Chapter 288
Chapter 288
Iron Emperor — Chapter 288
Perhaps because it was night, the sound of troops moving was deafening, and soldiers who had no idea what was going on poked their heads out of their barracks.
"What's going on?"
Garisen, who had secured good lodgings and was resting comfortably thanks to the detailed account he had given Viscount Shenin of how Viscount Kwai's unit was annihilated, poked his head out and asked. The soldier standing guard nearby answered surlily.
"Word came that Viscount Kwai was still alive, so Viscount Shenin rode out personally, taking troops with him."
"He went personally?"
"That's right."
"Well, that saves me some work, then."
The soldier who had been talking to him must have caught most of Garisen's muttering, and he asked with a slight frown.
"What did you say?"
"Forget it. Just stand your watch."
"Why, you little shit!"
Garisen had answered the soldier with a curt remark.
The soldier was already irate that he had to stand guard while Garisen, a mere routed straggler, was lounging around in a spacious barracks all by himself.
Incensed beyond measure, the soldier stormed toward Garisen with a murderous look. At that, Garisen grinned and sneered.
"Oh dear, you're mad. Ohh, I'm so scared."
And with that, he simply pulled his head back inside the barracks.
"You son of a bitch, I'll beat you to death!"
"You step inside, and you'll get to rest forever!"
Unable to take the mockery coming from inside any longer, the soldier glanced around, roughly threw the barracks door open, and stepped inside.
Thwack!
Flop.
A single sharp blow and the sound of something collapsing echoed. Moments later, the soldier stepped out of the barracks, a satisfied smile on his lips. But although the uniform was the same, the person wearing it had changed.
"Heh heh, I'm a man who always keeps his promises. Enjoy your eternal rest. Now then, shall I get moving?"
The soldier who emerged from the barracks was none other than Gye Ung-sam, who had been disguised as Garisen.
* * *
Viscount Shenin, seemingly having forgotten the basic principle that the vanguard cavalry and the rear infantry columns must not separate, was riding his horse far ahead, full of anticipation at the thought of seeing his dear friend soon.
They said his condition was critical, but he was confident that as long as he was still breathing, he could save him by mobilizing every wizard and healer available.
Compared to thinking he was dead, wasn't this a world of difference?
"My lord, you've fallen too far from the rear column!"
"Hm, I understand."
Realizing he had been in too much of a hurry, Viscount Shenin nodded at his staff officer's words and slowed his pace. Only then did the faces of the soldiers who had been running themselves ragged behind him regain some color.
"I'll send out scouts, just in case."
"Send a healer along with the scouts. The situation is grave, so they must move quickly."
"Understood. Don't worry. Viscount Kwai will be all right."
"Heh heh, of course he will."
Seeming to draw strength from his staff officer's words, Viscount Shenin smiled as he watched the wagon carrying the scouts and healers race ahead.
After reorganizing the column that had been scattered along the way, they were moving again when the roar of wagons and horses thundered from up ahead. Dozens of footsteps followed behind them. Something had clearly gone wrong.
"What happened!"
When Viscount Shenin asked urgently, one of the scout cavalrymen returning from the front shouted, pointing behind him.
"Enemy pursuers!"
"What condition is Viscount Kwai in?!"
"The moment we began treatment, the healer and a wizard were struck down by arrows, but Viscount Kwai is safe. He just hasn't regained consciousness yet!"
Though they had failed to treat Viscount Kwai, the news that they had succeeded in bringing him back safely put Viscount Shenin somewhat at ease. At the same time, his fury toward the enemy soared.
His long sword slid from his waist with a cold, metallic hiss.
Srrrng.
"All units, form up!"
Viscount Shenin's voice, burning with fighting spirit, shook the night air. But his staff officer rode up beside him and began to dissuade him.
"My lord, it would be better to turn back. The enemy pursuers are no small force. They appear to be at least five to ten thousand strong. They might not be mere pursuers, but a force aiming for our supply unit."
"Hmm."
After a moment of hesitation at his staff officer's brief counsel, Viscount Shenin glanced toward the wagon where his dear friend Viscount Kwai lay, then resolutely sheathed his long sword.
The staff officer then shouted.
"Retreat at full speed!"
"Retreat!"
As the retreat order reached the soldiers, voices relaying it echoed one after another toward the rear.
"Move while maintaining strict formation in preparation for enemy pursuit. And have the wizards take to the air to ascertain how far the enemy is pursuing us and their exact numbers."
"Understood."
"Let's go!"
Issuing a torrent of commands, Viscount Shenin turned his horse and began retreating toward the rear. His staff officer remained behind to organize the column as they began the withdrawal.
A disorderly retreat was as good as suicide.
Even so, the reason for retreating was that the enemy's strength was unclear, and even if they were matched in numbers, they could still suffer heavy losses.
