Lean

XII

WARNING: Explicit content ahead

TAEHYUN

Taehyun surveys the aftermath of the battle with the Choi army, smoke filling his lungs as he looks across the valley. Blood stained the grass and dirt and bodies that hadn't been moved yet littered the devastated valley. He was grateful that soon they would be in the royal lands and his army wouldn't have to keep fighting in the Lee's kingdom. They were ruining good land that could've been used to grow crops.

In the center of the valley was a large trench that the Chois had dug, making this battle more difficult. Taehyun glances at the bandage on his right bicep, a result of fighting in the tight trenches. It was his first major battle wound. A long sword had nailed him right in the bicep, cutting him. Luckily, the sword didn't do too much damage and he could still use his arm with limited use until the wound fully healed. The adrenaline of the battle from just a few hours ago was gone and a rush of pain replaced it with each heavy trot of his horse.

Next to him riding a grey stallion is Kang Yeosang, one of his distant relatives and someone he crowned as second-in-command of this force of bannermen due to Huening Kai and Junhui's absence. Yeosang was a few years older than him with the striking cold features that many Kangs displayed. His fierce eyes and sharp teeth added to his competitive appearance.

He and Huening Kai sparred with Yeosang many times back home in Frostholm growing up. When he was younger and weaker, he always beat himself up for being unable to defeat Yeosang in a sparring match. A lot had changed since those days and Taehyun felt he could successfully duel anyone in Mirage due to his experience in combat, but Yeosang was still magnificent with a sword.

Taehyun grips the reins of his horse with one hand and gazes down at a large group of his bannermen's lifeless bodies scattered near the trench. The familiar sense of guilt and sorrow settled in the back of his mind. He dealt with it much better now, but it still gnawed at him. Even if they died fighting for what they believed in, Taehyun knew that there was more to life than just war.

"My lord," Yeosang speaks up in his naturally deep voice, "We have many of the Choi bannermen held as prisoners. Feeding them and supplying them with horses to travel is going to cause our supplies to run short soon if we don't make it to King's Coast in the next few months."

Taehyun glances over at him curiously, holding the reins tightly in his hand. The Choi's soldiers who submitted to his forces, both wounded and unwounded, were given proper conditions for prisoners. The number of captives was increasing, prompting Taehyun to assign more of his bannermen to guard them. Additionally, he took precautions to keep them separate from Beomgyu and his squire, fearing that knowledge of their presence might embolden someone to attempt a rescue and return them to King's Coast. He knew the risks of keeping prisoners, but he wasn't going to be known as a savage in this war by killing them or leaving them for dead.

"What do you suggest?" Taehyun inquires.

"Those men swore an oath to the Chois to fight and die on the battlefield," Yeosang explains, "That's exactly how it should end, with death. Say when this war is over and they do bow to you, will they stay loyal? Keeping these hostages instead of killing them increases the risk of losing your life."

Taehyun can hardly stand to hear him any longer. "I'm not a savage who would kill men who have surrendered," he states firmly, "I'm no better than Choi Minjun if I slaughtered men who yielded to my army."