Onseong Defense Battle (Part 2)
"Kill them! Southwest side! The magistrate bastard and all the loot are there!"
Batu, who had beheaded O Pan-seok, let out a mad roar. Over a hundred cavalrymen charged into Onseong's narrow alleys. Muddy water mixed with rainwater splashed in every direction under the horses' hooves, and the bandits advanced while smashing through houses. But the path to the central government office in the village heart was eerily silent. It was because Si-woo had gathered all the villagers inside the office compound before the battle. Muffled prayers from the people hiding behind the massive office walls mingled with the rain, but some hadn't made it in time. An old man who ignored the office's orders and tried to guard his home was pierced through the chest by a bandit's spear and collapsed. A woman attempting to climb over a wall was trampled by a cavalryman's horse, crushed without even a scream. The rainwater pooling in the alley floors turned crimson in an instant, flowing into the drains.
"Hahaha! Just rats! Smash the office and get in!"
Batu fearlessly wheeled his horse into the narrow alley. But it wasn't a path permitted for cavalry. Rumble—crash! Suddenly, massive wooden barricades dropped from both front and rear, blocking escape and advance simultaneously. The panicked horses reared up with whinnies, and the trapped riders collided into each other's mounts in the cramped space.
"Fire!!"
From atop the high walls, straw mats were pulled back, revealing dozens of repeating crossbows. At the commander's shout, a vertical rain of steel bolts poured down. Shooo—! No place to flee in the kill zone. The bolts pierced horses' skulls, skewered riders' shoulders, and embedded into the ground. As struck riders fell, the following horses trampled them, filling the alley with the crunch of shattering bones.
In the midst of that hell, Si-woo was carving through the enemy like a demon, swinging his curved sword. A rider's four legs were severed at once, slamming him into the dirt. Si-woo didn't stop. He precisely slashed only necks, chests, and bellies.
"Y-You magistrate bastard! Die!"
Three of Batu's guards thrust their spears simultaneously. Si-woo dropped low, slicing the first's Achilles tendon, then used the recoil to rise and smash the second's jaw with the sword's hilt. The last flew over the wall, ribs caved in by Si-woo's kick.
"My lord! Left side!"
Man-seok rushed in, beheading a bandit aiming for Si-woo's back. Si-woo's white robe was soaked in dark red blood, heavy like armor. Blood dripped from his face and hair, but his eyes gleamed coldly through the gore.
Thud-thud-thud—! Then, a heavy vibration shook the ground from beyond the alley—the main bandit cavalry force that had circled the outskirts to avoid the ambush. The vanguard of twenty-odd riders was already charging at full speed toward Si-woo, followed by over fifty more like a wave.
"My lord! Enemy cavalry main force! We'll get hit head-on like this!"
Man-seok's urgent cry made Si-woo roughly wipe his blood-smeared face and issue a chilling order.
"Don't panic! Spearmen, form ranks! Hold!!"
At Si-woo's command, spear-wielding infantry from the one hundred fifty elites formed lines. The front knelt, fixing spear shafts to the ground at an angle; the rear extended tips over shoulders, creating a thicket of thorns.
Booom—! The vanguard horses impaled on spearpoints toppled, but the momentum was unstoppable.
"Arghhh! My arm... my arm!"
"Don't push! Hold to live! Hold!!"
Frontline soldiers' arms snapped under the horses' weight. Shields shattered, and spearmen directly hit by massive chests burst internally, flung backward. The front line collapsed in seconds, ally blood spraying everywhere. But that desperate sacrifice slowed the cavalry. As horses stumbled over corpses, Si-woo plunged into the gap himself.
"Annihilate them all!!"
Si-woo's sword sliced a rider's waist amid the rain. The bandits shuddered at his bloodshot glare.
"D-Demon...! The red demon's here!"
Terror spread like plague. Si-woo plugged gaps in the crumbling formation, butchering charging riders one by one. He gouged eyes of thrusting horse heads, severed arms mid-swing.
"You scum! Don't retreat! He's alone! I'll take your head myself for the greater cause!"
Batu screamed, drawing his sword and leaping from his heavy horse. His dagger clashed fiercely with Si-woo's curved blade through the rain. Clang, clang! Each metallic ring made Batu's wrists scream. Batu was a seasoned bandit; he twisted Si-woo's blade forcefully, diving in to stab. But Si-woo deflected the thrust by a hair, slamming the flat of his sword into Batu's chest.
"Guhk!"
Si-woo stepped on the staggering Batu's shoulder and leaped, spinning mid-air to drive his sword vertically into Batu's spine.
"Argh! Y-You monster...!"
Batu rolled in the mud, vomiting blood. But Si-woo's pursuit never halted. Batu swung his dagger desperately, but Si-woo kicked his wrist joint precisely, disarming him, then seized his collar and smashed him into the wall. Thud—! The wall shook from the impact, Batu's eyes quaking in deathly fear. Si-woo's rain-soaked face glistened grotesquely, caked in enemy blood.
