As Prophet - Chapter 16



Only Krnovel

Episode 16. Battle of Nammun

Dalcheon avoided the vertical sword strike by moving half a step to the side. He held the sword vertically and blocked the horizontal sword strike while digging into the body.

Kagan!

The swords clashed with tremendous force. It was so strong that I was worried the teeth on the blades would fly off. It was a force that would have pushed back quite a bit if it had hit the middle or tip of the sword, but it was fortunate that it dug inward.

The guy pulled out in surprise at the weak point created by the blocking. I could see his chin drooping under his mask. Time seemed to have stopped, and I swung the sword I had blocked diagonally toward his neck. Bright red blood spurted out, and the body of the guy whose neck I had cut off slowly fell. I pushed the guy’s body with my shoulder and charged inside.

However, the enemy general did not think of fighting and turned around and ran away. It would have been enough to take one step, but unfortunately, the distance was not enough. Dalcheon jumped up while crossing his feet. One of the remaining guards ran, and the two men who had thrown away their spears drew their swords and rushed at him. The enemy general was more important than those men. If I could just kill him, I could neutralize the command here.

Dalcheon’s body moved forward. A group of soldiers rushed forward, closing the gap. It was a pitiful time when there was no time to block, dodge, or fight back, but Dalcheon was half a breath faster. He thrust his sword between the tattered armor of the guy, who somehow made it. It was the left side where the heart was.

The chilling feeling of cold death, the weight of life, hangs on the tip of the sword. The one who was stabbed without any resistance as he ran away fell down and his body trembled. A person does not die from being stabbed with a sword. Dalcheon turned around and stabbed the sword that was stuck in the back of the fallen man once more.

A dozen or so men came running at once. Dalcheon drew his sword and struck them from side to side. He stepped forward, deflecting the spear strikes that were coming from the side, and stabbed the upper body of the man holding the spear. He grabbed the spear and swung it around, striking the man who was rushing at him. He advanced to the side as the man who had been hit in the head fell to the side, and quickly cut off the Adam’s apple. In an instant, he cut down three or four men, and the men retreated. No, more than that, they may have given up after realizing that their leader had fallen.

While the men retreated and hesitated, I struck the fallen chief’s helmet like an axe. With a loud noise, his neck rolled to the side. I impaled his neck on the swaying spear and held him up high, causing the men to retreat in fear. Not far away, a line of Joseon troops approached, and Udo’s troops, who had flanked him to the left and right, rushed toward the south gate.

“The enemy leader is dead!”

The Joseon army followed Dalcheon’s shout. The enraged enemy rushed toward Dalcheon, but was hit by an arrow shot by the Joseon army and fell with his upper body twisted. The Joseon army, seizing the opportunity, charged.

Hundreds of thousands of men faced each other behind the South Gate. From now on, the battle lines were useless. The two armies were fighting with force. Dalcheon handed over the spearhead that had impaled the enemy general’s neck to the Joseon army that had rushed forward.

“Your general is dead! Surrender!”

When Dalcheon shouted, the soldiers shouted for them to surrender. The vicious men did not retreat easily. Instead, they gathered around the South Gate and called out their troops. They hastily retreated and reorganized their battle lines. Large shields blocked the men’s front, and those who had their weapons raised and narrowed the gap jumped out to the left and right, then retreated and intercepted them appropriately to adjust the distance.

When did they arrive? The defense officer Yu Dam-nyeon, who had come in with Udo’s troops, rushed toward the south gate.

“Wow! Are you the chief of Gyeongsan County?”

“Loyalty! We are trying to climb over the walls and open the gate, but there is strong resistance. Reinforcements are coming from inside the castle.”

Yudamnyeon’s eyes scanned the left and right. The soldiers in Baekuihyung were advancing, but they were outnumbered. The plan to attack the central headquarters had already been thrown out the window, and they were barely able to intercept the enemy troops coming to support the southern gate.

“Is that also Gyeongsan County’s army?”

“Yes! This is the secret weapon of the county magistrate, Na-ri Baek.”

