Chapter 66: I Am But a Savage of the Desert!
The Marchioness of Zhenbei’s birthday was nearly upon them.
Guests had gathered from every direction.
And at such a moment one man came to the door to demand an explanation for the women, children, old, and weak of a tribe that had been exterminated!
The Zhenbei Army began mobilizing at extraordinary speed.
Black torrents formed one after another as cavalry units converged on the area.
Along the riverbank, the soldiers and private guards of more than a hundred birthday tribute convoys instinctively formed defensive positions.
Every group looked as though they were facing a great enemy.
Yet no one shouted about charging forward to kill this malicious guest.
At the end of the day, this was the territory of the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei.
If outsiders dared rush in and act without permission, would that not be insulting the Marquis’s residence by implying it had no one capable of handling its own affairs?
After Feng Siniang finished gathering up the pitiful Yang Wenzhi’s mangled remains, she walked out of the tent.
She looked up and discovered Zheng Fan sitting on top of the tent, watching the distant commotion.
“Come up.
“You can see more clearly from here.”
Zheng Fan waved at her.
Feng Siniang leapt lightly onto the top of the tent and sat beside him.
The two leaned together.
The scene looked exactly like some village youth from later generations secretly seducing the pretty widow next door and taking her to the threshing ground to watch an outdoor movie.
“Master!”
Ding Hao’s voice came from below.
For the past two days, Zheng Fan had deliberately sent him away under the honorable excuse of helping guard the camp and manage its defenses.
Now that something this serious had suddenly happened, of course Ding Hao came to find Zheng Fan and protect him.
To be fair, Ding Hao could not be called a good man in the strict sense.
His hands were stained with blood.
But he had one admirable trait.
He repaid kindness.
“Come up.
“Careful.”
“All right.”
Ding Hao climbed onto the tent as well.
With three people sitting on top, the whole structure began swaying faintly.
It was clearly struggling under the weight.
“Master, perhaps I should go back down,” Ding Hao suggested.
“It’s fine.
“The tent is going to collapse sooner or later anyway.”
Zheng Fan waved unconcernedly.
Then smiled.
“Still blaming me in your heart because I didn’t let you come over these past two days?
“Made you miss all the hot food?”
“This subordinate is accustomed to army rations.
“How would I dare resent Master?”
In truth, there had been the tiniest trace of resentment.
Ever since the day Ding Hao became Zheng Fan’s teacher, he had been served good food and drink every day inside the residence.
Going from frugality to luxury was easy.
Going from luxury back to frugality was hard.
Once he returned to chewing cold, dry flatbread, it felt as though a knife were scraping him from throat to stomach.
“Mm.
“You need to understand,” Zheng Fan said.
“This subordinate understands.”
Zheng Fan pointed toward the solitary... slovenly figure in the middle of that enormous mass of black cavalry ahead.
“Unless you were willing to sit with that bastard and eat together for two days.”
“...”
Ding Hao.
That terrifying man had really been inside the tent these past two days?
Zheng Fan ignored Ding Hao’s shock.
Instead, he asked, “What kind of office is Left Guli King?”
He had been in this world for quite some time.
But Zheng Fan had spent more than half a year unconscious.
There were still many aspects of the world he did not completely understand.
After all, this world did not possess the internet.
You could not sit at home, move your fingers a few times, and have information from every direction gathered in front of you.
“Reporting to Master, Left Guli King is an office of the barbarian Royal Court.
“At the top of the Royal Court is the Khan.
“Beneath the Khan are the Left and Right Wise Kings.
“Beneath them are the Left and Right Guli Kings.
“And below the Guli Kings are the Left and Right Great Generals, Left and Right Great Commandants, and Left and Right Great Household Chiefs.”
“The barbarians honor the left.
“Opposite from us, right?”
“Yes.
“The barbarian tribes honor the left.”
“So the Left Guli King is already among the highest-ranking figures in the Royal Court.
“Then why is his surname Shatuo?”
“Reporting to Master, the barbarian Royal Court has already been in decline for a very long time.
“A century ago, at the height of its power, the Royal Court itself was the strongest tribe in the desert.
“At that time, the Left and Right Wise Kings and Left and Right Guli Kings were all mighty lords who dominated entire regions.
