Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Iron Emperor — Chapter 102
"Wajajajaja!"
Papapapak!
With a raucous shout, the spear split into dozens of afterimages and stabbed into the surrounding soldiers.
SWISH-THUNK-THUNK!
"Gyaaak!"
The spear tips, multiplying like phantoms, took a tour of the soldiers' insides before the men could block them and came back out wet with hot blood.
"Don't fall back!"
"Shut it and get back! I can't stand men!"
The voice of the knight directing the soldiers and the voice of the spear-wielding man rang out in almost perfect harmony. A dozen men around the spear-wielder were each grumbling their own piece.
"Damn it all! I always knew Captain Mong's thing was gonna cause trouble someday!"
"Shut it! You bunch of eunuchs!"
"We're the eunuchs? Boss Mong's the goddamn stud horse!"
"If you're gonna call me anything, call me a romantic!"
The man displaying such dazzling spearmanship.
It was Mong Ryu-hwa, dispatched to rescue Gye Ung-sam.
Soldiers rushed out to encircle them, but far from surrounding the group, the gap in martial prowess was so vast that they were cut down the moment they drew close. By now, the soldiers sent to capture Ryu-hwa's party couldn't even approach and were beginning to falter.
"Good! Now's the time to pull out!"
At Ryu-hwa's words, the soldiers nodded, brandishing their weapons. But in that instant, a cluster of light burst before their eyes.
"What the—!"
Ryu-hwa shouted, frowning. As the light faded, over a dozen knights clad entirely in silver armor and some hundred and fifty soldiers appeared.
"Reinforcements!"
"Slaughter the Demons!"
The soldiers' morale soared again, and Ryu-hwa's party's hearts grew heavy. The longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation was for Ryu-hwa's group.
"Wizard! Get those bastards!"
"Oum Sala di Krei Um Taha. Power of mana that shapes the world! Lend me your strength! The smallest yet most essential of your power I beseech of you... receive my will and strip those there of their freedom of action! Hold!"
As an incantation abruptly spilled out from among the knights, rings of blue light instantly constricted around Ryu-hwa's group.
WHIRRR!
"Gah! Damn, what's this now?!"
"It appears to be magic!"
Ryu-hwa and the other Gauri soldiers, who had been fighting well, shouted in panic as the magic froze their bodies in place.
"Hooo~!"
"They can't move! Cut them down, quickly!"
A steadying breath came from Ryu-hwa's lips. But there wasn't a soldier who feared the Gauri warriors caught in binding magic.
"Hwaaap!"
WHOOSH!
A shout—whether aimed at the approaching soldiers or just for its own sake—erupted from Ryu-hwa. Though it was merely a shout, the atmosphere rippled outward from Ryu-hwa at its center.
"Gah! Mana Backflow!"
"Wizard!"
The wizard staggered, apparently struck by the magic reflection. In the time it took for the guarding knights to shout, fountains of blood sprayed from the chests of the soldiers advancing on Ryu-hwa, and the scene plunged back into a maelstrom of chaos.
"Gyaaak!"
"Damn, we all should've run when...."
"Oum Sala di Krei Um Taha...."
Ryu-hwa's frantic attempt to break the encirclement was cut short by the sound of another magical incantation. But neither was he in a position to launch a ranged attack, nor was it easy to break through the knights' protective screen.
"Dam-mit!"
Ryu-hwa's frustrated shout burst out.
THWACK!
"Kurk!"
But the incantation ended with the sound of a pumpkin bursting, and the shouts of the knights guarding the wizard turned to alarm.
"Sniper!"
THUD-THUD-THUD!
"Aaaak!"
"Grk!"
In the continuing dull noise, three or four soldiers' bodies were knocked flying. And right after, one side of the encirclement began to rapidly collapse.
SLASH!
"Kyaaaak!"
A torso flew through the air, entirely severed. The soldier, staring down at his own legs in horror, screamed until he hit the ground.
That wasn't all. The spirits of soldiers who saw the gruesome sight of their comrades crumbling as they stumbled backward, not even realizing their legs had been cut off, could no longer be steadied.
"More Demons here too— Krrhhk!"
The arm of a soldier trying to sound a warning was sent flying, still gripping his weapon. A voice laced with relief broke from Ryu-hwa's mouth as he watched a man soar up, trampling the heads of the soldiers who had lost their will to fight.