“Your martial arts skills are outstanding.”

“thank you.”

“Okay, which comes first?”

“It’s the gate.”

He asked knowingly. It seemed like he also wanted to see how the decision would be made.

“Let’s go! If we break it down and open the gate in one breath, the main force will pour in like a flood, and then the battle for today will be over.”

“Loyalty.”

The Gyeongsanhyeon army, joined by hundreds of Udo troops, rushed toward the South Gate from the left and right. Hundreds of arrows flew toward the wide courtyard behind the South Gate. When Yudamnyeon contacted the other side of the wall, hundreds of arrows poured down over the gate tower. The Japanese army at the South Gate, which was hit from the front and back, began to collapse.

Not all of the densely packed Japanese soldiers were carrying shields. Not all of them were fully armored. Most of them were wearing thin armor covering their entire fronts, and there were even some resident soldiers who were not wearing armor at all.

The inner part of the dense formation collapsed first due to the fire from the front and rear. Dalcheon directed the fire and waited for an opportunity to charge. He looked behind him from time to time and watched the fighting spirit of the soldiers with regret.

“Once the order to charge is given, we will run at full speed. Understood?”

“Loyalty!”

Pippipiping!

Yu Dam-nyeon, who had killed more than half of the soldiers with gunfire, gave the order to advance.

“Charge! Open the gates!”

“Charge!”

“Charge!”

Hundreds of them rushed to the south gate. Those who had resisted quite well when fighting only with the Gyeongsan County army were helplessly defeated.

Dalcheon was the first to enter deep. With each swing of his sword, enemy soldiers fell like corn stalks. The heavy armor dug into the space Dalcheon had created. Dalcheon seemed to be digging under the gate tower, then went under Hongye, peeled off the general’s log that crossed the gate, and opened the gate.

The Joseon army waiting outside burst into cheers. Thousands of Joseon soldiers rushed through the South Gate amidst the loud sound of drums. Dalcheon, who had opened the gate, stepped aside. The Gyeongsan County army also moved to the side along the wall and reorganized its battle formation.

Although he was exhausted and exhausted from the fierce battle, he had to help Baek Ui-hyeong, who was fighting hard. Baek Ui-hyeong, who had been blocking with less than 200 troops, retreated after confirming that the South Gate was open. When he retreated to where the Gyeongsan County army was gathered to reorganize their ranks, the troops that had passed through the South Gate came in, fanning out like the ribs of a fan and rushing into the town wall. When the main force entered, the enemy’s resistance was insignificant. He had deployed the most troops at the South Gate, but since it had collapsed, there were not many troops left to properly resist.

A noise could be heard on the wind that the enemy was fleeing from the north gate.

“Death penalty! You’ve had a hard time.”

“Why didn’t you open it quickly? I thought I was going to die.”

“What about our damage?”

“I was badly hurt. It was hard to hold on.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You guys?”

“Yu Dam-nyeon’s U-do troops came and opened the door without difficulty.”

Once it collapses, the situation changes all at once, like a building collapsing in an earthquake. As soon as the South Gate was breached, the enemy army began to scatter in all directions. The army, whose ranks were broken, only cared about its own safety. They did not fight to win, but ran away like rabbits, looking for a hole to hide in.

The battle ended as the main force stirred inside the town wall. There was news that the Japanese leader had been captured, and that the son of the fugitive had been caught and beheaded. As each achievement came up, each one shouted that it was their achievement, so even if you tried not to tell them, you would hear the news.

The magistrate ran to where the Gyeongsan County flag was and consoled the two men for their hard work. It had been four hours since the battle had begun.

“Awesome! You guys worked hard!”

“thank you.”

“The battle seems to be over, what should we do now?”

“We must maintain the battle line, treat the wounded, and take care of the bodies of the dead. We must feed and house the soldiers… .”

The magistrate, who had been listening to the commander’s explanation blankly, realized that it was his job. He thanked him several times for his hard work and ordered him to go outside the castle and set up a military tent.

