Fantasy Starting from the Stone Age - Chapter 138
Only Noblemtl
Episode 138. The Heart of the Leader, the Heart of the People 2
War is governed by the logic of economics.
Those with more troops, better equipment, and more money have the advantage, but in the end, those are secondary factors and the key is ‘profit’.
In the end, the higher the exchange rate, the more you win. If just one person goes out and wipes out 1 million, you win. If 10 million fights 1 million and kills all but 100,000, then even if you win, you have suffered a meaningless loss.
In that sense, the confrontation between Datang and Baekkan is not even a match. They just drafted some of their surplus troops and scraped together scraps of the budget to spend on military equipment, but it is larger than all of Baekkan’s armies and assets combined.
In other words, it is not a fight in the weight class. A heavyweight champion weighing 150kg vs. a child weighing 15kg. Even if the child has a knife in his hand, can it be a fight? It is ridiculous to call it a war.
Of course, there have been miraculous cases throughout history where these disadvantages have been overturned.
According to historical records, Goguryeo repeatedly fought off the literally million-strong Sui army with a force far smaller than its own, and even annihilated them.
Yi Sun-sin of Joseon, a later country, is also famous. He was a sea warrior who took control of the seas by blocking at least a hundred ships with only 12 ships.
Also famous is Tran Hung Dao of Vietnam, who blocked the advance of the Mongol Empire, the strongest empire in the world, through guerrilla warfare.
There have been all sorts of great battles in Chinese history, and it’s not just once or twice that a small number of people have defeated a large number of enemies. Surprisingly, there have been quite a few such cases in the history of war.
But for that to happen, there has to be at least one factor in your favor.
In short, Yi Sun-sin had panokseons, ships that were much larger than Japanese ships, and Tran Hung Dao had jungle terrain that was hellish to attackers.
So what advantages does Baekkan have over Datang? If there is something that is decisively advantageous, it can be prevented.
Basically, it was this.
Datang came here to ‘quarantine’.
Baekkan is trying to start a ‘war’ here.
Datang VS Baekkan. In this war, it was actually Datang who suffered losses.
“Lock down the city completely! We have to completely isolate Hanjutamal!”
The purpose of Datang is quarantine, or isolation. At least, they should occupy the border area that Baekkan himself is blocking so that it cannot go beyond the Baekkara region, and then block the spread of the disease and confine it inward. Just like the original quarantine principle of Datang.
And to achieve this, we really, really need a lot of soldiers. If even one person escapes, the quarantine line will be breached. The number of soldiers sent by Datang was enormous, and even Borin, in particular, became a powerful force thanks to the enormous Donam… … .
Baekara is wide. The spread of Hanjutamal is fast. The military of Datang had to slowly occupy the border area while being careful not to infect themselves, and Baekkan attacked the supply line of Datang that was so long, taking over Donum and reducing the number of people.
“Why won’t you cooperate? If we continue like this, we’ll all die!”
“Whether you die from a disease or from a disease, it’s all the same!”
“No, this is driving me crazy. I told you that if you just block the bottle, it will just go away?!”
“Shut up! You cruel murderer! For the sake of the honor of our families, brothers, and friends who died because of you, we cannot live under the same sky as you!”
“No, if you get caught in a one-week battle, you really die!”
Marechi’s appeal is not effective. Since the goal is not to occupy Baekhan, he ends up protecting the army by pouring out a lot of mysteries, and protects the soldiers with a huge amount of money and maintains the quarantine line.
And then we blockade each city one by one. But even Baekhan would be foolish to fall for this.
“Well, there are only patients in the city. It seems like they all ran away.”
“What? Aaaah! I told you not to run away!!! Just how far are you planning on spreading it!”
It’s crazy and frightening. Even the patients, as if they won’t just die, jump in and spread the disease, or stab themselves in the neck with hidden daggers when soldiers approach.
It was a resistance that Marechi could not understand at all. Why on earth are they doing this? They would know if they saw that they were dying in a single week…
But that was Marech’s point of view. To Baekkan, ‘a disease with a 100% fatality rate that no treatment works on and there is no way to deal with it other than killing or turning it into a scorpion’ was more of a delusion than a real disease.
“I got caught in a fight, but I’m okay, right?”
“Shivering over something as simple as the flu. What a joke from the Datons!”
No. It just acts on Baekkan very slowly. In fact, the incubation period is longer, and the number of asymptomatic infections increases. And in the terminal stage, it becomes irreversible.
Marechi knew that, and Baekhan realized it very late. That’s why the confrontation between the two forces is becoming more and more intense.
“Reinforcements! Send more reinforcements! There are too many patients now, and we can’t contain them all with our current force!”
In the end, that was all Marechi could do. A war between two forces. Let’s take a look at it briefly.
Daton has a near-infinite mystical mobilization power. The endless surge of power. With it, he can defend against all enemy attacks through the spirits and mystical holders, slowly blocking and pressuring them.
And the Baekkan has other advantages: the quality of its equipment and its discipline.
First of all, Baekkan’s refining technique was far superior to that of Datang in this common magic zone.
Secondly, since Datang’s military was basically based on using mystic or spirit beast cavalry, its quality was far inferior to that of the infantry that marched in formation.
And Baekhan’s infantry was the strongest at the time. Even including the invincible army of the invincible man, it was the strongest.
“What is that armor? It repels fireballs.”
