Promise- Minsung

Chapter Sixty Five

(Two Hours Later)

Minho spat out blood as he looked widely around. The dark cover of the forest cast a shadow everywhere, he could hardly see where his men were.

His mask had long since been ripped from his face and his robes hung in strands. What had gone so wrong? Why was it that the forests barely fazed them?

"Your Highness!" Minho whirled around to find Changbin stumbling his way, limping on his leg. "We're spread out too wide! They're breaking our ranks!"

"Pull back!" Minho called so that all around could hear. "Pull back, everyone. Head to the clearing and re-form!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" called the men who had heard them as they too began to spread the word. Minho grit his teeth and turned Cho around, pulling out an arrow from his quiver and knocking it into his bow. He turned it skyward and shot it into the sky.

From the mountain base, men spotted it and reported it to the Master Sang-hyuk.

"The red arrow was spotted!" they called down to the study, where Master Sang-hyuk sighed and held his head. "Where are they? Why are they not coming when we need them?"

King Han also stood from where he sat and stared out at the smoke that was coming from the forest. "What does that mean?"

"They are falling back. They have been spread thin and those southern scum are breaking through their lines and heading to the capital.

"Do we have men defending the capital?"

"Of course, but if they were able to break through our front lines, they will be able to break through the ones that are stationed around the capital," King Lee rushed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Jisung called after him. "You'll get killed on the way!"

"I'm not going to the capital!" the king called back. "I'm going to find our Lee troops!"

"Wait!"

He was already running down the stairs to the stables where he would jump on Yongbok's horse, Hwan, and take off towards the mountain entrance to the Lee Kingdom.

"I have to go down to him," Jisung was about to follow the Lee King when his father stopped him and caught his arm.

"He will be fine for now," Master Sang-hyuk hissed, holding his arm tight. "You will be of no use there, you must stay here with your kids, Ji-" he stopped himself. "Your Majesty."

Jisung looked down at Master Sang-hyuk's hand grasping his arm. "Let me go. You're in no place to stop me."

"I'm..." Master Sang-hyuk shook his head. "I'm in charge here, and you will respect my orders here."

"I am the King. I do not listen to anybody's orders, especially not from a cowardly former king who abandoned his own son!" Jisung pulled his arm from his father's grasp and ran out of the room.

He met Yongbok on the way down.

"Your Majesty," Yongbok bowed his head before he looked up, his eyes gleaming. "The Geulimja soldiers are on their way. Minho is falling back and regrouping with the others now."

Jisung paused.

That meant that Minho was still alive.

He let out a breath that he had been holding in and dropped. "That's good..."

Yongbok nodded. "You are not on your way down to the stables, are you? You should refrain until you are really needed. That was just the first wave."