Why Does It Always Turn Out Like This?! (5)

Dududududu.

At the familiar sound, Hwang-Bo Ung closed his eyes.

The sound of more than a thousand people marching in unison. It might not seem like much at a glance, but there were not many groups in the world capable of making such a sound.

It was a sound that could only be produced through strict military discipline, rigorous training, and a united objective.

Hwang-Bo Ung had lived his entire life listening to that very sound.

Hwang-Bo Ung opened his eyes and glanced to the side.

The soldiers who had been with him all his life. Not merely as a figure of speech, but battle-hardened veterans who had first joined the army with youthful faces and now had gray streaks covering their heads were there.

They were the people he trusted most, those who could understand one another with nothing more than a glance.

The difference from usual was that his army, which had always marched beyond the borders, was now setting foot on the land of the Central Plains. That small yet enormous difference made Hwang-Bo Ung’s heart somewhat complicated.

‘No. No, that’s not it.’

Deep furrows formed on Hwang-Bo Ung’s forehead.

He could not hesitate. The country had ended up in this state because he had hesitated until now.

A soldier’s virtue was patience. That belief had not changed. But Hwang-Bo Ung also knew that sometimes refusing to choose was the most cowardly act of all.

‘I have to do it. If someone has to make the choice, it must be me.’

Otherwise, people other than Hwang-Bo Ung would have to pay the price. Hwang-Bo Ung was not so irresponsible that he could turn a blind eye to that fact.

He had lived his entire life on the nation’s payroll. Now it was time to repay that debt.

“Great General.”

“Hmm.”

Hwang-Bo Ung turned his gaze at the adjutant’s voice beside him.

“A message has arrived from those we infiltrated. The people you ordered us to watch do not seem to have made a move yet. It seems they did not expect us to move now.”

“I see.”

Hwang-Bo Ung nodded leisurely.

‘They couldn’t have anticipated it.’

Anyone who could have anticipated this deserved to be called a divine being rather than a human. Even Hwang-Bo Ung himself, the person involved, had never thought it possible.

‘Chief Eunuch Do-Hyeon.’

If he had not secretly approached Hwang-Bo Ung… Hwang-Bo Ung’s resolve would have been delayed by at least several more years. If that had happened, he might have ultimately missed his chance and met his death in regret.

—Great General, do you have the courage to risk your life for the world?

The corner of Hwang-Bo Ung’s mouth twisted.

‘What an insolent bastard.’

How dare he provoke Hwang-Bo Ung with words like that. But in the end, those words had moved Hwang-Bo Ung to action, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that everything had gone according to Do-Hyeon’s wishes.

And Do-Hyeon was not someone who merely put words first.

“It seems the Chief Eunuch certainly carried out the intelligence operation properly. There must have been more than a few people watching the northern frontier, and deceiving all of their eyes could not have been easy. I believe we should regard this as the result of the Eastern Depot moving at full force.”

“Precisely.”

The frontier army, which possessed the power to rebel against the emperor at any time, and the Eastern Depot, which had to watch them for the sake of the emperor’s authority. By nature, they were beings that could no more mix than oil and water.

And yet Do-Hyeon had made that impossible harmony possible. With nothing but the two words, ‘the greater cause.’

Because those who were never meant to mix had mixed… they had been able to accomplish something no one had anticipated. Their ability to march from the northern frontier to the imperial capital without interference was also the result of that.

“He is an extraordinary man.”

When Hwang-Bo Ung naturally praised Do-Hyeon, the adjutants’ eyes narrowed slightly.

“Great General. The truly extraordinary one is not the Chief Eunuch, but you. No matter how good a plan the Chief Eunuch brought, an ordinary person would never have dared consider listening to him. Who in the world could easily accept a proposal from the head of the Eastern Depot? When we first had to wonder whether all of this was a trap he had set, the fact that matters have progressed this far is solely thanks to you, is it not?”

“Don’t say such foolish things.”

“But…”

“Enough.”

Hwang-Bo Ung frowned.

“Even if you are right, it does not change the fact that the Chief Eunuch is an extraordinary man. Even if, as you say, this is a plan accomplished by risking my life, is that any reason to disparage the ability of the Chief Eunuch who carried it out?”

“The reason is… There is no reason. You are right, Great General.”

“Do not let personal feelings taint your judgment. Anyone who leads an army must always be able to view a situation objectively. Emotion is the concept furthest removed from military strategy. If you forget that, one day you will drive your subordinates into hell.”

“I will bear that in mind, Great General.”

When the adjutants bowed their heads with pale faces, Hwang-Bo Ung silently nodded. They were clever men; this should have been enough for them to understand.

“How is the situation?”

“At this rate, we will reach the imperial capital within two days.”

“Hmm.”

Hwang-Bo Ung nodded heavily.

‘It couldn’t possibly be that easy.’

One had to be even more careful when everything was going smoothly. Did anyone know better than Hwang-Bo Ung that the world was not such an easy place?

They were shaking the foundations of an entire nation. They did not know when or what variable might arise. They could not let down their guard until everything was finished.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, something strange caught Hwang-Bo Ung’s eye.

“Stop.”

“All troops! Stop!”

No sooner had the order been given than the marching army came to a halt all at once.

“Great General, that is…”

“Hmm.”

Hwang-Bo Ung’s eyes narrowed involuntarily.

A dense forest stretched out at the end of their route.

Pale clouds of dust were billowing above the forest like clouds. It was an enormous cloud of dust, incomparable to the dust they had raised by stopping all at once.

“Is it the enemy?”

