Monopolizing Fortunes (217)
Monopolizing Fortunes (217)
The Hyeonmun Inn that Yang Su-pan had secured was in Bukpyo County. It was not far from the Mongolian border, and it was also close to Heuksu County, where the Liaoning Province military headquarters was located.
No Song-guk, who had ridden all day, was nearly dead on his feet. He had ridden without a moment's rest from the Southern Barbarians to Beijing, and now he had gotten back on a horse without any proper rest.
His back felt like it was about to break, but he could not complain to Do Tong-dal, who was silently pressing on.
Once inside his room at the Hyeonmun Inn, No Song-guk collapsed onto the bed. Now he could not move another step even if they beat him to death.
"Get some rest. I'm going to go have a look around Yeongju Fortress, where Prince Yeongun is staying."
No Song-guk sat up with a groan and spoke.
"You're going to Yeongju Fortress, a hundred li away? It'll be dark soon. Go tomorrow."
"I'll be back before the night is out."
By now, No Song-guk had decided to simply believe whatever Do Tong-dal said.
"Then I'll rest just a little."
Leaving No Song-guk at the inn, Do Tong-dal raced toward Yeongju Fortress. His One Step, Hundred Li Walk, which had grown increasingly proficient, now showed speed faster than an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
Because he could easily leap over a gorge of twenty jang or so, the hundred-li road took only this much time. There was probably no one in the current martial world who could execute lightness arts faster than Do Tong-dal.
Yeongju Fortress was situated in a naturally fortified strategic point. Steep mountains rose like folding screens on both sides, and the fortress occupied the middle of the gorge.
For an enemy to invade, they had to either cross the rugged mountains or pass through the narrow roads on either side of the fortress, so capturing the fortress was essential.
The spot Do Tong-dal took up was Geombong Mountain, located to the left when facing the fortress. Just from the mountain's name, one could guess how rugged its terrain was.
At dusk, smoke from cooking fires was rising here and there throughout Yeongju Fortress. The many people bustling about looked like a swarm of ants.
As he had heard, the fortress's security was like an iron wall. On the sixteen watchtowers rising high on all sides, four men were posted on each, and along the road running atop the fortress wall, soldiers were stationed at intervals of five jang.
No matter how outstanding one's concealment arts were, slipping inside past their eyes was no easy task.
'Is there no choice but to disguise myself as Jeong Hwa-yeong and go in?'
He was not keen on it, but it was always best to choose the highest probability and act on it.
He had come today to survey the fortress, so he intended to turn back around now. But then he saw a mounted force of about a hundred riders racing toward the fortress's main gate.
A red flag was planted on the lead rider's horse. It was a flag bearing words meaning that Prince Yeongun had arrived and all should prostrate themselves.
Behind the mounted force followed a single lavishly adorned carriage. Behind the carriage, another hundred or so horses could be seen.
Do Tong-dal ran along the ridge. There were over two hundred riders, but if he had known about this procession, he would have lain in ambush beforehand and attacked.
He could kill Prince Yeongun in one stroke and be gone.
'Is Prince Yeongun riding in that carriage?'
Especially for Prince Yeongun, who was extremely wary of assassination, he had to keep in mind the possibility that the prince was not in the carriage.
If an assassination failed once, the second attempt became three times harder than the first. Do Tong-dal circled around Yeongju Fortress and ran along Geombong Mountain, mulling over the assassination.
There was no time to confirm whether Prince Yeongun was really in that carriage, and he could not guarantee that he could strike before the carriage entered the fortress.
'It's best to be certain about everything.'
Do Tong-dal slowed his pace. The saying that you should take the long way when in a hurry existed for a reason.
Do Tong-dal was behind a tree on the ridge, watching the lead riders enter the fortress gate, when it happened.
He saw someone suddenly appear from the opposite mountain and race toward the carriage. It was a figure dressed all in black, with a mask pulled over their head.
