Chapter 330
Chapter 330
Iron Emperor — Chapter 330
Having to re-form the ranks and charge once more through the rain of defensive weapons and arrows pouring from the enemy fortress weighed heavily on the soldiers from the very start. Of course, the enemy was no longer what they had been either—but that was a commander's perspective, not the soldiers'.
"On top of that, enemy reinforcements have entered the fortress. Few in number though they may be, the men could grow unsettled. So during the rest period, send out a few soldiers with a talent for talking. Have them spread word that the reinforcements are few and are all the enemy is getting."
"Understood. That said, the relief force that set out from the Haian Kingdom and the Malin Kingdom has reached the foothills of the Reganza Mountains. Would it not be better to hurry, even a little?"
Marquis Luchia, who had reached for the meal his attendant brought in, raised his head at Earl Pelloman's cautious question.
"Since when has the Great Holy Empire concerned itself with such vermin?"
"Forgive me."
At Marquis Luchia's calm reproach, Earl Pelloman bowed his head. Luchia offered no further rebuke and simply returned his hand to his meal.
"In any case, it is only that the wretches who call themselves Gauri have fought well and temporarily lost their reason. We simply continue driving forward. We have lost considerable time at Gaemun Mountain Fortress, but the enemy reinforcements that have joined them all this time amount to nothing more than the rabble that surged in yesterday. If Gauri had prepared thoroughly, would they have sacrificed so many men yesterday, fighting with such desperation just to get inside Gaemun Mountain Fortress?"
"They would not."
Marquis Luchia was speaking at greater length than usual. And every word he spoke, delivered as casually as table talk over a meal, was perfectly correct.
"It means exactly as we first anticipated: we need only break through Gaemun Mountain Fortress. Resistance fiercer than what we face here will likely not be seen again until we reach the Gauri capital. And by that time, Haian and Malin will be too busy worrying for their own safety."
"Understood."
"We will march at noon. Have everything prepared so that we may continue the advance as soon as the fortress falls. Seeing the army making ready to move on will make the men feel in their bones that the fortress's fall is near."
Marquis Luchia's explanation was succinct, yet it grasped the core of the present situation precisely. Earl Pelloman could only repeat "Understood" again and again as he stepped out of the tent. Luchia's tone had been indifferent, but it meant he had already thought through every eventuality.
Earl Pelloman's face was brighter than when he had entered the tent. The supreme commander's confident words had shown him a clear path forward. All that remained now was to quickly put Gaemun Mountain Fortress—gasping its last breath—to rest. The time until noon was merely a final respite before certain victory.
* * *
"Hurry and wedge the timbers into the gaps!"
"If we're not careful, it could all collapse!"
All across Gaemun Mountain Fortress, soldiers—with the help of the only two wizards present—were prying loose the boulders forming the lower section of the intact wall and bracing those spaces with logs.
They were carrying out a major engineering project even during the rest period—one that, with a single misstep, might bring the intact wall crashing down. Muhyul’s orders kept ringing across the work site.
"Careful there!"
CRRRACK.
When a soldier slipped and lost his grip on a log, the soldiers waiting behind him shouted warnings and swarmed in like ants. The wall shuddered with a grotesque sound, but thankfully their swift action averted a collapse.
"Hoo, that took ten years off my life."
"Not even getting to fight before we end up in our graves! Everyone, be careful!"
From one side, Eulji Buru—who had been hefting boulders alongside the soldiers—bellowed out a warning.
The silent, steady toil of the soldiers might have reminded any observer of ascetic monks performing penance.
Having shifted a boulder out of the way, Buru wiped away sweat and approached Muhyul.
"How's the enemy moving."
"Fortunately, no movement yet. They must be exhausted as well."
"Hoo, that's a relief."
As Buru let out a relieved breath with a faint grin, Muhyul gave a bitter smile.
"For them, that brief span of time will become an eternity of regret."
"It damn well better be. After all this brutal work we're putting in, they owe us that much, don't they?"
Buru let out a hearty laugh as he brushed off Muhyul's remark. Then he returned to the work site, shouting at the soldiers at the top of his lungs.
The Holy Empire army, which had seemed ready to press the attack at any moment, remained motionless even as the morning sun climbed to the top of the sky. In the meantime, the Gauri troops had not rested but had been busily preparing a special gift for the enemy.
"Thanks to the enemy not storming in early this morning, we were able to finish the Sparrow Catch and all the other preparations without a hitch."
Geom Muhyul walked up to Eulji Buru, who stood atop the ramparts gazing out at the enemy camp, and addressed him. Buru turned his head and nodded in greeting.
"On one hand, it's lucky. On the other, it worries me."
"That is true. But from their perspective—hasn't a variable appeared? A small one, perhaps, but one that could have an outsized effect."
"Right."
Buru nodded at Muhyul's answer, then asked a question as if something had just occurred to him.
"The wizards?"
"Perhaps because they are communications wizards, they are completely drained now that the work is done."
"Then send them all out."
At Buru's order, Geom Muhyul nodded.
Two communications wizards, not even combat wizards.
And even they had collapsed from exhaustion after pouring all their magic into various tasks. In any case, with communication already impossible due to the enemy's magical power, there was no more work for them to do.
