Life, Once Again!

Dooho pointed at a group of people blocking their way in the middle of the night with his torch. They clearly seemed to be remnant forces of the Gaya tribe. If they could talk to these people calmly, they would be reassuring comrades in usurping the Silla monarchy, but if their intentions were different, they had to be killed right here.

“Dooho.”

“Yes, lord.”

“From which direction do you think they are coming from?”

Dooho thought about the path that the Gaya tribe must have taken as he listened to big boss Park Chan-gam’s words. His eyes followed the line lit up by the torch fire. From the looks of it, they seemed to be coming over from Gangmegol.

“Do you know who resides in Gangmegol right now?”

“What would a fool like me know?”

“Use that foolish head of yours a little.”

“From the way you’re puttin’ it, it doesn’t sound good fer sure.”

The big boss’ lips curved upwards.

“The Park royal clan is there. What kind of business do you think the descendants of the king and the general of the old Gaya tribe had?”

Dooho spat on the ground. He was an uneducated fool, but he could still understand what that meant. He signaled to the Red Tiger Troops behind him. He could see the sheen of their weapons under the moonlight.

“Just give the orders, lord, and I’ll bring back their heads.”

“When have I ever driven you to your death? If there is any danger, I shall be the first one to step forward.”

The big boss reached his hand out. The sword boy that carried the big boss’ sword placed the sword in his hand.

“I will first talk to them. If I can get through, there is no need to shed blood.”

“Whatcha gonna do if they’re a petty bunch?”

The big boss pulled out the sword from the scabbard. That was enough of an answer. Dooho picked three of his reliable subordinates and pointed at the tail end of the group of Gaya tribe people. Once there was battle, these three would attack their tail.

“Let’s go, Dooho, Sukchoon.”

“Yes, lord.”

Dooho pulled out his short spear, his partner weapon. Ever since he suffered a defeat to a soldier he did not know the name of at the castle, he had intensified his training. He resolved to not let anyone point a sword at his lord as long as his eyes were open.

He lit up the torch with some tinder. He could see the Gaya tribe stop walking.

Dooho walked forward, lighting up the lord’s way. He kicked away any rocks in their path and cut all tall grass short with his spear.

“I seem to have met you once before. Aren’t you a famous general of the Geumgwan state[1]?” said lord big boss.

“Park Chan-gam,” said the general riding a horse. Dooho glared at the man.

How dare he speak without getting down from the horse first? If the negotiations fell through, he decided to kill this man first.

“What did the king promise you? Did he say he will return the former lands of the Geumgwan state? Or did he promise to help rebuild the Gaya Federation?”

“Gaya has long fallen. New wine has to be stored in a new wineskin.”

“So you decided to give up resisting and offer your southern lands?”

“The federation has disbanded and Silla has formed the foundation as a new monarchy. Going against the irresistible flow is foolish. You must ride on it.”

“And what did you get in return?”

“A promise of posthumous honor.”

“You mean, that man wants to be king?”

“Anyone can become king. Isn’t that the current state of Silla?”

Dooho looked at lord big boss’ sword. The sword was swaying from left to right. A battle should break out soon.

Dooho glared at the head of the enemy general. Although the Red Tiger Troops did not know how to lose, there would be injuries in this battle. To minimize them, he had to get the enemy general’s head as soon as possible.

“Then why not join hands with me? I too am of the Park royal clan.”

“Does the great cause lie with an abandoned child?”

A heavy silence fell. Dooho snapped out and stepped forward.

“Yer should watch yer mouth. And get down from that horse while at it.”

“You have a ruffian that does not know when to interrupt or stay quiet by your side. Park Chan-gam. I can see your level from just that.”

Dooho took half a step forward, about to throw the short spear, but then had a look at the lord big boss’ face. If he fell for the provocation here, he would be bringing shame to the person he served.

