Chapter 78: Roar Of The Naiman People
The majestic and magnificent Altai Mountains stood proudly between heaven and earth like giants, with continuous peaks outlining a grand horizon, piercing straight into the clouds, their aura shocking to the heart.
Under the gentle caress of sunlight, the snow on the mountain summit refracted a golden holy radiance, like the light cast down by deities, illuminating the entire heaven and earth.
Spreading from the foot of the mountain was an endless grassland, like an boundless green carpet laid out by nature, stretching freely to where heaven and earth met.
And at this moment, on this vast grassland, a cavalry force of over a thousand men was advancing slowly.
The golden light of the sun shone on them, yet it could not dilute the bloody and sinful scent.
Every face was filled with satisfied smiles, sabers still stained with undried blood, saddles hung full of property plundered from the Naiman Tribe.
These were precisely the cavalry under Li Xiao; they had just once again raided a Naiman Tribe.
“Da Long, these Naiman People are really fucking rich.”
“Just a tribe of a few hundred, and they have so much cattle and sheep, letting us grab as much as we want, haha.”
Li Sanhe rode his war horse behind Li Xiao, laughing spiritedly.
Beside him, he was leading two horses, each with a bound woman sprawled on the horseback.
There were also some scattered valuable items; these were all Li Sanhe’s spoils of war.
“It’s also because all the Naiman men were conscripted to Golden Mountain; otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy for us to grab so much.” Li Xiao shook his head with a light smile.
Ever since they entered the Naiman People’s territory, they had truly let loose.
Just a group of old folks, women, and children Naiman People couldn’t stop the fierce Northern Frontier Cavalry.
Three chiliarch troops took turns to move out, and in just a few short days, five Naiman Tribes had been raided clean.
Cattle and sheep, women, all kinds of supplies, wealth—all became spoils of war for the Northern Frontier Army.
This land on the western Naiman grassland had completely become a paradise for Li Xiao’s cavalry to rampage freely.
And right now, this was already the sixth tribe that had been raided.
Roughly estimated, in this period, the cattle and sheep Li Xiao had grabbed numbered no less than fifty thousand head, and Naiman Women over two thousand.
These were all spoils of war grabbed by Li Xiao and them doing private jobs, definitely not the same as Xiao Simo’s side.
What was eaten into the belly, no one could make them hand it over.
“Unfortunately, the other tribes got the news and all ran far away; we couldn’t find them at all.” Li Sanhe shook his head with an unwilling look.
This kind of battle where they effortlessly broke through a Naiman Tribe with almost no losses of their own was simply what all generals dreamed of.
But this kind of effortless profit business ended here.
The other tribes had all been scared off.
This tribe in front of them was one that Li Xiao and them had pursued for a long time before catching up.
But due to fear of encountering the Naiman People’s Khanate army, Li Xiao didn’t dare go too deep.
Bringing the spoils of war, they prepared to return to their temporary main camp.
“They can’t run.” Li Xiao chuckled.
“Once the Khitan People’s army breaks through Golden Mountain, we’ll continue advancing east; those tribes will still be ours for the taking.”
But for now, the action had to stop.
Li Xiao had a clear understanding in his heart: the Naiman People wouldn’t watch them wreak havoc in their territory with open eyes.
They had probably already dispatched troops to pursue and kill.
However, he was already prepared for battle.
“Moo moo moo~”
Cattle and sheep in the column let out low calls, driven forward by Northern Frontier Army soldiers,
While those captured women now huddled in the middle of the column.
Bound with ropes on their bodies, driven forward like livestock.
Many had disheveled hair scattered over their cheeks, their clothing torn to rags.
Their eyes were full of fear and despair, low sobs rising now and then.
And at this moment, at the rear of the column, three cavalry figures suddenly appeared, quickly chasing toward the column.
“Chiliarch.”
“A large force of Naiman Cavalry has caught up from behind.”
The three scouts came before Li Xiao and reported loudly.
“How many Naiman People?” Li Xiao asked in a deep voice.
His heart was not too surprised; he had long been prepared for the arrival of the Naiman army.
After all, no force would allow an enemy army to plunder freely in their own territory.
In fact, Li Xiao thought the Naiman People would come even earlier.
He didn’t expect they only arrived after the sixth tribe was raided.
“A lot, at least four or five thousand.” The scout answered.
Around four or five thousand, a bit more than Li Xiao had imagined.
But it also meant that the Naiman troops at Golden Mountain Camp were few.
