- Battle — On the Eve of the Great Engagement
Yi Hui rode at the very front of the formation.
He rose straight in the stirrups, legs extended, leading the charge from the point.
When the commander rode ahead, none could hold back.
For a commander to take the vanguard meant the battle was no small matter.
Soun thought Yi Hui brave.
Sosam and Jeongjin understood something else.
When Yi Hui stepped forward like that, it meant urgency.
It meant difficulty.
The enemy pressing from the rear was no small force.
Yi Hui only led from the front when the fight demanded it.
His blue battle cloak streamed in the wind like a painted war god.
His bearing completed the image.
The enemy, waiting for reinforcements to gather, saw the White Dragon force advancing and moved at once, unwilling to surrender the initiative.
Yellow dust surged upward.
The distance closed rapidly.
Just before collision, the rear of the White Dragon formation split cleanly into two wings.
The wings surged outward, widening their interval.
They aimed to envelop.
First and Second Companies formed those wings.
Soun, riding within the spread, drew his bow.
He maneuvered to bring the enemy’s flank within firing angle.
“Draw bows! All units—fire! Now!”
As soon as the enemy’s side became visible, Gyeongpil shouted.
Without waiting further orders, arrows flew.
The barbarians who had drawn swords in expectation of close combat fell helplessly beneath the sudden volley.
Shooting from a galloping horse made precise aim difficult.
Soun targeted the nearest chests, releasing arrows with economical motion.
The enemy, prepared for blade against blade, collapsed under missile fire.
Such a tactic required confidence in the central force.
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If the center faltered before the flanks crushed the sides, the entire formation could shatter.
Soun drew.
Held.
Released.
His heart thundered in his ears.
An enemy rider fell.
Yi Hui led the central wedge straight into impact.
The formation was sharp and dense, Yi Hui at its point, broad-shouldered riders forming its flanks.
They pierced deep into the enemy’s core.
Steel struck steel.
Within two exchanges Yi Hui unhorsed the opposing leader.
The man clutched his throat and fell.
Nearby horses reared in panic.
Soun continued firing.
His bow worked like a divine weapon.
Each release brought down a rider.
As the armies fully collided, Gyeongpil stowed his bow and drew his spear.
“Strike the flank! Wheel behind!”
The two wings folded their bows and surged inward with blade and spear.
The enemy’s center was breached.
Their flanks exposed.
“Hit the side! Wheel around!”
Orders were repeated to cut through the roar.
Weapons shifted.
Spears and sabers flashed.
Pressed from both sides, the enemy contracted.
Soun kept shooting until Sosam roared at him.
“Change weapons! Are you mad?”
Only then did Soun realize no one else still held a bow.
He slung it and drew his crescent blade.
The weapon had been modified into two sections for convenience.
He barely locked it together before meeting an enemy rider.
Impact.
A heavy ring-bladed saber crashed down.
Soun deflected at an angle, letting the force slide.
The enemy swung again.
Soun struck the flat aside and smashed his blade against the rider’s mount.
The horse reared.
The man fell.
Soun locked his weapon fully into place.
Relief surged with steel secured.
Battle blurred.
Not single combat, but collision after collision.
Block one strike—another followed.
Lose initiative once and the pressure mounted.
He stayed close behind the White Dragon riders ahead.
There, attacks came from one direction only.
The flanking companies were a single thin layer.
The enemy massed thick.
“Hyah!”
Soun spurred forward to avoid a descending blade.
He slashed.
Blood sprayed.
“Keep up!” Sosam shouted, still fighting while watching him.
Gyeongpil completed the encirclement and struck from behind.
Cavalry doctrine was simple—split the core.
Break formation.
Yi Hui’s combat power dominated the field.
Center split.
Rear shattered.
Flanks swept.
Within moments, over a hundred enemies lay fallen.
One third had dropped to arrows before impact.
Another third fell beneath the central wedge.
The rest were destroyed by the returning wings.
Short.
Violent.
Decisive.
But more banners approached.
Yi Hui reorganized.
Horses paced, breathing steadied.
“Form ranks. Withdraw to original position!”
“Gyeongpil, take the rear.”
First Company spread wide in retreat.
Second Company and the main force withdrew at speed.
Enemy arrows began to fall.
Several riders were hit.
“Run!”
Sosam shouted to Soun.
They regrouped in fives and raced for the ridge.
At its base, Gyeongpil feinted upward, then wheeled aside.
The enemy followed.
Soun’s heart clenched.
They would be overtaken.
Why flee instead of fighting?
Heavy Han armor slowed them.
The distance narrowed.
Then arrows rained from above.
Han riders who had crested earlier now fired downhill.
The plunging arcs gained speed as they descended.
“We were bait!” Sosam cursed.
He leaned low over his horse, urging it with whispered desperation.
“Run. Please.”
Arrows tore into the pursuers.
Many fell.
Still they chased.
Second Company appeared from the flank.
“Peel off and strike!”
First Company wheeled right.
Second Company loosed at close range.
The enemy vanguard collapsed.
“Charge!”
Steel met flesh.
The ridge force descended.
The pursuing units broke apart in the chaos.
From above, Yi Hui watched yet more enemy forces advancing in steady ranks.
“Too many…” he murmured.
Below, the immediate fight concluded.
Two enemy detachments destroyed.
Three more approached.
“We withdraw. All units, withdraw!”
Frustration edged Yi Hui’s voice.
Losses were light.
Enemy casualties heavy—three hundred or more.
But the enemy had adapted.
They increased unit size to avoid piecemeal destruction.
The battles were becoming harder.