276.They're coming.
The fog was thinning.
Dawn light slowly stained the Yangzhou plain.
Dew gathered on the tips of the grass caught the sun, flashed, and fell.
At that moment the wind shifted.
From the east came the long, low call of a horn.
Park Seongjin lifted his head.
"They're coming."
As his words ended, the thunder of hooves burst out of the fog.
The first thing to appear was a red banner.
On black silk, the character Shang 商 cut through the wind.
Behind it, cavalry in scaled iron armor charged in ranks, sunlight flaring on steel.
"All units—hold formation. Lower spears."
The order spread like lightning.
Hundreds of spear points moved at once.
Armor clashed, iron ringing through the wind.
The enemy cavalry accelerated.
Dust and earth rose like a cloud.
Park Seongjin steadied his breath and raised his hand.
His fingers paused in the air.
"Prepare to fire."
The archers in the rear lifted their bows as one.
Strings drew tight.
Then the wind died.
The battlefield held its breath.
"Release."
The sky darkened.
Hundreds of arrows surged upward in a single instant.
Metal tore through the air in rapid succession.
Goryeo bows, famed for their cast, carried the shafts far.
The leading enemy riders fell one after another.
Horses screamed and collapsed, dust bursting around them.
The opening of the battle flowed decisively in Goryeo's favor.
Their range was longer.
Yet Zhang Shicheng's army did not break the rhythm.
Other horses leapt over the fallen.
Shouts split the thinning fog.
"Second volley—prepare."
Park Seongjin raised his hand again.
Another rain of arrows fell.
This time the enemy's dense front visibly unraveled.
As the cavalry's mass broke, infantry pressed in through the gaps.
Spears and shields collided, a low roar shaking the field.
"Spearmen, advance. Hold the line and press."
The first rank stepped forward.
The second rank drove them on.
Iron met flesh in an unbroken sound.
Some of the enemy cavalry veered right.
"Watch the right flank!"
Lee Nosan shouted, spurring his horse.
An arrow grazed his collar as it passed.
He hurled his spear in reply.
The point punched through an enemy's shoulder.
In that instant, Park Seongjin caught movement on the left ridge.
"Left wing—concentrated fire. Maintain the shield wall."
The soldiers on the left lowered themselves together.
Enemy cavalry charged in at an angle.
The ground exploded upward.
Spears and hooves, arrows and shields tangled into one.
Park Seongjin breathed and said quietly,
"This is the fulcrum."
Beyond the haze, the sun rose slowly.
Light spilled across the battlefield.
Dust, blood, and the smell of iron mingled.
"Cavalry—flank them. Strike the rear. Advance."
The cavalry, with Jurchen riders at the core, moved.
Park Seongjin's banner snapped in the wind.
He drew his sword.
"Archers—pour fire beyond the contact line. Cut off their rear."
Pii—pik.
Pii—pik.
Signals rang across the field.
The Yangzhou plain heaved as if set ablaze.
Park Seongjin turned to the signal officer.
"Raise two beacon columns."
"Loyalty."
Soon, two lines of smoke climbed into the sky.
The day had fully broken.
The battlefield was thick with heat.
Shouts mixed with dust and blood pressed down on the air.
The density of combat grew suffocating.
Spears snapped.
Horses fell.
Human screams burst above the clangor of steel.
Park Seongjin rode along the ridge, sweeping the field with his eyes.
The left wing wavered.
The right held its line.
The enemy charge was forming a third wave.
Shield-bearers were being pushed back, boots scraping earth.
"Hold the line. Do not yield."
His voice, weighted with force, cut through the field.
Soldiers coated in blood and dust clenched their teeth.
The elite fighters were locked in at the front.
They were few, but each strike was exact.
While spearmen and shield troops fixed the enemy in place, the elites pierced the seams.
A path of blood opened.
Behind the line, archers loosed without pause.
The enemy's rear in the engagement zone began to split.
The fieldworks held.
Arrows thinned.
Spear edges dulled.
Then the flow of dust changed.
As Park Seongjin narrowed his eyes, a banner rose beyond the ridge.
Red ground, blue plum blossom.
Three hundred hardened troops sent by Lee In-jung.
Park Seongjin immediately dispatched an officer with directions.
The reinforcements plunged straight into the enemy's flank.
"The rear—attack from the rear! Reinforcements!"
Shouts tore through the enemy ranks.
Their formation shook violently.
Park Seongjin raised his sword high.
"Now. Forward—advance."
The force moved as one.
Spear points surged together.
The soldiers blocking them collapsed in sequence.
Park Seongjin ran at the front.
His blade carved arcs of light.
Armor split.
Blood sprayed.
From the left, Lee Nosan roared.
"They're breaking!"
Soldiers charged.
The reinforcements severed the flank.
Fire spread through the enemy's supply train.
Horses reared.
Men scattered.
"The main force is here."
The cry raced through the enemy camp.
Flank attack and misjudgment overlapped, and the formation collapsed.
Cavalry tangled and lost direction.
Infantry fell back without order.
Park Seongjin seized the flow.
"Spearmen, advance. Cavalry, drive in from the left."
His voice ripped the air.
Spears surged again.
The enemy center split.
In the distance, smoke from a beacon tower rose.
Black coils twisted over the Yangzhou sky.
Park Seongjin lowered his sword and steadied his breath.
His armor was smeared with blood and dust.
He lifted his eyes briefly to the sky.
Hot sunlight broke through the clouds.
From behind, Osun-gun rode up, shouting,
"General, the enemy is scattering. They're retreating."
"Do not pursue."
Park Seongjin shook his head.
"It's an orderly withdrawal. If we move now, we'll be bitten."
He looked out over the reddened field.
For a moment, every sound settled.
Only the wind carried the smell of burning.
"Hold formation. Check the wounded. Report immediately.
That's enough for today."
The soldiers nodded, gasping for breath.
Their hands trembled.
Sharpness still lived in their eyes.
Park Seongjin wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it slowly.
Then, beyond the ridge, Lee In-jung's banner appeared.
It cut through the dust, waving.
Morning light fell upon it.
Under that light, Park Seongjin let out a very small breath.
"We won today.
Now it begins."