When I said I would take the position of the head, porters and messengers were very surprised.
Jang Liang-gi also looked blank for a while as if he was speechless.
“No?”
“As it is custom no to change a general during a war, it’s a rule that the head cannot be changed during delivery.”
“I’ve heard that when a leader doesn’t do his job well and puts a messenger or a porter at risk, the head can be changed.”
“More than half of the messengers agree, and it’s possible if one of them wins the head in a battle.”
“That’s a shame. We have not enough people.”
Jang Liang-gi’s lips trembled with my attitude that I could beat him in a battle if the condition was enough.
“How about delegating the authority of the leader to me for three days? That’s possible under the authority of the head when you’re sick or feeling sick.”
This was what I wanted from the start. No more, no less, just three days of having authority.
Jang Liang-gi rolled his eyes for a while to grasp my intentions.
But in the end, he would accept it.
He would want to see me get beaten down by a bandit somehow because he had got angry.
“If you get hurt during the ceremony, I will not survive the head of Dang and the Lord.”
“To be clear, I have been stubborn in this fight, and I have all the responsibility that comes from it. Is this enough?”
“If your will is so, then I can’t help accept it”
“Thank you.”
As I turned around, I could see a frozen look of Namgoong So-so and Ga Bul-yeom. For a moment, the voice of Gan suddenly rang out in my head.
[Do you have to do it?]
It was a transmitting voice. A skill that could only be practiced for at least 30 years.
I nodded because I couldn’t do it.
[I can’t help it. If you find it too hard, shout ‘Ga!’]
This meant that he would jump in in case of an emergency.
I was not a fool.
When I saw that Ga Bul-yeom, not the subordinate of Lee Gap-ryong nor Lee Eul-ryong, suddenly had joined the support team, I realized that it was the consideration of the General Head of Messengers.
In all probability, he would have been tasked with protecting me.
But now it was not necessary.
I went to the vacant space having the eyes of the people in my body.
The new bandit maybe got the signal from Jang Liang-gi, I could not see him at all.
No wonder. There was no rookie from the start.
All sorts of bandits came into my eyes.
A man with a long sword, an ax, a man with a blade scar on his face, a man with a tiger tattoo on his neck, and so on.
Everyone had a strong smell of blood.
In the meantime, there were weak ones.
Those who were likely to be weak and low in rank.
I passed them all and pointed at the man leaning on a large rock with a languid look.
“There, big head!”
The audience quickly became calm as if they had poured cold water on them.
The pointed man looked around a couple of times and asked back, pointing his finger at him.
“Me?”
“Yes, you. Get out!”
He tilted his head once, then stood up.
He was a giant like an old tree.
He had an iron mace of 5 feet, which had a mass of iron as big as a child’s head at the tail end.
A big body and a face full of scars, and the ferocious sound from the iron mace. Those rather surpassed that of Yeom Wang-do, the head of bandits.
Thirty bandits in the den were dumbfounded and hold their sides with laughter.
On the other hand, a low moan came from our camp.
Because I chose the strongest one.
Grrr Grrr.
He drew his iron mace to the floor.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Are you an idiot? You’ll have to introduce yourself.”
“I’m called Ox Devil. I’m an underboss of Daebyul Branch.”
“The leader is Yeom Wang-do and the number two is Ox Devil. It seems to me that every devil lives together in such a small den. I’m Lee Jeong-ryong. I’m a new messenger of the Great Cheonryong Pyoguk.”
I pushed him roughly, speaking informally from the beginning.
In such ceremonies, people usually used bad words and ridiculed that they could not usually do. It was a war of nerves.
The audience watched it for that kind of fun.
“You are blowing your own horn.”
“The thunder cries before the lightning strikes.”
“May I ask why you pointed at me?”
“Originally, the ox head is the best for the sacrifice.”
“You’re a brute!”
Ox Devil flew in, pulling up the iron mace.
I felt as great a force as a big body.
I felt like my head was going to be smashed just by a touch of it.
But it was only for the average warriors.
Although he had great strength, his arms and legs were so big that his trajectory was large, and the gap was big as his trajectory was large.
He was simply the best opponent for me, who could slow the time flowing.
On the other hand, I was incompatible with Ox Devil.
It was the same reason that a tiger ate a wild boar, but died after being bitten by a poisonous snake, which was just the prey of the wild boar.
The prediction was right. Once my skill was activated, the weak point of Ox Devil grew even bigger.
I pounded the sword vigorously against the surging iron mace.
Bam!
My wrists were sore with a dull sound.
Without knowing when I missed the sword, it flew in the air, spinning round and round.
At the same time, his iron fist was attacking me!
I twisted my back a little bit and let his fists slip right under my nose.
Then I quickly took two big steps back.
At that moment, the mace that soared into the air fell sharply toward my left shoulder.
It was truly terrifying.
Without my skill of slowing time, my shoulder would have been smashed.
But I had the ability, and I could avoid his mace easily.
Bang!
The rock, which was behind me, broke down by splashing sharp shards.
Unbelievably, I was busy escaping and running away from the first round of the battle because I missed my sword at the beginning.
At least I would have looked like that to Ox Devil.
Chance of victory called carelessness and carelessness made a person who was angry to do an excessive attack.
“You rat!”
Ox Devil approached a big step and dropped the mace from top to bottom.
It was a blow that hit me with all his might to speed up.
Stuck!
The mace was plunged deep into the mud where I had just been on my feet.
Thanks to this, the upper body of Ox Devil was also lowered for a short time.
It was time.
“Die!”
I threw myself and tugged at Ox Devil’s hair with both hands.
I kicked his face with my knee vigorously.
Beep!
A heavy blow was delivered with a sharp sound.
The angry Ox Devil was about to raise his upper body.
