Chapter 17
Chapter 17
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 17
"Well, is everything loaded?"
"It is. Thanks again, Herrison."
"Don't mention it—I'm getting paid for this. Anyway, be careful. Things have been unsettled lately, they say."
"Mm."
At Herrison's concern, Beron's face darkened.
There had been an uproar for a while after Kalsuman, with whom they'd traded all this time, had turned up as a corpse in the forest alongside soldiers. On top of that, rumors were circulating that the rising price of iron in the capital of the Kingdom of Haian was because the country was once again being squeezed for supplies and troops in the proxy wars between the empires.
"Damn. This godforsaken country."
Herrison spoke in a dispirited voice. The official talk was always about the glorious nine-thousand-year history of Haian, but in the eyes of the common people, the kingdom simply kowtowed to the Three Great Empires, scattering the blood and sweat of its people left and right, and sending its young men into other nations' wars under the name of deployments.
The question was, could anyone see Haian's future in all that spilled blood? No, they couldn't. They were merely being pushed around by power and sold off for the profit of the nobles. Herrison felt as if he could already see the nobles frantically scraping together more young men again.
"Herrison, you be careful too."
"What, are they going to drag off a nobody like me? You're the one who needs to be careful. Word's already spread that Baron Alvin's been meeting with merchants and cooking up schemes."
"Then we'll be on our way."
Beron smiled at the worried Herrison and cracked the whip over the cart horse. Two wagons passed out of the city that way.
"That son of a bitch is worse than Kalsuman!"
The moment they cleared the city and entered the forest, Beron let out a rough curse.
"Can't be helped."
"Still."
When Darun shrugged, Beron clicked his tongue and wore a wistful look. Sweet-talking a different gate captain to replace Kalsuman had cost nearly double the money.
"Let's just get back."
Clatter-clatter.
The two hurried their steps, hauling the two wagons back. And in the rear, Ung-sam was leaning back in an utterly comfortable position, trying to sleep.
"Beron, stop."
Roughly two hours after they'd started driving the carts, a chill emanated from Ung-sam, who they'd assumed was just sleeping in the back.
"What? Why?"
"Shh!"
In an instant, the surroundings fell silent. Though darkness was settling over the forest, not a single cricket chirped.
Only then did Beron and Darun tense up. It was completely different from how they usually saw him. At the sight of Ung-sam quietly climbing down from the cart and pressing an ear to the ground, the two held their breath and stared.
"Damn it."
"What's the matter?"
"We abandon the carts."
"What?"
The two were bewildered by Ung-sam suddenly cursing and speaking that way. But instead of answering them, Ung-sam went around to the back of the cart, pulled out his pack and his longsword, and hefted them.
"Take only your weapons and personal packs and follow me."
"What on earth for—"
"Goddamn it. I was ordered to keep you safe. Just shut your mouths for a second and do what I say—are you waiting for an Orc to come running, drop its pants, and say it loves you?"
"......."
The colorful curses he'd picked up over the past short while poured out of Ung-sam's mouth without hesitation. In the end, the two had no choice but to grab their packs and bows and follow.
Cutting through the forest at the lead, Ung-sam's form halted abruptly. Beron and Darun stopped just as naturally and looked at him.
"Get down."
At his low-voiced warning, they flattened themselves to the ground without complaint. As they held their breath like that, voices drifted over from the distance.
"Damn it all, they even abandoned the wagons and took off."
"Quiet. Stop yapping and search the area better! They can't have gone far."
"What the hell is this nonsense...."
Beron and Darun felt a chill down their spines. If they'd still been driving the carts, they'd have been caught without a chance.
Crunch, crunch.
"Hey! We'll head this way!"
"Right, we'll take a look over here!"
Toward the spot where they were moving while holding their breath, Ung-sam's party was hidden. The soldiers' movements as they combed the undergrowth were clumsy, but the problem was that they were coming straight at the hidden group.
'What do we do?'
'Shh.'
"Man, if only I could actually see something."
"What a pain."
The soldiers' footsteps drew closer and closer, and the pounding of Beron's and Darun's hearts rang in their ears like thunder.
Shiiing.
"......."
When Ung-sam's hand touched his sword, Beron and Darun watched, breath held. Ung-sam's eyes had gone cold and still.
"Ugh, everything's a pain."
"Let's just half-ass this and head back."
The two soldiers, who'd been going through the motions of a search, came right up in front of them, stopped, and grumbled. Then they hesitated for a moment before starting back the way they came.
'Whew.'
'That was close.'
Watching them turn their backs and walk away, Beron and Darun felt relief. If they stayed hidden a little longer and moved then, it looked like there'd be no problem.
Shuck! Thwack!
"Hup!"
A short gasp escaped Beron's mouth just as he was relaxing. It was because the sword of the crouching Ung-sam had split the darkness.
Blood spurted from one soldier's neck, and the other—whether unconscious or not—slowly slumped to the ground. At what had happened in the blink of an eye, the two couldn't say a word. The smell of blood spread in an instant, but Ung-sam's eyes held no wavering.
"Why—?"
"Let's move, quietly."
To their stunned stares, Ung-sam, instead of explaining, concealed the corpse to one side, hoisted the merely-unconscious one onto his back, and swiftly began withdrawing from the area.
"Hah, haah. Slow... slow down a little!"
"A bit farther."
"Huff, huff!"
