Chapter 280
Chapter 280
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 280
"Did you want to fight?"
At Jin-cheon's unexpected question, Gangsoe released the shoulder he had been biting and whinnied as if he understood.
"Prrr."
"Yes, you and I... we're both fated to be buried on the battlefield."
Jin-cheon gave Gangsoe's head a long, slow stroke. And so the late-night commotion came to an end with the reunion of two old comrades-in-arms.
Several days earlier...
"Found him!"
At one soldier's shout, the men scattered nearby came rushing over.
"Ughhhh..."
"Hah—no wonder we couldn't see him!"
A man lay draped like wet laundry over a thick branch two mir above the ground, a cracked groan escaping him.
As the soldiers closed in around him, hot tears streamed down his face; he felt the joy of having survived.
"Dammit, we found Majigi, but where the hell did Gangsoe go?"
The man being carefully lowered was none other than the man who tended Gangsoe, the Yeolje's horse.
"Gah! C-call the wizards! His chest is caved in!"
"What in the world..."
Stamped clearly into the chest of the man who had been hanging like a corpse were two hoofprints. At the sight, the soldiers shuddered as if a chill had run down their spines, and they clicked their tongues.
"Kicked him just hard enough not to kill him."
"No kidding..."
"Still, if it was a kick from the hind legs that flung him up there..."
At one soldier's muttered words, every eye gathered there turned at once to the thick branch from which they had just pulled Majigi down.
The soldiers, who had fallen silent as if by mutual agreement, could only look on pityingly at Majigi, collapsed and groaning. Their search for Gangsoe continued until word arrived from the Gauri expeditionary force.
Chapter 92: All or Nothing
"What of Duke Baikal?"
"He seemed reluctant at first, but it appears the Roselin side has also accepted that there is no alternative, and they are proceeding swiftly with the clearing. The reports indicate that, because the damage from the previous war has not yet been fully restored, the work is going smoothly."
At a general's words, Go Jin-cheon's brow furrowed slightly. Yeon Hwi-garam, quick to read the shift in Jin-cheon's expression, reproached him.
"You ought to understand that this is all the more poisonous to the people of Roselin. Think back to the old wars."
"My apologies. I spoke out of turn."
At Hwi-garam's scolding, the general bowed his head and acknowledged his careless words.
Because the restoration was unfinished, the material damage might be somewhat less—but to the common people, the despair would only be greater. To see the homes they had barely begun to rebuild collapse once more—and to watch them crumble not by the enemy's hand, but by their own allies—was a pain beyond words. Even among the people of Gauri, inured to hardship as they were, there had been those in the later years who gave up all hope under the unrelenting Tang offensives, unable even to think of rising again. If even the hardened people of Gauri reached such a state, the people of Roselin could only suffer more—never less.
"Enough. What strategy is Duke Baikal's side currently employing?"
Go Jin-cheon's force was here to help, nothing more. If they were operating jointly, things might be different—but at present they were operating separately. That made it awkward to move independently.
"The Roselin side intends to use Duke Baikal's forces as much as possible in hit-and-run tactics, gradually depleting the enemy's strength."
"And after that?"
"Perhaps it is concern over the enemy's reserves, but they seem to have nothing particularly decisive beyond that. The positions of the fortresses are not easily capable of supporting each other."
"Hmm."
The overwhelming disparity in troop strength had reduced their options to simple operations.
A silence settled over the tent. Jin-cheon and all his commanders alike kept their mouths shut, eyes fixed intently on the map. When no one offered a clear-cut opinion, Hwi-garam let out a small sigh and spoke to the wizard.
"Find out how they've decided to employ the units harassing the enemy's supply lines."
"Understood."
"Wait."
Jin-cheon broke his silence and opened his mouth, and the wizard, who had been about to move on Hwi-garam's orders, halted.
"This is tiresome. I will hear it directly."
"Understood."
Having grasped Jin-cheon's intent, the wizard hurried to the communications wizards' quarters prepared right beside the command tent. Moments later, the wizard returned carrying a large crystal orb, set it up beside Jin-cheon, and began activating it. From the brightly glowing orb, the image of a Roselin communications wizard rose into view.
"Whatever else may be said, this, at least, is truly convenient."
Yeon Hwi-garam, seated beside Jin-cheon, smiled as he spoke, and across from him, Eulji Uru nodded in emphatic agreement.
"Aye, that it is. With just this, we can know things straightaway—makes it a damn sight easier to plan tactics."
"Mm."
Jin-cheon, too, nodded at their exchange.
Before long, after the wizards completed their handshake, the face of Duke Helios Baikal appeared in the crystal orb.
[This is Duke Baikal.]
"You must be busy. My apologies."
Judging by the helmet still on Duke Baikal's head as he appeared in the crystal orb, he seemed to have rushed inside from commanding troops in the field. At Jin-cheon's words, Duke Baikal hastily removed his helmet.
