Chapter 74. Commencement of War
***
In front of Manhan Mountain, where grass grew sparsely. A barren plain stretched endlessly. Just like anywhere else on the steppe including Guisui, a strong wind was blowing here as well.
On the opposite side of the mountain.
About a thousand mercenaries were lined up, facing the wind.
"It looks like about five hundred."
One of the mercenaries standing next to Dong Bong-su said. Because of the strong wind, the mercenary's voice scattered easily, but it was not to the extent that Dong Bong-su could not hear it.
"Four hundred seventy-seven."
Dong Bong-su immediately corrected the mercenary's words.
500 or 477.
Right in front of them, that was the number of the North Ghost Group who had come out to meet them. Dong Bong-su had already finished counting their numbers with his own eyes before the mercenary even spoke.
He had led the mercenaries and arrived here after a day of marching. Since they had crossed the wide-open plain, there was no way the North Ghost Group would not have noticed their approach.
In the end, the North Ghost Group came out in a group like that to welcome them. They probably intended to no longer allow the mercenaries to approach. In fact, a messenger had come from the North Ghost Group a little while ago.
The messenger said: either put down everything you have and pass through, or quietly return the way you came.
Dong Bong-su's answer was to permanently lower the messenger's neck.
The immediate objective was to annihilate Manhan Mountain.
Negotiation was meaningless anyway. He had no intention of paying, and he had never even once considered turning back. For now, he was simply leading the mercenaries as Lee Ja-song had ordered.
Hoo—
Since this was the steppe region and the sun was gradually setting, the temperature had dropped so much that breath came out in white steam every time he exhaled. Probably—no, certainly—it had dropped below zero.
Dong Bong-su once again exhaled the breath he had deeply inhaled and counted the enemies with his eyes again.
….. 475, 476, 477.
As expected, 477.
It was a much smaller number than he had originally expected. As far as he knew, the North Ghost Group had at least 700 members, at most about 1000. But the number that appeared here was only 477.
Should he be happy that there were fewer?
Absolutely not. When things differ from expectations, they always contain danger. It meant that about 220 or about 520 blades that were not included in the calculation were hiding somewhere.
A danger signal.
Where?
Even while coming here, Dong Bong-su had sent mercenaries out to scout far in all directions and had steadily examined the terrain.
First of all, given the terrain here, an ambush was impossible. Not only was there nowhere in this barren steppe suitable for an ambush, but he also had not found any artificially dug ambush sites.
Then where were the rest of the North Ghost Group...
Dong Bong-su slightly raised his head. Accordingly, his gaze naturally moved to the yellow-earth-colored mountain towering behind the North Ghost Group. It was Manhan Mountain.
'Does that mean the rest of the personnel stayed there? Why? Why didn't they move together?'
Dong Bong-su could not understand.
They came out to face the enemy head-on on the steppe, but about half of their force stayed at the main base?
It was excessive to think that they were simply troops left behind to guard the mountain stronghold. Frankly speaking, if they could send out all their forces and wipe out the mercenaries, there would be no need to guard their own stronghold at all.
This fight was not a siege or a defensive battle. Although it was part of a border dispute, strictly speaking it was a fight between martial artists and martial artists. Wasting troops to forcibly guard a mountain stronghold was something only a fool would do.
Dong Bong-su knew well that the North Ghost Group were not fools. The fact that they had survived for so long in this barren land meant that it was impossible with just superior martial force alone.
'Then why?'
Dong Bong-su watched the enemies' movements for a while longer.
But there was no movement from the enemies at all.
In the end, he sent a few more mercenaries to scout toward the rear. It was to prepare for a possible rear attack. He expanded the scouting area that was currently covering about ten li to thirty li.
Then he arranged the mercenaries into ten ranks, centered on himself. Since the number of mercenaries was almost twice that of the North Ghost Group, a formation was created that looked like they were facing each other one-to-one. However, here, the "one" was actually two people overlapping front and back.
It was a standoff with many unsettling points, but since they had already faced the enemy like this, they had to fight. There was no reason to avoid it, and on this steppe there was nowhere to avoid it. From the start, it was impossible for the mercenaries to match the mobility of the North Ghost Group. It meant that escape was fundamentally impossible.
No matter how one looked at it, their side's combat power was clearly inferior to the other side. The only thing their side had in their favor was numbers. The other side had lost nearly half of their total forces, but they still had combat power far superior to the mercenaries.
Dong Bong-su had faced the North Ghost Group several times before during hunting. They were fast and strong. They were not something that lower-grade wanderer mercenaries could compare to. For one North Ghost Group member, would three, or maybe even four or five people rushing together barely be enough to win? The mercenaries also knew that fact well. No matter how good the pay was, it was still less important than their own lives. If Dong Bong-su had not been the mercenary captain, perhaps quite a few would have already run away.
