In late summer and early autumn, it should be the time when the flowers on the Shuobei grassland are in full bloom and the grass is the thickest. However, in the past, the thousands of miles of flowing clouds and green grass have now become a different scene.
The further west you go, the more shocking you see Jiang Yan and the Red Flame Army. A few days later, the low dark clouds still refuse to dissipate, as if they are like a giant palm stretched out by the gods and demons in the sky.
Smash all the ants passing by on the ground into a ball of meat.
The patches of weeds have now been trampled by the passing wolves and fell to the ground. They are wrapped together with the dark brown soil, leaving an obvious trace that stretches for several miles on the field. It has been raining for days, and the horses' hooves have broken the originally hardened soil.
It was all stirred up, turning into bits and pieces of filthy mud, which wet half of the horse's legs, and soaked through the waistband and silk belt hanging low on the knight on the horse.
However, when you look carefully, you can still vaguely make out some dark red colors in the dirt. Although no one mentioned it, everyone knew that it was left by thousands of prairie people.
The ironclad evidence of unwillingness to succumb to fate.
When they were about to arrive at Caobo, it started to rain again. The rainwater fell on the red armor worn by the warriors, and then followed the horses' legs to form thin streams on the ground.
The soil of the grassland cannot hold water. In just a short moment, the rainwater that falls will collect on the ground, reaching an inch deep. During such rainy seasons, many streams and small rivers will appear out of thin air on the grassland. And those that have nowhere to store them will
The stored rainwater will pass through these criss-crossing branches and eventually flow into the Yaguna River, passing through the grassland and then into the Danshui River in the south.
At present, the blood stains that were originally soaked in the soil have been re-dissolved by the abundant rain, and several nearby trickles have been dyed a faint red. The rain has become heavier, and the color has become lighter.
.But even so, it was still difficult to hide the pungent stench filling the air.
The cavalry team marching in the rain finally stopped on the east bank of the Yaguna River. However, it was not because the swollen river water blocked their way forward, but they just did not dare to move forward easily.
The pack of wolves obviously followed the team led by Tuya and turned south. In the mist, Jiang Yan could vaguely see a few hundred steps away. The originally plump oasis seemed to be covered with something he had never seen before.
thing--
The grassland with a radius of several miles now seems to have been burned by fire, showing the color of grass and trees. But it is obviously not caused by the fire, because in the gaps, many withered grass blades can still be seen pointing stubbornly to the sky.
In that vast expanse of gray, there are still vaguely hidden countless raised hills. Those hills are like piles of soil rising up into unattended tombs, but they are not piled very high. Some hills cannot withstand it.
Washed away by the rain, it slowly collapsed under the young man's gaze.
"Do you know what those are?"
The young He Han turned to Meng Dun beside him and asked. However, even the other party who knew the grassland well was not sure where the landform in front of him came from. He immediately ordered one of his men to ride a fast horse to explore, but the scout
The news brought back caused the color to drain from the faces of everyone present.
"Hehan and the leader, the strange thing covered in the grass in front is wolf dung!"
"Have you really seen it clearly? Are you sure it's wolf dung?!"
Meng Dun jumped off his horse, walked quickly to the other party and shouted sternly.
The scout immediately nodded: "My subordinate has followed his father to hunt wolves for a living since he was a child. There is no way he will admit his mistake!"
Meng Dun's expression immediately changed, and he immediately ordered the Red Flame Army around him to be on full alert.
Jiang Yan looked at the pale face of the leader of the Choluo tribe next to him, and knew that the news brought back by the scout was making everyone's already tense spirits gradually approach the limit——
If the gray-white patch in front of you is really wolf excrement, it means that the main wolf pack has been lingering here for several days. And it can leave so much excrement, at least there are more than 10,000 wolves!
When they were at Hulantai, they faced the attack of more than a thousand giant wolves. Although the Red Flame Army did not suffer too much losses, they had to use ten percent of their strength to win. Now they suddenly faced a group several times their size.
Wolf, even the most optimistic person, will never easily think that he can survive those sharp teeth.
The young Hehan didn't say much, he just led the red flame army in formation and continued to move forward. He knew very well that from there, crossing the Dankli Desert to the south, there was already the power of the Choluo tribe.
Range. If Tuya and Yuan Ti want to survive in front of the pack of wolves, they will definitely go there to ask for help.
