Chapter 197
Chapter 197
Iron Emperor — Chapter 197
A wave of fatigue and warmth washed over him.
At the same time, with every muscle in his body screaming in protest, Gye Ung-sam had no choice but to let out a low groan.
"Ugh."
"General Gye has awakened!"
A nameless soldier's voice reached Ung-sam's ears.
His eyes fluttered open, unfocused.
"......."
With great effort, Ung-sam had to quietly close them again.
"Open yer eyes."
"......Ugh."
A familiar manner of speech rang in his ears.
Driven by the obsessive thought that he absolutely had to go back to sleep, Ung-sam squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. But that only worked on people with common sense.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel a familiar energy.
It was killing intent.
"You wanna get chopped up just like that?"
Buru's distinctive, threatening voice, laced with killing intent.
Ung-sam had no choice but to open his eyes.
"Ugh—huh? Where am I? I didn't die—I survived!"
"......."
Standing before Ung-sam, who had spoken with a shamelessly brazen face the moment he opened his eyes, was Buru, his arms folded in silence. Instantly sensing that his act hadn't worked, Ung-sam switched tactics.
"General. When I thought I'd died, the very first person who came to mind was you, General Buru."
Even as Ung-sam spoke, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, Buru only maintained a rigid, stony expression. Realizing his second ploy had also failed, Ung-sam turned his head and shifted the topic.
"Anyway, what became of those Roselin bastards?"
"Heh, you're lucky. Aside from the wound on your thigh, you're perfectly fine. It was just exhaustion that made you sleep so deeply; General Buru here got all worked up for nothing, which is why I came all the way here."
"......."
This time, Ung-sam had no words.
For standing where his gaze had shifted was Risel, the Archmage said to be capable of reattaching even severed limbs.
Dragged up onto the ramparts by Eulji Buru, Gye Ung-sam was kneading his still-aching body and whimpering like a beaten puppy.
"Urgh, agh, my back."
"Shut yer mouth."
"......."
Having been soundly beaten just to the point where he wouldn't pass out again, Ung-sam had to close his groaning lips at Buru's words. No matter how much their ranks had risen, this dynamic never changed.
After an awkward silence passed briefly, Buru slowly opened his mouth.
"From now on......"
His voice seemed hesitant.
"Don't go risking your life on useless horseplay."
At Buru's gruff tone after that hesitation, Ung-sam inadvertently broke into a smile.
The passing breeze swept over them both.
When evening came, Ung-sam revealed in the council room that during his escape he had abducted Marquis Mandonel, and that he had crippled the marquis beyond recovery before throwing him away. The Gauri commanders nodded, understanding thereby why the Roselin camp had remained inert, as though paralyzed, for a time.
Since Ung-sam had been unconscious and asleep for only a single day, the situation on the front was still up in the air.
"General!"
As they were exchanging various matters, a soldier burst into the council room and prostrated himself, shouting.
"They say the enemy has begun to withdraw!"
"Is that so!"
"Finally!"
Was this the news they'd been waiting for?
Including Buru, all the commanders in the room sprang to their feet with bright expressions.
"Now it's our turn to strike!"
When Geom Mudal spoke with a radiant smile, Ung-sam nodded and chimed in.
"Obviously! So, where is our main army by now?"
Risel answered Ung-sam's question.
"Before I moved here, His Majesty the Yeolje had already personally taken command and set out; they should arrive by tomorrow afternoon."
"Those goddamn bastards—I'll smash them to pieces this time!"
As Ung-sam flared up with vengeful fury, Buru frowned and shot out a sharp retort.
"General Gye, you're not needed here, so cut the jokes and plant your ass back down."
"Huh?"
When Ung-sam looked at him with an expression that asked what he meant, Buru shook his head and explained further.
"Can't you understand plain words? You're not needed here!"
"But why......"
When Ung-sam's eyes asked why they were leaving him out, Risel, standing to one side, laughed and explained on his behalf.
"General Gye, after you return to the capital, you are to immediately join the Roselin Expeditionary Force."
"......."
Ung-sam quietly shut his mouth.
He sensed that his path of suffering was far from over at the prospect of yet another distant campaign.
