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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Killing Intent
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At that moment.
Deputy Commander Ju and Adalta were meeting in another location.
"The grain has already been delivered to the Blood Wolf Clan's territory."
Deputy Commander Ju said with a grin.
"That was fast."
"I want to pull out even a day sooner."
Deputy Commander Ju said.
"We'll clear the path."
Adalta glanced at the clan leader standing behind him.
"Understood, Great Khan."
The clan leader bowed his head and exited.
Moments later, horn blasts echoed continuously. Then, several hundred paces east of the tent, clouds of sand dust rose into the air.
Deputy Commander Ju stood from his seat.
He walked to the tent flap, turned around, and looked at Adalta.
"What is it?"
Adalta asked as their eyes met.
"Just curious."
"Speak."
"I have to clean up the Wind Brigade myself, but why does the Great Khan want it so badly?"
"All the clan leaders of the Border Wastes, including ours, agree that we would have won this war without those guys."
"...What do you think, Great Khan?"
"I absolutely don't think that. The Border Wastes isn't so weak that it would fall to a bunch of Wind Brigade riffraff."
"Then why...."
"When you become Great Khan, you can't just ignore the people's demands. And in truth, the Wind Brigade has killed the most Border Wastes folk."
"It seems like you became Great Clan Leader thanks to the Wind Brigade, doesn't it?"
"Of course. The previous Great Clan Leader lost trust and was ousted for failing to deal with the Wind Brigade properly."
Adalta nodded.
"Then you're no different from killing your benefactor."
"I wasn't Great Clan Leader then, but I am now, so it has to be different. That's why I plan to give them a grand funeral. As food for the Blood Wolves."
Adalta grinned.
"I see."
Deputy Commander Ju nodded.
"But isn't the general discarding the ones who earned the greatest merit in this war too easily?"
"Do you know how vast the Central Plains is?"
Deputy Commander Ju asked.
"That's exactly why we always dream of marching into the Central Plains."
"The vast Central Plains is overflowing with people we can use as Wind Brigade fodder. If Border Wastes forces stir again, we'll just form a new Wind Brigade to fight them. This time it was ten thousand, but next time it could be a hundred thousand."
They had joined hands for their own gains for now, but neither believed this alliance would last. So even their casual words carried barbs.
"Then I'll have to wipe out the Wind Brigade cruelly so they can't support us next time."
"That's for the Great Clan Leader to decide."
"Oh! From what I've heard, Wind Brigade members are paid twenty taels a month, but they only get three. I'm curious where the rest went. Do you know, General?"
"We bought two hundred thousand seok of grain for the Blood Wolf Clan with it."
"What? Pfft! Hahahahaha!"
Adalta burst into laughter.
"I'll be off."
Deputy Commander Ju exited.
"Hark!"
"Yes, Great Khan."
"Collect their heads and feed their bodies to the Blood Wolves."
"Yes!"
One of the clan leaders bowed his head.
* * *
"Ten Commander, what do you make of that?"
Yo Pung pointed at the dust cloud in the distance behind them. The dust cloud was spreading up into the night sky under the moonlight.
"That's Blood Wolf Clan territory."
So Pung answered.
"What does it mean for a dust cloud to rise from Blood Wolf Clan territory?"
"The clouds are moving left and right. That means the Blood Wolves are withdrawing from camp, signaling the talks between the Supreme Commander and the Blood Wolf Great Clan Leader ended successfully."
"Is the war really over?"
Black Wind asked.
"Probably."
So Pung nodded.
Black Wind kept watching the dust cloud.
"Huh?"
His eyes widened.
"What?"
So Pung looked at Black Wind.
"There."
Black Wind pointed between the dust clouds spreading to the left and right. Another dust cloud was starting to form there. But this central one was much closer than the ones moving to the flanks.
"Isn't that cloud the imperial army retreating?"
So Pung asked.
"Yeah."
Black Wind nodded.
"Then what's the problem?"
"The dust clouds from the Blood Wolves are heading toward where the imperial army was camped."
Just as Black Wind said. The clouds moving to the flanks were now converging in the center, rushing toward the spot the imperial army had vacated.
"How much water do we have?"
Black Wind asked So Pung.
"If we ration it, we can last three days."
"Rations?"
"One day's worth."
"We're heading left from now on."
"How far?"
"To the rabbit hole we dug."
"That's two hundred paces away?"
"We have to go anyway. If we don't, we all die. Move out."
Black Wind stepped to the left.
The moment Black Wind and the Eighteen-Man Squad started moving, thousands of glowing red eyes appeared ahead.