"Daesaja Gye Ung-sam!"
Gye Ung-sam, who had been swimming through the air with his long blade thrust upright toward the sky, plummeted sharply. As if answering Ryu-hwa's welcome, Ung-sam's long blade carved a semicircle into the ground upon his descent.
SWISH!
"Kergh!"
"Heok!"
A crimson Blood Moon was painted across the path of the long blade. Ung-sam, drenched in a mist of blood as lifeless bodies collapsed, tossed Ryu-hwa a friendly(?) greeting.
"You rotten bastard! Escape first, talk later!"
"......."
Instead of replying to Ung-sam's greeting, Ryu-hwa fiercely worked his spear.
The footsteps leaping over the mountain path moved too fast to be seen, yet they produced barely any of the noise one would expect.
However, the footfalls of four men trailing behind the group of over a dozen made more noise than the sum of those who had sprinted ahead.
"Huff! Huff!"
Only after racing for a long while did Gye Ung-sam's party, now grown to over twenty strong, finally stop to catch their breath. The Gauri people recovered their normal breathing in just a few breaths, while Baron Gowin and his knights were merely bent over, heaving for air.
"There is a cave this way."
Gang Yuwol, who had gone to scout the vicinity while the others rested, came back and reported to Ung-sam. Ung-sam looked back at the group.
"We're moving immediately."
"Yes."
Rustle-rustle!
As Yuwol dashed ahead, Ung-sam and the party once again began their silent movement. Baron Gowin and his company, whose breathing had only just steadied, watched their retreating figures and laughed hollowly.
"Hah... haha. This is killing me."
"My lord, I think it would be best if you went on ahead and rested."
Sir Rainman wore a pitying expression as he looked at Baron Gowin's hollow laughter.
"This way."
The cave the party entered was spacious enough to comfortably hold over thirty people. But the straw spread on the floor and the old iron bowls hanging on one side made it clear that human hands had touched this place.
"It seems hunters occasionally stay here. Judging by the condition of the implements, it doesn't appear that human hands have touched them for quite a long time."
"Is that so."
The dust piled on the nearby implements made that fact clear even without Yuwol's explanation.
"Everyone find a spot and rest. Gwan Muru."
"Yes, Daesaja."
"Take two more men with you. I need you to handle something for us."
At Ung-sam's words, Gwan Muru offered a military salute and headed for the entrance with two soldiers. Even while resting, maintaining a perimeter was a given when you were being chased.
"What about food and other provisions?"
When Ung-sam asked Yuwol, Yuwol untied a bundle and showed him. It was enough to eat for two days in the current situation. But since Mong Ryu-hwa had come out to support them, he figured there wouldn't be much to worry about.
Grrrowl.
But the moment they saw the food, Mong Ryu-hwa's and the dozen soldiers' eyes transformed into those of starving beasts. At the bizarre sound and movement suddenly sensed, Ung-sam carefully studied them.
He hadn't realized while they were fleeing... but Ryu-hwa and the dozen new recruits were carrying absolutely no baggage except for their weapons.
"Perhaps... a meal should come first."
Baron Gowin spoke awkwardly. He too had noticed the glistening eyes of Ryu-hwa's party.
Grrrrrowwwl.
"......."
The pitiful sound echoing through the cave and the endlessly sorrowful eyes of Ryu-hwa's party stabbed into Ung-sam's heart like daggers.
'Damn it! What will Baron Gowin think?'
Beset by the obsessive thought that the baron might now believe all Gauri people were starving, Ung-sam handed out the food with a hollow heart.
Munch, munch.
"Hey, pass me some water over there!"
Ung-sam, who had been frowning slightly as he watched the gluttons noisily devour their food, raised his eyebrows sharply at the gourd being handed over to him.
"What is this?"
"A gourd."
The gourd a soldier lifted was illuminated by moonlight and emitted a white glow.
"It's a gourd, all right, but...."
The expressions of the party looking at the white gourd began to change in an instant.
The gourd was, in fact, a skull bowl.
"Search the area."
At Ung-sam's command, the Gauri soldiers, who had been wolfing down their food, immediately started rummaging through the cave's interior.