Full Force and the Wall (9)
“Ugh.”
Yeon Hojeong pressed a hand to his head.
“Damn it. Still not recovered.”
Pae Yul spoke with a look of disbelief.
“You only just woke up. You fought for five days straight without a wink of sleep. Be grateful you’re not dead.”
“You’re right about that.”
His body really had taken a heavy toll. If they had fought even one more day, his life would have been in genuine danger.
At least the Yeon Family Divine Elixir had allowed him to reach this point. Better than expected. The inner core, once the size of a child’s fist, had shrunk smaller than a bean.
Inner core–type true qi held overwhelming advantages in endurance. However, its recovery speed while unconscious was noticeably slower than that of a normal dantian.
Originally it also had drawbacks in explosive power, but Yeon Hojeong’s unique physical strength and qi control had offset them.
Even this much was remarkable, and fortunate.
“How’s your stomach?”
“I’m starving.”
“Porridge?”
“Regular food is fine. I could probably digest steel right now.”
Pae Yul snorted.
“Figures.”
He handed over the dried meat and water stacked beside him.
The one silver lining was that the internal injuries from the balgyeong were almost nonexistent. If the internal organs had been damaged by balgyeong, even the greatest masters in the world would have ruined digestive systems.
After drinking the water, Yeon Hojeong immediately tore into the dried meat while changing his clothes.
“Where are you going?”
“The Iron Cavalry.”
“……”
“You’re really going to die at this rate, you bastard. No matter how you look at it, a man who collapsed from exhaustion shouldn’t be moving around. Those external wounds aren’t something you can just brush off either.”
“With wounds like these, it’s better to laugh them off and show some spirit.”
“Spirit?”
“Yes.”
Yeon Hojeong swallowed the last of the dried meat and spoke.
“This isn’t the Orthodox Path. It’s the Unorthodox Path. In the Unorthodox Path, spirit is life.”
Pae Yul couldn’t understand what he meant.
Just then—
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Yeon Hojeong smirked.
“Come in.”
Creak.
The door opened and a large man entered.
It was Hwang Seok-tae.
Still chewing on another piece of dried meat, Yeon Hojeong said,
“I was planning to go see you. Didn’t expect the unit commander to come in person.”
Disbelief flickered across Hwang Seok-tae’s face.
“You’re already up?”
“How serious do you think the wounds were that I’d still be unconscious?”
“……”
“Honestly, passing out at all is humiliating enough.”
The sincerity in his voice made the statement all the more chilling. Hwang Seok-tae felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Yeon Hojeong’s displeased expression.
“By the way, are you all right?”
You. Hwang Seok-tae was not the sort of soft man who would use such familiar language toward someone more than ten years his junior.
Yet—
“Compared to what you went through, this is nothing.”
Hwang Seok-tae’s face twisted.
“Taking me, the unit commander, hostage.”
The corner of Yeon Hojeong’s mouth lifted.
He still didn’t know Hwang Seok-tae well. But even from the fragments he had seen, certain things could be inferred.
If Hwang Seok-tae’s pride had truly been wounded by being taken hostage, he wouldn’t have come here at all. He would have drawn his spear and demanded a fight to the death.
“Thanks to that, we both got some good training in.”
“You said something unnecessary to the men.”
“Hm?”
“You told them it was training you and I had planned together.”
“I never said that.”
He looked at Pae Yul.
Pae Yul shook his head.
“Wasn’t me either. Though I did hear that lovable junior of yours running his mouth.”
He meant Kang Liang.
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“That guy would do something like that.”
At first glance he seemed to care only about the sword, but Kang Liang was surprisingly good at using his head.
Especially since Kang Liang came from the Unorthodox Path. The Unorthodox Path was more brutal than the Orthodox Path, but it also had an unexpectedly bold and open-hearted side.
Yeon Hojeong was acting this way now precisely because he understood the advantages that spirit and boldness could bring.
When someone like that smoothed things over appropriately, relationships loosened up very naturally.
It was politics Kang Liang didn’t usually show.
Yeon Hojeong spoke.
“Given your personality, I thought you’d deliberately tell them it wasn’t like that.”
“Of course I did.”
“They didn’t believe you, did they?”
Hwang Seok-tae’s face crumpled.
“Men who would drive a sword into their own throats without hesitation at a single order to die had started harboring pointless illusions.”
“That’s a good thing. A superior should be just close enough and wrapped in just enough illusion that the men below move quickly and efficiently.”
“I never wanted that.”
“You didn’t want it, but that’s how it turned out. So just accept it.”
As he spoke, Yeon Hojeong realized something. Hwang Seok-tae was making excuses to him right now.
Excuses, but rather endearing ones. They came from a desire for Yeon Hojeong to understand that he wasn’t that kind of person.
Hwang Seok-tae stared silently at Yeon Hojeong.
Yeon Hojeong asked calmly,
“Something on my face?”
“……”
“Well, anyway, good that you came. I would have had to stop by before leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“Yes.”
Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes deepened.
“You really do whatever you want. You came as a special adjutant of the Iron Cavalry, yet you’re saying you’ll do everything your own way?”
“Didn’t Baek Seo tell you? I’m only half in the Iron Cavalry to begin with. And I’m someone who works with the vice-lord. I don’t need to watch your mood, and there’s no need for us to work together either.”
“……”
“Still, I received the title of special adjutant. It wouldn’t look good to just exchange greetings and leave. I should at least offer some help before going.”
“Help, meaning the training schedule or list?”
“What else could I help with? You people are already extremely capable, aren’t you?”
Hwang Seok-tae spoke sullenly.
“There are many ways to gild one’s own face.”
“Hm?”