“This man’s name is Dooho. As you say, he doesn’t have the greatest judgment. However, I know that all of his actions are for my sake. Even if hell unfolds before me, this one will jump forward without hesitation. He is a man who told me he would give up on his life with a smile if it is for the sake of me and our great cause.”

Lord big boss’ hand was placed on Dooho’s shoulder.

“He’s a headache to deal with, but I believe in him. It’s not just him. I believe in everyone behind me. How about you, good sir? I’m not sure if you can see the faces of your subordinates from such a high position. Why do you not come down and check? See whether they are those that are willing to walk the path of fire for you or not.”

Lord big boss swung his sword. That was the signal.

Dooho exchanged gazes with Sukchoon. As a master archer, Sukchoon grabbed the bow on his back and stood next to lord big boss.

“Those in our way, listen! Should you put down your weapons and leave this place, I shall not cause you any harm. However! Should you choose to go against us, we will cut you down without hesitation. Choose! Either serve the man selling off his tribe for the sake of his own safety or save your own lives!”

“Enough of your nonsense! I do not abandon my family!” said the general from the Gaya tribe.

Lord big boss spoke again,

“When you say family, you must be referring to those four or so people on horses like you, are you? Once the current king suppresses the regional lords and gains power, the first thing he will do is subjugate the South[2]! The man calling himself your ruler is trying to become the monarch of Silla on the condition of keeping quiet![3]”

The soldiers of the Gaya tribe in the group started murmuring.

“Where are your families? Are they in the cities of Silla? Or the South where the Silla intends to subjugate? If you wish to survive at the cost of the lives of your own families, then do not run and pick up your swords. I shall personally cut your heads off,” said lord big boss firmly.

Dooho knew nothing about the state of affairs, and even less about strategy, but he could tell that lord big boss’ words were shaking them up. Soldiers without morale were easy prey.

“Block the snout of that evil schemer!” said the Gaya general while pulling on his horse’s reins.

The horse pulled back and the nearby Gaya soldiers were pushed forward.

Dooho snatched a torch that his subordinate was holding and raised it up high. Orange light reflected off the Gaya general’s face.

“You ignorant lots! Look at ’im! Your guys’ leader is a coward who’s all talk. A general that pulls back right before battle. I woulda slit my neck in shame!”

“I woulda bit my tongue and died too,” Sukchoon chimed in.

The soldiers of the Gaya tribe started looking at each other at the words that were meant to be a mockery. The first ones to move were soldiers far away from the general. They put down their weapons and were falling back.

“You imbeciles!” the general shouted.

The general gave orders to kill the allies that ran away.

“Look at that! Is it the leader’s job to kill the family you must look after? I woulda killed that guy already and become boss,” Dooho shouted.

He didn’t know how to decrease enemy morale in a cool fashion like the lord did, but he had confidence in dividing his enemies. Other than the soldiers around the general, people started leaving formation one by one.

The general shouted that he was going to kill all that left formation, but it was only a shout into the void.

“Imbeciles!”

A man looking like the general’s close aide grabbed a soldier and stabbed him. The soldier spurted out blood before falling down.

“R-run!”

“Save me!”

Chaos ensued. Lord big boss took out his sword and stepped forward.

“Dooho, make sure those people can return safely to their homeland.”

“Aye, aye.”

He grouped up with the members of the Red Tiger Troops that had split off and helped the soldiers that ran away.

“Go on, run!”

“We’ll watch your back, so run like your life depends on it!”

Some of them even picked up their weapons and joined the Red Tiger Troops.

“Hey, is it possible for me to join you?”

Dooho looked at the fear-stricken soldier and spoke,

“That’s up fer lord big boss to decide, but if yer willing to fight, he’ll probably let ya.”

The Red Tiger Troops was founded by the lord big boss when he took in a bunch of aimless people. Street performers, slaves, foreigners… they were a group of people excluded by others for being ‘lowly’.

“I shall believe your words.”

The soldier pointed his spear at the general.

Dooho nodded before looking around. Everyone that needed to run seemed to have run away. The only thing left right now was to finish up the fight.

