Chapter 97
Chapter 97
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 97
Baron Bels had just heard staggering information. The Eastern Army was still holding back the North Roselin offensive. Of course, they had been pushed back as far as they could go, which had shortened the front line, but Marquis Helios Baikal was not called the War God of the East for nothing.
On top of that, Duke Perren's North Roselin forces, which had been securing the rear, had been annihilated in this very battle today. A mere ragtag force, perhaps, but an army of twenty thousand had collapsed in a single stroke. For North Roselin, which had already suffered catastrophic losses in the opening battles, it was obvious they no longer had any reserves. This result had given South Roselin a real chance to survive in this war.
The Holy Empire had been aiding them covertly, but they could no longer do so openly. In that case, even if South Roselin lost territory, they could drag out a protracted war and negotiate a truce. The clash of nation against nation was not a game of arithmetic. But what if twenty thousand more soldiers were suddenly added to the enemy's strength?
What business could twenty thousand elite soldiers have with the Holy Empire?
It was obvious they would be committed to the front line where the Eastern Army was engaged, passing through North Roselin. And those twenty thousand were not the same as North Roselin's twenty thousand.
This was a unit that had experienced years of real combat alongside Baron Gowin, the one called the Hawk of the Battlefield. The only consolation was that Baron Gowin would not be leading them in person.
Baron Bels felt despair.
But in contrast, a strange expression flickered across Jin-cheon's face.
"Twenty thousand, you say..."
Jin-cheon's words trailed off faintly.
"Good."
A smile formed. It was the expression of a predator that had just found choice prey. A single formula was already crystallizing in his mind.
'Gauri (Gye Ung-sam) → Rescue Baron Gowin.
Gauri + Baron Gowin = Twenty thousand elite soldiers.'
For the first time, Jin-cheon found Gye Ung-sam pleasing. With a satisfied smile, Jin-cheon gestured with his chin toward an empty seat, directing Dupyo. Dupyo rendered a simple military salute and was returning to his place when Jin-cheon, as if suddenly remembering something, called him back.
"Wait."
"Yes!"
"What is this business about Demon Tribes and the like?"
Dupyo's face went pale. A brain he normally never used began spinning at tremendous speed.
"Got him eating honey, huh? Why ain't he talking!"
"Ahem, about that..."
When Buru pressed him impatiently, Dupyo's complexion worsened further. But judging that everything would be fine if he just told the story properly, he raised his head and began to speak.
"Well, it is..."
Two deep furrows etched clearly between Jin-cheon's brows. Those two grooves, like well-scoured water channels, were proof that Jin-cheon was heated. Dupyo agonized over Jin-cheon's mercurial shifts. Before laying out the facts, he had to probe the situation first. That was Samdopyo's survival strategy.
"Daring to blather on about Demon Kings and Demon Tribes in front of His Majesty the Yeolje!"
"..."
At Buru's offhand remark, Dupyo's heart plummeted just as offhandedly. But he could stall no longer. Even if it meant a fatal beating, he staked everything on telling the truth.
"It happened while I was taking a walk in the gate city just before entering the capital of the Haian Kingdom..."
Dupyo's recollection unfolded slowly, and every person present listened intently. Here and there, they nodded, showed anger, and chimed in. Dupyo's earnest account enabled Jin-cheon to grasp the root cause of all these events.
"Nevertheless, it was rash."
"I had no choice. Due to my own lack of judgment..."
When Jin-cheon, having heard the whole story from the beginning, spoke in a low voice, Dupyo bowed his head with a guilty expression.
"Enough. You merely followed orders. Return to your seat."
Dupyo rendered a military salute and strode back with a triumphant air. He had told everything. The truth always gets through.
There were just a few minor... narrative errors. The part about sneaking out without leave to drink disappeared, and instead of pounding the furious priest after getting his broken tooth fixed, he had merely gotten himself out of harm's way first. And when Gye Ung-sam had launched himself at Priest Palo in the inn where he was staying, he had absolutely wrecked the place.
