Chapter 347
Chapter 347
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 347
Chapter Title: Time of Death and Fear (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dong Ja-ryang stood a little apart from the group, arms crossed leisurely as he stared into the forest where Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji had leaped.
“It can’t really be Yi Hwan.”
Compared to himself, they were nothing impressive, but Dong Ja-ryang acknowledged that Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji possessed fairly advanced martial arts.
With those two charging in, he figured not even the most skilled assassin could escape.
The others thought the same.
Kwachijik!
As the severed bushes shot up, Dong Ja-ryang waited for the assassin to burst out.
But the forest beyond remained silent, and soon Do Geom emerged first.
“Stupid fools.”
Dong Ja-ryang’s face twisted, assuming they had failed to flush out the assassin.
But then—
“Watch your back!”
Do Geom suddenly shouted loudly toward him.
“……!”
Dong Ja-ryang reflexively leaped forward, twisting his body to the limit. In that split second, he spotted a streak of blue light flying at him and swung his sword with all his might.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
With a sharp grunt, Dong Ja-ryang was flung back like a gnat.
Blood dripped from his sword-gripping hand. The impact had torn his palm.
Dong Ja-ryang widened his eyes and steadied his stance. But the blue light had vanished, and the forest beyond was silent once more.
Swish!
Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji landed beside him.
Do Geom asked,
“Are you all right?”
Dong Ja-ryang trembled with his gaze, saying nothing. In that fleeting moment, he had glimpsed Yi Hwan staring at him from the forest.
“It’s Yi Hwan. That bastard.”
“Did you confirm it for sure?”
Dong Ja-ryang nodded heavily and turned back, shouting,
“Bring gold wound medicine and cloth!”
“Yes!”
Do Geom stared at the now eerily calm Dong Ja-ryang, subtly furrowing his brow.
‘He’s thoroughly pissed. Well, he’s been pushed back by that guy twice already.’
Of course, both times it had been ambushes, but it was bound to wound his pride.
At that moment, Yi Tae-ji tried to say something to Dong Ja-ryang.
Do Geom hurriedly stopped him.
[Best to leave him be for now.]
Seeing Do Geom’s darkened gaze, Yi Tae-ji shut his mouth. Only then did he sense an utterly different aura emanating from Dong Ja-ryang, who stood silently with his torn hand entrusted to a subordinate.
‘He’s like a completely different person. Is this his true face?’
* * *
“Great Prince!”
Yi Hwan climbed the mound.
Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun hurried over.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine.”
The Qin Kingdom warriors greeted him with great cheers.
Yi Hwan said to them,
“They won’t attack until their reinforcements arrive, so relax and eat something.”
“Understood!”
Kim Mu-gwan asked,
“Won’t they charge at least once anyway?”
“We don’t have the numbers for that.”
“Yes?”
Park Ji-mun tilted his head and asked,
“Did Your Highness perhaps thin their ranks?”
Yi Hwan nodded silently and took the waterskin from Kim Mu-gwan’s belt, quenching his thirst.
“I need some rest, so keep a good watch.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan walked to the base of the mound and sat cross-legged. He needed to recover his depleted internal energy, and he had to rethink countermeasures for the various situations ahead.
First, he considered the worst case.
‘If Qin reinforcements don’t come…’
The outcome was obvious. It was impossible for him, Kim Mu-gwan, and Park Ji-mun alone to save them all.
‘If we leave, they’re all dead.’
But he couldn’t fight to the end protecting them without Qin reinforcements.
Thus, there was only one conclusion.
‘Give it our all to the end, and if it’s unavoidable, abandon them.’
Was there another way?
He wanted to save them, but he couldn’t die for them.
Whoosh!
The wind shook the forest this way and that.
The Qin warriors soothed their hunger with their last rations, praying to the heavens for their allies to come.
How much time passed like that?
Waaah!
Suddenly, cheers erupted from below the mound.
Kim Mu-gwan turned to Yi Hwan with a stiff expression.
“Zhao Kingdom forces are entering. Not many in number, but they all seem to be martial artists.”
Yi Hwan rose and walked to the edge of the mound, looking down.
Over a hundred men were racing in from the west like the wind. Especially the leaders at the forefront displayed lightness skills of considerable mastery.
Kim Mu-gwan continued via transmission.
[Even adding their numbers, we can’t hold. You need to decide now.]
[Mu-gwan.]
[Yes, Great Prince.]
[We can escape anytime. So don’t give up prematurely—stay calm.]
[…Understood.]
Yi Hwan glanced back.
The mood was one of shared despair, without exception. One warrior knelt, shedding tears.
The middle-aged man and the general approached.
“Please leave this place now, Great Prince. If harm comes to you because of us, we couldn’t close our eyes even in death.”
“Indeed. We’ll never forget how you protected us until now, even in the afterlife. Thank you, Great Prince.”
Yi Hwan stared at the two.
“Giving up already?”
“Giving up? We’ll fight to our dying breath. But you must leave before it’s too late.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, so select the strongest and position them at the front of the mound.”
“Great Prince!”
“Showing them we can respond swiftly will buy us a little more time, so move quickly.”
“…Understood.”
Yi Hwan looked down at the base of the mound again.
A gray-robed man was approaching Dong Ja-ryang. Strangely, Dong Ja-ryang showed no sign of welcome.
Then—
Slap!
The gray-robed man suddenly struck Dong Ja-ryang’s cheek, sending him staggering back and sprawling on the ground.
The slap was so forceful that the sound reached even Yi Hwan.
Park Ji-mun muttered, furrowing his brow.
“I hope it’s infighting.”
