Chapter 83. Mamorota
Next, the trebuchets in the front line were destroyed. Some were smashed apart by iron staffs, and others were burned by fire.
The mercenaries held out bravely, but they were no match for the enemy.
Swoosh.
"Ugh!"
Even in the midst of that, Dong Bong-su was steadily picking off the members of the Gray Wolf Squadron one by one.
The Wanderer's Sword moved once. Two corpses appeared.
Chop. Chop.
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
[The player has succeeded in a 5-hit chain slash. All stats have increased by 5%.]
[6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
[The player has succeeded in a 10-hit chain slash. All stats have increased by 10%.]
It did not take long for [Chain Slash Lv.2] to activate.
Among the members of the Gray Wolf Squadron, there was not a single one who could stop Dong Bong-su.
Pak! Sak!
Once again, a pair of Gray Wolf Squadron members and wolves spewed out blood, brain matter, and entrails as they met the end of their lives.
In the meantime, dozens of mercenaries and hundreds of whirlwind gunners died as well. Since the whirlwind gunner unit had no real combat troops to begin with, it was even harder for them to hold out against the Gray Wolves. At best, only the shield bearers occasionally succeeded in defending.
Naturally, the trebuchets they were protecting also began to fall one by one. Burned by fire, or smashed to pieces by iron maces.
Even in such a situation, Dong Bong-su steadily held his position and blocked the enemies.
Dong Bong-su, if all the trebuchets are destroyed … what will you do then?
'If they're all destroyed …?'
What would I do? I'll just make them again.
But then!
It was at that very moment when Dong Bong-su thought so.
From the foothills spread wide on both sides of Guisui Fortress in the distance, flames shot up into the sky.
"...!"
As if mocking Dong Bong-su's thoughts, Timur Khan had set the forest on fire at just the right time.
In the autumn of the dry steppe region.
Even without strong winds, the flames quickly spread over the entire mountain.
On Dong Bong-su's usually expressionless face, a very faint smile appeared and spread across his whole face.
First a combat unit using wolves, and now even setting the mountain on fire.
It was as if the opponent was getting ahead of him while mocking him. Dong Bong-su liked that. He might die because of this, but at least at this very moment, wasn't it enjoyable?
Facing carnivores was …
Slip.
Drip-drip.
It was always something that delighted him.
Dong Bong-su indifferently lowered his eyes and mechanically moved his sword.
At the same time, Mamorota's iron staff was also moving fiercely, turning mercenaries into minced meat.
The two were not colliding with each other, but were rapidly slaughtering their own opponents. However, Dong Bong-su was at a clear disadvantage.
Dong Bong-su was alone, and the Gray Wolf Squadron was not only Mamorota, but the other squad members were also fully tasting blood.
Dong Bong-su alone was not enough. The Gray Wolf Squadron was an elite unit where every single member was worth a hundred men, and the mercenaries were no match for them. Not to mention the whirlwind gunners and the soldiers carrying corpses. They weren't utterly terrible, but compared to the Gray Wolf Squadron, they were a rabble.
In the end, even the trebuchets in the rear line could not hold out and collapsed one after another. Now, fewer than five trebuchets remained. And even those were all the ones around Dong Bong-su.
Despite their overwhelming numbers, the mercenaries and gunners were instead surrounded by the Gray Wolf Squadron. They spun around, slaughtering the allies.
"Kill that bastard! If we just kill that one, it's over!"
After that situation continued for a short while longer, Dong Bong-su and the other allies were finally isolated. Naturally, Dong Bong-su was also surrounded by the Gray Wolf Squadron.
Timur Khan's intention hit the mark perfectly. By sending out the Gray Wolf Squadron, without even opening the castle gate, he had almost completely destroyed the trebuchet-type cannons, that is, the trebuchets. A few still remained, but it was now only a matter of time before they were all destroyed.
Slip. Slip.
Dong Bong-su once again cut down two Gray Wolf Squadron members.
At that moment, several other Gray Wolf Squadron members swung their iron maces and attacked the trebuchets.
Dong Bong-su had one body and two hands and feet. On the other hand, the enemies were hundreds, with thousands of hands and feet. He couldn't stop them.
Running back and forth. But outnumbered.
Another trebuchet collapsed.
The enemies judged that it was difficult to kill Dong Bong-su directly, so they devoted themselves to destroying the trebuchets.
The battle unfolded fiercely, and at last, Lee Ja-song's main force, which had gone to the Yellow River, appeared in the distance.
'If I can just hold out a little longer …'
Couldn't I at least barely protect one trebuchet?
What could I even do with just one?
That's something to think about later.
'For now, I protect it.'
Slip.
Dong Bong-su's sword once again silently severed the neck of a gray wolf. Even though it was a wolf, it was no different from a person. Without even letting out a single dying scream, it went straight down the road to the netherworld under Dong Bong-su's sword.
