Chapter 278
Chapter 278
Iron Emperor — Chapter 278
As Jin-cheon spoke, everyone at the council went pale. Did those words not mean the destruction of every home?
[Not a single grain of wheat, not one blade of grass, is to remain upon the soil. Nothing that any living thing, man or beast, can eat or rest upon must be left behind. This is the Scorched Earth Strategy.]
"And how are the people who are to return after the war meant to go on living!"
[I say this in order to end that war quickly.]
His words died in his throat.
Jin-cheon's voice carried an irrefutable weight.
[If we do not win, there is no future to begin with. Once the war is over, Marlon, Haian, and Gauri will aid in the reconstruction. Trust in that.]
"Haaah..."
A sigh slipped from Duke Baikal's lips. Were these not arguments he could not challenge?
[Remember why we have fought until now. Consider us, who rose up with swords drawn in Roselin's war. I will say it again—this war is not Roselin's war alone.]
Duke Baikal slowly bowed his head toward Jin-cheon within the crystal orb.
"I shall immediately obtain His Majesty King Alsein's approval and carry this out."
Jin-cheon's quiet, resolute voice reached him as he bowed his head.
[Even if it means starving to death later, a war against invasion must be won.]
It was a voice at once grim with resolve and thick with venom.
[That is our way of struggle.]
Gauri's way of struggle, heard through the lips of Go Jin-cheon.
The commanders listening to those final words all felt gooseflesh rippling over their bodies. To them, Jin-cheon's words came across like this:
'Even if we die, even if we live like beggars, we will not become the slaves of the victor.'
Their very posture toward war was different from the start.
* * *
Duke Baikal murmured as he stared blankly at the flames.
"We have to win..."
As if swallowing the sun setting beyond the mountain, the blaze burned on and on.
Chapter 91 — The War of Those Who Left and Those Who Remain
Young children and women alike sat gathered together, each one keeping their hands busily at work. Off to one side, elderly men and women circulated, directing the children and wives at various tasks.
In their hands, each of them held small knives that radiated a blue light; in their other hands they held branches that would become arrow shafts or lengths of wood meant to serve as spear hafts.
"Your Majesty, please go back inside."
Dae Mu-deok spoke to Eulji as she diligently moved among them, his eyes full of worry.
But Eulji paid no mind to Mu-deok's concern and continued to go around encouraging the people.
She was no longer a girl.
As queen consort of a nation, and with Go Jin-cheon absent, she was also the Yeolje's deputy. That was why Eulji spent every day out in the workshops where matériel bound for the battlefield was produced, passing the hours alongside the common people.
"What we make here will become a great source of strength for the Gauri soldiers who go out to fight on the battlefield."
The sight of Eulji calmly reassuring the people filled Mu-deok with pride.
* * *
When evening came, the bustling workshop fell into stillness before they knew it. Eulji lifted her head and fixed her gaze toward the land of Roselin, where Go Jin-cheon would be.
"Tch."
She pouted and grumbled.
"It is time for you to go in."
"Alright."
Her tongue flicked out and back in at no one in particular. Then she turned her body in the direction of the voice calling her.
With every step, it seemed she could hear Jin-cheon's voice.
'If I am not here, you must protect it.'
Eulji's light steps slowed a little.
It was the charge Jin-cheon had given Eulji before he departed. She had been raised among warriors since childhood. That was why she had grown up strong.
'The place given to you is such a place.'
To her, who was only now just dimly beginning to understand love, Jin-cheon's departure came as a form of cruelty. Yet she could not say a single word. No—she did not say one.
'If my task is to go out and fight, then your task is to remain behind and guard.'
She had resolved that she would do just that.
Once inside her chambers, Eulji sent all the ladies-in-waiting out, then sank down into one corner, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and huddled up.
'When this war is over, let us enjoy ourselves together. That is the one promise I can make to you.'
At the time, she had wanted to tell him that she was no longer a child, but she had simply nodded. Surely, proposing to play with her was the greatest expression of affection he could offer.
"Chee."
A childish, petulant sound escaped her lips. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
* * *
Yunias stepped into Eulji's chamber, saw her huddled in the corner, and withdrew. It was because she had glimpsed those shoulders that had seemed so strong trembling faintly.
Back in her own room, Yunias opened the window and gazed up at the darkness spreading across the sky.
"Hoo."
A small sigh escaped.
She had come to Eulji hoping for some small comfort for her lonely, hollow heart, and suddenly she felt rather pathetic.
Seeing Eulji endure such sorrow without showing it while fighting another battle of her own, Yunias found her remarkable.
Anyone can show their grief.
