Chapter 56: Chapter 10: Breaking Through (1)
Editor: Larbre Studio

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Song Translator’s tales, although bizarre, could not be dismissed by them as they truly encountered such sinister events, and they had no choice but to believe. After all, the empty house and woman that disappeared overnight were indeed difficult to explain with common sense.

What puzzled Song Zhongji was that the Chief Banner of the Ming Country’s army suddenly took a keen interest in Joseon’s folklore, bombarding him with questions all along the way.

Especially regarding certain obscene temples and illicit worship of local Wild Gods, those not mainstream among the rural areas were asked in great detail, over and over, without showing any signs of annoyance.

Their journey after leaving She Mountain was without much incident.

The team’s target was not large to begin with, plus with the scouting of Wang Sheng and his men, they managed to encounter the Daimyo’s armies with their diverse family banners from a safe distance, always without hazard.

Until…

Tiny specks of phosphorus fires scattered and drifted among the vast hills, while the bright moon hung high amidst the night sky. Looking down from Li Yan’s feet, as far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of dead bodies.

Most of them were pierced by long spears and arrows, with their blood flowing down the wooden shafts and spreading over the dry brown earth. The crows perched on the bodies refused to leave even at the sight of people; Deng Tianxiong swung his long sword, startling a flurry of black feathers into the air.

The cruelty of cold weapon warfare was like a blunt knife smashing bones, brutally forcing people to avert their gaze.

“Is there a chance?”

Li Yan asked Wang Sheng.

Little Wang Sheng shook his head in low spirits.

“Song, are you fucking playing us?”

Deng Tianxiong asked, somewhat annoyed.

According to Song Translator, the hills in front of them rolled on and on, with only two main roads that could station troops, no more than a few dozen men. If they avoided the main roads, crossing these hills wouldn’t be difficult,

but the reality was, the Japanese pirates inhabiting the hills were like an impenetrable pouch. Just from the surrounding area Wang Sheng had scouted, there were at least hundreds of Japanese pirates, and, looking at the distant fires from Li Yan’s vantage, surely there were a few thousand more!

“I don’t know why this is happening. Normally, there wouldn’t be so many people stationed here.”

Song Translator was also panicking.

“Unless…” Li Yan interjected, “the troops of Great Ming arrived sooner than we anticipated.”

Everyone was stunned by his words.

“You mean, two armies facing each other?”

Song Translator asked.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes towards the field of corpses lying in front of them.

“I think, if we cross these hills, we’ll be able to see the camp of Great Ming.”

Although it was an unexpected complication, with just a few words, Li Yan managed to stir everyone’s spirits.

“But, how do we get across?”

Song Translator’s tone was dry, just glancing at the bodies, turned into hedgehogs by arrows, made his scalp tingle.

Li Yan patted his shoulder.

“We need to cross the hills, not clash head-on with the Japanese pirates. If we move quickly, it’s not that dangerous. As long as we have horses.”

Song Translator, not focusing on the truthfulness in Li Yan’s words, asked subconsciously.

“Where are the horses?”

…

The Japanese pirates, gathered around the campfire laughing loudly, were cleaning the armor beside them, appearing relaxed.

Not far from the tents, about thirty glossy brown warhorses were tied up.

“General Li, are you serious?”

At this moment, Diao Xiayan, unable to move on the back of a soldier, also looked shocked.

“Make sure you remember what I taught you. My life is in your hands now,” he said.

The men looked at the oval-shaped, sharp-edged objects in their hands, swallowed hard, and nodded seriously.

“Kill, take the horses, take the armor,”

Li Yan said, word by word.

…

“This is so boring, it’s obvious the enemy isn’t going to attack from behind.”

“It’s much more comfortable to play dice by the fire than to patrol or something.”

“Hey, Saito, you lost, haha.”

“What…”

The man grumbled as he fished out a Copper Coin from his belt. The words “Tong Bao” and “Qing” were inscribed on it.

Yes, it was the Copper Coin of the Ming Country; the Japanese pirates did not have the technology to forge their own Copper Coins.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye, then suddenly shouted, “Hey, who’s that?”

“Hey, are you trying to welsh on the bet, man of the Saito family?”

