Chapter 49 The Great Southern War (2)

Chapter 49: The Great Southern War (2)

Heeeeee!

Amidst the bellowing of the horses pulling the carts, the Oedang warriors bustled about.

“Lift the other side! Not there, you fool!”

“Hey! That side’s a mud pit! Can’t you keep your wits about you?!”

“Bear with it, even if it’s heavy! We’re almost there.”

Sharp shouts rang out, jarringly out of place with the Outer Court’s usual “Haha hoho, we rule the world” atmosphere.

The reason was simple.

War is where a single small mistake can decide countless lives.

Perhaps thanks to that sustained tension?

We advanced more smoothly than expected and soon reached a location roughly midway between Yunnan Fortress and Nine Dragons Fortress.

It was the very next day that over twenty corpses appeared before us.

“The work of Heuksanho.”

“······It’s horrific.”

Not a single intact body.

Intestines spilled out, littering the area, and severed heads rolled around like soccer balls.

Even I, who had been reborn in the martial world for twenty years, felt nauseous at the sight.

Looking down at the corpses with North Palace Bai, we exchanged opinions.

“……Thanks to them clearing the path, things should be a bit easier.”

“It’s best not to think of it solely that way.”

“…”

“No matter how skilled the Heuksanho are, they’re only thirty strong. They can’t possibly cover this entire expanse.”

“Hmm…”

“We’d better start preparing soon.”

With that, North Palace Baek mounted his horse and rode forward.

As if to say he would block whatever came.

And his prediction did not miss.

Just as they neared their first destination, they encountered a detachment from the Southern Heavenly Palace.

Sssshhh!

A sound he recognized.

It was unmistakably the iron arrows of the White-Arrowed Clan, whom he had fought alongside the Silver Dragon Hall not long ago.

“Arrows!”

As I shouted, the outer guards hurriedly drew their weapons.

They aimed to deflect the incoming arrows.

“Don’t block them—dodge!”

These arrows pierced even the supposedly sturdy iron shields of the Silver Dragon Corps.

There was no way a mere second-rate martial skill could deflect them.

Instinctively, I dashed forward and executed a leap.

Boom.

The explosion beneath my feet sent a thick cloud of dust skyward, accompanied by a massive blast.

The recoil from it propelled my body upward.

“Hmph!”

Setting my target, the wild energy within my body naturally gathered into my hands.

And then.

Kwaaang. Thud.

An ordinary punch thrown into the air.

But the Jeonwangi imbued that ordinary punch with the explosive force of the Kyungryeok.

The widely dispersed blast knocked the iron-clad soldiers to the ground.

“Whoa…”

The outer hall personnel gaped at me, their mouths agape.

“What the hell, you bastards! Stand down!”

I had no choice but to shout again.

Because the iron-clad soldiers flying at me.

A situation that would result in dozens of casualties if left unchecked.

“Fuck!”

Just as I cursed and prepared to step forward again.

Wuuuung.

A huge resonant sound echoed, and simultaneously, Baek’s new form soared into the air.

Crackle.

His hand tore through the air, his ki surging like a wave, ripping open the sky.

“Whoa…”

Witnessing this unprecedented phenomenon for the first time in my life, my eyes widened in shock.

‘No way, is that even human?’

Before I could even marvel, enemies wielding weapons burst forth.

Just as I was about to dash out to block them, Baekgong Baek stood in their path.

Simultaneously, a telepathic message came through.

[I’ll handle these. You go after the ones who shot the arrows.]

[Yes.]

As he said, I dashed toward the direction where the hundred-yard shot might be coming from. Soon after, shouts and the clang of weapons clashing reached my ears.

Paf-paf-paf-paf.

My speed was at least twice as fast as before.

The surrounding scenery flashed by in an instant.

Shhik.

Iron arrows flew intensely toward me.

But they couldn’t harm me at all.

Because I possessed the A-grade rare item, the Dragon Scale Armor, and the C-grade item, the White Dragon’s Feather.

Thanks to them, I accelerated even further.

In less than a blink of an eye, I broke through a distance nearly a hundred paces.

“Kill the bastard!”

I arrived at the place where the White Dragon Slayers were gathered.

They counterattacked with iron spears, curved swords, daggers, and more, but I ignored them all and threw my body forward.

This time, it wasn’t because I trusted the Dragon Scale Armor and the Robe.

Kwaaang, Kwaaang.

It was a choice made because the experience of the former king could eliminate the enemy first, no matter what attack came.

“Kwaaak!”

“Guh.”

The fist techniques of the Parkryong Sipsamtu, imbued with the former king’s experience, exploded.

His straight punch pierced the enemy’s torso.

His swiftly extended kick shattered the enemy’s spine.

The punch, unleashed with all his might, erupted with the power of the Exploding Fist, pulverizing multiple enemies.

And then.

Swoosh!

As the even faster and stronger Extreme Explosive Fist erupted, no enemies remained.

Thud.

The forest filled with the stench of blood from the flesh fragments scattered in all directions.

A scene created by my own hands.

A sigh escaped me unconsciously.

“Huu.”

What a damn war.

* * *

Once the situation concluded, Baek Bukgung summoned his squad leaders.

As the sixteen squad leaders stood before him, he looked at me with a calm gaze and said.

“What is it?”

“······Yes?”

“Shouldn’t you tell us what to do next?”

“Me?”

“······Yes. “

That was the weight of being a leader.

‘Damn it…’

But I had to do it.

Because the words I spoke now could save someone’s life.

”The actions of each squad during today’s ambush were deeply disappointing.“

”Hmm…”

The squad leaders bowed their heads in agreement.

