Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Iron Emperor — Chapter 96
A cheerful voice reached the ear of Baron Silen Bels, who still couldn't grasp what was happening.
"Baron Bels!"
"What the—"
Baron Bels turned his head instinctively toward the voice calling his name, and at the sight of a familiar face, he raised his voice without meaning to. It was Sir Hekate, the knight who had led the South Road Army and followed Go Jin-cheon's unit to the very end.
Baron Bels had always kept an eye on this capable knight from the Royal Guard, so he recognized him the moment he saw him.
Before the joy of reunion, Baron Bels had many questions. The direction Sir Hekate had come running from was unmistakably toward the unidentified unit. On top of that, he thought this man could immediately clear up the questions about the troops that had arrived late under South Roselin's banner, and the suspicions surrounding this unknown army.
"Isn't that Baronet Hekate!"
"Baron Bels, you're alive!"
Relieved that his eyes hadn't deceived him, Sir Hekate broke into a broad smile and quickened his pace toward Baron Bels. Drawing close, he offered a knight's salute.
"I, Baronet Hekate, Sword of Struggle of Roselin, pay my respects to Baron Silen Bels."
"Good to see you."
Baron Bels nodded, a full smile on his lips. Seeing the baron welcome him, Sir Hekate spoke with an animated expression.
"I never imagined you would be commanding here, Baron Bels."
"Nor did I ever expect to see you here."
"In any case, it's a relief. Above all, that we were able to drive off the enemy before it was too late."
Baron Bels gave a sign of agreement, stole a glance at the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry mustering on one side and wiping blood from their equipment, then turned his eyes back to Sir Hekate. Seeming to understand the baron's reaction, Sir Hekate nodded slightly and spoke.
"At first, I felt much the same as you, my lord."
"At first?"
"Because I had already given up on living."
Sir Hekate's eyes shifted to a look of recollection.
Blocking the road to buy time for the royal family escaping the fallen capital after the king was butchered; extricating himself only to be surrounded by the enemy in a small village; the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry that appeared while he was mounting a last stand alongside the village militia...
And then the memories they had built together afterward, and the thrill he had felt going into this battle—all of it flickered through his mind.
At Hekate's brief explanation, Baron Bels stared wide-eyed at the unit of South Roselin stragglers now designated the South Road Army and moving off to one side. They didn't look like stragglers at all.
When Go Jin-cheon had first removed his helmet, the baron had wondered if they might be a northern mercenary company. But according to Hekate, they were a completely unrelated force. And the fact that this unit possessed enough martial strength to rebuild the shattered confidence of a band of stragglers plunged Baron Bels even deeper into bewilderment.
"I understand. I was baffled at first myself."
"Were you now?"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
When Baron Bels responded with a quizzically raised eyebrow, Sir Hekate let out a hearty laugh. As the laughter faded, his gaze drifted toward the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry and the elite soldiers of Gauri.
"Now I believe."
Conviction shone in Sir Hekate's eyes. Baron Bels didn't miss it.
"Believe what?"
Baron Bels's question sank in. A dreamy look—like a child dreaming while listening to a legend—spread across Sir Hekate's face. His lips parted.
"In the existence of a country... called Gauri."
"Gauri?"
Baron Bels asked at the unfamiliar name, but seeing Sir Hekate gazing out at the battlefield, he found he could press no further. Setting aside his impatience, Baron Bels too looked out over the battlefield being tidied up. One thing was becoming clear: Sir Hekate somehow felt more distant now.
Baron Silen Bels was furrowing his brow.
The corpses that had littered the battlefield were steadily being cleared away, but one thing remained uncleared.
The dozen-odd severed heads impaled on long spears planted in front of the fortress for all to see. From Duke Perren on down, the heads of North Roselin's commanders were all hanging there.
Baron Bels could not fathom why nobles would be insulted to this degree. Barring unavoidable circumstances, nobles were to be captured, not killed.
