"*What shall it be, your Highness?*" General Akai taunted, a smirk playing on his lips. "*Shall you meet your end by a spear? An arrow through the back of your skull? Or perhaps blood loss from the brutal severing of your right hand?*"
Young-Sik grimaced as the whip bit into his wrist, the pain searing through him. "At this rate, my right hand will be cut off," he thought, glancing to his left to see the spear creeping ever closer to his throat. "I'm losing my grip on the spear!" The spear wielder pushed and came closer sneering at Young-Sik
"*Let me help you decide,*" General Akai sneered, releasing an arrow hitting the prince's right shoulder, followed by another, hitting the left shoulder. Young-Sik flinched from the pain, nearly losing his grip on the spear "*I wager you only have a few moments left*" The General exclaimed, taunting the prince.
"I won't last much longer! Unless?" Pain surged through Young-Sik, blood started to drip from his right wrist, yet he maintained his focus, angling his sword menacingly at the spear wielder. With a fierce yank, he drew the spear towards him, swiftly turning his head to the left to narrowly escape the lethal thrust. The force of his pull combined with the enemy's advance sent the foe reeling, exposing him to Young-Sik's grasp. In one fluid motion, the prince grabbed the spear wielder by the arm and yanked him towards his sword, driving his blade deep into the enemy's mouth, silencing him for good.
With a swift hand, he grabbed the loose spear and with a seamless strike, Young-Sik plunged the spearhead into the throat of the whip bearer, extinguishing his life in an instant. The prince inhaled deeply, locking eyes with General Akai, whose gaze was filled with terror and despair.
General Akai unleashed a storm of arrows, each one aimed with deadly precision at the prince, roaring, "*You killed my sons, DIE YOU FILTHY CHIONG DOG!!*"
Young-Sik advanced with a calm demeanor, pulled out the arrows embedded in his shoulders, and effortlessly deflected and evaded the lethal projectiles as if they were mere playthings. Panic gripped General Akai as he stumbled backward, dread consuming him.
Desperately, the general reached for another arrow from his quiver, only to find it empty. Turning back to confront the prince, his heart nearly stopped beating as he found Young-Sik mere inches away. With a sinister grin, the prince drove his sword through the general's lower jaw, piercing through the top of his skull. General Akai lingered just long enough to hear the prince's chilling words: "*This is how a Chiong dog devours a bear! *"
Young-Sik then twisted his sword with a brutal flick of his arm and cleaved the general's face in two. Blood gushed from the horrific wound, and General Akai fell backward like a lumbering tree, his lifeless form crashing to the earth with a thunderous thud.
The prince breathes deeply, after emerging victorious against certain death, He turns around when he hears his name being chanted repeatedly "Kim Young-Sik, Kim Young-Sik, Kim Young-Sik, Kim Young-Sik!"
The prince, swaying slightly, makes his way to his victorious troops. Captain Gi is the first to step forward, offering his right hand in salute and in support of the staggering prince, which the prince accepts with a firm grip. Placing a hand on the captain's shoulder, Young-Sik acknowledges, "You've done remarkably, Captain." His appreciation for Captain Gi's valor is evident.
"You weren't too shabby yourself, Your Highness," Captain Gi replied with a playful smirk. The soldiers, filled with excitement, hoisted the prince aloft, their voices rising in a chorus of his name.
A few days later, the capital was alive with reports of Prince Young-Sik's achievements in his efforts to push back the invaders. Jin-Ri couldn't contain her gratitude towards the gods for ensuring Young-Sik's safety. With her eyes shut and hands united in a fervent prayer, she called upon the celestial forces to protect her dear prince. After offering her morning prayers, Jin-Ri stepped out of Young-Sik's residence heading to the King's residence to perform her duties as one of King Man-Ju's handmaiden.
Later that day, while the King was taking his usual royal stroll around the palace grounds, Jin-Ri was flabbergasted by the unexpected detour. "Why on earth are we here? The King never wanders near Prince Young-Sik's place! What's the scoop?" she pondered, scratching her head in confusion.
"Hong-Jin-Ri!" The King suddenly called out, making her jump like a startled bunny.
Her eyebrows shot up like little rockets. "Did he just say my name?" she asked the other court maidens, pointing at herself like she was in a game of charades.
"Yes, his Highness did!" one of the maidens chimed in. "So, hurry up!" another urged, as they all gave Jin-Ri a gentle shove toward the King.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there! Watch the dress, ladies! It's not a wrestling match!" Jin-Ri squeaked, flailing her arms in protest. After being unceremoniously pushed out of the line, she nervously glanced around and flashed a goofy grin.
"Step forward," the King commanded, his voice as calm as a cat napping in the sun.
Jin-Ri, fidgeting with her hair like it was a tangled ball of yarn, shuffled toward the King.
"You all can leave now!" The King spun around, only to spot Jin-Ri sneaking off like a little mouse. "Hey, where do you think you're scampering off to?" he called, halting her in her tracks.
Jin-Ri giggled like a kid caught with a cookie jar, "But you said we could leave your Highness!"
Man-Ju scratched his head, looking puzzled. "I was talking about them, not you, silly!"
