Fire in the Mountains, a Rickshaw in the Flames
Whether asleep or awake, always beware of fire. Even an extinguished flame must be watched closely. If even the greatest masters of the Harmonious Realm panic before a wildfire, one can only imagine the terror felt by an ordinary nameless soldier.
Jang Sip-ho was utterly terrified, his mind filled with a single thought: run. He sprinted forward with everything he had. That was when it happened.
Suddenly, from the right side of the road, beyond a bulging hill, a cart flew into the air. For a moment, time seemed to stop. The cart hung suspended in midair. A massive man wearing a harness had one leg stretched straight out, the other knee raised high, both arms thrown back as he gripped the ox-horse shaft. It looked as if he could charge anywhere—even backward through time itself.
But everything that rises must eventually fall.
THUD!!
Screeeeech!
The cart slammed down violently, carving a wide arc. Its iron-rimmed wheels scraped across the road, spitting sparks in every direction as it slid with ferocious momentum. In the western regions, this maneuver was known as a drift—a rather advanced technique.
The wheels, throwing off flames as they gouged the ground, hurtled straight toward Jang Sip-ho. Only then did he realize what this strange experience was called—this phenomenon where time seemed to slow to a crawl, stretching out hundreds of times slower than normal.
Oh shit, this is—
Finally—BAM!
With an impact that felt like it shattered his lower body, Jang Sip-ho was launched into the air like a kicked stone.
This is divine punishment! Divine punishment!
Suddenly, a memory he had long forgotten surfaced. It was from his first raid, when an old man cursing them in the pouring rain had appeared before him…
Jang Sip-ho traced a low arc through the air before vanishing into the bushes on the left side of the road.
Cheong gritted her teeth, fighting to control the cart as it continued sliding sideways from the centrifugal force. Her feet dug into the ground—ziiiiiiip—but it kept skidding. Damn it, am I going to have to use my left arm again? She clenched her jaw in anticipation of the pain.
Then—thump. The moment the ox-horse shaft made contact, the pulling force suddenly weakened. Seizing the opportunity, Cheong successfully shifted into a straight-line acceleration using the Cheonma Galloping technique.
What was that? Did I hit something?
Unaware that she had just earned herself one kill, Cheong tilted her head in confusion before shrugging it off. Whatever. If I ran over a bandit, that’s just a few less to deal with later.
“Out of the way! Carriage—er, rickshaw coming through! Ding-ding! Ding-ding! Move aside! If you don’t, you might die!”
Cheong shouted in the roughest voice she could manage. Of course, her naturally clear and refreshing voice meant that even when she tried to sound coarse, it only came out as a low, neutral tone—masculine for a woman, feminine for a man.
Unfortunately, rather than clearing the path, her cries only drew more attention.
Thanks to the thick coat she wore, Cheong’s height reached a hundred and seventy-six in her hometown units, and her torso had swelled to match her chest circumference, giving her the imposing build of a legendary barbarian chieftain. Of course, among barbarians who often exceeded six and a half feet, she would be considered on the shorter side—but that waistline more than made up for it.
Thus, the bizarre sight of a person pulling a cart faster than a physically fit soldier at full sprint became strangely convincing once one saw the size of the one doing the pulling.
“Me too! Take me too!”
“Save me! Me too!”
“Please! I’m begging you!”
Requests to board came flying in from all directions. A vein bulged on Cheong’s forehead.
Who the hell do these bastards think I am? Some kind of rickshaw driver?
Maybe I should shove hot soup up their noses and make them regret thinking they got lucky.
Hm? Wait a second.
If I load them all up, wouldn’t that be a natural way to escape?
Come to think of it, it was actually a pretty decent plan.
Cheong yanked the cart to a stop with a long screeeech, sliding across three full yards of road. She could have stopped instantly, but that would have flipped the cart.
Once halted, she thrust her thumb over her shoulder and shouted, “Hey! Get on! First six only! What are comrades for? Comrades live and die together! Who would dare doubt their own brothers-in-arms!”
The latter half of that speech was incredibly unnatural. It was obviously forced, since she was explaining her escape plan for Jayu and Yeon Pa’s benefit by pretending to be part of the military.
But the soldiers were desperate. With flames chasing them and the words “first come, first served” ringing in their ears, who would have the presence of mind to notice how awkward the dialogue sounded?
“I knew I could count on you!”
“Thank you!”
“We’re saved!”