Anyone can hide their grief.
Hiding your grief and doing what you must do... that is a hard-fought battle.
Eulji, fighting that hard battle, looked extraordinary in her eyes. The thought came to her that not just anyone can become the mother of a nation.
"I'm sorry, Eulji..."
Unlike Eulji, Yunias's large eyes grew moist at once, and soon dewdrops gathered and rolled down her cheeks. And they did not stop, but kept on falling.
'Help Eulji.'
The voice had sounded blunt, yet warm.
'She has followed you closely since she was young, so you will be able to fill the empty space in my absence.'
When Jin-cheon had said such words, she had answered with a smile.
'Your Majesty is a strong person.'
Jin-cheon gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and drew her against his chest. His low voice sounded above her.
'There is no person in this world without weakness. For the strong, there exists a weakness commensurate with that strength.'
Words that had sounded like a dream—she understood them now.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
A boisterous sound of running steps came from outside. There was only one person who ran like that inside the Yeolje Palace.
Eulji.
Yunias hurriedly wiped her tears and shut the window. At the same moment, the door flew open with a bang.
"Let's eat dinner!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You've been crying again? By the time His Majesty returns, your eyes are going to be all puffed up like a frog's."
"Heh."
At Eulji's brazen nonchalance, Yunias burst into a laugh. Then Eulji suddenly made an odd face.
"Eh? When His Majesty returns, laughing like that—no, if you laugh, umm..."
"Let us go eat."
A bright smile on her face, Yunias pulled on the arm of Eulji, who had been about to tease her with a strange expression. And she thought:
'I won't cry anymore.'
The next day, Dae Mu-deok saw Yunias standing at Eulji's side wearing a smile.
* * *
The shape of the enormous axe reflected in the child's eyes was close to awe. The blued edge of its blade felt not menacing but reassuring.
That was the feeling the great axe gave the child who was looking at it.
"Suho, bring me my axe."
"Yes, sir!"
As the large voice rang through the house, the child's eyes sparkled and he lifted the great axe. Though he was clearly still young, he showed no sign at all of struggling.
Once he had slung the great axe onto his back and stepped outside, into the yard, there stood his father—imposing as ever, no matter how many times he looked.
"Father, here it is!"
"Good."
The father reflected in the child's eyes was a great man.
Though he could not see him often because he was constantly moving across battlefields, all the people of Gauri praised the child's father. The Dwarves, and the children of Dwarves alike, all looked upon him with eyes of awe.
Eulji Buru.
The child's hero, and the child's one and only father.
"Here."
"What's this?"
When Sara held out a bundle wrapped in a cloth, Buru brought his nose close to it and played dumb.
He smelled the food wafting out but pretended not to notice. Sara's face, however, was full of worry. He was heading to war, not on a picnic.
"I packed a few things to eat."
"Is that so? That's just fine. I'll have to tease my adjutants with it!"
Sara forced a smile at the sight of Buru bursting into hearty laughter. Beside them, the children stood with their eyes shining. Buru's gaze shifted to Eulji Suho, who was holding the great axe.
"Suho, if I'm not here?"
"I'm the man of the house!"
The child declared it boldly, with pride.
His thick limbs were exactly like Buru's own. Beside him, the second child, who was looking at his older brother and his father, edged forward as if asking to be included too.
"Hyul, do as your brother says. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. Now let me hold our littlest one a moment."
At Buru's playful words, Sara's face brightened, if only a little. The third child, not yet born, was making her belly round.
Buru cupped Sara's belly in an embrace and lifted her right up.
"Kuh-hahaha! Looks like I'll be seeing our third one around the time I get back from the war!"
As Buru's booming voice resounded, the children, not fully understanding, burst into laughter and cheered along—whether it was their father's laughter that delighted them, or the fact that a younger sibling was on the way.
"General!"
"Aye, hold on!"
When his adjutant's voice sounded from outside, Buru called back loudly.
In contrast, Sara's face, which had found a brief smile, darkened once more. She was closer to an ordinary woman, a man's wife, than to a general's lady.
Buru took the great axe back from his eldest son Suho and wrapped an arm around Sara's shoulder.
"I'll be back quick, so don't you fret over me."
"You don't worry about us!"
The answer came from the eldest son, Suho. At this, Buru and Sara both smiled with pride.
"Let's move out!"
At Buru's command, the adjutants who had been waiting in front of the house bowed their heads as one. And without a single backward glance, he spurred his horse and headed for the battlefield.
"Hoo."
Sara sighed, as she always did whenever Buru left. Still, this time she felt at least a little relieved: he was not heading to the very front line.