Chapter 133
Chapter 133
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 133
"Archers, forward!"
At the shouts of the North Roselin knights, the archers formed their ranks. Compared to the spearmen standing in line, the archers appeared relatively composed.
"Hoo."
The sound of someone steadying their breath could be heard. Perhaps because the distance was still considerable, the order to nock arrows had yet to be given.
That was when it happened.
"No way...."
They were still far from entering effective range. Yet the enemy, positioned at a distance half again as long as their own range, began drawing their bowstrings.
"Shieldbearers!"
The knight shouted urgently.
What sort of fool would launch an attack without calculating the range? The knight's response was only natural.
Twip, twip, twang!
The sound of bowstrings snapping rang out. It was a beautiful sound, like plucking the strings of a stringed instrument. But the noise that came slicing through the empty air was anything but beautiful.
WHIZZ! WHIIIIZZ!
"Everyone, take cover!"
Thud-thud-thump!
Thump-thud!
Thud-thud-thud!
Arrows began pounding into the earth like a downpour.
"Guaaak!"
"Kheuk!"
Amid the sound of hail hammering a roof, the arrows that slipped through gaps in the shields buried themselves in soldiers' bodies.
"Don't lower your shields!"
"Guaak!"
Despite the knight's shouts, parts of the shield wall that had been blocking the rain of arrows dropped to the ground.
"Aagh! My arm! The arrow went through the shield...."
Not only had the arrows pierced the shields, they had penetrated the forearms and hands holding them. As those gaps widened, casualties only mounted further.
"Damn it! How long do they intend to keep shooting?"
The knight commanding the soldiers spat a curse as he studied the enemy lines. The enemy was simply repeating mechanically uniform motions and sending arrows over.
"Call up the soldiers operating the cross— glrk... krrk...."
Though harder to shoot, crossbow bolts had relatively longer range. The voice of the knight who had tried to summon the crossbowmen was cut short. His body slumped off his horse, emitting a sound like someone drowning in phlegm.
Accompanied by a sharp sting, the arrow that had burrowed into the knight's throat filled his larynx with blood.
'H-how....'
As he slowly slid from his horse, the knight stared at the hole in his shield and breathed his last.
The true attacks hidden among the general volleys had been aimed at the lives of the enemy commanders. In the soldiers' eyes, however, the enemy bows simply had somewhat longer range than their own, and the commanders dying here and there one by one seemed merely unlucky.
"This war sure is dull, ain't it?"
"Bastard, do you treat war as entertainment?"
Twang!
The one who answered Eulji Buru's grumbling was Uru, as he loosed his bowstring. At Uru's words, Buru had no particular comeback, but after briefly swinging his great axe and then ending up as a mere spectator, his blood was boiling.
From their side's standpoint, there was nothing to be busy about, and no reason for desperation.
In contrast, the North Roselin army could not recklessly pull troops forward to provoke them, because they were already under pressure from the South Roselin Eastern Army that had advanced against their front.
In a sense, North Roselin might have been so focused on defense because they believed the Gauri army was trying to lure them out. Despite the losses, they may have judged that preferable to an all-out battle.
WHIZZ!
CLANG!
"What?!"
Buru, having deflected an arrow aimed at Go Jin-cheon, let out a furious yell. They had been complacent, believing that not a single enemy arrow had reached them so far. But that wasn't the only arrow flying in.
WHIZZ!
"Everyone, raise your shields!"
The commanders shouted at the sight of arrows beginning to fly in sporadically from all directions. The response was swift, as if they had been prepared.
"Should we fall back out of range and keep this up?"
Uru asked cautiously.
But Jin-cheon slowly shook his head. The arrows the enemy was shooting now were clearly from weapons called crossbows in this land. In exchange for the drawback of requiring time to reload, they possessed twice the range and penetrating power of ordinary arrows.
Yet the Gauri army's bows vastly outranged even the enemy's crossbows.
"As I said earlier, this war is not our war. We cannot reveal all our advantages in a place like this."
"Understood. Archers, prioritize killing the bastards shooting the crossbows!"
At Jin-cheon's words, Uru relayed the order immediately, as if fully grasping his meaning.
Fortunately, with the Gauri army pouring down arrows, the enemy's quarrels came in only sporadically, so the damage was light.
Even so, when two or three arrows lodged in the bodies of soldiers shooting quarrels with crossbows, those soldiers naturally realized they had become targets, and they began sneaking backward or simply dropping the crossbows in their hands.