I pulled his hair forward, knocked down his center of gravity, and then hit his face again with my knee.
Beep!
One more time with the same movement.
Beep!
Once more.
There was a saying, “Saryang Balcheongeun.”
It meant moving a thousand-ton thing with four pounds of force.
I didn’t mean it, but that was exactly what happened.
This afternoon, Namgoong So-so told me after teaching me the twelve important blood spots.
[If you’re not sure, just focus on your face. All important blood spots are around eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, so it’s all deadly if you take a rough shot and hit anywhere.]
When I did this three times, it didn’t work anymore.
“Ahhhhh!”
Ox Devil screamed and shook me away.
He strove to find me, was blinded by blood around his eyes.
I quickly approached and kicked the back of his knee vigorously.
Puck!
With a dull sound, he fell on his knees.
“Done. Hang in there!”
I threw myself at an oblique angle.
Then, with my right elbow, I kicked off the blood spot on his temple.
Bam!
One of the important vital spots learned from Namgoong So-so was that if I hit this place, his brain would have shuddered, and even the elephant would have fainted.
Three facial blows followed by knee kicks and strike on the vital spot.
He turned the sound of ‘Argh!’ for the last time, and there was no response.
“Fuck, this works. Hahaha…….”
***
“I’m sure you’re not fully trained in martial arts, but how can you avoid it so fast that you can reverse the situation at the end?”
“How do you know that you don’t know martial arts?”
“It’s just the movement of your hands and feet. There’s no style nor format. You are just moving following your gut feeling.”
“You mean I can’t fight.”
“Not at all. It means you’re a natural fighter.”
“……?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t learn to be a fighter with this kind of talent. I don’t know why you wasted my life like that.”
I felt proud at the words of Namgoong So-so, even though I did not know if it was a compliment or a gossip.
Anyway, I was sure she was impressed with my skills.
Meanwhile, about thirty people, including Yeom Wang-do, were in a state of panic.
The underboss, which had been brought to the ceremony for a new messenger of the Cheonryong Pyoguk, and was brutally lost, so they must be very angry.
Ox Devil, who was moved under the shade of a tree, managed to come to his senses, but his nose sank and five or six of his front teeth slipped out, almost inarticulate.
“Looking at his size, I’m pretty sure his appetite isn’t normal, but now he is done with the meat. Poor boy. He might have to give up his position, but the meat is not the problem to him.”
“……!”
It made me feel a little sorry.
I should not have said words like a head of ox to make him angry.
The messengers and porters were as embarrassed as the bandits.
It was surprising that a noob who did not know anything about martial arts beat him up to death.
At that time, Jang Liang-gi approached.
“Congratulations on your successful job.”
“Thanks to you.”
“You’ve proven your skills enough, so I’ll delegate the authority of the leader to you for three days from now. I’m not feeling well.”
Jang Liang-gi released the gourd bottle from his waist and handed it to me.
Any messengers or porters could not carry it with them during delivery.
It was to prevent people from secretly sipping alcohol instead of water in the bottle.
However, only one person was an exception.
The head of the delivery team could carry around his waist and used it in emergencies, encouraging tired messengers by giving them a sip each.
As such rules had been going on for a long time, the ordinary gourd, which was nothing, had become a symbol of the authority of the head during the delivery.
I said, carrying it at my side.
“You seem to be in a lot of trouble anyway. Leave the delivery to me and rest for a few days and get your clear mind back.”
Jang Liang-gi bit my molar tightly.
I was deeply moved. Only a few days after I became a messenger, though, for a moment, I was able to act as the head of the delivery.
Let’s be getting on the ball.
“Messenger Ga Bul-yeom.”
“Please speak.”
“Right now, go to the head of the Daebyul Branch to confirm their situation. Will they open the road or continue blocking the road?”
“Yes, sir.”
Then I stood up and said aloud, looking at all the messengers and porters.
“For three days from now on, all the messengers should walk off the horse. Instead, porters should take turns and ride the horse for a half day. And in three days the messengers must also teach all the porters to ride horses skillfully. This is the command of the head, and if anyone rebelling or slacking, they will be punished strictly according to the rules of the Cheonryong Pyoguk. No exceptions are Jang Liang-gi, Poong Jin-yang, and Ga Bul-yeom. That’s it.”
My strange orders, which were issued without a trace, left all the markers bewildered.
Jang Liang-gi and Namgoong So-so opened their eyes wide when their names were named at the end.
The porters buzzed, looking at each other’s faces, not knowing what the situation was going on.
Sometimes I remembered the last moment of my previous life.
At that time, there were nine people to whom I bought time until my death.
How many of them escaped alive?
It would be a relief if at least one or two people escaped alive.
Nine out of ten, all of them would have died without running away in half a day.
If they had learned how to ride a horse, wouldn’t they have been saved half of it?
But this kind of thing happened quite often than I thought.
At that time, Ga Bul-yeom, who had gone to meet Yeom Wang-do, returned.
“They have decided to open the way as soon as the water runs out tomorrow. We are supposed to hand over the tolls then, but I think we will have to stay here tonight.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
“Yes?”
It was then.
Dung……dung……dung……!
Intermittent drumming made people stare at the sound of the river, not to mention the enemy.
It was about thirty pirate boats that appeared from the bottom of the mountain near the river.
Narrow and long pirate boats, like bamboo leaves, were often used to track down and surround fleeing merchant ships because of their fast speed.
On the boats, three or four men were rowing to death.
There was a rope at the end of each boat, pulling something heavy at the back.
A moment later. Another ship appeared.
Surprisingly, it was a small sailboat for the interior with three large yellow masts and a cabin.
Dung! Dung!
The drumbeat rang out from the very sailboat.
It seemed to be the sound was urging those thirty boats.
“What the hell is that!”
“What the hell is that!”