As the enemy vanguard sward up Blaze Ridge, the U Kingdom soldiers erupted into screams.
“Kill those bastards—!!”
“Die, you sons of bitches—!!”
The roars rolled up the slope from the lower palisades, where the first clash would erupt.
Officers unsheathed their swords, shouting to rile up their troops, and the soldiers scread back with everything they had, their voices rolling like waves up the mountain.
Nam Pae bellowed at his n.
“I already fucking told you—stick your head too far over the wall, and you’re dead! Those bastards have archers! Watch for arrows when you thrust! Got it?!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Got it, Squad Leader!”
“Chobak! Mukjin! Don’t waste those damn arrows—kill the fuckers in one shot!”
Chobak and Mukjin nodded grimly.
“Understood!”
The roar of voices reached Makjeong’s squad. A nearby officer drew his sword and raised it high.
“Cut those Shang bastards to fucking pieces!”
No one cared about being polite. The cruder the words, the better if it fired up the n.
“You heard him! Cut the fuckers to pieces—!!”
Nam Pae picked up the cry, and the entire squad threw their heads back and roared.
“Aaaaahhh—!!”
“Kill them all—!!”
Makjeong arched his back, screaming toward the sky along with the others.
Oddly, the shouting steadied his nerves.
‘This is why people yell before a fight!’
His trembling eased slightly as he looked over the palisade again.
The enemy had already reached the lower defenses. The battle had begun.
Weapons clashed. Axes split wood. n scread.
Makjeong rose onto his toes, craning his neck to see, but the heads of the soldiers in front of him blocked his view.
The noise climbed higher up the ridge. Their turn was coming.
The Shang vanguard clashed with the lower defenders while their second line advanced steadily, formation intact. They marched slowly, but the weight of their numbers pressed down like a suffocating wall.
But the second wave didn’t matter yet.
First, they had to stop the bastards right in front of them.
“They’re coming! Get ready—ready—!”
Nam Pae crouched behind the wall, only his eyes peeking out.
The Shang soldiers were close enough now that Makjeong could see their faces—sweat streaking down from under their helts, armor patched with dirty strings, and mouths gasping for breath as they climbed the steep slope.
He could hear them panting.
Standing at the edge of life and death, Makjeong gritted his teeth and prayed silently.
‘Father, I can fucking do this, right?! I’ll survive! Just watch !’
His father must’ve faced this sa terror in his first battle.
And he’d overco it.
—Clench.
Makjeong’s spear shook in his hands. His body trembled, but his heart pounded even harder.
He glared at the enemy, locking eyes with them.
And then—
He saw it.
The fear in their faces.
Behind their hardened expressions and stiff movents, their eyes betrayed raw terror.
‘They’re scared too! We’re not the only ones afraid…! That ans we can fucking win!’
His pulse roared—not with fear, but with savage determination.
“Attack—!”
“Stab the fuckers—!!”
The orders rang out, and the squad surged forward, spears plunging over the palisade.
Makjeong didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward and drove his spear down at the nearest soldier.
‘In range!’
Makjeong’s spear shot toward the enemy’s chest, full force.
—Clang!
The soldier twisted his shoulder at the last second, and the spear scraped off the tal plate guarding his shoulder.
It missed—but it was Makjeong’s first attempt to kill soone with a blade.
The impact of steel against armor seared into his mory.
—Thwack! Thwack! Crack!
Axes slamd into the palisade, splintering wood.
The fortifications didn’t collapse imdiately—the ropes, nails, and packed earth held firm—but the sound sent chills down Makjeong’s spine.
If those axes had been hacking into his flesh instead of wood, no armor would’ve stopped his guts from spilling out.
“Kill the fuckers!”
The air filled with shouts, screams, and blood.
The battle had begun.
Makjeong snapped back to focus at Nam Pae’s shout, raising his spear to strike again—but instinct made him duck at the last mont.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the glint of an enemy spear lunging toward his neck.
The blade stabbed through the air where his throat had been, then recoiled back down.
The officers had said defense was easier, but fighting behind a low palisade didn’t feel all that advantageous. The spears of both sides could easily reach each other.
“Agh—!!”
Soone scread and collapsed, but Makjeong couldn’t spare a glance to see if it was friend or foe.
He had to keep stabbing. The enemies clinging to the base of the palisade were waiting for the slightest opening to skewer him.
One mont of hesitation ant death.
“Ughhh!”
An enemy thrust his spear at Makjeong, but Makjeong’s spearhead buried itself in the man’s eye first. The soldier tumbled backward, shrieking.
“Stab hard! Don’t hold back, or we’ll get pushed back!”
Makjeong recognized Gaesang’s voice without looking.
Only then did he rember Gaesang was right beside him—and having soone that reliable nearby felt like a fucking miracle.
“Take this!”
Makjeong stabbed at another enemy.
—Thud!
Despite the close range, the spear glanced off the soldier’s chest armor, sending him stumbling back but leaving him unhard.
Makjeong grit his teeth.
‘Why?! Am I too tense?!’
“Stab downward! Like this—!”
Gaesang shouted, raising his spear high.
Makjeong turned just in ti to see Gaesang’s arms flex as he drove his spear straight down with crushing force.
—Thunk!
“Gaaah—!!”
The spear slamd through the enemy’s shoulder, piercing his armor and burying itself deep in flesh. The man collapsed, screaming and writhing in agony.
Gaesang’s spear tore free with a sickening sound, already poised for the next target.
“Don’t just stab weakly—put your whole fucking weight into it! Or aim for the face if you can’t!”
Gaesang barked out advice before whipping his head aside to dodge an incoming spear.
—Thwack!
“You bastard—!”
Gaesang’s spear shot forward, driving straight into the man’s throat.
“Gurk—!!”
Seeing Gaesang fight with such brutal efficiency lit a fire in Makjeong’s chest.
Fear lted away, replaced by resolve.
Even if he couldn’t fight like Gaesang, he could at least hold his own and be worth sothing on this line.
Makjeong tracked the movents of the enemies, thrusting his spear at the nearest soldier.
—Thunk!
Finally, Makjeong’s spear struck an enemy in the face.
The blade didn’t bury itself, but it sliced the man’s cheek, drawing blood. The soldier collapsed, clutching his face and gurgling.
‘I did it! I fucking hit him! I—!!’
In this hell where it was kill or be killed, there was no ti for guilt.
Makjeong’s eyes sharpened, scanning for his next target.
But then—
—Whoosh—THUNK!
An arrow slamd into soone’s face.
The terrifying part was that the arrows weren’t being fired randomly.
The archers aid precisely at the U Kingdom soldiers who exposed themselves while fighting.
—Whoosh—!
Makjeong flinched and ducked just in ti.
The arrow sliced through the space his head had been a heartbeat ago.
Cold sweat poured down his back as he crouched behind the palisade, struggling to catch his breath.
A familiar voice roared above the chaos.
“Those motherfucking sons of bitches—!!”
—CRACK!
Madal’s axe caved in an enemy’s skull, splitting it open as the man tried to climb over the palisade.
anwhile, Chobak and Mukjin stood on barrels, firing arrows relentlessly.
—Twang—!
—Thunk!
Each shot sent an enemy tumbling back, blood spraying as arrows found their marks.
The entire defensive line was now locked in bloody combat.
Axes smashed against wood.
Spears punched through flesh.
Arrows whistled through the air, punching into faces and throats.
And the screams—
The screams never stopped.
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