That morning, the snow was unusually quiet.On the ramparts where the wind had died, only the soldiers' breath rose white into the air.Park Seong-jin stood on the watchtower.The steppe in the distance was still white and calm. Yet somewhere within that calm, something was slowly stirring.
"Can you… hear it?"The soldier standing beside him asked in a low voice. His name was Dohyeon, or so he had said.A first-year soldier who had enlisted a year before Seong-jin—good with a spear, but assigned as an archer. That kind of young man.
Then it happened. The ground trembled.First, the snow settled on the stones quivered faintly, and the next moment the long spears set along the wall began to hum with a low vibration.Thud—Thud—Thud—The sound was distant, but it was unmistakably approaching.Though there was no wind, the flags began to flutter.Seeing the trembling banners, Seong-jin felt his own chest shake."Enemy!"Someone shouted.In an instant, the wall came alive.Soldiers ran, raised shields, moved quivers, and horns sounded three times.Pwooo— pwooo— pwooo—A group of scouts squeezed through the narrowly opened gate and sprinted out.
The General climbed onto the rampart.His eyes were already cold."Everyone to your positions! Check formations at the East, North, and West Gates! Seal the South Gate!"
The orders spread like fire.Hwang Hyeon-pil moved with the crossbow unit.Seong-jin remained on the rampart—the crossbowmen would soon take this position.For days, the General had emphasized it repeatedly.The core of siege defense was the crossbow unit.That was why they had inspected equipment, piled arrows, and serviced the prods.He trusted the firepower of Goryeo's archers.
"Formation spacing—ten paces! Move all bows and arrows onto the wall. Ready! Prepare fire arrows!"
Seong-jin ran toward the breached section of the wall.It was the weakest point.Snow had piled up to his ankles.As he ran through it, he felt it—what was pounding now was not his heart, but the earth itself.Outside the walls, beneath a sky blinded by snow, a single dark line was faintly in motion.As if the land itself were alive and moving.
"Cavalry!"The shout split the air."The numbers… they don't make sense!"
The General raised the command banner from the watchtower.His gaze fixed on the far distance, his hand pointing.An army without visible end was spreading across the white steppe like a black tide.Two hundred thousand, he had heard.The number surfaced in his mind.But he shook his head.Even at the height of Genghis Khan's power, forces exceeding one hundred thousand were rare.That was not a number—it was a storm of snow.Still, one fact was certain.There were many.
If they had arrived this fast, this was only the vanguard.When the main force arrived, it would be several times this size.
"Entire army, on alert!"The General's shout rang out."Crossbow units, prepare to fire! Spear units deploy to both sides of the gates! Defenders, form ranks along the inner wall!""All archers to the ramparts! Move the arrows—now!"
The Goryeo army moved at once.Silently, yet like a massive tide—surging together, wave after wave.The clash of iron, the sound of spears being set, the minute tremor in fingers fitting arrowheads.
Oh Jin-cheol patted Seong-jin's shoulder."Don't be afraid.""I'm not afraid.""Then that's good."
Seong-jin bit his lip.The drums of the army thudded in his chest.Beyond the walls, the banners of the Northern Yuan finally appeared.A red sun and a black horse—their emblem—advancing without wind, yet rippling all the same.
The wind stopped.All sound fell away for a moment.And then—Thud.The drums of the steppe sounded again.The vibration struck the walls of Liaoyang and sank deep into the soldiers' chests.
The General raised his hand."Prepare!"
Seong-jin drew the bowstring.His fingertips trembled violently, but his gaze was steady.Beneath the snow-covered sky, over the white world, the shadow of war was slowly advancing.
Even then, they did not knowhow long this fight would last,or how cruel this winter would be.
These were men who had not dared utter a word when the Red Turbans held the fortress.Now that the Goryeo army had defeated and driven them out, others came demanding the fortress be surrendered.
They looked down on Goryeo.Seong-jin clenched his teeth.The feeling of being scorned burned up the back of his neck.They were faces that believed what had been won with blood could be taken away with a single sheet of paper.
Naghachu's army lined up before the main gate.