[Not at all, Your Majesty. I had only just come in.]
"That is fortunate, then."
After a short while, the commanders of each nation took their places in turn across several magic crystal orbs. Though all of them were dukes of their respective nations, before Jin-cheon they all showed the same bearing as front-line commanders quietly awaiting orders. It was a tacit acknowledgment of Gauri's command. Such was the expectation the Gauri army had earned in their eyes through all they had demonstrated thus far.
With composure, Yeon Hwi-garam stood a map upright so that everyone within the crystal orbs could see it.
"Duke Baikal, how goes the battle?"
[We have deliberately avoided pitched battles while launching surprise attacks on the enemy's rear supply units, successfully cutting off their supplies on two occasions. But now, even that has become untenable.]
Duke Baikal spoke in a troubled voice, his face dark. His explanation made the faces in the other crystal orbs stiffen as well.
The Holy Empire had massively increased the number of escorts after their rear supply units came under attack.
"If we cannot cut off their supplies, the scorched-earth strategy is meaningless. It means destroying the people's homes was for nothing."
Jin-cheon's quiet but unmistakable rebuke followed. Duke Baikal understood exactly what he meant.
[But the number of troops escorting the enemy supply units alone approaches twenty thousand. To strike such a force with minimal losses, dispersing our troops as we have been doing is no longer feasible. Even if we were to focus solely on destruction, we would need at least thirty thousand troops—and if we commit that many, we cannot carry out the mission of slowing the enemy's advance.]
At Duke Baikal's explanation, Jin-cheon, too, could say nothing further and merely furrowed his brow. Jin-cheon, arms crossed, was deep in thought, and the silence of the commanders from each nation—each grappling with how to break the deadlock—stretched on for a long while.
[It seems to me that the best course is for the expeditionary forces to join the front as swiftly as possible.]
Duke Ken of the Marlon Kingdom, his expression rigid, broke the prolonged silence. At that, Marquess Gaun, who had been cautiously gauging the mood, added his voice.
[Our Haian Kingdom, too, will increase its marching speed.]
When even Marquess Gaun chimed in with a statement of principle, Duke Baikal, though still wearing a look of concern, gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
[I ask this of you all.]
Yet Jin-cheon's lips remained closed. And so, quite naturally, the commanders of the three kingdoms could do nothing but fix their eyes on him.
"Even if we were to gather our forces now, fight a pitched battle, and win, we would inevitably suffer considerable damage. Moreover, as we are a coalition force of several nations, we lack an organic system of coordination—our effective combat power can only be regarded as even lower."
Hwi-garam spoke calmly.
[Even so, there is no better alternative.]
Marquess Gaun of the Haian Kingdom shook his head slightly, his expression one of resignation. But Hwi-garam spoke in a resolute voice.
"The success of a scorched-earth strategy depends on how far you can draw the enemy in and how thoroughly you can cut off their supplies."
[But the escort force for the enemy supply train is equal in number to the Haian Kingdom's entire expeditionary force!]
Marquess Gaun cried out, as if to reaffirm the scale of the enemy. The voices of the two men were beginning to rise when Go Jin-cheon raised a hand and stopped them both.
"Hwi. Enough—get to the point."
At Jin-cheon's words, the eyes of Marquess Gaun, who had worn a dissatisfied look, along with Duke Ken of Marlon and Duke Baikal of Roselin, all snapped wide open. Their gazes turned almost simultaneously toward Hwi-garam's lips. Suddenly the center of attention, Hwi-garam glanced around for a moment, then spoke in a resolute voice.
"Duke Baikal, your main force is currently operating in separate divisions, is it not?"
[It is.]
"Combine those forces."
At Hwi-garam's words, a look of deepening confusion rose on Duke Baikal's face. But what Hwi-garam said next made every man there recoil in shock.
"Commit that combined main force of fifty thousand—all of it—to striking the supply units."
[What do you mean by that!]
[If we do that, how are we supposed to stop the enemy's advance!]
The council erupted at once in shock and harsh protest. As if Jin-cheon were not even there, every commander began shouting at full volume.
"All or nothing."
"Indeed."
Jin-cheon's hard words cut through the uproar. The commanders recognized their lapse and immediately lowered their voices.
["All or nothing"—I do not understand the meaning.]
Duke Ken, seeking both to cover for their rude clamor and to satisfy his own curiosity, asked about Jin-cheon's unfamiliar figure of speech.
"Hmm..."
Jin-cheon frowned. He could not recall a suitable comparison. Then Eulji Uru cut in beside him in a gruff voice.
"Means we get every last bit, or we get nothin' but dog shit."
[That is rather...]
Before Duke Baikal could voice a protest at a phrase that so irresponsibly defined the fate of their nations, Uru pressed on.
"At the very least, we can damn well make sure the enemy gets no supplies."