By Zephyria 
69
I think I have to do this alone. I wasn’t confident. I was completely ignorant when it came to battle.
If I had a little more time after manifesting as a Bondmate and before setting out, I would have read The Art of War or the Military Science Guide. At this rate, I can’t do anything.
“This is frustrating……”
Ho-eun slammed his forehead against the horse’s neck. The horse neighed. Ho-eun, his eyes wide, quickly stroked the horse’s neck.
“Did I surprise you? Sorry. I wasn’t talking to you.”
He sighed deeply again. Then, something caught his eye. At the far end of the endless plain, a plume of dusty dirt was rising.
“Uh……”
Ho-eun walked past the horse to the post. But the distance was too great to tell what was causing the dust.
“What is it……”
Ho-eun stood on his tiptoes, leaned his upper body over the post, narrowed his eyes, and stared intently at the dust.
The heat haze-like plume became clearer. Judging by the direction, it seemed to be coming this way, and the speed was quite fast. The thin line of dust suggested that there weren’t many of them, but it was certain that ‘something’ was rushing towards the encampment.
Something is rushing towards the encampment.
Ho-eun’s face turned pale. His heart sank.
“Could it be……”
A Devouring Ghoul?
He quickly looked around, trying to alert someone to the unknown presence. But the only things nearby were hundreds of horses. Of all times, there wasn’t a single soldier in the stable.
Without thinking, Ho-eun immediately mounted his horse. Even that he couldn’t do smoothly in one go; he had to step on the post and then climb onto the horse’s back.
“Let’s go to the General.”
Ho-eun lightly kicked the horse’s side. He didn’t know where Tae-muk was, but he had to go somewhere.
Ho-eun rode along the defensive line surrounding the encampment, asking every soldier he met about Tae-muk’s whereabouts. He also glanced at the plain from time to time. The dust cloud was getting thicker.
Ho-eun was able to find Tae-muk only when the dust cloud was almost upon them. Tae-muk was at the entrance where the defensive line was open on both sides, a kind of gateway into the encampment. His gaze was fixed on the far end of the plain, where the dust was rising.
Seeing this, Ho-eun pulled the reins and stopped his horse.
“He knows……”
Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Of course, there’s no way Tae-muk wouldn’t know. He even knows how many birds flew over the encampment.
“Ha……”
Ho-eun sighed in relief. All the strength drained from his body, and he hunched over.
Ho-eun looked alternately at the dust cloud crossing the plain and at Tae-muk. Tae-muk wasn’t on alert, nor was he adopting a battle stance, nor was he giving orders to the soldiers. He was just silently staring at the dust cloud.
Before long, it was close enough to see what was causing the dust.
Two horses. And two people riding them. Judging by the uniforms of the Daehan Empire, they seemed to be soldiers, but not Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers. There was no red flag, no black cloak.
Soon they arrived in front of the encampment. Before heading to Tae-muk, they first spoke with the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers guarding the entrance to the encampment. And the moment they exchanged a few words, Tae-muk gestured to the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers, as if to say, ‘It’s okay, let them in.’
The unidentified soldiers rode straight to Tae-muk. Then, before the horses even stopped, they dismounted as if falling off. They immediately prostrated themselves before Tae-muk.
“……”
Ho-eun frowned slightly at the strange sight. Who are they? Why did they come? Did they come because they wanted to join the Crimson Rain Brigade? What about the unit they originally belonged to? No, how did they know the Crimson Rain Brigade was here? He stared at the unfamiliar soldiers with suspicious eyes.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers slumped to the side and collapsed. Tae-muk gave an order, and one of the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers grabbed him, slung him over his shoulder, and ran off somewhere.
And in the spot where the soldier had fallen…… blood was pooling. It seemed the soldier had ridden here injured. The other soldier was still bowing to Tae-muk.
The atmosphere was ominous. Gil-sang had already approached Tae-muk from behind. Dong-ja was also there. They exchanged words among themselves about the soldiers who had appeared. Then, the moment Tae-muk said something, they all nodded and scattered in all directions.
And.
Puuu-uuuu-uuuuu…….
The Conch Horn sounded as if to shake the sky.
At the sound, countless Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers dispersed in an orderly fashion, going in and out of somewhere. In their hands, they held different weapons. Seeing this, Ho-eun took a deep breath. And then he looked at Tae-muk again.
“……”
Tae-muk, standing far away, was staring directly at Ho-eun.
