Nighttime Ambush
No one present could have imagined that the nickname they had casually bestowed would spread to every corner of the continent.
“Miss, it seems we’ll have to camp here tonight. Several of the wounded need treatment, so moving on immediately won’t be possible.”
“I understand. Go ahead and prepare the campsite.”
“Yes, miss.”
With Wang Yi’s permission, the captain of the guards set his men to work preparing the encampment.
“Benefactor, what do you intend to do? No matter how quickly you travel, reaching Sakbang from here will still mean riding long after sunset. Why not spend the night with us and set out at first light tomorrow?”
Between one thing and another, they had lost a fair amount of time. The sun had already dipped far to the west, stretching the shadows long across the ground.
“It looks like that’s what I’ll have to do. Then I’ll trouble you for one night.”
“Don’t worry at all. I was sad to part so soon. I’m glad I get to host you instead.”
At Seo Jun’s answer, Wang Yi’s expression brightened. Though her words were indirect, she had been quietly worrying about another Qiang raid. If they attacked again after he left, the caravan would struggle to hold them off. Seo Jun had roughly read the situation and therefore decided to camp with them for the night.
Fires were kindled in several places, and a simple meal was prepared. Seo Jun and Wang Yi ate together.
“Oh. So we’re the same age.”
“That’s right. In that case, Joyeon, let’s speak comfortably, like friends.”
As they ate, the pair talked about this and that. Little by little they grew closer, and soon they began sharing fragments of their personal circumstances.
“You’ve really been through a lot, leading the merchant caravan yourself through such dangerous territory.”
Wang Yi’s father, Wang Jeong, had signed a major contract for a large number of horses with a prominent merchant from Xuzhou several months earlier. To fulfill it he had traveled to Liangzhou to meet his regular contact, only to be attacked on the road and left badly injured, bedridden ever since. The man he traded with had been a follower of the previous Qiang leader. When Hansu killed that leader and unified the tribes, Wang Jeong’s caravan was swept up in the chaos and attacked as well. The delivery deadline was fast approaching; failure to deliver would trigger a penalty large enough to ruin the family. Realizing no more horses could be obtained in Liangzhou, Wang Yi had set out for Sakbang in her father’s place. That was when the accident occurred.
He’s a better man than I expected. Seo Jun is simply someone who works hard to protect his family.
The more she spoke with him, the more Wang Yi felt he was a decent person. His appearance had been breathtaking from the first moment she saw him—handsome beyond anything she had ever encountered. The only thing that had kept her at a distance was his seemingly rude manner.
Unlike other men, Seo Jun doesn’t dismiss me for being a woman. He honestly recognizes the effort I put in.
Everyone around her—relatives, family friends, the sons of noble houses—had scolded her for involving herself in business affairs, calling it unbecoming for a proper lady. Wang Yi had always felt stifled by their outdated, unrealistic criticism. Yet Seo Jun told her she was doing well and encouraged her to keep going.
“Joyeon, I’m acquainted with Jang Dae-in, the biggest horse trader in Sakbang. Once we arrive, I’ll introduce you. He should be able to supply as many horses as you need. So keep your chin up.”
“Thank you, White Dragon.”
They talked for a long time, coming to understand each other in many ways. Only when the night had grown late did they reluctantly part and retire to their separate sleeping places.
At dawn, Seo Jun lay sleeping near a campfire that had burned low, white smoke drifting lazily into the sky.
A freezing sensation stabbed through his body. His eyes flew open. No sound reached his ears, yet a sticky, repulsive aura filled the air around him.
Killing intent!
Seo Jun rose silently and crept toward Wang Yi without a sound. The sentries were still on duty, but their eyes had gone glassy; every one of them was dozing. When he reached her, he clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her awake.
Wang Yi jolted upright, eyes widening in shock at the sight of Seo Jun’s hand covering her lips.
“Shh!”
“Enemies. Wake the guards quietly.”
Seo Jun’s whisper brushed her ear. Wang Yi’s eyes stayed wide, but she gave a firm nod. Only then did he remove his hand and slip away like a shadow toward Black Dragon.
He concealed the horse in a rocky crevice, gathered his weapons and bow, and prepared. The guards Wang Yi had quietly roused also rose, armed themselves, took cover between the wagons, and silently readied for battle.
