Chapter 51: Escort Warrior [1] Yeoni was no different. She had never experienced war either.
Still, it was strange that the torches, which had been burning just fine, had gone out.
The sentries who had been standing guard by the fires were nowhere to be seen either.
"Young master, Young master."
She hurriedly shook Kanghyeok awake.
Kanghyeok had become thoroughly used to waking up the moment he was called ever since his resident days.
Even at dawn, he could get himself up without much difficulty.
As if he had never been asleep in the first place.
"What is it, what's going on?"
"I think something is wrong."
With a stiff expression, Yeoni handed him a sword.
"Is this the kind of situation where I need this?"
"Yes. I'll check outside first."
Yeoni carefully opened the door.
She was so stealthy that not even the slightest sound came from that old door.
Because of Yeoni, Kanghyeok also grew tense.
His pounding heart felt so loud it seemed as if it could be seen from outside.
Damn it. I knew I shouldn't have come along.
Looking around the room, Dolseok, Makbong, and Yeoju still had not returned.
Only the cold ondol floor remained beneath his touch.
By the time Kanghyeok sat there blankly, Yeoni had already swept through the yard like the wind.
The soldiers in the yard were all asleep.
Was I worrying over nothing?
After glancing back once at the room where Kanghyeok was, Yeoni stepped toward the wall.
No, she tried to.
"You!"
A Japanese raider stood before her with a bloodstained sword in hand.
It was a very short sword, and it seemed he had used it to cut down the sentry.
The man swung his blade without even a word.
Dodging lightly, Yeoni shouted,
"The enemy! We're under attack!"
Almost at the same moment, loud sounds of clashing blades and screams rang out from all around.
"Aaagh!"
"Y-you bastard...!"
It was not just this one. They seemed to have surrounded the place on all sides.
—Whoosh
As Yeoni dodged the second strike, she drove her sword into the man's neck.
Then she called out to Kanghyeok.
"Young master!"
"Uh, yeah!"
Kanghyeok quickly slipped on his straw sandals and hurried after Yeoni.
He had a sword in one hand and his house-call bag in the other, so moving was not easy.
Keeping low, Yeoni peered outside the wall.
By then, sword fights had already broken out everywhere.
Whether the Japanese raiders had set fires or not, several houses were already burning.
—Clang clang
The sound came from nearby.
Kanghyeok turned his head instinctively and saw Makbong fighting like a man possessed.
With Dolseok and Yeoju clinging to him like burdens.
"That's Makbong over there!"
"Where?"
"Oh, Young master!"
Makbong shouted in relief.
He cut down his opponent in a single stroke and tried to rush over, but it was impossible.
There were too many Japanese raiders and too few on their side.
The ones with quick feet and sharp instincts had already fled.
"Aaagh!"
Screams rang out from all directions.
Shin Rip and his officers had only just stepped in, but it was not enough.
There were so many Japanese raiders that it was impossible to even estimate their number.
"Damn."
Yeoni let out a groan after being blocked several times while trying to get to Makbong.
Kanghyeok had also drawn his sword and was swinging it around, but he was a burden too.
It was only because he was strong that he had lasted this long.
If he had not been, he might already have been dead.
Makbong's situation was not good either.
Yeoju and Dolseok were no better than Kanghyeok, if not worse.
"For now, it would be better if just the two of us escape!"
Yeoni shouted as she cut one man down.
Kanghyeok leaped away from another and answered,
"Then what about them?"
"Makbong is with them, so they'll be fine. If we stay here, we'll die."
"Goddamn it."
Being separated from the main force had been their downfall.
More than half the soldiers sleeping in the yard had already been killed.
The survivors were helping Yeoni fight, but if this continued, they would not avoid total annihilation.
Kanghyeok made his decision quickly.
"Fine, let's go."
"Yes. I'll open a path. Just don't lose me."
"Right."
Yeoni turned her head toward the side the Japanese raiders had invaded from.
That side actually had far fewer of them.
Most had rushed toward the main force.
Only a handful stood there lazily holding their swords, watching the fight.
Every now and then cutting down soldiers who tried to flee.
—Swish
Yeoni plunged into the gap.
Her movements and swordsmanship were extraordinary, far beyond what ordinary foot soldiers could handle.
She stabbed the back of their necks with ghostlike precision, as if she were practicing on mannequins.
"You bastards!"
The soldiers following behind also thrust their spears with all their might.
"Urk."
Most of them died.
Yeoni was already too busy just protecting Kanghyeok behind her.
He was uselessly big, which only made the area he could be struck even wider.
"Stay close."
"Yeah, yeah."
Kanghyeok nodded frantically and stuck close behind Yeoni.
He had learned taekkyeon, but now that he was in real combat, even taking a step was difficult.
It was already fortunate enough if the sword in his hand did not end up injuring Yeoni.
Still, putting it away now doesn't feel right either.
Wasn't it better to hold at least something?
"We're almost out now."
Yeoni said this as she cut down another man.
—Spatter
Red blood splashed across the sparse bushes.
As she had said, the forest was just ahead now.
Once they got inside and started running, it did not seem like they would be caught easily.
If they could just get in.
"Chikshō!"
Someone came charging at them with a shout.
At a glance, he was obviously not some common grunt.
The pitch-black mask he wore was grotesque enough to be chilling, and his sword was a palm longer than everyone else's.
Small bastard, but vicious.
Of course, he was not small enough to dismiss.
Even Kanghyeok, a complete amateur, could tell the force behind his slash was no ordinary thing.
