Chapter 40

The war had entered a new phase. It was only at dawn that Cheoljincheon, with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep, could personally confirm that the allied forces had fled during the night, leaving him in front. "Damn it..." The surrounding brave generals, seeing his furious face, could do nothing but wait silently for his anger to subside. They had not expected the enemy to launch a night raid with a small force and then flee.

Amidst the fallen pavilions, his subordinates, who looked as if they had not slept all night, were wandering around, clearing away the bodies. Their eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. The Black Wind Gang had taken advantage of the night to raid, wreaking havoc within the camp for nearly an hour and a half.

The Black Wind Gang members had discarded their black armor, which was their mark, and donned the clothes of Mongol soldiers, making it impossible to tell who was who. Moreover, they possessed martial arts skills so formidable that even three Mongol generals would find it difficult to defeat them. In such a situation, the only way to survive was to hide in a corner and attack anyone who appeared. This might have been why the Mongol soldiers suffered even greater losses.

"Ota!" A large, sharp-eyed general stepped forward.

"Yes."

"I will give you 10,000 men to pursue the allied forces. I will follow with the main force as soon as the situation is under control."

"Yes."

"Damn bastards... Tauga!"

Tauga, a general called by Cheoljincheon, was not particularly tall but had a sturdy build. He always carried a long bow, displaying his confidence in archery. He stepped forward and replied.

"Yes."

"I will give you 10,000 men. After eliminating those who raided us tonight, join the main force. Everyone, leave now!"

"Yes."

Ota's 10,000-strong pursuit force chased the allied forces' retreat, while Tauga's 10,000-strong force pursued the Black Wind Gang. However, by the time Tauga started his pursuit, the raiders had already fled far away. He pursued them with a thousand-strong force led by Guan Zhi but had to turn back the next day when he realized they had already joined the main force.

Cheoljincheon's main force, after roughly collecting the bodies and clearing the pavilions, followed Ota's pursuit force. Surprisingly, the allied forces had set up camp not far away. Cheoljincheon also set up camp nearby, and a standoff began between the two sides.

War is about engaging the enemy. Attacking a well-defended position would only result in heavy losses. The area around the allied forces' camp was lined with wooden palisades to defend against Mongol cavalry, and they possessed 200 iron maces, which the Mongol soldiers lacked. They also had nearly 10,000 infantry, half of whom were archers. Rushing into the allied forces' camp would clearly result in significant losses.

With the enemy focused on defense, Cheoljincheon was at a loss. He gathered those who could speak Chinese and taught some loud soldiers to insult the enemy, but the allied forces did not budge.

This was strange. Prolonging a war is usually the specialty of the defenders, as the expeditionary forces need to receive a significant portion of their supplies from their home country, while the defenders do not. Therefore, the expeditionary forces needed a quick resolution, while the defenders did not, often resorting to a war of attrition. However, the expeditionary forces were now employing a war of attrition, which was puzzling. Moreover, the allied forces had gained 80,000 new defectors, boosting their morale.

'Do they think we'll run out of food?'

Cheoljincheon's doubts were resolved on the second day. He received a report that nearly 2,000 Black Wind Gang members were roaming around, massacring his tribespeople. The more people died, the weaker his position became. To achieve victory in this war and his grand dream of Mongol unification, he needed the cooperation of the tribes, and the more, the better.

Cheoljincheon, upon hearing the news from the messenger, could not control his trembling body. Anger... The Black Wind Gang of Song, the elite. The elite soldiers had taken advantage of the absence of the warriors to massacre the women and children... It was undoubtedly a winning strategy, and he might have used such methods himself. But when faced with such actions, an uncontrollable rage welled up inside him.

Despite knowing his forces were dwindling, Cheoljincheon had no choice but to split his troops to prevent the annihilation of his tribes. The men were all on the battlefield, leaving only women, children, and the elderly in the villages, which needed to be protected from the Chinese. If he abandoned them, the trust of his subordinates, who had left their families behind, would be shattered, leading to a drop in morale and possibly even rebellion. Therefore, despite not wanting to disperse his forces, he had to modify his plans with tears in his eyes.

"Bring Ota and Tauga here."

"Yes."

When Ota and Tauga arrived, Cheoljincheon took a moment to calm himself and reconsider whether his decision was wrong.

'There's no other way.'

"I will give each of you 10,000 men. Go and save the villages from the Chinese. Take two deputy commanders each. The enemy is Song's elite. If possible, conduct ambushes to avoid direct confrontation. Ambush around the villages that have not been attacked yet, and the enemy will appear."