The long column gradually picked up speed, making its way back along the road they had come.
* * *
Perhaps because ten thousand troops had marched out, the supply unit was quieter than usual. But that silence did not last long.
"The enemy is in pursuit, following behind Viscount Shenin's unit! Form a defensive line!"
"What's going on all of a sudden!"
"Move it! Didn't you hear the enemy is attacking!"
The camp suddenly grew noisy at the appearance of the enemy.
Knights were deploying the scattered soldiers to their positions and preparing cavalry units to cover the friendly rear, just in case.
"Give us weapons too!"
"Damn it! We'll have our revenge!"
Amidst the frantic commotion, another source of noise arose: the roughly five thousand defeated remnants. What weapons would men who had fled possess?
Among the five thousand, barely five hundred still had their own weapons.
In response to their demands, one of the staff officers opened some of the supplies at his discretion and distributed weapons. Then he stationed them at what he judged to be the most dangerous position.
After all, though they were fellow Holy Empire soldiers, they were not as dear as his own unit's men.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
The hoofbeats that shook the earth resonated through the thick darkness and grew louder. As the sound approached, tension began to frost over the eyes of the soldiers clutching their weapons. Then a flame shot into the sky.
Boom!
The ascending flame blossomed in the sky with a small burst.
For a brief moment, the eyes of the soldiers who had been tensed for defense all followed the trail of the flame as one.
Then a great shout erupted from one side.
"Now!"
At the same instant, fountains of blood erupted among the soldiers clustered for defense, creating a grotesque atmosphere wholly different from the flame in the night sky.
The well-formed defensive formation was instantly turned into a scene of hell because of the five thousand traitors.
"Guuaah, treachery!"
One soldier clutched the spear blade buried in his abdomen and gave one last scream. But already, more than a hundred soldiers were spraying blood and collapsing at once.
"Archers!"
A noble, startled by the sudden turn of events, cried out for the archers. But he could not utter the next command. His mouth gaped open, but his head had already been separated from his body.
"That's no good."
Gye Ung-sam, seated upon the noble's horse, took up the cry again toward the archers.
"All archers, fire to the front! They are enemies, not allies!"
At his enthusiastic shout, thousands of arrows were loosed into the air.
"Th-they actually fired......"
Ung-sam, who had been watching, muttered in a hollow voice.
"Sorry. Survive on your own."
Thwip-thwip-thwack!
"Guuaah!"
The rain of arrows that covered the sky sent the cavalrymen galloping at the front tumbling.
The screams of the horses mixed with the shrieks of the cavalrymen crushed beneath them, their bones and flesh pulped, instantly spreading turmoil through the column.
"What is happening!"
Viscount Shenin, who had been riding hard, looked bewildered as he saw the vanguard of his column collapsing under arrows fired from their own camp, and flames suddenly rising from the supply unit's position. But his staff officer, who would have answered his question, was stationed at the rear.
Clang!
"Damn it! Captain Ung-sam is trying to kill us all! This wasn't part of the deal!"
"Dammit, we were fools to trust that liar!"
"Wh-who are you!"
Viscount Shenin's eyes widened as he turned toward the uninvited guests who had moved nearby, swatting away arrows while exchanging unfathomable words.
But a brief sting at his neck was followed by his vision flickering. In the end, he could not properly resolve his questions.
"Whoa there, can't have you falling off. If you're hurt, it's the two of us who'll be dead, not Captain Ung-sam."
One of the Gauri swordsmen, who had transferred onto the unconscious Viscount Shenin's horse, sent a flare shooting upward from inside his coat. Suddenly, caltrops scattered in all directions from the wagons.
As the horses stumbled, the Roselin forces began charging the retreating column. And all those who could have controlled the panicked Holy Empire troops were already dead.
* * *
The time it took to eat a single meal.
In that brief span, Viscount Shenin's unit suffered worse losses than Viscount Kwai's unit and was annihilated.
Out of thirty thousand troops, nearly half had been killed or wounded this time—a greater loss than Viscount Kwai's defeat, where about ten thousand casualties were sustained. At least Viscount Kwai had swung his sword, but Viscount Shenin had not even managed that before being captured.
"Damn you, you infidel bastards worse than beasts!"
Even as a captive, Viscount Shenin was cursing the Roselin side, who had beaten Viscount Kwai half to death to use him as bait.
Duke Baikal was also frowning, feeling it had been an excessive measure regardless of the outcome.
"So this is the reputation you built, 'War God of the East'—with such despicable acts! You scum worse than vermin who use friendship as bait! Guuaahk ptooey!"
The incessant stream of curses and profanity was enough to wash away even Duke Baikal's guilt entirely.
But he could only leave him be, weighed down by the guilt of having acted in a way unbecoming of a knight.
PATTER-PATTER-PATTER!
The sound of someone's running footsteps approaching.