Chapter 28: The Price Of Defeat
The originally serene grassland had now turned into a field of carnage, with some tents torn to shreds and scattered, burning flames still licking at some remaining objects, emitting crackling sounds.
Wherever the hooves trampled, mud mixed with blood formed patches of dark red mire.
Some Geluolu People’s war horses were running in panic on the battlefield, their neighs piercing the night sky.
And those dead Geluolu People, their eyes mostly stared vacantly at the night sky, as if lamenting the helplessness of life’s passing and the cruelty of war.
The battle was over!
But the Geluolu People’s suffering had only just begun…
Most of the Geluolu People in Sanhe Fort had basically been purged, with only a few Geluolu People still hiding in the corners of houses.
The next focus was to clear out these people.
Li Dashan led people into a courtyard, everyone holding torches in their hands, taking in every scene in the courtyard.
“Search for me~”
“Turn the place inside and out, find all the Geluolu People for me.”
“Don’t miss any corner.” Li Dashan shouted loudly to the others.
Some people rushed into the rooms, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to check if anyone was hiding.
And in the courtyard, Li Dashan had just walked to the side of the sheep pen when a Geluolu Person suddenly jumped out from the sheep flock, gripping a knife and slashing at Li Dashan.
“Watch out~”
Chen Erqiang shouted loudly, while Li Dashan changed his expression, retreating his body while raising the knife in his hand, also slashing at the Geluolu Person who had suddenly attacked.
“Clang~”
The two knives chopped together, neither able to gain the upper hand.
But fortunately, Li Dashan’s block bought time for the others.
Chen Erqiang and Old Zhu, holding spears, quickly thrust toward the Geluolu Person.
Both were experienced and knew how to coordinate, so the Geluolu Person was soon stabbed in the stomach.
“Ahhhh~”
“I’ll fight you all to the death~”
The Geluolu Person spat blood, his face twisted in ferocity, glanced at the haystack for feeding cattle and sheep one last time, and roared loudly.
Ignoring his wounds completely, he fought desperately with Li Dashan and the others in a life-for-life manner.
However, his actions were completely futile.
In the end, he was still surrounded and killed by the group.
“Hmph, bastard, almost got me.” Li Dashan looked at the corpse on the ground and said angrily.
Chen Erqiang nodded and said, “These Geluolu People are really insidious~”
The others agreed deeply.
The Geluolu People on the frontal battlefield had already collapsed, yet they started playing guerrilla warfare.
Fortunately, the terrain in Sanhe Fort was simple, with not too many houses.
Finding the hidden Geluolu People wasn’t difficult~
“Keep searching~”
“Don’t let any Geluolu Person go!” Li Dashan said in a deep voice.
While the others were searching everywhere, his gaze fell on a haystack in the courtyard.
He remembered that the Geluolu Person who died earlier seemed to have glanced here before dying.
“Someone?”
Li Dashan became alert inwardly and gave Chen Erqiang a look.
The two slowly walked toward the haystack, just as Chen Erqiang picked up his spear to thrust at it.
The next second, danger appeared again, a figure rushed out from the haystack.
Holding a worn dagger, charging to kill Chen Erqiang.
But Chen Erqiang reacted quickly, shifting his body slightly to dodge directly, then lifting his foot for a heavy kick, sending the attacker flying into the back wall.
“Heh, turns out it’s a little wolf cub!”
Chen Erqiang chuckled; no wonder the attack felt weak and easy to dodge.
It turned out to be a Geluolu child.
Such a sneak attack was nothing to him.
Then he turned to look and discovered four more Geluolu People hiding in the haystack, all old, weak, women, and children.
An old woman with a face full of wrinkles, holding a three- or four-year-old little girl in her arms, and two younger women, in their twenties.
Each holding a knife, pointing the blades at Li Dashan and the others, their faces full of anger and fear.
And a Geluolu youth around twelve or thirteen, the one just kicked in the chest by Chen Erqiang, curled up in the corner, vomiting blood and writhing in pain.
The adult Geluolu men had mostly become corpses outside; what remained in this Geluolu Tribe were all such old, weak, women, and children.
