Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Victory Report and Fury
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The encirclement was complete.
Watching the faces of beasts plunged into despair was always a pleasure. Moments ago, they had been snarling like they wanted to devour me whole, but now they looked like cornered rats trapped in a tightening noose from all sides.
Zhang Yang's face, as he watched the scene, was a mix of shock and awe. He was speechless for a moment but soon regained his composure and fulfilled his duty as a general.
Zhang Yang drew his sword and shouted to the entire army.
"The barbarians broke the truce first! Leave not a single one alive! Full army, charge!"
"Waaaaah!"
At his command, the three thousand soldiers roared and closed in on the encirclement. This place was no longer a "meeting ground" but a perfect "battlefield."
But I didn't stop. I was already dancing with my blade in the heart of their formation. Now it wasn't "self-defense" anymore—it was pure "hunt."
"Kaaak! It's a trap! Find a way out!"
"We were tricked! Kill those bastards!"
The panicked Wuhuan tribesmen scattered in confusion, but Zhang Yang's army surrounding them on all sides didn't easily yield a path.
Zhang Yang's soldiers didn't charge like wild animal cubs.
They became a massive steel anvil. While the front-line soldiers braced their shields and rooted themselves to the ground, hundreds of spears thrust forward from behind in unison.
The Wuhuan cavalry, robbed of mobility by the shield wall, had no choice but to impale themselves on that forest of spear tips.
"Guhk!"
"Uwaaak!!"
—Hiiiiiing!!
Horrific screams of men and horses, along with the sound of bones shattering, erupted from all directions. The field turned into a slaughterhouse with men skewered on spears, crushed under fallen horses, and flung back from the shield wall.
"Hold the shields! Don't let a single one through!"
"Thrust the spears! Target their legs!"
Zhang Yang's soldiers focused solely on dealing with the enemies in front of them. Their one goal: kill as many of these filthy barbarians as possible.
"Stop! Fall back!"
"Shut up! There's a monster behind us! Break through the front at all costs!"
They dodged the spear tips ahead only to have their heads lopped off by swords, or evaded me only to have their hearts pierced by the spears in front. It was the perfect anvil and hammer.
With Zhang Yang's soldiers relentlessly pressing from outside, pinning them down without mercy, I could rampage even more freely.
"What are you doing? Don't just stand there like idiots!"
From afar, Wei Sok bellowed. He had somehow rallied Zhang Yang's guards and was fighting fiercely in one corner.
"You all saw it, right? How our brother hunts these beast cubs! If you're men, draw your swords! Blow off a few more of those bastards' heads!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
At Wei Sok's shout, the guards snapped to attention and plunged into the Wuhuan flanks with ferocious yells.
This place had become a perfect site of massacre.
But my sword didn't stop. For those clinging to their horses, I severed the legs and then stabbed their throats. For those dismounting and fleeing, I pierced their hearts from behind.
"You monstrous bastard!"
"You're no human! How can you be so brutal!?"
Their curses mixed with screams rang in my ears.
In that moment, the image of the village they'd raided flashed before my eyes. Burned houses, the village woman's corpse torn to shreds, the child dangling from a horse's tail. Nauseating rage boiled up from within.
I smashed the helmet of the one cursing me with my sword. With a dull thunk, it crumpled, and he tumbled from his horse.
"Shut your mouths, you worthless beasts! What about what you did to the common folk!?"
At my roar, their movements faltered for a moment. I seized the gap and pressed them even harder. Rage dominated my entire body.
Before the sun had even reached its zenith, the battle was nearly over.
The plain was covered in corpses and blood. The surviving Wuhuan tribesmen threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves, begging.
"We surrender! We surrender!"
"Spare us! Please, just our lives!"
Their groveling snapped my reason. Gripping my bloodied sword tighter, I walked toward those pleading for mercy.
"Surrender? Do you vermin even deserve that?"
I swung my sword to behead one—
—Clang!
Cold steel blocked my path. It was Zhang Yang. He stood there with his sword barring the way.
"Enough, Chief Clerk Yeo. The battle is over."
"Step aside, General. These beasts aren't worth sparing."
My voice cracked with fury, but Zhang Yang didn't budge. He met my eyes squarely and spoke firmly.
"They're prisoners now. We can't become beasts like them."
"Haa... haa..."
Ragged breaths escaped me. Zhang Yang before me and the prostrated foes blurred in my vision. My sword hand trembled.
After a long while, I finally sheathed my blade.
