Chapter 200
Chapter 200
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 200
Mong Ryu-hwa's cry that those who surrendered would be spared was a sweet temptation to the Roselin soldiers, who were already laying down their weapons even without anyone forcing them.
A considerable number had already discarded their arms, and with not even any nobles left to hold them back, there were no longer any soldiers watching their step. The moment their lives were guaranteed, nearly every man threw down his weapon and stood on trembling legs, forcing a smile.
"How can this be...."
A knight who had tumbled from his horse during the melee only now took in his surroundings and muttered in hollow dismay. Those still fighting numbered hardly a few dozen knights and nobles.
Even they were falling from their horses one by one, or toppling together with their mounts. Beyond them, the scene had grown quiet, as if all combat had already ended.
Feeling a Gauri blade touch his throat, the knight raised his head with difficulty and flung a question, his face twisted with fury.
"How can you treat nobles and knights this way!"
The knight's question meant: why had they urged common soldiers to surrender and accepted it, yet offered no such terms to men like him? But the Gauri cavalryman holding the sword merely asked back, as though he could not understand.
"If you won't lay down your weapon and you still argue with us, what exactly do you expect!"
At the Gauri cavalryman's words, his face twisting into a scowl, the knight lost any further reply and let his head drop.
To Go Jin-cheon and the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry, composed entirely of pure Gauri men, simply holding a weapon was itself an expression of resistance, and they believed it was a warrior's duty to fight with everything they had against any enemy who showed the will to resist.
On the continent, by contrast, when a battle tilted this far, one would courteously inquire whether the opponent wished to cease fighting. Then, as if reluctantly lowering their swords, both sides would stop — that was the etiquette of nobles, a matter of course.
Most of the Gauri cavalry, largely men of continental origin, were nearly all commoners — indeed, many were slash-and-burn farmers and even northern mercenaries. The northern-born men who had fought as mercenaries were certainly aware of these customs, but because the mid-level officers overseeing them were all pure Gauri men, they had followed orders in silence.
When at last every noble had been taken captive and every knight unhorsed, the battle came to a complete end.
The engagement had cost the Gauri side only forty-five dead and ninety-seven wounded, while inflicting twelve thousand dead and eight thousand wounded upon the Roselin soldiers.
The reason the Roselin wounded were fewer than their dead in this battle was that the Roselin soldiers' bodies had become so extremely weakened that even minor impacts and wounds proved fatal.
Across the Great Roselin campaign, the total damage sustained by the Gauri army — combining the Battle of Gaemunsanseong Fortress and this battle — amounted to one thousand four hundred eighty-two killed and two thousand four hundred twenty-seven wounded.
Of the Roselin great army of seventy thousand, by contrast, those who survived and were taken prisoner numbered thirty-eight thousand, roughly seventeen thousand of whom were wounded. The remaining thirty-two thousand troops were listed as dead or missing.
Days later, when a supply unit reached the site of the battle, they could do nothing but turn their column around at the sight of the countless corpses and pools of blood.
* * *
After passing through a long, long forest, then crossing the dry grasslands — Holy Empire territory, yet nearly a wasteland — a verdant land spread out before them.
"At last...."
King Alsein straightened his chest on horseback and drew a deep breath; his expression was filled with an emotion words could not capture.
"I have returned to this land. To think I would come back again...."
He had always resolved in his heart to return, but now that he had actually arrived at the head of an army, the emotion he felt could not help but be extraordinary. Marquis Baikal, who had drawn up beside King Alsein as he lingered in sentiment, was likewise gazing out across the broad earth with eyes heavy with long-held bitterness.
"My heart pounds as well."
A calm sentiment escaped Marquis Baikal's lips.
The fifteen thousand South Roselin soldiers arrayed behind them were also wetting their eyes — men who had been driven to Gauri, leaving behind the corpses of their comrades, leaving behind their families.
They had returned to reclaim the land they had lost.
"The time has come for you to release, to your heart's content, the feelings you have buried all this while."