“And they’re from a noble family too!”
Looking at the women and children in the haystack, Chen Erqiang said with a smile.
From the clothes worn by these women and children, and the daily necessities in the room, it was clear this family had some power in the Geluolu Tribe.
But unfortunately, with this Geluolu Tribe destroyed, their honors, privileges, and dignity would all vanish completely.
“First drag them out, then take all the valuable things.” Li Dashan instructed.
Saying that, the two strode directly toward the two Geluolu women.
“Don’t come over~”
“I’ll kill you~” The two Geluolu women shouted in fear.
Each holding a knife, they charged at Li Dashan and the other simultaneously.
Though women of nomadic people were also warriors, the strength gap was too great; they were no match for Li Dashan and the other.
Li Dashan and the other didn’t even need to draw their knives, easily knocking the two women to the ground.
Chen Erqiang even struck harshly, punching the slightly older woman’s jaw, knocking her out directly.
“Mother, Aunt~”
“Ahhhh~”
“I’ll fight you all to the death~”
Seeing his mother and aunt injured, the Geluolu youth flew into a rage, charging at the two like an angry calf, knife in hand.
He was fighting desperately!
His father had been killed by these demons; he had to protect his family and avenge his father.
A child of thirteen or fourteen could barely count as an adult, able to become a warrior on horseback.
Facing the boy’s desperate charge, Li Dashan and the other didn’t dare to be careless.
Chen Erqiang drew his knife and chopped, only hearing a “shing~” as the saber flew from the boy’s hand.
Li Dashan, with a cold expression, instantly slashed his war saber across the boy’s neck; blood spurted, and the light in the boy’s eyes slowly faded…
The two coordinated perfectly, eliminating the danger in the blink of an eye.
“Anu, Anu~”
“My grandson~”
Seeing the boy killed, the old woman cried out, her aged face full of anger and pain.
“You demons, God won’t forgive you~”
Placing the girl in her arms on the ground, she picked up her daughter’s dropped knife and charged over.
Unfortunately, her threat was far less than those two women.
She had just rushed to Li Dashan’s front, trying to swing the knife to chop, but couldn’t bring it down.
Her wrist was gripped single-handedly by Li Dashan, unable to move an inch.
Li Dashan, expression cold, said lowly, “Old thing, since you miss your grandson so much, go down and accompany him.”
With that, his other hand rose, and the war saber in it instantly slashed across the old woman’s neck.
“Pfft~”
Blood spurted out instantly; the old woman showed despair and anger as her body slowly slumped to the ground.
Li Dashan’s actions were undoubtedly brutal, but war had always been like this.
When the Geluolu People broke through Sanhe Fort, what they did to the original residents of Sanhe Fort was no less brutal?
Sanhe Fort originally had over a thousand Han People; now less than half remained.
All had become souls slain by the Geluolu People!
The world itself was the law of the jungle, and with scarce supplies in the Western Regions, killings between tribes never ceased for survival.
It had always been this way!
This old woman was old, no longer fertile, struggled with labor, had no value to the Han People, and would only waste grain.
Even if not killed, she couldn’t survive.
The fighting in the courtyard alerted the others; soon Li Xiao and company rode over.
“Sixth Uncle, you okay?”
Seeing Li Xiao covered in blood, gripping a horse spear, Li Dashan smiled lightly.
He waved his hand carelessly and said, “I’m fine, just a little wolf cub, already dealt with.”
Li Xiao glanced at the corpses on the ground and knew what had happened.
This Geluolu family likely had high status in the tribe.
Besides daily necessities, clothing, and such, the number of cattle and sheep in the courtyard was much more than other Geluolu People’s.
But no matter how noble they were before, now they were all family destroyed.
Except for two young women and a little girl, the others were all dead.
Li Xiao felt no sympathy for this.
This was a game~
Having chosen war, these Geluolu People should bear the price of defeat.
Men beheaded and massacred, women enslaved as military slaves~
It had always been this way~
If one day Hexi Fort was breached by enemies, the villagers of Hexi Fort wouldn’t fare much better than the Geluolu People.
On this brutal land of the Western Regions for survival, these were the bloody rules.
