Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Yeonje Clan
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The next morning, the enemy forces arrived right on schedule. Sand dust rose once more under the scorching sun.
"Here we go again."
I gripped my spear tighter. It was the same tactic as yesterday.
They charged in from all sides, pressing hard before pulling back, over and over. Gap Hoon's square formation held firm again, and the battlefield filled with the familiar screams and clashing metal from the day before.
'Not today. I'm not playing their game.'
Jia Xu's stratagem flashed through my mind.
"Follow me!"
I shouted briefly and kicked the flanks of Red Hare.
—Hiiiiiing!
Red Hare roared and bolted forward.
"Uooooh!"
"Follow the Commandery Administrator!"
Hundreds of cavalry followed behind me, roaring as they came. This time, the goal wasn't a mere breakthrough.
It was to find a suitable "sacrifice."
"Get out of the way!"
"Kuaaaak!"
I swung my spear, slicing through the enemies in front. A gruesome sound accompanied their screams, punching a hole through their clustered ranks.
As I plunged into the gap, blades flashed from all directions.
"Stop Lu Bu!"
"Surround him!"
I spun the spear shaft to deflect a sword slashing from the left, then thrust the tip straight through a cavalryman's throat charging from the right.
"Th-that mad horse!"
—Hihihihihng!
Red Hare thrashed wildly in fury, trampling those flailing with its front hooves. I didn't stop.
I cut down every enemy that entered my sight, eyes gleaming.
"Don't clash head-on! Surround him!"
"Thrust in all at once!"
"Do we look like idiots to you!?"
"Protect the Commandery Administrator!"
My soldiers weren't just watching either. They raised their weapons against the charging foes and shattered the encirclement through the breach I'd carved.
Synchronizing with my troops' movements, I charged straight toward one spot: where the troops were densest and the banners most ostentatious.
"Wh-what is this place to you!?"
"What else? The place where you die!"
I finally reached the cluster of enemies. Their guards rushed me with screams, but they were meaningless before my spear.
"Die!"
I swept the spear in a wide arc. The foes raised their weapons to block, but it was futile.
"Gaaack! What strength!"
"Kuh!"
Unable to fully withstand the force, they flew helplessly into the air.
With the guards swept aside, a man in a gleaming helmet and relatively clean armor stared at me in panic.
"Y-you monster!"
He swung his sword without hesitation, but it was pointless flailing.
"Kheuk!"
My spear flashed once, knocking the blade from his grasp. The tip pierced his chest.
—Kwachik!
"Kuaaaaaak!!!"
He screamed from the massive impact and pain, tumbling from his horse.
I leaped down and approached the still-twitching man. I kicked off his helmet with my boot.
His face was already battered from the impact, blood streaming everywhere. I smashed the flat of the spear blade down mercilessly.
—Ppuddeuk! Ppudeuk!
I heard his cheekbones shatter.
"You're that Beha bastard!"
"What nonsense—!"
He tried to speak through the agony, but I swung and severed his neck.
—Seogeuk!
I seized the mangled head by its hair, blood dripping from it, and raised it high. Then I roared across the entire battlefield.
"I've taken the head of enemy commander Beha! Your leader is dead! Drop your weapons if you want to live!"
My shout caused the chaotic din of battle to quiet slightly.
Enemy soldiers fighting all around turned to me in unison. At the gruesome head on my spear and my proclamation, their eyes began to waver.
"...Chieftain Beha?"
"No way! It's a lie!"
"Is it... real?"
Confusion and doubt spread like a sandstorm.
A horseback, Beha furrowed his brow. The shout from the center of the battlefield reached even here.
"I've taken the head of enemy commander Beha!"
Lu Bu on Red Hare held a bloody head high on his spear tip.
The face was so smashed it was unrecognizable.
"That sly bastard! How dare he pull such a cheap trick!"
Beha clenched his fist.
Now he understood why Lu Bu insisted on the eye-catching Red Hare and red armor.
It wasn't to make himself a target. It was to demonstrate his overwhelming power, crushing every attack and instilling terror.
A man like that could kill one subordinate and claim it was the enemy commander without raising suspicion.
"Chieftain! That cunning Han is using tricks... The warriors are shaken!"
"Damn it!"
A great warrior beside him shouted urgently.
Right before Beha's eyes, allied units swept up in the false cry began to waver for real.
They halted attacks, eyeing each other suspiciously and hesitating.
Despite numerical superiority, their lines started to crumble, especially among warriors from other tribes.
"The chieftain couldn't have died! It's enemy deception!"
"...Deception? Then why hasn't your chieftain raised his banner?"
"What if he really died? We'll just get slaughtered one by one."
Seonryeong River Tribe warriors denied reality, insisting their chieftain couldn't die so easily. But the Baema River and Heuksu River Tribe warriors suspected the opposite.
They figured a warrior of Lu Bu's caliber wouldn't lie so calmly.
With no banner in sight, doubt that Beha of Seonryeong was truly dead spread uncontrollably across the battlefield.
'If this continues, that lie will shatter the whole army!'
Beha judged he could no longer hide. He ordered his banner raised high and stepped forward.
"What are you doing! Don't fall for the trick! I, Beha of the Seonryeong River Tribe, am here! I am not dead! Attack the enemies before you!"
To proclaim his survival, Beha bellowed at the top of his lungs and dispatched trusted great warriors in all directions to calm and rally the wavering tribes.
"Calm down! The chieftain lives!"
"Don't be fooled—fight!"
As Beha revealed himself to restore order, a monstrous roar erupted from the battlefield's center.
"There you are, you rat bastard!!!"
"Wh-what voice is that!"
Beha turned toward the sound.
Lu Bu, who had just held the fake head, tossed it aside casually and charged straight at him with hundreds of cavalry like a meteor.
The thousands of warriors between them were helpless before Lu Bu's assault.
"Th-that madman!"
Bursting through thousands to reach him—it was hard to believe human prowess. Beha swallowed involuntarily.
A chill ran down his spine.
'But...! I can't retreat here! Now that I've shown myself, fleeing would tarnish my honor and doom our tribe's place on the steppe!'
Beha suppressed his fear, igniting his eyes with murderous intent. He gripped his sword desperately.
"Come at me! You Han scum! I'll show you the Seonryeong River Tribe's power!"
Beha spurred his horse and charged head-on at the oncoming Lu Bu.
While the enemy ranks stirred, one man finally emerged from the rear.
His attire wasn't much different from the other warriors, but the surrounding soldiers parted for him.
He raised his own banner high and bellowed.
"What are you doing! Don't fall for the trick! I, Beha of the Seonryeong River Tribe, am here! I am not dead! Attack the enemies before you!"
'...There he is! Jia Xu's plan worked!'
Spotting Beha, I casually flung the head from my spear tip.
"The enemy commander is there!!"
"Uooooh!"
I roared and yanked Red Hare's reins, charging straight at Beha. I cut down anyone blocking my path, clearing the way.
"You're Lu Bu! To come this far!"
Beha drew his sword without fear and charged to meet me.
"Ha! I thought you were a rat, but you've got some guts!"
I urged Red Hare faster and slammed right into him.
—Kwaang!
Spear and sword clashed fiercely. Our horses screamed as they passed each other.
"Ho, not bad?"
"Kuh! You bull of a bastard! All brawn!"
Beha wheeled his horse and yelled.
"Let's see if it's just brawn! You barbarian scum!"
We charged again, beginning the real fight. As our weapons met, Master Jeonpung's words came to mind.
『In a life-or-death duel with the enemy, show no mercy.』
I recalled the scar on my cheek from the final blow Bukgung Baekok landed.
'Even a tiger hunts a rabbit with full force.' I held nothing back.
—Kwang! Kwaang! Kwangkwang!
I unleashed my spear like a storm.
"Kuh!"
Beha blocked desperately, but each clash pushed him and his horse back a step. His sword arm trembled, breaths ragged.
Before ten exchanges, my spear struck his sword hard.
—Kwajangchang!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the blade before it shattered outward.
"Y-you... monster...!"
Beha cried out in despair, clutching the broken hilt, but his eyes still burned.
His personal guard and great warriors surged to protect him.
"Chieftain!"
"All of you, stop!"
Beha bellowed.
"B-but Chieftain!"
"Are you trying to ruin my honor!? Do you want me seen as a coward who fears death after defeat!?"