Gowin spoke quietly from behind King Alsein and Marquis Baikal. Behind him, the banner of the Hawk Corps fluttered, and ten thousand elite troops — half the Hawk Corps — stood with eyes keen as well-honed blades.
"Our objective is not the restoration of South Roselin."
A single sentence, severing King Alsein's reverie with finality, rang out.
"Sir Ung-sam."
King Alsein turned to look behind him and called Gye Ung-sam's name in a low voice. Ung-sam, who sat astride his horse with his arms crossed and an arrogant glint in his eyes as he surveyed the wide land, continued speaking.
"It is the restoration of all Roselin. Furthermore, you must understand that the end of those who raised a blade against the Great Gauri is the purpose of this war."
A faint smile, too, hung at the corner of Ung-sam's mouth as he emphasized each word with slow, deliberate clarity. Behind him, fifteen thousand troops stood arrayed.
A great army of forty thousand in total was crossing into Roselin on the very day that the seventy thousand troops who had invaded Gauri were completely annihilated.
A soldier rushed breathlessly into the command tent of the Gauri-South Roselin allied army, which had formed its camp in the border region.
"A great victory!"
"As expected!"
"What are the details...."
At the soldier's report, Gye Ung-sam and his party nodded and smiled as if it were only natural. King Alsein and Marquis Baikal, on the other hand, were desperate to know the detailed results upon hearing that a great victory had been won in the war.
Moment by moment, as they listened to the delighted soldier report the details, the expressions on the faces of King Alsein and Marquis Baikal spread from surprise into outright shock.
"How can that be...."
While King Alsein sat with his mouth agape, unable to speak for a long moment, Marquis Baikal barely steadied his heart and opened his mouth with a voice that sounded as if he could not believe it.
"How can you shatter a great army of seventy thousand while suffering not even five thousand casualties...."
His eyes plainly said he could not believe it at all.
"Damn, at least all that brutal suffering was worth it. That's a relief."
Unlike the two of them, when Ung-sam grumbled, Samdopyo, seated on the left, let out his distinctive laugh and joined the conversation.
"Heh-heh-heh, in any case, one weight is off our shoulders."
No sooner had Dupyo finished speaking than Buyeo Gi-yul, seated on Ung-sam's right, picked up the thread.
"You said it. What's more, that friend Hailon distinguished himself greatly this time. Ha! It feels like just the other day he was under me."
Giyul chuckled to himself as he recalled Hailon's former manner. To King Alsein and Marquis Baikal, watching them trade jokes even while hearing the results of such a great victory only looked all the more peculiar. But not knowing that in the old days, even when they had fought the Tang, they had routed enemy forces many times their own number on countless occasions, they could not hope to understand Ung-sam and his party.
"First of all, with the matters in the home country settled, the second relief force will arrive before long."
When Ung-sam spoke up, cutting through the mild commotion, confidence settled over King Alsein's face. North Roselin's military strength was already little more than an empty shell. The military power consumed during the unification war alone had been staggering, and with this expedition's catastrophic failure, there was no way any proper army remained. On top of that, the situation of having scattered large numbers of troops across the country to maintain control over the South Roselin region made things even worse.
"Then from tomorrow we must advance without rest. Order all soldiers to take an early repose."
When King Alsein gave the command, Marquis Baikal and the Gauri commanders rendered a military salute in reply.
Night passed, and morning dawned.
A sentry who had spotted a crowd in mismatched attire approaching from one direction ran to report it, and word was relayed to the command tent.
King Alsein and the command staff emerged from the tent to confirm their identity, standing on a hill and watching in silence. At a glance, the crowd — numbering roughly ten thousand — might have looked shabby in dress, but their arms were systematically equipped and far from negligible. A handful of riders detached from the crowd and came galloping forward, raising a banner.
"Baron Bels!"
It was Baron Bels, who had departed Gauri years ago to organize the South Roselin Volunteer Army. The banner he now unfurled as he rode was the symbol of the South Roselin Resistance Army that Prince Alsein had given him at the time.
