Chetamja: The King’s Eyes — Chapter 24

GROAN

UHH...

IT'S COLD...

UGH... WHAT HAPPENED?

I REMEMBER IT WAS HARI...

SHE SUDDENLY...

HUH...?

FATHER!!

F-FATHER...

FATH--

HEY...

NO...

HUFF

HUFF

HARI...

HARI...!!!

FATHER...

FATHER... WAKE UP...

FATHER... PLEASE...

YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP...

PLEASE... HIC...

HUFF

HUFF

THESE JURCHENS WERE WITH HARI, THEIR SPY.

GIVEN THEIR NUMBER AND CIRCUMSTANCES...

...THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

THEY ARE THE BARBARIAN ADVANCE GUARDS.

THAT MEANS...

...THE MAIN BARBARIAN STRIKE FORCE IS ON THEIR WAY!

IF I START RUNNING...

...I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CATCH HARI.

BUT...

...ONCE I DO THAT...

HELP ME...

MY FATHER... ISN'T BREATHING...

WHAT DO I DO...? PLEASE HELP ME...

HMM.

HADAR

HEAD CHIEF OF THE HAIXI JURCHENS

A WOMAN IN A RED SKIRT...

ARE YOU THE EYE OF THE JURCHENS LI PLANTED IN JOSEON?

YES. MY NAME IS KAI...

I DON'T LIKE HOW THE JIANZHOU JURCHENS ARE TELLING ME WHAT TO DO.

I WONDER... WOULD MANZHU WINCE IF I SEND HIM YOUR HEAD?

TELL ME...

ARE YOU OF ANY IMPORTANCE TO HIM?

HA...

HAHAHA! LOOK AT THIS WENCH.

YOU DIDN'T EVEN BAT AN EYE.

FINE, I'LL LET YOU GO. YOU MAY GO ON YOUR WAY.

NO. I WISH TO JOIN YOU.

LET ME COME ALONG.

YOU WILL FIND ME USEFUL...

...AS A FELLOW JURCHEN.

MAGISTRATE! YOU'RE MAKING THE WRONG DECISION!

THERE IS NO REASON TO SEND ALL OUR TROOPS!

CAN’T YOU SEE I’M LEAVING WORK?

THIS IS A CHALLENGE OF AUTHORITY!

MAGISTRATE, LET ME REMIND YOU ONCE AGAIN.

IF ANYTHING SHOULD HAPPEN HERE IN YEOYEON...

...WE WILL BE OUT OF ALL MEANS TO RETALIATE.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN? WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?

YOU HEARD THE REPORT. THEY ARE AFTER THE JIANZHOU JURCHENS LED BY MANZHU LI.

THAT’S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM.

THE BARBARIANS USUALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COVER OF THE NIGHT TO LAUNCH THEIR RAIDS.

YES, AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE MONITORING THEM!

ARE YOU QUESTIONING THE MILITARY'S CAPABILITIES BECAUSE YOUR UNIT ANSWERS DIRECTLY TO THE KING?

C-CAPTAIN KIM...

GWIYEONG?!

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? AND WHO IS THIS KID?

I-IT'S THE BARBARIANS...!

THE BARBARIANS ARE COMING!

GWIYEONG... WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

THE BARBARIANS WILL STRIKE YEOYEON SHORTLY.

WE HAVE TO MAKE PREPARATIONS RIGHT AWAY!

DO YOU EVEN HEAR YOURSELF?

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THIS TIME? WHY DID YOU SHOW UP LOOKING LIKE A MESS?

EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON.

HOW DID YOU GET ALL THAT BLOOD ON YOU?

I WENT AFTER HARI AND KILLED THE BARBARIANS WHO WERE WITH HER.

BARBARIANS? WHERE WERE THEY, AND HOW MANY?

BY THE BORDER. THERE WERE SEVEN OF THEM.

THAT WAS THEIR ADVANCE GUARDS.

THE MAIN GROUP WILL BE HERE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO HOURS.

WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE ABOUT THAT?

DO YOU EVEN GRASP THE GRAVITY OF THAT STATEMENT?

YUJEONG IS RIGHT. IT IS A SERIOUS MATTER.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THEIR MAIN STRIKE FORCE IS ON THE WAY?

BY EXPERIENCE, SIR.

BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN I WENT AROUND SLAUGHTERING THE BARBARIANS...