The next morning, Go Jin-cheon, arriving sooner than scheduled, entered Gaemun Mountain Fortress at the head of six thousand cavalry, foremost among them the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry. At the very front, Go Jin-cheon and the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry advanced slowly, followed by the newly formed Armored Cavalry in a long tail. Bringing up the rear were the light-armored Archer Cavalry, following them in.
"We pay our respects to Your Majesty, Supreme One of All Heavens!"
At Eulji Buru's lead cry, the soldiers of Gaemun Mountain Fortress who had formed ranks took it up in chorus and rendered military honors toward Jin-cheon.
"You have done well."
Dismounting from Gangsoe, who despite his age still possessed fiercely gleaming eyes, Jin-cheon commended Hailon, who stood to one side. Then, giving Eulji Buru and Gye Ung-sam a firm clap on each of their shoulders, Jin-cheon slowly walked inside.
Filling the inner chamber, Go Jin-cheon and his armed retainers were sharing a simple meal and conversing.
"From now on, Hailon is to take charge of defending Gaemun Mountain Fortress."
"I am moved to tears of gratitude before Your Majesty, Supreme One of All Heavens, and even should my body be broken to pieces, I shall guard this place like an iron fortress!"
If there was one person who had gained the most confidence from this battle, it was Hailon. The sustained defensive battle over several days had proven that he had no difficulty whatsoever in holding this place.
The sole regret was the fact that all the pure-blooded Gauri commanders who had assisted him, starting with Geom Mudal, would be pulled out of here. But it was unavoidable.
Since Gauri, suffering from a shortage of talent, still had no other local-born commanders besides Hailon and Gowin, this outcome was inevitable. In their stead, seasoned veterans from the Northern Mercenaries filled the positions.
Whereas most of the Gauri soldiers who had first crossed over to this place had now all risen to the rank of general and held command over troops, there were exceptions. Those were the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry and the swordsmen under Gye Ung-sam.
In the case of the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry, the nature of cavalry made them very difficult to raise through short training, and moreover, their power, which came from riding and charging in a single breath, would inevitably be diluted and rendered useless if split up. Besides, weren't the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry the very symbol of the unit Jin-cheon had led?
That was why even within Gauri, the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry were practically idols among all soldiers and the populace. And they themselves took pride in being the strongest.
For a slightly different reason, the swordsmen led by Gye Ung-sam likewise had no cause to be divided. Gye Ung-sam and his swordsmen were the supreme masters of land warfare. It was already widely known that from large-scale chaotic melees to raids, assassination of key figures, and spearheading the recovery of collapsed battle lines, their martial prowess was unparalleled.
Having forged themselves through harsh trials, continuing these special mission types was far more useful than leading large units. This was in the same vein as Ung-sam holding a rank just below the Eulji Brothers while still rolling around on the very front lines.
It was a path they had chosen for themselves.
Additionally, among the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry and the swordsmen, those who became crippled or grew too old to fight any longer were naturally transitioning into the role of instructors to raise successors.
And with that, the people of Gauri who had come with Jin-cheon were satisfied.
Since Gauri was still in a time when it needed strength, it operated through an absolute minimum of civil officials and autonomous villages created by the commoners themselves. Not a single one among them was the sort to prioritize their own comfort.
It was also a result possible only because they knew what it was like at the very bottom.
No, before that, hadn't every soldier of Gauri who had crossed over to this place acquired new land, a family, and an immense rise in status?
After discussing future plans with his commanders in a relaxed manner, Go Jin-cheon rose from his seat.
"We will resume our march come the afternoon."
"Shouldn't you rest a little longer?"
Eulji Buru cautiously inquired, but Jin-cheon shook his head firmly.
"Rest comes after the war is over."
When it came to his posture toward war, Jin-cheon was stubborn.
The soldiers guarding Gaemun Mountain Fortress had gathered in small clusters, watching the horses as they ate their hay and chatting among themselves.
"So those are the ones they call Pumas, eh?"
"Huh, would ya look at that. Amazing, right?"
Seeing them up close for the first time, some of the soldiers drew a little nearer to gawk. Among the steeds, who showed no hint of strain despite being clad from head to hoof in heavy Chalgap armor, there was one horse that caught the eye...
"That one's Gangsoe, they say?"
"Whoa, even among the horses, he's a king."
