Siege Weapons
"Stop!"
They did not stop.
"I said stop!"
They still did not stop.
"We've arrived! You damned beasts! We've arrived already—aaaaah!"
Tal-myeong-gwi-geom's scream stretched out like a death rattle, and then—
KWAANG!
In the end, the Ironclad Fortress slammed straight into a building.
A structure already blackened by fire stood no chance against that overwhelming impact.
Crack! Crunch!
Pillars snapped one after another in a chain of brittle reports, and then—
Rumble!
With a vibration that shook the earth, the building collapsed completely into itself.
"……!"
Faced with that scene of absolute destruction, the people of Moyong Un-jeong's side who had raced to the main gate at once, wondering what had happened, all found themselves speechless.
"W-what in the world is going on here?"
No one could answer the elder who had been showered, without warning, in dust and ash.
"I-is he dead?"
As dirt and ash fell like rain, the gathered crowd murmured among themselves.
"There's no way anyone walks away from a crash like that."
"Looked like an absurdly expensive carriage, too. What a waste."
Then, from the direction of the fallen building, came a string of curses.
"Damn it all…!"
Coughing, still—
"You crazy cattle bastards!"
From within the cloud of ash and dust, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom kicked debris aside and walked out completely unharmed. The onlookers stared in shock.
"-----!"
"-----!"
And behind him, with a thunderous bellow, two spirit beasts burst through the wreckage of the building they had been buried under, followed by the Ironclad Fortress itself—without so much as a scratch on it.
"……!"
"……!"
They could not contain their astonishment.
"Not a single wound from an impact like that!"
"Who in the world is that man?!"
"Truly no ordinary martial artist…!"
As the gathering crowd stirred and stared at him, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom, who had been mid-tirade at the spirit beasts, suddenly became aware of their eyes.
"Ahem, ahem!"
One of the elders called out to him.
"Just who are you?!"
At that question, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom's five swords rattled deliberately in their sheaths, flaunting their presence. He grinned and opened his mouth.
"As for me—"
Then—
"Hey!"
Through the parting crowd, Yeon So-hyeon, the Eldest Young Master, walked out and scolded Tal-myeong-gwi-geom in his usual manner.
"Gatekeeper! Why are you so late?!"
The crowd erupted into a sudden buzz.
"Gatekeeper…?"
"He said gatekeeper…?"
"Gatekeeper, he said…?"
Tal-myeong-gwi-geom bellowed.
"I am not the gatekeeper!"
The people stirred again.
"He says he's not the gatekeeper…?"
"But just now, the Eldest Young Master clearly called him the gatekeeper, didn't he…?"
Tal-myeong-gwi-geom turned toward the Eldest Young Master with a look of pure injustice.
"My lord! What grudge do you hold against me that you heap this humiliation on me every single day—!"
But—
"Haha! You two, have you been well? You look full of spirit—that makes me glad!"
The Eldest Young Master ignored him completely and was already stroking the two spirit beasts.
As the beasts lowed and rubbed their heads against him, Yeon So-hyeon smiled and introduced them to Moyong Un-jeong.
"Un-jeong. These children are called Nureongi and Geomdungi. They were my mother's spirit beasts."
Moyong Un-jeong's eyes went round.
"N-Nureongi and Geomdungi, you say?"
Whereupon Nureongi and Geomdungi lowed again and nodded their heads as if in answer.
"My word…! It's as if they understand and are answering, is it not?"
Those present could not help but marvel.
"Nureongi and Geomdungi?"
"Well now, that's something."
"Truly worthy of spirit beasts…!"
Branded a gatekeeper in an instant and then cast entirely out of the crowd's interest, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom wore the most wronged expression in the world as he shouted.
"No, how can a lord ignore the man who suffered all the way here and fuss over the beasts first—!"
Once again, his words never reached an ending.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—!
A troop of horsemen poured through the main gate in a thunder of hooves.
Each rider wore a sword across his back, and the long black robes streaming behind them seemed to drink in the sunlight like the shadows of death itself. Every last one of them looked as sharp as a naked blade.
"…Warriors of the Sword Clan?"
"…They look vicious."
Even those without internal energy could sense their extraordinary quality at a glance.
The horses stamped to a halt amid a haze of dust, snorting hard. The man at the front vaulted down and clasped his hands before the Eldest Young Master.
"We are late, my lord. Forgive us."
Yeon So-hyeon shook his head.
"No. You arrived exactly on time. Well done."
"You honor us. We are not so accustomed to horseback, so it took longer than expected."
Faced with that warm model of lord and vassal, the most aggrieved party was, of course, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom.
"No, then what about me—?!"
Leaving his cry behind him, Moyong Un-jeong asked the Eldest Young Master.
"Eldest Young Master. These men are…?"
Yeon So-hyeon turned toward her with a smile.
"These are precisely the 'proper martial artists' you asked for."
From behind, Tal-myeong-gwi-geom shouted.
"And me?!"
Moyong Family, rebel camp.
Temporary command post.
The atmosphere in the command post was foul.
"…We should surrender even now."