He rushed over to lord big boss who was fighting. Unlike his appearance, which was more suited to holding a brush, lord big boss was good with the sword. Dooho had also never won against him in combat.

“Let the bosses fight each other, and clean up the rest,” Sukchoon said.

Dooho shook off the blood from his short spear and charged toward the Gaya soldiers.

“You lots! Come play with me!”

* * *

Maru swung his short spear, conscious of the camera that was following right behind him. Team 2, who were soldiers of Silla until just yesterday, had become soldiers of the Gaya tribe today. After working with them so much, they could do some basic communication with their eyes alone.

He stepped on the actor that shouted in pain and fell sideways. Youngsun, who moved to his right, called out to him, saying “Brother Dooho!” and threw a long spear.

They had practiced throwing and catching the spear throughout the whole afternoon. Thanks to that, he could smoothly catch it.

He struck out with the spear in his left hand. That actor, who let the spear go past his flank, fell down sideways.

Maru gasped and looked at Youngsun once before charging forward again.

He could feel the members of the Red Tiger Troops following behind him. They were in sync.

“Wipe them all out!”

Although there were lights, it was still nighttime. Because of the grass that had grown to ankle height, the rocks hidden among it couldn’t be seen properly. He had already fallen over a few times because he made a wrong step.

Everyone acted without holding themselves back. It was to the point that the smell of pain relief patches was stronger than the smell of sweat.

Maru stabbed the short spear into the last soldier.

“Okay!”

“Good job, everyone.”

Dooho’s part was over now. Maru reached his hand out to an actor on the ground.

“Good job.”

“You too.”

“I think I stabbed a little too hard during that last bit. Are you okay?”

“This is nothing.”

Thanks to the arduous shoot, the actors had become exhausted. Maru picked up the short spear prop and went over to the Red Tiger Troops that were still in a group.

“Youngsun, how’s your ankle?”

“I thought I twisted it for good, but I think it’s okay now.”

“Don’t hold back and say if it hurts. You know our team can’t do without you, right? We’ll be in big trouble if your injuries become worse.”

“I’m really okay. Rather than me, wasn’t Sungmin-hyung more injured?”

Maru looked at Sungmin.

“I got injured so many times that the little things don’t even hurt me anymore.”

“You should still be careful.”

“Maru, how about you?”

“You know me. I’m quite agile and sturdy.”

He sat down next to Youngsun. It had been two weeks since the shoot had started properly. As they had been working together through thick and thin for the past two weeks, they had become close like friends.

“Senior Hong Geunsoo is still continuing with his shoot.”

“Our lord big boss seems like he’s going to shoot late into the night.”

“The team over there must be dying too.”

Geunsoo, who played the character of lord big boss, stood under the lights again.

A large-scale battle scene was being shot in units of teams. Geunsoo, who showed up in every one of them, had to participate in every single shoot.

“Good job today. You should wrap things up and go back,” a member of the production staff came over and said.

It seemed that team 4’s shoot was going to end here.

“How about you?” Youngsun asked as he picked up his costume.

Maru also stood up.

“I’m done for the day too. Since we finished at the same time, let’s go drink together. We can talk a bit too.”

“Sounds good. I’ll treat everyone today.”

As he had been hanging around with team 4 whenever he had the time, they would always eat together on days when they finished the shoot at the same time. Some people at the shoot said that they were the real-life Red Tiger Troops.

“Alright. Let’s have Cha-woong pay for it today.”

He called Youngsun by his character name in the movie and put his arm around his shoulder. Youngsun laughed and started walking.

[1] Known to be one of the dominant states of the Gaya Federation.

[2] Gaya was located in the southern end of the Korean peninsula

[3] Park Chan-gam (aka lord big boss) is saying that the current ruler of the Geumgwan state wants to go down in history as a former monarch of the Silla dynasty (posthumous honor) even if it means letting his people die under the hands of the Silla subjugation force.