It was a bit of revenge and a survival tactic all in one.
This time, Jin-cheon summoned Buru.
"Army casualties?"
"Reporting as ordered."
When the subject of casualties came up, Buru's expression wavered slightly. Baron Bels, too, could not help but take an interest.
"From the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry, two seriously wounded. They was thrown from their war horses when the mounts went down, so their legs and arms and such got busted. And counting the axemen, shieldbearers, spearmen, and all the regular troops, there was a total of seventeen dead, two seriously wounded, and thirty-one lightly wounded. Plus, the recruits took quite a beating. Among the recruits, sixty-seven dead, eighty-one seriously wounded, and the lightly wounded come to two hundred forty-one."
"And the South Road Army?"
Jin-cheon nodded and looked toward Sir Hekate, who rose from his seat and began his report.
"Among those who charged alongside the main force, eighty-one were killed. Eighty-eight seriously wounded, one hundred twenty-seven lightly wounded. Among the troops who breached later, casualties were comparatively light: no dead. Seventeen seriously wounded and forty-seven lightly wounded in the process of suppressing minor resistance."
"Hm."
Jin-cheon nodded again. As Sir Hekate, having finished his report, resumed his seat, Jin-cheon, his eyes still closed, spoke again.
"Next?"
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence.
No one stepped forward with an additional report. In the brief stillness, Baron Bels glanced around, wondering what was going on.
"What are you doing, not reporting?"
As he casually surveyed his surroundings, Jin-cheon's voice issued forth again, and Baron Bels turned his head toward that voice. His eyes met Jin-cheon's.
"You mean... me?"
"Did someone call you a horse instead of a man just now? Quickly now, report!"
"..."
Though the translation item's limitations were faintly on display, Baron Bels understood. The eyes of Jin-cheon and everyone else were fixed on him.
'Why am I...'
Even as he wondered, Baron Bels rose from his seat with a bewildered look and produced the parchment on which his casualty figures were written. His face twisted into a harrowing grimace.
War is a game of numbers. But it is the difference between mere numbers that gouges at the human heart.
"Casualty report for Vihanen Fortress. Over the course of seven defensive battles up to this day, out of a total of 11,079 personnel... 5,071 dead, 1,207 seriously wounded, 1,483 lightly wounded."
The able-bodied numbered fewer than 3,500. Including the lightly wounded, they might just manage 5,000. How many of the seriously wounded would survive in these current wretched conditions, and even if they did, whether they could ever lift a weapon again was unknown.
"Enemy casualties?"
While Baron Bels was still hanging his head in devastation, the level, uninflected question came again. At Jin-cheon's voice, Buyeo Gi-yul rose from his seat and began his report.
"Including those who died within the fortress, we have taken 8,309 heads. Enemy seriously wounded numbered 2,377, lightly wounded 2,405, and prisoners 6,439. Additionally, the mounted archers pursued 329 enemy soldiers who attempted to flee and annihilated them all. A point of particular note: two enemy wizards have been captured. Both are said to be wizards assigned to communications."
"A great victory!"
"..."
Sir Hekate's face lit up. The reaction was shared by the entire South Road Army, for whom this had been deemed impossible. Baron Bels, too, erased his somber expression, raising his head with a faint smile. But their cheers did not last long.
A heavy air swirled around them.
The faces of the commanders from Gauri were darkened. Baron Bels and the officers of the South Road Army could not understand. How could their faces be so grim after such an overwhelming victory?
They would not know.
For the first time since crossing over from Gauri, the unit had suffered fatalities. Though it was a small number—fifteen. But the fact that the seriously wounded numbered only four, including those from the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry, told them that even in taking those grievous wounds, they had thrown their own lives away to save their comrades. This could not be compared with a game of numbers, for they were a community bound by shared fate.
Sseuk.
