Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Iron Emperor — Chapter 185
"The North Roselin army is attempting to enter the range."
Mong Ryu-hwa came running briskly, knelt in the great hall, and reported. The eyes of the commanders who had been spread out over the maps discussing the situation lit up.
"That was fast."
Go Jin-cheon uttered the remark in his usual blunt manner, and Ryu-hwa continued his report.
"According to intelligence from our spies, Count Hamon of the Haian Kingdom, whom we captured and later released some time ago, and the soldiers from that incident are leading the advance."
At Ryu-hwa's report, the corners of Jin-cheon's and his commanders' mouths began to rise simultaneously.
"They ought to come crawling in."
"That's right!"
Just as the Eulji brothers, Buru and Uru, were laughing, unable to hide their delight, Ryu-hwa poured cold water on the mood.
"The problem is, they are dispersing forces in every direction to scout the terrain."
"What the hell?!"
The reason they had guided Count Hamon's party back then was itself a form of bait—to show them terrain that would be advantageous for Gauri to defend. In any war, they had judged that the enemy, whoever it was, would put those same troops out in front. In that context, learning that the enemy was now scattering troops to search for other routes of advance was enough to make Buru startle in alarm.
"Heh. Looks like their commander isn't a complete idiot."
Yeon Hwi-garam let out a faint laugh and tossed the remark in Jin-cheon's direction. Buru's face twisted as he shot back.
"Does that make you laugh?"
With their careful arrangements going awry, Buru grumbled, clearly displeased by Hwi-garam's nonchalant comment. The look Jin-cheon directed at Buru was one of utter pity.
"Y-Your Majesty."
"We just kill them all."
"......."
At Jin-cheon's single sentence, Buru's head drooped sharply.
Dealing with dispersed forces was a simple matter. Kill them all and disguise the scene as the work of monsters—wasn't that the method the people of Gauri had used most often all along?
"Leaving some alive to lure them toward a different fortress would also be a good idea."
"Mm."
Hwi-garam added his thoughts and continued.
"If we annihilate them completely, the enemy camp might naturally grow suspicious. It would be even better to drive their forward elements deeper into rough ground, guiding them to choose the path we've shown them."
"True."
Jin-cheon nodded at Hwi-garam's advice and then turned his head. At the end of his gaze stood Gye Ung-sam, looking blankly at them.
"......Leave it to me."
Under that silent pressure, Ung-sam volunteered himself.
The Roselin forces had established their camp at the foothills of the Reganza Mountains with an air of leisure. On the eve of battle, complacency was a poison, yet none of them viewed this war as a true clash between nations.
Even so, they sent troops in multiple directions to reconnoiter the terrain, driven by the Reganza Mountains' fearsome reputation and the pressure of the military observers from the Three Great Empires watching their every move. For the Roselin high command, however, the mere passage of time was its own crushing burden.
No matter how many supplies they procured from the Haian Kingdom at prices that were practically at cost, the Kingdom of Roselin's finances, already scraped to the bottom, could not avoid strain.
SLASH!
"Kiii-eek!"
Along with the sound of flesh being carved open came the ear-splitting shriek of an orc.
"Kah-ak, t'wae!"
A soldier grimaced and spat, orc blood apparently having spattered into his mouth. His face was twisted with irritation.
"What kind of country is supposed to be in a place like this?"
"Save the chatter. We reorganize, then move out."
As a few soldiers grumbled and wiped away orc blood, a knight raised his voice. As expected, the greatest obstacles blocking the troops detached from the Roselin main body for terrain reconnaissance were monsters. Still, because the units had been composed strictly of capable fighters, they were managing to push forward little by little.
"Can't we rest here a while before moving?"
"He's right. We need to tend wounds. Going any further is impossible."
Several veteran soldiers approached the knight with troubled faces and pleaded their case.
"Can't be helped."
Even the knight could see that the soldiers bore wounds large and small. Moreover, orc weapons were usually rusted; leaving injuries untreated would almost certainly cause them to fester. Knowing this, the knight had no choice but to order the men to take a brief rest.
"Everyone, form a defensive position first, then rest."
"Thank you!"
The soldiers' faces brightened at the knight's command. As they planted shields around the perimeter to create a temporary defensive formation for their short break, relief spread across their features.
Thwip!
"Hurk!"
A sound like air escaping came from the mouth of one soldier setting up a shield. Then, clutching his throat, he crumpled slowly to the ground.
"What the—!"
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
Before the startled soldiers' warning cries could even properly ring out, more men began collapsing to the sound of air being torn apart.
"Enemy! Everyone, shields up, block them!"
The weapons raining down on the soldiers were throwing knives. Every one of them was aimed at the gaps left unprotected by their armor. Since monsters rarely if ever threw knives, the knight's judgment that this was a human enemy was exactly right.
"You stop here."
"Hut!"
A voice laced with killing intent rang out from behind.
The knight's body reacted swiftly, but the flash of a blade that swept past his back was even faster.
Was that the signal?
From high up in the trees, Gauri swordsmen began pouring down.
"Above—above us...!"
Crack!
Someone's warning was swallowed up by the kick of another warrior dropping from above. Gye Ung-sam and the swordsmen's martial power was far too overwhelming for a hundred-odd soldiers to withstand.
"Tat!"
Ung-sam's long blade swept left and right, and the bodies of the Roselin soldiers charging at him with spears split apart at the waist, upper and lower halves separating.
"Kuh-heok... m-m-monster."
"Spare me!"
Even the desperate voice of a Roselin soldier pinned to the ground watching his own lower body fall away did not stop the Gauri swordsmen's blades.
"Uwaaaaah!"
WHIZZ!
A hand axe flew toward the back of a soldier fleeing with a shriek. In the end, his struggle to survive ended before he could make it even ten paces.
"Any survivors?"
"None."
At Ung-sam's question, asked while he flicked the blood from his long blade in the air, one of the swordsmen approached and answered. Ung-sam nodded, apparently satisfied, and gave orders to his subordinates, who were wiping their blades on the clothes of the corpses.
"Good. Leave the aftermath to the follow-up unit. We move out at once."
"As commanded!"
With a small but disciplined reply, they vanished into the forest. The empty space they left behind was filled by Gauri soldiers who herded in monsters. And as if death were not enough, the corpses of the Roselin soldiers were torn to shreds by the monsters' brute strength.
The situation for the other detachments was not much different.
Whenever they tried to rest, paralyzing needles flew in, steadily whittling down the Roselin soldiers' numbers.
"Kkigik!"
"How can goblins be this cunning?!"
The goblins' mode of attack was a volley of paralyzing needles followed by a mass assault.
After several soldiers collapsed in the initial strike, the knight stood tensely awaiting a follow-up attack. When none came, a voice tinged with desperation burst from his lips. They had been attacked several times now, yet they had not so much as glimpsed a single goblin.
The only proof of their existence was the goblins' cries echoing from all directions. Once the soldiers formed up and waited, the goblins quietly faded away. But the moment they began to move again, the paralyzing needles unfailingly flew in once more.
"Half our men cannot move!"
"Damn it. Further movement is impossible. We halt until the paralysis wears off!"
Abandoning the paralyzed soldiers was unthinkable.
After they had exhausted all the antidotes they had brought along, their only option was to hold out until the paralysis subsided.
Kruuuuuu!
"Wh-... what is that?!"
A long, drawn-out roar.
Thoom.
"Hut!"
The ground vibrated faintly.
For the soldiers who could still move, it was bad enough. But in the eyes of those lying paralyzed on one side, nothing but boundless terror was reflected. They felt the vibrations through their backs where they lay.
"Kruuuuuu!"
"Minotaurs!"
The group that burst through the undergrowth were minotaurs, the bull-headed monsters.
"There are too many of them!"
"Kwoorrr!"
Like lions gazing down upon rabbits and roaring, the minotaurs slowly closed in from all sides, emitting long, bellowing roars. The number of minotaurs advancing on the soldiers was easily over twenty by rough count.
"Damn it."
The knight leading the soldiers swept his eyes rapidly over the scene. The number capable of fighting was barely over fifty. Despair was etched into the eyes of the soldiers lying paralyzed on one side, writhing helplessly. Only one decision remained for the knight.
"Abandon the wounded and break out at speed!"
"Augh!"
"But...!"
At the shocked looks in the wounded men's eyes, the remaining soldiers cast them pitying glances, but their bodies were already obeying the knight's command. They had no obligation to throw away their own lives for the wounded. And even if they stayed to fight, winning was impossible—a fact that hastened their resolve.
"If you don't want to die, run!"
"N-no...!"
"You're leaving... leaving us...!"
"Uwa-ha-ha-huhng!"
As those holding back tears carried out their escape, the wretched screams of the wounded followed from behind, their paralyzed tongues just barely forming the words.
Ignoring the soldiers vanishing into the forest, the minotaurs drooled as they approached the wounded men lying on the ground, trembling in terror.
"Mmu-muuu."
"Agh... agh-ai-ee!"
A soldier screamed, forcing his barely cooperating tongue to move. But the minotaur paid no mind and slowly brought its mouth down while holding the soldier upside down.
"Uwaaaagh!"
"Steron!"
As the soldier's head entered the minotaur's massive jaws, the wretched cries of those still alive followed.
"You fucking cow bastard!"
THWACK!
A fierce curse and the sound of a heavy blow rang out in succession.
"Mmu-muuu!"
"Open your mouth, you cow bastard!"
THWACK! THWACK!
A group of soldiers that had appeared out of nowhere drove the minotaurs back, swinging leather-wrapped clubs and whips.
Thud. Tremble, tremble... twitch.
"He's completely lost his mind. Pissed himself and everything."
The Roselin soldier who had experienced his head going into and coming out of a minotaur's mouth was convulsing, his eyes rolled back, piss soaking his trousers.
"Hmph. Stop worrying about that and move them!"
"Yes!"
At Samdopyo's command, the Gauri soldiers swiftly tied ropes to the minotaurs' reins, hoisted up the Roselin soldiers who had just transformed from food into prisoners, and disappeared rapidly. In their wake, the only things left scattered about were blood-soaked scraps of clothing and a few chunks of unidentifiable meat acquired from who knew where.