By Zephyria 
I think I used to hear it every other day before. Tae-muk, Chilbok, and Byeonguk had all said things like I didn’t act like a proper nobleman. But this time, it didn’t seem to be because of that. When Ho-eun looked at Dong-ja as if asking what the problem was, she waved her hand as if to drop the subject and gave a casual reply.
“No one got hurt. The cooks aren’t hurt either.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
“But the food inside burned.”
“The food?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
Ho-eun stared blankly at Dong-ja’s profile. The food burned, huh. He wondered how much had actually burned, but he felt an ominous sense of dread. Dong-ja’s scale of doing things was exceptionally vast, no matter what it was.
“How much?”
“All of it.”
“……The food for a thousand people, all of it?”
“Yup. All. Burnt pitch black.”
Dong-ja nodded proudly.
“…….”
Ho-eun was speechless.
“Of all times, it happened right after we’d received the military rations, so the food was piled high. It was stacked up to the ceiling, and every bit of it burned away.”
“Oh dear…….”
Ho-eun lamented. In the army, rations were a weapon more powerful than cannons. They were responsible for the soldiers’ combat effectiveness and morale, and they allowed them to endure the harshness of the battlefield. Moreover, this was a world where some people enlisted just to eat military rations. And she had burned it all.
“……You must have been scolded severely.”
“Ugh, I got chewed out like crazy. Some guy looked at me like I was some kind of Eater Bug.”
“…….”
“We all starved together until we could get more rations.”
“Oh dear…….”
Ho-eun lamented once more. His heart ached thinking of the soldiers who must have gone hungry. If only he had been there then. If he had spent all the money he had to buy food, perhaps they could have starved for one day less. As expected, he should have Manifested as a Bondmate sooner. This useless body.
Just as Ho-eun bit his lower lip and naturally began to blame himself again, Dong-ja suddenly thrust her face right in front of him.
“That’s what a nuisance is, Young Master.”
“Pardon?”
“Making a thousand people starve—now that is a nuisance.”
“…….”
“You getting nosebleeds and mouth sores all by yourself isn’t a nuisance.”
“…….”
“So don’t go hiding your pain for no reason.”
“…….”
Ho-eun stared blankly at Dong-ja. Meeting his gaze, Dong-ja grinned so wide her mouth seemed to split, then turned her head toward the Amnok River. Ho-eun continued to look at her. His chest felt fluttery. He felt a warmth that was almost hot.
What luck did I have to meet such wonderful people? Man-soo, who comforted me in my anxiety; Dong-ja, who erased my guilt; and all the other soldiers who were always kind—he was more grateful than words could express.
Ho-eun took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then, with a bright smile, he spoke.
“Thank you, Noona.”
A pale dawn began to seep into the sky that had been pitch black. The world, neither night nor day, felt silent, and Ho-eun realized it wasn’t just a feeling, but an actual fact.
The wind died down, and the river grew calm. It seemed the water collected in the dam had finally run dry. The depth of the water became noticeably shallow, and the rushing current lost its speed.
The Devouring Ghouls seemed to notice this as well, as they began to squirm and writhe. They spun in circles or mingled with one another, behaving in incomprehensible ways.
“…….”
Ho-eun bit his lip with an anxious expression. He had expected the current to decrease around dawn, but seeing it actually happen made his heart sink.
And when the sun, which had been hanging on the horizon, fully revealed itself.
Krrr-rrr-rk…….
Kieeeee…….
The Devouring Ghouls began to splash into the river. They formed a dike just as they had before. They blocked the current with their bodies, building a wall and raising the layers. It was the same method as before, but the speed was doubled. Having been held back for a full day, they seemed to have grown impatient.
Thinking this far, Ho-eun frowned slightly.
‘……Impatient?’
Why?
Was there a reason for them to be impatient?
While Ho-eun tilted his head in confusion at the incomprehensible situation, the Devouring Ghouls built the dike even faster, quickly reaching halfway across the river.
Kieeeeeek!
Kireuk, keuk, kr-rrr-rk!
They moved in perfect unison. It felt as though they would inevitably reach the end of the river in just a little more time. But at that moment.
Sshhh, sshshsh, about a hundred arrows were fired. They were arrows shot by the Crimson Rain Brigade. The well-aimed arrows accurately pierced the heads of the Devouring Ghouls forming the dike.
Krrk…….
Kik…….
The ones whose heads were pierced died instantly with a final groan.
“Nice!”
Dong-ja clapped her hands and laughed. Ho-eun clenched his fists and raised his eyebrows. Now the dike would collapse. They would be swept away by the current. They wouldn’t be able to invade our land. He held onto that hope.