“Move, I’m first!”
The soldiers rushed forward immediately. Two. Four. Six. Eight.
The moment Cheong confirmed her passengers, she kicked off the ground. The sudden acceleration sent one man tumbling off and rolling across the dirt. This was exactly why seatbelts were important.
---
The soldiers who had set up camp on the eastern slope of the mountain were able to retreat quickly as soon as the flames appeared. They fled eastward, only to spot soldiers holding long spears looking down at them from the ridge above. The fleeing troops felt a wave of relief at the sight.
“Emergency! This is an emergency!”
“There’s a wildfire!”
“Huff, huff, haaaaa…”
The soldiers who had run for their lives collapsed the moment they crossed the blockade line. Some sat down hard, others simply flopped onto the ground in exhaustion.
At that moment, a general wearing a helmet with red tassels fluttering in the wind shouted sternly, “You bastards! What kind of disgraceful behavior is this at the blockade line?! Get over that ridge immediately!”
“Y-yes, sir…”
No matter how lax their discipline had become, none of these discarded troops dared to openly defy a general’s order. Shaking on unsteady legs, they barely managed to stand and climb to the top of the ridge. The moment they crested it, the scene on the other side came into view.
A pile of naked corpses stacked together. Nearby, soldiers with cheerful expressions were stripping the clothes off bodies that had yet to be undressed.
“What in the… ugh.”
One soldier lowered his head. He looked down at the spear tip protruding from his own chest, then vomited a mouthful of blood. His legs, already trembling from the desperate sprint, gave out completely and he collapsed.
“Hey, you’re ruining the coat. I told you to hit them in the head. Smash their skulls! You’re the one who’s gonna have to suck up all that blood, you know?”
“But this feels so much better. Though they’re way too soft. When you stab those Jurchen barbarians, their muscles are so firm—it’s satisfying to dig in. Tsk, these imperial dogs are so damn flimsy for how much they get paid.”
“What do you expect from trash troops? Still, be careful not to damage the coats. Look at the quality. We could sell these as supplies this winter.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to wear the supplied ones and sell these?”
As the voices faded into the distance, the dying soldier finally understood the situation.
How can they do something like this? Killing people and laughing while they plunder their belongings… These beasts aren’t even human. They can’t be forgiven. They’ll receive divine punishment. They’ll all fall into hell!
Then it suddenly occurred to him—this was exactly what he always heard when they raided villages.
Ah. So I’m going to hell too.
I should have lived a better life.
But regret that only comes when death is staring you in the face is nothing more than regret. It is never true reflection.
From about seven parts up the hill, the general looked down and spotted a very long line of refugees appearing on the curved road below. Half of them wore armor over fur coats and carried massive steel crossbows on their backs. The other half carried moon blades. They were the warriors of the Northern Army.
True to their reputation as the North’s elite, they energetically climbed the hill, then saluted the general sharply despite being out of breath.
“Attention! This is Baekjang Sam Yeon-jong of the Maenggwani Unit!”
“I see. What is it? What about the blockade line?”
“General! The flames are closing in! The wildfire has crossed the southern firebreak! At my own discretion, I ordered a full withdrawal!”
“Maenggwani Unit? If I remember correctly, Changyang Unit should have been responsible for your western flank?”
“We saw the flames and withdrew immediately. We also gathered the warriors who were carrying out operations along the way. That is all!”
“Ahem. For now, you did well. Assist with the rear operations and await further orders.”
“Yes, sir!”
The general’s expression hardened.
The fire had indeed spread. The Maenggwani Unit was responsible for the right side of the southern blockade line. That meant the fate of the warriors on the left side was completely unknown.
The bigger problem was that the wildfire was now heading this way. Flames spread faster uphill than downhill. Rather than moving south along the Namryeong Mountain Range, it would ride the wind westward—and this was precisely the western highlands.
The general urgently kicked off the ground and ran.
“Your Excellency, the wildfire has crossed the firebreak. It should have already passed the southern waist by now.”
“What? How poorly did you dig that firebreak for the fire to spread? Hmph, useless fools. So? What now?”
“We must retreat.”
“Hm. Retreat, you say. Retreat… retreat…”
The man with the topknot frowned deeply. Then a sly smile slowly spread across his face.
“Very well. I shall grant you, General, a great opportunity. It is a chance to carry out the glorious mission personally commanded by His Majesty. Take one hundred soldiers and guard the current blockade trees. If any traitors attempt to flee, execute them and then withdraw. Alternatively, you may observe that the entire blockade zone has become unsurvivable and report back.”
