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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 150
"Your Highness!"
The earth was crumbling. There was nothing to do but watch helplessly.
"Your Highness...!"
A scream echoed. As Yegyeong's body was swallowed by the massive mound of earth, everyone's hearts sank.
In an instant, his figure disappeared beyond the debris, leaving nothing but the barren rock path between the desolate cliffs.
Bu-seop belatedly retracted his arm with a bewildered expression.
He had stretched out his arm as if to grab Yegyeong, but now it was nothing more than a meaningless gesture.
The mound of earth had mercilessly swallowed him.
"...Your, Your Highness."
There was nothing else to do, nor anything else to say.
His desperate cry echoed off the cliffs on either side. No matter how much he shouted, there was no answer.
For a moment, everything seemed to stop, and they simply stood there, frozen, staring at the spot where Yegyeong had disappeared.
Despair and shock washed over them, as if their entire bodies had been submerged in cold water.
One clenched his fist with trembling hands, while another looked at the ground, unable to hide his frustration.
The ground trembled from the impact of the collapsing earth, and they stood there, unable to move.
They knew what it meant that Yegyeong had disappeared beyond the debris and that no matter how much they called out, there would be no response.
But it seemed too much for everyone to accept this heavy truth.
Bu-seop glanced at Jincheon.
Everyone knew, though they tried to hide it, that the prince was very partial to Jincheon. Of course, they also recognized his skills.
But it was clearly favoritism and partiality. Jincheon rarely showed his emotions, but he wouldn't be completely unaffected by this situation.
And as Bu-seop had expected, and even more so, Jincheon seemed to be deeply shocked.
Staring straight ahead with his jaw dropped, Jincheon looked completely out of it.
Bu-seop realized for the first time that Jincheon finally looked like a boy his own age. It was as if an old man had been living in a boy's body, but it was clear that Jincheon was, after all, just a boy who had lived for only a few short years.
Feeling a strange sense of empathy for Jincheon's shock, Bu-seop at the same time perceived Jincheon as a completely unfamiliar being.
They did nothing for a while. They didn't even try to call out to Yegyeong who had disappeared beyond the debris for very long.
They didn't even dare to dig through the debris. It was a useless effort no matter what they did. They all knew that.
It would have been more realistic to hope that, if they turned around, Yegyeong would appear awkwardly, smiling, having avoided the collapse.
Perhaps the reason they didn't immediately start digging was because they refused to accept reality. It was too overwhelming to accept the truth that the prince was dead.
Then Jincheon suddenly knelt down. He curled his ten fingers like claws and began to dig into the debris.
With so much earth already fallen, it was unclear where to start digging. But Jincheon dug frantically.
The momentary silence was broken, and a cloud of dust rose. In that hazy cloud of dust, the reality they faced became clearer.
Jincheon had decided to accept the fact that the prince was buried under the debris. He was the first of his subordinates to accept this fact. His face was stiff, devoid of any expression.
Then the others began to dig as well. After digging into the earth with their hands for a while, their fingertips began to tear and bleed.
But no one stopped. They didn't feel the pain of their hands being torn by sharp stones, nor the fatigue that weighed down on their bodies.
They didn't think about what they should be doing. They simply dug into the earth as if it were something they had to do. But there was too much earth, and it was too heavy.
No matter how much they dug, the earth they dug out would simply collapse again, making their efforts futile.
Even if they dug all night, their efforts would be like a speck of dust in the mound of earth.
Still, Jincheon dug with gritted teeth.
After digging for an unknown amount of time, a dry, cracked voice emerged from between Jincheon's teeth.
"Why..."
The voice, which cut through the repetitive sounds of digging and the earth collapsing back into the hole, was a signal for everyone around to look up.
They all stared at Jincheon. His expression seemed like he was weeping, but his face was dry, only slightly covered in dust.
No one dared to speak and they hesitated. Then, Bu-seop, who had stopped digging and was staring at the ground for a long time, opened his mouth with difficulty.
"Let's go."
His voice weakly echoed off the cliff. It was a voice of resignation.
"Let's go back."
No one objected. Everyone nodded.
But their feet were slow to move. It was because Jincheon didn't move.
"Soldier."
Bu-seop took a step and approached Jincheon. He slowly and carefully placed his hand on Jincheon's shoulder.