Even when slain, their bodies were to be protected intact—that was the continent's Nobility Law. Yet the row of severed heads seemed almost to mock the continent's nobility. Of course, such cases were not entirely unknown. In wars between nations, this sort of thing only happened when one side was being wiped out. It was a desperate measure to break the people's will to resist.
"Kahk, ptooey! Serves you right, you North Roselin dogs!"
"You said it!"
Soldiers from the fortress spat as they passed. Shaking his head, Baron Bels walked into the fortress.
The master of this fortress now was not Baron Silen Bels. It was Go Jin-cheon. He could concede that point, but he felt he had to at least raise the issue of the severed heads hanging outside.
"Let me meet your commander."
"Hold your tongue!"
At Baron Bels's measured words, the Gauri soldier who only that morning had stood before his office glared with killing intent.
Baron Bels felt a flash of anger inside, but he knew perfectly well that the hilt of the sword was not in his hand. He took a step back. They addressed their commander as Yeolje. Unlike the soldiers and Sir Hekate, Baron Bels could not bring himself to believe in the existence of Gauri.
"Let me meet His Majesty the Yeolje."
Creeeak.
"You're looking for me?"
"Your Majesty!"
Baron Bels's calm voice reached the soldiers guarding the door once more. Just then, the door opened and Go Jin-cheon's voice came through. The two soldiers at the door bowed deeply in salute. Baron Bels merely inclined his head slightly.
"Let's go outside."
"......."
Clank, clank, clank.
Jin-cheon said only what he had to say and strode outside. He was still wearing his clanking armor.
Step, step.
Baron Bels's footsteps followed behind.
Once outside, Jin-cheon gazed at the corpses being piled to one side. Baron Bels, drawing up beside him, carefully spoke.
"How about taking down the heads of the North Roselin command hanging outside now?"
He had phrased it as politely as he could.
"Why?"
"......."
Baron Bels stared at Jin-cheon, incredulous that the man would trample his carefully chosen words with a single syllable. Suppressing his anger with difficulty, he began to explain the Nobility Law.
"...Thus, the principle is to take enemy nobles prisoner, and even if they fall in battle, desecration of the body in this manner is forbidden. This is a clear violation of the continent's Nobility Law."
"Doesn't apply."
"It— Pardon?"
Thinking his explanation had gotten through to some extent, Baron Bels had begun to nod, only to find himself staring at Jin-cheon again. He could read nothing in that expressionless face.
"Are you ignoring the Nobility Law handed down across the continent!"
"Bullshit."
"......."
Jin-cheon's words were not long, but they were more than enough to leave Baron Bels speechless.
Abruptly, Jin-cheon turned his head toward Baron Bels, who had forgotten what he meant to say. Unable to speak under the overwhelming pressure suddenly radiating from Jin-cheon, Baron Bels found his eyes lowering to the ground before he realized it. As he stared downward, Jin-cheon's voice reached his ears.
"It's nothing but the dog-shit talk of cowards."
"......."
Another single sentence. Baron Bels kept silent. He judged that he needed to understand Jin-cheon's logic before he could contend with it. Jin-cheon's voice came again.
"Is war a game? War is waged when words fail and you seek an end. And what? It's only natural to take nobles prisoner, and even if you kill them, send them off with respect? Did they come to the battlefield for a picnic?"
"But—!"
"It's degenerating into nonsense. Is that Nobility Law so mighty that it got your king's head cut off?"
At Jin-cheon's venomous words, a brief shout of anger burst from Baron Bels.
"Such insolence!"
Snatch!
"Urk!"
Suddenly seized by the collar in Jin-cheon's grip, Baron Bels writhed at the tremendous strength of the hand. Each of Jin-cheon's words fell clearly and deliberately into the baron's ears.
"Listen well. In the end, something like the Nobility Law is just empty talk that only gets observed when the warring powers are more or less evenly matched. And it's a law for the convincing war-games of people who only ever fight local skirmishes."
Whump!
Thud!
"Guhk!"
Jin-cheon flung Baron Bels aside. Gasping for breath after being choked, Baron Bels raised his head with a flash of killing intent. But the words died in his throat. The Jin-cheon reflected in his eyes wore a look of sorrow unlike anything before.