However, the dike only swayed precariously; it did not collapse. The Devouring Ghouls hit by the arrows certainly died. But that didn’t mean the bodies of those forming the dam disappeared. They remained as part of the dike.
Regardless of whether their kin died or not, the Devouring Ghouls continued to build the dike. Whenever a dead one slipped or rolled away, they shoved their bodies into the gap to fill the hole.
The Crimson Rain Brigade fired arrows a few more times after that, but they couldn’t deal a significant blow. The dike continued to grow longer, firmer, and higher.
“Oh no…….”
Ho-eun narrowed his brow in dismay. Dong-ja also clicked her tongue in disappointment and spoke softly.
“It can’t be helped.”
“Yes, it can’t be helped.”
Ho-eun nodded, echoing her words. Around then, the Crimson Rain Brigade, realizing the arrows were meaningless, lowered their bows. In the meantime, the Devouring Ghouls built the dike even faster. Some had already begun to cross the river even before the dike was fully completed. It seemed they believed the Crimson Rain Brigade could no longer harm them with long-range weapons.
The Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers at the foot of the mountain took up their weapons and lined up before the river. Tae-muk was at the front, as always. Just as it seemed they were preparing for a melee fight, several soldiers scrambled back up the mountain. At a glance, it looked like a retreat. However, their retreat was short.
Stopping at the point where the mountain slope began, they pulled something away.
It was none other than a cloth. The cloth that had covered the leaves and branches was the one Chilbok and Ho-eun had sewn previously, made to conceal something.
It took quite a while to clear the massive cloth. Finally, it fell to the ground along with a cloud of dust, and the body of the hidden object appeared.
The size of a house, black as an inkstone, and shaped like an extended telescope.
It was a cannon.
“…….”
Ho-eun swallowed hard. Along with guns, cannons were one of the weapons that military units absolutely had to possess. Naturally, the Crimson Rain Brigade had them too. They had simply been left neglected because there had been no occasion to use them, nor any need.
Cannons were good weapons, but they were large, heavy, and useless without shells. They required wagons to move and were tricky to handle as they broke easily. Furthermore, since they were weapons that couldn’t distinguish between enemy and ally, they couldn’t be used just anywhere.
For the Crimson Rain Brigade, who traveled only through rough terrain, had to move quickly, and frequently engaged in melee combat, cannons were not particularly efficient weapons. Rather than using those, it would be far more efficient to drop Tae-muk and Dong-ja right into the middle of the Devouring Ghouls.
Still, they had kept a few just in case—and literally, just a few. Exactly three. Even then, one was broken and wouldn’t fire properly. That meant only two were currently usable.
But that should be enough. Their goal right now wasn’t to kill all 100,000 Devouring Ghouls, but to prevent them from crossing the river.
The soldiers turned the muzzles of the cannons to aim at the Devouring Ghouls. Another soldier loaded the shells into the cannons, and another prepared for firing.
“…….”
Ho-eun checked the river again. The dike was just about to reach the opposite bank. Those who had started crossing had already made it halfway across.
Quickly, quickly, quickly…….
Ho-eun urged them on, his lips moving silently.
“…….”
Dong-ja glared at the cannons with wide eyes. Her gaze burned so fiercely that it seemed she would run over and fire the cannons herself if the soldiers delayed for even a moment longer.
Fortunately, the soldiers soon finished their preparations. One of them raised his hand and looked at Tae-muk. In response, Tae-muk seemed to give a brief nod.
Boom!
Boom!
A heavy, dull, yet strangely hollow roar shook the mountain and the river. Simultaneously, white smoke and dust billowed up around the cannons.
K-boom! K-boooom!
Explosions followed.
Kaaaaaaak!
Kieeeeeek!
The shells hit the Devouring Ghouls directly. In the massive explosions, the Devouring Ghouls were literally blown to pieces. The river water surged upward like a reverse waterfall, and the fragmented bodies of the ghouls floated up together before falling back down with thuds.
The dike vanished without a trace. Because the Helmet Bones of the Devouring Ghouls were so hard, there were more survivors than dead, but since the dike had collapsed, the attack was sufficiently successful. Moreover, it was perfect since the ghouls were all swept away by the violent current caused by the explosions.
“That’s it!”
At the exhilarating sight, Dong-ja cheered, slamming her fist onto the ground with a thump!
“…….”
The corners of Ho-eun’s mouth curled up. He had been a bit worried since he had never seen the power of a cannon, but seeing this, he felt there had been no need to worry. At this rate, they could stall for as long as they wanted.
No, perhaps the Crimson Rain Brigade, numbering only a thousand, might actually be able to deal with all 100,000 of them.
Ho-eun took a deep, hopeful breath.