“What? The people we have sent to Wind Border Stockade were all killed by the Han Chinese soldiers from White Stone Pass? Are you mad, Pilia? How dare you say such nonsense! Do you believe I’d cut your head off?!”
In a gorgeous tent among the Tuli Tribe, Tuli leaned forward on his tiger leather seat as he glared at a pale-faced military officer from his tribe who was kneeling on the ground. Tuli had a furious expression on his chubby face. The fat on his face sagged and was hanging from cheekbones due to his old age. Hence, the chief of the Tuli Tribe looked like a mad bulldog as he laughed angrily.
“I forgave you last time for drinking alcohol and making trouble in the army for your uncle’s sake. Are you having another conflict with Shifadou again this time? If you dare spout nonsense, not even your uncle can save you. The Han Chinese’s cavalry hasn’t stepped foot inside the Gulang Plains for the past few decades. Furthermore, they have gradually withdrawn the troops that were sent by the imperial court and their general was also arrested. Now you’re telling me that the Han Chinese has wiped out all your men? Tell me, where did they come from? White Stone Pass only has two battalions of soldiers. That’s only around a thousand men while you had about two thousand men with you today! Tell me, how did they manage to wipe out all of you?!”
“CHIEF, IT’S TRUE!” The pale Shatu military officer cried out desperately. “We really encountered the Han Chinese cavalry! The size of their troop was also about two thousand men. Before the battle even started, Shifadou was killed by an iron lance that came flying from one li away and we didn’t even come in contact with that Han Chinese cavalry yet! The soldiers we sent from our tribe were mostly killed too. I managed to escape and quickly came here to report to you!”
CRACK…!
Before Pilia even finished talking, his face was whipped. It left a bloody welt running from his left temple to the right corner of his mouth, striking across corner of his eye and nose bridge.
Pilia screamed, then fell to the ground while covering his face. Blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers.
A bearded strong man sitting beside Tuli couldn’t restrain himself. He threw away the lamb leg in his hand, then took out his whip to whip Pilia hard. When Pilia was rolling on the ground in pain, the man stood up and flipped over the table in front of him, then continued whipping Pilia over and over again. The force he put into his whip increased every time the whip cracked through the air. Pilia’s clothes were ripped and his flesh was marred. He screamed while rolling around in the tent.
“Haha, a Han Chnese killed Shifadou with an iron lance from one li away? Pilia, you stupid dog! You can’t even make up a good story! Why didn’t you tell us that the Han Chinese let you escape as a messenger after sending a bolt of lightning from a hundred li away or killing all our two thousand brave men with just a single punch?!”
The man whipped Pilia while cursing at him. “You stupid dog! You must have been drinking too much! Let me sober you up so you will remember to not spout any bullsh*t like this here again in the future…!”
“It’s real…! Chief…! I’m telling the truth…!” Pilia screeched while rolling on the ground.
Tuli narrowed his eyes and watched Pilia rolling on the ground. As Pilia’s voice grew softer, a frown slowly appeared on Tuli’s face. “Tusa, that’s enough…”
“Father, allow me to whip him to death…!” The man gave Pilia another hard whip.
“This fellow has always been a smooth talker and likes to lie. Just drinking a little cat urine is enough to make him forget his own place. He must learn his lesson…!”
“That’s enough, I said!”
Tuli suddenly raised his voice as his tone turned harsh. It was only then that Tusa stopped.
Tuli looked at Pilia who was moaning on the ground in great pain, then at his own son. He rubbed his temple with his chubby hand that had gemstone rings on every finger and pondered for a moment. “Go check up on the Wind Border Stockade, and bring people with you. If Shifadou is safe, they should be about done with the Wind Border Stockade by the time you reach…”
“Huh, you believe Pilia’s nonsense, Father?! He’s claiming that a Han Chinese instantly killed Shifadou with an iron lance from one li away! How can there be such a powerful person in this world?! If he had said it was from a hundred steps away, I might have fallen for it…” Tusa curled his lips.
“Bring Pilia with you. If the situation there proves that he was spouting nonsense, then you may behead him and gift his head to Shifadou!”
“Haha, I want to have the first pick of the Han Chinese women in that Wind Border Stockade…!”
Tuli shot a glare at his son. “Go quickly!”
“Alright!” Tusa knew that was approval from his father, so he licked his lips in satisfaction and put away the whip he was holding. He grabbed Pilia from the floor and dragged him out of the tent’s entrance…
“I am… telling… the… truth…” Pilia cried weakly as he was about to lose consciousness. Tusa only curled his lips and gave him a disdainful smile. Right now, he was overcome with lust while thinking about those beautiful Han Chinese women at the Wind Border Stockade.
By the time Tusa reached the tent’s entrance, the attendants on both sides had pulled the flaps open for him. As soon as he stepped out of the tent, a loud noise was heard and Tusa’s strong body immediately fell backward. An iron lance had suddenly penetrated Tusa’s body with irresistible force. The powerful impact sent his body flying back into the big tent, and it even destroyed the tent. Tusa’s body was nailed to the ground and he was instantly killed.
“AHH…!” Looking at Tusa who had been nailed to the ground by an iron lance in front of his eyes, the chief of the Tuli Tribe yelled and immediately stood up. With his trembling finger, he pointed at the body of his son on the ground and shouted, “TUSA…!”
The attendants in the tent were taken aback for a moment, before panicking.
“ASSASSIN…! IT’S AN ASSASSIN…!” An attendant shouted loudly while the other attendants rushed to Tuli’s side to protect him.
In just the blink of an eye, the people in the tent could hear the chaotic noises outside getting louder. The panicked yells of countless Shatu people were mixed with the Han Chinese’s battle cries and the dull sounds of horse hooves…
“SCRAM…!” Tuli yelled and drew out his scimitar. He flipped over the table in front of him, then rushed out of the tent.
As soon as Tuli rushed out of the tent, he saw a young Han Chinese riding on a black rhinodrake steed with white hooves holding an iron spear in his hand. He rode toward Tuli among the flying blood of the guards and attendants outside the big tent with lightning speed, and reached him in just a flash.
A long spear was thrust at him…
“WHO ARE YOU?!” Tuli roared in anger. He lifted the scimitar in his hand and swung at the young man.
Tuli’s scimitar was met with a force that was like a speeding train, instantly knocking the scimitar knocked out of his hand. In the next second, Tuli saw flashes before his eyes and felt a pain shoot up from his throat. It was only then he realized that the spear had pierced his throat…
The next moment, Tuli felt his feet lifted off the ground as he was suddenly brought up into the air.
The spearhead pierced Tuli’s throat and came out from the back of his neck. His plump and strong body was then lifted off the ground by the rider’s spear. He was being lifted high up in the air as though he was a weak prey…
The last scene Tuli saw while in the air was the burning tents not far away from the Tuli Tribe, and also a group of strong-looking Han Chinese mounted soldiers on a killing spree. The panicking people in the Tuli Tribe were like prey being chased before they fell to the Han Chinese soldiers one after another…
Fast spear!
That was the final thought that ran through Tuli’s mind.
