131
The Breaking of the Gate
The assault unit that had smashed through the wall forced its way inside—and then the gate was opened.
No, not opened.The gate collapsed.
The instant it fell, fire from the night sky poured into the city.Through the shattered doors, hot air and smoke surged inward, and through that gap the Goryeo army flooded in like a rising tide.The fragile balance that had been propped against the wall flipped in a heartbeat.
Spearmen took the front line.Long spearheads thrust forward in unison, splitting the enemy formation.Shield troops followed, driving in hard.Steel spears and shields collided, sparks bursting at each impact.
As archers took their positions behind them, the space inside the gate filled with red firelight.
Yi In-jung's command cut through the smoke.
"Spearmen advance. Archers, fire."
When the spearmen thrust and stepped aside, the archers followed with volleys.Shield lines cracked.Human voices exploded into screams and shouts.
The initiative had come within reach—close enough to grasp.
Park Seong-jin steadied his breath and reset his grip on the blade.This flow demanded forward motion.
Then his body reacted before thought.
He turned sharply.
Through dust and flame, Yuan troops were surging in.Hoofbeats shook the ground.An army that had lingered in long encirclement was now charging violently toward the open gate.
Park Seong-jin shouted,"The Yuan army is entering!"
Yun Gyeong-bok's voice overlapped from behind.
"They're moving for the credit."
Before the words finished, the Yuan vanguard brushed past the flank of the Goryeo troops.Banners flashing in the firelight charged without regard for front or rear.
A Yuan commander shouted,"Now's the chance!"
Park Seong-jin's gaze hardened.
Yi In-jung spoke low."They're jumping into the gap we opened.""Hold the gate."
He raised his blade and pressed forward again.
Inside the city, enemy remnants fell back, hastily reforming defensive lines.Spears and arrows tangled once more.
Beneath the gate, Park Seong-jin lifted his sword.The blade caught the firelight and burned red.
His shout erupted.
"Push through. Once we take this, it's over!"
A roar answered him.The human tide surged forward again.
Then, from behind, the Yuan army's drums sounded.
Whether it was coordination or rivalry no longer mattered.
Park Seong-jin abandoned judgment.There was still a role left to perform—as one who lived and moved.
Flames tore upward inside the city.The night split open, leaving only the noise of war.
Then—suddenly—a gong rang out.
In the chaos of the night, the sound cut through like a blade.
It was the signal for retreat.
Park Seong-jin froze.
At this moment, a retreat gong meant breaking the flow of battle.
He immediately searched for Yi In-jung.
Yi In-jung stood before the gate, urging the soldiers forward.
Park Seong-jin shouted,"That's a retreat signal!"
Yi In-jung stilled and listened.
The gong rang again—trembling, but unmistakable.
The commander is here. Who dares order a retreat?
It was the Yuan army.
Those bastards are trying to flip the board.
At the gong's sound, Yuan armored cavalry charging the gate turned their horses aside.
A shadow fell across Yi In-jung's face.
The battlefield was being reduced to a single line in a report.
He shouted,"Seong-jin!"
"Yes, senior!"
"Remove whoever is sounding that gong.Kill them if you must.Block every retreat signal."
"If we pull back here, allied casualties will explode."
The order was absolute.
"Understood."
Park Seong-jin took a single steadying breath.
Amid shouts, drums, and screams, those words dropped like a rule of war.
Yun Gyeong-bok's warning flashed through his mind.Politics had entered the battlefield.
His gaze snapped toward the gate.
On a small pavilion, a young man was swinging the gong with both hands.Beside him, a man hidden in shadow signaled urgently.
The crest beneath his collar and the metal mark on his wrist revealed his role.
Park Seong-jin set a bodkin arrow to the string.
The decision was already finished.
The arrow flew.
The signalman clutched his throat and collapsed.The man giving orders seized his chest and fell as well.
As the two went down, Park Seong-jin sprinted forward.He lowered his body, slipping through stone and sparks.
He twisted an arm by hand, then struck the back of a neck with his blade.Blood sprayed.
The one striking the gong was already dead.Another who had rushed in clutched his belly, writhing.
The last youth left on the pavilion screamed,"Please—please spare me!"
Park Seong-jin stopped.
The youth's hands trembled, the mallet fallen from his grip.Only terror remained in his eyes.
Park Seong-jin did not sheath his sword.
Instead, he brought it down on the gong.
CRASH—
Metal split and screamed.The gong shattered beneath the saber, torn apart.
The sound died.
Park Seong-jin's voice cut through the smoke.
"If that gong rings again, the hand comes off first."
The air before the gate froze.
Several Yuan commanders clenched their hilts in fury.Others took a step back.
From a distant rise, Toqto'a watched the scene unfold.
The battlefield had crossed beyond military cooperation—the shadow of politics now lay bare.
But the center, for now, was the foothold.
Yi In-jung turned.
"Words come after the battle.""If you've strength left, add more arrows.""Beat the drum for the elite advance."
Dudung… dudung— dudududung—
Low, heavy drumbeats seized the rhythm of the battlefield once more.
Shaken troops regained their tempo.The Yuan army, too, surged back toward the gate.
Park Seong-jin wiped the blood from his hands and scanned the field.
He was fighting to hold the battlefield itself.
Firelight washed over the gate.The drums grew deeper, heavier.
That night, at Gaoyou,the Goryeo army held the flow of war firmly in its grasp.