Unlike the Pumas with their stout bodies and a single horn on each forehead, the three steel horns attached to Gangsoe's headgear inspired a sense of intimidation in all who saw him. In truth, even among the Pumas, which were far more ferocious than ordinary horses, he swaggered around as if he owned the place.
Though Gangsoe was already eighteen—past the equivalent of sixty for a warhorse—there was still no horse or Puma that could overpower him. Most of the Gauri warhorses that had once carried the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry had long since retired from battle to live as studs and increase their numbers. By comparison, Gangsoe was a freak among freaks.
"Mount up!"
"Aye!"
As Mong Ryu-hwa's mighty shout, issuing first from the inner chamber, resounded, cavalrymen who had been resting here and there began swiftly mounting their horses. And through their midst, Gangsoe, whose master had yet to arrive, strode out at a leisurely gait.
"Hee-he-heeng!"
Spotting his master emerging slowly from the inner fortress, Gangsoe cried out joyfully. Jin-cheon's pace, matching his approach toward Gangsoe as he heard the whinny, was so unhurried that it made one think the master and horse were the spitting image of each other.
"Did you wait long?"
With a slight smile, Jin-cheon stroked the bridge of Gangsoe's nose a couple of times as the horse came up to him, then vaulted onto its back.
"We move out."
When Jin-cheon issued the command in a low voice, Eulji Buru nodded to Mong Ryu-hwa. Ryu-hwa's powerful voice rang out.
"Open the gates!"
"Ooo-pen the gates! (開門)!"
At that shout, with the gates opening simultaneously, Jin-cheon and the six thousand cavalry began to file out slowly.
Once the entire cavalry unit had exited the gates, twenty-odd archer cavalrymen raced to the front.
"To the fore of the vanguard!"
These were mounted troops assigned the role of forward scouts to survey the road ahead. The column of six thousand cavalry gradually picked up speed, beginning to churn up clouds of dust. As he rode alongside Gangsoe, a low murmur slipped from Jin-cheon's lips.
"Not a single one of them will be sent back."
The cavalry column of six thousand began to surge forward like a beast of prey stalking its quarry.
Chapter 61: Gauri's Counterattack
After racing through an entire night away from the fortress, Go Jin-cheon's cavalry unit had already closed in on the rear of the retreating Roselin army. They now gradually reduced their speed, maintaining only a constant distance as they shadowed them from behind.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
While Jin-cheon's unit took a brief rest, a dozen-odd cavalry came riding from the front. Compared to the noise of their running, the hoofbeats echoed very little; it was clear they had wrapped cloth around the horses' hooves to muffle the sound.
"Whoa, whoa."
As the cavalry halted, they approached Mong Ryu-hwa and began reporting. After Ryu-hwa's head nodded several times and the cavalry moved into the shade to rest, Ryu-hwa came over and began his report to Jin-cheon, who was examining a map alongside Eulji Buru.
"It seems the enemy's provisions have run out, as expected. The bark has been stripped off the trees along their path, and packs secretly discarded by their soldiers have been left on the roadside, they say."
"Hm."
"No stragglers in sight yet?"
In place of Jin-cheon, who was lost in thought at Ryu-hwa's report, Buru posed the question. It stood to reason that a force with exhausted provisions would move all the faster to escape. And when that happens, stragglers are inevitably created. Even in a fully supplied unit, stragglers appear during a forced march. How much more so for a unit that is stripping and eating tree bark as it moves?
Ryu-hwa appended his answer to Buru's question.
"Quite a number of stragglers have appeared. They couldn't know the exact count, but from what the scouts saw while moving, it looked to be at least two or three hundred. However, that's only deduced from the traces; it's not an exact number."
At Ryu-hwa's answer, which was closer to an estimation, Buru's eyes widened and he asked again as if to confirm.
"That so?"
"The monsters likely dragged away the bodies."
"Right, that figures."
At Ryu-hwa's reply, Buru nodded and fell into thought. There wasn't a monster alive that would just pass by dead prey. With food lying around, eliminating the need even to hunt, would they simply leave it be?
It was all but certain there were monster packs shadowing the Roselin unit as well, solely targeting the stragglers.
"We move out again."
"Understood."
As Jin-cheon, who had been silently listening to the exchange, rose to his feet and gave the order, Buru rose as well and answered. A short while later, after sufficient rest, the six thousand cavalry continued their advance at a trot.