"Nonsense! Did you not hear Moyong Un-jeong's declaration?!"
"Better to fight to the last than surrender to the very villain who reduced our Moyong Family to this wretched state!"
The soaring spire of the Grand Council Hall was clearly visible even from here. Once it became known that the Council Speaker's head hung from that spire—and that the heads of their own leaders, Moyong Wan and Moyong Chu-san, had been put on display as well—the power brokers of the Pro-Prince faction and the Pro-Murim Alliance faction, who had hastily laid down their weapons against one another for the sake of survival, had joined hands.
"This is all because you people of the Pro-Prince faction fled the estate without even putting up a proper fight!"
"And you of the Pro-Murim Alliance—how many of you are even left to swagger about?!"
In the early chaos, those quicker on the uptake had already vanished from within the family, and their whereabouts remained unknown.
"Swagger?! Do you want to settle accounts with us before you even face Moyong Un-jeong?!"
"If you want a fight, I'll take your head first!"
One or two men slammed their chairs aside and rose, and the air froze in an instant.
"Haha! Why the long faces, all of you?"
Into that atmosphere strode a man, laughing heartily as he entered the command post.
"Commander of the Sword Corps!"
It was Moyong Tak, Commander of the Sword Corps—the officer who oversaw the entire Sword Corps of the Moyong Family.
"How could the mood possibly be good?!"
"Did you not hear Moyong Un-jeong's declaration?!"
"If it has come to this, we should at least have secured an escape route in advance!"
Even as the rage that had been about to explode turned upon him—
"Come now, all of you only know how to think of one thing, never two."
Moyong Tak clicked his tongue as if unconcerned.
"This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity granted to us."
"A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity?"
"Indeed."
With the heavy clink of his full plate armor, he took his place at the center of the command post and continued.
"Moyong Wan? Moyong Chu-san? Those men who strutted about as leaders were the first to flee and the first to lose their lives. As for those not present here now—they are cowards not even worth mentioning!"
"On that we agree, but—"
"But!"
Moyong Tak cut off the rising discontent and cried out.
"What do you think will happen if we defeat Moyong Un-jeong here?"
A few cynical men snorted.
"Defeat her?"
"What nonsense…"
As those present nodded in half-hearted agreement—
"Come now. Victory in war, as opposed to a single battle, takes more than one form."
Moyong Tak clicked his tongue as if frustrated, then asked.
"Do you believe that to win, we must necessarily crush Moyong Un-jeong herself?"
"…What do you mean by that?"
"Just now, word arrived from an outer branch by messenger pigeon."
Moyong Tak drew crumpled slips of paper from his robes, unfolded them, and smiled.
"The vanguard forces of the Mount Hua Sect and the Wudang Sect are on their way to aid us, and the Prince is in final negotiations with the Neutral Tribal Confederation to hire mercenary companies."
In an instant, every face in the room lit up.
"Ohh…!"
"The Mount Hua Sect and the Wudang Sect!"
"And even the mercenary companies of the Neutral Tribal Confederation! His Highness the Prince has not abandoned us!"
Those whose minds turned quickly began to nod.
"Then…"
"As the Commander says, the conditions for victory have changed."
"Exactly so!"
Moyong Tak allowed himself a smile of satisfaction.
"The reinforcements are close at hand, and Moyong Un-jeong cannot leave the Grand General's headquarters empty indefinitely! If we simply hold out, we win!"
He flung out an arm and pointed outside.
"Though the Second Sword Corps fell gloriously defending the Grand Council Hall, I still have two sword corps and sturdy forces under my command! Moreover…!"
His smile turned sharp.
"We have no escape route left, so not a single man can flee. The entire force has no choice but to hold on for dear life."
And they still possessed the Moyong Family's inner walls—fortifications expanded and rebuilt over long years to repel the northern tribes.
"If we only hold out, victory is ours…!"
Those present began at last to cast off the heavy pall of defeat and reclaim their will to fight.
"So this is our chance!"
Toward them, Moyong Tak clenched his fists and cried out with fervor.
"In times of chaos, heroes are born! In place of the cowards who fled and died—"
His clenched fists rose with the force of his oration toward its climax.
"We ourselves shall become the new masters of this great Moyong Family—!"
KWAAAAAANG!
A roar like a thunder-bomb swallowed Moyong Tak's voice whole.
"Wh-what?!"
As the inner walls shook as if in an earthquake, those present staggered and lost their balance.
"Th-this is disastrous…!"
A warrior came tumbling into the command post, his face paper-white as he shouted.
"The gate has been breached!"
Screeeech!
The massive iron gate, already half-warped, let out a grotesque groan and slowly tipped inward.
"I-it's falling!"
"Get clear!"
Beyond the iron gate that crashed down with a tremendous roar, what appeared was—
"------!"
"------!"
two spirit beasts roaring with blood-red eyes, and a colossal ox-drawn carriage gleaming with a dark luster.
And atop it—
"…I just arrived, and now I'm being sent into battle? Just when did people start treating me this poorly?"
—stood a man on the driver's seat, muttering incomprehensible words like a madman.