Chapter 279
Chapter 279
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 279
His assigned task was to command forces in the Haian Kingdom, preparing for any rear-area infiltration by the Holy Empire.
Of course, Buru had initially thrown a fit about it—but where else were they going to find another commander with his level of experience and skill?
"Father, you must win!"
"You must wiiin!"
At Eulji Suho's shout, the second child, Hyul, chimed in right behind him.
The children's hero, the most dependable man in the world, hoisted the great axe that symbolized him high overhead. The children, thrilled for reasons known only to themselves, kept bouncing around until Buru disappeared from sight.
* * *
"General Eulji Buru has departed from the homeland leading the follow-up forces."
As the wizard handling communications announced this, Go Jin-cheon, who was in the middle of a meeting, nodded.
"It's running a bit late, but there was no helping it. The supplies weren't fully prepared yet either. In any case, there should be no issues with the supply unit's operations under the Uljeol's oversight."
At Jin-cheon's words, his subordinate commanders nodded along steadily.
Only Risel's expression, seated off to one side, had clouded and gone murky. His one small comfort was that the destination was the Haian Kingdom, not the homeland.
A shorter transit would have been ideal, but all logistical lines were converging on Haian, and defensively, they couldn't afford the risk of splitting their already insufficient forces.
As the commanders nodded at Jin-cheon's words and began checking minor details, Yeon Hwi-garam stepped forward and slowly began to speak.
"What we must never overlook in this war is that the enemy has reserves, and we do not. While every loss of our troops is a heavy blow in itself, we must keep firmly in mind that the Holy Empire could field three or four more armies of this scale."
"Indeed."
Jin-cheon's head dipped in unconscious agreement with Hwi-garam's explanation.
Even if Hwi-garam hadn't brought it up, every Gauri warrior already understood that point deeply. In a way, the fact that they had glimpsed the shadow of Su and Tang in the Holy Empire had a great deal to do with it.
"With that firmly in mind, we should reexamine our strategy and bring it up again at the next operational planning session."
Hwi-garam turned his head toward Jin-cheon, speaking as if to seek permission. Naturally, Jin-cheon nodded in return.
"Then you are all dismissed for now."
At Jin-cheon's words, the commanders offered a crisp salute in unison and headed out briskly. Their manner was more guarded than ever.
* * *
The Gauri camp lay under a blanket of darkness.
Though everyone should have been asleep, the eyes of the sentries moving with torches blazed with a determination that would not permit the slightest opening.
"Hooof."
A soldier forced down a yawn, straining his eyes—the sight of him chasing off sleep was almost childlike.
"Hup."
To drive off the drowsiness creeping in, he rested the shaft of his spear behind his neck and twisted his back this way and that.
Whether it had some small effect, the look of wary alertness settled back into the corners of his eyes where sleep had been edging in.
"How much time left till shift change?"
"Not sure, it's almost up, but..."
Still fighting off sleep as he readjusted his grip on his spear, the soldier kept his eyes fixed on the darkness and asked his comrade. Yet his comrade also kept his own eyes forward, offering only a vague answer in return.
"Let's keep our heads on straight. I hear there've been men who nodded off on guard duty here and got disciplinary action—or worse, lost their heads."
"I know."
Neigh!
The spot they were guarding was precisely where the warhorses were kept. As warhorse whinnies rang out here and there, the sentry's head tilted.
"What's with them?"
"What do you mean?"
When his comrade stationed on the opposite side asked, the soldier who had voiced the question cautiously spoke up.
Neigh!
"You don't get the sense the horses are just a little agitated?"
"You think so? Now that you mention it, maybe they are a little more than usual..."
Neigh!
As the two men exchanged guarded words, the cries of the pumas—the Pukel hybrids kept separately alongside the warhorses—were gradually growing louder.
Not only that, but even the second-generation horses that had come over from Gauri were beginning to let out low whinnies, as if unsettled by something.
"Shouldn't we report this?"
Unease flickering, the soldier quietly asked his comrade. The other man, apparently just as unsettled by the agitation of the horses and pumas, kept scanning the darkness as he answered carefully.
"But we'd need to spot something first before we report it—... huh?"
"What—what's wrong!"
When his comrade suddenly broke off with a startled sound, the other soldier spun his head around. A pair of eyes glowing red in the darkness.
RUMBLE!
"What the hell is that!"
The pair of red lights drew steadily closer, a rumble shaking the very earth in their wake.
"Report it, now!"
"Got it!"
The charging presence was clearly just one creature.
Yet its sheer momentum was somehow terrifying and ominous, not something they could simply let pass.
Lights began flicking on in a few of the barracks, late as the hour was. A small commotion had stirred, but for the Gauri warriors with their heightened senses, the noise was more than enough to bring them rushing out.
"Ngh, what in the world is going on at this hour!"
Having somehow already donned his Chalgap armor, Samdopyo was gripping his favored weapon in one hand as he roughly flung open his barrack's door and strode out.
Buyeo Gi-yul and Mong Ryu-hwa, who had apparently come out before him, were already fully dressed and assembled outside.
"That direction's where the warhorses are kept."
"Let's go!"
