Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Iron Emperor — Chapter 92
The thirty-seven hundred soldiers of the Gauri army, having reached the edge of the hilly terrain, loaded themselves onto hundreds of carts. And the archers who had served as snipers up to now began mounting their own horses.
Snort.
Every four-legged animal had been hitched to the wagons, and now that they had mounted the horses they had gathered, the mood of the Gauri troops was different from before.
"Incredible."
The exclamation escaped involuntarily from the lips of Hekate, the knight of South Roselin leading the five hundred remaining soldiers of the South Road Army.
"Shut your mouth. You'll get dust all in it."
"Ah! ......Yes."
Scolded by Eulji Buru, who was mounting his horse, Hekate hastily shut his mouth, though his eyes remained fixed enviously on the Gauri soldiers boarding the wagons and mounting their steeds.
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.
The hoofbeats of Gangsoe resounded especially loudly.
The three horns rising from Gangsoe's horse armor jutted up so arrogantly they seemed to overwhelm any who faced him. And from Go Jin-cheon, clad entirely in dark-hued Chalgap, radiated an immense, untouchable power.
"Now......"
A slow voice.
"Our existence will be made known to this continent."
Whoooosh!
The moment Jin-cheon's weighty voice rang out, a savage wind swept through the area.
Flutter.
A massive red cloth was held in Jin-cheon's hand.
What could it be?
The great red cloth tied to the flagpole could only be presumed to be a flag. The men who hailed from South Roselin tilted their heads at the sight of a flag they had never seen before.
'What kind of flag is that....'
It was a common question that passed through the minds of the South Roselin soldiers and Hekate. Throughout all the fighting until now, Jin-cheon and the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry had never once displayed any kind of symbol. Under such circumstances, their curiosity was only natural.
WHOOSH!
As the wild wind swirled around Go Jin-cheon once more, the red flag hanging from the pole unfurled in the gale. Jin-cheon slowly raised the flagpole aloft.
The three-legged crow fluttered in the sky.
An unfathomable, unprecedented aura bloomed from Jin-cheon, enveloping every soldier gathered there.
'Huh! What is this!'
A shuddering thrill ran through Hekate's entire body, startling him. Flustered, he looked around and found himself astonished once again.
A shimmering haze of fervor that surrounded the Gauri army, blazing like a living fire!
An achromatic heat spread out in every direction.
"We advance."
Though it was a single, utterly blunt sentence, it resounded in the soldiers' ears louder than a thunderclap.
There was no fear.
Amid the pounding excitement in their chests, the soldiers' eyes were fixed upon the Samjoko flag lifted high by Jin-cheon.
* * *
"They're late."
"Your Grace, it is only a matter of time."
"Hmm."
Duke Camillien Perren Roselin was surveying the battlefield with a leisurely air. Watching the soldiers of North Roselin smash down the fortress walls and push inward, he maintained an unshakable composure. Once the inner walls of the fortress were breached and occupied, the greatest remaining obstacle to seizing the entirety of South Roselin would vanish completely.
"Our troops' casualties are somewhat heavy."
At Duke Perren's remark, his adjutant, Count Seilr Muien, frowned from behind him.
'This is all your doing, you incompetent fool. All because you recklessly pushed forward to claim glory by yourself without waiting for reinforcements!'
Count Muien's disapproving expression flickered past, but only for a moment. He stepped forward before Duke Perren and bowed his head.
"Is this sacrifice not unavoidable?"
"I suppose so. At any rate, we had best finish this quickly. Commit the reserves."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Count Muien nodded at Duke Perren's order and dispatched a messenger to the front lines. The purpose was to finish things swiftly by committing their waiting reserves. And those troops rushed into the breached fortress to bring about its end.
"Your Grace, perhaps it is time for you to enter the fortress..."
The moment Count Muien cautiously broached the subject, Duke Perren's brow furrowed.
"If I were to enter now, would that not cause confusion in the chain of command? Therefore, it is best that I enter only after matters have been settled. Do you understand?"
"Now that you mention it, that is certainly true."
Contempt flickered in the eyes of Count Muien as he lowered his head.
'Damned wretch. When has he ever led from the front? That bastard is always the first to retreat from the rearmost line...'
As a warrior of North Roselin, Count Muien found this incompetent defector who had crawled over from South Roselin utterly detestable. Once victory was achieved in this battle, Duke Perren's utility would increase a little more. Though he was destined to be discarded someday, Count Muien could not bear even this very moment.
Even as he thought this, countless lives were steadily being snuffed out within Vihanen Fortress.
* * *
Boom!
"Hold them!"
"Bring the timber!"
The crashes of the inner gate being battered down echoed loudly, while the frantic shouts of soldiers desperately defending it rang out from all directions. And scaling those very walls, the climbing soldiers of North Roselin were increasingly breaking the will of the South Roselin army to resist.
"Do not fall back!"
"Graaah!"
A soldier who had just stabbed a North Roselin soldier off the wall with his long spear had his own head sent flying.
One of the sections had finally given way.
"Abelman!"
Baron Silen Bels's voice rang out loudly even amidst the chaos. But the voice of Sir Abelman could no longer be heard.
"Hmph! That friend is dead, Baron."
"Leopard Head......"
