627.The momentum
Whispers spread through the corridors and halls.
"That one is beyond the level we can face as warriors."
"If we rush him, we break instead."
"Now it's clear how he took Iki Island in a matter of days."
"Even Hizen has no means to stop him."
The momentum within the clan collapsed at once.
It was more than a failed assassination.
It was the moment the balance of power shifted.
Motonari's face was pale.
A strange calm lay beneath it.
He was watching Park Seong-jin's words turn into reality.
As the rain of arrows from the firing platforms was broken by a single step,
as the barricade on the slope shattered,
the entire castle of Karatsu fell silent, as if drawing a breath.
The doors of the main keep creaked open.
Nabeshima Mototake stepped out slowly, having removed his armor and dressed in white.
The weight of a sleepless night rested on his face.
The samurai parted in fear.
Mototake waited for Park Seong-jin in the wide courtyard below the keep, where its shadow fell.
The wind eased once.
Mototake straightened his knee and stood still.
He drew a deep breath.
At that moment, Park Seong-jin turned his back first.
He did not head into the castle.
The halls were dark and complex,
alleys and corridors layered over one another.
Park Seong-jin spoke to Song I-jeong.
"Avoid the inner halls."
"I can hold."
"The flow of the warrior band could be damaged."
He moved straight up to the wide high ground.
It was the open space where the Ninomaru and Sannomaru met.
The sea and the pine forest along the shore lay spread out below.
Small boats moving across the water were scattered like dots.
"This will do," Park Seong-jin said.
At once, the Goryeo troops formed up.
Lines were set to the left and right.
The formation centered on Park Seong-jin.
The air settled.
Even the breathing from the Karatsu side grew quiet.
Tatami mats were laid.
A white parasol was raised.
A procession descended from the castle.
Women with powdered faces and blackened teeth walked forward at a slow pace.
Thin smiles trembled on their lips.
Park Seong-jin's eyebrow moved, just slightly.
He waved his hand.
"Withdraw."
Song I-jeong gestured.
The warrior band stepped forward.
The women's steps faltered.
The samurai swallowed.
A man in full armor appeared at the top of the steps.
It was Kato Tadamitsu.
He came down and prostrated himself before Park Seong-jin.
"Kato Tadamitsu, house steward of Karatsu."
"I stand before the martial virtue of a Goryeo general."
His voice shook.
His body bowed before his words.
Nabeshima Mototake then appeared.
He stopped at the end of the steps.
He brought both hands together at his chest.
It was the highest form of respect.
The samurai held their breath.
Mototake spoke.
"General of Goryeo."
"My son has returned safely."
Park Seong-jin looked at him in silence.
Mototake's voice sank.
"I have heard the reason."
"I have heard the course of events."
His gaze swept once toward the corridor and returned.
"Today, I saw the way of the warrior broken."
Park Seong-jin pointed to a place to sit.
A small chair was set down.
They sat facing one another—
Karatsu to the east, Goryeo to the west.
At that moment, Motonari moved and sat among the Goryeo ranks.
A breath escaped among the samurai.
Eyes flew toward him.
Park Seong-jin asked quietly,
"Why do you sit there?"
Motonari raised his head.
"The moment I was sent to the island, I became a discarded piece."
"I have come to the place of abandonment."
"The only side I can lean on now is Goryeo."
Mototake's face went pale.
His son had taken a seat behind Goryeo.
It was not a threat.
It was the reality of position.
Mototake rose.
He lifted his sword with both hands.
The samurai stood.
"Lord—!"
Mototake dropped the sword.
The sound of metal rang across the courtyard.
That blade symbolized the authority of the house.
He picked it up again and placed it at Park Seong-jin's feet.
"General Park Seong-jin of Goryeo."
"I am Nabeshima Mototake."
He looked up at the main keep.
"That castle was built by my ancestors over two generations."
"A fortress made by turning sea, wind, and mountains into enemies."
He lowered his head.
"Today, I understand."
"The heart breaks before stone walls do."
He looked straight at Park Seong-jin.
"Sword, bow, armor, castle, even this wind—none can stop you."
The sound of swallowed breaths spread.
Mototake continued.
"In you, I see the rise and fall of fortunes."
"My blade will not bar your path."
Slowly, he bowed.
Both hands touched the ground.
His forehead met the stone floor.
"Nabeshima Mototake of Hizen."
"Here and now, I place my lands, my castle, my people, and my authority into your hands."
The wind passed once.
One by one, the samurai knelt.
Banners trembled.
From atop the keep came the sound of cloth being overturned.
Park Seong-jin remained silent for a long while.
That silence spread across the courtyard like thin ice.
Mototake spoke again.
"I can see how far you intend to go."
"That is why I offer first what I can give."
He lowered his head once more.
At last, Park Seong-jin spoke.
"Very well."
"I have heard the formalities."
He picked up the sword.
He lifted it with one hand.
The blade caught the sunlight in a thin line.
"That is what saves your life today."
Mototake's shoulders sank, just slightly.
Park Seong-jin turned his gaze to Motonari.
"A country needs someone to guard it."
"That position goes to your son."
A breath rippled through the courtyard.
Park Seong-jin spoke once more.
"I did not come to destroy Hizen."
"I came to set it upright."
"From today, the Nabeshima stand not with the raiders, but as a shield for Goryeo."
Mototake answered in a low voice,
"I receive the command."
Park Seong-jin shook his head.
"Not you. Motonari."
"You receive it here."
Motonari rose from his seat.
The bruises on his knees were still visible.
He looked once at the ground, once at the sea, then back at Park Seong-jin.
He brought his hands together and stepped forward.