Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 429

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 429
Horses thunder across the plains.
Each time a spear longer than a man’s body streaked past, a soldier’s neck was harvested like fruit.
Following the galloping cavalry, a rain of arrows poured down.
When the black deluge of arrows blotted out the sun, the plains inevitably bloomed with crimson.
The canvas painted in human bodies resembled abstract art.
“Khan! Protect us!”
The war horses used by the Sukshin tribe had thick legs and bodies a full head larger than ordinary steeds.
When those horses charged in unison, the earth itself trembled.
Boom, boom, boom—
Following the drum’s rhythm, the archers in the rear exchanged their arrows.
The first volley consisted of metal arrows; the next, bone arrows.
Metal arrows had high penetrating power, ideal for piercing armored Middle Kingdom Men.
Bone arrows, meanwhile, could fly farther and strike at rear formations.
Each Sukshin archer’s quiver held over a hundred arrows packed tightly, with countless varieties of additional arrows secured behind the saddle.
“Fire!”
Bone arrows took flight, traversing distances exceeding two hundred zhang—roughly six hundred meters—and tore through enemy lines.
Ping, ping, ping, ping—!
The maximum effective range of Hwa Empire archers was barely one hundred zhang, roughly three hundred meters.
Border soldiers fundamentally learned dantian breathing techniques and archery.
Different from Gangho masters, yet moving with the same motions, maintaining the same formations, drawing the same parabolic arcs as they unleashed their arrows.
But the bows of the nomadic peoples, centered on the Sukshin tribe, easily overwhelmed them.
“Aaaagh, kill them! Kill them! These mad bastards must die!”
White Insignia screamed, consumed by frenzy.
An arrow embedded in a vital point spurted blood.
All a military doctor could do here was help them die without pain.
The empire’s archers fell from their mounts like autumn leaves.
“Our arrows won’t reach!”
“Mother, moooother!”
A maddened archer clung to the skull of an already-dead comrade.
Between the bone arrows, arrows infused with true qi struck home.
These were the real weapons.
Merely touching their targets, they split spines and drove into the earth, sowing seeds of death.
“Retreat, retreat!”
The commander’s cry echoed hollowly.
Then the drum’s rhythm changed.
Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom—
In that instant, every Sukshin archer exchanged their arrows.
Iron bolts!
Bang!
An impatient arrow, unable to wait for the commander’s orders, pierced the earth.
The general pulled the arrow free.
“This… field fortification technique…? Could it be that ‘that place’ has already been occupied?”
In that instant, a shadow fell over the general’s head.
A cloud?
He lifted his eyes.
Iron arrows filled his entire field of vision.
And those arrows pierced through his sight and embedded themselves in the ground.
Thud-thud-thud!
Like an ant crushed beneath a thumb, the general’s limbs were grotesquely mangled, staining the earth crimson.
Boom, boom-boom, boom—
The war drums changed their rhythm.
There were still many arrows.
So many arrows remained.
* * *
Danmok Fortress, located on the northern border of Shanxi Province.
A fortress city where trade with nomads occurred—a place that functioned like a bridge connecting two cultures, a true meeting ground of civilizations.
There, a great military camp had now been established.
My Master opened the window.
[Hope, what do you sense first?]
This was instruction as a scholar.
Practical application.
I closed my eyes.
The first thing I sensed was the pungent smell of horse manure, and surprisingly, there was little scent of blood.
In contrast, the smell of alcohol was so strong it permeated everything.
[The scent of defeat, Master.]
[What makes you think so?]
[The surviving horses returned in haste, so they defecated here. The lack of blood scent means there was no time to care for the wounded while evacuating, so they either abandoned the injured or, in the worst case, suffered such a catastrophic defeat that they couldn’t even recover the bodies.]
[And the alcohol scent?]
[In the face of defeat, the general likely sent alcohol, fearing the soldiers would flee.]
[Yet in such circumstances, one should fortify the spirit—why would the general distribute alcohol?]
[It means our forces have suffered a shock of that magnitude.]
[Do you believe we have suffered a catastrophic defeat?]
I nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
[Yes.]
[Then we are in grave trouble.]
Jegalling transmitted his words leisurely, as if speaking of another’s affairs.
The Jegal Family’s Two Scholars never panicked.
Only the teachings passed down since their ancestors’ time weighed upon them steadily.
It was like a fish meeting water, yet I was a fish who did not wish to enter those waters.
* * *
There was no need to venture into the realm of military dogs—all wars leave their scent behind.
When one examines interviews and memoirs from American soldiers who experienced the Vietnam War, it’s said that they identified the enemy’s presence by the distinctive smell of fish sauce that Vietnamese soldiers frequently consumed.
Similarly, the Vietnamese likely had their own methods of detecting Americans, including the aroma of staple foods particular to that culture.
From such simple things to the smell of gunpowder, blood, and flesh.
The odor of oil and the hint of gas.
Battlefields leave behind countless scents that carry information.
In the same manner, the Jegallim Family taught all their strategists how to read the wind, and naturally, they also taught the method of extracting information from the scents of the battlefield.
Baek Rin-ui-seon wanted to teach his disciple everything he knew, and I had to learn how to survive as a strategist amid the deluge of information.
[Still, don’t pretend to know more than you do. Learning and being appointed are two different matters.]
There was no need to wait for Gae Pa Jo Sa’s three visits of earnest request.
If Eun Wang-ya had made up her mind to bring me along, I would simply have to go with a leash around my neck.
Many military tents had already been pitched outside Danmok Fortress.
When Ju Wang arrived, the fortress lord of Danmok and General Yuk Heon, who was responsible for this war, came out personally to greet them.
