Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 174

174. Forcible Breakthrough

Yun-hyeon was marveling at Je Gal-giho’s movements when it happened.

Bang.

The Twelve Palace Lord, who was sitting opposite him, opened the carriage door.

“I want to see too.”

Clack.

With that short remark, the Twelve Palace Lord leaped out.

With a lithe movement, she lightly climbed onto the roof of the carriage.

Yun-hyeon, who was hurriedly trying to close the door, suddenly met the eyes of the Little Palace Lord sitting across from him.

‘Come to think of it,’ he realized, ‘now only Yun-hyeon, the Little Palace Lord, and Bingseol are left in the carriage.’

“Ah, now that I think about it, I should also….”

Muttering to himself, Yun-hyeon got up from the carriage.

Outside, there was a fierce wind and the sound of rough hooves, but it was much better than being watched by the Little Palace Lord and Bingseol.

“Sir.”

Just in time, Dokgo-rang reached out his hand.

When Yun-hyeon took his hand, Dokgo-rang lightly lifted him to the driver’s seat.

‘Oh.’

Yun-hyeon was inwardly impressed.

It was hard to believe they were on a shaking carriage; Dokgo-rang’s arm felt so stable.

Clatter, clatter.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Yun-hyeon narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.

The rows of shields and gleaming blades of spears looked even closer.

“Shields and spears, very organized.”

Suddenly, Je Gal-giho’s voice was heard from behind.

“I’m glad they didn’t block the road completely.”

Whether it was because there wasn’t enough time, or because there were no suitable trees nearby, the main road wasn’t blocked.

But even just shields and spears were enough to stop a carriage.

“Well, a long spear is the standard weapon for infantry, and for stopping horses. And for spears…”

Whoosh.

A rolled-up bow appeared from Je Gal-giho’s luggage.

“A bow is perfect.”

Not only the bow, but also short, thick arrows poured out.

Je Gal-giho skillfully grabbed the bow and strung it.

“Oh dear, this thing is such a pain to carry around… Hey, you’re not supposed to touch that, you know?”

The Twelve Palace Lord, who was picking up an arrow, smiled apologetically and withdrew her hand.

But her sparkling eyes couldn’t leave Je Gal-giho’s bow and arrows.

“Now, shall we give those guys a surprise?”

On the roughly shaking roof of the carriage, Je Gal-giho lowered his body, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow.

Creak.

The bow bent greatly, and the bowstring made a sound.

With his hand on the taut string that seemed about to break, Je Gal-giho muttered without any sign of strain.

“Well, let’s see if you can get hit well for my first shot.”

Thwack.

Before he could finish speaking, the bowstring shot out the arrow with fierce force.

Whirr.

The chief of Bukhochae [likely a bandit group] inadvertently turned his head at the strange sound in the wind.

And at that moment, he felt a chilling murderous intent brush past him.

“Kuaaack!”

One of his men, who was standing behind him, spat blood and collapsed.

“A, an arrow!”

A desperate cry burst out, and murmurs arose from here and there.

“What? An arrow?”

The chief turned his head sharply and looked at the charging carriage.

The figure of the person drawing the bow on the carriage was clearly visible to his eyes.

“An arrow! There’s never been anything like that before!”

The chief shouted as if he was wronged.

But no one answered his cry.

“Yes!”

Je Gal-giho, who saw one of the bandits collapsing in the distance, exclaimed.

But the Twelve Palace Lord, who was watching from the side, poured cold water on him.

“You missed.”

Je Gal-giho looked at the Twelve Palace Lord with a sullen expression.

“Anyway, it hit. It would have been great if it had hit the leader, but you shouldn’t expect such luck from the start.”

“But you aimed, didn’t you? If you aim and don’t hit, it’s a miss.”

The Twelve Palace Lord’s words were correct.

But Je Gal-giho didn’t hide his displeased expression.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter as long as someone got hit. And please stay still, miss. And put that arrow down.”

The Twelve Palace Lord was already holding an arrow in her hand.

She hid the arrow behind her back and smiled awkwardly.

“Ah. Th, this is just… Hehehe.”

“If you don’t put that arrow down quickly….”

Je Gal-giho frowned and was about to say something when Yun-hyeon gave him a quiet warning.

“That miss is the Little Palace Lord of Bukhae Ice Palace.”

“Ugh.”

Je Gal-giho groaned.

He never thought that such a young and even cute miss would be the Little Palace Lord of Bukhae [Northern Sea] Ice Palace.

He hadn’t properly greeted her yet, so he just thought she was one of the group.

Je Gal-giho immediately put on a friendly smile.

“…If you don’t put it down, I’ll just give it to you.”

“Really?”

The Twelve Palace Lord immediately perked up.

“Yes, of course. It’s expensive, but how much could it cost that I can’t give it to you? You can take more if you like.”

He was smiling, but Je Gal-giho’s heart wasn’t at ease.

The arrows that Je Gal-giho brought were different from ordinary ones; they were heavy, hard, and very expensive.

But it would be a cheap price to pay if he could make up for his slip of the tongue with that.

He could be misunderstood for threatening the Little Palace Lord of Bukhae.

“Damn it.”

Je Gal-giho nocked an arrow and drew the string as if pouring out his bubbling anger.

“Eat this!”

Whirr.

The arrow that left the string carried Je Gal-giho’s resentment and flew straight towards the bandit horde.

Thud, flutter.

The arrow stuck in the shield trembled.

The chief, who was hiding behind it, flinched and burst into anger.

“Hey! Why didn’t you say an arrow was coming!”

