Chapter 380
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 380
Chapter 380. A Letter from the Northern Sea Ice Palace (4)
It has already been four days since I left Hubei Province.
And I am keeping my word.
“Oh my...”
“Aren't you being too harsh?”
In front of me, Jin-ho and the members of the Six Ministries were lying on the ground, crying.
Today was the second day of the sparring match.
Following yesterday, this morning, I sparred with Jin-ho and the Six Ministries as I had said.
However, it was not me but my bodyguards who stepped forward. This was because my bodyguards had asked me to let them spar with them.
“We will take the front line. Please grant us your request.”
“Is there a reason?”
“We are your Liege's bodyguards. It is our duty to always stand in front of you. We also want to gain practical experience.”
Pal-gap said to me as I was contemplating.
“Young master, the leader always appears at the end.”
“Is that so?”
But doesn't the word “leader” sound a little strange?
Anyway, I accepted their request and asked Jin-ho for his understanding.
Jin-ho liked the idea and accepted right away, but... Is this really a good idea?
In some ways, my bodyguards are even more ruthless than I am.
Even if Jin-ho is a master warrior, I have two master warriors as my bodyguards.
The other four are also among the best warriors.
Jin-ho couldn't hold out against Seo-woo and Jin-yu for long and collapsed, and the six members of the Six Ministers were defeated one by one by the remaining four warriors.
It seemed like they held out about half as long as yesterday, but even so, it was only a little over a minute.
They said they would try harder based on yesterday's experience, but my bodyguards are not ordinary warriors.
I approached Jin-ho.
“Are you okay?”
“Don't smile and hold out your hand, you bastard!”
“I'm sorry. But I can't help laughing.”
“Damn it!”
“Still, you held out a little longer than yesterday, right?”
I was grateful that Jin-ho was trying to fight according to my plan.
.
.
.
Before we knew it, we had left Hubei and entered Henan.
Hubei was under the strong influence of the Eunhae Trading Company, so the Green Forest Bandits didn't even dare to show their faces.
However, that was not the case in Henan.
Although it was the home of the Martial Alliance and Shaolin, they did not interfere unless they were directly involved.
If they tried to crack down on us, there would be casualties, and they had no reason to take that risk.
Knowing this, the Green Forest Bandits in Henan only targeted those who would not cause trouble.
For example, a trading company like ours.
“It's killing intent.”
I sighed at Jin-yu's words.
“I see. Tell everyone that there are people ahead who are targeting us.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jin-yu first informed Head Escort Ha of this fact. Head Escort Ha then told everyone.
“Prepare for battle.”
“Yes!”
Normally, they would let us pass after collecting a toll, but with such a strong killing intent...
There was no way we could pass quietly.
They must know what we are carrying. Rumors spread fast.
With food prices at an all-time high, the toll would be too much for the Green Forest Bandits to pass up.
A moment later.
Thud!
An arrow flew toward us.
Whoosh!
Jin-ho's Blue Dragon Sword cut the arrow in half. The battle began.
“Attack! The food is there!”
At the voice of the man who appeared to be the boss of the Green Forest Bandits, the bandits shouted and rushed toward us.
We responded calmly.
“Don't let them take it!”
“Yes!”
The escorts from the Changinpo Escort Agency fought valiantly, and our Eunpungdae also held their ground.
But then...
“Ugh! You bastards! Are you really hitting me?”
“That really hurts! You bastards!”
“Hyung-nim! We had fun with you at Eunpungdae! We were happy!”
Was it just my imagination that their anger was not directed at the Green Forest Bandits?
With that thought in mind, I turned to my bodyguards.
“I think we may have been a little too harsh.”
I smiled wryly at Seo Woo's words.
“No, please continue to do so. Thanks to you, I was able to get rid of the poison that had been building up inside me.”
With that, I also raised my sword.
I ordered Pal-gap to protect Young Mistress Seo-hyang, then fought the Green Forest Bandits alongside the bodyguards.
Although they outnumbered us, they were no match for us.
Excluding myself, there were four peak warriors among us.
