The Unsated Predator
The sight of a man being ripped apart bodily, torn clean in half right before his eyes, was too shocking for Balbaldeokman to contain his horror. Anyone who could witness such a thing without flinching had to be something beyond ordinary—a being impossible to define by normal standards. Yet when that man emerged from between the sundered remains, radiating monstrous strength, and the battle had barely begun before a thick, murderous aura began pouring from him like a flood, even Balbaldeokman found himself crushed beneath its weight.
'This man...! The newly arrived Xianbei-Breaking Zhonglang General...!!'
Standing face to face with him, Balbaldeokman felt as if his very breath had been seized in his throat. As chieftain of the Xianbei, he had only ever felt this kind of presence once before—an overwhelming pressure that could choke the life out of a man simply by existing, crushing even a warrior's spirit and reducing him to a coward.
It was living proof that the mysteries of the mythical age still lingered in this land as though they were perfectly natural. The spirit beast known as the Red Lord had appeared without warning from somewhere on the grasslands, rampaged across the north, drenched its body in the blood of countless nomadic tribes, and then vanished. When even that proved insufficient and the beast turned its hunger toward their own tribe, they could no longer endure. They set out to hunt the ghostly red tiger in defiance, only to be mercilessly hunted in turn. It was then that he had felt this exact aura.
No... 'It's even stronger than that monster from back then...!' The memory of his childhood, when he had barely survived by holding his breath in terror while the tiger loomed over him, shattered under the crushing weight of this man's presence. Those arrogant eyes that had looked down on humans as nothing more than prey for the countless beasts they themselves hunted. The red eyes from that day which he had believed he would never forget, even in death...!
The absolute predator's aura he had felt then—the one that made humans seem insignificant—now seemed to wither and fade before this man. Even now, as chieftain of the Xianbei, ruler over his people, recognized by all as a true warrior despite their tribe not being particularly large, he still trembled in the man's presence.
Could a mere human truly feel superior to a spirit beast that defied all common sense, an existence that seemed forever beyond reach no matter how many lifetimes one spent trying to catch up?
'They say the Han Dynasty is in decline... but those were nothing but empty rumors.' A nation that employed a man like this as a general could not possibly fall so easily. Moreover, he was no mere talented commoner—he came from an excellent family and possessed exceptional ability. In that case... unless he harbored rebellious intentions, the country would not be easily shaken. They could not carelessly strike down someone of such power and status for the sake of their own desires...!
No, even if the Han were to collapse... as long as this being stood in their way, there was no room to intervene. The monster before his eyes far surpassed common sense; he was a living legend stepped forth from the mythical age...!
"Hmm. I say, can you not speak the language of Han? Standing there frozen like that is starting to make me feel rather awkward."
Yuan Shu tossed the Xianbei chieftain's torn corpse aside like a stripped bone after a meal and added another remark.
"...Ah! I-I beg your pardon! I was so struck by the Zhonglang General's magnificent appearance that I... ha, haha..."
"Uahaha! Well, that can happen! After all, this body of mine has never once been called ugly anywhere I go."
Though it was clearly an improvised excuse, Yuan Shu laughed heartily and let it slide. It wasn't much of a mistake anyway. They would be working together quite closely from now on, so something like this was trivial. To those he considered inside his own fence, Yuan Shu possessed a personality worthy of being called a true hero.
"I am Balbaldeokman, here to offer my assistance to the Zhonglang General...!"
"Mm. Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Yuan Shu, who has taken up the post of Xianbei-Breaking Zhonglang General!"
After a light handshake and exchange of names, Yuan Shu glanced briefly behind him.
"We will likely cooperate often in the future... but for this particular battle, I don't have much to offer you. However, starting next time, if you join the battlefield in earnest, I will make sure the price of my cooperation is more than satisfactory!"
"...As a warrior myself, how could I demand payment for a battle I did not participate in? Still, if the Zhonglang General promises to treat us properly in future fights, I have no worries."
Had the other party been an ordinary man, Balbaldeokman might have pushed harder. If the so-called Zhonglang General dispatched to them had been nothing special, he would have demanded proper compensation for their help—without which they surely would not have survived this fight. ...Though it was possible the whole thing could have ended in complete disaster from the start, with no reward at all and only revenge from the touched tribes.
But the current situation was very different. Balbaldeokman had seen it. He could not help but see it. Just how overwhelmingly powerful and ferociously savage the man before him truly was. To rip a person in half without hesitation and display such a thing before the eyes of his new allies... it also revealed that the man's temperament was far from ordinary.
The moment he tried to act difficult or withhold cooperation, those insane monsters who had ground twenty thousand cavalry into dust with a single clash would turn their spears and blades upon him and his people. Balbaldeokman instinctively understood that the hearty, cheerful smile currently on the man's face could easily transform into the victorious grin of a conqueror, drenched in the blood of him and his entire tribe, more savage than any beast. If one had glimpsed even a fragment of the boiling bloodlust within this monster, such a judgment was inevitable. Balbaldeokman believed it with certainty.
"Since you've come all this way, I must ask you to guide us! With their soldiers dead to the last, there won't be a better chance to swallow their main camp! We'll speak more once we arrive!"
"O-of course. We will lead the way, Zhonglang General."
Balbaldeokman bowed his head, feeling cold sweat trickle down his back. 'For now... all I can do is pray this monster keeps his promises.'
As Yuan Shu strode away with a booming laugh, the three generals who had unleashed a wave of slaughter alongside him began bickering noisily about how he had failed to claim the chieftain's head. Watching them, Balbaldeokman swallowed hard.
"If I had chosen hostility... that lump of meat rolling over there might have been my future..."
