The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 1

The moment Seulgi set his foot on the bridge, an armored mounted troop stormed down the hill. He muttered a bitter curse and beckoned for his men to form a phalanx at their end of the bridge. The thundering noise of screaming soldiers and pounding horses was enough to drive any man to long for the safety of home. But he was a man with a mission; he had no time to succumb to his nerves. With his face set and deep brown eyes ablaze, Seulgi instead pounded his spear against the planks of the bridge. Within seconds, those without spears formed a shield wall behind him almost instantaneously.

He screamed out an order for a volley, and a hail fire of arrows answered his call like that of a dog heeding its owner. The cascade of deadly iron smashed with great speed into the charging cavalry and slew many of the enemy. With a momentum too great, they impaled themselves into the ranks of spears that awaited them.

A blaring trumpet cut through the deafening chaos, and the counter charge was ordered with Seulgi leading the front, his dreaded Yù Fēng cleaving into the first horseman he laid eyes on. The sounds of weapons clashing and that of wounded men crying out hammered against his ears⎯ and the peace of the tranquil riverside. Seulgi shouted encouragement to his men⎯ giving them words of courage, of honor and glory, and of home. The Sheng routed within the first few minutes of the clash, and the Iron Spear pushed to the other side of the river like a nail being driven into a board. A stalwart banner rose on the flagpole in triumph, and the bridge was theirs.

But it was not a time to celebrate, however. This would only be the first of many assaults, and the Sheng would not rest until the bridge returned under their influence. Seulgi knew this and, as he slumped against a post behind him, he called for a messenger hawk to deliver a message, which would contain just one word.

Help.

...

The morning was chilling, but it was normal considering the surrounding mountains. Seulgi didn't mind the temperature at all. In fact, the preoccupation that consumed him drove away any concern of the weather and kept him warm. He even neglected the presence of his squire who followed him out to the edge of a cliff overlooking the surrounding area. All around him were vast dense forests of oak and pine, a river to his left flowing westward, and a large silhouette of a fort directly in front of him. That was the target.

Seulgi whirled around at the sound of rustling cloth with heightened awareness and killing intent. Oops. It was only his squire who he unfortunately startled into dropping the tea he prepared for his master. They stood there in awkward silence before Seulgi made a move to pick up the fallen utensils. The squire followed suit, and the mess was quickly removed.

Seulgi, as he was rising, chuckled, "Sorry about that. Didn't see you there."

The squire made a dismissive hand gesture and gave a shaky smile with his head slightly lowered. "N-no worries, sir. I should have said something."

Seulgi nodded and began to take his leave back to camp. He was feeling a bit more relaxed now. However, something else had unnerved him; a peculiar sensation passed through his body as though a pair of eyes stared at him from afar. He mentally shook his head. He was going paranoid. There was no one else here or...was there? He sighed in exasperation and upon entering his tent, froze at the destruction he found. Everything was in complete disarray. His desk demolished, papers and documents torn and scattered over the floor, and his mat useless.

He scowled lightly, his hands lifting up a shredded parchment of paper⎯ the contents illegible. Who did this? No man in his unit would dare steal from him. It was at this moment that his suspicion from earlier arose. The enemy was here. He ordered his squire to enter and help him put on his armor. The squire did so while occasionally glancing over the chaos in the tent with shock. When the last strap was done, Seulgi grabbed his glaive and rushed out. What he found outside was anything but pleasant. Any man who would have said otherwise...well...yeah.