Recruitment

"The tribe's shamans said today would be the day we burned your homes and snapped the neck of your drunken master. But you don't look drunk to me."

"Then I suppose your shamans are frauds."

"You are the one who obstructs the stars' journey. What is your name, lord of the new wall?"

"Yoo Hyun."

Yayulta, leader of the Yashin and known as the Eye of the Blue Wolf, faced me for some time with his bow nocked. Then, without warning, he casually loosed an arrow, striking the spot directly beneath the watchtower where I stood.

Were they planning to fight? The soldiers gripped their weapons, tense.

But Yayulta soon put away his bow and blew a horn. Then he wheeled his horse around, preparing to disappear beyond the horizon once more.

"I was told not to stand and fight if my first shot failed to cut off my opponent's breath. It would be unwise to drag out a battle against you."

"So you're not entirely a fraud, after all."

"I will remember your name. Until we meet again, Yoo Hyun."

"Don't come back."

Should I call it fortunate, or unexpected? It ended more anticlimactically than I'd expected. Now that they'd confirmed our defenses were stronger than expected, they must have decided to withdraw for the time being.

That was their way: gauge the enemy, then charge in without mercy the moment they found even the slightest opening.

Though we'd weathered a major crisis, what worried me now was how I would be treated. Once the situation had settled, Park Gyu asked me cautiously.

"Um... Captain."

"What?"

"What should we do with the prisoners, sir?"

Could he be asking me to release them?

As everyone here knew—including me, him, and all the penal soldiers—there were, occasionally, very occasionally, people who were arrested and assigned to the Border Guard despite being innocent. The problem was that everyone claimed to be one of those people.

Of course, I was no exception.

'To be honest, isn't anyone more wronged than me? It was the Yoo Hyun before I possessed him who beat up the magistrate and government troops, not me.'

Hmm. No matter how I thought about it, I was innocent.

I was innocent.

"Do as you've been doing."

"As we've been doing?"

"Their registered origins and jurisdictions are all different, so how could we screen them one by one? Do I look like a magistrate? Besides, if we released them, would they even have anywhere to go?"

"Yes, sir. Understood."

This was not a court of law. Even if I blindly granted them their freedom, they would only wander near the border before being captured and enslaved by nomads. So, as before, the men would serve as soldiers, while the women, children, and elderly would perform forced labor.

I had murdered Jang Mu and usurped the position of frontline commander. If I also released the prisoners, the capital would consider it a rebellion, so it was dangerous. In fact, even without doing that, my situation was dangerous enough.

'I should be ready to flee if things go south.'

When the banquet was halted, they must have thought that if they did not side with me immediately, Yayulta's arrows would pierce their necks after he forced open the fortress gates and stormed in. The penal soldiers who had experienced my strength firsthand quickly persuaded the troops inside the fort to cooperate with me, allowing me to retain my post as Border Guard commander for the time being—but my life was quite literally a candle in the wind.

But perhaps the heavens came to my aid. After several days of tense living, packing my belongings every night and placing the bundle beside my pillow, an urgent report suddenly arrived from the front.

It was news that the Celestial Emperor, the sole ruler of the Cheonyu Empire, had passed away.

*

"They say he choked to death while eating the rice cakes presented at the Birth Festival."

"A human life is truly a fleeting thing."

"He left without properly naming a successor. Won't the capital be swept by a storm of blood?"

"Then what about us..."

"Do you think the nobles in the capital will have time to worry about us all the way out here? As long as we keep our heads down like we have been, we should be fine."

Pamagok was merely a gorge where one of the many forts established to guard the vast frontier had been built. It was hardly unusual for a frontline commander to die.

It was a tumultuous time. The military officials, afraid their actions might be interpreted as treason or a political maneuver, hesitated to send their troops or replacements to Pamagok. As a result, I retained my position as Border Guard commander.

Indeed, about half a year later, I quietly registered myself in the household register of Jang Mu's younger brother, who did not even know the post existed, and watched it get approved without a hitch. The administration must have been extraordinarily slipshod in those days.

Now that I was riding a running horse, I had to spur it onward. Having taken control of Pamagok, I moved on to my next step.

"We need to increase our forces."

"Our forces...?"

"What kind of wall guarding the Empire is this? Anyone would mistake it for a beggars' village. This won't do."

Among the frontier passes built to hold back the barbarians, Pamagok had one of the highest casualty rates by far. The reason was simple.

Not only did it lie within the spheres of influence of all the major nomadic powers—Yashin, Siseum, and Togyul—but the magical beasts that appeared in the gorge were twice as strong as those found elsewhere.

I didn't know why. But one thing was certain: even after I became commander of the Border Guard, people continued to die.

And so, in my sixth year since possessing this body,

I took advantage of the political turmoil to begin expanding my influence in earnest.