A short while later, a mass of shadows drew near the caravan. To keep their approach silent they had hidden their horses somewhere; only men crept forward. The bandit troop drew close, paused to prepare their charge—
“Loose!”
Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!
At the captain’s shout, Seo Jun and the guards’ archers released a volley. Thud! Thunk! Thunk! “Gah!”
The bandits had believed their dawn raid would catch everyone asleep and unaware. The sudden storm of arrows threw them into chaos. For a moment they could not respond and simply endured the barrage helplessly.
“We’ve been spotted anyway! Just attack! Now!”
“Waaaaah—!”
At someone’s roar the confused bandits charged the guards with reckless abandon.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Stab! Slice! Slash! “Urgh!” “Ack!” “Help me!”
Piercing screams, war cries, and the metallic ring of clashing weapons filled the night.
Seo Jun, who had been firing arrows steadily, stowed his bow, mounted Black Dragon, and leveled his spear.
“Hah!”
Hooves thundered. The crash of impact rolled like thunder.
Whoosh— whoosh— swish! Swish! Swish! Swish-swish!
With a short battle cry, Seo Jun smashed into the bandit ranks like a black gale. He broke straight through them, spear whirling and thrusting with blinding speed. The moonlight flashed along the spearhead, weaving a deadly web around the galloping horse.
“Kraaah!” “Aaaah!”
“Save me—!”
Agonized screams multiplied across the battlefield, yet the space immediately around Seo Jun remained eerily quiet. Each time he struck, a life ended without even a chance to cry out.
He leaped from the saddle, drew his saber with a metallic hiss, and plunged into the enemy formation on foot.
Dash dash dash— swish! Swish! Stab! “Hah!” Slice! Stab! Stab stab!
In the darkness his senses had grown razor-sharp. He read every swing and thrust, dodging with the smallest possible movement, parrying, then cutting the enemy down with economical, precise strikes. His saber moved like a fish slipping through water, flowing freely in every direction.
This is it!
The frustration he had not fully vented during the daytime battle melted away. Right now the entire battlefield was pictured in his mind as clearly as if he were looking down from heaven—the slightest flow of air, the enemies’ tiniest motions, even the faintest killing intent.
“Kuhut!”
A low laugh slipped past the faint smile on his lips. It was both sorrowful and joyful.
How much time had passed while he moved within that heightened state of awareness?
The night had grown still.
Someone approached from behind him.
Swoosh!
His saber stopped a hair’s breadth from the newcomer’s neck.
Wang Yi stood there, torch in hand.
“Gasp! White… Dragon, it’s finished.”
Drip. Drip.
Wang Yi, startled for a moment by the saber at her throat, steadied her racing heart and looked at him. In the torchlight Seo Jun was soaked head to toe in blood that was not his own. It ran down his cheeks, dripped from his chin. A bitter smile clung to his lips, and his eyes were filled with sorrow.
Wang Yi had been ready to scold him for nearly cutting her, but the look on his face stole the words from her tongue. His mouth smiled, yet his entire expression radiated grief.
“Sorry. My senses must have been too sharp.”
Is this an inseparable fate of mine?
After experiencing such acute awareness, the helplessness and emptiness that followed had been unbearable, so he had fled from it. Yet once he moved within that state again, he felt only happiness and the vivid proof that he was alive.
“White Dragon, are you wounded anywhere?”
Wang Yi thought she understood, at least a little, what he was feeling. She had heard stories from people who had survived great wars and battles. Among those who experienced large-scale combat—especially those with outstanding martial talent—some could not endure the intoxicating clarity of the killing field and the crushing emptiness that came after. A few eventually went mad. The tales said such men tried to dull the sensation with wine or women.
“Huu… No, I’m fine. What about the guards?”
“Thanks to your warning we suffered only light casualties. You truly are the benefactor of our family.”
Talking with Wang Yi gradually eased the heightened tension that had gripped his senses.
“Those fellows must have hidden the horses they rode somewhere. Shouldn’t we look for them?”
“Oh! You’re right. Send men in the direction they came from.”
At Wang Yi’s order, several guards headed off. Before long they returned leading nearly two hundred horses.