Chapter 15: I Will Absolutely Not Share This Glory Alone

"Shepherd, with the army defeated like this, what shall we do?"

Eight or nine hundred Hu cavalry scattered across the earth, not knowing where to go.

The city was lost, the soldiers defeated, and only eight or nine hundred light cavalry remained by his side, yet Wan Ziqizhen felt no despair of having nowhere to turn.

He had already thought of an escape route when he first rose up.

The Six Garrisons Rebellion had already spread to Jin territory, and big and small mountain strongholds no longer obeyed the court's orders.

"Jin territory is in chaos; we can either head south to submit to Suhe Polunxian, or head north to submit to the Huchu tribe—either is fine!"

Having spoken the strategy he had long planned, Wan Ziqizhen remained calm and composed, yet humiliation still surged uncontrollably within his heart.

What he had not expected was that he would lose so quickly!

Originally, Wan Ziqizhen thought that between him and General Er Zhu Rong, they were evenly matched.

After this battle, he finally realized that General Er Zhu Rong's talent and strategy far surpassed his own.

Wan Ziqizhen felt somewhat despondent, but the pfft-pfft sound from the warhorse beneath him brought him back to reality.

Men are exhausted, horses are tired!

At present, whether heading south or north, there is one prerequisite.

They must prepare enough supplies!

"They've been gone all night; why haven't they returned yet? Go check!"

Wan Ziqizhen issued the order and dispatched another dozen or so riders to provide support.

With men weary and horses exhausted, Wan Ziqizhen ordered his Hu cavalry to rest temporarily.

When they retreated, it was truly too hurried; they had brought almost no supplies with them.

"Shepherd, will General Er Zhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu pursue us?"

"Take it one step at a time!"

Wan Ziqizhen could not be certain.

Although time was precious, he still had to let his cavalry rest.

After such high-intensity flight, humans can endure it, but horses cannot.

Wan Ziqizhen was just about to close his eyes and think carefully about what to do next.

In the dense forest not far away, countless birds flew out from the woods, fleeing toward the distance.

"Something's wrong!"

Wan Ziqizhen dared not be careless and led his men forward to investigate.

Within the dense forest lay the bodies of Hu Ren, scattered here and there—his scouts he had just sent out.

"Shepherd, a spear pierced the heart; the opponent's martial arts are quite formidable."

Looking at the traces on the battlefield, Wan Ziqizhen saw that the opponent was only one person, yet had defeated his scouts in foot combat.

Formidable? His martial arts were far beyond that!

Something Wan Ziqizhen had never seen in his life!

"Chase forward and take a look!"

Hundreds of riders followed, moving through the dense forest along the traces of the fight; beneath the mountain hollow lay a small mound of skulls.

The materials of the mound were all the scouts he had sent out last night and not long ago.

Wan Ziqizhen was very angry!

"Who did this!"

"There is only a group of Han refugees nearby; could it be them?"

Wan Ziqizhen suppressed his anger, ordered the bodies to be collected, and buried them temporarily.

Although time was precious, Wan Ziqizhen still spent half an hour performing a funeral ceremony for them according to his tribe's rituals.

He tore the war flag in half and placed it before the grave; Wan Ziqizhen spoke solemnly:

"Brothers followed me to fight on the battlefield, yet they died in the hands of these despicable Han people. Rest assured, I will avenge you!"

Speaking thus, Wan Ziqizhen picked up his blade and roared:

"Raid the nearby Han camps, seize everything they have, leave not a single blade of grass!"

In the distance, Li Shuang, watching this scene, smiled slightly.

"Hou Jing, it is done!"

In the temporary camp, Yang Kan looked at this group of refugees holding bamboo spears as weapons and felt a massive headache.

Just as he had expected, these refugees were incapable of great deeds.

They had long been terrified by the Hu Ren; hearing they were to fight the Hu Ren, even if it was a defeated army, even if the enemy's numbers were far fewer than theirs, they still could not muster even a shred of courage.

In such a short time, Yang Kan could not organize them at all.

Time ticked away second by second, and Yang Kan did not know what to do.

He knew clearly that if Wan Ziqizhen's cavalry really came, they would likely scatter in panic.

Yang Kan had no choice but to wait for news from Li Shuang's side.

Finally, a horn sound rang out; Li Shuang, accompanied by Gao Ang and Hou Jing, returned to the camp.

They brought a tattered, blood-stained war flag and a Hu Ren clad in armor.

This Hu Ren, his mouth covered, was shoved to the ground by Hou Jing.

Li Shuang's face was full of joy; he spoke loudly to the crowd:

"Fellow villagers, do you know who he is?"

At this moment, Hou Jing chimed in appropriately from the side.

"This is Wan Ziqizhen's war flag; he is Wan Ziqizhen!"

Among the crowd, voices of discussion rose in a clamor. Soon, someone recognized it.

"That's right, I recognize this war banner. When I was young, my brother was killed by the Hu Ren just for looking up at this banner!"

As that voice fell, the sound within the crowd grew even louder.

"Fellow villagers, the government offers a bounty: the head of Wan Ziqizhen is worth a thousand mu of fertile land."

After Li Shuang finished speaking, the crowd fell silent in an instant.

"But I must tell you, fellow villagers, I will absolutely not enjoy this glory alone!"

Li Shuang drew his horizontal blade and, amidst the crowd, killed the Hu Ren he had brought with a single strike.

The head hit the ground, blood splattered everywhere.

The crowd's emotions were ignited like gunpowder, and Li Shuang shouted loudly among them:

"Right now, the remnants of Wan Ziqizhen are still in the mountains and forests. Go, kill those traitors, and take back the houses and fields that originally belonged to you!"

Yang Kan saw that the momentum of this group of refugees was completely different from before; a strange courage surged from within them.

Led by Hou Jing, they rushed out like a pack of wolves!

Yang Kan looked at the Hu Ren corpse on the ground, lost in thought.

"Is he truly Wan Ziqizhen?"

Before Li Shuang could speak, Gao Ang laughed out, feeling extremely gratified.

"Now, whether he is or not, he must be!"

Deep in the mountains and forests, Wan Ziqizhen saw his panicked subordinates running back from a distance, and his heart tightened.

"Has General Er Zhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu attacked?"

"No, it's not them, it's the Han people!"

His subordinates were terrified, sweat streaming down their faces, as if they had encountered a fierce beast.

Hearing this, Wan Ziqizhen breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his fleeing subordinates with some contempt.

"What is there to fear about the Han people!"

"These Han people are a bit different!"

"What could be different..."

Before Wan Ziqizhen could finish speaking, he saw a group of Han people charging out from the mountain valley, holding bamboo spears.

This group of Han people was small in number, yet unexpectedly, they dared to charge at Wan Ziqizhen's Hu Ren forces.

"Mu Zi, let's flee quickly; this bunch of Han people are a pack of madmen; they chop at us as soon as they see us!"

"Just a bunch of Han people, and you want me to flee?"

Wan Ziqizhen soon regretted his words.

As they drew closer, he saw the appearance of these Han people: seeing Wan Ziqizhen and his Hu Ren cavalry under his command, they showed none of the usual fear, but rather looked at them as if they were prey.

Green light even glowed in their eyes!

For some reason, as Wan Ziqizhen watched them charge forward, he swallowed his saliva.