"So in the end, these are merely sacrifices offered up for convincing war-games. I can't make sense of this place."
"......."
Jin-cheon's eyes were roaming over the piles of corpses. His gaze fixed, he continued speaking.
"Ultimately, it's just a promise made to beg for your own life in war. Those who have much to lose tend to cling to life. But I guarantee you, the moment a kingdom faces annihilation, this promise won't be kept at all."
"That..."
Baron Bels could offer no excuse. Wasn't their own king a case in point?
"Trying to cling to such a thing when you're on the losing side is sheer stupidity. Thinking, 'If I do this much, maybe they'll spare me.'"
Baron Bels's mind was in turmoil.
Was it merely a tacit promise the nobles themselves had crafted to beg for their lives in war? Wrapped up in the pretense called the Nobility Law?
A resolute voice came from Jin-cheon's lips.
"There is no nobility in war. Only desperation. If you want to survive on the battlefield, there are two ways: fight and win, or surrender before you die. Understand? From the start, there is no difference between that corpse rolling around over there and the head stuck on that spear shaft!"
At Jin-cheon's words, Baron Bels found himself staring at the piled corpses.
Baron Bels could not accept Jin-cheon's sophistry. The notions deeply rooted in his mind would not permit him to understand. But unlike his head, his heart seemed to understand—it was racing.
Chapter 25 — A Festival for the Dead
As night drew near, Go Jin-cheon and the other armed commanders waited in the main conference hall of Vihanen Fortress for the report of Samdopyo, wrapped head to toe in bandages.
"Your body?"
At Jin-cheon's curt question, Dupyo straightened his posture and answered in a booming voice.
"Keung, I'm perfectly fine!"
"That bastard's gonna make my eardrums fall out."
Eulji Buru grumbled, rubbing his ear. Beside him, Eulji Uru chimed in as if joking.
"Dupyo, what's with that body of yours? So you blocked every sword thrust with your body? That's just lack of training!"
In an instant, Dupyo's face went pale.
"I'll train harder!"
A stone thrown in jest can kill a frog. Observing from one side, Baron Bels looked on in bewilderment as Uru and Buru snickered and Dupyo froze up. Because they were now conducting the meeting in their own language, Baron Bels couldn't follow the conversation. He could only guess from Dupyo's behavior that these two held considerably high ranks.
"My lord."
"Ah, Hekate!"
"Use this."
What Hekate offered was a translation item. Aside from the Gauri commanders, the South Road Army commanders were also present, and for the meeting they were borrowing translation bracelets and rings from Jin-cheon and Buru. On top of that, they had seized a couple more translation items from the North Roselin forces looting South Roselin nobles' treasures as they moved.
The moment he activated the translation magic, Baron Bels recoiled at the conversation that reached his ears.
"When we get back to the homeland, it's special training for you! Your body's gone sluggish, bleeding all over the place. Anyway, just wait until you've healed."
"Understood!"
Baron Bels couldn't understand the way Uru and Buru casually bullied Dupyo as if it were a joke. A fighter of his caliber ought to be treated with the highest regard, yet here he was getting a thorough dressing-down. After all, the Aura Dupyo had channeled through his staff at the end had unmistakably reached Peak Sword Owner, just one step beneath Sword Master.
"Enough chatter. Report."
"At once!"
At Jin-cheon's single word, silence fell over the meeting hall. Baron Bels listened closely to their exchange.
"General Gye Ung-sam and the rest of the party are currently moving to rescue Baron Gowin, who is imprisoned in the capital of the Haian Kingdom. The reason I came this way..."
Dupyo recounted the progress up to now.
How twenty thousand elite troops of the Haian Kingdom had set out for the Holy Empire, and the man named Baron Gowin who had raised that force. And how Baron Gowin had been politically purged by the central government. In the midst of it, Baron Bels jolted at the news that the twenty-thousand-strong elite force Baron Gowin had raised was heading for the Holy Empire.