Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Iron Emperor — Chapter 51
Chapter 14 — If You Want Peace, Prepare for War
"......."
"We're all ready to move out."
"......."
"Uh... General."
The five soldiers carefully tried calling out to Gye Ung-sam, who was standing there blankly. Still, Ung-sam's silence remained unbroken.
What was keeping him so silent...?
Inside Ung-sam's head, the scene from two days ago was slowly replaying, drifting across his mind.
Yeon Hwi-garam's lips parting unhurriedly were as vivid as if they were moving right in front of his eyes.
"The reason the kingdom's power does not reach the Reganza Mountains is because of the existence of the beings called monsters."
"So I hear."
"Even so, given that they are deliberately coming here, it seems this new baron, unlike Baron Alvin, is a man with some sense of responsibility. After all, he could simply file a report and be done with it, couldn't he?"
"Hm."
As the people within the Imperial Hall nodded in agreement, Hwi-garam continued his explanation.
"Whether by chance or not, their course has been set toward this lake. Therefore, we must assume there is a high probability they will come to our empire—at least until something happens."
"Right. Until something happens, that is."
"Correct, Your Majesty. That 'something.'"
Hwi-garam and Jin-cheon exchanged smiles. It meant a plan had already taken shape in their minds.
"Give us the detailed plan."
"Yes."
Once Jin-cheon gave formal approval, Hwi-garam looked at the commanders assembled in the Imperial Hall and began laying out the details.
"First, as an initial measure to halt their advance, we will begin a monster drive. Doubling as a hunting competition, we will systematically drive the surrounding monsters forward."
"Hm."
"Of course, if numbers fall short, we'll release some of the ones we've been breeding."
"What?!"
At the mention of a shortfall, Eulji Buru's startled voice echoed through the Imperial Hall.
Every monster captured so far had been taken in under Buru's direct responsibility. The prospect of releasing them meant his efforts could go to waste, and worse, that he'd have to go out and recapture them later. But Hwi-garam spoke again before Buru could raise an objection.
"It's a shame, but for now we must think about the highest priority."
"It's frustrating..."
"Naturally, the young ones and the females are excluded—there's a supply issue with them. Also excluded are the ones used for operating the Yudonno and the Minotaurs that have been nose-ringed. Goblins and kobolds raised as feed for the carnivorous monsters are not combat-effective anyway, so they're also excluded."
"Understood."
Buru nodded, seeming to accept Hwi-garam's words. Having addressed Buru's concerns, Hwi-garam turned back to the other commanders and continued.
"And while the monsters are attacking, we will strike from concealment. Not with anything major—we'll use poisoned needles or paralyzing needles to inflict partial damage."
"The reason?"
Jin-cheon followed up with a question, and Hwi-garam lowered his head as he answered.
"If enemy troops are coming this far, shouldn't we at least claim something for ourselves? I'm talking about their supplies, and the weapons their soldiers carry."
"Hm, good."
"And finally, Baron Gowin absolutely must be kept alive."
Hwi-garam cut his words off decisively, as though that point was the most important of all.
"There are two reasons."
"If we kill him, inevitably some other kingdom noble will come again and become a nuisance. To avoid that, I understand we must spare him since he's the one who knows how dangerous this place is. But what is the other reason?"
Dae Mu-deok, who had been listening in silence until now, widened his eyes and asked.
"The other reason is that we are reaching the limit of gathering intelligence solely within Baron Gowin's domain. So we're seizing this opportunity. The key is to disguise a squad of soldiers as mercenaries, protect Baron Gowin, and naturally begin collecting intelligence on the continent."
"Hm."
"Indeed."
Jin-cheon nodded at Hwi-garam's words, and Mu-deok also let out a sound of admiration. Hwi-garam, who had been wearing a slight smile, now put on a somewhat troubled expression and spoke again.
"The problem is that we need the right person to make contact with Baron Gowin. Personally, I believe General Gerard would be well-suited, but..."
"Denied!"
"But Your Majesty, why not me!"
Gerard, who had been cheering inwardly the moment Hwi-garam mentioned his name, put on an aggrieved face and protested at Jin-cheon's denial. Jin-cheon looked down at Gerard and said one thing.
