Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 803

803. Jungle Bloodbath (9)

“It seems the Daehan warriors have figured out our trick and found a way to counter it,” Archon stated.

At Archon’s words, his subordinate officers looked at him, their faces etched with tension. Archon gazed into the jungle and continued, “Fighting head-on like warriors puts us at a clear disadvantage. So, we’ve been hiding like jaguars in this jungle, preying on them. And it seems that it has been effective, to some extent.”

“You mean…”

“Their weapons are loud and powerful, like thunder in the sky. But these days, such sounds are rarely heard. What do you think this implies?”

“…”

Archon’s subordinates answered his question with silence. In such situations, saying nothing was the basic rule of survival.

Archon smiled faintly and continued, “There must be something wrong with the Daehan warriors’ weapons. In other words, we suffered losses, losing a significant number of our warriors, but they suffered even greater losses in terms of weapon functionality.”

“Ah!”

At Archon’s words, the faces of his subordinates brightened.

Indeed, the weapons used by the enemies were as powerful as they were noisy, like thunder.

When the ambush squads were first sent out, the jungle was filled with those thunderous sounds.

However, as time passed, those noises gradually subsided, and now they were only heard occasionally.

The number of Mexica ambush squads returning was also decreasing. However, a significant number of ambush squads were still returning safely, and the Mexica replaced the consumed ambush squads and sent them out again.

In this situation, the fact that the noise from the enemies’ weapons was decreasing meant that the enemies either couldn’t use their weapons as frequently or that there was a problem with their functionality.

Realizing what Archon’s words meant, the subordinates began to rekindle their fighting spirit.

“Then, will we engage them head-on again?”

At the subordinate’s question, Archon shook his head.

“No, we will avoid engaging head-on because there might be unforeseen dangers. We will continue to move like jaguars, striking from the shadows.”

“Will you increase the number of ambush squads?”

“Something similar.”

After pausing for a moment, Archon explained his plan.

-According to the messenger’s report, 30,000 more warriors will arrive in a few days.

-We will have those 30,000 warriors guard the entrance to the jungle, and we will divide our current warriors into two groups and continue operating within the jungle.

-While the newly arrived warriors engage the Daehan warriors, we will strike the enemies’ flanks in the jungle.

One of the subordinates who heard Archon’s plan pointed out a problem.

“It’s a good trick, but will the new guys really go along with that?”

The subordinate’s point was valid.

Judging from the reduced thunderous noise, it was certain that there was a problem with the weapons used by the enemy Daehan warriors.

However, the thunderous noise was still being heard.

This meant that not all of the weapons used by the enemies had problems.

Therefore, those who engaged the enemies head-on had to be prepared for significant losses.

At the subordinate’s point, Archon smiled bitterly and replied, “Those guys will rather volunteer for that mission. Because they pride themselves on being ‘warriors’.”

At Archon’s words, the subordinates gritted their teeth.

* * *

After the first defeat, Archon, who had retreated, sent out ambush squads and requested support from other Mexica armies at the same time.

At that time, the messenger who had been to other units brought back not only the answer, ‘We will arrive as soon as possible,’ but also other replies.

It was criticism of Archon’s retreat and guerrilla warfare.

-Defeat is possible. However, retreating immediately after losing once, ambushing and raiding is not the way of a Mexica warrior.

Hearing this criticism, Archon gritted his teeth.

“Those guys who comfortably hunt sacrifices! [Referring to the Mexica practice of capturing enemies for ritual sacrifice] Not like a warrior? Ha!”

The Mexica did not always confront head-on with dignity.

In fact, battle was often the very last resort. Long before any fighting took place, Mexica disguised as merchants infiltrated the enemy’s city, divided the leadership, or spread rumors to greatly erode the opponent’s strength before deploying troops.

The Mexica only confidently charged in when dealing with weaker tribes far weaker than them.

Archon knew this well, so he was furious.

* * *

“Since those guys emphasize being warriors so much, they will naturally take the front. So, don’t worry about that part,” Archon said.

Archon, who answered confidently, muttered inwardly, ‘Or we can *make* them do it.’

Reassured by Archon’s confident appearance, the subordinates began to organize plans on how to move.

Meanwhile, in the jungle about 50 *jeong* (approximately 150m or 492 feet) away from Archon’s camp, a group of Amgeokdae [Special forces unit] members and native warriors were quietly hiding and observing the movements of the Mexica warriors.

They had come this far by tracking the returning Mexica ambush squads.

“That’s their main camp. Shall we go in and make a mess?”

At the subordinate’s words, Squad Leader Kang Seop, who was in command, shook his head slightly.

“No. We will just observe their movements and return.”

At Squad Leader Kang’s decision, the subordinate looked slightly disappointed.

“This is going to be boring.”

At the subordinate’s grumbling, Squad Leader Kang smiled and responded, “Look at those bastards. Do they look like they have time to play with fire?”

“I guess not.”

At Squad Leader Kang’s point, the subordinate, who was examining the Mexica camp with a monocle, replied in a dejected voice.

“And we didn’t bring any kindling either, did we?”

“I guess not.”