“`

Someone spoke discontentedly, and immediately someone jabbed him, followed by the clanging sounds of weapons melding into one.

The crowd’s faces were solemn.

The shadow of a figure, elongated by the light, advanced from a distance, its face indistinct.

“Is it that thing again?”

A Japanese pirate asked, trembling.

“It’s the third time already. Should we go back and report to the general?”

On the battlefield strewn with corpses, terrifying monsters would occasionally arise. Saito had once encountered a horrific corpse, its body festering, yet possessing enormous strength—it killed at least a dozen soldiers before the general himself stepped in to slay the creature.

There were also monsters that devoured bodies and women’s voices that howled in the night; just hearing about them sent chills down Saito’s spine.

“Hey, Saito, go take a look.”

“Are you kidding me, bastard?”

A sliver of moonlight shone on the man’s face, causing the faces of a few Japanese pirates to relax.

“What’s this?”

Holding his long spear, Saito approached, the sharp tip wavering in front of the man’s chest.

“Hey, where are you from?”

The soldier behind him saw the man’s twisted arm bend backward, revealing a flash of cold light, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.

The Ring Dragon Sword, sinuous as molten metal, narrowly grazed Saito’s throat. Although a slight push on his spear would have pierced the man’s chest—the reach of the long-handled weapon was greater than that of swords—Saito was too slow to react and ultimately fell, clutching his throat and twisting in agony.

“Enemy attack!”

The troop commander bellowed, torches lit up one after another, and many of the Japanese pirates leapt up, grabbing their short swords and long spears, having been asleep in their clothing.

Some scattered Feather Arrows from their pouches and drew their bows to full; just as they aimed at the man, they realized the sword was already upon them.

The man moved as if he were in a realm of his own, his steps so agile he seemed to possess ghostly speed, and each swing of his long sword invariably splashed with the light of blood.

“Swish!”

An arrow finally grazed Li Yan’s scalp, with at least seven or eight crossbows targeting him, yet under the Ring Dragon Sword, four or five souls had already been reaped.

The long sword pierced the throat of a warrior who hadn’t had time to don his armor, and Li Yan turned and ran, dodging flying arrows with bounding leaps, soon running to where he was nearly out of sight.

“Is he a monster? How can he be so fast?”

“There’s only one person!”

“Chase!”

It was unclear who shouted urgently.

The warriors mounted their horses, hastily put on their armor, squeezed their horses’ flanks, and chased after him closely.

Some, quick on their feet and near where Li Yan had attacked, mounted their horses and gave chase as soon as the thought of retreat sprang into Li Yan’s mind.

Others, just waking up, stumbled toward their horses in a daze.

The group of several dozen men quickly stretched out in a line.

An inconspicuous object, taking advantage of the night, lazily flew into the crowd.

“Boom!”

The explosion tore through the bodies of every Japanese pirate with flying shrapnel. Horses, spooked by the blast, neighed restlessly and beat the ground with their hooves.

Pull the pin, yank the cord, throw!

“Boom!” “Boom!”

The explosions rang out in quick succession, audible even from miles away. While the crowd was still dumbstruck by the surprisingly lightweight and deadly weapon, Deng Tianxiong knew the essence of warfare was swift action.

“Kill! Grab the armor! Mount up!”

…

Billowing dust rose like a rampaging earth dragon, with the Japanese pirates on horseback drawing their bows tightly.

“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!”

The man in front ran with speed that seemed inconceivable, and yet he was being caught up by horses. The fierce arrows tore through the grass, kicking up stones and dust.

“Thud!”

It seemed an arrow struck the man in the neck, and he fell backwards, rolling down the slope!

More than twenty riders crossed the downhill stretch, scanning the terrain with furrowed brows. Just as they were about to turn their horses, several round objects with trailing flames flew towards them!

The ground exploded, stones shattered, and dust filled the air.

In the aftermath of the devastating blast and subsequent landslide, Li Yan got up—his mouth clamped on a steel arrow, his forehead dripping with sweat.

He spat out the arrow with a “Ptooey” sound and called out to Wang Sheng, who was rushing towards him.

“Strip the armor, break through!”