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Corpses, broken spears, and shattered shields were scattered across the field.Park Seong-jin steadied his breathing and looked toward the gate.The heat in his chest slowly subsided.
Oh Jin-cheol stood beside him.
"Not easy."
"Yes."
Park Seong-jin did not take his eyes off the gate.
"They'll come out again."
"Why?"
"They're watching from inside."
"Who?"
After a brief silence, he organized his thoughts and answered.
"The people above. And because the wall looks like it's about to give way, they sent them out. They knew they couldn't win and still pushed them forward. They're buying time. There's a reason. They sent them into a killing ground knowing they'd all die."
But that day's attack ended there.Neither inside nor outside the fortress pressed further.
When night fell, Liuhe Fortress sank into stillness.Outside the gate, the huihui trebuchets continued to hurl stones.Dull impacts struck the wall at regular intervals.Heavier than that sound was the silence inside the fortress.
Troops sent by Guo Zixing entered the city.They were rebels like the others, yet they did not treat one another as comrades.The remnants of the White Lotus sect believed the fortress belonged to them.Guo Zixing's men believed command lay with them.
Voices rose.Firelight flickered, stretching shadows long across the hall.
Soldiers gathered before the armory.Each time a hand touched a sword hilt, the air tightened.
Then a young commander stepped forward.He had been standing silently.
"Stop. The walls are collapsing."
He moved closer.
"If we spill our own blood here first, this fortress won't hold."
Laughter came from Guo Zixing's side.
"What does a young pup know."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not avert his gaze.
"Who commands can be decided later. For now, the side that can hold out survives."
Silence fell over the hall.The eyes of the White Lotus remnants wavered.Wariness overtook anger.
"They'll come again tomorrow," Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"How do you know?"
"Today was a test."
He pointed to the map on the table.
"The north gate. Beside the point being hit by the huihui trebuchets, there's a smaller gate. They're striking only there. And we're rebuilding only there."
His finger moved.
"That's where it will break first."
"So?"
"Bring water there."
"It'll turn to mud. Horses will sink first."
One of Guo Zixing's aides ground his teeth.
"Why should we—"
Guo Zixing raised a hand.
"Let him do it. That man is looking at the battlefield. There's no one else here with eyes like that."
That night, Zhu Yuanzhang climbed the northern wall.It was a place where earth and stone had collapsed and piled up.The marks of the day's strikes were still clear.
Holding a torch, he examined the ground.After checking the direction the water would reach, he gestured to the soldiers.
"Here. Dig, and set posts."
They moved at once.Shovels bit in, earth was cleared away.Stakes were driven, and rotted wood was selected.
No one needed to be first.The work continued.
Moonlight spread over the wall.Each time a trebuchet stone fell in the distance, the ground hummed low.
The vibration traveled up through their feet.Listening to it, Zhu Yuanzhang inspected the wall again.
Water began to pool in the excavated ground.It was still shallow, but the earth had already taken it in.
"Dig more.""Divert it this way."
A soldier asked, "Is this enough?"
Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer.Instead, he stepped on the ground.His foot slipped.
He nodded.
The work continued all night.Some carried water, others shoveled earth.Others shaped stakes.
They moved without words.
The sound of the huihui trebuchets continued.Between those impacts, the sound of rising water mingled in.
It was dawn.Moonlight faded, and the fog slowly thinned.
The axles of the huihui trebuchets creaked.Soldiers rolled stones into place, exhaling in short bursts.
Dust, ash, and the damp, cooled stink of blood clung to the air.
Yi In-jung stood before the trebuchet line and raised his hand.After glancing toward the north gate, he called Park Seong-jin over.
"They're moving slower than yesterday."
That was all he said.
Park Seong-jin nodded.It matched the flow already in his sight.
"Crossbowmen. North gate.""After firing, send in the spearmen."
The commands came short and clean.
As the hand dropped, arrows flew first.Then the trebuchet stones soared, splitting the sky.
With a dull impact, the earthen wall of the north gate burst.Dust spread like fog, and the ground shook.
The vibration traveled up through their feet.
The spearmen moved.They stepped onto the mound of earth and climbed the slope.
Some slipped.Moments of lost balance followed.
Still, the formation held.
Park Seong-jin drew his sword and moved forward.He scanned the wall quickly.
There was little movement.
"Forward."
The words were brief.Those behind followed at once.
Inside the fortress, Zhu Yuanzhang was already awake.Water dragged in through the night had pooled beneath the north gate.
The ground had softened into muck, and thin mist rose from the puddles.The smell of earth and water spread deep into the city.
Standing before it, he looked over the soldiers in turn.
"When they come out, fall back."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"Abandon the front line. Open the spacing."
A short silence passed among the men.
"Will they really come in?" someone asked quietly.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked toward the north gate.Below the broken wall, the marks of earth sliding down were visible.
"They'll be faster than yesterday."
Outside, Yi In-jung spurred his horse toward the gate.Earth and stone lay piled chaotically beneath the broken wall.Through a gap where one support had sunk, troops were pouring in.
"Forward."
The order was concise.
Park Seong-jin took the lead.He quickly checked the gap and the ground beneath it.
"Don't push—angle left—"
Before the words finished, the ground collapsed.
Mud gave way all at once and seized their legs.
Several spearmen lost balance and pitched forward.As they tried to pull free, the other foot sank deeper.
"The ground—"
The cry was swallowed by mud.
A horse stumbled as its forelegs sank.A spear snapped in the mire.
The soldiers behind slipped one after another.
From the wall above, arrows began to fall.
Shiiik—shiiik—
They poured down from above.
Armor rang dully as men trapped in mud took the hits.Those who raised shields without being able to turn fell one by one.
Hands clawed at empty air, and mud covered them.
Park Seong-jin shoved a soldier aside and twisted his direction.
"Back! Open spacing!"
He cut his way clear with his sword.
Free one foot, and the other sank again.
Breath surged rough in his chest.
"Withdraw!"
The signal spread.
The line broke, and the survivors fell back.
Yi In-jung looked down at the scene from horseback.A brief silence followed.
"They were ready."
The huihui trebuchet fired again.This time, not at the wall—but beyond it.
Kwa-gwahng!
Buildings and palisades behind the north gate collapsed at once.Wood tore apart, and earth and embers burst together.
Through the smoke, a red banner wavered—then bent halfway down.