Devouring Mount Tai (3)
The sound of hooves pounded against the muddy path churned up by melting snow. Having trampled the west underfoot, we pressed eastward without rest. Like ravenous beasts changing hunting grounds once more.
I gripped the reins tightly and led from the front.
Yu Byeok immediately chimed in from beside me.
I curled the corner of my mouth upward.
In the west, those valley-and-mountain bastards kept popping out of hiding and wasted an absurd amount of our time. The root cause was charging in too recklessly, trusting only in our superior numbers. But things were different now.
I raised my hand and summoned the bandit messengers.
"From here on, the cavalry will circle around and strike their rear. Tell the scouts to report back immediately on any nearby movements or clustered enemies. And even if their numbers are small, if they run it'll be a pain in the ass. So don't swarm them all at once and trample them. Send in roughly equal or slightly fewer numbers to pin them down and buy time. As long as you hold them in place, the cavalry or the main force can surround and finish them off."
As the order spread, the troops began dispersing with surprising speed. Their movements were far quicker than before. All thanks to the bitter lessons learned in the west.
Taishan eastern region.
The enemy was already sprawled across the mountainside.
"Boss! We've spotted the enemy!"
The scout who'd gone ahead came galloping back, covered in dust.
"How many?"
"At most one hundred and fifty! They're not even properly formed up—just scattered everywhere!"
I burst into mocking laughter.
At the base of the slope, the enemy clutched their spears with trembling hands, only exchanging nervous glances. It was almost embarrassing to even call them an army.
"Good."
I wheeled my horse around and moved to the front of the troops.
"This time, just draw their attention and buy time. The cavalry will hit them from behind and sweep them clean."
"Understood!"
Yu Byeok and the others answered sharply.
I gave a firm nod.
I tightened my grip on the spear and pulled the reins. The wind whipped at my collar, and across the eastern mountain ranges I could see the silhouettes of terrified men.
I was hungry.
It was time to eat my fill once again.
The cavalry began circling along the slope while the main force sent only a small detachment forward. Unlike in the west, we didn't press them with our full numbers. A smaller force would step forward to seize their attention while the real extermination would be handled by the cavalry swinging around behind them.
"Boss! Everyone's in position!"
The messenger came running.
I nodded.
The enemy began screaming among themselves.
"Behind! Behind!"
"It's cavalry!"
Watching their reaction from a distance, I slowly curled my lips into a grin.
At first they panicked and flailed about, but once the situation turned to shit, they started lowering their heads.
"We surrender! We'll surrender! Spare us!"
One after another, they dropped to their knees and cast aside their weapons.
Watching them, I slowly advanced forward.
Then I spat out a cold remark.
I raised my spear from atop my horse. The kneeling men trembled and staggered. Without hesitation, I hurled the spear.
-Whoosh-!
"Aaaaaargh!!"
The spearhead pierced straight through the skull of one man lying prone. He thrashed for a moment before going still. The men around him were horrified, but the word "surrender" no longer left their lips.
I drew my sword and spoke coldly.
The bandits roared as they charged toward the remaining trash. Screams and shrieks spread on the winter wind. Trampled by hooves, skewered by spears, caught from behind while trying to flee—every last one died.
"Uwaaaaagh!!"
"Gaaaaagh!!"
The bandits slaughtered every single one without mercy. The battlefield was cleaned up in no time.
Yu Byeok approached and reported.
"Cleanup complete. No survivors."
I jerked my chin toward the corpses.
I flicked the blood from my blade and lazily turned my reins. Not a single one of my enemies had escaped this time. The screams had already died out.
I looked around. Not a single man had managed to flee. Every last one had been swept away.
The bandits stripped the dead of their weapons and armor.
"Search them all and take anything useful," I ordered, turning my head. "Shields, spear shafts—gather every sturdy piece you can find."
"Yes!!"
The bandits began the grim work of cleaning up, accompanied by the sounds of creaking metal. They stripped blood-soaked armor, trampled torn banners into the mud, and sorted out any weapons that could still be used.
I held the reins and slowly moved forward.
"Now... our numbers should grow a bit more."
The fifteen hundred men gained from crushing the west. Of those, five hundred still needed more observation, so the number we could actually mobilize was one thousand. The east had been smaller in scale than the west, so resistance had been lighter, and the thousand who had surrendered could be incorporated immediately.
And what we'd gained wasn't just numbers.
These men had grown faster and more efficient at crushing enemies through real combat. There were still many rough edges, but having learned how to move with some organic coordination, they had become far more useful.
I twisted one corner of my mouth.
Yu Byeok approached and reported.
"Cleanup complete. We've recovered all usable equipment."
"And the troops?"
"The main force stands at four thousand. If we call in the thousand who surrendered in the west and the fifteen hundred currently guarding the minimum necessary routes in the south..."
I nodded.
"Yes."
Yu Byeok answered briefly.
"Two thousand are newly incorporated, so they'll require some effort to manage, but they're still at a level we can control."
"Good."
I mulled it over.
I gazed at the massive Taishan. Tree branches swayed in the winter wind. Beneath the cloudy sky, the mountain range lay silent. But this calm wouldn't last long.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
Sixty-five hundred. That was the number of men currently in my grasp.
I stood atop a hill, reins in hand. The troops spread out fully before my eyes. Rag armor, creaking shields, spears of uneven length, haphazardly tied banners. At a glance they fell far short of a proper regular army, but for bandit scum, having this much equipment already meant they were acting like proper humans.
"Good. Everyone prepare."
At my command, the men began to move. They tightened the straps on their leather armor, re-bound loose sword hilts, and the cavalry adjusted the saddles on their horses. Here and there, bandits threw punches to loosen their bodies.
"Hey, you fuck! Tighten your belt properly!"
"Stop whining about your shield being half-broken and just fix it so it can at least block your head!"
Their discipline was shit, but their vigor overflowed.
I turned to look at Yu Byeok.
"We left five hundred behind. Will that be enough?"
"We've positioned them only on the main routes. If the enemy comes down or others try to climb up, they'll flee while buying time."
"Supplies?"
"We have some, but not an abundance. We can't organize a proper supply unit, and everyone brought as much as they could carry, so we should last one to two weeks. After that, we'll have to head back south."
I let out a short laugh.
Yu Byeok shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, it looks like we'll be doing banditry on a rather grand scale now."
"Banditry? Once we take Taishan, it'll be tens of thousands. Tens of thousands."
I tightened my grip on the spear. The cloth tied to the shaft fluttered in the wind.
I slowly scanned the bandits. Men with mud caked thick on their ankles, men with dried blood on their hands, men wrapped in torn hides. But—their eyes were pleasing to see.
They were no longer starving beasts.
They were beasts holding their breath, waiting to catch their prey.
"Open your ears wide and listen carefully."
I slowly raised my spear.
The murmuring bandits fell silent.
I twisted my lips into a grin.
The sixty-five hundred men roared in unison. A massive shout that shook the mountain range and seemed to reach the clouds.
I nodded in satisfaction.
Hooves kicked up muddy water, spear tips tore through the wind, and the army of sixty-five hundred began to move—slowly, yet with savage force. Beneath the gray sky, the winter wind blew cold, but the starving predator crept forward, holding its breath as it approached its prey.
Taishan northern region.
Now this vast mountain was on the verge of falling beneath our feet.