Head Escort Ha Cheol was also a peak warrior.
Half an hour later.
The situation was over, and we hurriedly left the scene.
Staying too long in a place where blood had been spilled would only attract wild animals and flies.
We arrived in Luoyang and immediately boarded a boat.
We decided to take a boat to Jinan and then travel north.
As expected, traveling by boat is comfortable.
I lay down on the signboard and looked up at the sky. The spring sky makes people feel sleepy.
“Seo Woo, warrior.”
“Yes, Liege.”
“Was the sparring match against Jin-ho and Yook-jo helpful?”
Seo Woo answered my question.
“Yes. It is helping me learn how to fight multiple opponents efficiently and how to use my inner arts effectively.”
“I'm glad it's helping you.”
“It's a shame that we won't be able to do group sparring for a while because we're on the boat.”
While talking with Seo Woo, I looked over the report that Jin Ho had submitted.
I had been pestering Jin Ho to write a report reviewing our battles, and he finally gave it to me.
I still remember the contents of the first report Jin-ho submitted.
[Fought. Lost. Seo-ho was stronger than me. The places where I was hit still hurt.
That day, Jin-ho lectured me for an hour, and in the end, I had to rewrite the report.
Anyway, after repeating this several times, I was finally able to write a report worth reading.
And I gradually began to feel that Jin-ho was fighting while thinking.
As I thought, it's not that he can't do it, it's that he doesn't do it.
Jin-ho was learning how to fight efficiently faster than I had expected.
He had insisted on fighting in a way that would destroy his opponent because of his personality, but Jin-ho wasn't stupid.
“Seo Woo and Jin-yu. Starting tomorrow, you will fight Hyung-nim one-on-one every morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
While on the boat, I plan to explain to Hyung-nim what hand-to-hand combat is all about.
***
Baek Woo-yi, the deputy leader of the Eunpungdae Six, is a warrior with fifteen years of experience.
He had been the deputy leader before Eun Jin-ho became the leader of the Six Generals.
Because he was so experienced, he always felt uneasy when he looked at Eun Jin-ho.
This was because he knew that victory was not determined solely by martial arts skills.
However, Eun Jin-ho had always believed that military strategy was unnecessary and that the first strike would always win, and he had always gotten his way.
As his deputy, he was torn between telling Eun Jin-ho about this or just waiting to see what would happen.
However, his dilemma was resolved by an unexpected person.
Eun Seo-ho, Eun Jin-ho's younger brother, advised Eun Jin-ho to use his head in battle.
The problem was that he brought in the Six Generals to help Eun Jin-ho learn how to fight.
His leg still ached from being hit by Seo Woo. His back was sore from being hit by Jin Yu.
But...
As the sparring continued, Yook Jo's eyes filled with rage, and he could feel his skills improving.
Only then did Baek Woo realize
that Eun Seo-ho truly cared for Eun Jin-ho.
He realized that making the Six Generals, including himself, undergo such training was also to help Eun Jin-ho.
As he thought so, he doubted his own eyes.
That was because Eun Jin-ho was reading a book that appeared to be a book on military strategy.
“General Jo? Are you reading a book on military strategy?”
“Yes.”
“Didn't you say that military strategy was unnecessary?”
“Yes, I did. But I feel so sorry for my team members getting beaten up because of me that I feel like I'm going crazy. So, I got a book on military strategy before boarding the ship.”
Come to think of it, he said he was going somewhere for a moment before boarding the ship, and it seems he went to a bookstore.
“But didn't you learn military strategy from Captain Dae-joo?”
“Didn't I tell you? But you didn't listen to me at the time.”
“....”
“As I read the book on military strategy, I'm starting to remember what I learned back then. Damn it! I'm also realizing how stupidly I fought.”
Looking at Eun Jin-ho, Baek Woo thought to himself.
What a leap forward.
To be honest, Eun Jin-ho's spear arts were terrifying. If Eun Jin-ho could use his head as well...
Baek Woo swallowed hard.
In Hubei, the name Eun Jin-ho alone was a powerful shield.
“In other words, a powerful martial artist who can protect the Eunhae Trading Company!”