“N-No, that can’t be. There are no troops that have moved toward this place. We already confirmed that, did we not?”

“Who confirmed it?”

“That…”

The general who had been addressed trembled under his gaze. The source of the information was the Eastern Depot, and the Chief Eunuch Do-Hyeon.

If it was the Chief Eunuch’s word, it would not be baseless.

But was the Chief Eunuch someone they could trust completely?

What if Chief Eunuch Do-Hyeon had truly planned all of this to lure them into a trap?

‘It would be like a thousand soldiers who were not even properly armed leaping into a tiger’s den.’

And at its center would be Great General Hwang-Bo Ung, a man they could never afford to lose.

The adjutants’ thoughts began to grow tangled.

“…Shouldn’t we investigate?”

“At this distance, the moment we move carelessly, a battle will begin.”

“But we cannot retreat like this either.”

“Hmm…”

As the adjutants argued among themselves, Hwang-Bo Ung’s gaze, fixed on the dust cloud, grew heavy and still.

“Run harder!”

“Gaaaaah.”

“Pull like oxen! No, pull like horses! Like horses! If the dust settles, we’re all dead! Got it?”

“…What is that damn ghost doing?”

“Why isn’t it taking that bastard away?!”

The Mount Hua disciples ran with all their might, gritting their teeth.

More than a dozen thick ropes were tied to the shoulders of the running disciples, and large branches were strung along those long ropes. The Mount Hua disciples were running like dogs with the ropes attached, raising a huge cloud of dust.

“Why the hell do we have to do this?!”

“No! It’s an excellent method!”

“Huh?”

Jwa Go-Hak’s eyes gleamed as he rolled them wide.

“This is the method Zhang Fei once used to deceive Cao Cao’s great army at Changban Bridge. He tied branches behind horses to raise dust and make it seem as though a great army was present. It is practically the textbook example of bluffing, but I never expected to see it used here! Amazing!”

“Amazing, my ass!”

Baek Cheon shouted furiously and pointed a finger.

“You ink-stained bastard, horses pulled those! Does it make any sense for people to do this?!”

“…Isn’t that what makes it even more amazing?”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon’s head tilted to the side. No… That was true, but.

“They say General Hwang-Bo Ung is an incredible military genius! There’s no way such a flimsy trick will work on someone like him!”

“Why wouldn’t it work?”

“What?”

“Cao Cao fell for it too.”

“…”

Baek Cheon wore a blank expression. After hearing that, he had nothing to say.

“So stop your needless chatter and run! Our chances of success depend on how hard you raise the dust!”

“…”

Jwa Go-Hak seemed to wholeheartedly support the plan, but Baek Cheon still could not shake his doubts.

“Hey, Chung Myung!”

“Yeah, yeah. Talk while you run.”

“Will this really work? Do you really think General Hwang-Bo Ung will be fooled by such a pathetic trick?”

“Why ask? Of course he won’t.”

“Exactly, that’s what I’m saying… Huh?”

Baek Cheon stopped and whipped his head around.

“What did you just say… Gweeeek!”

A stone that suddenly came flying struck Baek Cheon’s forehead and bounced into the air.

“I told you to talk while running!”

“…You son of a bitch.”

But did he really have to throw a stone at his sasuk…? Even if he had no sense of seniority, there were limits.

“What do you mean, he won’t be fooled?”

“I mean exactly what I said. That man isn’t an idiot. Do you think he’d fall for a trick like this?”

“…”

“I hear he was a big deal in the northern frontier. Even a cursory look would make it obvious whether this is a deception or not.”

Baek Cheon blinked.

“Then why are we doing this?”

“This way, he’ll know we’re here.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

The more he heard, the less sense it made, and Baek Cheon tore at his hair. Chung Myung snickered at the sight and spoke.

“Sasuk.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll teach you about the world of clever people that you, sasuk, can never understand.”

At those words, Baek Cheon immediately turned to Jo Gul and asked:

“Is that an insult?”

“…Do you really have to ask?”

Before Jo Gul’s exasperated gaze had even left him, Chung Myung continued.

“Strategies like this aren’t originally used to deceive people.”

“…Then?”

“They’re used to make them bring themselves down.”

“Huh?”

“What does it mean to be a military genius? It means being smart and taking care of every little thing an ordinary person would overlook, right?”

“I suppose…?”

“Then all the more, he can’t afford to act carelessly.”

“Huh?”

“Just watch. All we need to do is stall for time.”

Chung Myung grinned and shifted his gaze beyond the forest.

“What would be the right thing to do, Great General?”

The adjutants looked at Hwang-Bo Ung anxiously. They were normally men who more than deserved to be called calm, but the weight of their objective had robbed them of their composure.

“Give the order. It does not matter how many enemies there are. We will crush them all and open a path.”

“What nonsense are you talking about! Can’t you see that dust? We could suffer a crushing defeat if we’re not careful.”

“Then what? Are you saying we should retreat after coming all this way?”

“I am saying we should be cautious.”

“Cautious! Are you saying that because you do not understand how every moment counts? Why do you not understand that the danger will only grow with time?”

“But!”

“Enough.”

Just as the adjutants were about to begin arguing heatedly, Hwang-Bo Ung’s heavy voice cut between them.

“There is no great army. It is merely a bluff.”

“Great General!”

A spark returned to the adjutants’ eyes.

Hwang-Bo Ung’s insight was beyond anything they could hope to match. If he said it was so, then it was so.

“Then, at once…”

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

Hwang-Bo Ung’s eyes sank heavily.

“…This has become troublesome.”