“Whaaaaa …
The battle cry is heard as infantrymen lined up and march forward, holding spears. Behind them, a shower of arrows. And mysterious mobilization through magic and other means.
Even the charge of Daton’s elephant cavalry was blocked by the Baekhan heavy infantry who formed a line and instead infiltrated, killed the spirit beast’s rider and felled it.
It is said that the mysterious mobilization power is limitless, but when looking at it as a whole… … .
Of course, not all locations have infinite Donum, so if you hit key points well, you can win, and maybe even steal a huge amount of Donum that you weren’t able to use.
“Take the surviving spirits as slaves! Turn the wheel to mobilize the mysterious power!”
There are more soldiers in Datang, but there is a restriction that not even one place can be breached. In addition, the supply line is endlessly long. In contrast, Baekkan has to counterattack while fully understanding the terrain of his own land.
As a result, despite the huge cost, a fairly close fight takes place.
This is because neither side was able to land a decisive blow.
First of all, Datang had no intention of landing a decisive blow.
And Baekhan wanted to fly, but it was blocked.
The position of Datang Anraier is not one that just anyone can fill.
At that time, there were six adults in Baekkan, monarchs who were so good at politics that they achieved immortality.
Each of them has a different mystical power instead of the national god of Baekkan, and since war is also a virtue of the monarch, they are great warriors. They are those who have shed their magic, martial arts, sorcery, divine power, or whatever it is and reached the peak twice.
Those six can’t catch a single one right now.
“No, everyone, stop it!”
Marechi lunges at the monarch with his fist and strikes him in the temple. The monarch, wearing a heavy helmet, falls to the ground.
Marechi protests as if he has been wronged.
“Why are you fighting? I told you that if you don’t stop Hanjutamal right now, we’ll all die.”
“So, you’re going to completely exterminate Baekkan?”
“We have to stop it before that happens!”
“So you’re saying you can do it if necessary?”
“That, that. But still, it’s better than everyone in the world dying in one fell swoop… … .”
Marechi is somewhat speechless. The Baekkan Lords frown.
I have this look on my face like I’m a wicked hypocrite, but I can’t bring myself to approach him.
Marechi didn’t have any mystical skills, originally. But to advance to Anlair, he needed any mystical skills.
However, Marechi has no affinity for magic. And his intelligence is too low to learn magic. After thinking about it for a while, Marechi decides to use a simple and ignorant method.
Instead of other mysteries, it uses the life force of energy accumulated over the course of one’s life. Willpower and life force grow as one trains. Marechi lived for nearly 13,000 years and trained his body endlessly.
A person who has not learned any mysteries just becomes strong. Marechi was the strongest Daton, or person, in the world.
And when you reach that level, you can become a mystery and an Anlier.
If you stab him in the stomach with a spear, the spearhead will break, if you shoot an arrow in his eye, the arrow will split, and all the impacts that burn, cut, tear, and strike him are simply too strong for his body to hear.
And on the contrary, with every normal punch or whipping with the rope used for binding, the armor, bones, and flesh of the Baekkan Lords are crushed to pieces with monstrous strength. Even the strongest Gigard in the world wouldn’t be that strong… … .
And that’s not the problem, the level of Anrai of Datang is so high that even with all six lords attacking, he can’t even take down one Marech, so it looks like he’s going to lose the battle.
“I can’t help it. I’ll quarantine them all.”
Marech approaches the Vakkan lords with strong ropes and restraints made by the sorcerers. To be defeated in battle and captured is truly a horrifying thing… … .
“Ugh. Let’s just wait and see!”
“Ahh! Don’t run away! Oh really!”
The Baekkan lords succeed in escaping. It was a surprise attack that they thought would be over if they just caught Marechi (of course, if they killed Marechi, there is the problem of who would take care of the All Chaun that would come after that), but it was not a surprise attack without any follow-up.
Marechi was not a general but rather a quarantine expert, so he was not particularly good at fighting, and as a result, both of them missed a golden opportunity to end the war.
The quarantine war led by Marechi lasted for about three years.
Three years later, when Marechi again asked Datang for reinforcements, Datang decided to end the protracted war very simply and quickly.
Although he had clearly requested reinforcements of more than 50,000 men, Datang sent only 5,000 soldiers and one commander.
Marechi asks back in embarrassment.
“Huh? Why are you here?”
“I volunteered, and it was basically Mainilun’s decision… … Of course, in this situation, I should come out.”
“Well, but it’s quarantine work.”
He pats Marechi on the shoulder friendly.
“Hey, bro… … . If you think of it as quarantine, it won’t end… … . Anyway, if the goal is to prevent the spread of the disease, it’s much better to suppress and blockade rather than blockade and suppress.”
“Hmm. But I think a lot of people will die… … .”
“Who? When? Why?”
Marechi kept his mouth shut.
In the end, if left alone, it will be Baekkan who will die. It would be better to get rid of the tumor quickly.
The military vassal, Shujorumiya Liwaduwan, was dispatched to the Baekara region.
Ironically, it doesn’t take long for Marechi’s nicknames, which had been ‘the butcher’, ‘the murderer’, ‘the massacre’, ‘the hypocrite’, etc., to change to ‘the only conscience of Datang’, ‘the saint’, ‘the savior’, etc.
The original nickname is naturally inherited by Liwaduwan, but with a more vicious strengthening effect.