The throne still had no occupant in the capital. More than ten children of the Celestial Emperor and the nobles supporting them were locked in a struggle that was cutting down people in droves.

Whenever an entire family vanished into history, countless members lost their homes. The ringleaders were executed, while the rest were punished and reduced to the status of criminals.

In other words, talented people I could legally incorporate into my unit were pouring in. Normally, I would have to wait until they passed through a relay station and were handed over to the local authorities, but then I couldn't get first pick of the good slaves... I mean, good talent.

"All right, everyone, pay attention."

"What is it, Captain?"

"Raise your hand if, back when you were a free man, you traveled to various places following merchants' trade routes, or if you have connections with the influential people of any of the regions I'm about to mention."

"?"

At regular intervals, I led my subordinates on circuits to distant cities, sweeping up anyone who showed promise.

Prisoners locked up in detention facilities requested to be escorted out by the wardens, and when trials dragged on, I bribed the judges to get them out.

And if someone looked truly useful but, unfortunately, hadn't committed a crime yet...

"I hear you inflicted fatal injuries on seven opponents at the martial tournament held during the Birth Festival, forcing three of them into retirement. Impressive."

"Who are you?"

"From now on, your name is Chunsik."

"Why are you putting our mistress's undergarments—which you're holding—into my coat... Huh?"

I gave him a gentle push from behind, tears welling in my eyes.

When I reorganized the forces I'd gathered from every corner, our military strength rose to a level incomparable to before. This was also thanks to my completely abolishing the system of penal soldiers and the guards assigned to watch them.

"The arrows you dodge will strike the backs of the comrades covering you."

"……."

"By the time you realize that the blood they shed is the same color as mine, it will already be too late. From now on, do not wear golden uniforms except during ceremonies. I will do the same."

"Yes, sir!"

In Pamagok, everyone wore the same clothes and ate the same food. There was no distinction between prisoner and soldier, or soldier and commander. That discipline had a considerable effect on those who had eked out an existence with lives valued less than a fly's.

As casualties began to visibly decline in a place known as the most dangerous region, word spread through the surrounding area. The population grew, and the gorge became even safer.

It was welcome from my perspective, but some people saw it as a thorn in their side. Namely, the commanders of the other forts.

"I say, Yoo Hyun, commander of the Border Guard. Aren't the defenses in the west being weakened because you keep taking our prisoners?"

"There seems to be some misunderstanding. We do not accept penal soldiers belonging to other forts."

"Using the excuse that your population is increasing, you demand twice as many military supplies and twice as much food from the military supply office as the rest of us. We're practically starving over here."

"That's right!"

It was absurd. If supplies weren't arriving properly, they should have contacted the military supply office—why were they taking it up with me?

The commanders of the six forts showed up without so much as a message and raised their voices as though they were the victims. Food was just an excuse. If Pamagok remained as it was, the morale of the units under their command would continue to fall, threatening desertions and even mutiny, so they seemed to have gathered for a chance to take me down.

As if to prove their true intentions, they ignored my offer to distribute our surplus food and instead trampled our farmland as a group on their way back.

The terrain was already too steep, and there was little land suitable for farming. It was a painful blow.

My subordinates were furious. The military supplied the food they ate, but ordinary residents living in the fort and soldiers' families could survive only by farming.

"We can't just let those bastards get away with this!"

"Let's take up arms and strike them right now. I'll lead the vanguard!"

"Hold your horses, you fools! Don't you know that if the forts start fighting, the capital will intervene?"

Park Gyu, a veteran, calmed his subordinates down. But he was just as furious.

"What should we do? If we leave them alone, they'll keep picking fights with us."

"You know, I've been thinking. Magical beasts have the right to roam free, too."

"Pardon...?"

You could say that only people who had been wronged had gathered here. Did the magical beasts come to Pamagok because they wanted to be summoned here? I had no proof, but they were probably dragged here against their will, just like us, who were innocent.

"If there are any innocent magical beasts that haven't eaten people yet, wouldn't it be all right to give them a chance? Somewhere other than here, of course."

"Has the Captain gone mad?"

"Shh. He gets like that sometimes."

"That's when he's scariest."

Park Gyu had been listening to me intently. Before long, he understood what I meant and swallowed hard.

"Are you saying we should release Pamagok's magical beasts into the other forts?"

"Release them? We merely happened to leave the gorge while being pursued by magical beasts and ask our allies nearby for help."

"……."

The magical beasts of Pamagok were exceptionally ferocious compared to those in other regions, and some even used bizarre sorcery beyond comprehension. Still, if we let our guard down against them or used them as bait, our allies would suffer casualties as well.

"We can't knock magical beasts down bare-handed the way you do, Captain."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you can."

"What?"

"That divine technique you've all been clamoring about, no..."

I suppose I'll have to teach you battle aura.