Into the Creations 2254

Chapter 2254 – 2254. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family

He began his conquest with only 500 soldiers.

Only 500?

Even considering this era, 500 soldiers was a small number. However, the Eastern Continent was at war. Considering the situation, the 500 soldiers Sopong mobilized were not a small number. Those 500 were the minimum force to defend the city.

“Are you giving up on the city’s defense?”

“This is a rebellion that must be concluded within a week. We must do our best. It doesn’t matter if Hotit falls. We can take it back after the job is done. The worst case is if the rebellion fails. Then, there will be nothing, no city or anything else.”

“The rebellion will surely succeed. I’ll make it happen no matter what, so don’t worry. You joined because you thought there was a high chance of success, didn’t you?”

“Rather than that… I would slowly die if I did nothing, so I decided to gamble one last time.”

“You’re lucky. This gamble is your victory.”

I checked the soldiers.

Their armor was not good, to put it mildly. Most of them wore leather or wooden armor. The only good thing was that their weapons were made of steel.

“Don’t you have proper armor?”

“Are you talking about iron armor? That would be on the battlefield. Wooden armor may be unreliable, but what’s important for a warrior is not armor but weapons. They are warriors who are not afraid of death, so don’t worry.”

“They don’t seem dissatisfied, considering they were forced to join the rebellion.”

“Rebellion is also war. Why would a warrior be dissatisfied with going to war?”

“……”

Kairak was a warrior-centric country. I decided to accept it, given the nature of the country.

We raided a nearby village. The situation in the village was not much different from the city. Most of the young men had gone to the battlefield, leaving behind women, children, and the elderly. The only soldiers left in the village were the minimum force for defense and security.

“We have come to conquer this village. Who is the representative warrior of this village?”

I stepped forward and asked. One of the 20 warriors guarding the village stepped forward.

“I am the best warrior of this village. Kairak is in the middle of a war with Thorn. Conquest at this time… Are you crazy? The War King will tear you all to pieces.”

“You’ll die by my hand before that. Surrender and join my army. I’ll take a reasonable amount of supplies.”

“I challenge you to a duel. If I win, I will withdraw from the village quietly, with the honor of a warrior.”

“And if I win?”

“…Do as you please.”

Hartro approached me.

“Captain, I will take the duel. There’s no need for the captain to step up for such a trivial matter.”

“No, I have to take this duel.”

Behind me were 500 soldiers. They didn’t have the insight to grasp my skills at once like Hartro or Sopong. I had to show them how strong I was by stepping up myself.

I slung the Hwaryeon Bido over my shoulder and stepped forward.

“Uoooooooh!”

The enemy charged, shouting. He held an axe in each hand. I swung my sword at the charging man. A crescent-shaped sword aura flew out and cut the enemy’s waist.

The battle ended anticlimactically.

A brief moment of silence, and then the soldiers behind me erupted in cheers.

The village warriors dropped their weapons and knelt.

“We will follow the Great Warrior!”

“Gather your supplies and join the army. I’ll give you 30 minutes.”

Sopong approached me.

“Captain, 30 minutes is too short. The villagers will not want to give up their supplies. It will take two hours to forcibly requisition them.”

“There’s no need to forcibly requisition them. We don’t have time, so prepare to move as quickly as possible.”

“If we don’t have food, we’ll have problems before we reach the capital.”

“I’ll take care of that then.”

“…Understood.”

Sopong retreated with a displeased expression.

I continued the conquest, leading the army. We stopped when night fell.

“Hartro, bring five warriors who performed well today. I will reward them.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Even if it was a short-lived army, it was still a rebel army. Everyone knew that rebellion was wrong. Moreover, there was no justification for the rebellion, not even a weak one. It was necessary to maintain morale.

‘If I try to suppress these guys with fear, they will rebel at the risk of their lives.’

I had to handle them differently.

Since they were crazy about fighting, they would like weapons and armor. I bestowed dwarven-made weapons to ten soldiers. The eyes of the rewarded warriors shone like stars.

“From now on, I will reward the warriors who show exemplary behavior every day. You’ve seen what kind of rewards they are. Do your best.”

Looking at the warriors’ burning eyes, I knew their morale would not drop.

I went into my tent, tore a space-movement scroll, and returned to the Prukerus mansion. I should sleep on a comfortable bed when I sleep.

• • •

About three days had passed. I had earned the nickname ‘Storm Warrior Eugene’. It was a nickname given to me for appearing and conquering like a storm. As my reputation spread, other warriors nearby voluntarily came to join the army.