"Oh" Jin-Ri replied as she stood straight and her head bowed slightly
Jin-Ri stood nervously and silently as the King walked around her, scrutinizing her appearance from head to toe. "Tell me court maiden Hong, what has the prince given you to make you faithfully loyal to him?" The King asked out of the blue, catching Jin-Ri off guard.
"He...never gave me anything your highness" She answered the King
"Then why do you show such loyalty to someone without anything in return" The King asked again, more puzzled with the court maiden's answer than he was before.
"Because Your Highness...he earned my loyalty, he gave me a reason to trust him" Jin-Ri explained to the King.
"What reason would that be?" King Man-Ju continued to ask, determined to find out why the court maiden was fiercely faithful to his brother
"He puts his trust in me" Jin-Ri simply explained "But... it's not just that, there are other things that I see in him that made me realize he is a man worthy of my devotion" she added
"Am I such a man? A man worthy of such devotion?" The King asked while he stared off into the distance
"Any person would be a fool not to put their faith in you, your Highness" She answered eloquently
Chuckling, King Man-Ju turned his head to the court maiden "Your words are sweet to listen to, but I already know that I am not my brother"
"Your Highness, if I may ask, why need to ask about my loyalty to the prince?" Jin-Ri curiously inquired of the King
The King only smiled "You may call the others" Jin-Ri bowed and with haste to call the King's entourage, who were all standing some distance away.
"What qualities does that brat have that I don't?" Man-Ju asked himself, his gaze still fixed on the quirky court maiden, he knows has captured his brother's affection.
The Chiongsun-Aranes conflict stretched on, where weeks have turned to five months and the war has taken a heavy toll on both invaders and defenders. Countless lives civilian and military have been lost because of the relentless Aranese war efforts. The prince and his generals convene to think of a new way of stopping the invading war machine.
"Your Highness, the relentless strain of battle is taking its toll on our forces, and I must speak candidly—their morale is beginning to dip. For every victory we secure and every invader we crush, the enemy responds by sending even more soldiers to the fray." A general expressed his concerns to the prince
"Conventional warfare, will not win us this war. We would probably run out of soldiers first" Young-Sik exclaimed while staring at the map, he pondered for a while, trying to find something hidden.
"I received a report from one of our naval vessels, It was only recently that they noticed this maneuver," Said the Navy general
This piqued the interest of everyone in the command tent "What maneuver would that be?" The prince curiously asked
"The enemy ships would position themselves as if to engage our barricade...but at the last moment they would withdraw" The Navy general reports "It happened so many times, that our vessels no longer react, it was then that a sailor noticed..."
"Some ships diverting from the main group!" Prince Young-Sik interrupted, finishing what the navy general was about to say. He then rummaged through the numerous maps on the table. Until he found a more detailed map of the coastline above the western corridors.
"The sailor? Did he mention in which direction the diverging ships went?" The prince asked the general, the urgency in his tone was undeniable.
"Northeast your Highness, according to the sailor there was a total of five ships" Young-Sik examined the map of the western coastline. Suddenly he started to tap on the map
Captain Gi asked the prince eager to know what he deduced "Did you find something your Highness?"
"This area here" he points to a coastline a day's travel from the corridors "This area is a dense mangrove forest that extends about a hundred meters or so from the coast. It is a perfect place to hide a few ships." He explained
"What does that mean your highness?" The army general asked, his confusion evident in his voice
Captain Gi immediately understood the significance of this finding "It's their supply line!"
"Exactly!" Young-Sik exclaimed "They knew they can't always synchronize supply drops with troop deployment. So they need a safe area to drop their supplies. Those ships challenging our barricades are diversions. It was just by pure luck that we have found about it" the prince explained.
"What are your orders, your Highness?" The naval general enthusiastically asked
"Do nothing" The prince grinned
The officer's jaws dropped to the floor from what the prince said "W-Wha...excuse me? Nothing?"
"Exactly! If we start to harass their supply drops, they will only change it to a different location and we might never find it again. We let them drop their supplies and we let them lead us to their network." The prince explained with a grin
"So how are we going to do this, Your Highness?" Captain Gi asked eagerly waiting for whatever plans came out of the prince's mind
"So how are we going to do this, Your Highness?" Captain Gi asked eagerly waiting for whatever plans came out of the prince's mind
Young-Sik looked at the navy general "Continue with our ship's usual maneuvers, react as we usually would, we got to sell this, we have to convince the enemy that we are watching their moves the way we usually do."
He then shifted to the army general "Select fifty of your best soldiers and assign them under Captain Gi's command. Continue blocking the corridor and continue to patrol the western coastlines, however, when it comes to the supply drops, I want you to discreetly let them through."
Finally, the prince addressed Captain Gi "Captain...I want you and those fifty men to follow and observe their supply runs mark every route they take, I want you to find out what they are carrying and where they are carrying it. Remember every time that cargo changes hands, and mark where their destination is"
"What happens after we memorize everything, your Highness? We attack the supply runs?" Captain Gi asked
Young-Sik shook his head "We ambush the ones who are supposed to receive those supplies and we take them for ourselves"