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Horo-gwan(10)

The Allied forces did not advance boldly now, as if they felt they were being openly avoided.

Even if they showed themselves, they just made a few showy efforts from a distance where arrows couldn’t reach.

Our arrows couldn’t reach the high castle wall, so it was obvious that their arrows wouldn’t reach us either.

Seeing their actions, I could tell that they were considering why they should retreat now.

I thought about giving them a farewell gift before the Allied forces retreated, but they were thorough in their preparedness, remembering the previous defeat.

The solid palisades, sharpened to a point. Allied soldiers guarding very cautiously.

Seeing that scene, I decided to just stay quiet.

Yes. Even if I just stay still, they will eventually retreat on their own, so there is no need to stir up trouble.

Considering the serious damage the soldiers suffered, being reckless could lead to serious consequences.

“They’re not coming now.”

Yeo-po yawned and said lazily.

It was no wonder Yeo-po was tired, as there had been little time to sleep since the Allied forces attacked Horo-gwan.

Even Yeo-po, a human weapon, was tired, so how would ordinary people be.

“Ugh….”

“Ugh….”

The soldiers mumbled like zombies, walking around the castle walls.

It feels eerie watching them.

Some were sitting on the castle wall, taking naps, while others lay flat on the ground, resting.

Jang-ryo and Seo-hwang couldn’t hide their exhaustion.

To be honest, without them, the battle would have been much more difficult, so rest time was guaranteed, but it still looked challenging.

I… was hiding diligently at the back.

As I said, it’s quite unimpressive. However, just the fact that there’s a leader of the faction boosted morale, so let’s say I fulfilled my role.

I thought of myself as some sort of totem.

Seo-yeon never tried to leave my side due to the danger of arrows flying even a little forward in the battlefield.

…But it seems like they are flying quite excessively.

If I die on the battlefield, I might get hit by an arrow and die.

While others might be surprised at the idea, I could feel Seo-yeon’s gaze firmly fixed on me, watching me closely.

“…….”

“…Why?”

Seo-yeon, seeming dissatisfied, continued to look at me and said bluntly.

“…Don’t entertain thoughts like sacrificing yourself needlessly for me.”

What a surprise.

Is she using some kind of witchcraft?

Seo-yeon, who seemed to read my thoughts, still looked at me sternly.

“You can tell by looking at your expression.”

“?”

What kind of expression is supposed to convey that I am thinking about sacrificing myself?

Seo-yeon clearly lived in a martial world.

I chuckled and said, “Oh. It’s just a passing thought. Do you think I’d really die?”

“…….”

“For real?”

But in creations, isn’t it kind of a tradition to die after entertaining such thoughts?

“…Jung-ryung-nim.”

Seo-yeon called my name again as if she noticed my nonsense thoughts.

It seemed like she really could somehow read my thoughts.

I shrugged my shoulders and spoke up.

“No, it’s common sense that no one would want to die.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. I won’t really die.”

After saying that, I smiled subtly.

“With Seo-yeon by my side, why would I die?”

With her always glaring around me, who would dare to kill me.

Rather, I might end up being sent to the underworld by some reverse causality.

“I’ll live long enough to enjoy all the blessings of heaven.”

“…In that case, I’ll follow you when that time comes.”

“?”

That wasn’t the meaning behind my words.

Seo-yeon said with a nonchalant expression,

“As my resting place will be near Jung-ryung-nim.”

“……”

Love is serious…

“In that brief moment, they are competing for points!”

“Yeo-po?”

Yeo-po, who had approached me, nodded vigorously.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I’ll do it too!”

“You have no idea what we’re discussing?”

“I’ll just do it anyway!”

She nodded her head vigorously, not even knowing what it was about, and her behavior was so typical of Yeo-po.

“If I get old and die, I’ll follow right after!”

“Huh? That’s….”

Yeo-po’s eyes widened in surprise.

Yes. This is the typical reaction of an ordinary person….

“It’s romantic, isn’t it?”

“?”

“That’s something I can do too!”

So she’s a bit eccentric.

Is this the representative romanticist of the Three Kingdoms created in the modern era…?

Being caught in between the representative romanticists of ancient and modern times left me feeling dizzy.

──────────

Allied headquarters.

A man in a polite posture at the leader’s residence began to speak.

“Won-sool. Our forces are on the brink of depletion.”

“So?”

“Please consider extending some support, like supplies, as our forces are struggling.”

“Hmph. You had important news for me, and now it’s just this.”

As Won-sool sat and drank water, he interrupted the man’s words and laughed derisively.

“What reason do I have to help uncooperative factions like yours?”

“That’s about other factions; we haven’t been like that!”

“Are you contradicting what I’m saying now? Your fundamental attitude is lacking.”

The man protested unjustly, but realizing who was in the position of power, he humbly bowed his head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Fine. I’ll forgive you specially this time. So, this “support” isn’t as generous as you said earlier, right?”

“…….”

Those near Won-sool responded to his words.

“That’s right! We were very impressed by Won-sool’s distribution today!”

“Following Won-sool is only natural for the fate of the world!”

Won-sool laughed cheerfully.

“Haha! Just picking out the flattering words!”

The scene of mutual flattery among themselves for fawning over Won-sool was quite distasteful.

It seems that the term “army of sycophants” exists for such people.

“Nothing comes free in this world. If I provide troops, what will you be able to give in return?”

“What is…!”

The man’s eyes widened in shock at Won-sool’s words.

They knew how hard they had fought against Jung-lyung, so what was this behavior?

Won-sool continued, not caring about the man’s reaction, speaking haughtily,

“Fine. If you hand over more than a thousand soldiers, then we’ll consider it.”

His attitude showed that even as other Allied forces gradually retreated from the field, Won-sool was behaving as if he completely underestimated himself.

“Enough! Let’s just handle this ourselves!”

The man, realizing that Won-sool had no intention of providing support from the start, turned red with anger and stormed off without a look back.

“Tsk. Turning down the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Delighted by his own petty satisfaction, Won-sool sneered at the retreating man, unaware of what went wrong.

“My lord! Urgent news!”

The man exited the area where Won-sool was and a messenger rushed in urgently.

Someone nearby Won-sool, a court official, couldn’t hold back and scolded, “You! How do you find it so safe to act so rude here?!”

“Enough. Where, let me hear.”

Stopping the court official from getting angry, Won-sool looked elated, as if something important was happening.

The court official who understood what Won-sool wanted, promptly bowed his head.

“Yes, exactly! No one can follow Won-sool’s magnanimous heart!”

“Hahaha! It’s an accomplished statement!”

With a wide grin on his face, he appeared very pleased.

The court official sighed inwardly at having to keep up with the praise and said,

“So, what’s the matter? If it’s not something important after you kindly gave an opportunity, Won-sool might feel poorly about it.”

Not understanding why things were going awry as soon as he entered, the messenger blurted out,

“The Hwang-gun is starting to cause trouble again!”

“What did you say?”

Won-sool was surprised by the unexpected news.

After Jung-ak went missing, most of the Hwang-gun forces had either disbanded or were wandering in small groups, hiding.

“The remaining Hwang-gun remnants scattered throughout the country are intruding, setting fire to government offices and warehouses under the guise of peasants!”

“…Could it be that such a thing happened in my city too?”

The messenger bowed his head, seemingly without any dignity.

“Yes! It all happened too quickly, and there was….”

“These incompetent fools!”

Interrupting, Won-sool yelled out in frustration.

“Then have those damn bastards been arrested?”

“Since Hwang-gun complained and ran away immediately, not a single one was captured!”

“Argh!”

For Won-sool, it was disturbing news.