“Storm Warrior, we have heard of your fame and have come to you. Please accept us into your army.”

Most of them were mercenaries or bandits. They seemed to be trying to launder their identities with this opportunity, but I pretended not to notice. I needed to increase our numbers for now.

“Brave warriors are always welcome.”

After conquering three cities and eight villages, the army had grown to nearly 2,000 men.

In addition to soldiers, merchants and prostitutes followed like tails. The merchants sold various goods, and the prostitutes, of course, sold their bodies.

I called for the prostitutes once, but I was disappointed. Most of them were shabby, and less than 10% were beautiful. Even those beauties were not up to my standards. Compared to the maids of the mansion, it was like the difference between the sun and a firefly. Still, I was curious about the taste of the prostitutes’ vaginas, so I had sex with them.

In the evening, Sopong said in a serious voice.

“Captain, we’re out of food.”

“Didn’t you say we could last until lunch tomorrow?”

“Now that I look at it, half of the food was spoiled. I would normally just eat it… but the condition is serious. I can’t guarantee that you’ll wake up the next day if you eat it.”

“Is that so? Give this to the soldiers.”

I took out food from the space storage. It was military combat rations that I had stored in the mansion just in case. I never actually had to eat the combat rations, so they were a nuisance.

“How do we eat this?”

“Just tear it open and eat it.”

The reaction was explosive.

These were people who had only eaten bland bread and meat. Although combat rations were said to be tasteless, they contained all sorts of seasonings, so they were more delicious than the food of this era.

“Captain! The merchants and prostitutes are also asking for combat rations!”

“They’re not soldiers. Tell them to pay for it.”

• • •

A week had passed.

I arrived at the capital of Kairak with about 5,000 soldiers. We couldn’t enter the city. The enemies were lined up in an orderly fashion in front of the city.

The enemy’s forces were about 10,000. More than twice our size.

Sopong’s face contorted.

“It seems we gave the enemy too much time. I didn’t think they would bring 10,000 soldiers when they are in the middle of a war with Thorn…”

Hartro also looked troubled.

“Captain, even I can see that this is hopeless. Their equipment is better than ours. Moreover, they have mages. How about we retreat for now and reorganize?”

That would be the wise choice.

But retreating wouldn’t be easy either. Would the enemies just let us go if we attacked? They would chase us down and try to finish us off.

“I think we can do it. We’ll charge. Hartro, I’ll give you a separate unit, so take care of the mages-“

I stopped giving orders.

Someone came forward from the opposing camp. It was a muscular man with an axe in each hand.

“I am War King Wekung! Eugene Prukerus! Traitor! Don’t hide like a coward and come forward! I challenge you to a duel!”

Wekung’s voice boomed. I raised one corner of my mouth.

“A duel in an overwhelmingly advantageous situation? You’re an interesting one.”

I stepped forward.

Settling it with a duel was what I wanted.

“Storm Warrior Eugene Prukerus… I’ve heard your name long before. Why is a war hero of the Western Continent in Kairak?”

No one had known my name until now, but it seemed that the king knew different information.

“I just happened to come here.”

I scanned him from head to toe. He was a middle-aged man with tanned skin, white hair, and a beard. His piercing eyes were full of fighting spirit.

“Your aura is wavering. I heard you were poisoned by an assassin… It seems that rumor is true.”

“Do you think I would be defeated by such a poison? I will recover in a few days.”

“You admitted that you haven’t recovered yet. Do you think you can beat me in that state?”

Wekung and I were Aura Masters. Just by looking at the aura, we were both at a similar high-level Aura Master realm. I couldn’t guarantee victory even in perfect condition, but in a poisoned state? He had no chance of winning.

“Do you want the throne of Kairak? Marry my daughter. Then I will gladly hand over the throne to you.”

“That’s an unexpected offer. Don’t you have any attachment to the throne?”

“It would be a lie to say I have no attachment. But it’s also true that I don’t have a suitable successor. You are qualified enough to be my successor.”

“I refuse. I’ll just kill you and take the throne. If you surrender now, I might spare your life.”

“There is no surrender in my life.”

Wekung held an axe in each hand. I drew the Hwaryeon Bido from its sheath. Aura blades soared from each weapon. Red and blue aura blades.

We looked at each other, sizing each other up. The tension was rising.

Wekung was the first to move. He threw the axe in his left hand at me.