Chapter 230

To anyone else, it was just a river.

But to them, it felt as though the enemy had already reached the walls of their fortress.

Because of that, everyone held their breath and lowered themselves even further.

The Amnok River remained eerily quiet despite the approaching Sikgoe.

The water flowed steadily.

The wind wasn’t strong.

There was no sign of human presence.

Kiiiieeeek…

Kak, kaaak, kakak…

Among the writhing black mass, something flashed.

Antennae.

Golden, fan-shaped antennae.

It was that type again.

The fan-shaped one.

After leaving most of the Sikgoe at the riverbank, it ran along the shoreline with several dozen others.

It looked like it was scouting.

Checking the surroundings.

Surveying for danger.

After examining both sides carefully, it apparently found nothing suspicious and returned to the main group.

Naturally.

Jeokudae hadn’t left so much as a footprint behind.

The fan-shaped creature trembled its antennae.

The golden edges gleamed in the light as it issued commands to the others.

“……”

Hoeun swallowed dryly.

He was tense.

And curious.

How would they cross the river?

Then, without hesitation, the Sikgoe began splashing into the water.

No hesitation.

No fear.

They simply charged in.

Their swimming skills weren’t impressive.

Some flailed helplessly in the current.

Some splashed around as if they had no idea how swimming worked.

Still—

crossing the river itself didn’t seem difficult for them.

Black shapes floated across the blue river.

Slowly.

But steadily.

This wasn’t surprising.

They had already expected this.

This area was downstream along the Amnok River.

The slope here was gentle, and the river spread wide.

That meant the river itself was broad—

but shallow.

And the current was weak.

That was exactly why Jeokudae had chosen this place.

And why they had predicted the Sikgoe would come here too.

Even if the monsters had crossed an ocean to get here, there was no reason for such large numbers to deliberately choose deep water with strong currents.

Creatures intelligent enough to send scouting parties wouldn’t take unnecessary risks.

Splash.

Splash.

The Sikgoe crossed the river.

Then they stepped onto this land—

the land where Jeokudae stood.

Where the Korean Empire stood.

Where Hanyang stood.

Kak… kak…

Kak! Krrrrrr…

Like wild beasts, they shook water from their bodies and resumed running.

They passed directly over the pits Jeokudae had dug.

The ground trembled faintly.

But nothing collapsed.

The monsters noticed nothing unusual.

They continued forward.

“Whew…”

Hoeun released a quiet breath of relief.

Slowly moving the telescope, he tracked them.

Dust rose in clouds.

And among the dust—

the golden fan-shaped antennae flashed again.

Seeing them clearly through the lens made Hoeun narrow his eyes.

The fan-shaped monster that had caused them such devastation in the rain-soaked fir forest was dead.

Hoeun had killed it himself.

He knew that better than anyone.

This wasn’t the same one.

He knew that.

And yet—

rage still rose inside him.

He wanted to chase it down.

Rip off those antennae.

Put a bullet through its eyes.

Hoeun tightened his grip on the telescope.

Then—

the monsters passed behind the mountain and disappeared from view.

“Haa…”

Hoeun lowered the telescope and exhaled.

He had pressed it so tightly against his eye that the area throbbed.

A circular imprint remained.

He pressed his palm over his eye.

Then—

“So we’re really just letting them go?”

Dongja noona, who had been hiding in the tent with him, finally spoke.

Her voice was thick with anger.

“That bug bastard has fan-shaped antennae too.”

She glared in the direction the monsters had vanished.

“That means it’s strong. Smart.”

Her grip tightened around her spear.

“What if it causes problems later?”

She turned sharply.

“Wouldn’t it be better to kill it now?”

Her speech was unusually clear and direct.

Short.

Precise.

Her eyes blazed.

It looked as though she were already standing in the middle of battle.

Hoeun answered softly.

“If we chase or kill them now, their main force will know.”

“……”

“The Sikgoe communicate through their antennae, even without speaking.”

“……”

“If the main force senses danger, they’ll change direction.”

“……”

“And that would disrupt our plan.”

“……”

“It would become harder to fight them.”

Hoeun folded the telescope.

“We wouldn’t be waiting for them anymore.”

“……”

“We’d have to chase them.”

Then he added quietly—

“And some other town might suffer instead.”

At those words, the sharp fury in Dongja’s eyes softened slightly.