“It’s not a normal situation, so it’s not bad for us.”
Yi Hwan shook his head.
“See it as the worst case.”
“Yes?”
“That guy’s been leading the group until now. For someone to slap him in front of everyone means there’s someone stronger.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Ha. Talk about mountains upon mountains of trouble, adding insult to injury.”
“He’s approaching.”
The gray-robed man who had slapped Dong Ja-ryang was coming toward the base of the mound.
Yi Hwan gazed down at him indifferently.
The gray-robed man halted and looked up at him.
“Are you the Great Prince of Yeon?”
Yi Hwan merely nodded.
The gray-robed man continued,
“Considering your status, surrender now and I guarantee your safety. I also promise not to take the lives of the Qin warriors.”
“No intention of doing that.”
“Trading your life for bravado? You know better than anyone there’s nothing you can do in this situation.”
“Is that so?”
“If you’re waiting for reinforcements, abandon that hope. The Qin forces that marched out to nearby areas ambushed our camp, lost, and retreated long ago. No matter how many signal flares you fire here, no Qin troops can see and come.”
Sighs burst from behind at his words. The faint hope they’d harbored was utterly severed.
“Will you give me time to think?”
“How much?”
“Half a shichen.”
“I’ll give you one shichen. Decide by then, or there’ll be no after.”
With that, the gray-robed man turned away.
Kim Mu-gwan asked,
“Did you mean that?”
“Of course not. We’ll drag it out even that one shichen.”
Park Ji-mun grinned at Yi Hwan’s words.
“Didn’t mean to scare me. Then we can only pray for a miracle within that shichen.”
“That’s how it is.”
Even the great Yi Hwan of the world couldn’t think of any way out, no matter how hard he racked his brain.
‘If it’s impossible, it’s impossible.’
In the end, like Park Ji-mun said, Yi Hwan could only wait for Qin reinforcements within that shichen.
Of course, there was something to confirm first. Yi Hwan gazed at the Qin warriors and asked in a heavy tone,
“Is fighting to the end the will of everyone?”
“Yes!”
“We’d rather die than surrender!”
“If anyone’s changed their mind, I urge you to surrender now. You have to live to plan for the future.”
Not a single one stepped forward at Yi Hwan’s words. Not even anyone glancing around.
‘A shame to leave them under an incompetent Grand Marshal.’
Yuan Kaise naturally came to mind.
To him, these men were nothing short of a luxury. No, he didn’t even qualify to lead them.
Kkieaak!
Dong Ja-ryang’s blue falcon circled overhead, crying repeatedly.
Yi Hwan gripped a stone, waiting for it to descend within range. But as if piercing his thoughts, the blue falcon flew even higher.
Then—
Swaeek!
With a sharp whistle, the blue falcon let out a mournful screech and began plummeting.
Kkieaak!
An arrow was embedded in the falling blue falcon’s body.
At the sudden event, Yi Hwan traced the arrow’s trajectory with his gaze.
He saw the eastern forest shaking. Then, two white-robed figures emerging from it stabbed into Yi Hwan’s eyes like daggers.
Baek Woo-kyeong and Baek Yeon. And behind them, over two hundred Qin warriors racing like the wind.
A faint smile crept onto Yi Hwan’s lips.
‘So miracles do exist.’
Kim Mu-gwan turned back and shouted,
“Reinforcements are coming.”
“Yes?”
“Come see.”
The middle-aged man and the general rushed forward. Spotting Baek Woo-kyeong and the others approaching like the wind, they shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Lord Baek is coming!”
Waaah!
The Qin warriors cheered in unison. To them, Baek Woo-kyeong was no different from a god.
* * *
Baek Woo-kyeong was anxious.
‘Please be safe…’
He’d learned too late. The unit where Yi Hwan had been staying had been thrown as bait for the operation’s success.
And that Yi Hwan had gone into the jaws of death with them.
Upon learning this, Baek Woo-kyeong had mobilized the warriors without even reporting to Yang Mu or Yuan Kaise. On the way, he’d seen the allied signal flare and headed here.
His fury was immense.
‘What does the Grand Marshal think of warriors!’
There was a world of difference between volunteering for a mission knowing you’d be a sacrifice for the homeland and being tossed as bait without knowing.
This was a grave insult to the warriors turned into sacrifices.
‘And I knew the Grand Marshal didn’t like the Great Prince, but to go this far.’
Even dragging in the Great Prince of Yeon Kingdom, who had nothing to do with this war.
He didn’t know what political motives were at play, but as a single warrior, he absolutely could not tolerate it.
Baek Yeon, running beside him, was equally outraged.
‘Has our Qin Kingdom rotted this much?’
In this utterly absurd situation, Baek Yeon couldn’t contain his despair. Having spent much time with Yi Hwan, it hit him even harder.
And behind them were warriors under Gong Ya-un and Yi Seong-ji.
Having learned the full story late, Yi Seong-ji had ordered them to assist Baek Woo-kyeong. Gong Ya-un had opposed, of course, but Yi Seong-ji’s will was so firm that he had no choice but to go.
*No matter how much I hate to admit it, Yeon absolutely needs the Fourth’s abilities. Losing him would directly weaken Yeon’s national power. So we must save the Fourth at all costs.*
Gong Ya-un sighed deeply, recalling Yi Seong-ji saying those words.
‘Are you still cherishing in your heart the homeland that took everything from you?’
Then—
“Zhao troops!”
“Draw swords!”
Chaechaechaechang!
Gong Ya-un drew his sword as well.
‘If that’s what Your Highness desires, then today this old man will fight as a Yeon warrior.’