"...I'll obey the order."
Only then did Zhang Yang lower his sword. An awkward silence hung over the plain, thick with the stench of blood.
"Huuu..."
Still breathing heavily, I relaxed my grip on the sword. My rage-heated head cooled in the northern wind. He patted my shoulder once, then bellowed to those around.
"Battle's over! Treat the wounded, recover the fallen! Bind the prisoners!"
At his voice, the frozen world began to move again.
The soldiers finally came to their senses and silently carried out their tasks. The awkward atmosphere eased, and the plain filled with murmurs.
That night, the lamps in Zhang Yang's tent burned brightly.
The daytime bloodlust was gone, replaced by heavy tension over the storm ahead rather than the thrill of victory. Zhang Yang and I sat facing each other across a rickety table.
On the table were just two bowls of cold water. After a long silence, Zhang Yang spoke first, his face etched with worry.
"How should I report this tremendous victory... It's daunting. Your contribution was the greatest, but the Elder forbade you, as Chief Clerk, from entering battle. If he learns you took the field, he'll reprimand you harshly. This victory would have been impossible without you... How can we handle this merit?"
Zhang Yang's voice was filled more with genuine concern for me than joy over the win. I looked at him and replied nonchalantly.
"I merely protected my own life. You saw it, General. They drew swords first, and I took up mine to survive. Report the facts as they are."
Zhang Yang shook his head. A bitter smile crossed his face.
"Chief Clerk Yeo, you don't know the Elder well yet. He's not one to accept things so easily. Facts don't matter to him—only his authority and justification. No matter how much you claim self-defense, he'll bind you just for defying his order. This incident gives him perfect pretext to suppress you."
At his sincere worry, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"General, I appreciate the concern, but it's fine. I've known since Jinyang that the Elder doesn't look kindly on me. I have my own plans, so whether he rebukes or punishes me, I have logic to fight back."
"That's recklessness!"
Zhang Yang cut me off firmly.
"The Elder... once you fall from grace, he never gives another chance. A young talent like you can't ruin your future over something trivial. Absolutely not."
He was truly worried for me. I couldn't brush it off lightly anymore.
"Then what do you plan to do, General?"
At my question, Zhang Yang fell silent for a moment, then picked up his brush as if resolved. He spread a blank bamboo strip on the table and began writing each character with deliberate force.
I realized what he was doing and watched quietly.
The report was a perfect fabrication. It portrayed everything as the result of Zhang Yang's ingenious stratagem.
He had foreseen the barbarians' ambush disguised as a meeting and hidden three thousand in ambush spots across the plain. In the dire crisis, Strategist Yeo Po had faithfully fulfilled only his duty to guard the supreme commander—himself.
My blade dance against hundreds was downplayed to "valiant bodyguard duty to protect the commander."
Even beheading their leader was twisted to "under my outstanding command, he earned merit by slaying the enemy leader."
After a long time, Zhang Yang finally set down his brush. He blew on the dried ink and handed it to me with a feigned cough.
"Ahem."
A playful smile lit Zhang Yang's face.
"The Elder forbade Chief Clerk Yeo from the battlefield, so what can I do? I can't give you this tremendous merit—such a shame. If I get rewarded for this, I'll share plenty with you. You won't curse this old man for stealing a young one's credit, right?"
His jest made me burst out laughing despite myself.
"Hahaha! You saved this Yeo Po's life, General. How could I curse you? I'm grateful instead."
At my hearty laugh, Zhang Yang grinned in satisfaction and joined in. The tent filled with our boisterous laughter under the lamplight.
Jinyang's Bing Province Governor's office.
Ding Yuan was reading Zhang Yang's report. His initially satisfied smile gradually hardened. The bold stratagem uncharacteristic of Zhang Yang, and Yeo Po's name slyly tucked within.
By the final line, his hand began to tremble.
'These... these bastards...!'
The report announced victory, but to Ding Yuan, it heralded "rebellion."
The old general and young wolf had colluded to deceive him perfectly. Using his orders as a shield, they'd rampaged as they pleased, then dared to claim merit and mock him.
—Kwuduk!
Ding Yuan crumpled the report to pieces. Bamboo shards flew everywhere.
"Insolent fools... daring to toy with me!"
He bellowed in rage but soon caught his breath and calmed himself. After a long pause, Ding Yuan muttered coldly to himself.
"Hmph... If that's how they play, I can no longer leave them be."
As if decided, Ding Yuan shot to his feet.