At the tense note in Giyul's voice, Ryu-hwa took off running that way as if there was no more need to listen to the soldiers' reports.
Dupyo also tilted his head and quickened his steps. If this were an enemy night raid, the noise should normally be even louder, so rather than relay orders, he simply ran there himself.
* * *
BOOM!
Neigh!
A thunderous boom rang out, and a warhorse's cry full of agony burst forth. As Buyeo Gi-yul had said, every bit of this commotion was erupting from where the warhorses were kept.
"What in the hell is that noise!"
"Clear the way up ahead!"
Mong Ryu-hwa and Giyul parted the crowd of soldiers who had scrambled out of their beds. Only then did the soldiers, realizing who had arrived, snap off salutes and begin dividing to the left and right.
"Wow, and you're just showing up now? Taking your sweet time—what'd you do, swallow a grub worm?"
"Ah-ha, how did you know? Just had a few as a snack."
"...."
At the spot where the soldiers had gathered, Eulji Uru stood with his arms crossed, having arrived at some unknown point. And beside him, Go Jin-cheon and Yeon Hwi-garam were silently watching the place where the commotion was unfolding.
Cowed by Uru's barb, the trio carefully edged closer and found their places.
"What's happening!"
Gye Ung-sam's voice arrived belatedly. The trio shot uneasy looks at Uru and silently prayed that things would go smoothly for Ung-sam.
"Puruh-reung."
"Kyu-hing!"
No one had yet dared to enter the chaos-stricken enclosure of the warhorses; they could only stand there and watch.
And there in the midst of it stood a scar-riddled black horse with its body erect, exuding ferocity.
Even the pumas that were known to beat down monsters, and the second-generation Gauri warhorses, had all dropped their tails and lowered their heads in a gesture of submission.
"Puh-hihihihihing!"
A wild, rough whinny tore through the dark night sky.
"Kyu-hihihihing!"
As if unwilling to be outdone, a massive puma stationed to one side strode out with a fierce cry. Its eyes, glaring at the scarred black horse while its rear hooves stamped into the earth, held an unmistakable killing intent.
SCRAPE! SCRAPE!
Snorting white plumes of breath, the black horse scraped at the ground with its hind hooves, glaring at this new challenger as if it might charge at any moment.
"Kihing!"
"Puruh-reung!"
Both let out short cries at the same instant and rushed at each other. As the two animals clashed with a ferocity even more intense than human warfare, the gathered soldiers could only watch, palms sweating.
CRASH!
"Keu-hing!"
"Hihihihing!"
They crashed together like the wind, and the surface of the earth shrieked and burst apart. The black horse and the puma, each pushed back a little to either side, burned with fighting spirit as if refusing to lose, raising their front hooves and driving them down at each other.
CLANG!
Their iron-shod hooves collided in midair, hurling up sparks. It was like watching two tigers lash out at their prey with lightning-swift front paws.
Thwack!
"Keu-hihing!"
Had the puma been beaten in speed?
The puma's head twisted aside with a dull crack. In the same breath, the black horse dropped its body and rammed home with its full mass.
Along with the sound of a leather drum bursting, the puma's agonized cry rang long and deep. Collapsed onto the ground with a thunderous crash, the puma could not rise again, lying stretched out and gasping roughly for air.
"Puh-reung."
Clop, clop, clop.
As if to display the composure of a victor, the black horse circled the fallen puma, then slowly shifted its steps in one direction. The black horse raised its head to the sky and walked with regal dignity.
"Hiiik."
Overwhelmed by that ferocious presence, a few soldiers shrank back. But the black horse paid no mind as it continued on. Reflected in the horse's eyes was Go Jin-cheon.
* * *
"Gangsoe..."
The name slipped from Go Jin-cheon's lips.
The beloved steed Gangsoe, who had once raced across battlefields with him, had appeared here.
Gangsoe's age: twenty-seven.
For a warhorse, he was already too old to run properly. Even for an ordinary horse, he was at an age when death wouldn't be far off.
After the conclusion of the Northern Roselin war, Go Jin-cheon had never again mounted Gangsoe's back. In accordance with Jin-cheon's wish to reward him for all the years of toil, he had built him a spacious pasture and even assigned a dedicated groom.
In this war, likewise, Jin-cheon had ridden into battle on the very puma Gangsoe had just laid low.
Yet Gangsoe appeared to have run all the way here alone from a great distance. As if that were not enough, he had even overpowered the puma that had carried his master.
"Puruh-reung."
Gangsoe stood before Jin-cheon, snorting and tossing his head roughly, as if shouting, 'I can still fight!'
Behind him, each time Gangsoe's ragged breathing and whinnies rang out, the pumas and warhorses knelt as if surrendering, one by one.
"Ihihihing!"
"Hut!"
"Th-that..."
At the same moment he let out a long cry, Gangsoe bit down on Jin-cheon's shoulder. At the sudden action, the soldiers nearby started, ready to draw their weapons.
But when the commanders around Jin-cheon instead took a step back, the soldiers held their breath and stayed in place.
"Puh-reung, puh-reung."
Looking closely, it wasn't a hard bite. Tears had gathered in Gangsoe's eyes as he breathed harshly.