In other words, stay at your post until the fire is right in front of you and kill anyone trying to escape. Of course, once the flames were that close, escaping would be nearly impossible. It was an order to die while guarding the line.
But there was no right to refuse. Since he had invoked His Majesty’s direct command, refusing would instantly make him a traitor.
“…Understood.”
“Good. I’m counting on you. If you accomplish something great this time, you may even be promoted to senior general. Perhaps a splendid statue will be erected in your honor.”
After hearing the story, the adjutant exploded with rage.
“Isn’t he just telling us all to die? How can that bastard—those silk-robed sons of bitches who’ve never thrown a single stone at a barbarian—dare to—!”
“Not everyone will die. Lives must be preserved. Draft thirty thousand volunteers from the Daesun Unit.”
“Do you think thirty thousand will actually volunteer? If it’s Your Lordship’s command, they’d jump into fire itself. Wait… it literally is fire.”
“Thirty. Prioritize those without wives or children. Soak their clothes completely in water. Send the steel crossbows and moon blades with the retreating group. Keep their gear as light as possible. As of this moment, move the blockade line to the top of the ridge. The moment the wildfire is observed within a hundred yards, everyone will retreat.”
“Yes, sir!”
And so, as the Northern Army busily prepared for withdrawal, hurrying to move the wooden barriers to the top of the ridge, something suddenly appeared on the curved road below the pass.
A massive… rickshaw?
The general rubbed his eyes. But no matter how many times he looked, it was indeed a rickshaw—a cart that should have been pulled by oxen or horses, now packed with soldiers and charging furiously up the ridge, pulled by a giant of a man.
“What in the world is that?”
It was a display of strength that would have impressed even Xiang Yu. Was there such a warrior among the non-Northern Army troops? No—why would someone like that have been mixed in with the disposable forces and sent inside?
Come to think of it… not all of the discarded troops were necessarily incompetent. You became disposable the moment you displeased your superiors. Even an excellent soldier who would pull a beast-drawn cart with his own body to save his comrades could easily end up as disposable. Just like himself right now.
“No, what is that…”
“Wow, is that even human strength?”
Even in the midst of their hurried preparations for retreat, the Northern Army soldiers began turning one by one to watch the astonishing sight.
“That’s a warrior too valuable to kill. Isn’t that exactly the kind of bravery my troops need?”
“What should we do?”
“We have a flag, don’t we? Raise it and let them pass. It would be a waste to dispose of such talent here.”
Even while climbing the steep ridge, the speed of the rickshaw did not decrease. Amid the chaos of the retreat preparations, the adjutant personally grabbed a flag and prepared to greet the warrior.
Cheong ran desperately, breathing in harsh gasps—huff huff huuuuuuff huff huff huuuuuuff.
Running at full speed while pulling a cart with eight people aboard for over ten li would leave anyone a little winded—even someone at the Transcendent, no, Super Peak, no, Transcendent Super Peak level like herself.
Every time she drew breath, her side screamed in agony as if stabbed with a five-pronged spear. But she could endure it. More than endure it—at some point, the stabbing, twisting pain began to feel refreshing, like forcibly ripping off a scab that hadn’t fully healed. What should she call this feeling? A strange sensation.
However, the flowing sweat was not welcome at all. The thick layers of clothing trapped moisture against her skin. Her undergarments were already soaked through. Having gone so long without sweating, the sensation was especially unpleasant.
Her heart was already pounding like a drum, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Whenever she tried to expand her lungs, her side would poke her with a reminder—Don’t forget, we’re injured here—while the sweat made everything damp. To make matters worse, her vision was blurring, making it hard to see ahead.
It was irritation multiplied by a hundred!
And in that state, if someone blocked the path, of course she would lose her temper.
“Move! If you don’t move, I’ll run you over!”
“Wait, stop!”
Having traversed over ten li of mountain path, Cheong had picked up a few tricks. She lightly kicked off the ground and grabbed the ox-horse shaft to lift her body. The wheels continued rolling forward, and the cart kept moving. However, the back of the cart dipped while the front rose due to the lever principle. With both arms hanging straight from the shaft like parallel bars, Cheong brought her legs together and thrust them forward.
Thus, both of Cheong’s feet slammed squarely into the chest of the man blocking the road—BAM!!