Baron Bels looked at Dupyo, who delivered such despairing news. But he could not continue his words. Dupyo's hair was a tangled mess, wounds large and small etched across his body, and an arrow was still lodged in his thigh.
"What will you do?"
"What of the other knights?"
"Maybe one or two are left."
The color drained entirely from Baron Bels's face. Seeing this, Dupyo clicked his tongue and said:
"Tch. Then we can just sit here and wait to die."
The remaining soldiers numbered about four thousand.
But there were no knights left to lead them. It was only thanks to purely defending that even this many had survived. If the inner wall fell too, the South Roselin army would likely be unable to sustain its will to resist. Dupyo, too, could understand Baron Bels's state of mind.
"Let's go."
"Go where?"
"Let's get up on the inner wall. I'll protect you. Hmph!"
Baron Bels slowly turned his head and stared at Dupyo's face at those impassive words. Baron Bels was able to smile. Even though his whole body was stained with blood and bore dozens of gashes, an unquenchable fire burned in Dupyo's eyes. Even in this despair, the soul of a warrior blazed fiercely.
For a brief moment, an envious expression crossed Baron Bels's face.
"Leopard Head, I find myself thinking that if we had just a hundred more warriors like you, this war would have taken a different turn."
"Enough with the useless talk. Let's head up. The soldiers will gain strength. Oh, and don't call me Leopard Head. Call me Dupyo. There's no need to use an alias at this point. Heh heh heh."
"Dupyo?"
At the peculiar name, Baron Bels tilted his head and muttered. But deciding that further curiosity was unnecessary, his steps turned toward the inner wall.
"Yaaah!"
Crunch!
"Gaaaaahk!"
Upon the inner wall, soldiers of North Roselin had already clambered up and were engaged with South Roselin troops. The North Roselin soldiers who rushed toward Baron Bels's resplendent armor to claim glory had their backs snapped and their heads burst open, sent flying by Dupyo's Mukbit Bong.
"Warriors of South Roselin! Let us fight to the very end!"
Baron Bels's soulful voice burst forth.
"Curses upon the dogs of North Roselin! Glory to South Roselin!"
Seeing Baron Bels climb the inner wall and cut down their enemies, the soldiers cried out as if burning up the last moments of their lives. The final roar of some four thousand men shook Vihanen Fortress.
"Die!"
SHNK!
"Urk!"
As if drawing newfound strength, a South Roselin soldier's spear pierced a North Roselin soldier's heart like a bolt of lightning. The prowess of Dupyo, who rampaged like a boar struck by a brand, was terrifying. Even Baron Bels's eyes flew wide at his martial might. This was no mere soldier.
"Magnificent!"
He had thought him great before, but never like this. Every single swing extinguished a life. And small wonder, for Dupyo no longer had any need to hide his true skills.
"Danger!"
SLASH!
"Grrrk!"
Striking down a North Roselin soldier who had been aiming for Dupyo's back, Baron Bels pressed his own back against Dupyo's, guarding his rear.
"Dupyo, you are the War God of the North."
Baron Bels paid Dupyo's martial prowess the highest compliment he could offer.
"Wrong!"
But to Baron Bels's praise, Dupyo issued a firm reply. And then Dupyo's voice continued.
"I am a warrior of the Gauri Empire."
"Gauri... you say...."
Baron Bels began to question it, but feeling the soaring aura erupt from the man behind him, his words trailed off.
"Is this... a dream...."
Baron Bels heard Dupyo's voice quaver from behind him. Abruptly, Baron Bels's head turned in the direction Dupyo faced.
A distant group of armed forces approaching.
"Is it enemy reinforcements?"
Baron Bels murmured flatly to himself. But Dupyo did not answer him, simply trembling all over.
Sensing something strange, Baron Bels looked at Dupyo but could not ask a single question.
CRASH!
Crack-crack-crack!
"M-Monster!"
As Dupyo's Mukbit Bong slammed into the ground with a deafening roar, the stone wall splintered in all directions like a spiderweb. North Roselin soldiers who had been clinging to the wall tumbled down in droves from the massive tremor.
Thud!
"Dupyo! Why?"
Baron Bels spoke out in alarm. But his question stopped short.
Tears were streaming from the warrior's eyes.
Tears mixed with ecstasy.
A smile drew itself across Dupyo's lips.
At the head of the approaching forces, a red banner unfurled in the distance.
How could he possibly forget!
That very flag which once swept through Manchuria and Liaodong...
The glorious name he had thought he would never see again: Samjoko.
Here on this continent... the Samjoko flag was unfurling.
A figure knelt upon one knee, calmly gazing at the approaching army of the red banner.
Samdopyo's chest swelled to its fullest.
That swelling in Dupyo's chest erupted from his lips as a tremendous cry.
"By the will of Your Majesty, Supreme One of All Heavens who embraces all people and all things! I shall become Gauri's sword and spear, and with a will and body as hard as steel, I shall crush every enemy who defies that will and become the vanguard who makes it resound throughout heaven and earth!"
WHOOSH!
A fierce gale whirled around them.
And the vow continued.
"And thus, I shall fight until this body is consumed beneath the flames of the sun......."
An infinite shudder coursed through Baron Bels.