After all, if I and Baek of the North Palace hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have escaped annihilation.

“Therefore, I will give several instructions.”

What followed wasn’t particularly substantial.

It was about operating patrols at specific times to detect enemy ambushes quickly.

And urging them to move immediately upon receiving orders from me and Baek of the North Palace.

But the effect was surprisingly good.

The squad leaders and the Outer Court warriors began moving swiftly, treating my every word like gold.

It was the result of their rank and martial prowess.

After that, raids targeting supplies continued.

However, there were no more attacks using the Baekjangsals like the first raid.

It seemed that as the main force of Guryongseong advanced, it became burdensome to detach elite troops.

Thanks to that, we were able to fend off the enemy attacks adequately and, after twenty days, arrived at our final destination: Zhaofengxian.

Wah!

The Outer Court members raised both hands and shouted.

It was a cry of relief, as if they had been saved.

Truthfully, it was understandable.

The journey had been so perilous that twenty had died.

‘You bastards.’

Yeah, at least the survivors made it back in one piece.

Dying in a place like this? They wouldn’t even handle it as a workplace accident. They’d just toss us a pittance as ‘condolence money’.

If this were modern times, the management of Guryongseong, including the castle lord, would likely be under arrest for violating the Major Disaster Punishment Act.

“Ugh, I’m gonna die.”

I hadn’t slept properly in nearly a week and felt like I could collapse any second.

Having just arrived and not yet set up camp, he was looking around for a place to rest when—

“Huh?”

He spotted a familiar face passing by in the distance.

“Brother Weizhi!”

It was Weizhi Feng from the Black Dragon Sect.

“It was the radio.”

Placing a hand on his shoulder in greeting, he asked immediately.

“Save the greetings for later. Let’s get some sleep first.”

* * *

After sleeping for a long while, I woke to find the sun already setting.

Turning my head, I saw Wee Jipung sitting cross-legged in meditation.

After a moment of silence, Wee Jipung opened his eyes and asked.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you, I’m alive. I hadn’t slept a wink after racing nonstop for seven days and nights.”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“But you’ve been through more, Brother, facing those Namcheongung bastards sword to sword on the front lines.”

Wee Jipung gave a weak laugh at my banter.

I could roughly guess why.

Given his nature, more suited to being a Taoist than anyone else, killing probably didn’t sit well with him.

Sure enough, after exchanging a few more words, he sighed and voiced his distress.

“Master Sa-jo’s teaching that ‘the Tao resides within the sword’ feels so distant now.”

“······I see.”

Normally, I would have just shrugged it off, but perhaps because we were on the battlefield, or maybe because my grandfather had appeared in a dream recently, I felt concerned.

“Um… Brother Wiz.”

“Yes.”

“Evil people are targets to be cut down, right?”

“If killing one saves ten, then yes, they are targets to be cut down.”

“But what if those Namcheongung bastards are such villains?”

“Nothing is more foolish than judging an opponent based solely on rumors.”

“I met a kid who came from Namman recently and heard it firsthand. Those bastards are truly evil.”

“……”

Wei Zhifeng glared at me as if I were spouting nonsense, but I deliberately ignored him and continued.

“So, these Namcheon Palace bastards. Not only do they suck the lifeblood out of the common folk, but they also force them into battlefields, right? You saw it recently at Jianchang Mountain, didn’t you? They just slaughtered people indiscriminately for disobeying them.”

“Oh, really?”

Up to this point, it was roughly based on fact.

“And what’s more. When they’re bored, they capture women and do unspeakable things to them, of course. And what’s this about training martial arts by eating the raw livers of children? They even have bastards who eat human flesh. Aren’t they truly despicable scum?”

This was a complete fabrication.

Even if the Namcheon Palace guys were a ruthless, bloodthirsty cult, they weren’t a bunch of psychopaths. How could they commit such atrocities?

Still, the reason for this exaggeration was to ease Wei Zhifeng’s burden, even just a little…

“Are there really such devilish bastards?! I’ll lead my disciples there immediately and slaughter every last one of them!”

Perhaps he’d gone too far, because Wei Zhifeng raised his sword, bellowing as if ready to charge out at any moment.

“Ah, no, not now! When the battle actually happens later…”

“Don’t try to stop me! Today, I’ll kill every last one of them and send them straight to the Hot Hell!” ”

Wait, isn’t the Blazing Hell from the Buddhist worldview, not the Taoist one?

Thanks to him, I broke out in a cold sweat trying to restrain him.

‘Guess I can’t just bluff carelessly.’

Seems like a soul-infused lie has become my passive skill.

Still, a few words recharged Wei Zhifeng’s morale—can’t complain about that.

Seriously.

* * *

As soon as dawn broke, I gathered the Outer Court warriors. It was time to return.

“Sit down and start numbering!”

One, two, three… Eighteen, last number!

Let’s see…

“Hey, who’s that empty seat?”

“Sixteenth squad, Jin Seung-il, is missing.”

“Find him immediately!”

“Yes!”

Despite the scolding, the warriors’ expressions were bright.

Because all the tasks the Oedang had been assigned in this war were now complete.

If the war dragged on, another supply run would be necessary, but that was unlikely.

‘The lord has gone all-in, so it’s highly probable this will be a short, decisive battle.’

The only question was how many would die; the outcome of the war was already decided.

As soon as the numbers were confirmed, he turned to North Palace Baek.

“Is it time?”

“Hehe, yes. The time for you to return has come.”

“You seem in good spirits.”

“Not at all! How could I be in good spirits while the castle’s people are fighting with their lives? That would be utterly inappropriate!”

“Well then, that’s good.”

“······?”

“We are not returning.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly?