As Prophet - Chapter 119



Only Krnovel

Episode 119. Operation Name: One-Way Strike!

I couldn’t tell where the food was going. A group of soldiers and a wagon came in from the entrance of the main road. I was very nervous, thinking, ‘Could they be the enemy?’, but they were soldiers in full gear.

Dalcheon ran away.

“Oh, your Majesty.”

“I have come to request urgent assistance.”

“I didn’t know you would come in person.”

“At times like these, you have to pay off your debts so that you can get a lot of work done later.”

“thank you.”

“I brought a hundred trained soldiers, weapons and ammunition, especially a lot of arrows.”

“You haven’t eaten, have you?”

“I brought them here after feeding them, just in case. They are trainees, so not a single one of them can die.”

“Hehehe.”

Dalcheon introduced the people and guided them to the Grand Prince. The atmosphere in the school building, which had been heavy with the burden of having to block the enemy with a small number of people, changed in an instant. Some people shouted and others jumped up.

“Mama! Shin Lee Ki-moon, I came running as soon as I heard about Mama’s difficult situation.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“I came out under the pretext of training. I hope you won’t have any problems later.”

“Could that be possible… … .”

“I decided on the name of this operation.”

“How?”

“It’s a total disaster. I’ve heard that a group of people trying to harm the King is running rampant in Hanyang. It’s truly deplorable. I can guess who they are, but if they hide their identities and move, I will punish them as an official.”

The general grabbed the hand of the training officer, Lee Gi-mun. The visor hanging on the old general’s helmet sagged forward.

“I’ll do the work first.”

Lee Gi-mun moved the cart to the training ground, dressed the soldiers in armor, and provided them with bows and arrows.

“The arrows must be recovered. They must be shot well.”

The audience burst into laughter.

Dalcheon smiled brightly as he saw them sharing weapons and armor, and Yang Ju-hyeon’s soldiers came running. Jin Dong-hee took the lead. Dalcheon ran out.

“Oh, Jin Dong-hee!”

“Your Majesty! I have received such a favor from you, and I have no way of repaying it. When I heard the news of your request for assistance, I came running. Fifty soldiers from the county. We came armed in advance.”

“thank you.”

Jin Dong-hee saluted in front of the prince, and 50 soldiers of the county stood and raised their fists while shouting to protect the prince.

“We are the soldiers in charge of security in Yangju-hyeon. We came running because we heard that there was a group here mobilizing private soldiers to wage war.”

“Ahahaha!”

“The magistrate reported that he has mobilized the military. We have come to maintain the security of Yangju County.”

They came prepared with their own reasons. I thought that it might be the justification rather than the reason that moves people.

Dalcheon immediately called a meeting and organized the army. He placed Yang Ju-hyeon’s army in the front so that they could carry out their duties as promised, and placed 20 soldiers from the training center in the rear. The demonstration of the large army, which was originally intended to be used as a force to block the front, was turned into a reserve army to help in the front and back. And he placed the remaining troops from the training center on the left and right.

Oiled straw was placed below to secure the archers’ sight, and some of the reserve forces were sent out in advance to hide along the riverbank. The strategy was to attack the enemy from behind when the enemy’s attack reached its peak and break their spirit. The 20 men at the rear were placed in ambush in the valley where the enemy would enter.

If it’s 500 to 180, it’s worth a try. Baek I-jeong raised her hand and made a suggestion while Dal-cheon was smiling with satisfaction.

“I saw them as I was coming. Most of them were infantry.”

“We have horses, so if we form a small cavalry force and intercept the enemy, we can sweep them away.”

Dalcheon nodded and then shook his head. It was half right and half wrong. If we lead them into a cavalry-to-infantry battle, we could defeat them in the first battle, but it was night, so it was difficult to operate the cavalry.

“That may be true during the day, but at night the cavalry may be in danger.”

“ah!”

“wait a minute.”

Dalcheon checked the time. The sky was clear and high. The full moon was approaching, so the moon would be bright.

“The day after tomorrow is the full moon.”

“Yes.”

“When the moon rises, we can deploy the cavalry. If we gather all the horses available now… … We have about twenty, and Jin Dong-hee took three, and the training center has five… … Hmm, a twenty-eight-man suicide squad is possible. Wahahahaha!”

“… … .”

“Give me twenty-five cavalrymen. Choose them all who can ride horses, dress them in armor, give them small shields… … um, give them at least forty arrows.”

The answer was given by Dojeong Lee Gi-moon.

“Loyalty!”

Lee Gi-moon shouted out loud for his order and jumped up to go outside. He was trying to humble himself and make Dal-cheon obey his orders.

It was a time when twilight was still faintly visible in the west. The soldiers lit torches everywhere, making it as bright as day.

A report came in from the vanguard that had been sent out on the western road in advance.

“They are coming from ten miles away.”

“What number?”

“About 300 infantry.”

“They haven’t all come yet. What happens after that?”

“I couldn’t go back and look.”

“Where did the two hundred go?”

Dalcheon turned back. Lee Gi-mun, who had received orders from the wide training ground, was sifting through the cavalry. He was picking and choosing among the men, but it seemed that there were not many who were good at riding horses.

* * *

Dalcheon called Cheolmuwoong.

“Do you see? There’s a cavalryman over there.”

“yes?”

Cheolmuwoong blinked, not knowing what was going on.

“I’ll give you twenty-five, so take them out and shoot all your arrows.”

“Loyalty!”

“Avoid close combat. They don’t seem to have bows, so you should harass them from a distance, but fire in quick succession. It’s too dark to see arrows.”

“I will take more arrows.”

