Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Iron Emperor — Chapter 189
Chapter 58: The Battle of Gaemunsanseong Fortress
A long, drawn-out horn blast shook the forest.
It had taken the Roselin army over twenty days to reach Gaemun Mountain Fortress. For a force of any size, standard procedure was to advance while thoroughly scouting the surroundings when intelligence on the enemy position was lacking.
"Hmm."
The eyes of Marquis Mandonel, the supreme commander, narrowed slightly as he gazed at the distant Gaemun Mountain Fortress. The clever use of terrain weighed heavily on his mind.
"They've exploited the position well."
"Indeed. I've never seen a fortress built in that fashion between two opposing cliffs. Even at a glance, it does not look easy."
"Mm."
On top of that, every tree in front of the mountain fortress had been felled, making it impossible for Roselin troops to advance under cover.
"Either way, it seems a frontal assault is the only option."
"The flanking routes are blocked, and given the way the fortress cleverly wraps around the mountain ridge, there appears to be no alternative. And our intelligence is lacking..."
As Marquis Mandonel's voice cut through the rigid air, the staff officers arrayed behind him nodded in agreement. When no one else spoke, one of them posed a question.
"When shall we commence the attack?"
Marquis Mandonel studied the troops forming up for a moment, then slowly addressed his staff.
"We will set it for three days from now."
"Understood."
Having finished speaking, Marquis Mandonel and his staff officers fixed their gazes silently upon Gaemun Mountain Fortress.
* * *
Hailon's face was stiff as he looked out over the Roselin encampment. Every preparation to meet the enemy was already complete, and he had confidence—but the fact that the lives of the soldiers defending Gaemun Mountain Fortress rested on his command cast a shadow of worry across his features.
"You look troubled."
"You've come?"
Perhaps reading Hailon's concern, his deputy Geom Mudal approached and spoke. The one reassurance Hailon had was that his deputies—men who had also accumulated considerable experience in Gauri—were backing him as advisers.
"A force of that size is nothing to worry about."
Another voice reached him, as if to reassure him further. Still, Hailon's expression did not ease. He turned his head to watch the sentries moving along the fortress wall.
"I'm afraid my judgment will prove wrong. The other generals—they wouldn't say something as weak as this, would they?"
When Hailon spoke to Geom Mudal, Geom Mudal simply smiled quietly.
"Any commander who takes the field always carries the weight of his men's lives. Amusingly enough, the path behind a great commander is always soaked in the blood of countless soldiers."
"That it is."
Hailon nodded quietly at Mudal's words, and Mudal continued.
"But men like General Eulji and General Yeon whom you mentioned—they would never look back."
"Is that so?"
"It is. Because that blood was shed out of necessity. You must accept it as inevitable. In war, that is the only thing you should dwell on. Grief and weakness can wait until the war is over."
Hailon listened to Mudal's words while gazing quietly ahead.
'For now, I'll think only of my duty.'
A measure of the darkness seemed to lift from Hailon's face.
* * *
Some ten riders carrying white banners on poles emerged from the Roselin camp and slowly approached the front of Gaemun Mountain Fortress. They were in full battle gear; there was no chance this was a surrender. Once they reached the fortress, a knight in ornate attire shouted in a booming voice.
"Gauri, hear us! We bring a message from Marquis Mandonel of the Kingdom of Roselin!"
But no response came from the fortress. A handful of soldiers simply stared back at them blankly.
"Such insolent wretches."
The lack of reply to his call made the man frown.
"Your commander—come forth and hear the message of the supreme commander of the Roselin army!"
Only after he shouted again did a man in attire different from the other soldiers emerge onto the watchtower and begin looking down at them. But that was all—he merely looked, just like the soldiers.
"Baron Aliman, could it be they don't understand the continental language?"
The knight who had come as part of the escort cautiously spoke up. Baron Aliman, who had been doing all the shouting, scowled and glanced to the side.
"That may be the case. Wizard, activate the Interpretation Magic."
"Understood."
He was aware of the intelligence that the Gauri people had their own language. But he had not expected them to be completely unable to understand the continental tongue. Of course, the Gauri soldiers did understand it—they were simply all staring blankly, as if by prior agreement.
A moment later, after Interpretation Magic and Voice Amplification Magic were cast in succession, Baron Aliman repeated what he had said earlier. Only then did a reply come back.
"Speak!"
At the sound of the voice ringing out from the fortress, Baron Aliman—now apparently satisfied that communication was possible—drew a letter from his coat and began reading it aloud.
"Gauri, hear us! Possessing circumstantial evidence that remnants of South Roselin—a faction of recognized public enemies across the continent—have fled into this region, the Great Roselin Army has come to this place. Accordingly, if you open your gates peacefully to receive us and surrender the South Roselin remnants, this matter can be brought to a peaceful conclusion without much bloodshed. What say you? Will you choose death, or will you obey and choose life?"
For a proclamation made at the head of a massive army of seventy thousand, it was ridiculous. It was an absurdly flimsy excuse to offer after already preparing for war. Presently, an answer came back.