Watching from a distance, I thought to myself.
‘Indeed, civil servants live and die by protocol. Even soldiers cannot escape it.’
“Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!”
“Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!”
All the soldiers raised their spears in salute to Ju Wang.
Ju Wang responded with an indifferent expression.
“This isn’t important right now, is it? I’m certain I told you not to make busy soldiers do this sort of thing.”
Yuk Heon replied.
“However, Your Highness, to neglect the proper courtesy due to you would be tantamount to committing an act of disrespect toward the Emperor.”
“…He wouldn’t care about that.”
With those words, he promptly turned and headed straight to his own command tent.
“See you next time.”
He did greet our group.
That somehow felt more burdensome.
The Baekrin Medical Guild was placed under the guidance of a commander named Jeon Dan.
“I am White Insignia Jeon Dan. I’ve been assigned to guide the members of the Baekrin Medical Guild from now on! If there’s anything inconvenient, please let me know at any time.”
‘At least from the rank of White Insignia, one is appointed as a commander.’
In any case, Jeon Dan led me to a place called the Murim Corps—a unit that gathered together Gangho warriors.
The Baekrin Medical Guild’s tent was already prepared.
“You can unpack your belongings here and set up the treatment center.”
“Understood. Um, are all these people Gangho warriors?”
Since the number of the Murim Corps was quite substantial, I asked.
“Yes, that’s correct. The remaining Murim Corps will be deployed as a special mobile unit.”
‘Hmm, it’s awkward for me to say this as a martial artist myself, but they’re sending Gangho warriors who don’t even understand military discipline or proper strategy and tactics into ambushes and surprise attacks.’
Considering their enormous egos, that approach makes sense.
From the military’s perspective, Gangho warriors are irreplaceable yet frustratingly difficult to use—like a Windows system, in other words.
I know updates are a pain, but I can’t exactly abandon them and switch to DOS or Linux, can I?
If I’d had the chance to study such things, my career would have taken a different path.
And so Eun Wang-ya, with tears in her eyes, installed Gangho version 10.
I was prepared for the orthodox and heterodox sects to clash, causing resources to become hopelessly tangled.
I could only hope that the Baekrin Medical Guild and Hwaju Medical Institute, bundled together, would function as disk defragmentation and antivirus tools.
Well then, would this Dandanseong 11 run properly?
‘There’s already a Hwaju Medical Institute in the neighboring tent.’
The Hwaju Medical Institute was already bustling with activity.
They were treating patients as they arrived.
The captured heterodox sect doctors couldn’t bring themselves to mention they belonged to the Black Flame Medical Guild, so they sat with somewhat sullen expressions.
For some reason, ever since someone had cut off a sheep’s head and started boiling it upside down, no soldiers went near that area.
Whiiiing—
Flies were swarming around the severed sheep’s head.
In the corner, they’d built an altar and were conducting some kind of ritual.
‘…So the Black Flame Medical Guild does this sort of thing too.’
The Hwaju Medical Institute’s doctors tried their best not to look toward the heterodox sect’s area, and I too made an effort not to meet their eyes.
I was already worried about hygiene, and Oh Dok-mun’s nightmare came to mind.
‘Ah, it was cooking.’
Fortunately, they’d begun boiling the severed sheep’s head in a large cauldron.
A foul stench wafted over.
Still, from a doctor’s perspective, at least they’re consuming it and disposing of it properly.
The sheep’s head is relatively fresh by this era’s standards, too (?).
I asked my Master a question.
“Since the Hwaju Medical Institute is working so hard, couldn’t we just treat the Gangho practitioners?”
“There’s no need to phrase wishes as questions, Hope. We’ll probably have to treat everyone who comes.”
“But wouldn’t there be doctors sent by the imperial court?”
“Even if there are, they’re likely understaffed too.”
…That’s probably true.
Still, my hope circuits are firing up, trying to make something work.
“Well… I’m relieved that the state is providing all the medicine and setting fair prices.”
“Yes. The supplies we brought are plentiful, and additional provisions should arrive soon, so we’ll manage somehow.”
Whether Eun Wang-ya had issued special orders or not, the land allocated to the Baekrin Medical Guild was quite spacious.
I’d mentioned the Hwaju Medical Institute was nearby, but the distance was enough that we couldn’t hear each other’s voices.
I crouched down and grabbed some soil.
“Looking at the earth veins, we can barely manage to establish a healing formation.”
“The geomancer in the military camp must have helped.”
[But if the fire attacks continue, the nearby earth veins will dry up, making it difficult to maintain the formation, Master.]
[Yes, that’s right. You’ve grasped it well.]
The scents I detected carried tar, gunpowder, and oil.
In this world, firearms were far inferior weapons compared to bows.
It cannot contain inner force, nor can it become a chain reaction. Moreover, it breaks easily and frequently explodes.
‘However, if you load it into a catapult and fire it, that’s a different story.’
Just take Jincheoneui, the TNT of Gangho—it’s already a formidable weapon.
What if you load such a thing into a catapult and fire it at an encircled camp?
I spoke.
[I don’t know who the strategist in the military camp is, but the tactics have failed spectacularly.]
[Indeed. We’ve lost many soldiers. Even the wounded coming in now represent only a fraction compared to the total casualties.]
This is the military camp we’ve fallen back to and established.
Thinking that far, I activate my hope circuit once more. Beep beep beep!
[Master, even though we failed this time, surely the strategist learned a lesson! Will they waste it again?]
[Hehehehe, Hope. We may be in the rear, but if the front lines get destroyed just two more times, the nomads will surely feel firsthand what kind of destructive power their catapults possess.]
Damn it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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