"Th-those are Blood Wolves!"
Someone pointed forward and yelled.
"Gasp!"
"My god."
"...."
Groans rose from here and there.
"Hurry!"
Black Wind quickened his pace. He glanced back. The dust clouds charging from both sides had already merged into one.
"Run!"
Black Wind broke into a sprint. The others followed. As the Eighteen-Man Squad ran like mad, others looked at them puzzled.
"The war's over!"
Someone shouted in the meantime. Word had spread that the armistice talks were done. Unlike usual, they'd been told specially today.
"Really?"
Someone asked skeptically.
"It's over!"
The man yelled again.
"The war's over!"
"It's over!"
Others echoed him.
"Woooaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Wind Brigade members raised their weapons and cheered as one.
"Scream while you run! Uwaaaah!"
Black Wind yelled.
"You bastard, you're a Thousand Commander. We can't just run like this."
"We have to survive first, you idiot. Scream!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Woooaaah!"
The Eighteen-Man Squad members ran while cheering. Their actions looked just like joyful sprints celebrating the war's end.
Piiiiiiiiik!
Piiiiiiiiik!
Then a strange sound came from the enemy lines.
"Faster!"
Black Wind bellowed.
Kyaaauuuu!
Kraaaang!
The Blood Wolf pack roared as they charged this way.
"Huh?"
"It's over."
"Why are they coming if it's over?"
The Wind Brigade members' eyes widened.
"E-enemies behind too!"
Someone pointed back and yelled. Everyone turned. A dust cloud blotting the sky was surging toward them.
Kraaaaaang!
Kyaaauuuuuu!
"Run!"
Judging the Blood Wolves easier to face, the Wind Brigade members ran toward them.
Before Black Wind's group reached the dunes, the Blood Wolves swarmed in.
"Damn it! To the rabbit hole!"
Black Wind yelled while running, tying his halberd to his hand and drawing his demon hook.
"Chaha!"
With a shout, he swung the halberd.
The five-chi-long halberd sliced through the air with immense power.
Thud!
Kek!
One Blood Wolf's head shattered. Then his left hand's demon hook plunged into another's head.
Thud!
He twisted his wrist hard to yank the hook free and swung the halberd again.
Thud!
This time, half a Blood Wolf's face tore off. Black Wind alternated between demon hook and halberd, pressing forward.
"Wind Brigade, head to the quicksand zone! Follow the North Star for two hours and you'll hit it. Once there, do as I taught you!"
Black Wind bellowed while swinging his weapons.
The quicksand zone was where sand flowed like a river—once in, no escape.
"To the quicksand zone!"
"Quicksand zone!"
Each squad leader yelled.
Wind Brigade members fought and advanced against the Blood Wolves. But the wolves were endless. Kill one, and more charged.
Thud! Thump! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Black Wind's hands, feet, knees, and elbows moved at terrifying speed. Blood sprayed from Blood Wolf bodies with every motion.
Black Wind was wounded too, but his movements didn't slow. The power of his mighty muscles made halberd and demon hook devastating. Blood Wolf heads didn't just sever—they exploded.
"Most Blood Wolves are in front of us!"
Dae Pung yelled.
"Blood Wolves attack the weak first. To drive them off, you all need to push hard. Give it everything—even the strength from your mother's milk!"
"Argh!"
"Let's die trying."
"Damn it!"
The Eighteen-Man Squad members swung their weapons with full force. Ten Blood Wolves died with every swing. But the pack charging them didn't thin.
"Not easy."
Black Wind grimaced.
"Urk!"
A squad member's scream came from behind.
Black Wind turned. A Blood Wolf was gnawing Mad Blade's left arm. Mad Blade swung his halberd with his right hand desperately.
Thud!
Kek!
The Blood Wolf died, but Mad Blade's arm was mangled.
"Keok!"
Now it was Beautiful Wind.
The handsome one who earned his nickname had a Blood Wolf's jaws clamped on his throat. Everyone was busy blocking others—no time to help, and even if they did, no chance of survival.
"I'll kill...."
Black Wind untied the leather strap from his halberd and tied it to his waist. He glared ahead, planted both hands forward, and crouched like a beast.
"Hoo!"
He exhaled roughly.
In that instant, bloodshot veins burst in his eyes, and a chilling killing intent poured from his entire body. It was so thick with the scent of blood.
This wasn't inner energy—it was Black Wind's innate aura. The sudden wave of killing intent made the charging Blood Wolves hesitate and fall back.
"Kraaaang!"
Black Wind roared ferociously and leaped forward.