Watching Gye Ung-sam run without even breathing hard despite carrying a man on his back, Beron and Darun shook their heads. Once Ung-sam, dashing through a stretch of forest, reached a somewhat open clearing, he set the soldier he'd been carrying down.
Slap.
Slap, slap.
"Uuungh."
At the impact of slaps against his cheeks, the soldier began to groan and stir awake.
"Hup!"
"Shhh. You want to quiet down on your own, or should I stab you with this sword until you do?"
"......."
At Ung-sam's words, brimming with kindness, the soldier amiably shut his mouth. Of course, the longsword leveled in front of his eyes lent a hand as well.
"Now, friend. It'd be real nice if you answered the questions I ask, don't you think? Then you won't get any blood on you here, and you'll get to go home and see your lovely wife and kids again."
"I'm single."
"......."
The soldier was already answering Ung-sam with complete sincerity.
And before long, from the soldier who answered with bright, wide eyes and complete honesty, they were able to learn quite a lot.
The reason the subjugation force hadn't entered all this time was partly a kind of willful negligence by the lords, and partly because the damage from Monsters in this area had been severe.
When the order came from the kingdom to levy troops, Baron Alvin—facing the brink of exposure for the number of soldiers he'd reported only on paper while pocketing bribes, and for the fabricated maintenance costs of those phantom troops—had set out leading a mercenary band created with the merchants' bribes and his own private soldiers.
"Hmm, but why did they attack us?"
"Because searching the slash-and-burn farmers' village hasn't been easy, and we received intelligence that the trails the farmers use are almost never routes where monsters appear. So they decided to split the force and pursue."
"Hm, good. Last question: why do you know all this so well?"
"Heh-heh, I got paid by people from other slash-and-burn villages to tell them, see."
"......."
At the soldier's behavior, adding a shamelessly sunny smile, Ung-sam nearly stabbed him on the spot. Having learned everything he could, Ung-sam rose to his feet, thinking he ought to get word to the encampment quickly.
"Darun, watch the soldier for a moment."
"Right."
Ung-sam asked Darun the favor, then walked into the brush on the left. Whether he'd gone to urinate, Ung-sam returned with a somehow relieved face, sheathed his sword, and approached the soldier.
"Good. Then I should keep my promise too, shouldn't I?"
"Yessir!"
"Ung-sam, are you really going to let him go?"
Beron's eyes went wide as he asked. Letting this soldier go meant they'd obviously face pursuit again, so Beron and Darun looked at Ung-sam with eyes full of unease.
"P-please spare me. I've got a foxy...."
"You said you were single."
"A lover, I mean."
At the soldier's utterly brazen words, Ung-sam gave a deep, emphatic nod and opened his mouth.
"Hmm, very well. A warrior of Great Gauri does not break his promise. I'll let you go. However! Since heading behind us would make me nervous, you will run at full speed in the direction I went to take a leak, count to one thousand, then report back to your unit."
"Yessir! Don't you worry."
"Will this be all right?"
"Has this soldier looked to you so far like he's told a lie?"
"Don't you worry. I keep my promises!"
At Darun's worried interjection, when Ung-sam spoke up for the soldier, the soldier nodded as if swearing an oath. In the end, Darun and Beron had no choice but to abide by Ung-sam's decision.
"Good. Then you run at full tilt. Understood?"
"Yes, thank you kindly."
"Good. Full speed—go!"
Patter-patter-patter!
The instant Ung-sam's words fell, the soldier bolted in the indicated direction fast enough to make his eyebrows fly back, and Darun and Beron resignedly prepared to flee again. But just then—!
"Aaaaargh—!"
Thud.
"......?"
"What—?"
A short shriek burst out from the soldier, who'd disappeared into the brush; then came the sound of something hitting the ground. Beron and Darun, rushing over in surprise, stopped in their tracks. Beyond the undergrowth was a sheer cliff, and the soldier who'd dashed ahead lay quietly at the bottom.
"Oh, dear! Should've been more careful. Well, I kept my promise—shall we get going?"
"......."
"......."
After Ung-sam said that with a straight face and started packing up, Beron and Darun could only stare in silence, lost for words. The same thought rose simultaneously in both their minds.
'Liar.'
Ung-sam's conduct was drifting further and further from the trust of others. But whether by divine punishment or not, a sound reached them that signaled the end of their easy escape.
"Huh! That's blood!"
"This guy wasn't supposed to be over here!"
"Damn it, he's dead. Search the area, now!"
At the shouts of the soldiers passing below, Ung-sam laughed awkwardly.
"Good heavens. Why does the sky send trials to the virtuous, I wonder."
"......."
At Ung-sam's unperturbed demeanor even in this situation, Beron forcibly swallowed the words that had risen all the way to his throat.
'This is your fault!'
Darun wore the exact same expression.
"What's that over there!"
Thwip!
Crunch!
There must have been a side trail, because before they could vacate the spot, the soldiers spotted them first. But Ung-sam hurled a stone from the ground, and the soldier collapsed sideways before any more words could leave his mouth.
"Over here!"
"Dammit! Sebastian's head's smashed in!"
Shiiing!
Ssssssssk.
From Ung-sam's scabbard, the blade came free with a clear ring of steel. And his form, plunging and sprinting through the underbrush, was like a flying tiger.
"Hup! Watch out!"
Skutch!
"Kkuh-huk!"