Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
King Riyao Tuosai was infuriated. He should have had the loyalty and votes of nearly thirty officers in the Court Attendants Army, but Wucuo had only received a dozen or so bloodstained sheepskin votes.
“Traitors!” He was fuming inside the tent. Wucuo was awkwardly standing behind him, while several officers stood in front of him, even more embarrassedly than Wucuo. Many officers had actually refused to come to see this lord.
“Don’t think that I’m soft-hearted. Your fathers and brothers are still in my hands, and trampling a few small tribes is easy enough…”
One of the centurions couldn’t help but look up and say, “The few of us who have come before Your Highness have already proven our loyalty.”
“Huh, do you think I’m a fool too? Save your breath if you are thinking you can trick me into telling you anything. I’ll teach a lesson to all of you; kindness is useless and only the power of the bow and arrow can truly determine the lord!”
This was the scene Gu Shenwei saw when he came in. The officers, though bowing their heads, all carried a defiant air about them.
“Get out.” Tuosai waved the disloyal away, then coldly looked at the Dragon King. “The Dragon King didn’t attend the announcement ceremony.”
During this ceremony, the Dragon King was supposed to assassinate the new commandant if he was undesirable.
“I couldn’t have escaped afterwards. King Riyao should know that.”
Wucuo hurriedly said, “Of course my lords knows that. This should not be blamed on the Dragon King. It all happened so suddenly that no one could do anything about it.”
Tuosai had finally managed to wrest his anger under control but his tone was still a bit stiff. “Hmm, it’s not your fault, but someone else’s — bring him in!”
After a while, the ‘culprit’ showed up.
Dhuta Kingkong flopped on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. “Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Tuosai’s anger flared up again. “You, just a little saberman, dared to forge orders from me to perpetrate outrages and make enemies against me everywhere. Who gave you the guts to do this? Who put you up to do this?”
“Your Highness, I’m innocent …”
Dhuta Kingkong’s innocence would probably never be vindicated. Tuosai drew his saber, raised it high in the air with both hands, and then cut down like he was chopping firewood, not giving a single care for the blood that splashed onto him. He didn’t stop there, adding on two more cuts even when the other side had fallen to the ground and was motionless.
Tuosai handed the weapon to his entourage, took the towel, and wiped the blood off of his hands. “Display the corpse in public and let everyone know that he committed all his sins of his own volition.”
Wucuo’s face turned pale. Tuosai glanced at him and said, “Heh, the general is indeed not as cool-headed as the killer.”
There was nothing strange about Gu Shenwei’s cool-headedness because Tuosai’s means of killing was not even comparable to the savageness of the Golden Roc Castle killer disciples.
Tuosai casually asked, “I heard that the Dragon King has a vital piece of evidence in his hand?” as he threw the bloody handkerchief onto the ground.
“No, it’s just one of my small stalling tactics.”
“Haha, does the Dragon King think that it’s not safe here? Or does he think that I can’t hold on any longer?” There was a desperate madness about Tuosai. He felt like a desperate cornered beast who was ready to stake everything on a final blow.
“Come with me.” Tuosai took the lead to leave the tent, confident that he had the absolute advantage and that he would not give up like this.
In the main tent, Tuershan, the new commandant, had just finished inspecting the camp and was talking to a group of officers. Several lords were also present.
“Can anyone tell me what’s going on?” Tuershan asked in consternation while he raised his stout arms high up. It seemed like he were begging the gods or trying to pull something from the void. “Are my brothers angry with me? Why haven’t they put up the flag?”
Tuershan’s inspection tour had ended hastily as his excitement had subsided while his uneasiness and doubts rose. The new commandant had been announced, but he didn’t understand why the soldiers were still unwilling to raise the flag and tighten their bowstrings; they were still standing in silent vigil. Compared to them, the several thousands of people who surrounded and protected the Dragon King were more obedient soldiers.
No one could answer the question. A chiliarch reservedly guessed, “They may be waiting for the commandant to give out the order.”
Tuershan shook his head. Even the Khan thought that he was reckless and vulgar, but he was not stupid. The title of commandant was only truly weighty and valuable when it was acknowledged by all the soldiers. Before that, he could not hastily give any order. He even began to wonder if it had been wrong to pardon Azheba and others and to let go of the Dragon King.
The tent flap was suddenly lifted and a crowd rushed in.
Tuershan had been in office for less than two hours, and not all the rules had been established. So he wasn’t exactly surprised to see the intruders. “King Riyao?”
The one who had entered was precisely Tuosai, followed by a dozen or so guards. Gu Shenwei was also among them but he immediately stood to the side to show that he was just a bystander. Wucuo hesitated a bit before he also stood beside the Dragon King.
Tusai didn’t notice the two’s behavior. His whole attention was focused on the new commandant. “Now I know why the soldiers are unwilling to set up the flag.”
“Oh, why?” Perhaps it was because he felt that Tuosai had come with no good intentions, but Tuershan looked very polite.
“Because you are unworthy of the title.”
“Why do you say that?” King Shengri, who had arrived earlier, countered first. “Weren’t you there during the counting?”
Tuershan laughed. “It’s not strange at all. I knew that a veteran with no background like me could never be the commandant. Someone just wouldn’t be pleased to see that happen.”
