Chapter 57

All the Huns were stunned when they saw the hay stacks burning fiercely! Even the children understood the importance of these hay stacks to their tribe. Without this hay, what would their cattle, sheep, and horses eat in winter? Without the livestock, what would they eat? Even if the most ferocious enemies on the grasslands attacked their tribe, they would at most kill the young and old, and take away their women and wealth. But these hay stacks would remain untouched! Because they needed these things too!

These hay stacks on the grasslands meant a way to survive, a hope to endure the long, harsh winter. And now, this hope had been destroyed by the sudden arrival of the Han people!

"Kunlun God! What sin have we committed that you punish us so cruelly!" An old Hun knelt on the ground, looking up to the sky and howling. Without these hay stacks, they had only one path left: death. This year's weather was drier than usual, and no snow had fallen since winter began. It was easy to predict that the grass next year would not be as lush as before. This was precisely the time when they needed the hay to help as many mares and ewes survive as possible, to prepare for the birth of lambs and foals next year. But with the hay stacks burned, their last hope was also extinguished.

The old man's wailing was heart-wrenching, but Xu Yanian was not affected at all. When he was still in Yunzhong Commandery, the Huns had stolen their last bit of seed grain and thrown torches onto their rooftops. His father had cried even more pitifully than this old Hun! But this did not evoke any sympathy from the Huns; instead, they cut off his head with a single stroke. He could never forget the laughing face of that Hun.

He drew a new torch from behind, turned his body, and swept past a burning hay stack. The torch was instantly ignited. At this moment, he was in front of a new tent. Just like that Hun from the past, Xu Yanian mercilessly threw the torch onto the tent and then drew a third torch.

Before the Huns could react, Li You, Pan Feng, and Tang Yifu had already led their men to run three rounds through the tribe. All the hay stacks and tents were burning, and the fences that enclosed the livestock were broken by Tang Yifu, causing countless cattle, sheep, and horses to run out in chaos.

Looking around, Xu Yanian, finding no new targets, put away his torch and drew his sword, approaching the old Hun. The old Hun opened his mouth but made no sound, his eyes full of despair and hatred.

He was so struck by the scene before him that he had no strength to resist. Helplessly, he pulled open his clothes, revealing his emaciated chest, as if telling Xu Yanian, "If you want to act, do it quickly. Our tribe is finished anyway!"

However, his appearance made Xu Yanian lose the desire for revenge. He wanted to kill powerful enemies on the battlefield, not to point his sword at a helpless old man.

"Spit! Killing you now would be too easy! I'd rather leave you alive to watch your family freeze and starve to death!" Xu Yanian spat, put away his sword, and left silently.

His indifference dealt a greater blow to the old Hun. Dying now might have been a kind of relief, but this Han warrior even disdained to kill him! Thinking of the hardships the tribe would face this winter, he felt deep despair.

A moment later, the old man supported himself with his hands and slowly crawled toward the nearest hay stack. The flames scorched his hair, but he felt nothing. When he reached the fire, he struggled to stand up and, with his last strength, threw himself into the flames... He chose to free himself.

"This is the consequence of intercepting our Han mission! Those who defy the might of our strong Han will be punished!" Tang Yifu shouted in the Hun language three times, making sure everyone in the tribe heard before turning to leave.

The Han people left with loud laughter, and the Huns finally came to their senses! A few young men with newly grown mustaches picked up their curved swords and were about to mount their horses to chase after them.

"What are you doing!" The elders of the tribe spread their arms in front of the horses. These were the only seeds left in the tribe; they could not let them go to their deaths.

"I will kill them to avenge our tribe!" The young Hun's eyes were red with hatred, and the veins on his right hand holding the curved sword were bulging.

"Now is not the time for revenge! Quickly see what can still be saved from the fire! Do you think killing them will bring back our hay and tents?" This was the key to whether two out of ten or one out of ten of the tribe would survive the winter. "Quickly go and round up the scattered cattle, sheep, and horses!"

The elder's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, turning their anger into immense fear. Yes, without these things, their tribe had no hope...

The Hun tribe's camp was filled with desperate wails, while the Han soldiers were laughing out loud. This operation had been carried out flawlessly; they had not even engaged in battle with a single Hun and had already put them in a desperate situation. More than seventy soldiers were unharmed, and they had only used up a third of their torches!

"Ha ha ha ha!" Xu Yanian laughed with tears in his eyes. "Father, Mother, your son has avenged you today! I have made these Huns taste the pain of being burned and losing everything! But this is not enough; your son will cut off more Hun cavalry heads to honor your spirits!"

I am sure Tang Yifu's final words will soon spread throughout the entire Kunye King's territory. Then we will see how many dare to abandon their tribes to intercept us. But one tribe is not enough; we will burn the second, the third... We will stop burning only when the Huns withdraw their troops!

"Men! Are you tired?" Li You turned around and shouted loudly.

"Not at all! Governor! We are waiting to burn the second tribe!" Xu Yanian was the first to respond loudly.

"Good, then follow me! Let these Huns see the terrible consequences of provoking us Han!" Li You's heart was filled with valor, and he whipped his horse, leading the entire team like a whirlwind toward another tribe...

"Governor, this tribe still has many young and strong men; we cannot be careless!" Just before they arrived, Tang Yifu reminded him.

"Right, let the rear guard slow down, and you lead me to check it out first!" Li You, Tang Yifu, and Pan Feng quietly climbed up the hill.