Ho-eun got off his horse and ran into Tae-muk’s tent. In his haste, he didn’t even announce his presence.
In the tent, Gil-sang, Dong-ja, and about a dozen Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers were gathered. In the center was the new soldier. He was soaked in blood, one of his ears was torn off, and his cheek was jagged and uneven, as if scratched by something sharp and blunt.
And on the wide desk, a map was spread out.
It seemed to be a town map, but it was hard to make out at a glance because of the bloodstains everywhere.
“……”
Everyone looked at Ho-eun when he appeared, then turned their gaze back to the map. Only Dong-ja gave Ho-eun a slight smile. Ho-eun bowed silently to her. Then, he hesitated and gathered his hands in front of his abdomen.
It seems like this isn’t a place for me, should I leave? But there was nowhere to go. Since arriving at the encampment, he had always stayed in Tae-muk’s tent. Thinking he should at least get out of the way, he took a step back.
“Young Master, come in, too.”
Gil-sang said in a small voice and gestured.
“Me, too?”
Ho-eun asked, also whispering. He glanced at Tae-muk. Tae-muk, without saying anything, crossed his arms and looked down at the map. It was as if he didn’t even know Ho-eun was there.
“……”
After hesitating for a moment, Ho-eun reluctantly stood behind Gil-sang. And, worried that his presence might be a hindrance, he only slightly peeked at the map.
[Ramjae Town Map]
Ramjae Town. He didn’t know where it was, but he had heard the name before. It was originally ‘Baramjae Town,’ but over time it became Ramjae Town. It meant ‘windy valley,’ or so he had heard.
The map, as big as Ho-eun’s body, was very detailed. Gates, guest houses, government residences, military warehouses, and other military-related buildings. And even buildings that people frequented, such as Yeonghwa Restaurant, Geumgyo Herbal Medicine Clinic, the Imperial Daily, Daehan Mukeo Hospital, shelters, Central Church, Seol Gong Trading Company, and Seonghwa Girls’ School. Houses were marked with simple squares without any special names. Occasionally, places with names like Kim Family, Jeong Family, and Hwang Family were written. He guessed they were probably the homes of noble families.
At that moment, the soldier with the torn ear pointed to the fortress wall that largely surrounded the outside of the map and said,
“With the eastern and western walls collapsing, the defense system has completely broken down. So we have to defend inside the town, but there are no separate fortress walls, so it’s almost impossible.”
“What about the people?”
Dong-ja asked. Her eyes were raised with her chin tucked in, a look quite different from her usual self.
“About 2,000 people live in our town. 500 are confirmed to be in the eastern shelter here, 300 in the hospital, and 100 in the school. The rest…… I can’t be sure, but they’re either hiding in their homes, have fled somewhere, or…….”
The soldier trailed off. Even without hearing the rest, everyone in the room could guess their whereabouts.
Ho-eun swallowed hard. 500 in the shelter, 300 in the hospital, and 100 in the school, that’s 900 in total. 900 out of 2,000 people remained. He didn’t know whether to be relieved that half had survived or to be saddened by the misfortune.
Ho-eun was checking the buildings such as the shelter and the hospital on the map when Tae-muk spoke.
“Which is the safest building among the places where people are gathered? A place that doesn’t need immediate rescue.”
“The shelter, sir. It was built for evacuation when Devouring Ghouls appear, so the entrance is a thick iron door, and there’s plenty of food inside, so there won’t be any problems for a few days.”
“What’s the most urgent place?”
“That would be…… the school, but then again, the hospital isn’t safe either…….”
“……”
Tae-muk’s eyes narrowed and then returned to normal. There was a brief silence, and then Gil-sang asked,
“Can more people enter the shelter?”
The soldier shook his head.
“Well, they could go in if they had to, but it’s hard to reopen a closed door……. Those who couldn’t get into the shelter went to the nearest hospital. Ah, but there’s another shelter here, here on the west side. It can also hold 500 people, but…… well…….”
“Why?”
“It’s already swarming with Devouring Ghouls, so it’s unusable.”
Gil-sang scratched his temple. Then he looked at Tae-muk, as if waiting for his answer. One by one, the others also turned their gaze to Tae-muk. Tae-muk stared at the map for a moment. Then, he unfolded his arms and leaned on the desk with both hands.
“Everyone, listen.”
At those words, Dong-ja, Gil-sang, and the other soldiers stood close to the desk.