"Weigh the loot and lives you coveted—with your own blood right now."
Si-woo murmured lowly, plunging his sword deep into Batu's throat. The chilling scrape of blade on bone cut clearly through the rain. Slash—!
"G... urk... You're no... human... How can human eyes be... so emotionless... Monster."
Batu found no anger in Si-woo's gaze. To his dying words, Si-woo replied with emotionless eyes, not even wiping blood-mixed rain.
"Monster... Not wrong. To eradicate monsters like you, one must become an even greater one."
Schwick—! Si-woo yanked the sword free; Batu's head lolled limply. As his breath stopped, hot steam rose from Si-woo's body—the eerie vapor from hot blood meeting cold rain. At his feet, piles of man and horse corpses left no room to step.
"My lord... The alley's cleared. But our losses are heavy."
Man-seok approached cautiously, bowing. Si-woo swept back his wet hair roughly instead of answering. Blood trickled from his knuckles, mingling with rain.
"To the flood control captain. We must hold the north gate. Gather the wounded; all who can move, follow me!"
Si-woo gripped his bloodied sword tighter, trampling formation debris and corpse mounds toward the north gate. Over a hundred survivors followed the blood-soaked figure—like red-robed—like ghosts into the darkness.
Below Onseong's north gate, chaos still reigned outside. Over a hundred bandits pressing the gate grew frantic at screams and flames from within instead of victory signals.
"What are you doing? Smash the gate now! Batu should've signaled by now!"
The bandit sub-leader bellowed, urging ladder climbers. Then—the heavy gate bolt groaned from inside, creaking open.
"The gate's opening! Wall bastards gave up! Charge!"
Bandits cheered, shoving horses inward. But no gold, no cowering villagers awaited. As the gate fully opened, a red silhouette emerged slowly through bloody mist. A man so drenched in enemy blood his original robes were unrecognizable. Rain washed it away, but droplets from his chin remained dark red. Behind him, two hundred elites stood like ghosts, spears raised.
"W-What... is that?"
The bandit vanguard's horse recoiled in fear. Even beasts sensed it—the figure ahead was no human. Si-woo slowly raised his gore-clotted sword.
"Batu's already in hell. I'll send you lot as companions."
Si-woo's form shot forward like an arrow. Before horses accelerated, he was in their midst. Slash—slash-slash! His sword vanished; only whistling air and bandit heads/necks spraying fountains, flying airborne. He hamstrung horses to smash riders down, stabbed hearts without hesitation.
"M-Monster! The red demon's here!"
Bandits panicked, wheeling mounts—but the flood captain shouted from the wall.
"Now! No mercy on bolts or arrows! Bury every last one!"
Arrow rain from above and Si-woo's elites pushing from the gate sandwiched the bandits. Trapped, they screamed and fell. Si-woo whirled like a storm in the melee. The sub-leader thrust desperately; Si-woo snatched the shaft, snapped it, jammed the broken tip into his brow.
"Argh...!"
The sub-leader tumbled from his horse; remaining bandits' morale shattered. Rain thickened, but heat rising from Si-woo didn't fade. By faint dawn light, no moving bandits remained before Onseong's north gate. The two hundred-strong main force perished entirely.
Si-woo stood back to the wall, sword still unsheathed. Villagers from the office emerged, witnessing the scene. Blood rivers washing away, the bloodied magistrate at center— they prostrated in awe and fear, sobbing.
"Magistrate, my lord...! You saved us!"
Si-woo ordered approaching Man-seok and the flood captain without reply.
"Collect all corpses in Onseong. Strictly separate enemy from ally."
His gaze swept the mountain of bandit bodies.
"Sever every bandit's head without fail. Record in ledgers, seal in salt boxes. Send to court as proof of our soldiers' merits. Burn the remains in a pit outside after disinfection."
Glancing at fallen allies by the ruined formation, his voice softened slightly—the first warmth in the merciless tone that had felled foes.
"Handle soldiers' bodies with full rites. Clean blood from clothes, prepare for families. Office covers all funeral costs. Don't let noble sacrifices be insulted in the dirt."
Si-woo wiped his rain-drenched face roughly, adding finally.
"Hurry. Masses of rain-soaked corpses breed plague. Activate the new quarantine and medical systems I stressed. Thick lime in wells to kill germs; burn dried mugwort at crossroads to dispel foul qi and bugs. Rush wounded to clinic, wash wounds with boiled-clean water, disinfect immediately."
Si-woo strode toward the office at steady pace, unruffled. Blood rain couldn't wash left red footprints with each step. Amid the blood-scented battlefield, his unflinching command of sanitation awed Onseong's people; they bowed silently in fearful reverence. Behind the dark red demon's back, Onseong's dawn broke heavy through blood and mist.