Chapter 534

But, hmm. I can’t quite grasp it.

No matter how thoughtless A-Qing may seem, in reality, she’s a cunning one who calculates angles more meticulously than anyone else.

In fact, she’s much more malicious when it comes to pondering how to slip out if she can’t get in, rather than just focusing on getting in.

Anyway, she can create an opening herself.

It’s a matter of striking first and using a surprise attack—what’s so hard about breaking in with that?

This sinister wannabe from the Martial World is completely indifferent to the basic human qualities of dignity and face, which one should naturally care about!

But what’s with the Japanese invaders? Samurai? Is that really a thing? Do they actually call themselves samurai in this day and age? I mean, they look a bit off for samurai. What kind of samurai are they? They just look like a bunch of short, primitive folks. What’s up with that? It’s making me lose my mind. Hand over my samurai back, please.

You need to know your opponent a bit before you can make a move, but it’s impossible to gauge their strength or weakness. So even if A-Qing is a master of charge, well, ugh. This is kinda ridiculous.

“I will give you a half-unit of time! When the sun is halfway, I will attack immediately, so open the city gate willingly and welcome me with beautiful young mistresses, and hand over the items in your storeroom!”

Timing your watch with the sun is a basic skill of people in this era, gained instinctively over the days they’ve lived.

Take around half a unit, and the sun should be hanging on the horizon, so the expression of ‘halfway’ comes from that.

Then it seemed the lackey of the Japanese invaders was chatting it up with his buddies, before stepping forward again to clear his throat.

“I stand corrected. I’ll give you this half-unit. What I’ve generously extended, don’t bleed needlessly and surrender quickly!”

A-Qing is just dumbfounded.

This half-unit, in A-Qing’s unit of measure, means thirty minutes.

Who in the world gives just this half-unit after declaring war?

Isn’t that a bit tight even for decision-makers to gather?

If A-Qing were well-versed in history, he’d realize that the very act of a foreigner declaring war would be astonishing.

The intelligence of these Japanese invaders clearly doesn’t allow them to grasp the concept of a declaration of war.

What is even a declaration of war? Am I supposed to say I’m going to attack before attacking? Why should we?

Ah, I get it. It means, “I’ll chop off a limb, and if you don’t want more to be lost, surrender,” right?

A-Qing finds their confidence a bit suspicious.

Unless there’s a strong conviction that “if you don’t surrender, you all die,” you wouldn’t say such things.

But they’re right up against the wall. What the heck?

While A-Qing was pondering how primitive these invaders might be in the martial arts world, the Great General rushed in, panting heavily, right next to A-Qing.

“Huff, those filthy Japanese bastards, how dare they!”

“Aah, General!”

“Huff, huff, those audacious brutes! I’ll shoot arrows at them immediately to drive them off!”

“Rather, we should eliminate them.”

“Hmm, you mean extermination? Hmm. That’s, uh, hmm.”

Then Wang Sang-ryong suddenly snapped back to reality.

This is an order from the Mama, after all; what the heck are we even talking about!?

“No! Hah! That’s right! How can we allow those wicked Japanese to trample on the Emperor’s land? It is I, Wang Sang-ryong—”

“Wait a moment.”

A-Qing sensed the hesitation in Wang Sang-ryong’s words and interrupted the General.

“Are they strong?”

“No! If our elite warriors from Shandong took on five of them, we’d be somewhat at a disadvantage, but with our spirit, we can overcome!”

“Five to one?”

That doesn’t mean a single soldier can take on five Japanese invaders.

It means five soldiers are boasting that they can handle one enemy, and they’re saying it proudly.

What’s there to be proud of, anyway?

But judging by their attitude, it must be something they consider worthy of boasting.

“How many soldiers does it take if they aren’t elite? How many are needed for one Japanese?”

“Well, if those weak soldiers from Hunan without any real battle experience engage, maybe twenty would struggle to take one down. That City Commander over there is quite a weakling too.”

For the record, the City Commander from Hunan is a long-standing nemesis of Wang Sang-ryong, and they see each other as thorns in their sides.

Elevate yourself while dragging down the enemy.

That’s how politics is ingrained in Wang Sang-ryong.

In any case.

Wang Sang-ryong’s answer went like this.

With twelve hundred soldiers, they could sufficiently drive them away with arrows from behind the city wall.

However, extermination would come at a high price in blood, and of course, our Shandong soldiers are ready to fight courageously and die without fear.

A-Qing recalled the soldiers.

Naturally, shouldn’t the soldiers take on those savage marauders?

But, is that really right?

The soldiers who would respectfully address the Lady and the Mama’s titles while shyly offering little snacks and wildflowers.

Soldiers of this era are those who’ve been requisitioned instead of taxes.

So, do they have a valid reason to spill their blood? They aren’t professionals who have charged into battle for a wage, right?

Should they be forced to bleed?

What right have I to demand anything?

But what if I just drive them away?

Will the ones who turned human parts into necklaces just suddenly calm down and retreat peacefully, saying, “Let’s go home now?”

Once the soldiers leave, they’ll surely swarm back again.

As much as I’d like to charge in and wipe them out right off the bat.

What about my friends if I go in?

These weaklings would probably foolishly run in together, shouting about how they should protect, and it’s just… ugh.

Ah, sometimes it feels better to be alone.

It was the thought of the one most excited amongst friends, grinning widely.

If someone heard my true feelings, they’d probably say I just wanted to see my friends all the time.

“How should I…”

A-Qing’s gaze wavers.