The masked figure's lightness art, erasing ten jang of distance with every kick against the ground, was astonishing. None of the riders noticed the swift and stealthy appearance of the masked figure.
The reason the masked figure was charging at the mounted force could only be the assassination of Prince Yeongun.
'There's someone besides me?'
There was no possibility that the backer was the imperial palace. If that were the case, Do Tong-dal could not possibly be unaware of it.
Amid the thought of 'Then who is it?', a shout from one of the riders rang out.
"Right flank, enemy!"
The moment that shout echoed, the riders instinctively drew their weapons.
"Protect His Highness!"
The well-trained riders immediately encircled the carriage in a ring. The masked figure, already upon them, leaped into the mounted force.
The masked figure, sword in hand, swung at the first three riders they encountered.
'Sword aura!'
A blue sword aura stretched out and swept through the riders. The startled riders tried to block the attack, but it was not a level of martial art they could stop.
With a clang, the sword aura shattered every weapon raised to block it and instantly cut three men in half at the waist.
It was truly an unstoppable advance. Every time the masked figure swung their sword, three or four riders lost their lives.
"Move the carriage!"
"Escort His Highness into the fortress!"
Sensing the crisis, the mounted force blocked the masked figure while moving the carriage. But the riders who had surrounded the carriage to protect it instead became an obstacle to its movement.
"Out of the way! I said move!"
While the mounted force milled about trying to clear a path, the distance between the masked figure and the carriage rapidly closed.
Clang—!
For the first time, a rider appeared who blocked the masked figure's sword. It was a warrior wielding a large daegamdo of the sort bandits might use.
"You bastard—!"
The mounted warrior brought the daegamdo down toward the masked figure. The force seemed as though it could split a mountain in one stroke, but the masked figure slipped to the left and evaded the attack.
Boom!
A pit one ja deep was gouged into the innocent ground. Four riders swung their swords at the dodging masked figure, but those attacks also sliced through empty air.
Leaping lightly a full jang into the air, the masked figure kicked one rider in the head. With a thud, the rider's head burst, and the masked figure used that force to shoot toward the carriage.
The carriage was just then picking up speed as it passed between the riders who had cleared the way.
"Stop that bastard!"
Even without the shout from the warrior who had blocked the masked figure, the riders were already swinging their weapons to kill the masked figure.
The masked figure was truly like the wind. They struck aside the weapons aimed at them with their sword and used that force to move even faster. Without even setting foot on the ground, they used attack and defense to rapidly close the distance to the carriage.
The carriage, now gaining speed, raced toward the fortress's main gate. Once the carriage entered the fortress, they would have to fight thousands of soldiers defending the fortress.
In that situation, killing Prince Yeongun was nearly impossible no matter how high the masked figure's martial arts were.
Do Tong-dal considered whether to help, but soon resolved to hold his position. He could not rashly conclude the masked figure was an ally merely because they were trying to kill Prince Yeongun.
The saying that the enemy of my enemy is my comrade was a proposition that only held once you knew for certain who the enemy was. As long as he did not know the masked figure's identity, he must not yet judge friend from foe.
The masked figure had attacked the side of the carriage, and now their movements, having somehow gotten behind it, grew more violent.
The masked figure, who had been advancing by using the force of incoming weapons, raised their sword overhead and brought it down.
When the sword reached its apex, the extended sword aura stretched to nearly two ja. The downward strike carried force that none of the riders could withstand.
Boom—!
People and horses within six ja of the sword were hurled to either side. The power was so tremendous that nearly twenty men and horses had their innards burst or their heads sent flying.
The masked figure kicked off the ground gouged out by the sword aura and leaped. They were like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. The four-wheeled carriage racing at full speed seemed as slow as a grub.
The masked figure was so fast that the weapons swung by the mounted force only sliced uselessly through the space behind them.
And those who managed to block the way ahead were cut in two by the masked figure's sword.
The masked figure finally caught the tail of the carriage before it entered the fortress. When the masked figure's sword struck the rear of the carriage, wood splinters flew in all directions with a thunderous crash.