That must be Eun Seo-ho's true purpose. He was even more excited about Eun Jin-ho's future.
“Then I must become stronger too! I can't fall behind as the second-in-command while the leader is becoming stronger!”
Baek Woo-yi clenched his fists.
“And Seo-ho said that you will have one-on-one sparring matches against Seo Woo and Jin Yu starting tomorrow morning.”
Eun Jin-ho gritted his teeth.
“This time, I'll definitely beat him up!”
And Eun Seo-ho was still good at fishing.
***
“Young master, we've arrived at Jeonam.”
I nodded at Pal-gap's words.
“It's time to get ready to disembark.”
The comfortable journey was over. As soon as we got off the boat, the arduous journey began again.
The Green Forest Bandits would rush at us again, aiming for our grain.
Still, the road from Jinan to Beijing was well maintained, and there were no civil unrest in the area.
I didn't know about the Green Forest Bandits, but I didn't feel good about killing commoners.
We soon arrived in Jinan and disembarked from the boat.
As I watched the porters unload the grain from the boat, I asked Ha Head Escort.
“Are we leaving right away?”
“Yes. It will be difficult, but I think we have to. However, if we travel for an hour, we will find a place where we can wash up and rest. We can spend the night there.”
“I understand.”
It would have been better to rest at an inn for the horses that had just been unloaded from the boat, but we couldn't do that due to our circumstances.
Fortunately, as Ha Head Escort said, we arrived at a place where we could rest after an hour.
There was a suitable river flowing nearby.
When I arrived there, I was slightly overcome with emotion.
This was because I had occasionally spent the night here when I was traveling upstream in my previous life.
Thinking back on that time, it felt new and different.
Preparing for the night was now a breeze.
The group divided into two, with half making a place to sleep and the other half going to wash up.
The Yellow River we had traveled on was muddy and yellow, but the river here was so clear that we could see the bottom.
It looked drinkable.
This was the perfect place to spend the night.
A short time later, those who had gone to wash up returned with clean faces and took over from those who had been preparing for the night, and they began to prepare dinner.
Those who had been preparing for the night went to wash, and after about an hour, when they returned, it was the women's turn.
This was because there were women among the six generals of the Silver Wind Guard and the escorts of the Changin Escort Agency.
“Lieutenant Gwak, please go wash up.”
“Yes, I will.”
Seo Hyang Miss went with them to wash.
I sat in front of the bonfire and waited for dinner. I planned to wash separately after dinner.
I wanted to wash quickly, but those who had worked hard should wash first.
I took advantage of the break to read the battle report submitted by Jin-ho.
He said he had recently obtained a book on military strategy, and the results were clearly visible.
[The opponent was Seo Woo. Seo Woo was from Head Escort, and perhaps because of that, he was a warrior who used very practical sword techniques. In addition, perhaps because he was accustomed to protecting someone, he frequently looked around him.
In order to defeat Seo Woo, I decided that an unusual battle strategy was necessary.
So, this time, I decided to attack in a way that would make Seo Woo move as much as possible to wear him down..."
I chuckled and burned the report.
It was because Jin-ho had analyzed it so sharply, and also because it was better not to leave something like that lying around.
A moment later, Miss Seo Hyang returned. For some reason, she smelled like plum blossoms.
Come to think of it, she had smelled sweet plum blossoms on her for some time now.
I wonder what kind of fragrance it is.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Do you use any fragrances?”
“Fragrances?”
She shook her head.
“No, I don't use any fragrances. They're expensive and I don't really need them.”
“I see.”
She doesn't use any fragrances, yet she smells like plum blossoms...
Come to think of it, the Palace Head Bing Haerin smelled like orchids.
I still didn't know why.
After dinner, we got ready for bed.
I'm getting used to sleeping on the floor now.
With that thought, I went to tell Seo Hyang to go to bed, but I stopped short.
Seo Hyang's eyes were unfocused.
Could she have seen the future?
A moment later, Seo Hyang looked at me with a serious expression.
“Excuse me, Captain.”
“What is it?”