Wordlessly, Jin-cheon rose.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
He strode to the window and opened it.
Creeeak.
The crimson glow of sunset had faded, and the stars were beginning to emerge.
"Bring out the liquor."
"Understood."
Buru rose quietly, rendered a military salute, and went out to prepare the drink. As commanders silently filed out behind him, Jin-cheon, expressionless, murmured softly to himself.
"And slaughter a steer. Let us... hold a feast."
Baron Bels remained to the very last, listening to Jin-cheon's inscrutable murmurings.
* * *
Flames leap upward.
The scent of blood rises anew.
Yet upon the faces of those watching, smiles are painted.
Victory.
This is the privilege enjoyed by the survivors.
Liquor was brought out, and cattle and pigs, scattering their cries for the revelry, were transformed into slabs of meat.
Had they forgotten the exhaustion of battle?
Only smiles hung on the soldiers' faces. Before long the meat was cooked, and everyone received a drink. The soldiers, who had fought day after day on the edge of anxiety and death, cast aside their worries, burst into laughter, and tore into the drink and meat.
"Gahahaha!"
"You take a cup too!"
Hearty laughter spilled from someone's lips. Are slaughter and appetite truly separate things? Even after cutting through human flesh and pounding men into the ground, there was no revulsion in those tearing at the meat. Rather than revulsion, perhaps it was simply numbness.
The stars grew more numerous in the sky, and the great moon rose, leading its two little moonlets. The soldiers' robust laughter was gradually sinking under the influence of the drink.
The soldiers transmuted the stench of death caked onto their entire bodies into the aroma of liquor. They replaced hearts drunk on blood with hearts drunk on alcohol. Yet as time passed, the joy of victory shifted into the joy of survival. The joy of survival soon made them remember the comrades who had vanished from their sides.
"Ferguson, that fellow, if he'd just held on a little longer he'd have lived... damn fool."
A soldier tilting his cup with bitterness.
"Waaah! You bastard, you saved my life and went and dropped dead—you think I'd say thank you for that?!"
A soldier for whom survival had turned into guilt.
"Huh-uhng!"
The sorrow of a soldier who had lost one of two brothers who had gone out together.
Still, these men were the victors.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Heavy metallic sounds rang out from one side. The footsteps of Go Jin-cheon and the other commanders drew the attention of the soldiers.
The clamor of the survivors soon fell silent. The soldiers who had been rescued within Vihanen Fortress bowed their heads, the soldiers of Gauri rendered military salutes, and the soldiers of the South Road Army directed infinite reverence toward them.
"The moon is bright. That is good."
Go Jin-cheon's voice resounded in the stillness as he gazed at the sky. His head, which had been tilted skyward, turned to one side. Wine casks gathered from every corner were stacked there.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
His halted footsteps resumed, ringing in harmony with the clatter of iron scales from the Chalgap armor jostling against his body. His steps carried him toward the wine casks.
"Hmm."
Standing before the casks, Jin-cheon hoisted two enormous ones onto his shoulders in one swift motion. At this display of monstrous strength, some among the soldiers were astonished; others took it for granted.
Likewise, Eulji Uru, following behind, shouldered two casks side by side and trailed after Jin-cheon. Behind him came Eulji Buru, bearing the Three-legged Crow flag. As the commanders passed, the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry fell in behind them as if on cue, and after them, the remaining Gauri soldiers rose from their places and joined the procession one by one.
"Let's go too."
Hailon followed.
Starting with him, the recruits formed a column. Where their steps finally halted: there, on a neatly stacked bier, lay the dead of the Gauri soldiers.
Go Jin-cheon ascended the bier.
Beneath Jin-cheon's feet lay the seventeen people of Gauri, eyes closed in stillness.
For those who had left their homeland, there was no place to return to anyway.
Thud!