Hoeun finished calmly.

“So for now, letting them go is the right choice.”

“……”

“They must not know we’re here.”

That was why Jeokudae had erased every trace of their presence.

Why they used kites instead of horns or signal fires.

Everything depended on remaining hidden.

Dongja said nothing more.

But anger still simmered visibly on her face.

Her hand gripping the spear had gone white.

For a while longer, Jeokudae remained hidden.

Silent.

Waiting.

Then someone came sprinting up from below.

“The monsters have passed!”

He shouted.

“You may come out!”

Dongja exited the tent first.

Hoeun crawled out slowly after her.

Before he could fully emerge, Dongja grabbed his elbow with one hand and hauled him up like pulling a radish from the ground.

Hoeun popped out instantly.

“Thank you, noona.”

He thanked her first.

Then brushed leaves off his knees.

Dongja glanced around carefully.

Checking whether anyone was nearby.

Then she stepped close and lowered her voice.

“Young master.”

“Yes, noona.”

“The commander won’t let me fight.”

“…What?”

“He keeps giving me digging and hammering work.”

“……”

Hoeun blinked slowly.

Then said gently—

“That’s because Mansu hyung hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“No.”

Dongja frowned.

“He walks fine now.”

“So I can fight too.”

“……”

“Young master, can’t you talk to the commander for me?”

Hoeun looked at her quietly.

He understood.

Mansu had been badly hurt by the Sikgoe.

Of course Dongja was furious.

Of course she wanted revenge.

Just seeing the fan-shaped ones made Hoeun’s blood boil.

How much worse must it be for her?

Still—

this wasn’t possible.

Taemuk wasn’t keeping Dongja out because he disliked her.

He was worried.

Worried for her.

Worried for Mansu.

Worried her rage would cloud her judgment and lead to more bloodshed.

Even without discussing it directly, Hoeun understood.

He would have done the same.

So how should he calm her?

If he ignored this, her anger would only darken.

After thinking briefly, Hoeun suddenly puffed out his lips.

His shoulders drooped.

He even twisted slightly.

Acting hurt.

“Noona…”

His voice softened.

“Do you dislike me?”

“What?”

Dongja’s eyes widened.

“You don’t want to stay by my side… so that’s why, isn’t it?”

Hoeun looked at her like a rain-soaked puppy.

His delicate eyes practically screamed:

I’m sad.

I’m hurt.

Dongja jumped in place.

“No!”

Her voice exploded.

“I like you, young master!”

Her cheeks turned bright red.

“Why would I hate you?”

“Not even a little!”

“Really?”

Hoeun asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

“YES! Really!”

She answered so loudly and firmly that Hoeun smiled.

Then he gently patted her thick arm.

“In that case…”

He smiled warmly.

“Please stay by my side and protect me.”

“……”

“Without Sergeant Oh here, I’m scared.”

Gilsang and Seongim still hadn’t returned from escorting the Mongolians.

Until then, someone needed to guard Hoeun.

Taemuk had assigned Dongja to stay with him—

both to protect Hoeun,

and to protect Dongja while she protected him.

Dongja’s eyes wavered.

She looked completely unsure what to say.

So Hoeun kindly offered a solution.

“When Sergeant Oh returns…”

He smiled.

“I’ll talk to the commander.”

“……”

“I’ll tell him Dongja noona seems ready to fight.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.”

Hoeun grinned.

“Though honestly, does someone like you even need proving?”

Dongja’s chest swelled instantly.

“Exactly!”

She slammed her spear against the ground.

“I’ve killed countless bugs already!”

Her broad shoulders expanded proudly.

She looked every bit like a general.

Hoeun laughed softly.

Then stepped closer.

And whispered as if sharing a secret.

“The urgent situation is over.”

He smiled.

“Would you like to come to the tent with me and eat chocolate?”

Dongja froze.

Then—

“Yes!”

She nodded so hard her hair shook.

Every soldier moved at full speed.

Not one person walked.

They ran.

Constantly.

For days, they had pushed forward without proper rest.

Yet no one complained.

No one grumbled.

No one even chatted.

Heavy tension hung over everything like fog.

The scouting party had passed.

Which meant the main force would come soon.

Which meant battle was close.

“Young master, please be careful with your hands.”

Chilbok, sitting opposite Hoeun and sewing, spoke worriedly.