Chapter 110: Butterfly effect (Battle)
The long and boring journey continued. They could not stop, but they couldn’t speed up either. This plus the summer’s humid hot weather increased their discomfort. People began ranting and complaining left and right. The leaders and mercenaries tried to keep the peace within the group, but it was not easy with so many people.
‘This is not good. We might break down from within.’
Joonbum frowned. The enemy from the outside was dangerous, but people complaining from within were equally so.
“River!”
“It’s the Corain River!”
People shouted at the sight of the river. It was spotted at a distance over the Corain Plains. The river was very shallow, just around knee-depth, but the water flowed fast. With a lot of rocks beneath it, it created very clean water. It was a perfect place to rest along the river.
The carriages began to speed up so they could get to the river faster.
“We will camp here! Prepare the camps!”
Everyone began preparing below a huge tree by the river.
“NICE!”
“This will be nice for a change.”
“Give the horses some water!”
“Do work first! We rest after!”
Everyone began to work fast. The thought of being able to rest with cool water and shade sped up their movements.
“Yay!”
“This is so good!”
People who took the reins of the horses to lead them to drink were the first to move into the water.
“It’s so cool!”
“So nice.”
They began to take turns diving into the water. Some took off their shirts and some just dived in. All of the workers seemed to be happy to cool down by the river.
‘I guess we’ll take a few days to rest here.’
Joonbum understood why everyone wanted to rest here.
‘But, was I wrong about it?’
Joonbum scouted with his night-vision goggles every night to spot any suspicious activities, but he couldn’t find anyone.
‘I guess it doesn’t have to be at night.’
It was a wide-open plain. It would be easy to just drop some messages on the roads and nobody would notice.
‘I will look around more when I wake up.’
“Sir, are you not going in?”
Daryl and Louise asked when they returned from watering the horses. They were wet from also diving into the river. The horses and Galim began grazing nearby.
“I will. Prepare the tea while I’m gone.”
“Yes, sir.”
He took off his leather armor and a stinky smell pierced his nose.
‘How do you manage to keep going like this for days?’
Joonbum was used to taking a shower every day.
“Wow.”
The water flowing through the rocks was cold.
‘It’s not like the water from the creeks…’
The water was not icy cold, but it was enough to wash away all the heat. Joonbum submerged himself.
‘It’s dangerous.’
He organized his thoughts as he bobbed up and down in the water multiple times. His thoughts came down to one word: danger.
‘This is really dangerous. They will also have the same thoughts as me. They will gather the way we’re gathering. They will scout out, with or without a spy, and ambush us on horses when we are most unaware…’
Joonbum began thinking clearly.
‘How long would it take for them to charge in from 2,000 feet away on horses?’
It would take them only a minute. A minute after their appearance would mean that the thieves on horses would be running rampant on the campgrounds, killing everything in their path.
“Get that fish!”
“Lure it here!”
“Hit it!”
Men who were half-naked were eagerly fishing in the river.
“I caught it! Get more! There are lots!”
“Get the basket!”
They began catching all the fish they could find. The basket was soon filled with fresh fish.
‘Nature here sure is clean.’
A bonfire was started and people began cooking stew and baking fish.
‘This is nice.’
The stew tasted good — not too strong, but just right to eat for lunch.
‘We should be prepared for an ambush.’
The sun was going down and the carriages were preparing to move.
“We should send a scouting party.”
“Why? We can see well enough.”
Ress was confused by Joonbum’s words, but Henderson quickly understood what Joonbum was talking about.
“Is it because of the thieves on horses?”
Joonbum nodded. Ress and Henderson were men of reason — they agreed with what Joonbum said and cooperated with him in sending out five scouting parties.
“There are some suspicious groups ahead.”
It was only a few days later that the group of thieves was found by the scouts. The merchants stopped moving immediately.
“Form a defensive formation!”
“Move the carriages to the front! Prepare your weapons!”
Everyone began preparing for an attack. They moved the horses and Durans to the back and formed a defensive line with the carriages. After a few hours, the group of thieves showed up.
“Thieves!”
“They’re here!”
The thieves moved in slowly. There were more than what was reported before, about 150 of them were on horses and 200 others were on foot. The total number exceeded 350. Not only that, men on the front line were wearing full-body armor, almost equivalent to that of a knight. A few of those men rode ahead of the group and stopped.
“So, you’re done preparing? Hahaha!”
A bald man taunted in a loud voice and laughed. All the thieves behind him also laughed.
“W-who are you?!”
“I am Gilent the Baldy! Do any of you know me? Leave half of the carriages and I will let you pass. Or it will be your heads that I will take instead!”
“What?!”
A merchant who boldly shouted, flinched and backed away.
“If you want half, we can’t cooperate with you!”
Ress shouted, but his thin voice only made the thieves laugh.
“Who is that girl?! Stop meddling in men’s business, GIRL!”
“Take his clothes off!”
“Haha!”
The merchants grimaced as the thieves kept taunting them.
“Hear this! Run if you want to live! I bet none of you want to die for your master! Your puny defense will mean nothing to us! We have 150 horses! I will spare those who run! Don’t waste your life over something that isn’t yours!”
‘He’s not a thief!’
Joonbum glared at him. Gilent certainly didn’t look like a thief. The clothes he was wearing were awkward and he was overreacting to hide the fact that he was acting. Ress and Henderson seemed to realize that as well. Henderson, who had a thick and loud voice, shouted to stop his workers from hearing their words.
“Don’t be fooled! You liars! I know you will have our men flee and kill them from behind! Survivors from the other merchant groups have already told us this truth! Don’t think you can fool us with your lies! We are prepared to fight until the end! You will not return alive if you attack!”
The crowded booed at the shout and Gilent frowned.
“You all really want to die?”
Gilent raised his hand and the thieves shouted in unison. Joonbum, who had just finished preparing, rode out on his Galim, Nite.
“Open it!”
“B-but!”
Daryl and Louise were shivering in fear.
“OPEN UP or we’ll all die! FOCUS!”
“Yes, sir!”
Daryl ran up in front and opened up a road for Joonbum to pass. His armor shone in the sun as he rode out. He was holding onto a lance that measured ten feet long and he was fully armed.
A path opened up between the carriages and a large, dark blue Galim trotted out. There was a fully-armed, fully-suited knight with weapons riding on it.
“What? A knight? Why is there a knight in the group?”
“What’s going on here?”
“Who is he?!”