His roar made the great warriors hesitate and halt. Amid the battlefield noise, eyes focused on us.
Beha tossed the broken hilt, dismounted, and strode forward proudly.
"I surrender! It's my fault for not wielding my weapon properly. Kill me!"
Beha stared straight at me, eyes open.
I raised my spear without hesitation and struck like lightning.
As everyone thought Beha dead, my blade only severed his long braided hair.
The cut locks fell limply to the sand.
"...Why not kill me?"
Beha opened his eyes in shock. I burst into hearty laughter.
"Haha! You think killing you ends this war?"
I scooped his hair on my spear blade and raised it high. Addressing all soldiers around,
"Listen up! We don't want your land or lives! We want a 'road' through this land! And laws ensuring fair treatment for all using it!"
I turned back to Beha.
"Han or nomad, no discrimination! As long as you stop plundering and blocking the way, we have no intent to destroy your homes!"
"Ha!"
Beha scoffed.
"You're not just strong—you've got a silver tongue! Why should we believe Hans spouting such nonsense? Roads? Laws? Don't make me laugh! You're here to steal our stuff! Quit the bullshit and chop my head!"
"Don't believe me? Fine."
I passed Beha and pointed my spear at his great warriors ready to defend him.
"I'll spare you, so lead your army and withdraw."
"...And if I refuse?"
Laughter erupted.
"I'll kill all your cherished great warriors here. Then what of your tribe? Prey for others, or crawling at our feet begging mercy. Your choice."
"...Grrrr!"
Beha's face twisted in rage and humiliation.
He glared, trembling, but saw no hesitation in my eyes.
Beha glanced at his great warriors, then gritted his teeth.
"...We withdraw."
"Chieftain! Do you trust him!?"
One great warrior shouted.
"I said withdraw! Dare defy my order!? Whole army—retreat!"
At Beha's command, Seonryeong warriors reluctantly lowered weapons and fell back.
Other tribes followed suit, watching warily.
A week after the battle ended, news of the defeat spread like wildfire through Dunhuang.
The alliance centered on the Seonryeong River Tribe had been crushed by the Han army. That the famed brave chieftain Beha lost a duel to a Han general named Lu Bu, suffering the humiliation of his braid being cut—it was a shock.
Even more baffling: Lu Bu let Beha live and send him back.
The steppes buzzed.
"Beha lost?"
"His hair cut, yet he returned alive. What does it mean?"
"Lu Bu spared Beha? Why?"
In the ger of Northern Xiongnu chieftain Yeonje Dokryeo.
Yeonje Dokryeo clicked his tongue, recalling his meeting with the river tribe chieftains. He remembered his own words.
—Just let them have the road.
"I knew it'd come to this. Foolish Beha. All brawn, no brains. Underestimated the Hans."
A subordinate beside him spoke.
"Your foresight was right, Chieftain. But with Beha defeated, won't the Han army turn on us?"
"No."
Yeonje shook his head.
"Hans are different. We've clashed for centuries, haven't we? Brothers at times, enemies at others. Think they covet this barren steppe itself?"
"Doesn't seem so."
Satisfied, Yeonje nodded.
"They want two things. First, prevent us uniting like the old Modu Chanyu. Second, open the 'road' west for trade."
Yeonje eyed his subordinates one by one.
"Is there a hero like Modu Chanyu on the steppes now?"
"...No."
"Then only the 'road' remains. This Yang Province Administrator is a merchant by origin, they say. More interested in trade than war."
"Then, Chieftain..."
Grasping the implication, Yeonje nodded.
"With the river tribes crushed so easily, the steppes' voice will change. Beha owes Lu Bu his life—he won't act rashly. Now's our time."
Yeonje had advocated avoiding war and opening the road from the start.
The defeat paradoxically bolstered his position. He resolved to seize the opportunity.
"Prepare a herald."
"To whom?"
"First, to Beha."
His voice was icy.
"'Congratulations on surviving. Your foolish choice endangered us all. I'll mediate between you and the Hans—follow my will quietly.' Convey that."
"Yes!"
"The other herald... to that Lu Bu."
Yeonje's eyes narrowed.
"They say his tongue is as sharp as his spear. Now I get to see for myself. Thanks to Beha for that."
Yeonje turned his gaze south, where the Hans gathered.