Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Admiral Li Syndrome
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The play Admiral Li: The Final Battle, which depicted the final moments of General Yi Sun-sin, wrapped up its run without a hitch.
And starting the very next day, the imperial capital plunged into a massive uproar.
Admiral Li's death—so sacred, yet brimming with tragic grandeur.
The audience members couldn't hold back their grief at the sight.
This was thanks in part to the brilliantly penned script, but equally to the actors who brought it to life with utmost fidelity.
[We haven't annihilated the enemy yet...!]
Mid-career actor Renua, playing Admiral Li struck by an enemy bullet mid-sea battle command.
The way he collapsed into his fellow actor's arms was nothing short of divine inspiration.
[If my troops learn of my death, they'll fall into chaos while the enemy gains momentum!]
[The battle rages on—do not breathe a word of my passing to the ranks!]
[General! Oh, Admiral Li!]
[No! Pull yourself together, Generaaal—!!]
The admiral's greatness shone even in the face of death, facing it with unyielding resolve.
His men, wailing in despair yet holding the line to the last to defend their nation.
The spectators wept as if they'd lost their own parents, tears and snot streaming freely.
"Sob... Admiral Li! A true hero!"
"Let us commemorate Admiral Li's death! Honor him as the pinnacle of chivalry!"
"Admiral Li! Admiral Li! Admiral Li!"
The Phantom-scripted phenomenon didn't stop there.
"That Crane Wing Formation from Admiral Li. Couldn't our fleet try something similar at sea?"
"An impressive tactic, no doubt. The playwright's strategic insight was truly outstanding."
"Are there any narrow straits like Uldolmok near our empire's coasts? We could use them to smash the pirates."
"Why not build actual turtle ships ourselves? Those pirate scum would shake in their boots!"
The vivid naval battle scenes, brought to life through this fantasy world's advanced staging techniques.
Even the imperial navy, guardians of the empire's seas, drew real inspiration from it.
In truth, many of General Yi's tactics were established ones.
The famed Crane Wing Formation had already seen plenty of use on land.
But General Yi adapted them uniquely to crush his foes.
His creative decision to deploy it at sea rather than on land was a prime example.
His sharp, flexible insight was well worth emulating by this world's soldiers.
The imperial navy, somewhat rigid in their thinking, began researching bolder tactics on that basis.
Moreover, Yi Sun-sin's strategic edict started trending among the empire's high command.
"Those who seek death shall live; those who seek life shall die!"
Among frontline knights, the admiral's famous words caught on like wildfire.
The play Admiral Li had academy cadets—and even Prince Wolfgang—completely hooked.
Curious knights rushed to see it and found themselves utterly immersed.
After all, valor and love for the homeland were core knightly virtues.
Imperial knights ingrained them deep from boyhood while honing their martial skills.
Few lines could strike their hearts as deeply as those iconic speeches in Admiral Li.
...Of course, the Western fantasy knights didn't fully grasp the profundity of Yi Sun-sin's words.
"Charge! Charge!"
"Don't fall back! Remember Admiral Li!"
"Seek death to live! Seek life and die—aaah!!"
Yi Sun-sin invoked "seek death to live, seek life to die" purely in tactical terms.
It wasn't endorsing recklessness or blind charges, but proper preparation to face the enemy.
This world's knights favored all-out assaults, so their quirky interpretation was hardly surprising.
But this series of misunderstandings proved a net positive for the imperial army.
Even knights cherish life when fear strikes.
Family men especially clung fiercely to survival.
For them, Admiral Li's line became a magical incantation banishing fear and worry before duty.
"Hold your post until retreat is called!"
"The brave live! Cowards die! Don't die a coward—live and return a valiant father!"
"Never flee! A wound in the back is a knight's shame—!!"
Knights served as both sword and shield against monsters, other races, and enemy nations.
Once they shed anxiety and fear, mages and priests could support their battles more smoothly.
...Resulting in a noticeable spike in knights' survival rates.
A true Admiral Li syndrome.
The cultural shockwave sparked by Yi Sun-sin swept the entire empire.
Yet Admiral Li's true impact on the empire was unfolding not in the capital, but in the cold, barren northern lands.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Sit. I came to speak with you alone."
Bestfold Mountain Fortress, at the northern edge of the Holy Empire's territory.
A place ruled by bone-chilling cold and utter isolation.
Deep inside the impregnable stronghold built to battle North Sea demons, two men faced each other.
One was the honorable knight Sir Wenford, exiled to the empire's front lines in disgrace.
The other was the man who'd ordered it: Emperor Heinrich von Klauzewitz.