“Then what does that make you, who held off the Iron Cavalry for five days?”
Yeon Hojeong grinned.
“Me? I’m just an exceptionally outstanding fellow.”
Hwang Seok-tae turned away with a look of disgust.
“You seem fine, so follow me. I’ll introduce you to the men properly.”
Yeon Hojeong looked at Pae Yul.
Pae Yul shrugged.
“In this regard, he’s much better than the old men on our side.”
One thousand cavalrymen stood in formation across the vast plain.
With arms crossed, Hwang Seok-tae spoke.
“Anyone with serious injuries?”
Silence. No one answered.
There were heavily wounded among them, yet they too remained silent.
Hwang Seok-tae nodded.
“Good. The man who put you in that state is perfectly fine, so you lot have no right to complain.”
He turned his head.
“Come out.”
A moment later, Yeon Hojeong appeared.
The moment he showed himself, the Iron Cavalry’s eyes changed.
Admiration, respect, jealousy, anger, awe—emotions too complex to be summed up in a single word shone clearly in their gazes.
Hwang Seok-tae spoke.
“This is Yeon Hojeong, who has come as the special adjutant of our unit. By the vice-lord’s order, he will temporarily oversee the unit’s training.”
The Iron Cavalry remained silent. Yet the eyes, filled with mixed emotions, all wavered with confusion.
They knew exactly who Yeon Hojeong was. He was the rising star of the Orthodox Path, a genius called the greatest of the younger generation.
They had experienced Yeon Hojeong’s martial prowess with their own bodies over five days. But that and overseeing training were entirely different matters.
Hwang Seok-tae took a step back.
“Greet him as you see fit.”
Yeon Hojeong smirked.
“We already greeted each other plenty over the past five days. What more is there to do? Isn’t that right?”
The Iron Cavalry still didn’t move. Not a single person opened their mouth or even twitched a finger.
Yeon Hojeong continued in a calm voice.
“I assume you already know about me. You know where I came from, and you’ve seen my martial arts until yesterday, so there’s no need to prove that either.”
“……”
“You trained well. At the end, I really thought the high ground was going to be taken. Even if you’re skilled in close combat, you should be more accustomed to cavalry tactics, yet you fought well.”
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“But there are still many shortcomings. More precisely, many flaws that need to be eliminated.”
Hwang Seok-tae’s eyebrows twitched. He didn’t know what flaws Yeon Hojeong had seen.
Yeon Hojeong went on.
“Everyone has different tendencies and different strengths and weaknesses. Units are the same. The Iron Cavalry is already strong enough. Even within the Martial Alliance, if we’re talking about a single unit, there’s no force that could go head-to-head with the Iron Cavalry right now. At least not at present.”
It was the commander of the Martial Alliance’s strongest cavalry unit speaking. The Iron Cavalry’s eyes changed once more.
“But no matter how skilled you are in close combat, as long as you’re fundamentally a cavalry unit, your limits are clear. Moreover, for a unit that has already raised its group combat ability to this level, further emphasizing its strengths holds little meaning.”
“……”
“First, eliminate the flaws and transform into a single flawless unit. Only after that will we strengthen the advantages again. That is my judgment.”
Yeon Hojeong spoke to Hwang Seok-tae.
“No need for more greetings. But time is short, so gather the captains and vice-captains. We need to put together the training list, schedule, and detailed items.”
Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes deepened.
“When are you planning to leave?”
“In two or three days.”
“You’re going to finalize the training plan in that time? Is that even possible?”
“I’ve seen what the Iron Cavalry is capable of. I even clashed with you barehanded. After seeing that much, if I can’t even make a training schedule, I’m an idiot.”
Hwang Seok-tae’s expression soured at suddenly being called an idiot.
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“When I came as a spy, I was the one who handled the personnel reorganization of the Black Dragon Department. Someone helped, but I built the framework. Making a training schedule for the Iron Cavalry will take two days at most.”
* * *
“……”
Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.
“Is this true?”
The intelligence unit commander bowed his head.
“I’m ninety percent confident.”
“I see……”
Yang Cheon let out a sigh.
“So this is what people mean when they say heaven is heartless. Whenever I try to make a move, it always throws obstacles like this in my way.”
Shaking his head, he asked,
“Where is the special adjutant? Is he with the Iron Cavalry?”
Baek Seo, standing to the side, bowed.
“Yes. He has finished the training schedule and is currently reviewing the initial training stages with the unit commander.”
“How’s the atmosphere?”
“Good. Much better than expected.”
Yang Cheon smirked.
“He’s probably wrapped the Iron Cavalry commander around his finger with that snake-like tongue of his again.”
“……”
“Summon the special adjutant. As quickly as possible.”
“Yes.”
Half an hour later.
“You called for me?”
Yang Cheon grumbled.
“You’re part of the Black Dragon Department now. Don’t you think your tone is a bit too arrogant?”
Yeon Hojeong changed his tone without the slightest change in expression.
“What is it?”
“Much better.”
Yang Cheon tossed the document in his hand to Yeon Hojeong.
After reading it, Yeon Hojeong’s face twisted.
“Is this for real?”
“Ninety percent certain, apparently.”
“Damn it. Why is it that whenever I try to get something done, incidents keep popping up?”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
Yang Cheon sighed.
“You said you were leaving tomorrow? You can move the schedule up by a day, right?”
“I’ll have to. Especially with things like this.”
“What about troops? Do you need any attached?”
“I don’t need any, but…… having some would be better.”
“Will the Iron Cavalry do?”
“I’ll take only a portion.”
Yang Cheon nodded.
“No need to request separate deployment permission. Depart as soon as you’re ready.”