The dirt road wound through the mountain pass, flanked by the colossal walls of Whitefang Peak that seemed to scrape the heavens. Nine thousand seven hundred soldiers slowly marched through the narrow pass, the northeast wind whipping chillingly past their faces. The grinding of wagon wheels against the dirt, amplified by the echoing mountain air, utterly drowned out the quiet chattering of their teeth.
From time to time, the Hmagol soldiers would hear the eagle screech as it flew past them, or the sound of small fragments of rock sliding down the mountain pass. And yet, with grim determination, their eyes looked only straight ahead, fixed on the back of their chief commander, who walked every step with them, refusing her horseback.
Looking down from his horse at Chinua, Haitao said, "Chinua, in three miles, we would reach Namsu village. This small village was where the Northeast Military Camp is located. If you were to stand at a high point of Whitefang Peak, you would be able to see the border and Nue-Li City's front gate."
Feeling her feet burn as she had never walked for so many days in a row, Chinua looked up at Haitao, masking the soreness from her face. She said, "Captain, you and Khenbish take the soldiers and enter the military camp first, while Hye, Khunbish, Zhi, and I would scout Namsu Village's environment to better understand our defenses."
Haitao gave Chinua a gentle nod and said, "Alright." He continued riding alongside Chinua and the others.
"It's better to survey the village with your own eyes than review the details on paper or from the words of others," Hye said, looking down at Chinua from his horse. "Are you sure you still want to survey the area, because it looks like the sun's going to be down soon?"
Chinua looked down at her shadow on the dirt road and then up at Hye. She sighed and said, "Then perhaps I guess we'd better spend tonight outside instead of inside the Northeast Military Camp."
Hye didn't ask further, for he knew what Chinua was thinking. She didn't want to go back to camp tonight because she wanted to make sure that the others had successfully crossed over to the Gimsong side.
Chinua raised her voice and said, "Captain, when we were one mile out of the Northeast Military Camp, I would make my way around Namsu Village."
It was late afternoon when they approached Namsu Village, and from this distance, they could see the white national flag bearing a black wolf's face flying high above the small village. Chinua mounted her horse.
"Captains," she said. "Take the soldiers to camp and assess the situation first. Also, be clear on my instructions to General Batzorig."
Haitao and Zhi nodded at Chinua.
Chinua rode her horse past Zhi and Haitao and broke away from the main troop to her left towards Whitefang Peak with Khunbish and Hye.
Standing on the precarious, windswept crest of this section of Whitefang Peak, the afternoon's chilling wind whipped mercilessly around Chinua, Hye, and Khunbish. It wasn't just cold; it was a biting, ceaseless current that stung their exposed skin and forced their eyes to tear uncontrollably. Blinking against the onslaught, the trio clung to their position at the very edge of the sheer cliff, their cloaks snapping like flags behind them. Below, nestled in the valley, lay the small cluster of buildings that made up Namsu Village. Khunbish, ever vigilant, stood a few paces back, acting as a silent anchor. Chinua and Hye, however, leaned slightly forward, their gazes fixed beyond the village. They weren't just looking at Namsu; their focus was honed on the faint, ribbon-like stretch of road that snaked away into the distance, leading directly to the imposing front gate of Nue-Li City.
Hye pointed to the map in his hand and said, "The automatic arrow machines are located underground and will not be active until enemy soldiers' approach. The mechanism to operate the arrow machines is located behind the city wall." He pointed to his drawn map. "All the machines are stationed here." He moved his fingers across the front of the city gate on the map.
Chinua said, "Which means... the only way in is we must go through those arrow machines."
Hye folded the map and tucked it back into his robe. His brows rose as his eyes were fixed at the front gate of Nue-Li City, which stood a distance away. He said, "You have two options. You and your soldiers hold until all the arrows run out or you destroy them."
Hye simply smiled as he looked at the red, orange, and purplish horizon over Namsu Village, feeling like a fool. He smiled once more at his own stupidity; he remembered that day he swore to heaven and earth that he would never set foot on this part of Hmagol as long as he lived, but here he was, standing on the part of land he vowed to never return, looking at the same horizon that sank with the sun just like that day.
He turned to look at Chinua and said, "This is the highest point of this section of Whitefang Peak. Here we could see everything." He pointed to a section of Whitefang Peak that stood far away from Namsu Village. "If everything goes according to our plan, Naksh and his group should be over that section of Whitefang Peak by tonight."
Chinua looked at where Hye was pointing and said, "I know Naksh will find a way to the other side."
Hye glanced at Chinua with a teasing smile as the left corner of his lip curved up. "You have so much confidence in them, don't you?"
Chinua turned around and began walking towards the small campfire with Khunbish. "My men never let me down. I trust that they will complete the task that is given to them."
Hye turned around and followed Chinua and Khunbish. He said, "We will have to wait until darkness falls to see if your men are truly worthy of living up to your name."
Chinua sat down next to the campfire and watched Khunbish began reheating the bread that they'd brought with them on two sticks. She opened her backpack and pulled out a bag. She untied the rope around the opening of the bag and pulled out a piece of beef jerky and handed it to Hye. She took out two more pieces of beef jerky and set the bag to the side while she held the two pieces of beef jerky in her left hand.
After a while, Khunbish handed Hye one stick of reheated bread, and Hye pulled out the first piece of bread and handed it to Chinua.
Chinua took the piece of bread, handed the other piece of beef jerky to Khunbish, and she began eating.
"Chinua," Khunbish said. He looked at Chinua and then at Hye. "When I was gathering firewood earlier, I found that behind those boulders there are four graves."
Hearing that there are graves on the cliff site, Chinua, who had seen many deaths, was not afraid of the dead. As for her, the living is scarier than the dead. She looked at Hye and asked, "I'm curious."
Hye took a bite of the bread and asked, "What caught your curiosity?"
Chinua said, "Why did you bring us here?"
Hye lowered his right hand, turned his head to look at Chinua and asked, "Don't tell me that Chinua is afraid of the dead?"
Chinua laughed it off and said, "The dead are less scary than the living. I just want to know why you chose this place."
Hye sighed and said, "Nothing personal. Like I said, this is the highest point of this section of Whitefang Peak. The sunrise and sunset here are prettier."
Chinua swallowed down her chewed food and asked, "So, who are they? The people in the four graves?"
Hye knew that eventually, Chinua would know, therefore there was nothing he would hide, so he simply said, "My parents, my housekeeper and...." He let out a soft sigh. "And... Nabi..."
Chinua did not ask for more other than giving Hye a short 'oh', then she continued eating.
Seeing Chinua's short response to Hye's answer, Khunbish, who was sitting on the opposite side of Hye, came to an understanding that Chinua must have known Hye's identity for a long time and chose to trust Hye. He knew that with Hye being a Ginmiao and they are in the border of Hmagol and Gimsong, no matter how he tries to get rid of all the doubts he had inside him, there is still a tiny part in his heart that worries that Hye might betray Chinua.
As he was about to speak, he saw that from the distance where Hye pointed earlier, he saw light. Instead of questioning Hye, he said, "Chinua, look."
Chinua and Hye turned around and they saw those various tiny lights shooting up into the night sky. Chinua turned to Hye and said with a smile, "I told you, my men never let me down."
Hye gave Chinua a quick smirk of respect and said, "The fireflies have been released. Your men indeed did a great job." He turned back to face the campfire and gave Chinua a gentle pat on her right shoulder before returning to his spot.