"Yes."

"Leave now."

"Yes."

After Tauga and Ota left, Cheoljincheon thought to himself.

'After the recent battles, I have about 110,000 soldiers left... The enemy has 100,000... But if we exclude the 10,000 infantry, it's 110,000 against 90,000. I thought it was slightly advantageous, but now, with 20,000 fewer, it's even. If I send only a few, they will be easily defeated. Buddha, give me strength...'

Four days later.

A force of 500 enemies appeared at a village where Ota's troops were stationed. Ota, who had received an elite force from Cheoljincheon, waited impatiently for the enemy to approach. The enemy's horses moved so slowly that it felt like an eternity, testing his patience.

However, the enemy, upon reaching a certain distance, suddenly shot flares into the air and began to flee. Ota, unfortunately, did not realize that the Black Wind Gang, composed of martial arts experts, could sense the killing intent of the Mongol soldiers who were eagerly waiting for them to come closer.

Mongol soldiers usually do not emit such killing intent when hunting, as it would scare away the prey. However, humans are not as sensitive as animals, so the Mongol soldiers did not pay attention to their killing intent while ambushing. The martial arts experts, however, had heightened senses from their training and could detect the enemy's presence. Ota had made a mistake by not realizing this.

'They noticed us.'

"Attack!"

Thousands of Mongol soldiers quickly mounted their horses and charged. Some soldiers immediately drew their bows to the maximum and fired. Ota, busy urging his men, did not notice another flare rising on the horizon. Despite his efforts, it was difficult to catch up with the enemy, who had noticed the ambush and started to flee. However, Ota clung to one hope: the enemy wore heavy armor, which would tire their horses more quickly. If he pursued them relentlessly, their horses would tire out first.

As the chase continued, arrows suddenly started flying from both sides. Another 500 enemies, who had been ambushing, joined the fray. With 1,000 enemies in total, Ota's soldiers began to fight confidently. However, the heavily armored 1,000 enemies were not easily defeated.

After nearly an hour of battle, another 500 enemies joined, and after another hour, another 500 joined. As time passed, Ota's forces were overwhelmed by the skilled enemies. Ota fought fiercely, but his sword was cut in two by the sword of an enemy whose armor bore the Chinese character "十三" (thirteen).

A warrior, who had been silently watching the last Mongol soldier's head fall from the sword of a black-armored warrior, finally spoke. He, too, wore black armor and a black face mask, revealing only his cold, angry eyes. On his armor, the number "十" (ten) was written.

"You're late. Why did it take you two hours to gather here?"

A black-armored man, riding next to him, replied with a sly smile. His armor also bore the character "七" (seven).

"Lu Ying, stop being so irritable... I received the signal from my subordinates and rushed from 150 li (about 60 kilometers) away."

"Hey, it took you two hours to cover just 150 li? Ask your subordinates. Can you really only travel 38 li in half an hour? Even a passing dog would laugh. Kong Zhi, you bastard! Can't you speak properly?"

Unlike the venomous Lu Ying, Kong Zhi had a sinister smile.

"Heh, I can't say what I was doing with a Mongol woman... I found a fresh, delicious one. She was so tender that I couldn't just leave..."

"..."

Lu Ying, seemingly exasperated by Kong Zhi's nonchalant attitude, was speechless.

"You'll understand when you get older. Ha ha, calm down... At least it ended well."

"Without knowing how many troops the enemy sent to suppress us, you were fooling around with a smelly Mongol woman... Ugh."

Lu Ying pretended to vomit and pressed Kong Zhi.

"If we don't help each other like lips and teeth, how will we face the enemy? If one of us is wiped out, we'll be like a tooth without a lip, cold and exposed. Understand?"

"Che, since it ended well, let's leave it at that. By the way, it took you hours to capture just 10,000? I could have done it in a single punch..."

"It's because you brought your subordinates late. Now, are you satisfied? When I first had only 500 men, 10,000 enemies suddenly appeared, and I thought my heart would jump out of my throat. Fortunately, I noticed the killing intent quickly and avoided the worst. Anyway, what now?"

"What do you mean, what now? Send the wounded back and destroy more villages. The enemy doesn't have many troops, so they probably sent less than 30,000. We've already eliminated 10,000, so 20,000 remain. Be careful from now on. These are not weak villages with only women and the elderly. Understand?"

"Understood. I'll head further north, so send a messenger later."

"I've been sending messengers consistently. You need to do your part!"

"Ha ha ha, see you next time."