—Sssaaak
The sword came slicing through the air.
—Clang
Yeoni barely blocked it, but she was forced several steps backward.
It was fortunate that her sword was a good one.
If not, it might have snapped on the spot.
Looking down at her arm, which had already gone numb in an instant, Yeoni shouted,
"Young master! Run into the bushes first!"
"What?"
"Run!"
Hearing that, Yeoni's back suddenly looked unusually small.
She had seemed nothing but dependable all the way here.
Yeoni doesn't think she can win!
Kanghyeok tightened his grip on the sword and looked back and forth between Yeoni and the masked Japanese raider.
Just from the way they held their swords, the raider seemed superior.
He did not know why, but that was how it felt.
If he ran now, it felt like he would never see Yeoni again.
Damn it.
Looking around, some of the soldiers who had come with them were already running toward the bushes.
Ungrateful bastards.
After surviving thanks to her, they were running without even looking back.
—Clang clang
"Ugh."
Every time the swords crashed together, Yeoni's groans were mixed in.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time.
It felt as though if he blinked, Yeoni would be on the ground.
Bleeding all over.
What do I do?
Had Kanghyeok not lived his whole life boldly?
Even surviving by hiding behind a woman had already left a scratch on his pride.
If he ran now, it would stay with him forever.
That did not mean he could jump dramatically into a sword fight either.
Forget dying in a single blow. It would already be lucky if he was not just in the way.
Fucking hell.
Even though he had done nothing, the hand gripping his sword was already damp.
No. Wait a second.
Why was it?
Why had Great Master Samyeong's words suddenly come to mind?
He had clearly said they would meet again.
He had even specifically said Kanghyeok would be fine.
And it did not seem like the place where they would meet again was the afterlife, which meant he would not die here.
Huh.
The peace of mind he had never been able to find no matter how desperately he practiced the Anma Doinbeop suddenly came over him.
It was strange. Normally, Kanghyeok shuddered at superstition.
With his eyes far steadier now, he could see at a glance just how dangerous Yeoni's situation was.
"Shine! (Die!)"
The Japanese raider swung his sword savagely.
"Run now!"
Yeoni blocked with desperate effort, but it was precarious.
It was as if the word precarious had been invented precisely to describe a moment like this.
Huh?
He felt something cold inside his robe.
It was Yujeong's stone. Or rather, the one Great Master Samyeong had given him.
Instinctively, he understood.
Why he had been given this.
"Hoo."
Kanghyeok pulled out the stone.
It fit perfectly in his grip, as if he had been born holding it.
A mysterious light streamed continuously from it.
It had been like this ever since Great Master Samyeong had pressed it into his hand.
He had not thrown anything since the playground game of warigari back in elementary school.
And yet, for some reason, confidence overflowed through him.
"Urgh."
The Japanese raider's blade, which had been relentlessly pressing in, finally grazed Yeoni's thigh.
—Spatter
Bright red blood sprayed in all directions.
Fortunately, it was not a large amount, but she still fell backward.
The Japanese raider also stopped moving.
He had raised his sword high to make absolutely certain of finishing her off.
As if sensing her fate, Yeoni squeezed her eyes shut.
—Swaeak
Kanghyeok did not make the mistake of shouting before he threw.
He had cursed scenes like that every time he watched movies.
If you were throwing something in secret, why the hell would you yell first?
"Urk."
At the same moment, the Japanese raider let out a sharp cry.
The stone had slipped through the gap in his mask with ghostlike accuracy.
After striking his Adam's apple dead on, it bounced off his breastplate and fell to the ground.
As if it had finished its duty, its light had vanished.
"You son of a bitch!"
Yeoni did not let that opening pass.
Still on the ground, she thrust her sword upward.
"Kgh!"
Yeoni's sword pierced the Japanese raider's throat.
From the spot already bruised blue by the stone, bright red blood began pouring out like a fountain.
In an instant, her face and body were drenched in blood.
"Huff, huff."
Covered in blood, Yeoni gasped for breath.
"Are you okay?"
Without even having time to admire the effect of the mysterious stone, Kanghyeok ran to her.
Bright red blood was flowing from her thigh, soaking her pants.
"Ugh."
"Let's tie it off first and get out of here."
"Yes, Young master."
Kanghyeok pulled out a compression bandage from his house-call bag and wrapped it tightly around her leg.
A few Japanese raiders were still lingering nearby, but none of them dared come closer.
The dead raider apparently had been a far more formidable man than expected.
Fear had spread across the faces of those brutal raiders.
But they had to hurry.
Once their fear faded, they would start noticing that Yeoni was injured.
"Come on, let's go. Can you walk?"
"Yes."
Yeoni answered bravely, but when she tried to walk, she could barely move.
The wound was worse than it looked.
"Get on my back."
"What?"
"I said get on."
"Ah... yes, Young master."
Yeoni carefully settled onto Kanghyeok's back.
She was much lighter than he had expected.
It was hard to believe she was the same person who had just cut down Japanese raiders.
Kanghyeok sheathed the sword, kept only the house-call bag in hand, and took off running.
The brush was so thick that it was extremely hard to force his way through.
Better hurt than dead.
Branches scratched his face, but Kanghyeok did not stop.
He only ran, and ran again. By the time he finally came to a stop, the sun was already beginning to rise.
There was not even the faintest sign of anyone around.
The only sound was Yeoni's thin breathing as she slept on his back.
Kanghyeok carefully lowered her onto the bushes.
Let's see... I should check the wound first.
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