Chapter 85 – Rout
Someone tried to stop.
He turned back and shouted.
Too late.
A soldier rushing past shoved him aside.
Another came from behind and crashed into him.
Men pushed men.
This was no formation, no ordered line.
It was a wave.
An unstoppable current.
Yeong-u turned his horse.
He rode along the flank of that flow.
"Keep hitting the sides!"
Strike the flank of a fleeing army, and its direction does not change.
Only its speed.
It runs faster.
It scatters farther.
The Liao army collapsed.
Into that break, the heavy cavalry surged in.
The split enemy could not resist.
They broke.
They turned their backs and scattered.
After only a few charges, the camp itself fell apart.
When the front collapsed, the rear pressed forward.
Feet tangled as men fled.
Boots slipped on snow.
One man fell.
He tried to rise.
Bodies from behind crashed down onto him.
"Get up!"
Someone shouted.
A hand reached out.
There was nothing to grasp.
Another man fell.
Then another on top of him.
Feet no longer touched the ground.
Breath vanished.
Armor crushed inward.
Chests caved.
A sound escaped—
short, broken.
Men trampled men.
The force from behind did not stop.
They could not stand.
To fall was the end.
To live—
you had to step on those beneath you.
Bodies piled in the snow.
They became a single mass, no longer moving.
Horses ran over them.
Hooves came down.
Dull impacts sank into the snow.
Yeong-u passed by their side.
He did not stop.
He did not break the flow.
It was already destroyed.
The living fled faster.
No one looked back.
A Liao officer reined in his horse.
He saw the line collapsing.
Not the front—
the rear was breaking.
He raised his banner at once.
"Hold!"
He shouted until his throat tore.
He ordered the drums beaten.
The dull rhythm spread outward.
He tried to rebuild the line.
"Turn back! Turn and fight!"
A few hesitated.
Their steps slowed.
But the pressure from behind surged forward.
Fleeing soldiers brushed past him.
Shoulders slammed into his.
No one turned their head.
The command did not reach them.
The officer clenched his teeth.
"Cut down the cowards!"
He seized a nearby soldier.
His blade rose and fell.
Blood sprayed.
No one stopped.
No one even looked.
They ran to live.
A soldier rushing past shoved him again.
Another slammed into him from behind.
His horse was forced backward.
The officer lost his balance.
"You bastards—"
The horse stumbled.
Its footing slipped.
He fell.
His hands struck the snow.
It gave way beneath him.
He tried to rise.
A foot came down.
Someone stepped on his shoulder.
Another crushed his back.
His breath vanished.
His hand clawed at empty air.
His sword fell.
The drums stopped.
The army passed over him.
Command disappeared.
The Liao army collapsed completely.