyalty in high regard. When the bandits attack, find the right moment and open the east gate.
"But that's treason! If it gets out, my head will—"
"Get out? How? Blame the rain soaking the powder, the incompetent magistrate botching tactics, and the gate breaking open. When the fortress falls and Yi Si-woo's head rolls, grab this silver and head to Hanyang."
"Lord Kim himself promises to recommend you for a fourth-rank post as a vanguard captain of the Five Armies, making you a pillar of our great cause that grips the kingdom's pulse. Wouldn't it be a waste to wither away breathing frontier dust?"
A fourth-rank vanguard captain of the Five Armies. Worlds apart from guarding gates in this barren northern dirt. As a core military officer in Hanyang's capital, he'd escort the palace, rub shoulders with high officials, and savor the sweet taste of power—a true power broker.
For Oh Pan-seok, born the overlooked second son of an nameless frontier family, enduring a lifetime of bitterness, it was a position beyond his wildest dreams. Pushed aside by his elder brother, scraping by as a low officer with no connections, shivering under northern gales at the gate—that had been his lot.
He swallowed hard and snatched a silver ingot from the chest, gripping it roughly. The cold, heavy metal sent a thrill racing through his body.
"Yi Si-woo never should have set foot here. Shoving shame in our faces at every turn, choking our livelihoods over a single coin... He's kicked away his own lifespan. Understood. I'll carry out Lord Kim's command, send word to the bandits, and set the date."
Oh Pan-seok's eyes already shimmered not with the flames that would devour Onseong, but with Hanyang's brilliant lanterns and the feel of silk robes. Stroking the heavy silver hidden in his bosom, he let a chilling sneer twist his lips.
Yi Si-woo, you strut around with your fancy brass ruler, measuring the world's principles, blind to the pit yawning at your feet.
On the eve as rain began to fall, the lock of trust guarding Onseong had already slipped open silently.
Onseong's north gate. A month had passed.
As the promised day of action approached, thin, cold raindrops fell from the low-hanging thunderheads, as if the heavens envied the fate ahead. Not a downpour, but enough to soak the soldiers' collars on the walls.
Si-woo gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist and adjusted it. In his hands was no command baton, but a sleek black steel bow of his own design. Raindrops slid down the string, but his eyes didn't flicker.
"They're coming."
At his low word, the three hundred garrison troops atop the wall held their breath as one.
Hundreds of torches pierced the rain like waves from the horizon. The Black Forest Bandits.
"Hold until they reach the designated points! Fire all at once when they hit the puddles!"
As the distance closed, the bandits howled and loosed arrows.
"Argh!"
A sentry securing the view took an arrow to the throat and toppled backward. Hot blood stained the wall amid the cold rain.
The bandits' archery was fierce, and the rainy night's darkness favored the attackers. Si-woo slowly drew his bowstring. The high-tension steel bow groaned metallically as it bent taut.
Shwaak—!
The arrow left his fingertips, slicing straight through the rain to bury in the brow of the vanguard's standard-bearer.
"Now! Loose!!"
Shwish—!
A chilling whistle tore the night air. Hundreds of steel crossbow bolts Si-woo had improved arced across the sky.
"Aaaagh!"
Before the vanguard riders could look up, the bolts shattered horses' chests and bandits' torsos.
Si-woo nocked two arrows without pause and released. They pierced the chests of two deputy-leader-grade officers amid the rain.
"Archers, grab your matchlocks! Fire!"
Bang! Bang-bang—!
The archers, powder pans covered in oiled paper, fired in unison. But as rain seeped in, misfires grew frequent.
"My lord! The matches are wet—the fuses won't light!"
At Man-seok's urgent cry, Si-woo drew his bow again and bellowed. "Drop the matchlocks! Archers, grab the bows behind you! Close-range fire!"
But with matchlock failures mounting, the bandits reached the wall base and raised ladders. As one thrust his head over, a soldier beside Si-woo swung his spear. The bandit's blade struck first. The soldier's chest split, and he tumbled down.
Si-woo gritted his teeth and drew his steel bow again. An upward shot at close range pierced three climbing bandits in succession, sending them plummeting.
"Don't fall back! Don't let them set foot on the wall!"
Melee erupted. Amid flying arrows and bolts, corpses piled along the wall. Enemy arrows impaled defenders' chests; Si-woo's precise shots and steel bolts crushed bandit skulls. A gruesome slaughter.
Onseong's east gate.
As death's dance unfolded at the north wall, an eerie silence hung at the east gate. Oh Pan-seok desperately seized the bolt, and sentries blocked him in shock.
"Gatekeeper! Why open the gate now? The north wall's under attack! Absolutely not!"
"How dare you block my path! I bear secret orders from Hanyang's great lords—stand aside!"
"Secret orders? We've heard nothing! Without the magistrate's permission—"
Slash—!
Oh Pan-seok's blade severed the sentry's throat. A hometown comrade raised together, but his eyes saw only the Five Armies captaincy in Hanyang.
"Out of my way, you scum! Dare you block my destiny?"
He lifted the heavy bolt with bloodied hands. The gate screamed open, and Batu's cavalry charged in from the darkness like a storm.
Bleeding and mounted, Oh Pan-seok haughtily jerked his chin. "Head straight to the government offices southwest! The magistrate and civilians are gathered there—hit them all at once, and the fortress is yours. I've cleared your path; keep your promise, right?"
To Oh Pan-seok, Batu was just a barbarian hunting dog to send him to Hanyang.
But Batu's response defied expectation. "Cleared the path... Yes, truly grateful."
Whoosh—!
Batu's sword arced, decapitating Oh Pan-seok.
"Guh... urk..."
His head rolled into the mud. Eyes dreaming of Hanyang's glory, sold out for the people's lives, now buried in the blood-mingled mire of the sentry he'd slain.
Batu seized Oh Pan-seok's hair from horseback and hoisted it high. "Traitors always betray again."
Roaring, Batu swung his bloody sword inward. ", charge! Torch every house, plunder everything in sight! Stuff the men in pits after killing them; women and loot go to the first taker! Wash Onseong in blood!"
"Wooooah!"
The bandits' mad cheers pierced the rain, flooding the fortress. Hooves battered fences, ravaging homes.
Back at Onseong's north gate.
"My lord! The east gate! The bolt... it's open from inside!"
At the garrison captain's desperate shout, Si-woo halted his drawn bowstring. Far off, torches poured through the east gate, flames rising as Batu, clutching Oh Pan-seok's severed head, rampaged into the village.
"My lord, the enemy’s deep inside! The people are in danger!"
Man-seok blocked Si-woo's path, shouting urgently.
Si-woo roughly wiped rain from his face and slung his bow over his shoulder. Icy killing intent colder than rage enveloped him.
"Garrison captain, listen! Take the remaining 150 archers and gunners and hold this north gate to the end. If it falls, Onseong becomes prey from both sides!"
"Yes, my lord! But your safety worries us!"
"Don't worry. I'll take the other 150 and cut off the variable at the east gate. They came relying on cavalry mobility, but Onseong's alleys will be their grave."
Si-woo twanged the bowstring with his finger and intoned. "Herd them into the southwest alleys. We'll annihilate them there."
Without hesitation, Si-woo dashed down the wall stairs. Man-seok and 150 elite troops followed, melting swiftly into the village shadows through the rain.