Bu-seop realized that Jincheon was trembling slightly.
He had just realized that the fact that Jincheon was standing with them didn't mean that Jincheon was in the same situation as them.
Bu-seop's expression twisted. It was out of pity for Jincheon.
"His Highness wouldn't want us to do this. Right?"
A soldier picked up Bu-seop's words.
"He'd tell us to stop because it's pointless."
Jincheon couldn't argue against that. If he had something to say, he would have already snapped back. That was Jincheon's nature.
Bu-seop nodded solemnly, knowing that. Then he removed his hand from Jincheon's shoulder.
"Let's go."
His feet were still reluctant to move, but Jincheon nodded. And he followed Bu-seop, who was leading the way, with a heavy heart.
As they left, Jincheon looked back several times. The others didn't keep looking back like Jincheon, showing their reluctance.
However, they all had one thing in common. Their faces were filled with defeat and loss.
They walked in silence through the dark, along the path to the flowing gorge.
In the silence, without exchanging a single word, they were weighed down by their loss.
After a long time, they reached the flowing gorge. As soon as they came into view, So Ik-Gyeom began anxiously searching for Yegyeong.
However, Yegyeong was nowhere to be seen among the approaching group. No, no. A sense of foreboding grew in the old man's heart.
Although he had already lost someone precious, loss was something he couldn't get used to.
Feeling the loss proved that he was unable to overcome such pain. As painful memories surfaced, So Ik-Gyeom shook his head.
It would be better to simply look at the flowing water until they came closer.
His heart beat rapidly with a sense of foreboding, but the constant roar of the water flowing through the gorge distracted him.
He looked at it. White foam surged up whenever the water collided, and the stream flowing between the rocks passed by quickly without a moment's pause.
"General, it seems His Highness has returned."
One of his aides shouted. He already knew.
So Ik-Gyeom turned his heavy gaze away from the flowing water and looked at the group led by Bu-seop.
He took a deep breath.
Bu-seop approached him. His expression was somber. As soon as he saw it, So Ik-Gyeom felt like the ground was falling away from beneath him.
The wrinkles on his old face couldn't hide his emotions.
"His Highness..."
So Ik-Gyeom spoke involuntarily, as if sighing. Bu-seop's face was filled with sorrow, and his eyes were red.
Bu-seop held his breath for a moment and then looked at So Ik-Gyeom with difficulty. He bowed deeply and reported in a calm voice.
"I have news for General So."
Then, tragic words flowed out. Bu-seop explained the situation of the great army. The other soldiers behind him could only lower their heads in silence, as if they had ten mouths but nothing to say.
"There was no way to save His Highness."
It was a voice as light as a droplet of water carried by the wind compared to the roar of the flowing water in the gorge. But it was heavy enough to crush So Ik-Gyeom's spirit.
So Ik-Gyeom stared at Bu-seop, unable to believe his words. A cold despair washed over him.
Weighted down by grief, So Ik-Gyeom found it difficult to even stand. It was a moment that made his decades as a general seem meaningless.
"His Highness..." So Ik-Gyeom managed to say, his voice weak like that of a dying man's.
The other soldiers who had heard the news along with him clearly looked shocked, but none were as distraught as So Ik-Gyeom.
So Ik-Gyeom looked as if he had been pierced through with a blade.
His heavy breathing was faintly mixed with the roar of the water.
"His Highness..."
He couldn't continue, and he lowered his head.
"General So."
While they couldn't fully understand the depth of his despair, they could glimpse a part of it. Everyone there had lost someone precious at some point.
The older commanders approached So Ik-Gyeom. He said nothing.
After a long while, he raised his head. His face was completely normal, except for the lack of any expression.
With a face devoid of any emotion, So Ik-Gyeom looked north.
"His Highness has fallen in battle."
It wasn't a situation for jokes, nor was it something to joke about. The soldiers doubted their ears.
Perhaps So Ik-Gyeom had temporarily lost his mind due to the shock. But contrary to everyone's expectations, So Ik-Gyeom was fine, and their ears were not playing tricks on them.
"We continue north."
No one objected to that.
Some of the soldiers who had delivered the news of the prince's death were enduring their despair as if they had lost a parent or child.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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