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We do not know where the war will tilt.I cannot know what trajectory I will end up drawing here, either.
For now, we ride the momentum, yet it can overturn at any moment.That is war.
Strangely, those thoughts thinned within the quiet of the present.I could not know tomorrow's life or death, yet today's rice was warm.My comrades were beside me, and someone snickered and threw a foolish joke.I laughed at the sound, then stopped without meaning to.Only the sense remained—measuring how long this time could last.
The fact that there were people beside me became a solid support.On nights when I could feel body heat right next to me and hear the breathing of sleeping men, thought stopped there.
It was not easy to bind the situation into a single explanation.The war itself was not simple.Goryeo's army and the Yuan army overlapped, and above them, the courts watched each other and calculated.
The interests of the many provinces tied to the war split into sharp edges.A battlefield was not made of blades and arrows alone.Invisible calculations always covered it like a lid.
Even at the fingertips that loosed arrows, even at the moment stones were loaded, dark clouds hung low.Once I became aware of that current, the bombardment sounded again.
A stone flew and struck the wall.Dust rose, and the vibration spread.People scattered to their assigned positions.Their bodies already knew the order.
What had changed most visibly was Yi In-jung's movement.He no longer surged forward as he had at the beginning, and he did not pour strength into the front.
He looked as though he had no intention to fight.
He had been hit hard once.It had almost become a disaster.
They remained for a long time in formation before the fortress.When orders came down, the crossbowmen loosed a few shots—and stopped there.
The movement was clear, but it did not reveal depth.It was a way of spending time slowly.
His gaze did not fix on the enemy beyond the walls.It watched first the movements of allies behind him.
A handful of huihui trebuchets were concentrated along the northern face.The west and south were blocked by river and marsh.Naturally, the remaining direction became one.
Stones flew, and the wall was shaved down little by little.By day it collapsed, and by night it was rebuilt.By the next day, new earth was laid over yesterday's breach.
A battle of nothing but bombardment continued for many days.
In the meantime, the height of the northern wall changed noticeably.A point that had required ladders to reach became gentle enough for a horse's hoof to catch.
At night they poured out and piled it up with desperate persistence.By day, the bombardment knocked it down again.
Break and rebuild.Break and rebuild.
Yi In-jung watched that section for a long time, then said,
"Just a little more."
I watched the collapsed section and the enemy soldiers going up and down over it.Hands that had carried earth under lamplight all night still kept moving.
"They're getting used to holding out too," I said.
Oh Jin-cheol nodded.
The huihui trebuchet sounded again.A stone whipped into the middle of the wall, and dust slapped across my face.
When I opened my eyes, one side of the wall had sunk low.
Then Yi In-jung's voice came.
"The north gate might burst soon. Prepare."
People moved at once.
We feared that the moment the wall split and fell, they would throw the gates open and charge.
--*
At dawn, a thick fog lay over everything.All night, the huihui trebuchets had hammered the wall, throwing up dust.
Now they fired even at night.The dust mixed with dew and settled over the fields.
Silence had spread, and no birds sang.
Oh Jin-cheol tightened the straps of his armor and looked toward the north gate.Flags atop the wall swayed slowly.
Park Seong-jin noticed the direction of their sway was different from usual.
"The wind has changed."
"Yes. When the wind changes, the board shifts too."
Then, from inside the gate, the sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Kang— kang—
At first it sounded like the echo of siege engines.Then a shout burst forth.
"The gate!"
Chains snapped, and the thickly reinforced gate split open to one side.Through the dust, spears and shields poured out.
It was Zhang Shicheng's assault unit.
They seemed to have burst out in a fit—unable to endure any longer.
"They're sallying out!"
A red banner whipped at the front.Soldiers ran out, trampling broken bricks.
Men who had thrown away shields and men gripping swords with both hands were mixed together.
"Crossbowmen!"
Yi In-jung's voice flew across the field.The front-line crossbowmen pulled their strings at once.
Piiiiiing—
A sharp, high note followed.
Dozens, then hundreds of bolts filled the air, and the front ranks twisted and fell.Those behind stepped over them.
A signal for fire control rose.After reloading, the crossbows were drawn again.
Until the distance narrowed, the battle flowed one way.Under the rain of bolts, their formation broke.
Even so, their feet did not stop.
The moment they cleared the gate, more and more soldiers dropped.
Then the Yuan troops began firing as well.Yuan arrows overlapped and fell.
Before the north gate, screams, groans, and bodies piled up.
When they raised shields and tried to set their line, casualties lessened—but the heavy crossbow bolts that pierced even shields left them helpless.
The powerful bolts shattered shields, crushed armor, and drove straight through.
A commander in Zhang Shicheng's force urged them forward.
"Spearmen!"
Yi In-jung's command fell.
Spearmen packed in tight, and the crossbowmen withdrew behind them.Iron shields rose.Between them, long spears slid forward.
The enemy who had poured out of the gate met the waiting line head-on.
Kang— spear— aagh—Metal and torn breath tangled together.
Spearpoints struck, and armor split.
Park Seong-jin filled a gap where a spear had broken and swung his sword.The neck of one charging enemy snapped sideways.
Blood sprayed across his face.His breath grew hot.
"Don't fall back!" he shouted."If we get pushed back, it's over!"
Then, above the gate, a flag shook.A signal to join.
The waiting heavy crossbow unit drew their bows at once.
Tududududu—Thick iron bolts swept the ground in front of the gate.
A charging horse screamed.Men fell with it.
"Advance!"
Yi In-jung drew his sword.
The line moved.Spearmen, swordsmen, and crossbowmen pushed in together.
The ground before the gate darkened with wetness.
A late hurled stone from a huihui trebuchet smashed the top of the gate.Bricks, bodies, and blood burst together.
A moment later, the enemy pulled back.
The gate closed again.