The Foreigner 외국인

Chapter 17

17.

Two opposite walls of running soldiers and galloping horses clashed in a deafening mix of screams, clanking metal, arrows whistling through the air and hoofs hammering the ground. As Mun galloped towards the enemy, Lee Ara aimed her arrows at the hearts and faces of mounted men. As she approached their swords' reach, she jumped off her horse and chased him away. She knew Mun would die if he remained with her in this maze of armor and weapons. When she fought, Lee Ara was so focused that her senses became sharper; she could see further, hear better, feel stronger, and her movements became automatic. As she pushed through the enemy line, leaving a trail of blood behind her, she could think clearer. In the distance, the Ming general, still comfortably mounted on his horse, presided over the battlefield. Lee Ara knew she had to reach and kill him, disposing of the snake at the head.

"Here she is," the Ming general said with a sly smile as he observed his men falling one by one to Lee Gong's daughter's sword. "So, you turned on the Jurchens after all," he thought out loud, and laughed. "She is the one who killed my friend, General Park No Li. Bring me her head," he ordered his subordinates.

As she focused on her goal of reaching the Ming general, Lee Ara almost did not notice the familiar face beside her getting slashed with a sword, and she nearly stabbed the young man when he reached for her with a bloodied hand. "Y... you... what are you doing here?" Lee Ara stammered when she recognized one of the palace guards whom she had trained. She did not wait for an answer and grabbed his forearm, pulling him back behind her in order to shield him with her body. She kept fighting off assailants as they fell back behind Joseon's line. The young palace guard leaned on her as they tripped over dead bodies.

"Am I going to die?" he asked in a trembling voice. Lee Ara quickly assessed the wound on his stomach and sat him down on the blood-soaked ground, against the still-warm body of a fallen horse.

"You won't die as long as you don't bleed out," she responded while taking her belt off. She tightened the leather strap around the young man's waist and placed his hand over his wound. "Listen to me: you must keep pressure on the wound. Stay alert, you will live."

Officer Yang, who had seen them stumble back from afar and had slowly made his way to them, grabbed a shield on the ground and covered the boy as best he could.

"Why is he here?" Lee Ara reproached him.

"Some of the royal guards volunteered to come and fight in the front lines," he answered in a single breath.

"Eun Yang," Lee Ara raised her voice, "he is just a child."

"Now is not the time," he retorted. The officer meant to say something else, but Lee Ara suddenly grabbed the back of his neck and pushed it down. An arrow flew right above their heads and lodged itself in the chest of a soldier behind them. The Jurchen woman let go of the officer's neck and quickly grabbed her bow to shoot back at the archer who had targeted them. The arrow pierced his throat and he fell from his horse, inert. With her bow in hand, she quickly glanced around at the battlefield. General Ho appeared to be in difficulty while being attacked by three men at once. She shot them down one by one, her arrows flying with the speed of an eagle. The general, aghast, covered in bloodied mud and sweat, looked at her across the sea of men and nodded slightly while catching his breath.

While behind Joseon's line, Lee Ara assessed their progress. They were successfully pushing the Ming division towards Wihwa Island, and she could see in the distance the other half of their forces approaching. She turned back to Eun Yang. "We should call for the rest of our men now." The officer nodded and hurried away to give the signal to the last two divisions.