"You have to shake down some iron."
"......."
Once again, Jin-cheon had ordered him to go bandit.
At those words, the term "Pirate King Gerard," which he'd briefly managed to forget, shoved him outside reality. While Gerard was having an out-of-body experience, Hwi-garam spoke up in a troubled voice.
"In that case, several criteria must be met. First, the person must possess high martial skill and also be fluent in the continental language. A translation ring exists, but wearing it would only invite suspicion. And..."
As Hwi-garam listed the requirements one after another, Ung-sam, who was kneeling on one side, began to feel an inexplicably focused gaze turning toward him.
Of course, those gazes had converged on him the moment the words "continental language" were spoken.
"Taking all these points into account, the right person must be a commander of at least deputy rank or higher. However, General Buru, General Uru, and myself cannot easily be spared; Dae Mu-deok has too many internal affairs to attend to and cannot go; Gerard already has an assigned mission, so..."
At that moment, Jin-cheon's voice cut off Hwi-garam's words.
"Gurajaengi."
"Yes?"
"If you screw this up, I'll bury you."
"......Yes."
In the end, Ung-sam's fate was decided by a single sentence from Jin-cheon, leaving him unable to reply. And as compensation—in name only—he was also given the rank of general.
With five soldiers under his command...
Sssssssshhhhh.
In the steady, drizzling rain, Baron Gowin led a force of roughly 320 soldiers as they began entering the Reganza Mountains. The natural umbrella formed by the trees stabbing skyward seemed to become a curse; small droplets gliding along the leaves grew thick and heavy before falling onto the soldiers' leather armor.
The heavy, plopping drops produced irregular noise, putting the soldiers' nerves even more on edge.
Rustle-rustle-thump.
"Wh-what was that!"
"Shh!"
A soldier who had moved ahead of the main body to scout glared sharply and silenced the one who had cried out.
The scout's eyes as he examined the direction of the sound held clear experience; the other soldiers, having similarly regained their composure, were also scanning the area around the noise.
Rustle.
"......!"
"Who goes there!"
When another rustling sound came from the underbrush, the man who appeared to be the soldiers' leader aimed his quarrel and let out a threat-laced shout.
Rustle.
"......What the."
"Whew."
A small deer appeared before their eyes. The soldiers let out sighs of relief, lowered their aimed quarrels, and wiped the rain streaming down past their eyes.
"That thing's not running away?"
"Oho, shall we catch it and present it to the lord?"
"Hmm, shall we?"
Even with the soldiers right in front of it, the fawn kept only its face poked out of the underbrush and showed no intention of fleeing. In fact, it plopped down right on the spot.
"Looks like it hurt its leg. Hey, this is a windfall."
"Sure is."
Step. Step.
"Bleat..."
As the soldier approached with gleaming eyes, the fawn thrashed and let out a pitiful cry. But that sorrowful sound failed to stir even the slightest sympathy in the soldier's heart, and in the end the fawn lowered its head as it watched the soldier's footsteps draw right up to its nose.
"This'll be tasty... Huh? Why is its leg..."
Thwaaack!
Thud!
The soldier's words, as he was pulling the fawn the rest of the way out of the underbrush, never finished. With an unnatural noise, only the soldier's head went flying through the air and dropped to the ground.
Perhaps because he hadn't felt a thing before dying, only puzzlement remained on the head as it rolled across the ground. Only then did the screams of the survivors begin to ring through the forest.
"Aaaaagh!"
"Heyron!"
Rustle-rustle.
Crunch.
The lump of meat that had been called Heyron, his headless body still standing, lurched once more as a club came smashing down on it as if to confirm the kill. And emerging from the underbrush were the Reganza Mountains' slaughterers—orcs.
"Gruiiiiiiik!"
"Gruiiii!"
"Gwiiiiik!"
"Aaaaagh!"
As the orc standing with its foot planted on Heyron's corpse let out a roaring cry, the underbrush erupted with answering orc howls as if in chorus. And right behind them came the terror-filled voices of the soldiers.
"All troops halt!"
Gruiiiiik!
Aaaagh!