The subordinate who was covered in the chief’s anger looked very embarrassed.

“That’s, until now, there’s never been an arrow like that….”

Whirr.

“Kuaack!”

At the sound of the echoing scream, both the subordinate and the chief flinched and lowered their bodies.

“Ah, maybe reinforcements have joined in the meantime.”

“Reinforcements?”

The chief frowned.

“Why are they joining now of all times!”

“W, we have to hold on anyway. Once we stop the carriage… Oh no!”

The subordinate, who was stammering, said with a startled expression as if he had thought of something.

“Chief! We’re in big trouble!”

The chief was annoyed, but the subordinate continued urgently.

“If we can’t stop them here, we’re in big trouble. If someone has joined, it means they’ve achieved their goal! If we miss them this time, they might just cross the border and run away!”

Why hadn’t the Bukhae carriage left this area even while being chased by bandits?

If they were waiting for someone, and now that they had joined, there would be no reason for the carriage to remain here.

The subordinate had just realized that possibility.

“What? You’re saying they might run away?”

The chief felt a chill down his spine.

He didn’t understand all of the subordinate’s words, but one thing was clear.

If he failed this task, he would die.

The client was someone so great that the chief couldn’t even dare to look at him.

“G, get out there!”

The chief jumped up and shouted.

He had already forgotten that arrows were flying.

He shouted like crazy.

“Get out! If you don’t want to die, get out there and grab your spears!”

The chief shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What’s wrong with those guys all of a sudden?”

Je Gal-giho grumbled as the bandits, who had been busy hiding until just now, came out with spears.

“Why? It’s easier to hit them, isn’t it?”

At the Twelve Palace Lord’s voice, Je Gal-giho sighed.

“My goal isn’t to hit a lot of them.”

Je Gal-giho said in the softest voice possible.

“The goal is to threaten them and limit their actions, but if they come out like that, it’s useless. What good is it to reduce a few guys from that many?”

“Ah.”

The Twelve Palace Lord nodded as if she understood.

Then she tilted her head and asked again.

“Then what do we do now?”

“Well, what should we do?”

Je Gal-giho muttered and asked Binghon.

“What are you going to do? Mister.”

“Break through.”

Binghon’s answer was firm.

Je Gal-giho frowned.

“What about those spears?”

The long spears that protruded between the shields gleamed in the sunlight.

If they charged like this, the horses would obviously be skewered like skewers.

But Binghon was resolute.

“Jump over them.”

Je Gal-giho’s eyebrows twitched.

“Jump over that? Does this mister think the carriage is some kind of flying bird?”

Binghon glared at Je Gal-giho.

But this time, Je Gal-giho didn’t back down either.

“Let’s say we jump over it, but what about the carriage? At this rate, it’s bound to overturn! Everyone will die if we’re not careful!”

Je Gal-giho was openly annoyed.

It wasn’t that the carriage was running so fast that it was dangerous.

If they collided with the bandit horde like this, it was obvious that it would overturn.

But Binghon’s answer was still cold.

“Go inside if you’re scared.”

“Even if we go inside, we’ll be seriously injured at worst if the carriage overturns!”

But Binghon didn’t answer anymore.

Je Gal-giho looked back at Yun-hyeon.

“Secretary Yun, are you going to leave it like this?”

Yun-hyeon gave a bitter smile.

“Well, I don’t think we’ll die….”

Dokgo-rang would protect Yun-hyeon, Bingseol would protect the Little Palace Lord, and Binghon would protect the Twelve Palace Lord.

Je Gal-giho also had the ability to take care of himself, so no one would be seriously injured or die.

The carriage would overturn, though.

“Hoo-eoo.”

Je Gal-giho let out a sound that was neither a sigh nor a lament.

“Damn it, I have no choice. A thirsty man has to dig a well [meaning: if you want something done, you have to do it yourself].”

Je Gal-giho, who was grumbling, rummaged through his luggage that he had put aside.

Clatter.

What appeared from the luggage were two black tubes about the size of a bamboo joint.

The Twelve Palace Lord, who was watching, sparkled her eyes, and Yun-hyeon also looked at him with curious eyes.

“I shouldn’t be showing my secret weapon so carelessly.”

Even while grumbling, Je Gal-giho hung the black tubes on the front of the arrows.

“Hey, mister.”

Je Gal-giho said to Binghon.

“This will only be for a very short time, so you have to pass through in the meantime. Got it? Don’t get scared and stop the carriage or let go of the reins.”

Binghon frowned but nodded slightly.

“Tsk. To use this here already.”

Je Gal-giho grumbled and took something out of his pocket.

Crack.

Yun-hyeon clearly saw sparks flying from his hand.

Je Gal-giho quickly brought it to the black tube attached to the arrow.

Fsssh.

A small flame began to burn from the black tube as if there was a fuse attached.

Flames bloomed in the two black tubes, and Je Gal-giho immediately put one in his mouth and hung the other on the bowstring.

Creak.

Je Gal-giho, with his large physique, lowered his posture and drew the bowstring.

And at the same time as his eyes flashed, the string rang.

Thwack.

As soon as the arrow flew, Je Gal-giho nocked another arrow.

Thwack, whirr.

In an instant, two arrows cut through the wind and flew away.

Towards the wall of shields and long spears blocking the main road, the two arrows rushed in, dragging a small trail of flames like a tail.

And the next moment.

Kaboom.

The explosion swept over the main road.

“Aaaargh!”

The bandits screamed in panic.

Before the scream could fade away, the second explosion erupted.

KABOOOOM.

The deafening explosion and thick smoke covered the main road.