Black Mountain Army(?) – Julu Commandery, Jizhou
In the large tent, Jang Wu-gak had summoned his subordinates. The land around the tent lay barren and desolate. Jang Wu-gak’s Black Mountain Bandits had been raiding across Jizhou, and in response the provincial forces under Gongsun Zan, Inspector of Jizhou, had marched under the banner of suppressing bandits. The common people had all fled. Yet Jang Wu-gak paid the matter no mind. Something far more important demanded his attention.
“That bastard Jang Yeon of the Black Mountain Bandits sent a letter,” Jang Wu-gak said, tapping the paper with a thick finger.
“What does it say, Boss?”
“I hear a fellow named Jang Yeon has been making quite a name for himself in Yanzhou lately.”
“They say he unified Taishan and now commands tens of thousands of troops.”
The subordinates buzzed with speculation. Jang Wu-gak twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
“That’s right. The Jang Yeon from Taishan proposed an alliance. We base ourselves in Jizhou, he takes Yanzhou, and we merge our forces.”
“If we combine… our army alone exceeds thirty thousand. Add his tens of thousands and we’ll easily surpass fifty thousand!”
“This isn’t the Black Mountain Bandits anymore—it’s the Black Mountain Army, right, Boss?”
“Uahahahahahat!!”
Jang Wu-gak threw his head back and roared with laughter. The coarse sound ripped through the air.
“Yeah… the Black Mountain Army,” Jang Wu-gak muttered, eyes still on the letter. “No one will dare look at us as nothing but a rabble of thieves anymore.”
He made his decision on the spot. “Fine. We accept the alliance.”
His men erupted in cheers.
“You’ll be the general of the Black Mountain Army, Boss, and give that Jang Yeon bastard the vice-general seat?”
“Obviously.” Jang Wu-gak snorted. “Who would submit to whom? A man who barely swallowed Taishan thinks he can stand above me?”
His subordinates burst into applause again.
Jang Wu-gak quickly penned his reply. He accepted the alliance, declared himself general of the Black Mountain Army, and named Jang Yeon his second-in-command. The moment he finished, the final line of Jang Yeon’s original letter floated back into his mind.
Beware of arrows.
Jang Wu-gak let out a derisive chuckle. “Worrying about every little thing. Who the hell does he think I am, to fall to a single arrow?”
He dismissed the warning Jang Yeon had written without another thought.
“We march south!”
At Jang Wu-gak’s command, the new banner of the Black Mountain Army was raised. His forces began to move. The Black Mountain Bandits streaming out of Julu flowed southward like a black tide. Their march—kicking up dust, carving through the land with raw momentum—looked nothing like the usual rabble of bandits.
“Puhahat.” Jang Wu-gak laughed again, remembering the letter. Now we’re the Black Mountain Army. Once fifty thousand men gather under one banner, we could seize an entire province.
He rode at the head of the column, thoughts swelling with ambition. His subordinates were equally fired up.
“We’re finally becoming a real warlord faction!”
“Black Mountain Army… Uahahaha!”
“From Jizhou to Yanzhou, no one will hear our name without trembling!”
Once clear of Julu, the army split into two columns. The main force under Jang Wu-gak led the way while the rear guard hauled supplies. The early spring wind still carried a chill. The air was cold and heavy, yet the Black Mountain Bandits marched with unstoppable momentum.
But eyes were watching them.
From a distant ridge, a government scout carefully revealed himself. The provincial army moved on direct orders from Inspector Gongsun Zan: the bandit groups plaguing Jizhou—especially Jang Wu-gak—were to be eliminated at all costs.
“The Black Mountain Bandits are marching south.”
The scout stayed hidden and lit a signal fire. Deep in the forest, the ambushing government troops tensed at once. Every preparation had already been made.
And Jang Wu-gak knew nothing.
He did not realize the road he walked did not lead to new glory, but to a single arrow slicing through the air.
The southward-moving Black Mountain Bandits advanced without fear. Their black wave of men, the roars bursting from their throats—everything brimmed with arrogance.
“Once we reach Taishan, even the Yanzhou bastards will be shouting our name.”
Jang Wu-gak laughed with absolute confidence. His men laughed with him.
But government troops already waited along the path they would take.
Swish.
The grass beside the road trembled faintly—not from wind, but from soldiers holding their breath.
“——Now! Fire!”
A short command. A storm of arrows poured from the trees.
Shhk— shhk— shhk—
The shafts whistled as they tore through the sky.
“Aaaargh!”
“Take cover!”
The subordinates screamed and scrambled low, but the unprepared bandits had no defense. Dozens fell in an instant.
“Fall back! Form ranks!” Jang Wu-gak bellowed.
His orders never reached them. The terrified bandits scattered in chaos while the government troops remained hidden among the trees, loosing volley after volley.
Then—
Swooosh!
A single arrow punched through the air straight toward Jang Wu-gak.
“Khk…!”
He could not dodge. The arrowhead slipped through a gap in his armor and buried itself in his chest.
Thud.
Jang Wu-gak stared down at his own torso in disbelief. …To a single arrow… me…?
His body staggered. The ground seemed to tilt; his vision blurred.
“B-Boss!”
“The Boss is hit!”
His men’s screams sounded distant and muffled. Jang Wu-gak gazed at the collapsing sky and slowly sank to his knees.
I should have… been more careful… with the arrows…
As consciousness slipped away, Jang Wu-gak regretted not taking the letter from Jang Yeon seriously. The man who had so arrogantly dreamed of becoming general of the Black Mountain Army fell to a single shaft.
The moment Jang Wu-gak collapsed, the Black Mountain Bandits plunged into pure pandemonium.
“The Boss!”
“The Boss is dead!”
