As Prophet - Chapter 156



Only Noblemtl

Episode 156. Jincheonrye, fire!

“You’re saying that infantry will charge forward like cavalry?”

“I plan to knock them down with my bow and arrow, set up my spear, and then cut off the enemy’s center with a wild goose march formation.”

“Oh.”

“Your Majesty, please stand at the forefront of the spearhead.”

“And you?”

“I have to command the army.”

“What about the archers?”

“Put it between the moving parts and protect it.”

“Let’s go.”

“Not now. I’ll go later after a little more preparation.”

“great.”

Sajik, encouraged by Dalcheon’s praise, pulled back his spearmen and placed his archers right behind Pengbaesu. He had the first row fire directly between the shields, and the second row fire in a curved manner toward the enemy’s hearts.

The enemy’s retaliatory fire rained down, but the friendly forces suffered little damage. They fell down screaming, but they got up again like grasshoppers. This was because they did not dig into their bodies. As the archers and archers began to fire, Sajik Park Geun-su advanced in the center.

“Change to An Haeng Jin. We will break through.”

It was a bit of a difficult order. No, it might be an almost impossible order during combat. Furthermore, it was an army that had never practiced before. It was a great feat to have come this far with the most easily understood multi-layered formation.

Dalcheon ran to the center and stepped forward.

“We can just jump out. Right? Forward!”

Dalcheon grabbed the shoulders of the two men and stepped forward. Jangchang followed behind, but he was scared.

“It’s okay. Follow half a step behind him. And half a step behind him. Okay.”

It was the same command, but the clear and transparent voice was clearly heard on both sides of Iljajin. The loud voice was also a talent.

The officers pushed the soldiers away like a horse that refuses to leave.

“Don’t march, kids! Just stand half a step behind the person next to you, kids!”

Dalcheon stepped forward again, and the left and right sides were close behind his shoulders. Sajik Park Geun-su reinforced a group of long swordsmen in the center of the peak.

“Forward! Lead the way! Archers, keep firing! Fire!”

Before the half-moon could be reached, the vanguard approached about twenty or so enemy positions. Arrows shot by both armies poured down like rain. A dozen or so arrows were stuck like hedgehogs on the large shields.

Dalcheon glared at the enemy camp fiercely. A group of black men suddenly appeared just before they were about to meet the enemy. They seemed to be preparing to break the line. Park Geun-su shouted.

“shield!”

“shield!”

“shield!”

“shield!”

You just have to block the enemy’s spear with your shield. The Pengbaesu, who cannot attack or dodge the enemy and can only block, may be the most difficult unit.

Because of the long period of peace, there was little training for the Peng Baesu. This was due to the easygoing tactics of ending the battle with a firefight from a distance.

The next most difficult one is Jang Chang-soo. It is a role that directly confronts the enemy. If you make a mistake and the enemy digs in, it is not easy to save your life. If you miss the enemy, your comrades must hit you and stab you to survive. You have to be dense enough to do that. If even one of them does something stupid, your life will be gone. While performing my role, I have no choice but to wait for my comrades to take care of the parts that I cannot do.

Sajik shouted for his shield when he saw the black horde rushing forward, but it was too late. No, they were too fast. The men who suddenly rushed forward fiercely struck the front shield of Iljajin. The shields were hit by the great strength of the unmanned men and some missed. The men dug in between the spread ranks. Several spears were stabbed at them, but they easily dodged and charged.

Dozens of Janggeomsu’s swords were pointed forward to protect the exposed allies. The men easily kicked away the swords. At the pitiful moment when the center was about to be breached, Dalcheon approached them.

Dalcheon’s sword emitted white light and drew a Taegeuk shape in the air. It was so slow and beautiful that it made one wonder what shape he was looking for in the midst of his haste and busyness. When the sword stroke completed the circle, a soft and elegant white line covered the enemy. The warriors who had only learned and trained with the sword felt something strange and pulled away, but the invisible power that had already approached them covered them. And then dozens of screams followed… … . The enemies who had broken through the center almost simultaneously fell and were annihilated. No one saw what he did or how he did it. They only saw the sword drawn in the air as if dancing.

