Chapter 8

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Nammyeong's war hero was born.

‘With 500 cavalry. This will be tough.’

In fact, Johann couldn't feel at ease.

The troops he commanded were infantry, and there were only 100 of them.

On the other hand, the enemy had 500, making the situation absolutely unfavorable.

Even if the terrain had been advantageous, it wasn't.

It was almost flat.

But he didn't run away, even knowing the battle was a long shot.

If he fled from the cavalry, he might survive, but the Obeon soldiers would find it hard to survive.

“Don’t be afraid! We have defeated enemies ten times our number!”

So he held his ground.

Then, Hwang Heonshin, who was about to retreat, asked Johann with a puzzled look.

“Why aren’t you running away?”

“I, unlike the generals of Nammyeong, am not afraid of a mere execution.”

“......”

“Why aren’t you retreating, General? Since you’re going to retreat anyway, hurry up. I’d be grateful if you could take the prisoners I captured with you.”

It wasn’t meant to provoke.

There was no time for a nerve war in the current situation.

He said this because he couldn’t control nearly 200 prisoners during the battle.

The prisoners were already looking for an opportunity to escape.

Once the battle started, they would try to escape by any means.

So it wouldn’t be bad for Johann if Hwang Heonshin took the prisoners.

“...I will fight too.”

“General!”

“How can I, as a general of Nammyeong, run away when even foreigners fight to the death for the grace of Nammyeong!”

Hwang Heonshin, seemingly moved by Johann, said this with a determined look.

‘At least he has some pride.’

Frankly, Johann was surprised.

He thought Hwang Heonshin would definitely run away.

He believed that someone who had risen to a general with the backing of Jeong Jiyong, a merchant, wouldn’t show a general’s demeanor.

But Hwang Heonshin seemed to have a clear sense of patriotism, regardless of his abilities.

“If you’re going to fight, give me command of the musketeers.”

“You take the center. I’ll hold the left and right flanks against the cavalry.”

“Are you saying I should command the pikemen too?”

Hwang Heonshin didn’t answer.

He just closed his mouth and mounted his horse.

‘This changes the situation. If the numbers are equal, we can win.’

Johann took command of Hwang Heonshin’s troops with his tacit approval.

First, he combined 150 musketeers with the Obeon musketeer unit.

He arranged them in two rows of 100 each, and placed the infantry behind them.

“The formation is too thin, isn’t it? The musketeers’ firepower won’t stop the enemy’s charge.”

“As long as you follow my orders, we can inflict maximum damage on the enemy cavalry. The pikemen will have to hold the line after that.”

Fortunately, the pikes Hwang Heonshin brought were long enough to be called long pikes.

With the combination of musketeers and long pikes, the Spanish Tercio tactic was possible.

Of course, the Tercio refers to elite troops, and the tactic is called Pike and Shot.

‘The problem is that untrained troops can’t replicate the Spanish Tercio in its prime.’

If all the troops he led were Obeon, he could have formed an invincible formation that no one could break.

But as the trembling soldiers showed, the Nammyeong soldiers were not reliable.

They were grateful that the soldiers didn’t fire until ordered.

‘In such a situation, there’s a way. I’ll boost their morale with my own strength.’

The Qing army, approaching leisurely, was now close enough to see their faces.

Johann gauged the distance and then started to loosen up.

He suddenly picked up a pike with his right hand and threw it at the Qing army.

Whoosh!

‘With them bunched up like that, even a horse might get hit.’

The veteran of Mount & Saber didn’t have high control stats.

But any projectile, when thrown by a veteran, had an incredibly high accuracy rate without system assistance.

And Johann was an undeniable veteran of Mount & Saber.

Soon, the pike he threw hit a Qing soldier’s chest precisely.

‘Lucky shot, I guess.’

Seeing the Qing soldier shouting loudly in Manchu, Johann clenched his fist.

***

Baji Army General, Hoohan.

Belonging to the Yangbaqi, he advanced south under Dorogon’s orders to deal with the remnants of Ija Castle and assess the military strength of Nammyeong.

The troops he led numbered only 500.

By numbers alone, it was a very small force.

But Hoohan, facing the Nammyeong army, didn’t feel his troops were few.

“Hahaha, look at those southern barbarians. They’re in chaos.”

“Even the troops near Bokju should be elite, but they don’t look elite at all.”

To Hoohan, the Nammyeong army was pitiful.

It was absurd that they allowed 500 enemy cavalry to advance to the capital without any resistance.

Even if they had just lost Nanking and Yangzhou, making border defense difficult, this was too much.

But even more pitiful were the Nammyeong troops trying to stop the cavalry.

They seemed to be a unit sent to intercept the remnants of Ija Castle, but as a force defending the capital, they were clearly inadequate.

Their disarray as the Baji approached was evident.

“But who are those people? Their faces are as black as ink, it’s like seeing ghosts.”

“They must be the Oguiza.”

As he got closer, he noticed distinctive figures in the Nammyeong army.

They were the Obeon troops led by Johann.