"The capital's in a real frenzy. That play Admiral Li has stirred up a massive sensation."
The middle-aged emperor, with hair black as a raven like his son Prince Wolfgang.
His wolf-sharp gaze and steel-cold demeanor softened slightly as he sipped hot coffee.
Sir Wenford, seated primly opposite, offered a quiet smile.
"I've heard the news as well, Your Majesty. Even my humble daughter is utterly obsessed with Admiral Li, unable to pull herself away."
"Hm."
"She's skipping academy to rewatch it constantly—I'm quite worried. No matter how captivating the play, for such a diligent girl to fixate on one..."
"It must remind her of you."
Clink! The emperor set down his cup, cutting him off.
"Reminds her of the father hated by the emperor, stripped of all honors and banished to the front."
The emperor's sharp words silenced Sir Wenford.
The emperor fell quiet too, letting awkward silence linger.
Indeed, the character created by the mysterious playwright 'Phantom' bore striking similarities to him.
Leading troops with unmatched valor and cunning to sweep enemies aside.
Slandered by greedy courtiers, robbed even of rightful merits.
Displeasing the emperor, stripped of rank, sent to the front as a mere knight.
Yet never resenting the emperor who cast him out, serving loyally to the end.
"...I haven't seen the play myself."
The emperor broke the prolonged silence.
"My son yammered on so much about it, I only know the gist. He buttonholed me and my daughter all day with play talk."
What intent lay behind the playwright's choice was unclear.
Coincidence? Modeled on Sir Wenford? Or some deeper scheme?
But Admiral Li's tale sparked one blinding insight for the emperor.
On the Wenford problem that had tormented him subtly all along.
How to 'handle' it.
"...I've disliked you for a long time, Wenford."
Eyes closed, the emperor spoke in a low, dark tone.
"Being near you made me feel small. Compared to me, who knows only politics, you're exemplary in every way—the ideal knight."
"..."
"It started as mere disdain. I'd reward your talents appropriately, but that was it. An irritating fellow unfit for personal closeness. That was all."
"Your Majesty..."
"But it grew into envy, then suspicion and fear. The true hero fit to rule isn't Heinrich, but Sir Wenford. The higher your fame rose, the more whispers seemed to echo everywhere."
King Seonjo didn't hate Yi Sun-sin from the start either.
Until his time as Left Naval Commander, Seonjo had been Yi's staunch backer.
Even complaints arose over his overly rapid promotions.
But that favor vanished in the Imo Incident.
Scarred by rebellion, Seonjo grew paranoid, doubting even Yi's pure loyalty.
Distrust flared into fear, hatred, inferiority—vines choking the king.
Even when the holy warrior was dismissed and went quietly to the front.
Even when he preserved throne and nation with true patriotism.
Even when he met a heroic end at Noryang, struck by enemy shot.
Seonjo belittled and ignored Yi to the end, personal grudge blinding him.
And Seonjo's actions were embodied in Phantom's Admiral Li as the nameless 'King'.
The script didn't outright blame or condemn the king.
His folly was downplayed far below historical truth, dodging political backlash.
Plenty cursed the villain Woken, but few the king—that proved it.
Yet still.
"Hearing my son's recap of the play... it gave me much to ponder."
As emperor with a Yi-like hero under him, it hit close to home.
"You've always been that way. No matter how I insulted you or sided with slanderers, you never showed resentment. You remonstrated at risk of life, and when I called after banishing you, you returned as if nothing happened to crush my foes—from border barbarians to rebels threatening my throne."
Sir Wenford of the empire was loyalty incarnate.
Aware of the emperor's wariness, he bore tribulations gladly.
Despite ungrateful treatment, he prayed for the imperial family and lord's safety.
While the emperor dismissed his nobility out of spite, the knight fulfilled his duty to the last.
And at last, viewing this contradiction from a third party's lens.
A wholly new emotion took root in the emperor's heart.
"I was vile and petty."
The emperor rose and knelt on the reception room's stone floor.
Head bowed like a prisoner in irons, he sincerely repented his past sins.
"Can you forgive this unworthy sovereign, Sir Wenford? Forgive all the persecution heaped on you and your house? Call this pathetic man your emperor again?"
"Y-Your Majesty! Rise! Your Majesty!"
Flustered, Sir Wenford shot up and knelt likewise.
Daring not touch the imperial person, he fidgeted in distress as tears of moved nobility streamed down.
The loyal vassal William Wenford, unilaterally exiled by courtiers' plots and the emperor's jealousy.
This day marked his glorious return to central politics.
And this joyous news.
Soon reached his only daughter, still studying at the academy.