Thud. Crash.
At the same time, Mamorota's iron mace brought down the thirty-first trebuchet.
Immediately after, the Gray Wolf Squadron members carrying torches set it on fire.
After that, he looked at Lee Ja-song's main force, which was running over raising clouds of dust in the distance, and said,
"There's no time. Finish this quickly and return to the fortress!"
But Dong Bong-su was still tenaciously holding back the Gray Wolf Squadron. No matter what the others thought, everyone here felt that he was a general worth ten thousand men.
Mamorota had not really intended to step in personally. He knew that his subordinates would take care of it themselves, and besides, annihilating the enemy was not the goal.
There was only one goal.
The complete destruction of the trebuchet-type cannons.
However, the sight of Dong Bong-su fighting set his fighting spirit ablaze.
'How can he move like that?'
He had roamed battlefields for decades, and had met and cut down just as many generals. Among them, Han generals were the most numerous.
Their swords were all flashy and full of formality. To put it nicely, they were beautiful swords; to put it badly, they were swords bound by forms and postures—no, swords that were nothing but form. In short, they were dead swords.
But that man was different. Very, very different. Different to the point that he wanted to call it wrong.
There clearly seemed to be some kind of form and style, yet there was none. And within that, there was not a single bit of excess. When he stabbed, he only stabbed; when he cut, he only cut. It looked simple, but it was a realm that no one could easily reach.
This was not a realm one could reach simply by handling a sword for a long time.
"Is he … attacking the 'gap'?"
Somehow, in every single movement, there was a 'reason'. When the sword was first thrust out, you couldn't tell, but by the time it reached the end, it clearly had some kind of 'conclusion'.
It precisely either pierced the opponent's opening, or cut them down.
Mamorota couldn't do that. No, no one in the Northern Plains could do that. It wasn't a matter of whether one could win or not.
It was a matter of whether one could do it or not.
And that led to the contemplation of whether, if it developed, one could win.
But …
'Is there even time to fight?'
Mamorota's gaze briefly turned to Lee Ja-song's main force. The people looked as small as mosquito eyes. It was still far before they would reach this place. His head turned back to Dong Bong-su.
He shook the blood off his body and loosened up.
"I suppose there's time to tear off a piece or two of meat."
Grrr—!
As if reading Mamorota's mind, Kaiji had already begun to bare his fangs.
Mamorota stroked the back of Kaiji's neck.
'Hm?'
Its fur was standing on end, just like before—no, even more than before.
Where Kaiji's gaze was directed, a blood-red madman was standing.
Kaiji was clearly!
Looking at Dong Bong-su.
Only then did Mamorota realize. The target toward which Kaiji had shown hostility under the castle walls earlier was not the black monster, but Dong Bong-su.
'Was that so …?'
That's right. Yes. I see.
Going from doubt to certainty took only a moment.
A fierce fighting aura burst out from Mamorota's body.
And then.
Reading his desire, Kaiji charged toward Dong Bong-su like lightning.
Dong Bong-su already knew that Mamorota and Kaiji were staring at him.
'Come.'
In truth, he had been waiting. To Dong Bong-su, Mamorota was the biggest bundle of experience points here.
Wooooong—.
A hazy mirage rose above the Wanderer's Sword. It was the skill [Sword Energy]. He didn't stop there and even used the skill [Circulating Energy and Performing the Technique] that he had been saving.
Kagang—!
The Wanderer's Sword and Mamorota's iron staff collided, and a violent explosive sound rang out. The collision was so intense that a circular shockwave formed, flinging all the surrounding Gray Wolf Squadron members several zhang away, and the last trebuchet behind Dong Bong-su tilted slightly.
It was just a single clash, but Dong Bong-su was certain. Mamorota was a master one level above Paitan, the North Ghost Group leader he had crossed swords with a few days ago.
Kkarang—.
As the sword and iron staff scraped against each other, an unpleasant grinding noise stimulated both of their ears.
Mamorota opened his mouth, revealing his yellowed teeth.
"Mamorota. Name?"
Awkward Chinese with everything cut out, but it was enough to convey the meaning.
"Ear Ghost."
It wasn't a name, but it was still a more than sufficient choice of words.
"Name?"
Dong Bong-su said the same thing to Mamorota. This time, his eyes were directed downward.
"Kaiji."
Mamorota quickly understood and answered.
"Kaiji, huh ..."
Dong Bong-su repeated Mamorota's words.
The original Dong Bong-su wouldn't have said something that seemed meaningless like that. If he opened his mouth and said something, it itself had meaning.
The reason he deliberately repeated the pronunciation "Kaiji" was because the system's 'strange error' had now taken on substance.
The system, which had only been showing messages like [Error! Error ...!] for a while, was now displaying a different message.
[You have discovered a spiritual beast ???.]
[The spiritual beast quest has been activated.]
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