What should I do?

But the soldiers, how could I drive them into danger after all this bonding? What right do I have?

But let the Japanese invaders go? I know perfectly well what they’ll do if I do that? That I can’t allow. It’s not the right thing to do. It shouldn’t happen.

If I didn’t know, it would be one thing, but knowing and just pretending not to see it is cowardly and unjust.

If I step in, but then what about my friends?

After all, a rough average suggests it’s twelve soldiers per one of those nasty invaders. If something happens to them because of me…

Is this even something I should decide?

But I can’t just sit back and do nothing, I just can’t.

Yet I couldn’t keep pondering forever, because this half-unit is a fleeting moment passing quickly.

And so, A-Qing finally gulps, managing to open her mouth after a struggle.

A white flag flutters above the city gate.

Jang Seok-yi, a traitor who switched from a petty thief to a guide for the Japanese, wears a cruel smile.

By the way, the official term for scum like this is “Han-gan,” it means collaborator or traitor and is quite the serious insult.

Of course, Jang Seok-yi has his own words.

What have the people of the Central Plain given him? Beatings, rotten food not even fit for dogs, and the harsh labor of a salt field, which is utter nonsense.

“Hey, Shogun. (Translation follows) The little shits say they’ll serve the General.”

“Too bad. It’d be more fun if they fought back.”

“They’ve come to know their place. Don’t we say that if you don’t provoke the gods, they won’t bring calamity?”

“So then does that mean I become the god? Hehe. Well, do the people from the Central Plain even know what courage is? You lot, let’s go! It’s been a while since I soaked in blood!”

Of course, he has no intention of just taking the offered women and gifts before leaving quietly.

To showcase his bravery back in Japan, he needs more than just tales of conquest.

That proof would come back as loyalty, so those from the Central Plain are excellent livestock with nowhere else to put them.

So the Japanese invaders swagger towards the city gate, and as they come close, the gate opens up to welcome them with a creak.

Then three carts present themselves.

Covered with a cloak so the contents can’t be seen, but something rounded appears to have been loaded on them.

The General tilts his head, catching a desperate ray of sunlight shining on before a shining head falls.

“Is that flying? What the heck?”

A-Qing’s keen auditory senses, along with her linguistic skills, pick up what the General said.

What’s this?

A-Qing bursts into laughter.

What else could it be? It’s a cannon.

Thinking about it, is there really any need to risk life and death in battle when you have such good tools?

When there’s a good tool, isn’t it only natural for a person to use it?

Boom!

It sounds like a thunderclap right in front!

Debris from the battlements tumbles away, and the city gate trembles, scratching the ground beneath.

It truly is an earth-shattering roar.

With the shells packed to the brim with iron shot, A-Qing witnesses that majestic destruction.

Razor-sharp metal shards pierce through flesh at breakneck speeds, disappearing into bodies without hesitation.

A graceful straight line, the fastest thrust, exploding into thousands upon thousands of fragments.

Not powerful enough to pierce two people, but that’s due to the irregular shape of the projectiles, not lack of power.

Um, how on earth do you stop that?

A-Qing realizes once more the might of cannons.

Sure, from a distance, if you take it lightly, you could tough it out with defensive skills, but…

What if you get hit close up? Hmmm.

When the cannon points at you, you better not hesitate to run!

Looking down from the city gate, it resembled the unique hairstyles of those Japanese—bald in the middle.

The remaining fellows are just the scattered Japanese invaders, who’re now in utter shock.

Some are standing there, wide-eyed, while others have collapsed and are at a loss for what to do, and some have wet themselves.

Well, after an overwhelming noise that literally turned their comrades into mush so quickly they couldn’t even find their corpses.

There’s not a single intact body left; only a big mess of blood-red muck.

A-Qing leaps out from the city wall.

Utilizing the Moon Lady’s Step, it isn’t truly a technique that defies gravity but gives an illusion of slowly descending gracefully for some reason.

When a beauty lands elegantly, anyone would feel like time has slowed.

A-Qing kicks at the Japanese invaders.

To others, it looks light and easy, but for those getting hit? It feels like they’re being smashed by iron legs, as bones crack and break.

“Run, run!”

I’d like to see the samurai skills now, but they’re turning tail?

In fact, much like bandits, once they realize they’re outmatched, they become a collection of individuals with personal deficiencies.

While it’s a pity, it’s also somewhat comforting.

Because, as expected, those weaklings who should simply stand back are rushing to follow along.

No matter how weak those two-bit wannabes of the dual swords club are, chasing down fleeing foes isn’t too risky, is it?

Amidst all this, A-Qing scans her friends.

Are they all safe? Is there any danger?

Thanks to that, a sword slice comes right for her!

Of course, A-Qing isn’t the type to let her guard down like that.

Raising her hand to block, that famous Japanese sword hits her wrist, shattering into pieces immediately.

In reality, the blade’s sharp, but it’s also notorious for breaking easily.

If it doesn’t cut, it breaks and shatters right away, perfectly matching A-Qing’s solid arms coming from her Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.

However, just by blocking it, she can gauge its power roughly.

Wow, that’s pretty sharp, but unless you have defensive techniques or are at the peak level, mistake that and it might just cleave right through.

So A-Qing firmly resolves in her heart.

This won’t do.

I need to shake them off and go alone.

Aside from their weakness, I shouldn’t drag my friends into my personal matters.

I must handle my own business myself.

Let’s take care of our own affairs. After all, that’s how it should be.

Just me, by myself. Only alone.

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