Chapter 359

Even the supreme martial artists of the world feel urgency before a wildfire, let alone the heart of an unknown soldier.

Jang Ship-ho was completely disoriented, running with a single-minded determination to escape.

And then it happened.

Suddenly, from the right side of the trail, a cart burst out over a bulging hill and flew across the sky.

It was a scene where time seemed to stand still!

The cart was suspended in the air.

The colossal figure driving it stretched one leg out straight while lifting the other knee and flinging both arms back to hold the horse’s shaft.

It was as if he could fly anywhere, even turning back time.

But everything that rises must fall.

Bang!! Squeeak!

With a rough landing, the cart traced a semicircle, its iron-rimmed wheels screeching as they skidded fiercely across the trail.

It was the kind of advanced maneuver known in the Western dialect as drifting.

Sparks flew as the whirling wheels approached Jang Ship-ho.

It was only then that Jang Ship-ho realized what this phenomenon was—a strange experience where time felt like it was flowing at a hundred times slower speed.

Damn it, this is like a horse-drawn disaster—

Finally, bang!

With a jolt that felt like his lower body was about to shatter, Jang Ship-ho was launched into the air like a kicked stone.

Doomsday awaits! Doomsday!

Suddenly, a memory from long ago flickered—a vivid image of the old man cursing during his first raid in a downpour…

Jang Ship-ho arced through the air, flying straight through the bushes to the left of the trail.

Qing gritted her teeth to control the cart sliding sideways due to inertia.

As she pressed her feet against the road, slipping with a screech, she thought, do I need to use my left arm too? Just then, a shock hit her as the horse shaft made contact, and the pulling force noticeably weakened, allowing Qing to swiftly shift gears using the technique of Heavenly Demon Riding.

What was that, did we hit something?

Without realizing it, Qing tilted her head, then dismissed it, thinking she could probably take out a few of those bandit representatives.

“Get out of the way! The carriage, no, the rickshaw is coming through! Ding ding! Get out of the way! If you don’t move, you might die!”

Qing shouted with a voice she hoped sounded commanding.

Of course, her essence was a clear and refreshing beautiful voice, so even with a slight scratchiness, it just sounded low for a woman and sweet for a man—a perfect androgynous pitch.

However, contrary to her intent to clear a path, she ended up drawing more attention.

Bundled up in a thick coat, Qing’s impressive height approached one hundred seventy-six centimeters in her hometown’s measurements, with a torso girth rivaling that of legendary barbarian chieftains.

While she was slightly shorter than the average barbarian standing over six feet, she still had a formidable build.

So it was indeed a peculiar sight that a person could pull a cart faster than the full sprint of a soldier with good stamina, but given the size of the one doing the pulling, it strangely made sense.

“Me too! Let me ride!”

“Help me! Me too!” “I want to ride! Please!”

Requests for a seat flooded in from everywhere.

Qing felt veins popping on her forehead.

Who do they think I am, a rickshaw puller?

Should I serve them broth through their noses until they regret it?

Hmm? No, hold on.

If I pile all these people on, won’t I just be able to slip away naturally?

Thinking it over, it actually seemed like a good strategy.

Qing screeched to a halt, bringing the cart to a stop after sliding through three lanes.

Of course, she could stop right away, but doing so might flip the cart over.

So, with a controlled stop, Qing raised her thumb and pointed behind her.

“Hey! Get on! First come, first served! What kind of comrade is this? If we’re comrades, let’s live or die together! Who would even suspect a comrade?”

The last part was an extremely unnatural line.

Freedom and Yeon Pa overhearing, trying to pass as military to slip away—of course, it was bound to sound awkward.

But the soldiers were anxious.

With flames chasing them and hearing “first come first served,” would they have the mental space to worry about awkward dialogue?

“I trusted you!” “Thank you!” “We’re saved!” “Move, I’m going first!”

The soldiers rushed in immediately.

Two, four, six, eight. As Qing checked the passengers, she stomped down on the ground.

The unexpected acceleration caused one of them to tumble and roll on the floor.

That’s why you should always wear a seatbelt.

—-

The soldiers camped at the eastern foothills managed to retreat quickly as flames began to blaze.

As they fled eastward, they caught sight of soldiers equipped with polearms looking down from the top of a hill.

Seeing the retreating soldiers, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“Big trouble! It’s a fire!” “A wildfire!”

“Huff, whew, phew.”

As the soldiers who had been running for their lives passed the barricade, their strength dissipated, collapsing to the ground in a heap.

A general wearing a helmet, with a mane of red thread flowing, yelled with authority.

“What’s going on here?! What kind of disgrace is this at the barricade? Can’t you pass the hill?!”

“Yes, sir…”

No matter how immoral these ragtag soldiers were, they dared not defy the general’s orders.

So, they barely managed to lift their shaking legs and climbed to the top of the hill, just as they crossed over and caught sight of the opposite scene.

A pile of naked corpses, gathered and stacked high.

Nearby, gleeful soldiers were stripping the clothes off the still-unclothed corpses.

“What the heck, ugh.”

A soldier hung his head.

He looked down at the spear tip protruding from his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His already trembling legs gave out completely.

“Hey, you’re tearing my coat. Hit it on the head. Smash it! You think the blood will be yours?”

“This feels good, you know? But it’s so soft. When stabbing the barbarian Yeren, it was tough and satisfying. Ugh, this pathetic bastard isn’t even resisting?”

“That’s just the nature of lowly trash. But be careful not to damage the coat. Look at its color! We could sell it for a good price this winter.”

“Isn’t it better to wear the supply uniforms and sell these?”

As the distant voices faded, a soldier realized the situation.

‘How can they be doing such things, killing people while gleefully coveting their riches. Beasts, they won’t be forgiven, they’ll face divine punishment, they deserve to fall into hell!’

