Chapter 213
Chapter 213
Iron Emperor — Chapter 213
"Hm?"
Go Jin-cheon felt a sudden itch in his ear, so he took off his helmet and dug around inside.
"Hnnngh."
The itch must have lingered, because he frowned slightly, then shifted his gaze sideways. His gaze landed on Gye Ung-sam.
"It's you."
"Sir?"
Ung-sam felt a vague unease at the question that had come out of nowhere.
The march of the great army—over seventy thousand strong—toward Conselucian, the capital of North Roselin, had been smooth. Perhaps that was why.
He could feel the troops' discipline visibly fraying.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to grab me an unlucky bastard and make an example of him."
As Eulji Buru muttered with a frown, Eulji Uru, following behind, cackled and took up the thread.
"Good! Running more than seventy thousand bastards ragged at once—now that would be a sight!"
"Don't joke around. You see it plain as I do."
When Buru snapped at him with a grim expression, Uru coughed dryly and wiped the grin off his face.
And sure enough.
Discipline, loosened by victory after victory day after day, was beginning to show on the surface. One soldier walked in a dangerous posture with a spear shaft slung across both shoulders; others flung jeers toward the prisoners marching off to one side.
"Apparently some fellow forced himself on a prisoner yesterday."
Gye Ung-sam had drawn near at some point and spoke with a smirk.
"There were women among the prisoners?"
When Buru's eyes went wide and he asked back, Ung-sam's face went stiff and he answered.
"No."
"Then...."
Uru, beside him, took over the question for Buru, whose jaw had dropped.
"A man?"
Instead of answering Uru's question, Ung-sam gave a deep nod and snorted a laugh, adding one remark.
"This morning, one of the prisoners couldn't even stand—he was sprawled out there crying."
"......."
Buru and Uru burned with resolve: discipline had to be reimposed without fail.
A slack army was bound to grow careless even with its sentries.
A great shout and screams began to ring out from the column's left flank.
BOOM!
"Magic! Take cover!"
"Enemy!"
Buru's head snapped around and he roared, cursing.
"You sons of bitches! I should've known something like this would happen!"
A volley of arrows streaking toward the left flank came into view.
The officers stared grimly at the more than two hundred corpses laid out side by side. Bitter resentment was etched into every dead face, giving a glimpse of what they had felt in their final moments.
"Make them kneel."
At Eulji Buru's command, soldiers forced three knights to their knees. One was from a South Roselin legion; two were from the Hawk Corps.
"Offer your excuses."
At Buru's words, the knights let their heads fall.
The knights who had been responsible for the left-flank watch could only stare at the ground, offering no excuse before Buru's menacing voice.
"Marquis Baikal, I'll leave those bastards to you."
"Understood."
Because their affiliations differed, the knight from South Roselin had to be handed over to Marquis Baikal. Beside Buru, Daesaja Gowin stood with a troubled expression.
"Look here. You see these sons of bitches?"
"Leave their punishment to me."
"Do as you see fit."
Without another word, Buru stepped back at Gowin's reply. Gowin moved forward and put a question to one of the knights.
"How many lives do you have?"
"One."
The knight answered Gowin's question weakly. In that instant, Gowin's sword flashed out and sliced through the knight's throat.
Thud. Roll.
"Heok!"
Startled soldiers sucked in a breath.
"So your life really was just one."
Gowin's voice was flat as he looked at the severed head lying on the ground.
A knight was essentially a minor noble.
Even in Gauri, distinctions of rank existed plainly. Marquis Baikal, who had been leading away the South Roselin knight, stood watching with startled eyes.
Fwit.
With a single flick, Gowin shook the blood from his sword and turned to the remaining knight with another question.
"How many lives do you have?"
The same question was put to him.
Was it because he had already seen his comrade die?
The knight answered weakly, his expression calm.
"Seventy-three thousand."
"......."
At the knight's answer, Gowin turned his eyes for a moment to the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Still looking at them, he asked again.
"Out of seventy-three thousand lives, two hundred have been lost. Do you have anything to say?"
"Add my life to those two hundred."
The knight's voice came out drained.
Gowin's sword sliced the air once more.
Shrrrnk.
He heard the cold blade slide back into its sheath. Gowin spoke in a level voice.