No, not might. It would have been certain. A tribe far larger than his own had been wiped out in a single day. It sounded too unreal to be true, yet that was the reality before him.
"C-Chieftain... is that monster... truly a general of Han...?"
"Just what kind of monsters is the Han Dynasty raising...!"
Listening to his warriors, who seemed to feel the same terror he did, Balbaldeokman swallowed again.
"...As you can see... he is someone we must never oppose... It is best to bow our heads properly and accept whatever scraps fall our way. Never, under any circumstances, show him disrespect!"
How fortunate it was that they had ended up on the same side. As the leader of a tribe, his choice—Balbaldeokman's decision—had been correct. With that thought, he carved a deep resolve into his heart: as long as that man existed as a general of Han, he would never dare touch the Han Dynasty.
Occupying the Xianbei settlement, whose chieftain and most of its commanders and warriors had been killed or captured, was not a difficult task. It became even easier after Xiang Yu, complaining that she hadn't warmed up enough, grinned and obliterated roughly a quarter of their dwellings with raw strength alone.
Inside the chieftain's residence that Yuan Shu had torn open, the expedition's officers gathered to discuss the results of the campaign.
"...Roughly three thousand Xianbei warriors were taken prisoner, and we seized approximately ten thousand warhorses. Including the people and horses of this settlement, the numbers will increase further!" Ma Teng reported with a hearty laugh at the impressive gains.
"Casualties or wounded?"
"Since the outcome was decided in the first clash, the number of dead or wounded is extremely low. There were no fatalities, and only about thirty injured, none of them seriously."
"Hahaha! A truly great victory, Zhonglang General!"
When Yuan Shu asked, Gao Shun answered mechanically, prompting Ji Ling to laugh brightly. Just as he said, it had been an overwhelming triumph. They had ground down or captured nearly all the enemy and obtained a great number of horses. On top of that, they had occupied the enemy's main base, secured supplies, and reaped additional spoils. It was a victory without a single flaw.
The sheer number of deaths in the first clash had broken the enemy's will; the soldiers who lost their fighting spirit were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter, and the cavalry who lost their mobility were no different from fish caught in a net. Since they had continued sweeping up the enemy without stopping after that initial collision, there had been no time to spare any attention for the approaching soldiers. It was nothing less than waging war with cheat-like powers.
"Did the soldiers eat their fill? I stopped them from pillaging, so at least make sure their bellies are full!"
"We slaughtered some of the captured horses and distributed the local liquor without restraint, ordering them to enjoy a feast. Their discipline is solid, so it wasn't difficult."
"Good, good. This Yuan Shu will generously provide the rewards, so focus only on victory."
When Gao Shun maintained strict discipline and the sight of Xiang Yu, Richard, Yuan Shu, and Choe Jun-gyeong utterly annihilating the enemy on the battlefield was burned into their eyes, it was only natural that military discipline remained firm.
"Right, then it is the duty of victors to get properly drunk tonight! Raise your cups! Uahaha! We'll get drunk on Xianbei liquor!"
Having achieved a great victory, celebration was only proper. After all, once dawn broke they would have to choose new prey and set out on the hunt again. Still, after ensuring the sentries remained vigilant, Yuan Shu enjoyed the feast with gusto.
Any worry that resentful enemies might have poisoned the wine? He had none! There had been no sign of such intent, and even if there were, the poison would lose to Yuan Shu's constitution anyway. Besides, he had brought along talented individuals precisely to deal with any such incidents swiftly.
"Ugh... I can't possibly drink this much..."
"Ehehehe, promotion..."
"Uhahaha... my daughter's marriage... zzz..."
By the time the feast had continued and everyone had fallen into a drunken slumber...
"Kekeke, what a bunch of weaklings!"
Yuan Shu, the only one still sitting upright after sending everyone else to the deathmatch of drinking, rose with a wine jar in hand once there was no one left to drink with. He watched the others sprawled out in their drunken stupor for a moment before heading outside. Having drunk his fill, he suddenly wanted to see the night sky of the plains.
"Who's there... Oh! Zhonglang General, sir!"
"Hup! What brings you here...!"
"Tsk tsk, standing sentry even on a night like this? You've worked hard. Bring all the men on watch over here."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Once all the sentries had gathered, Yuan Shu poured each of them a cup of liquor.
"Here, drink up and go get some sleep! I'm in a good mood today, so consider it a gift, eh? How often will you get an experience like this? This is the first victory won under my command, so it's worth commemorating. Be grateful!"
"Ah... thank you...!"
"B-but then the watch..."
"My senses are more accurate than your eyes, so don't worry. Just drink! It's hard to get this stuff in Han territory, so drink your fill while you can! Hahaha!"
After forcing the sentries to drink from their bowls and sending them off to sleep, Yuan Shu set down the many jars he had brought, lay back, and gazed at the night sky filled with twinkling stars and a brilliantly shining moon.
"What a beautiful sight!"
It was a view rarely seen in the modern era. Combined with the vast grasslands spread before him, it stirred emotions difficult to feel even in the cities of Han where he had lived. The refreshing sight made for the perfect drinking snack for Yuan Shu.
Since there was nothing to chew, his mouth felt somewhat empty, so he brought over an entire roasted horse, ate it, and drank his fill of fermented mare's milk wine while enjoying the late-night air. When the sun finally rose over the horizon of the plains, dyeing the sky red, he let out a great laugh, then flopped onto his back and fell asleep.
Around Yuan Shu lay the cleanly stripped bones of beasts and six completely empty wine jars rolling across the ground. The sight truly made him look like... the apex predator standing at the pinnacle of these plains. A predator that still had not had its fill...!