Of course, the Qing soldiers didn’t panic at the sight of the Obeon troops like the remnants of Ija Castle.

The Ming Dynasty had used black soldiers in war for a long time.

During the Imjin War, they even brought Oguiza as mercenaries.

The Qing Dynasty often used black soldiers in battles, so they were familiar to Hoohan.

‘The Oguiza soldiers are said to be brave. Since we’re meeting them as enemies, it’s best to capture as many as possible this time.’

As Hoohan thought this, one of the enemy soldiers suddenly did something strange.

“Is that guy trying to throw a pike from this distance?”

“Haha! What a joke. Does he think he’s a master archer... Gasp!”

One of his subordinates, mocking the enemy, was hit by a pike from a distance and fell off his horse.

Hoohan, surprised, looked at his subordinate, who had a pike in his chest.

He muttered something and then closed his eyes, dead.

“Unbelievable!”

It was a distance where arrows couldn’t reach.

To throw a pike from such a distance and kill someone was hard to believe even when seen with his own eyes.

But as he was stunned, the giant man moved again.

He threw another pike, and this time, the trajectory was visible.

“Gasp!”

Hoohan bit his lip as another soldier died pointlessly.

His troops were not Mongol Baji or Han Baji.

They were Manchu Baji, composed of the Manchu people.

And the Manchu, with a small population, valued each soldier.

Dorogon didn’t just protect himself after entering Shanhai Pass.

To rule all of China with less than 100,000 Manchu warriors, each life was precious.

‘To lose Manchu warriors so absurdly! How can I explain this to the Regent King!’

Of course, he wouldn’t be scolded for just two deaths.

But Hoohan instinctively felt that significant casualties would occur once the battle started.

Sure enough.

“Charge!”

Following Hoohan’s orders, the Baji charged fiercely at the enemy.

The enemy’s formation was so thin that he intended to charge straight through, but the Nammyeong army’s reaction was not normal.

‘Why aren’t they fleeing?’

In his experience, Chinese soldiers almost always turned and ran when cavalry charged.

So Hoohan expected the Nammyeong army to pretend to shoot and then flee.

But contrary to his expectations, the Nammyeong army held their formation firmly.

They didn’t fire randomly but only lit the fuses and aimed at the Baji.

Bang!

Then they fired almost simultaneously.

Hoohan realized too late.

The enemy’s skills were not to be underestimated.

If the battle continued, he would suffer more casualties than he expected.

Neigh!

“Gasp!”

“Why did it hit my neck!”

Indeed, significant casualties were occurring.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Hoohan didn’t hesitate.

He decided to protect his troops, even if it meant bearing the stigma of a defeated general.

‘I can’t let the Manchu warriors die to crush the spirit of the endless southern barbarians!’

***

Johann watched the rapidly retreating Qing army and inwardly rejoiced.

‘It was dangerous. If I had allowed the charge, we would have collapsed.’

The Nammyeong soldiers were even more chaotic than he thought.

As the Qing army approached, signs of desertion appeared everywhere.

If the black powder smoke hadn’t obscured the view, the Qing army might have tried to charge again.

The state of the Nammyeong soldiers was that serious.

“We won. The barbarians are retreating!”

“Woo!”

“Johann! Johann! Johann!”

When the Qing army retreated, they cheered as if they had never intended to flee.

Their voices sounded like those of victorious heroes.

Unlike the soldiers, Johann wasn’t intoxicated by victory.

He picked up a pike again and aimed at the Qing army’s back.

‘Since we won, we should claim more credit. That guy looks like a leader, so I’ll take his head.’

Whoosh!

The pike he threw hit the back of the Qing leader’s head precisely.

***

“That man is General Kim Johann, the rising star of Nammyeong!”

“A general who has never lost a battle!”

“Look at his face. He looks like a hero just by his appearance!”

Johann became a hero of Nammyeong.

When he led his troops back to Bokju, a crowd gathered like clouds to see his face.

“Congratulations.”

“What for?”

“You will at least get a promotion to a Yujeok position for your achievements this time.”

Hwang Heonshin, riding next to Johann, spoke as if they were old friends.

At first, he seemed to dislike Johann more than anyone, but now he acted like a ten-year friend.

“Then I might soon take your position, General Hwang.”

“Hahaha! You really know how to make a joke!”

Johann didn’t mind Hwang Heonshin’s attitude.

A sense of camaraderie had developed.

“Anyway, your position will change a lot due to your achievements this time. You won’t have to lead anyone else’s private army anymore.”

The “anyone else” here clearly referred to Jeong Jiyong.

It meant he could step out of Jeong Jiyong’s shadow.

And Hwang Heonshin’s prediction was correct.

Not long after returning to Bokju, the emperor himself summoned him.

‘To be summoned by the emperor for just this level of achievement.’

Johann didn’t think he had accomplished anything extraordinary.

He had experienced countless victories like this.

But it seemed that the people of Nammyeong considered this victory significant.

Given that they thought the Baji army was invincible, it was understandable that they viewed this victory as significant.

‘But what does the emperor want from me?’

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