Then, suddenly, he thought it was the same sound he always heard when raiding a village.

Ah, I’ll end up in hell too. Should’ve lived better.

But the regret that only surfaced when faced with death is just regret, never introspection.

From his vantage point on the eastern hillside, the general looked down to see a very long line of refugees appearing on the winding road below.

Clad in furs and armor, half carrying huge iron poles and half wielding halberds.

These were the valiant warriors of the Northern Army.

True elite soldiers from the North, they bounded up the hill, panting but still saluting the general with military decorum.

“Sir! It’s the Mangwani Company’s Bai Jiang San Yan Chong!”

“Alright. What’s going on? How’s the barricade?”

“General, the fire demon is approaching! The wildfire has crossed the southern fire line! We’ve withdrawn all troops under my discretion!”

“Did the Mangwani Company retreat? Surely, Chang Yang Ho must have secured your western flank?”

“We saw the flames and retreated immediately, joining the troops still in operation along the way. That’s the situation!”

“Hmm. Good job for now. Assist with the rear and stand by for commands.”

“Understood!”

The general’s expression hardened.

The flames had indeed spread, meaning the warriors responsible for securing the southern flank were gone.

It also meant that the fate of the left-side warriors was now unknown.

The bigger problem was that the wildfire was advancing towards them.

Flames spread more quickly in higher elevations than in the lowlands.

Instead of heading south toward the southern Naryeong Mountain range, they were blowing westward, and this was exactly where the highland was.

The general rushed out, leaping into action.

“Official! The fire has crossed the fire line and likely passed the southern flank!”

“What? How did the fire breach the fire line? Hmph, incompetent fool. So what now?”

“We must retreat.”

“Hm. Retreat, retreat…”

Gyeodu narrowed his brow.

Then a devious smile spread across his face.

“Good. I’m giving the general a golden opportunity. An honorable mission directly bestowed by the Emperor. You shall defend the current barricade with a single Baekho and eliminate any potential traitors attempting to flee. Alternatively, you may also observe and report if the entire area becomes uninhabitable.”

In other words, a command to stay in place until the flames reached them and then execute those retreating.

But there was no room for refusal.

Once the Emperor’s name was invoked, refusing meant becoming a traitor immediately.

“…Understood.”

“Good. Consider this a chance for great military merit. If you succeed, you might be promoted to a high general with a magnificent statue erected in your honor.”

Hearing all this, the aide became furious.

“Isn’t that just saying to let everyone die? How can these scoundrels—those dressed in fine silk—who’ve never even thrown a stone at a barbarian, think they have the right to command?”

“Not everyone will die. The living must survive. Recruit thirty thousand volunteers from Dae-soon.”

“Will thirty thousand even show up? If it’s the general’s order, they would throw themselves into fire, but this is actually fire.”

“Thirty. Prioritize those without family. Soak their clothes thoroughly in water, send the iron poles and halberds toward retreat, and lighten their gear as much as possible. Starting now, we’ll move the barricade to the top of the hill. The moment the fire is observed within a hundred yards, we will all retreat.”

“Understood!”

Thus, the Northern Army hurriedly prepared for retreat, busily moving barriers to the top of the hill.

Down the winding road below, suddenly, a huge rickshaw appeared—is that a rickshaw?

The general rubbed his eyes.

But no matter how he looked again, it was indeed a rickshaw, a cart that could be pulled by horses, packed with soldiers, and charging up the hill fiercely, with a giant pulling it.

“What the heck is that?”

It was a figure that could very well belong to a hero like Xiang Yu.

Was there a warrior among the Northern Army who could compare? Why on earth did they mix such a strongman in with the ragtag group?

Then it hit him—just because they are ragtag does not mean they are all incapable.

If a soldier becomes distasteful to superiors, they become ragtag.

A commendable soldier who would pull a beast-drawn wheeled cart with his body to save his comrades could easily be deemed ragtag.

Just like he was now.

“No way, what the heck…”

“Man, is that even human strength?”

Amidst the preparations for retreat, a few soldiers turned to gaze at the astonishing sight.

“What a precious figure to waste on the battlefield. Isn’t that just the valor that suits our army?”

“What should we do?”

“Do we have a flag? Let’s wave it and let them through. Such a talent shouldn’t be dealt with here.”

Even while climbing the steep hill, the pace of the rickshaw didn’t slow down.

In the chaos of preparing to retreat, the aide personally raised a flag to prepare to welcome the warrior.

Qing struggled as she gasped, desperately trying to catch her breath.

Pulling a cart carrying eight people at full speed over nearly ten li was exhausting, even for a supreme martial artist of the highest caliber.

Each breath sent pain shooting through her side.

But she can endure.

In fact, at some point, a distinct pain clawed through her, like tearing off a scab—the kind of feeling that makes you question what to call it is a strange feeling.

However, the sweat pouring down was anything but pleasant.

The thick skin underneath was saturated, and her underwear was already soaked, the rare sensation of sweat felt very unpleasant.

Her heart was pounding, breath was short, and as she tried to fill her lungs, her side kept stabbing her, whispering, “Don’t forget, we’re patients,” while the sweat poured down, making her sticky, and even her vision became foggy.

She was in a state of utter annoyance!

So when someone blocked her path, of course, she snapped.

“Get out of the way! If you don’t move, I’ll hit you!”

“Wait a second, stop!”

Qing had already picked up multiple tips while cutting through the ten li mountain path.

She lightly kicked the ground and lifted off the horse shaft.

But the wheels kept rolling, propelling the cart forward.

The back of the cart sank, creating leverage that lifted the front, allowing Qing to hang straight along the horse shaft like a gymnast, drawing her legs together to launch forward.

That’s when both of her feet collided hard against the chest of the one blocking the path!

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