The training center, having grasped the situation, quickly formed a formation.

“Get in line! Raise your shields! Get your spearmen on! Get your swordmen on!”

It must not collapse. One layer of formation was followed by another. Arrows were fired directly at the enemy line, which was only about 10 layers left. Who could dodge an arrow shot right in front of them? The screams of the oppressed and the roars of those who could not bear the pain tore the sky apart. The endless noise in the blue sky was countless.

A second wave of enemy troops overwhelmed our forces.

Wow, wow, wow!

As An Haeng-jin clashed with the enemy, a loud thunderclap arose. The two opposing armies fought each other with strength. The violent noise of the clashing blades rose like dust and deafened the ears of the people. Shields were shattered, swords were broken, and spears were shattered.

Wow, wow, wow!

Chaengchaengchaengchaeng!

In the second clash, An Haeng-jin held firm. Without the black unmanned men, there was no reason to be pushed back. They were ahead in weapons, armor, formation, and command. The double-layered center was also effective. They grabbed the dropped shields again and rushed into the empty space where there were no spears.

“All troops, ten steps! Advance ten steps!”

Even in the midst of fierce fighting, Park Geun-su of Sajik advanced his battle line. While the two armies pushed back with force, the spears of his allies stabbed the men through the gaps in their shields. When one place fell in vain, the shields advanced and the long swordsmen supported them. A bloody fierce battle continued. A tense moment passed, as if one wrong breath would blow one’s head off. He struck, blocked, stabbed, and dodged. If I failed to kill, I would die. In that moment when there was not a single gap, Park Geun-su advanced his army again.

He was a commander who knew better than anyone that it was advantageous to push forward.

“All troops, ten steps! Advance ten steps!”

At Park Geun-su’s command, the war drums began to bang loudly. They advanced, striking the ground to the sound.

Dalcheon ran towards the center where the enemy’s resistance was strongest. Dalcheon’s sword, which passed the spearhead in front and opened the shield, spewed fire. It seemed as if fire was spewing out from the white sword’s body, which was covered in white steam like frost. With each swing, three or four at a time, and as many as a dozen at a time, fell like straw. There was no form. There was no sword style. He drew a large horizontal line and drew a diagonal horizontal line. Every time, the enemies, whose waists were cut and whose chests were cut off, collapsed in a heap.

The vanguard of the friendly forces advanced close to the space prepared by Dalcheon. They stabbed with spears and killed the rushing enemies. The archers at the back fired a hail of arrows through the gaps in their shields, causing hundreds of arrows to rain down beyond the Anmarjin.

As the friendly forces’ spearheads advanced, the enemy’s waists, which stretched over thirty long, were cut apart. Dalcheon, who was advancing, confirmed that there was no one behind him and looked back at Park Geun-su.

“It’s disconnected.”

Park Geun-soo shouted loudly.

“All troops, advance ten steps!”

Why do we have to do it 10 steps at a time? Other things may be difficult, but we can advance 10 steps. It was to set very small goals for the soldiers. Dalcheon looked at Park Geun-soo again. He was heading toward him with the thought that he was a great commander, but Park Geun-soo, who did not understand his intentions, rode up to him.

“What’s the problem?”

“No. We’ve penetrated the enemy’s depths. Why not build a defensive line here and harass them?”

“That’s what Wonangjin said. It’s the formation you mentioned when you were studying the 『Mugyeong Chongyo (武經總要)』*.”

* Wugyeongjongyo: Military writings of the Northern Song Dynasty. The former collection (前集) consists of 22 volumes and describes military theories and rules such as military systems and organizations, selecting generals and using soldiers, formations, and using mountains and rivers to devise tactics. The latter collection (後集) consists of 21 volumes and introduces military and warfare cases from ancient and modern times in the first half, and yin-yang and fortune telling in the second half.