The two wine casks slammed onto the bier with a tremendous noise. Wordlessly, Jin-cheon pulled open the bungs. A deep, heady aroma of liquor wafted from the mouths of the casks. Jin-cheon lifted an opened cask and spoke quietly, as though addressing the fallen Gauri soldiers.
"You must have thirsted for a drink."
Gush—!
As he poured liquor over the bodies of the soldiers lying on the bier, Jin-cheon's appearance seemed sublime rather than wretched. A second cask was poured over the soldiers' bodies.
"You bastards, getting pickled in booze to your hearts' content, ain't ya!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Puhahahaha!"
At Buru's jesting, laughter suddenly erupted on all sides. The Gauri soldiers were breaking into laughter, as if finding something wildly funny. Those startled by their laughter were the recruits, the South Road Army, and Baron Bels's soldiers who had followed behind them, mingled with the northern mercenaries.
Laughing at such a sublime sight?
And the man up there pouring the liquor was their king, the one they called the Yeolje—and they dared to laugh out loud at his actions? The laughter did not cease.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"Please wait and see."
This was not Baron Bels's place to intervene, yet a surge of anger propelled him forward. The one who stopped him, however, was Sir Hekate.
"You expect me to wait, even after seeing that?!"
"Their laughter has not stopped."
"That is precisely..."
Only then did Baron Bels sense something strange. Everyone was laughing. The Gauri recruits, who had been standing blankly, began to laugh as well. Awkwardly, but they laughed. They laughed without pause. They laughed so hard they almost seemed mad.
Crash!
"Gahahahahaha!"
A wild laugh burst out as an empty cask flew and smashed into the ground.
Baron Bels's gaze was drawn involuntarily toward that wild laughter. Jin-cheon, who had been pouring the liquor, was laughing.
"They've gone mad..."
A South Roselin soldier spoke softly. Three thousand Gauri soldiers were laughing like madmen.
Whoosh—!
"Gasp!"
"Madmen!"
The bier erupted in flames. Just like the South Roselin soldiers, Baron Bels was shocked. Jin-cheon had set it alight even while he was still atop the bier.
The liquor met the fire and combusted rapidly.
FWOOSH!
"Hup!"
Astonished cries burst from the mouths of the South Road Army officers and Baron Bels as they were rushing forward. The flames roaring up from the bier had split apart in an instant.
A Hwandudaedo gripped in a single hand.
The ring-pommel greatsword in Go Jin-cheon's hand was guiding the flames.
The fire spread left and right, following Jin-cheon's hand. His body soared into the empty air.
The flames followed him.
Was the fire dancing,
Or was Jin-cheon dancing?
The sword dance unfolding within the flames made every jaw drop. Small embers, sliced by the sweeping blade, billowed like snow blossoms. Spiraling around Jin-cheon's whirling body, the flames swirled and shot skyward like a towering column of fire.
FWOOSH!
Whoooosh!
From within the roaring pillar of fire, Jin-cheon's body tore through it like a firebird hatching from its egg.
He was flying.
Silhouetted against the moon hanging in the sky, Jin-cheon's shadow rippled as he flew.
Baron Bels murmured without realizing it.
"Like a bird..."
Jin-cheon's figure, soaring against the backdrop of the moon, looked just like a bird.
"He looks like the three-legged bird drawn inside that flag."
The flame wreathing Jin-cheon's body and the moon's image made him appear just like the Three-legged Crow beating its wings within the fire.
Thud!
After soaring for a long while, Jin-cheon alighted upon the earth. Behind him, the towering blaze illuminated the dark night.
"Now, we drink too. Those fellows have had their fill alone, haven't they! Hahahaha!"
Lifting a remaining wine cask, Jin-cheon shouted.
"Let's drink!"
"Hee-hee-hee!"
Jin-cheon, pouring liquor straight into his mouth, was dancing and singing. Buru danced, swinging the flag. Uru beat a drum, keeping the rhythm. The soldiers poured their drinks and laughed, singing... and dancing.