"We intend to live well and peacefully, so just turn around and leave!"
It was a short reply, but more than enough to twist Baron Aliman's face.
"Does that make any sense?!"
Baron Aliman's sharp voice shot out. But a voice just as defiant came back from the fortress.
"Can't you understand what you're being told anymore?!"
At the reply, Baron Aliman and his escort knights wheeled their horses, their faces crimson, shouting loudly.
"We will commence battle tomorrow! Do not regret this!"
Having delivered his final declaration of war, Baron Aliman led the ten-odd riders back the way they had come.
Watching them go, Hailon muttered in a voice that suggested he found it all laughable.
"I've seen my share of lunatics, but this takes it—marching all the way here just to spout nonsense about fighting tomorrow or not."
On the continent, such formal declarations of war were custom, but to Hailon—who had lived as a slash-and-burn farmer and fought wars alongside the Gauri army where the only tactic was hitting the enemy from behind—their behavior was incomprehensible. Or, to put it more precisely, in the eyes of every soldier, they looked like complete fools. Of course, had Eulji Uru been present, they probably would have ridden back with an arrow lodged in each of their foreheads...
* * *
Bwooooooo!
The long horn blast echoed toward Gaemun Mountain Fortress. And the vast Roselin host began to move.
"The enemy is moving!"
"Everyone to your positions!"
Perhaps because they had been on constant alert, the soldiers found their places swiftly. Hailon, too, ascended the command watchtower and watched the Roselin army slowly advance.
"Move faster!"
"Bring more water!"
Soldiers were dousing the buildings inside the fortress with water in preparation for enemy attack. The fortress buzzed with troops throwing water on everything that could burn and others checking the sand and soil stockpiles for extinguishing fires.
"Hmm."
The Roselin forces began to fill Hailon's field of vision, little by little. Catapults and enormous ballistae mixed in among the advancing troops were gradually sowing unease in the soldiers standing ready to defend the fortress.
Was war not, win or lose, always a banquet that produced death?
Hailon looked at the approaching Roselin army and then at his soldiers quietly holding their breath.
"Wizard, prepare the Voice Amplification Magic."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."
One of the few wizards who had come over from South Roselin approached Hailon, formed a hand seal, and cast the Voice Amplification Magic. Once the spell was complete, Hailon slowly cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Hear me!"
As Hailon's voice resounded to every corner of the fortress, the Gauri soldiers who had been simply watching the Roselin army advance all turned their eyes to him. Receiving the gaze of five thousand men in a single instant, Hailon gave a rather awkward, dry cough. But as if remembering the task entrusted to him, he soon straightened his shoulders and slowly continued.
"Where are your homelands?!"
Hailon's words flew out to the soldiers. The men assembled here had homelands that included South Roselin, along with slash-and-burn farmers who had drifted over from Haian. Some were the ones called Northern Mercenaries, wandering without a home. Others had lived as slaves before flowing into this place through Gerard.
"This place is my homeland."
Hailon's next words drew nods from those who surely felt the same—men born and raised in the slash-and-burn village...
"From the moment I was born in the slash-and-burn village, I lived watching my kin die in monster attacks! I simply lived! I lived because I couldn't die! No—I lived because I was afraid of dying. I just survived."
At Hailon's words, the soldiers quietly sank into thought. It was so still that they seemed to have forgotten even their fear and worry about the Roselin army advancing slowly toward them.
"But now it is different. I have a country of my own. There is a country that has made a mere slash-and-burn farmer into a general like this! A country that has freed us from the terror of monsters! A country where we are not tormented by the extortion of nobles! A country where my children can run and play! I am no longer merely surviving!"
Though far from eloquent, Hailon's words were filled with sincerity. It was a speech meant to raise the soldiers' morale before battle began, but Hailon himself was weeping.
"I will not merely live, and I will not live simply because I cannot die. I will live savoring the happiness I've been given!"
Hailon's life was the soldiers' life.
"I want to survive this war and live happily with my children for a long, long time!"
Everyone who came to the battlefield wanted to survive. Images of their families flickered through the soldiers' minds. Their attachment to life grew stronger. Here and there, soldiers clutching their spear shafts began to weep. Hailon's cries poured out without pause.
"Let us make a single request of one another!"
Hailon shouted to the soldiers with solemn determination in his eyes.
"Let us ask one another this: even if I die fighting this war, you will survive and lead this war to victory! If you grant me this request, then even if I die, won't my family and children be able to live happily after this war? Then I can die gladly!"
Hailon's simple wish tempered the soldiers' hearts.
"I ask this of you."
"I ask the same of you."
One soldier asked his comrade to win. That comrade said the same thing back.
Even as the Roselin army slowly advanced, the mutual requests continued without end. Watching the soldiers, Hailon turned his gaze toward the approaching Roselin forces.
The Roselin army was passing familiar landmarks now.
The time to fight had come.
Hailon slowly raised his Hwandudaedo. The cold ring of steel rang out through the Voice Amplification Magic.
"Fire the Yudonno!"
Even this command burst forth into the amplification magic. And at the same moment, thick logs soared upward into the sky.