...I NOTICED HOW THEY WOULD ALWAYS SEND A GROUP OF FIVE OR SIX SCOUTS TWO HOURS BEFORE THEIR MAIN STRIKE GROUP RAIDS THE PLACE.

AND HARI?

WHAT BECAME OF HER?

DID YOU CAPTURE HER?

I-I HAD A CHANCE TO CAPTURE HER...

...BUT I FIGURED IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO ALERT THE OTHERS.

THAT'S WHY I TURNED BACK.

HOW PATHETIC.

LOOK AT THIS SHABBY BOY WITH RAGGED CLOTHES... HE BARELY LOOKS OLDER THAN A TEEN.

WHY ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO THAT BOY'S NONSENSE?

YOU LITTLE BRAT!

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP TO! YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST TO MAKE UP LIES TO GET REWARDS!

NORMALLY, I WOULD'VE HAD YOU DRAGGED INTO THE HALL TO BE FLOGGED.

BUT THIS TIME, I'LL LET IT SLIDE. NOW, GET LOST.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE CHETAMJAS ARE WILLING TO LET A LYING BOY SWAY--

WATCH YOUR MOUTH.

HE'S A CHETAMJA.

NO ONE KNOWS THE JURCHENS BETTER THAN HE DOES.

YOU'D BETTER SHOW SOME RESPECT TO A MEMBER OF MY UNIT.

THAT WAS AN OFFICIAL REPORT FROM OUR AGENT.

NOW, WE MUST PREPARE FOR BATTLE.

A-ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE WORDS? IF THIS IS A FALSE ALARM--

MAGISTRATE!!

YOU FOOLISHLY SENT AWAY ALL YOUR TROOPS JUST TO IMPRESS YOUR SUPERIORS!

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE UP FOR THAT FATAL MISTAKE, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO IT.

H-HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME?!

A LIFE OF SUFFERING AWAITS THEM.

THAT BOY LOST HIS FATHER TO THE BARBARIANS TODAY.

EVERY DAY WILL BE A LIVING HELL FOR HIM FROM THIS DAY ON.

...!

AND THERE WILL BE DOZENS MORE LIKE HIM.

IN FACT, HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN WILL BECOME ORPHANS...

...IF YOU DON'T PREPARE FOR THE ATTACK.

W-WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 30 SOLDIERS LEFT IN YEOYEON.

WHAT COULD WE POSSIBLY DO WITH THEM?

FIRST, WE MUST ALERT THE RESIDENTS AND GET THEM TO EVACUATE.

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO EVACUATE EVERYONE IN YEOYEON, SIR.

AND WE DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS TO PREPARE FOR A BATTLE EITHER.

YES, THAT IS TRUE...

I-I WILL RIDE OUT AND TURN THE SOLDIERS AROUND.

AS FOR YOU--

MAGISTRATE. PLEASE USE THE REMAINING SOLDIERS TO DEFEND THE TOWN AND EVACUATE THE RESIDENTS.

W-WILL THAT BE ENOUGH?

WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING, GWIYEONG? DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?

YES... AT THIS POINT, WE ONLY HAVE ONE FEASIBLE OPTION.

A-ARE YOU SURE WE HAVE AN OPTION AT ALL?

DARN IT...

HUFF

HUFF

I DON'T KNOW IF WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE. DID WE?

I DON'T KNOW EITHER, OKAY?

HEY, YUJEONG!

MAYBE WE SHOULD HEAD BACK AND HELP THEM EVACUATE THE TONWSFOLK INSTEAD!

THEIR MAIN STRIKE GROUP WILL NUMBER AT LEAST DOZENS OR EVEN HUNDREDS!

THIS IS SUICIDE!

IT IS... BUT GWIYEONG IS RIGHT.

I'M SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE.

THIS IS SOMETHING I USED TO DO WHEN FIGHTING BARBARIANS RAIDING VILLAGES.

IT WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, BUT IT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO TURN THEM AROUND.

WE FIND THEIR LEADER AND KILL HIM.

WE CAN'T FIGHT OFF ALL THE BARBARIANS COMING THIS WAY.

BUT ONCE WE TAKE OUT THEIR HEAD, THE REST WILL RETREAT.

THIS IS OUR ONLY AVAILABLE OPTION.

IT'S ARROGANT AND RECKLESS.

BUT THIS IS THE KIND...

...OF UNORTHODOX SOLUTIONS WORTHY OF A CHETAMJA.

YUJEONG.

THEY'RE COMING.

WE TAKE OUT...

...THEIR HEAD.