"Losing a battle cannot be helped. But I cannot forgive lives being thrown away because the watch was neglected, as happened here. Every officer responsible for a watch must remember this: the moment you stand guard, the lives of the entire unit are in your hands...."
Gowin turned his back and added one more remark.
"As of this hour, you are reduced to the rank of common soldier."
Behind Gowin's back, only the knight remained, hair shorn, sobbing.
'So there is a reason they are a strong army....'
Marquis Baikal looked at the knight trembling behind him and sighed.
Gowin approached Eulji Buru and bowed his head.
"My apologies."
"That's enough."
Buru watched the soldiers hauling away the beheaded knight's body to one side and spoke.
"Gowin, you and I are the ones who should be killed. If we'd pressed those bastards harder from the start, something like this wouldn't have happened...."
"......."
Gowin could say nothing to Buru's grumbling.
"We have to do better."
Buru walked away with a sigh in his voice. Gowin looked at the knight's corpse that he had cut down with his own hand, and wept in his heart.
Chapter 66 — Abandoned North Roselin
Viscount Roun was laughing brightly as he praised Baron Iban, who sat nearby.
"Today's ambush was superb."
"You flatter me."
"No. It was only two or three hundred, but because of today's attack, the enemy army will be forced to advance more cautiously. And on top of that, didn't our own casualties amount to fewer than ten?"
It had been a small-scale surprise attack, but killing over two hundred men while suffering fewer than ten casualties was no minor achievement. And when you factored in the boost to the troops' morale, it was a major success indeed.
"Given how things have turned out, preparing a night raid seems advisable."
"Won't the enemy be on high alert?"
When Viscount Roun cautiously asked back in response to the new opinion, Baron Iban calmly offered his own view.
"Naturally, they will be on alert. But night is ideal for a large-scale raid, and right now—while they still harbor some fear from today's successful ambush—is, I think, not a bad moment. Besides, because of what just happened, they're likely being questioned hard about their lax security and will be moving to reorganize. We strike while they're in the middle of that."
"That makes sense."
At Baron Iban's words, Viscount Roun seemed to ponder briefly, then nodded deeply.
"Good. Have the troops prepare."
"Understood."
Viscount Roun issued the order to his chief knight, Kal, who saluted and dashed out.
The dark of night.
A considerable force was moving slowly forward.
A man with a blackened face pushed aside some brush, approached stealthily, and spoke.
"The enemy is encamped roughly eight hundred mir ahead."
"Rather late."
Hearing that they were only now making camp—well past midnight—Viscount Roun allowed a faint smile.
"It looks as though the midday ambush forced them to march hard in order to get clear of this area quickly."
"It appears so."
Baron Iban seconded Viscount Roun's assessment. Viscount Roun put another question to the soldier who had returned from reconnaissance.
"What about the place I told you to locate?"
"The enemy's horses are positioned toward the head of the column. If you follow this path, they lie almost straight ahead."
"Good. We'll strike just as they begin their meal."
"Understood."
The knights who had followed Viscount Roun nodded.
For knights, horses were essential, and after provisions they were the next most valuable target.
As time passed and the smell of food began to waft out, the raiding force, with Viscount Roun at its head, started to creep closer. Once the attack was over, they could retreat by mounting the enemy's own horses.
After moving for some time, a herd of several thousand horses came into view ahead.
"Incredible."
"But quite a few of the horses look strange."
"Hm?"
Viscount Roun, who had been peering at the dimly visible herd, gave a shake of his head.
"It seems to be the ornamentation of Gauri warhorses. Don't let it trouble you."
Having spotted what looked like horns on the horses' heads, Viscount Roun patted the shoulder of the perplexed Baron Iban and stepped carefully forward.
There were far more slaves tending the horses than he had expected.
"We strike all at once."
At Viscount Roun's low voice, the knights nodded as one. Once they signaled they were ready, Viscount Roun swept swiftly out of the forest and drew his sword.
"Charge!"
As Viscount Roun dashed forward shouting the order, his first target came into view.
'Huh?'
The moment he wondered why the figure made no attempt to flee or dodge despite seeing him, he watched the black silhouette slowly pull on a helmet fitted with three horns. There were horns on both shoulders as well.
It was unmistakably the figure Viscount Roun remembered.