One of the Amgeokdae’s missions was to infiltrate enemy territory and inflict serious damage on the enemy’s firepower. And in the current situation where gunpowder weapons have become commonplace, the best thing to do was to blow up the enemy’s gunpowder and ammunition depot.

And for this purpose, a *Hwajeon* (火箭, fire arrow) nicknamed ‘Kindling’ was created.

* * *

Even before the Amgeokdae used it, *Hwajeon* already existed. However, Hyang modified this *Hwajeon* for the Amgeokdae.

The old *Hwajeon* was a bag of gunpowder and sulfur wrapped around a long arrow. And it was fired after lighting the fuse attached to this bag.

However, Hyang severely strengthened the power of this *Hwajeon*.

A firecracker (*爆竹*) – only the name is a firecracker, it was dynamite – made to a size and weight suitable for attaching to a long arrow was pierced into the arrow shaft like a skewer. And a conical arrowhead was attached.

Inside the conical arrowhead was a contact fuse.

In other words, when the safety pin attached to the arrowhead was removed and the bow was fired, it was designed to explode the moment it hit the target.

The problem was that it was not just simple black powder, but a firecracker was attached.

The military commanders who saw the first demonstration of the Eulshik *Hwajeon*, named after Eulshik, said to Hyang.

“Are you blowing it up instead of setting it on fire?”

“Isn’t the effect certain?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Shall we cancel it then?”

“Ah, no! How can we just throw that away!”

That’s how Eulshik *Hwajeon* was adopted as a weapon exclusively for the Amgeokdae. In the process, the army commanders all whispered like this.

“The guys who get hit by this will curse us again. Saying we don’t know the limits.”

“What can we do? That’s our imperial soldier.”

“Liking to explode is in our nature…”

Whether the army commanders whispered or not, Hyang muttered while organizing the report related to Eulshik *Hwajeon*.

“I heard that what is more scary than smallpox is video…” [Likely a reference to the destructive power of modern media or technology, drawing a parallel to the devastating impact of smallpox.]

* * *

On the third day that the Amgeokdae members and native warriors secretly ambushed and observed the Mexica camp, the Mexica reinforcements arrived.

“Sir, reinforcements are here.”

Squad Leader Kang, who was crouching on one side and resting, immediately woke up at the subordinate’s whisper and crawled forward.

As Squad Leader Kang took his place, the subordinate handed over the monocle and continued, “There are quite a few of them.”

“That’s right. Let’s see…”

While examining the newly arriving Mexica with the monocle, Squad Leader Kang checked the size of the reinforcements.

“Let’s see…. Those guys following behind seem to be porters, and the combat troops are… hmm… about 30,000? About that much.”

The subordinate next to Squad Leader Kang asked, “Will you return immediately and report?”

“Hmm….”

After pondering for a moment, Squad Leader Kang turned to the subordinate.

“Then, we will divide the group into two. You will lead half of them and return to report. I will stay here and observe a little more before returning.”

“I understand. Then I will return as soon as possible.”

“Do that. Ah! Don’t forget to put on the identification tag.”

“Yes.”

The Amgeokdae, who specialize in secretly moving and operating, left various marks to inform their own routes or information.

The slang for these marks was identification tag. It was taken from the identification tag that was attached to the legs of hunting falcons to distinguish who they belonged to.

Even while half of the personnel were returning, Squad Leader Kang kept the monocle to his eyes and examined the enemy camp.

* * *

“Good! We will take on that mission!”

The commander of the newly arrived unit listened to Archon’s plan and answered coolly.

“Warriors must be dignified! Warriors must win by fighting face to face with dignity!”

At his hearty words, Archon smiled and responded, “Then I will leave it to you. I will move immediately. It will take time to move in the jungle anyway.”

“Do that!”

Archon, who came out, smiled and looked at the place where the newly arrived commander was.

“Warriors must be dignified? What a joke….”

There was a reason for Archon’s ridicule.

Among the customs of the Mexica was to hold battles between captured warriors and Mexica warriors.

The problem was that the *Macuahuitl* [A wooden club with obsidian blades] used by the Mexica had proper obsidian blades, but those used by the prisoners had no blades.

And the same number did not face each other, but the number of Mexica warriors was much larger.

Knowing such a tradition, Archon ridiculed the reinforcement commander.

And there was another reason.

When Archon first proposed it, the reinforcement commander hesitated slightly.

“According to what our warriors have scouted, there seem to be many problems with the enemies’ weapons.”

“Problems?”

As soon as he heard Archon’s explanation, the reinforcement commander’s attitude immediately changed.

* * *

As each other’s missions were divided, the Mexica began to move immediately.

Squad Leader Kang, who examined the movement, quietly looked back at the remaining people.

“Let’s move too.”

Squad Leader Kang’s group, who were on their way back, moved quickly while maintaining secrecy.

The greatest help in their return was the identification tag left by those who had left earlier and the Amgeokdae members of other groups.

Thanks to moving while checking the identification tag, Squad Leader Kang’s group was able to quickly return and explain the situation to Yi Jing-ok.

Yi Jing-ok, who heard Squad Leader Kang’s report, stroked his thick beard and muttered, “Things are getting interesting….”