“But ever since the khan a century ago destroyed the Royal Court’s elite forces during his western campaign, the Golden Clan has declined.
“Not only did the various tribes stop obeying Royal Court commands, even the Royal Court’s own sphere of control continued shrinking.
“The Golden Clan’s bloodline also grew weaker with every generation.
“So beginning with the previous khan, the offices of Left and Right Wise King, Left and Right Guli King, and the positions below them were no longer filled exclusively by members of the Golden Clan.
“They began selecting talented heroes from throughout the desert tribes and bringing them into the Royal Court.
“As for Shatuo Que Shi—this subordinate has heard of him before.
“It is said he was chosen by the Royal Court’s Shrine when he was still young and taken into the Royal Court.
“After reaching adulthood, the current khan personally granted him the title of Left Guli King.”
“Heh.
“So he truly is an extraordinary figure.
“In other words, although he served as Left Guli King of the Royal Court, this time he came to take revenge for his maternal tribe?”
“Master, this subordinate thinks this Left Guli King is being far too sentimental.
“Since ancient times, the barbarian tribes and our State of Yan have invaded and killed one another year after year.
“Either you die or I live.
“If he wants to demand justice for dead barbarian women and children, then who is supposed to demand justice for the people of Yan who died beneath barbarian sabers?”
“In other words, a double standard,” Zheng Fan said.
“Double standard?
“What does that mean?”
“Two sets of standards.
“One for yourself.
“One for everyone else.”
“Master is wise.
“Every word strikes the heart of the matter.”
“Enough.
“Stop flattering me.
“Actually, I can understand him.
“Battlefield killing is battlefield killing.
“Who lives and who dies is decided by the blades in their hands.
“He should be able to accept that very clearly.
“That’s why, from the beginning, he said he came to demand an explanation for the thousands of old, weak, women, and children of the Shatuo Tribe not for the able-bodied warriors who died in battle.”
“Master, how do you know that so clearly?”
Zheng Fan pointed at his own face.
Then said, “Otherwise, I’d already be a corpse.”
After all, the man who had cut off the head of the Shatuo Tribe’s leader was Zheng Fan himself.
“We’re spectators.
“Of course we can stand here and criticize his double standards.
“But he is personally involved.
“His maternal tribe was slaughtered.
“It was equivalent to his entire homeland being burned to the ground in one stroke.
“To him, there’s no such thing as a double standard.
“He’s angry.
“He’s furious.
“He’s unwilling to accept it.
“So he came to the door himself to demand an explanation.”
At that moment, Feng Siniang spoke.
“Master, he said he already resigned from the office of Left Guli King.”
“Yes.
“Probably because he doesn’t want to drag the Royal Court into this.”
The Emperor of Yan and the Marquis of Zhenbei were locked in a struggle.
The residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei had chosen the Shatuo Tribe as the monkey to kill for the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs to watch.
The barbarian Royal Court had made no response whatsoever.
Even though the tribe that had been slaughtered was nominally one of its subjects.
If one searched carefully enough, there was probably even an envoy sent by the Royal Court somewhere among the guests now offering birthday congratulations to the Marchioness.
The deterrence wielded by the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei across the entire desert was truly powerful enough.
And yet despite all of that, Shatuo Que Shi had still resigned his office.
He had come here alone.
He had come to demand an explanation.
He had already prepared himself.
Last night, he had even personally made offerings to himself.
He had come here specifically to die.
Most people in the world understood compromise.
Most knew how to judge the situation and act according to circumstances.
He refused.
He wanted an explanation.
An explanation for himself.
...
“The Old Marchioness says:
“The Royal Court’s days are already difficult.
“If it loses a hero such as the Left Guli King as well, the future may become even harder.
“She urges the Left Guli King to think carefully—for the sake of the Royal Court, and for the sake of the barbarian tribes.”
The elderly voice sounded again, carrying the words of the woman whose birthday was being celebrated.
The slovenly man slowly straightened his body.
Then shouted:
“Invite the Princess out to meet me!”
His voice was like thunder.
It shook the riverbank.
After a short while, the voice inside the residence replied:
“The Old Marchioness says she is tired.
“She wishes to rest.
“She wants quiet.”
The formalities had been completed.
If you still refused to understand, then go die.
This was a military order!
“Zhenbei Army!”
“Zhenbei Army!”