Screams of despair erupted. Terror spread like wildfire, devouring what little discipline remained. Arrows continued to slice through the underbrush.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Before the rain of death falling from the sky, no one could think clearly.
“Fuck, stop running!”
“Form ranks, you bastards!”
A few mid-ranking men shouted, trying to halt the rout, but it was useless. Bandits dodging arrows had no idea which way to run and simply panicked.
“Fuck, run!”
“We’re all going to die like this!”
Screams and curses tangled together. Some seized horses and fled alone; others, lost in blind terror, shoved their own comrades aside and bolted into the forest. As the bandits fell into total disorder, the government troops drew their bows like madmen, determined to empty every last quiver.
“Aaaargh!”
“Spare me!”
A bloody mist sprayed into the air. Bandits dropped one after another. The Black Mountain Bandits, long accustomed to moving under Jang Wu-gak’s command, were helpless once their head was severed. Meanwhile, government soldiers inside the thicket began pressing forward, not only with arrows but with coordinated advances.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The sound of galloping horses drifted from beyond the brush. Strangely, only the hoofbeats could be heard—no voices, no visible riders. Just the constant noise of cavalry circling and the endless hiss of arrows.
…Fuck, they even brought cavalry.
The surviving mid-level leaders had no composure left to question the oddity.
“We’ll all die at this rate!”
“Scatter!”
“Retreat! Everyone run!”
The cry acted like a lifeline. The last bandits still hesitating finally turned tail and sprinted out of the forest. The black banner of the Black Mountain Bandits was abandoned in the bloody haze.
By the time dusk fell on the outskirts of Julu Commandery, the surviving remnants cautiously gathered. Every face was exhausted.
“……You alive?”
“Barely. Fuck…”
The bandits checked on one another. No matter where they looked, Jang Wu-gak was nowhere to be seen.
“What do we do now?”
“No Boss, no formation left…”
A heavy pall of despair settled over them. No one stepped forward to give direction.
But then an older-looking bandit opened his heavy mouth.
“……You all know, don’t you? The Boss was pushing for an alliance with someone.”
At his words, the men gathered at the forest’s edge lifted their heads.
“Jang Yeon of Taishan.”
“The one who unified Taishan and commands tens of thousands?”
“That’s him.”
Murmurs spread.
“If it’s Jang Yeon…”
“He could rebuild the Black Mountain Army.”
“……The Boss did acknowledge him, after all…”
“Right. The Boss even planned to give him the vice-general seat.”
Little by little, life returned to their defeated eyes.
“We are the Black Mountain Army.”
“We can’t just scatter because the Boss is dead.”
“Let’s head for Taishan.”
“Let’s go find Jang Yeon.”
The voices that had begun timidly grew steadily stronger.
“To Taishan!”
“We have to survive!”
The scattered fragments of the broken banner on the outskirts of Julu began to gather once more. The bloodied men rose to their feet and turned their steps toward Taishan. Though the Black Mountain Army’s flag had fallen, their will had not yet been extinguished.
Taishan. The cold mountain wind brushed across my cheek.
“Boss!” Yu Byeok came sprinting, gasping for breath. “A massive group is approaching from the north! Roughly ten thousand strong!”
I nodded.
“Refugees?”
“Yes. Their appearance is wretched.”
I nodded again, face expressionless.
Well, that figures.
It hadn’t been long since the Yellow Turbans were crushed, and remnants still roamed. It was only natural that more people were wandering in search of safety. I didn’t pay it much attention.
Still, it couldn’t be… right?
In the original history, Jang Wu-gak had joined forces with me, raided the administrative seat of Julu, and died to an arrow. This time I hadn’t even gone to Julu, and I’d added a warning at the end of the letter to watch out for arrows. I’d been diligently preparing for the alliance, nothing more.
He couldn’t possibly be dead, could he? No matter how much of an idiot he is, the bastard was leading thirty thousand men…
I felt a twinge of worry, but I still believed he would arrive without incident.
But—
“Boss! Additional report!” Another scout came running in a panic. “It’s not refugees! They’re the remnants of the Black Mountain Bandits! No doubt about it!”
I frowned.
“Black Mountain Bandits?”
My chest tightened strangely.
“Their appearance screams routed soldiers!”
I spun around.
“Bring my horse, fuck!”
I mounted immediately and rode north of Taishan, near the Yellow River. What I saw was no band of refugees.
Clothes caked in dirt. Broken weapons. Men covered head to toe in blood. Eyes sunken from hunger. They were beggars in every sense of the word.
……You fucking idiot!!
I couldn’t even curse properly at first.
I told you to watch out for arrows, you brain-dead son of a bitch. You already died to an arrow in Julu in the original timeline, and you went and died to another arrow?!
I clenched my jaw so hard I wanted to bite my tongue. Rage boiled up until I thought my head would explode.
If the alliance had succeeded, even if Do Gyeom came to pacify Xuzhou he wouldn’t have dared touch us. God damn it all.
Looking at this mess, the situation was beyond saving. All I had left was ten thousand pathetic wretches. But I couldn’t abandon them. Ten thousand men didn’t fall from the sky every day. It wasn’t thirty thousand, but adding ten thousand would still bring me to twenty-five thousand. The thought of the money and provisions needed to feed them made me want to rip my own hair out, yet if I cast them aside I might end up trampled by Do Gyeom later.
“……Fuck…”
I turned my horse and gave orders to Yu Byeok, who had followed behind.
“Feed those bastards some porridge and fold every last one of them into our ranks.”
“Understood, Boss.”
That night, the broken remnants of the Black Mountain Army gathered once more at the foot of Taishan. As I stared at their ruined state, I muttered inwardly.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. From now on, if I ever trust those bandit bastards again, I’m not human.