* * *

On a dark night, I didn’t even know where my food had gone. I was leaning back, exhausted, like a defeated soldier, when I heard that they were calling from the main camp. The commander’s messenger was standing in front of the torch.

“The magistrate left just now.”

“You two! Come!”

“Loyalty.”

He mounted his horse, paying homage to the commander-in-chief. The main force was located in the guest house inside the castle. Although other buildings were damaged, fortunately the guest house was intact. The leadership gathered in the main hall, which was as bright as day. They tied the reins to a tree in the front yard of the guest house and knelt in front of the main hall.

“Loyalty! Gyeongsanhyeon’s secret commander Baek Ui-hyeong and Dalcheon have responded to the call.”

“Ohhh, you’re the main character of today’s battle!”

Who could have told him? How could he have known in the midst of all that chaos? A man in his fifties came running out barefoot, his white beard fluttering.

“Pyeong-shin, stand up. Show me your face.”

Dalcheon, who was getting up, felt his mouth dry as he thought about having left his helmet behind. After examining the faces of the two men, General Yoo Sun-jeong grabbed Baek Ui-hyeong by the shoulders as if embracing him and patted his back.

“Loyalty!”

Next, he hugged the young Dalcheon in surprise and patted his back.

“Loyalty!”

“Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you opening the south gate over the south wall, we were able to enter easily and defeat the enemy. Thank you, thank you again.”

Baek Ui-hyeong humbled himself.

“This is the result of Baek Hyeonryeong Nari’s guidance. The wardens just worked hard… … .”

“I know! I know! I know you’re going to say that. Heh heh heh. I also know you’re saying that because you’re afraid we’ll be indifferent to your masters. You loyal people!”

The commander-in-chief led the two men up to the main hall. It was really difficult to take off their tightly tied shoes, but fortunately they came off quickly.

The left-wing defender, Hwang Hyung, approached the two people kneeling on the floor in blood-soaked armor and comforted them. The commander dragged them out and the defender comforted them.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Loyalty.”

After a while, the heads of several other counties came and vied with each other to console the two for their hard work.

There was a lot of talk going on in the command center, but I don’t remember a single thing. All that remained was that the merit was highly praised, listed in the military report, and awarded.

County magistrate Baek Sa-ban raised two people.

“You two are very tired. Look, the armor is covered in blood. I appreciate your compliments, but how about giving the two young men some rest?”

General Yoo Sun-jeong praised the two men’s achievements once again. Baek Ui-hyeong and Dal-cheon returned to the barracks in Gyeongsan-hyeon and fell asleep.

* * *

The Japanese pirates fled and boarded ships. Those who had occupied other ports and caused chaos also fled. The Japanese invasion was suppressed in 15 days, and Joseon suffered 272 casualties and 796 houses were burned. The Japanese lost five ships and 295 people died. After the suppression, a reward* and a condolence party were held for the soldiers.

* For their contribution to suppressing the Imjin War, 188 people including Hwang Hyeong were awarded first class, 326 people including Hyeonryeong Baek Sa-ban were awarded second class, and 359 people including Gapsa Kwon Yeong-saeng were awarded third class, for a total of 873 people. -『Encyclopedia of Korean Culture』

Prime Minister Seong Hui-an ordered Jeong Gwang-pil to investigate the results of the suppression and began the work of rewarding the soldiers. The Ministry of Rites suggested that they comfort the soldiers who had been dispatched from the court and come up to Hanyang, and the king said that they should choose a date in early August.

* * *

The departure was quick, but the return journey was slow and long. Because the battle ended quickly, the soldiers in charge of logistics met on the way back. They set up a tent in a wide yard not far from the road and held a feast with supplies.

“Your hard work has been truly great. I cannot express in words how much I have been praised for this work. I have heard that you are a model for local officials, and that they are impressed by your usual manner of governing… … I think that this work will allow me to go to Hanyang, which has been blocked for so long.”

There are many things to say, but that must have been what Baek Sa-ban wanted to say.