“Of course. And be careful of ambushes.”

“I will lead the 3rd generation.”

The cavalry was organized and the generals were chosen. Cheolmuung saluted the army and left the training ground. The soldiers guarding the entrance cheered them on with shouts.

“Kill them all!”

“Sweep it away and come back!”

“No one should crawl this far!”

The general looked back at Dalcheon. It seemed that his anxiety was returning again.

“Is that okay?”

“It’s war. If you’re okay with it, do it. If you’re not okay with it, don’t do it. You have to win, and you have to kill everyone. Just think about going back to the castle after work.”

“King?”

“We must punish the crown prince this time.”

“The Crown Prince is… …inside Hanyangseong, inside the royal palace.”

“Would even the palace’s grandfather, let alone the palace itself, allow someone to do something like this?”

“Haa! You really… … .”

“We win. We have to come up with a plan for what happens next. We’re going to kill hundreds of people. What are you going to say to His Majesty?”

How should we deal with the rookie who prepares and reserves for the next and the next that we never thought of? He might lose and die tonight, but the rookie talks about what happens after that.

* * *

We encountered the enemy’s vanguard. Two of them were lying comfortably in a hollow at the bottom of the road. The moon was bright, so we could see them. If they had been behind the trees, we would not have seen them.

The cavalryman drew his bowstring.

“Shoot!”

Three arrows flew towards the men who stood up with swords in hand.

“Ahh!”

One of them jumped up and fell down, and the other ran down the road. When I looked at the one who was hit, I saw that two arrows had pierced his chest. The vanguard approached slowly and swung his sword.

“evil!”

The guy who was staggering after being hit by an arrow fell down screaming. The three of them slowly followed the one who was running away. No matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t run faster than a horse. The guy who was running away while constantly looking behind got off the road.

The three vanguards ran, stopped at the end of the road, and then drew their bows again.

Peeping!

The man who was running across the sloping field twisted his back and fell down. It was a meaningless death.

* * *

Soon the vanguard discovered 300 men advancing in five columns. He got off the road, turned around, checked their numbers, and ran toward the main force. We must report this quickly.

“Loyalty! Three hundred enemy soldiers are advancing in five columns along the official route. Their current position is a little less than ten li away.”

It’s the road I take almost every day before going to bed at the shrine. I can still see it clearly even with my eyes closed.

“Let’s go! Let’s go and break it and come back.”

“Loyalty!”

Thirty or so cavalry marched west along the official route. They were so hurried that they covered a distance of ten li in just an hour. They found a group of men blocking the road and forming a line, and they prepared for battle. Some of them hesitated, intimidated by the number of men.

“The strategy is simple. Intercept them at a distance of 50 feet. If they charge, run away. Once they form a line, charge and intercept them with your bow. Close combat is prohibited.”

“Loyalty!”

I turned around Sanmorongi. The straight road stretched out on the plains left behind by the mountains and mountains running towards the river, and the moonlight was shining brightly. As Dalcheon said, the moonlight illuminated the road and the enemy. Aiming is possible.

“Run!”

There are only about thirty of them, but they fill the road and run so fast that you can’t see how many are behind you from a distance. There’s no way to know exactly how many there are. Those who were advancing along the road stopped when they saw the cavalry.

“Stop!”

They are not trained. When the ones who were following behind stopped a beat later, the ones behind pushed the ones in front. They hurriedly stopped walking, but they couldn’t help but move forward when they were pushed from behind. While the front and back stopped while pushing each other, the ones behind, who couldn’t hear the sound, continued to walk without stopping. The distance between the front and back was shortened enough. Cheolmuwoong laughed.

“Huh, rice. Fire at once! I mean shoot at the same time! Load one arrow!”

As soon as the sound of the bowstring being pulled stopped, the order to fire was given. With a short blast from the horn that had been prepared in advance, thirty or so arrows flew towards the densely packed enemy.

When you hear a beep, you put the arrow on the bow and pull it back, and when you hear a squeak, you release the bow.

Pfft pfft pfft bing!

Enemy soldiers who had been densely packed in front and behind the road collapsed like corn and reeds. Those who had been hit by arrows screamed and fell, twisting their bodies.

It was really ridiculous. There were hardly any archers among them. There was no response even when shooting from a short distance. And there was no one wearing armor, so the damage was great. If they shot an arrow, it would hit wherever it flew. They came out in their martial uniforms, carrying only a sword. No one even carried a shield.

Cheolmuwoong was sure. They are not soldiers. He can defeat them easily!

Cheolmuwoong blew his whistle repeatedly. It was the same whistle used for fire control. The sound, like scraping metal against the back of your ear, echoed high into the sky. When he blew long, he would put an arrow on the bow and pull it back. When he blew short, he would release the bow and let the arrow fly. As about thirty arrows flew at once, the enemy forces, who were crowded in the narrow corridors on both sides, could not dodge.

Beep! Beep!

Pippipipiping!

It was wrong to be crowded. No, it was wrong to not have a shield to block and not wear armor. It hit wherever I shot. There was no need to aim. I just shot at the crowded enemies.

Dozens of people fell in an instant.

Beep! Beep!

The soldiers in the training center are skilled shooters. They practice almost every day. The shooting on horseback is different from the general training at the firing range, but it was not difficult because they stopped and shot. No, it was even better because the field of view from the horse was high.

Beep! Beep!

The enemy commander, who thought that they would be annihilated if things continued like this, advanced the vanguard.

“Charge ahead! There aren’t many enemies! Charge and take them down! Charge!”

The guy who tells you to charge into a rain of arrows is a bad guy. But there is no other way than to advance.