A Day in the Life of the Ancients (4)
「Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!」
The barbarians advanced to the beat of war drums, and the sound alone was enough to seep a quiet dread into everyone's bones. If they got within range, I'd smash the whole lot of them — but then again...
Huh? Wait. What if I just pretended to fire the bow and launched the arrow with telekinesis? At that distance, I could easily reach them anyway. Or better yet, aim loosely and just make the thing explode. Let's try it right now!
"Hey! Give me that bow!"
"Huh?"
"Hand it over, kid!"
"Why does it have to be mine..."
Oh? Isn't that the same kid from yesterday? Why does he keep ending up next to me?
Too flustered to argue, he just stood there — so I yanked the bow straight out of his hands.
「KWA-DOODUDUK」
"HYEEEIK!"
What's there to be so startled about, kid?
The bow bent nearly to its breaking point — and then the arrow soared into the sky!
「SWEAAAAK」
The arrow shrieked through the air with a terrifying howl. A heartbeat later it struck the enormous drum behind their lines dead center. And just like that, the drums fell quiet.
"WAAAAAH!"
The men who had been cowering at the drumbeats let out a roar of their own. That's right — battle is all about momentum. Let's go, my friends!
Faces brightened all along the wall.
So this is why a single commander, a single hero, matters so much in war. When I get back, I really should build a military academy.
"They'll be on us soon! Don't be afraid! Whether you die this way or that way, what's the difference? Grab hold of one of them and die together!"
"...Huh?"
Oh. That just sounded like everyone's dying, didn't it?
"Fight ready to die! If you fight to live, you'll die — but if you fight to die, you'll win!"
Ah. Admiral Yi Sun-sin... I am so, so sorry...
"Yeah! That's right! If they get over the wall, do you think any of us live?"
"Kill them all!"
"Kill them!"
Hm? That's momentum rising, right? Because it kind of feels more like madness...
The enemy charged, and the battle began. The strong fought with bows and crossbows — and to my surprise, some of the women fought too. No wonder everyone's forearms looked like, whew.
The old folks and the women took me off guard, though—
「WHUM-WHUM-WHUM」
For a moment I thought a swarm of bees was loose inside the walls. Every one of them had a sling in hand, whipping stones out in every direction — and with enemies on all sides, even a sloppy throw found a mark.
Crossbows for long range, bows for mid-range, slings for close — the combination worked beautifully.
"Everyone, keep your heads down and fire!"
The wall wasn't crenellated like a medieval castle, but there was a parapet high enough to hide behind.
The primitives' stones and javelins had to be thrown from point-blank range to reach those of us standing above, which made the parapet a real lifesaver.
「THWOK」
"Ghk!"
I was firing my crossbow in a daze when the soldier beside me was skewered by a spear and hurled far, far away.
Are you kidding me? That wasn't just some throw from down below.
I peeked over the edge — and there, at a considerable distance, was a guy grinning ear to ear. He'd been aiming at me; my friend just happened to be in the way...
Throwing a spear that far and watching for me? This guy is no ordinary warrior.
「KUDUDUDUK」
I cranked the crossbow's winch, but the sound it made wasn't good. I'd been firing far too much.
"You return what you receive."
「TUNG! SWEEK!」
Crossbow bolts are genuinely fast. Small, too — even if you see one coming, it's nearly impossible to block cleanly.
And yet — what? A shield? Bronze, all alone out there? He raised some yellowish shield and blocked it.
Still, he'd be a fool to ignore me. The bolt had nearly punched through.
「SHEAAK — THWACK」
"Agh!"
Then his thrown spear smashed straight into my crossbow and sent it flying off the wall. I dodged — so did he hit the crossbow on purpose?
Oh, you little—? You want to play, is that it?
"Hey! Give me a crossbow!"
"Again?"
"You want a beating?"
"N-no, sir."
Isn't this the third time it's been this kid? I feel a little bad... There he goes, grumbling all the way to fetch another one.
Big brother will catch you something nice, kid.
「KUDUDUDUK」
"Nice sound~"
Alright, here comes your present~ I took aim, and the guy grinned back, banging his spear against his shield in open taunt.
「TUNG! SWEEK!」
Beautiful flight! Perfect line!
His eyes really must be that sharp — he moved to block it again.
"Here's the thing, though, my friend. The payload was never the arrow~"
「BOOOM!」
The payload is telekinesis, you idiot! Did you really think I'd fire the same thing twice?
A fist-sized hole punched clean through his shield, and the man tumbled backward. Shame I couldn't see his face up close — he must have been utterly dumbfounded.
The battle that began in the morning was spilling past midday.
I could see the defenders slowly wearing down.
Weren't they doing something close to an all-out sprint since dawn? The enemy could keep pressing sheer numbers at us, but here there was no one left to rotate in.
"If this keeps up, we'll drop dead on our feet."
A proper meal would've been nice, but we were making do by gnawing on raw potatoes.
Thankfully, raw potatoes don't taste half bad.
"Women, get down off the wall! You're running on empty — you're no help like this!"
"B-but—"
"Better to rest and come back fresh!"
So this is why armies keep reserve troops. Lesson learned. Damn it.
"Uh! UH!"
"They're coming over!"
Ah. Once one spot breaks, there's no holding anything.
"No! If one section falls, we all fall. Tear them down, NOW!"
So that's why battles have reserves. So many lessons today... but what do I do right now?
Well, first, I'll go myself. I sprinted for the breach, but they were climbing faster than I'd expected — their ladders were sturdier than they looked.
「PHUUUU」
「PHUUUU」
「PHUUUU」
Horns? Whose? We don't have any particular need for horns, do we?
They'd left the Sinsi-facing wall thinnest, judging it the enemy's weakest approach — and now the barbarians were steadily swarming up it.
"Push them off! Don't let them—!"
「PHUUUU」
「PHUUUU」
"What am I supposed to do about all this horn-blowing?!"
「DUDUDUDUDU」
Huh? Wait — is that...? A rumble like an earthquake rolling through the ground?
I've heard this one before.
「TUNG. THWACK!」
I bolted down the man in front of me with a crossbow shot, leaned out past the wall to look — and nearly burst into tears.
Far off on the horizon, a churning cloud of dust, and beneath it countless riders sweeping across the land like a tide.
Hey. Seriously, though — how are you all breathing?
From what I could see, every one of them carried a bow. That's more terrifying than it sounds.
And they were galloping straight toward us, which meant the horse's speed stacked right on top of the draw weight.
「SSHHIIIK」
「TADADADADA」
Arrows rained down in wild, machine-gun volleys. But far more found flesh. The barbarians were scythed away, root and branch.
"Reinforcements! Our side is here! Just hold on a little longer!"
"WAAAAH!!"
Thank goodness.
Our horse archers riding alongside the ponies are terrifying — Jorangi gives the smoothest ride imaginable.
Which is exactly why their aim stays so steady at full gallop.
And look at them — circling round and round, loosing arrows without pause, until every last one falls. So unfair!
And the enemy had no horses of their own. Nowhere to run. Most died or were taken captive.
The battle wrapped up in no time. Exhausting. Just exhausting.
"Haaah. So tired. So tired."
The sighs came on their own. But at least we could finally relax.
"Ha-eun, you've been through a lot today."
"Daka, you're hurt? Don't you have any—?"
"Oh, a scratch like this? A bit of spit and it'll heal right up."
"Hahaha."
"Hohoho."
This is all thanks to Daka, isn't it? If I hadn't talked everyone into holding the wall, we'd have been finished this very morning.
What a long, long day~
"Lady Haneul!"
"Lady Haneul! Where are you?!"
Cheol's voice. Apparently it was time to go home. I'd hoped he'd just give up and leave.
"Daka."
"Mm?"
"I have to go now."
"Where?"
This is the parting, then. Her face filled with unease.
"Back to my real home."
"Can't you stay?"
Daka finally broke into tears. I'm sorry.
"I'm sorry. I was going to leave once winter passed."
"I knew you were no ordinary person... but you must be even greater than I imagined."
"Sounds like a lot of people are looking for me."
Come to think of it, my little excursions into town certainly had been... eventful.
"Will I see you again?"
"Come to Sinsi. You can see me any time you like."
"I will. I promise."
After sharing a last moment of Daka's warmth, I went to Cheol, who was practically tearing his hair out looking for me.
"My lady! What in the world happened?!"
Did he think I'd been boiled for dinner because we ran out of food?
"Eh. When you live long enough, one thing or another happens. No point making a fuss over it."
"You were abducted!"
"Ugh. Nothing happened to me."
I got out perfectly fine on my own — and still, the scolding.
"Please, let us return at once!"
"Right. Did Jorangi come too?"
"We have brought her for your service."
What's with all this 'service' business now?
"Whoooaaa?"
What is this? A carriage? Is this not a house?
No, a carriage it was — with Jorangi standing proudly at the very front. Wasn't she female? Doesn't the lead horse take point?
"Who on earth built this thing?"
"The artisans poured their combined skill into it, my lady."
"Isn't that a waste?"
"What waste could there be, when they gave of themselves freely, out of devotion to you?"
Oh. So it's like... donations? Hold on, is that gold? Since when were they mining gold?
Well, they certainly understand that shiny things are precious.
Is there suspension on this thing? If not, this ride would be murder on the neck and spine.
"Please, board."
"Mm. Thank you."
Whoa. And inside? A sofa-cum-bed, a table, chairs — when did their dyeing technology get this good? Just two colors, purple and white, and it was dressed up gorgeously. The gold was a bonus.
It's far too extravagant. Almost embarrassing...
"We depart... now."
"Uh. Right."
Why is the bed part so gloriously soft? Even without suspension, this wouldn't make anyone carsick —
Oh, so there is suspension. Hardly a tremble.
How much steel did they hammer into this thing...
I really am going to have to tell them to rein in the extravagance.
What would the history books say about me?
"Hmm. Can these records actually be trusted?"
"Hard to say... A man who throws a spear a hundred meters, and someone piercing a bronze shield with an arrow at that distance — I can't bring myself to believe either one."
"And yet, the two records agree with each other..."
"Heh heh..."
Two scholars compared the chronicles of China and Daehan. China, of course, had no precise historical records from that era, but accounts survived. Daehan, meanwhile, preserved records down to the exact year.
The circumstances in both accounts matched perfectly. If one took Daehan's dates as the standard — well, considering the range and power of bows in that period, it made no sense at all...
"What on earth happened in those few short decades?"
"I suspect geniuses of the century simply appeared one after another..."
"Good grief..."
How many geniuses could possibly have been crowded into that single era?
Of course, plenty of clever people came after him too, but wasn't Daehan fundamentally a nation that exalted strength above all?
Something like — if your strength is great, your mind gets to take it easy?
Why, even the faith itself held that as a core doctrine, didn't it?
"That would be today, wouldn't it?"
"The carriage, you mean?"
"Yes."
"Looking at it, is there anything left for us to learn from it?"
Whoever built it, the suspension was practically identical to a modern steel coil system. How many human lifetimes of craft would it take to make something like that?
"Perhaps they really did smelt actual people into it?"
"Hmm... given the level of extravagance, I can't say that possibility is out of the question."
"Astonishingly simple, yet luxurious."
"Isn't that precisely its charm?"
The two men abruptly fell head over heels for the carriage. It was extravagantly appointed, yet used only two colors — with gold as ornament, but applied with remarkable restraint.
Hadn't it inspired countless artists of the modern fashion world?
"But this person, Haneul — is she truly the same as Haneul-nim?"
"They say she broadcasts now and then?"
"I've seen it myself. She's basically a celebrity. Did she really go around shooting holes in people with a bow?"
Tales of My Hard Life — From the Stone Age All the Way to Today
"Alright, kids, listen up. I beat the living daylights out of prehistoric humans with my bare hands, you know?"
Chat messages vanishing at the speed of light.
"Ugh. Deleted again. You have to use nice words, people. How many times do I have to tell you the scary uncles will come looking for you?"