“You don’t have to do anything else, just bring the rear archers in and close the back.”

“I understand. But there is the difficulty of having to face enemies before and after.”

“There won’t be a problem since our defense is strong.”

Park Geun-soo’s orders were complicated. I conveyed what I wanted to do in a very short order, and the troops, although they were not trained, moved steadily. I called in the military officers who were in charge of practical command from various places in the military camp and ordered them to form a defensive line. They had the luxury of using it because they had broken through and won.

A circular formation was formed along the wide street of Jonggak, with shields draped around them as if they were advancing, and spearmen, longswordmen, and archers placed on the inside.

The rebels, divided into two groups, could not hide their confusion. Although the terrain of the street was mostly above Jonggak, the soldiers in the south, who had been cut off by one third, were in disarray, and their forces were rapidly weakened. In the far south, many were fleeing, and in the front, where they had been cut off, they were in a hurry to retreat.

Dalcheon had to appease his regret that he didn’t have cavalry. If he cooked them with cavalry that could hit and run, he could easily take them down, but that wouldn’t be possible with armor that was worse than a snail’s mobility.

Dalcheon looked north. Yu Seok-do’s main force, which had received the attack signal and had begun attacking almost simultaneously, was trampling the enemy and moving south. The rebels were barely holding off thanks to the martial arts of the black warriors. The rebel formation, blocked in front and behind, quickly gathered in a dense mass.

Dalcheon gave an order to raise five firecrackers high while frowning. It was something he didn’t want to do, but he had to do it. Park Geun-soo, who knew the meaning of the five firecrackers, smacked his lips with half anticipation and half worry.

* * *

Yuseokdo, who saw the firecrackers, opened up the front. The battle line that had been advancing densely and pushing back the enemy dispersed to the left and right, and a path opened up ahead.

“Prepare to launch Jincheonroe!”

The preloaded gun came forward and the gunner aimed the barrel. The whistle for firing sounded, “Peeeeeeeek!” A long crackle left in the air. It seemed as if a long line was drawn at the end of the sky.

The gunners lit their guns and the gunners aimed their guns with their eyes wide open.

“firing!”

Wow wow wow wow wow!

A dozen or so cannons fired. The thunderous sound that shook the heavens and earth struck my eardrums. It was a sound that I could never hear in my daily life. The horses were startled and ran, and the soldiers who heard this sound for the first time crouched, and some sat down in shock.

A dozen or so Jincheon-roe fell in the center of the enemy camp. Only one iron egg fell. Those who were hit by the flying iron pieces were injured and fell, but there were only a dozen or so. The enemy who had scattered in all directions gathered to form a battle line again. As the generals shouted and hurled to gather, Jincheon-roe exploded once again.

Wow wow wow wow wow!

A dozen or so Jincheon-roe shells exploded in the center of the dense enemy force. The iron pieces packed inside the Jincheon-roe scattered in all directions. The iron pieces that were ejected by the pressure of the explosion pierced the bodies of the enemy soldiers.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Kkaaaak!”

“Kaaaaaaah!”

Countless screams covered the battlefield. Everywhere in the densely packed military camp, a radius of twenty or so turned into a field of corpses. Everywhere in the large military camp, there were dents. Yoo Seok-do cruelly gave the following order.

“Prepare to fire, second row!”

The cannons on the second line came forward and aimed at the collapsing enemy lines. The surprised enemies were scattering in all directions. Yoo Seok-do quickly gave orders.

“firing!”

Aiming and lighting, a pitiful moment passed. The generals next to Yoo Seok-do swallowed their saliva.

Wow, wow, wow!

Once again, the Jincheon-roe flew, and the enemy troops around where the bomb fell were turned into mute bullets. When the bomb exploded again, no one was left nearby. No enemy was left in the depths of the long street that followed the government office street.