"What the hell are we supposed to do? Where did all the bastards giving orders go?"
Watching their comrades collapse around them, North Roselin soldiers began hurling curses at the nobles that ordinarily they would never dare utter.
And with good reason: the commanders had already been targeted by the arrows and struck down. The only reason they were still holding out was because these were battle-hardened soldiers.
"Kheuuk!"
The problem was that very experience—the knowledge that a unit whose chain of command collapses is more dangerous than one whose formation breaks, and the hard-won lesson that in such a situation it was better to run away quickly to survive.
That experience translated into reality.
"Crazy bastards. I'm staying alive!"
Eventually, out of fear of mounting casualties, the North Roselin army's formation began to withdraw.
Scree-eech.
Jin-cheon's Hwandudaedo was drawn from its scabbard.
"Let's go collect the last of the spoils now."
The smile on Jin-cheon's lips deepened.
* * *
As Marquis Helios Baikal watched the soldiers charging into the South Roselin lines, a smile crept onto his lips.
"Judging by the enemy camp's movements, it seems the Gauri force is doing a thorough job of disrupting their rear."
"That would be the case."
In contrast to Marquis Baikal's satisfaction, the expression on Baron Silen Bels's face still conveyed the sense that something was lacking. But he could not bring himself to voice it aloud.
Because, judging by Marquis Baikal's manner of speech, he still seemed to regard Gauri as merely an armed band rather than a nation in its own right.
"Hm?"
Just as that sense of lack was passing through Baron Bels's mind, Marquis Baikal, who was commanding beside him, let out a puzzled sound.
"They're coming back...."
Baron Bels tilted his head as well.
Samdopyo's group, who had led the charge forward, were now turning their horses around and approaching this position.
"Ha— "
"Don't bother."
The escort knights moved to block their approach, but Marquis Baikal stopped them. Having approached right up to the front without any hindrance, they halted beside Baron Bels and gazed out over the battlefield.
They said nothing, but their posture was unmistakably that of guarding Baron Bels.
"Why did you turn back?"
The question came from Marquis Baikal, whose expression betrayed inward amusement. He had figured that, from their standpoint, if they were going to help they needed to earn merit properly so it would benefit them once South Roselin regained peace.
"Hmph. He only ordered us to earn our keep."
"Earn your keep?"
It was Dupyo who gave the brief reply.
As curiosity spread across Marquis Baikal's face, Baron Bels finally understood the reason for that feeling that something was lacking.
From the very beginning, they had not even considered committing their full strength. Their only intent was to tie down the rear units and create an opening for Marquis Baikal's Eastern Army to strike.
"Baron Bels, it seems you know what that means."
"......I think I understand."
Marquis Baikal's attention shifted to Baron Bels.
"Right now, the Yeolje of Gauri is carrying out this war just as he proposed to us: creating gaps for our advance and only disrupting the enemy's rear."
"Oh?"
Marquis Baikal's eyes took on a peculiar cast. He could feel the regret in Baron Bels's expression.
He reasoned that Baron Bels, who had seen the Gauri Yeolje in person, could judge more accurately than he could.
"Had they committed their full strength, this battle would have been far easier."
At Baron Bels's definitive statement, Marquis Baikal appeared to sink into deep thought. Did he need to rate their combat strength higher than he had assumed?
With that thought, he looked over at Dupyo's group.
"By the way, is guarding Baron Bels also part of your mission?"
"Yes, it is."
"Why the baron, and not me?"
At the question, posed with some amusement, Dupyo opened his mouth.
"For us, the person who holds a connection to Gauri is the most important."
"I see."
Gauri was already thinking of the aftermath of the battle. In short, it was proof that just as Marquis Baikal did not fully trust Gauri, Gauri likewise did not fully trust South Roselin.
'Well, that stands to reason....'
Marquis Baikal let out a wry smile. In truth, given the current situation, it would not have been strange for Gauri to side with North Roselin instead.
"Your Excellency!"
"What is it?"
Marquis Baikal's musings were cut short by the arrival of a galloping knight. The knight, his expression highly animated, addressed the Marquis.
"The enemy's rearguard has suddenly collapsed!"
"What did you say?"
A distinctly joyful tone burst from Marquis Baikal's mouth. Now was not the time to judge why the Gauri army was fighting as it was.
"Inform the main camp! We advance with full strength!"
"Yes!"
Marquis Baikal's resounding voice put strength into the knights' shoulders. In this decisive battle that would revive the flame of South Roselin, fortune was continuing to smile on them.
"Advance!"