If anything, it would be difficult to spare troops to protect them during the coming battle, and there was no guarantee they would be of any help even if they did take the field. Better, then, to save even one life by sending them away.
Muhyul understood, so despite their shortage of magical power he did not question or object to Buru’s order. Buru watched him descend from the wall, then looked at the soldiers leaning against the parapet and savoring a brief, welcome rest.
Their faces were far too peaceful for men caught in the middle of a war.
One lay humming to himself.
Another joked with his comrades.
Yet another was carving something from a small scrap of wood, even now.......
They were all enjoying a moment of peace. Looking at the soldiers resting in the wall’s shade, Buru voiced his impression.
"Looks peaceful."
A satisfied smile brushed the corner of Buru's lips.
"It truly does. Who would call this a battlefield."
Muhyul smiled back.
"But I'll tell you what. To my eyes, it looks like a giant tomb. For the Holy Empire bastards, and for us."
"......."
At Buru’s slow words, Muhyul made no reply and simply followed his gaze toward the soldiers.
"We've done everything we can."
"Right."
Though pressed for time, they had finished both arrangements that could be made for the coming fight. Now, all that remained was to do their utmost.
Chapter 112 — Sparrow Catch
Plip.
A bead of sweat rolled down a sun-darkened, copper-hued cheek and dripped onto armor.
If only the wind would blow—but it seemed the wind itself had vanished. Even the shade that had soothed the soldiers' bodies and spirits had long since disappeared, driven off by the sun now standing at the top of the sky.......
Bwoo.
The wearying sound of the horn shattered the still air.
Bwoo-woo! Bwoo-woo-woo-woo!
One sound drew forth many echoes. The field was filled with the sound of horns, and soon the steps of tens of thousands began to resound as one.
It was like a single, vast military dance.
"Now it begins."
Eulji Buru's voice, as he looked down upon the approaching tide of Holy Empire soldiers, sounded as though the waiting had grown tedious. Several commanders were threading through the ranks of soldiers and shouting orders, but the moment the horn sounded, the soldiers had already filled their positions.
Their bodies had moved on their own, without anyone giving the word.
Buru gazed at the slowly advancing Holy Empire army as if admiring the scenery, then turned his head and shifted his gaze to the Gauri soldiers standing atop the wall.
Was it because they had grown used to it?
Though they had every reason to be afraid, some of the soldiers were yawning nonchalantly. Here and there, expressions of mild annoyance could be seen. Buru looked at them and let out a short laugh.
Of course, the soldiers who had entered the fortress with Buru the day before wore tense expressions all too plainly. Though the road here had been rough and difficult, most had never experienced a large-scale siege like this. But while they were tense, none of them were cowed.
The training they had undergone and the sacrifices of their comrades that had followed had forged their spirits like well-tempered steel.
"Good."
The smile at the corner of Buru's lips grew deeper. Any commander would rejoice to lead soldiers such as these, just as Buru did now. Avilrun, seeing Buru's smile, grinned back at him, not knowing any better.
"Gandengi, think you can handle it?"
When Buru tossed out a light remark, Avilrun pounded his own chest and answered.
"I might not look it, but I'm the man who trained every single day under the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry and the Great General, getting beaten half to death. I figure those bastards over there won't be worse than the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry folks."
"Heh-heh-heh, right! Then I'll give you a quota. Take down thirty of 'em today."
"And if I do?"
When Avilrun carefully asked back with a hint of expectation, Buru smiled a pleasant smile and tossed him a bone.
"You fill your quota, and I'll stuff you right into the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry."
"Truly!"
Avilrun's eyes went wide.
At first, he’d been dragged off as a sparring partner for the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry and Eulji thanks to a slip of the tongue, but now joining the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry had become his greatest ambition.
The Black Armored Ghost Cavalry.
The finest elite of all Gauri's cavalry units.
There were other cavalry units, but those called the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry were the only ones composed purely of native Gauri. Riding across battlefields alongside Go Jin-cheon, they were the object of envy for every man who took up arms.
"I promise. Just don't get yourself killed."
Seeing Avilrun's stunned face, Buru nodded as if it were only natural.
"It's a promise! Hu-ahh!"
As if Buru's words had given him new strength, Avilrun swung his axe through the air and boiled over with fighting spirit. And so they savored the war before their eyes.
Do they know what it feels like—to repeat the same actions day after day?
Walk, then run.
Arrows and heaps of stone rain down from overhead. As you run, the comrade beside you catches an arrow or is struck by a stone and rolls across the ground.
War is a brutal repetition.
"Waaaaah!"
The soldiers' cries erupted. Consumed by the single desire to end this maddening war, they charged forward to drive their swords into the enemy's heart.
"Shields overhead!"
"Overhead!"
At the order, the soldiers raised their shields above their heads in unison. Even so, their feet did not stop. Of course, shields could not save them from every threat.
KABOOM!
"E-eek!"
They had grown accustomed to the battlefield—but they could never grow accustomed to the sight of a comrade's body flattened like a rice cake by a boulder the size of a man's torso right before their eyes.