Mixed into the madness-filled orc cries resounding from the vanguard, the soldiers' screams reached the ears of the main force clearly. Unlike the agitated soldiers around him, Baron Gowin did not lose his composure. Unlike other nobles, he was, after all, a military man who had led expeditionary forces on multiple occasions.
"Knights to the front! Shieldbearers and pikemen, form a defensive formation on the perimeter of the column. Move quickly!"
"Yes!"
The knight on Baron Gowin's left began rallying the wavering soldiers and forming the battle line, even without further orders. Fortunately, unlike Baron Alvin's army, more than half of these soldiers were Baron Gowin's own house troops—men who had experienced war—so a defensive formation took shape before too much time had passed.
Watching the situation, Baron Gowin frowned at the man who had come along as a guide and spoke.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"Oh, my lord, I swear this was a path the monsters never traveled."
"Hmph."
At the man's excuse, Baron Gowin turned his head away without replying. Instead, the knight on the baron's right erupted in anger.
"You base wretch! If trouble comes of this, I'll carve up your carcass first and feed it to the monsters."
"Eeek!"
The man was a slash-and-burn farmer who had fled to the city after an orc attack on his settlement. Among the slash-and-burn villages, quite a few had populations under a hundred, and in such villages, flight was the only path to survival—never resistance. They were direct victims of the food chain.
"Archers!"
Clank!
At the knight's call, the soldiers encircling the perimeter dropped low in place to secure the archers' line of sight.
"......."
Rustle.
Rustle. Rustle.
"Gwiiik!"
"Gruiiik!"
"Hmmm."
A grim expression spread across Baron Gowin's face.
The screams had come from the front, but the sounds of approaching orcs were surrounding them on all sides.
"Gruiiiiik!"
"Archers, take aim!"
Creeeeak!
The instant the shapes of orcs burst through the underbrush, the archers' bowstrings pulled taut in faithful obedience to the command. Once they had found their individual targets and settled their lines of fire, the order rang out.
"Loose!"
Twang!
Twang-twang-twang-twung!
"Gwiiiiik!"
Shot from forty or fifty meters away, the arrows arced through the air and began embedding themselves in the bodies of the orcs without fail.
Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!
"Gruik!"
"Gruiiik!"
"Keep firing! Shieldbearers, all stand ready!"
Orc screams, monstrous howls, the sound of rain, and the knights' commands churned together in the air above the forest. The battle had begun.
"Gruiiiiik!"
"Archers fall back! Shieldbearers!"
"Raaaargh!"
Whether to forget the terror before their eyes or to release the courage stored in their hearts, the shield-bearing soldiers' voices shook the Reganza Mountains. But the orcs began charging forward, trampling over their own comrades who had fallen to the arrows.
"Gwiiik!"
"Spearmen—spears out!"
"Hyaaah!"
"Gruiiiiik!"
Amid a cacophony of shrieks and battle cries, the clash began.
Crash! Crash-crash-crash!
"Aagh!"
"Gruiiik!"
The instant the two masses collided, the screams of shieldbearers being bowled over by the orcs' momentum spilled out, and the shrieks of the orcs who had been impaled by spears just before that erupted belatedly.
"Don't let the line break!"
Shing!
"Grughk!"
"Hyahh!"
The knight who had been rallying the soldiers galloped forward, splitting the skull of a charging orc.
Baron Gowin slashed down one charging orc after another, demonstrating that he was one of the kingdom's few Sword Owners. He might not have been a Sword Master, but a blue light flickered along the blade he swung.
"Gwiiik!"
"Damn!"
Amid the faltering line, another wave of orcs began surging forward. Even as Baron Gowin's sword cut down orcs, his eyes were scanning the battlefield. Right now, retreat was the only viable option.
"Rainman!"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Pull the unit back..."
The order he had been issuing to Rainman, the knight directing the troops, never reached its end.
"Kroooooooh!"
The enormous figures lumbering forward from the rear plunged not just the humans but even the orcs into terror. It was a herd of Minotaurs.
"Damn it all!"
At how badly things were unraveling, a curse uncharacteristic of Baron Gowin sprang from his lips.