Tuosai waved his hand like a pampered and arrogant teenager throwing a tantrum in front of his elder. “It has nothing to do with your background. I just want to ask one thing. What is the extra bloody sheepskin about?”
This was an unsettling mystery. The news had not yet been spread but all the kings invested in the election clearly knew about it.
Tuosai shouted to the chiliarchs in the tent, “One hundred and sixteen people voted but in the end, there were one hundred and seventeen bloody sheepskins that were counted. Someone cheated!”
The chiliarchs were only responsible for voting, and it was the first time they had heard of this incident. Puzzled, they looked at each other.
“We’ve agreed that the extra sheepskin doesn’t affect the result. Why are you mentioning it again?” King Shengri’s face darkened.
“That won’t do with me.” Tuosai had seen deceptions all around him and lost all respect towards his uncle. “It’s simple. Tuershan was bought off by you, and you two set up a conspiracy to keep the Court Attendants Army all to yourself. Unfortunately, the spirit of the Khan won’t allow such a thing to happen. The soldiers will not acknowledge this new commandant.”
King Shengri flew into a great rage. He was just about to say something before Tuershan hinted for him to hold back.
Tuershan leaned slightly forward and appeared to be more courteous as he said, “What does King Riyao want to do?”
“Re-election. This time no more tricks in voting. The four candidates will stand side by side, and the chiliarchs can stand behind who they support. That will make everything crystal clear.”
Tuosai was well aware that the main reason why Tuershan had been elected was because there was too much infighting among the other candidates which made many chiliarchs feel tired. A public election would force the officers to only vote for the generals on their own side.
“No need. I know who that extra bloody sheepskin belongs to,” said one chiliarch.
Tuosai was both enraged and astonished because this chiliarch was supposed to be his own man who had just been reprimanded, but now here he was openly taking the side of the enemy. “Shut up. You are not entitled to speak here.”
King Shengri sneered. “So, you dare not accept the truth?”
Encouraged, the chiliarch stepped forward and loudly said, “It was me who cast an extra bloody sheepskin and I cast it for Wucuo.”
Wucuo shook his head with a bitter smile. Tuosai, who blushed at this flagrant betrayal, grabbed a saber from his entourage and cried out, “I’ll kill you! Unfaithful, unjust traitor.”
A group of officers drew their sabers all at the same time and stood in front of the chiliarch.
Tuosai was shocked. In his imagination, the officers were supposed to turn to his side when the truth was revealed. “Idiots, you are all being fooled.” He still didn’t realize what his mistake had been.
“Get out! Even if the commandant forgives you, the Court Attendants Army doesn’t welcome you anymore.” The one who spoke was Azheba who, like many others, served Tuershan faithfully.
For the first time, Tuosai felt frightened. He abruptly turned to look at the two nearby men.
Wucuo, formerly a pawn of Tuosai, was now a chess-watcher and half-hearted; he was currently carefully studying his big toe with his head slightly lowered. Although he might become the new commandant if Tuershan was overthrown, he didn’t seem to care about that at all.
The Dragon King had never been trusted by Tuosai. The rumors of his affair with Luo Ningcha and the condescending manner he had when breaking into Tuosai’s tent all made Tuosai feel like a fishbone was stuck in the throat whenever he looked at that man.
The Dragon King stared into Tuosai’s eyes, which clearly indicated that he would not draw his saber for him.
As for the other kings, although they did not like King Shengri and Tuershan, they, like all the officers, were acting like fools and cowardly giving up on their own interests submissively.
Tuosai had never been as angry as now when he wanted to destroy the whole world. He pointed at the crowd with his saber and swore, “I’ll see you on the battlefield. Do not expect any mercy from me.”
A frightened guard reminded his lord in a low voice, “Your Highness, we should get out of here now.”
Tuosai wasn’t afraid. He had brought a thousand guardsmen with him which was a great advantage over the other kings. As long as the majority of the soldiers of the Court Attendants Army continued observing their silent vigil and stayed out of the fight, he could still stir a storm.
He turned and ran out of the tent, stumbling, but with a bold plan in mind.
Tuosai jumped onto a horse and galloped towards his silver-armored army without waiting for the guards behind. ‘Slaughter,’ he thought. ‘Kill all the officers and kings and then become the sole master of the prairie.’
He galloped past the confused officers, the whispering soldiers, and grew more and more confident. Luck was still on his side all the way and would not abandon him at such a time for sure.
The silver-armored army was a few dozen paces away, and after last night’s disputes, everyone was on guard. That meant the soldiers’ morale was high, which was a good sign in Tuosai’s eyes.
“Fight, prepare to fight!” cried Tuosai, feeling a sense of security filling him up.
What accompanied it was also an arrow. Tuosai watched it fly towards him and couldn’t believe that it had come from the silver-armored soldiers.
Tuosai fell off of his horse, though his foot got caught in the stirrups. Like that, he was dragged in front of the silver-armored army.
He had been shot through the heart. This was the first arrow fired from the camp after the assassination of the former commandant.
“There’s a traitor!”
“It’s a spy. The Court Attendants Army wants to kill our lord!”
“The Court Attendants Army is going to kill us all!”
…
The anger of the panic-stricken silver-armored army was ignited into action.