“Zhenbei Army!”
Three Zhenbei Army Lieutenant Commanders raised their swords.
“Slay the barbarian!”
“Slay the barbarian!”
“Slay the barbarian!”
Three thousand iron cavalry roared in unison.
Killing intent filled the wilderness.
The black torrents began moving.
The earth started trembling beneath the synchronized rhythm of their hooves.
Jin’s infantry was famed throughout the East.
Chu’s navy was famed throughout the East.
But only the iron cavalry of Yan was universally acknowledged as first-rate beneath heaven!
The slovenly man took one carefree step backward.
He raised the wine jar again and poured every last drop over his face.
What good liquor.
Truly good liquor.
What a pity he had never drunk anything this good before.
If he had discovered this kind of liquor earlier, perhaps he would not have come on this journey at all.
At worst, he could have spent every day drunk and drowned his sorrow that way.
SMASH!
He shattered the wine jar.
His hair began lifting and dancing around him.
His scarlet eyes swept over his surroundings.
Across his body, red patterns began surfacing one after another.
It looked as though a savage beast that had lain dormant for years had finally opened its eyes!
“TIGER!”
“TIGER!”
“TIGER!”
The Zhenbei Army finished forming its battle array.
More than a thousand cavalry on the outer ring began circling, maintaining speed.
Inside that ring, the cavalry divided into formations of one hundred riders each.
From eight directions, they began charging one after another.
A hundred cavalry faced forward.
All wore black armor.
At that moment, the hundred riders of each formation seemed even to breathe as one.
One formation was like a single person.
Like a single blade!
The slovenly man accelerated.
He charged straight toward the nearest formation.
The cavalry opposite him also began their charge.
BOOM!
The slovenly man punched directly into the formation.
More than twenty Zhenbei cavalry at the very front had their bodies explode on impact.
Their armor twisted into useless scrap metal.
The remaining riders vomited blood one after another, injured by the violent collision of qi and blood.
The sharp blade of the cavalry formation had struck a boulder and split open a massive gap.
But the slovenly man’s right hand, the one he had used to throw the punch, was trembling.
Blood seeped from his knuckles.
Before he could exploit the breach and charge deeper into the broken formation to kill, the surviving cavalry immediately wheeled their horses outward and scattered to both sides.
They were fleeing but not truly fleeing.
They were opening space for the next cavalry formation to charge!
Before the slovenly man could stabilize the chaotic qi and blood inside his body, the second cavalry formation was already upon him!
A long howl tore from his throat.
He charged forward again.
BOOM!
His body was like the hardest refined iron in the world.
He smashed directly into the cavalry formation.
This time, he tore straight through it!
More than twenty Zhenbei cavalry in the center of the formation were destroyed by contact with him.
Bodies burst apart.
Limbs shattered.
“TIGER!”
“TIGER!”
“TIGER!”
And then, the next formation came.
BANG!
BANG!
...
Eight cavalry formations were broken open by that one man.
The ground around him was now carpeted with blood and mangled corpses.
His own body was covered in wounds.
Blood poured from him.
In several places, white bone was already visible.
At the beginning, his momentum had soared like a rainbow piercing the clouds.
Now, he was visibly declining.
Like a river running dry.
Like a tiger fallen onto flat ground.
Yet the hatred in his eyes remained as deep as ever.
Not one trace of it had diminished.
At the same time, the Zhenbei cavalry showed no hesitation whatsoever despite the deaths of hundreds of comrades.
The surviving riders from the eight formations that had charged earlier withdrew to the outer ring.
They began circling and reorganizing.
Meanwhile, the cavalry that had previously been circling outside had already formed eight new battle formations.
A new round of charges was about to begin!
At that moment, the elderly voice from inside the residence sounded once again.
“The Old Marchioness says:
“You were born with a general’s talent.
“Why insist on displaying the courage of a mere common brute?
“The Old Marchioness also says:
“That old bastard, the Khan, barely has anything worthwhile left under him to begin with.
“If you die here too, how is that old bastard supposed to keep going?”
The slovenly man heard this.
Then he threw back his head and laughed.
Facing the eight newly formed cavalry formations charging toward him from every direction, he showed not the slightest fear.
At the same time, he roared:
“I am but a savage of the desert!”
---
(End of Chapter)
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