A woman's scream rang out from within the shattered wood. The masked figure kicked off the ground once and attacked the carriage wheel.
When the furiously spinning wheel broke, the carriage toppled powerlessly to the left. Then the horse, its legs tangled, fell and crashed into the escorting riders.
Screams erupted, and the masked figure leaped into the spot where men and horses were tangled and shrouded in thick dust. Riders tried to block the way, but they could not slow the masked figure by even a single step.
Do Tong-dal, who had approached stealthily, subdued one rider's pressure points and quickly changed into his clothes. Every gaze was fixed on the masked figure, so no one noticed Do Tong-dal's appearance. As a stopgap, he finished a simple disguise just by shifting his facial muscles.
The reason Do Tong-dal had deliberately thrown himself into the middle of the battlefield was to confirm whether the masked figure would definitely kill Prince Yeongun.
The carriage, which had crashed down violently, shattered to pieces and spat out the people riding inside.
A middle-aged man and a woman tumbled across the ground for a long while, screaming. It was fortunate at least that they had not been crushed by the falling horse, but that stroke of luck did not last long.
"Ughhh......."
As the middle-aged man rose with a groan, a sword drove into his chest. Even amid all the commotion, the sound of flesh and metal grinding together rang out clearly.
The masked figure reached out with their left hand and pinched the middle-aged man's face.
"It's really him."
'A woman?'
From the slender figure, he had wondered, and the voice flowing from behind the mask was indeed a woman's.
Do Tong-dal watched the middle-aged man slowly collapse amid the thick dust. He had never seen him in person, but from the painter's detailed portrait, he could tell that the middle-aged man was Prince Yeongun.
The woman had even just torn at his face with her hands to check, so there was no possibility he was a fake.
Do Tong-dal had even concocted all sorts of strange plans to kill him, and the man had absurdly died at someone else's hands.
'Should I be glad I blew my nose without lifting a finger?'
He could not simply be pleased, because of the variable that was the masked figure. Prince Yeongun had been a constant who had to die anyway. But the variable of the masked figure who had killed that Prince Yeongun could never be dismissed lightly.
The martial arts of the woman who had pulled her sword free and leaped over the mounted force's encirclement in one bound might even rival Hwangmi Dal's.
'Is she one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven?'
Into Do Tong-dal's thoughts came a shout: "After her!" He had to give chase for now. Of course, the mounted force did not have the skill to pursue the masked figure.
The horses they rode were hopelessly slow compared to the masked figure's lightness art. Moreover, she climbed into mountains where horses could not go, so the mounted force could only end up like a dog chasing a chicken.
So before long, Do Tong-dal was the only one left pursuing the masked figure. The most important thing now was to determine whether the masked figure was enemy or ally.
If she was one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven, he would also have to uncover why she had killed Prince Yeongun.
The masked figure's lightness art was fast, but in pure speed she could not shake off Do Tong-dal. The distance between the two, which had opened to nearly fifty jang, closed to thirty jang in less than one ke.
Geombong Mountain, which had more rocks than trees, made Do Tong-dal's pursuit easier. Even the darkness that had begun to settle thickly could not obstruct Do Tong-dal's vision.
The two's pursuit continued for nearly half a shichen. In speed, he could catch up quickly, but in mastery of lightness art, the masked figure was far superior.
Even so, Do Tong-dal was ultimately able to press the masked figure to within ten jang.
They had long since left rock-filled Geombong Mountain behind, and the two had reached the midslope of some unnamed mountain.
The masked figure stopped in a clearing where an abandoned grave sat alone. Around the gently sloping clearing, old pine trees with bent trunks stood sparsely.
Do Tong-dal stood at a distance of ten jang from the masked figure. The masked figure's cold eyes glared at Do Tong-dal as if boring through him.
"From the look of it, you don't seem to be one of Prince Yeongun's underlings."
Judging by the voice alone, she was a woman in her twenties.
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