Dong Bong-su swept his indifferent gaze over those mercenaries.
Then he quietly opened his mouth.
[Do not be afraid.]
Dong Bong-su's voice was strange. No, strictly speaking, it was not a voice. It was just that, strangely, his words were being engraved directly into the heads of all the mercenaries. That was right. How else could it be explained? The voice was being carved directly into their brains. And yet, the pattern of the voice was clearly that of Dong Bong-su, the Ear Ghost.
Thousand-Meter Voice Transmission? Six-Union Sound Transmission? Or Radiant Wisdom Mind Speech?
The mercenaries stirred for a moment. But the noisy situation did not last long. Because all of them could see Dong Bong-su slowly walking forward alone.
[Everyone, close your eyes.]
A strange command following strange behavior. But the mercenaries all followed his words. What Dong Bong-su had shown them so far made them do so.
Why such a master was doing mercenary work was a problem for later. What was important to them was the fact that Dong Bong-su, an absolute peak or peak expert, was their leader.
Now, no matter what Dong Bong-su did, they would not be greatly surprised, and they would willingly follow his orders.
[Even if the enemies charge, do not open your eyes. The signal for you to open your eyes is light. When a bright light pierces through your closed eyes, then open them. And ...… ]
Dong Bong-su continued to walk alone toward the enemy. And his strange language, "range chat," was also continuously activated.
Over the past year, Dong Bong-su had not only become stronger physically. He had constantly studied the system, found out many things, and became able to use them. This range chat was also one of them.
Dong Bong-su knew well how the mercenaries would perceive this right now. It was that great a technique, and also something that should not be shown lightly. But Dong Bong-su had already made his decision and put it into action.
And....
That decision did not only include the range chat function.
[Begin the slaughter.]
When Dong Bong-su had said this much, the enemies finally began to move.
Originally, the distance between the North Ghost Group and the mercenaries was about a hundred zhang. When Dong Bong-su walked forward alone about ten zhang, one person also slowly stepped forward from the enemy ranks.
He was a vicious-looking man with the distinctive braided hair of the northern tribes, and with various rings on his nose, ears, and tongue. His body and face were covered with as many scars as the rings, proving how many battlefields he had roamed.
Dong Bong-su and the braided North Ghost Group member eventually faced each other in the middle of both sides.
"Kill him!"
"Kill him!"
Although it was quite a distance away, the cries of "kill" from the North Ghost Group could be heard. In response, the braided North Ghost Group member clashed the crescent blades fitted like knuckles on both his hands, making a loud noise.
On the other hand, Dong Bong-su stood still with both arms hanging down loosely. Because of that, the wanderer's sword in his right hand looked as if it were stuck into the ground.
"Keuk keuk keuk."
The braided North Ghost Group member let out a low growl as he looked at Dong Bong-su like that. It was not underestimation. It was more like the low roar that carnivores like tigers or lions let out when they overwhelm their prey's spirit.
But there was no way that would work on Dong Bong-su. Dong Bong-su was a predator that existed on a different level from feline animals like lions or tigers.
Pat!
Perhaps he did not like that Dong Bong-su was calmly brushing off his killing intent, the North Ghost Group member launched a preemptive attack early.
It was fast. As the vanguard, his movements were not ordinary.
The distance between Dong Bong-su and the braided North Ghost Group member was about ten steps, but when the braided North Ghost Group member stomped the ground once and leaped, he was falling down over Dong Bong-su's head in an instant.
Compared to that, Dong Bong-su was slow.
Half a step.
At the moment the braided North Ghost Group member jumped, Dong Bong-su only moved half a step to the side. But that alone was enough. To Dong Bong-su, any larger movement had no meaning.
Move only as much as needed, when it is needed.
If he could avoid an attack with just a wriggle, then Dong Bong-su's movement would have ended at just a wriggle. He did not need anything more than that.
Having avoided the crescent blade with a half-step movement, Dong Bong-su shrugged his shoulder upward. The crescent blade was a weapon that used a crescent-shaped blade frame gripped like a fist weapon. Therefore, the moment the attack missed, the braided North Ghost Group member's fist and wrist area brushed past Dong Bong-su's shoulder.
Dong Bong-su's shoulder struck the braided North Ghost Group member's wrist.
A light, very light movement. However, the result was not light at all.
Crack.
"Kuh!"
Dong Bong-su's shoulder delivered a momentary shock to the wrist's vital point, the wrist acupoint. As a result, paralysis spread through the North Ghost Group member's entire body in an instant. He had been planning to swing the crescent blade on the opposite fist the moment Dong Bong-su avoided, but that plan had already become useless.
That brief moment. That short time was enough to decide the outcome.
Dong Bong-su's other arm, which had been hanging down, was raised upward. Along with it, the hand holding the wanderer's sword was raised.
Pak!
One of the braided North Ghost Group member's arms was cleanly severed from the shoulder.
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