“Abandon all the cattle and sheep, property.”
“Take the captives, withdraw.”
Li Xiao’s orders quickly reached the soldiers’ ears.
Although reluctant about these cattle and sheep, property, they all knew that carrying them, they couldn’t escape.
Thus, the soldiers threw the women onto the horsebacks one after another and quickly departed.
“Boom boom boom~”
Dense sound of hooves rose on the land.
The five thousand cavalry led by Qu Chulü soon arrived here.
Seeing the cattle and sheep that had scattered all over the mountains and plains, a trace of excited smile appeared on Qu Chulü’s face.
“We’re about to catch up to them.”
These days, he had been leading men to search for traces of the Liao State army.
Fortunately, not long ago, they encountered a few fleeing herdsmen who said their tribe had been attacked by Liao People.
Qu Chulü was immediately overjoyed.
He led the army following the herdsmen back to their tribe, then along the tracks left by the departing cattle and sheep flock, chasing all the way here.
Finally, he had caught the tail of the Liao People.
Qu Chulü wore thick leather armor, a black gold-inlaid leather hat on his head, saber in hand, shouting loudly.
“Liao People are ahead; kill for me.”
“Don’t let a single one escape.”
In fact, without Qu Chulü’s orders, the Naiman Soldiers under him had already impatiently charged forward.
Because among them, many had their tribes raided clean by Liao People, parents and sons killed, wives robbed.
Completely family destroyed, the huge blow gradually driving these Naiman Soldiers mad.
They howled as they charged forward; no one could stop their determination to avenge their relatives.
On the grassland east of Golden Mountain, two cavalry forces—one chasing, one fleeing.
The distance between them was already less than ten li.
War horses galloped, as if thousands of troops and horses breaking through the firmament, the shocking grassland trembling.
And those captured Naiman Women, seeing this sudden change, had a spark of hope ignite in their eyes.
They guessed it might be their own people come to rescue them.
Thus, some women began struggling on the horsebacks, trying hard to jump down.
Unfortunately, they were firmly held down by the Northern Frontier men.
Some foolish women placed alone on horsebacks successfully broke free and jumped down.
But immediately after, they were trampled into meat paste by the war horses behind.
The following Naiman People, seeing the corpses of these women on the ground, had eyes as if spewing flames.
“Kill those Liao dogs.”
“Revenge~”
“Charge into Golden Mountain from the west, kill all Liao People.”
The Naiman Soldiers roared in fury.
Qu Chulü was secretly delighted in his heart; morale was usable.
As long as he eliminated this Liao State army, these five thousand troops would become his most loyal supporters.
The other brothers would no longer be able to threaten his status.
“Kill~”
Seeing the distance between both sides growing closer, at this moment, Li Xiao’s army finally arrived at the destination.
Ahead was a small mountain valley, with low hills on both left and right sides.
And behind was the Naiman People’s five thousand army, like an iron-blood flood, surging toward the valley overwhelming.
Li Xiao immediately ordered loudly: “Kill all the captives.”
“Leave not one!”
The Northern Frontier soldiers, hearing this order, were all stunned for a moment.
Some looked at the beautiful Naiman Women in their arms, indeed reluctant.
But in this period, Li Xiao had already established absolute prestige in this army.
The soldiers didn’t want to taste the flavor of defying military order.
Thus, they could only grit their teeth and extend their saber edges toward the necks of the Naiman captives.
“Go~”
A few minutes later, Qu Chulü’s army arrived at the pass, seeing the corpses of Naiman Women all over the ground.
These soldiers were immediately stunned.
Immediately after, someone in the crowd shouted: “Ah He~”
“Ah Ha~”
“Ah Hen~”
Some soldiers rushed out madly, searching among the corpses for their wives and daughters.
And the other Naiman Soldiers, seeing the miserable scene before them, could no longer suppress their anger; veins bulged on their foreheads, faces ferocious, every breath heavy.
“Kill, kill all those Liao State people.”
“Skin them and pull their tendons.”
“Revenge.”
At this moment, the Naiman Soldiers erupted in bursts of angry roars, their inner fury reaching the peak.
Many were imagining if their own wives, daughters, relatives had similarly been killed by these damn Liao State people.
In this way, everyone’s anger could no longer be suppressed.
Like the roar of a volcanic eruption, the five thousand army howled madly, charging forward like surging waves.
At this moment, even if the Sun Khan came, he couldn’t extinguish their fury or stop them from seeking revenge.