Baron Bels's face, when he arrived, was so overgrown with beard that he looked almost like a bandit. With Baron Bels's ten thousand volunteers completing their junction on the eve of the advance, a great army of fifty thousand was formed.
Baron Bels's addition was an enormous boon to them.
The troops themselves were valuable, but far more important was the current disposition and movements of the North Roselin army.
"As it happens, the North Roselin forces scattered across the regions have already had so many men requisitioned for this war against Gauri that they can barely maintain public order. On top of that, having concentrated obsessively on securing war funds, banners of rebellion are being raised all across South Roselin, and even the common people of North Roselin are growing resentful of the state."
Baron Bels, who had laid out a lengthy explanation, smacked his lips as if his mouth had gone dry, then finished with a smile.
"In a word, this is the greatest opportunity."
In that instant, a light kindled in everyone's eyes.
* * *
The scars of the recent war, not yet fully restored, were visible everywhere. Collapsed stone walls and battlements already seemed barely capable of performing their function. At least the timber structures built inside made the discomfort of stationing troops somewhat bearable.
"What, enemy troops of unknown identity?"
"Yes, my lord Baron."
Baron Aslan, charged with the border region facing the Holy Empire near the Reganza Mountains, had to furrow his brow at the unexpected report.
"Damn it. So it's finally broken out."
With South Roselin elements already seething all across the country, Baron Aslan's judgment seemed reasonable enough. But the complexion of the knight delivering the report did not look particularly good.
"Ah, my lord Baron. Those troops, it seemed to me, were not a mere mob. Judging by their systematically equipped weaponry, they appear to be an organized rebel force. What is more, the report says their numbers reach ten thousand."
"What? Ten thousand!"
Baron Aslan sprang to his feet in alarm, then settled his backside back into his seat. Wiping his faintly sweating brow, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Mobilize the entire army at once."
As clamorous bells rang out and the encampment grew noisy, soldiers rushed out and began forming up.
Gazing at the troops that had assembled in formation before long, Baron Aslan gave a satisfied smile and issued his command.
"Advance the entire army! Our objective is the South Roselin rebel horde!"
At Baron Aslan's booming cry, the soldiers let out a cheer and began to march.
Bwoooooo!
The long, drawn-out blare of the horn reached even the Gauri-South Roselin allied army, which had concealed its camp behind the hill. A soldier who had been keeping watch atop the hill ran down to report the appearance of the North Roselin garrison force.
Gye Ung-sam, Samdopyo, and Buyeo Gi-yul, who had climbed the hill upon hearing the news, wore expressions of sheer disbelief for a moment.
"Huh."
A deflating breath escaped Ung-sam's lips.
"Well now."
A laugh of incredulity slipped from Giyul's mouth, while Dupyo relaxed every muscle in his body and muttered.
"What nerve. Hmph."
Below their gaze, the North Roselin force of fifteen thousand could be seen slowly advancing directly toward the ten-thousand-strong resistance army of Baron Bels, which had taken up position just at the foot of the hill, putting on a heavy show of force.
"Surely those bastards aren't attacking after seeing only the resistance army in front of this hill?"
When Giyul tilted his head and asked, Ung-sam answered with a grave expression.
"Judging by the look of it, you might be right."
"... ...."
Dupyo and Giyul fell into a moment of silence.
Just as Ung-sam had guessed, the complacent North Roselin garrison had marched out after seeing only the resistance army below the hill. Ung-sam grinned a bizarre grin and draped his arms around the shoulders of Dupyo on his left and Giyul on his right.
"Kuh-huh-huh, the first offering comes to us. Well then — left Dupyo, right Giyul, are you ready?"
As Ung-sam looked from one side to the other, the two men wore identical smiles and matched their words in a chilling tone.
"Of course. We sweep them all away."
Even amid their exchange, North Roselin's great army(?) of fifteen thousand was bravely striding toward a force of fifty thousand.