However, the situation on the grassland was far worse than he expected. Before the main force of the Red Flame Army could pass through the piles of wolf dung on the ground, a large number of livestock that had been slaughtered and eaten by wolves appeared in their sights.
Corpse.
Just like the horses that were slaughtered during the hunt a few years ago, these dead cattle and sheep had their bellies ripped open and their livers eaten. The wolves seemed to be just to satisfy their desire to hunt living animals.
Half of the animals did not die on the spot, but had their legs and feet bitten off and their intestines torn out. They were so seriously injured that they could not recover and fell to the ground dead.
Today, the animal carcasses are already covered with flies and maggots. Even in the pouring rain, countless fat white worms are still slurping the rotting muscles and internal organs without scruples. Only then did everyone realize that they had been
The lingering smell of blood and putrefaction that spread over the grassland that you smelled on the road came from here.
Suddenly, Meng Dun galloped forward with all his strength. Jiang Yan didn't know what was going on, so he immediately followed him with a dozen riders around him. However, he saw that the other party suddenly fell to his knees among the dead animals.
It turns out that those buried here were not just hundreds of cattle and sheep. Scattered in front of everyone, there were also countless mutilated human bones hidden under the mud and weeds. The deceased were wearing
There is a rare embroidered brocade on the grassland, and one of them is holding tightly a blood-stained flag in his hand. What is painted on the flag is the crescent moon totem that represents the Choluo tribe.
Meng Dun didn't explain much, he just hugged the corpses on the ground tightly, already sobbing. But the young He Han suddenly remembered that after Mu He's death, his wife and children had been living in Caobo's natal home.
Watching in mourning. I never thought that I would encounter an unexpected event here!
Even though the young man did not know the deceased, Meng Dun's sad appearance still made his heart tense. This scene once again brought back the painful memory of witnessing the massacre of his fishing village and the death of his parents when he was young.
Every time he came here, the heart-breaking feeling would make him heartbroken.
Jiang Yan reached out to his arms again, and gently touched the necklace that originally belonged to his sister, which was returned to him through Ning Yue's hands. Until this moment, there was still a trace of fantasy in his heart, hoping that the red necklace would return to him. There is no unknown relationship between the girl with the hair and her enemy.
However, he already understood in his heart that from the moment the girl gave him the necklace, the two of them could never go back to the past.
The 500-horse Red Flame Army continued to follow He Han toward the south, but it was difficult for everyone to smile. In the team of nearly 10,000 people, the only sounds now were the sound of tiny horse hooves and the friction of the armor on their bodies. The rustling sound.
Along the way, they encountered a few scattered settlements along the Yaguna River, as well as the remains of herdsmen and Tiezhongshan who died in battle there. However, they were never able to find any trace of Tuya and Yuan Ti. .The young man could not help but start to worry whether his wife would have been swallowed whole by those terrifying giant wolves, including her skin and bones.
But just as he was gradually falling into despair, he suddenly heard a long and shrill neigh of a horse. The dark-eyed boy just came back to his senses. When he raised his head, he saw a horse with mixed green and black coats. Rushing straight towards the Red Flame Army from under the undulating slopes in the distance, it was the old horse named Qingli given to him by Yuan Ti!
Following Qingli, there were dozens of galloping wolves with teeth and claws. The young He Han immediately brandished his sword and spurred his horse, leading the cavalry to charge over. Only one person of the overwhelmingly superior Red Flame Army was killed, and three others were killed. At the cost of minor injuries, all the giant wolves were killed in front of the battle array.
The old horse rescued by the wolf's mouth also immediately ran to Jiang Yan's side, with tears streaming down his face. Then he snorted and scratched the ground with his front hooves, as if to signal the young man to follow. .
The black-eyed boy realized that he might be very close to the person he was looking for. Without thinking, he urged his horse to follow closely. After traveling south for several days, he reached the end of the Dankli Desert. North end.
But this time, Jiang Yan was sure that Qingli had not taken him in the wrong direction. Because just a few miles ahead, at the edge of the desert, tens of thousands of wolves were dozing on the ground so densely that it was difficult to see the edges at a glance. In the depths of the desert further away from the wolves, Rong Zhan, painted with gray wolves and white deer, stands out among the gray-brown fur!
However, it is impossible for the Red Flame Army's horses to run in the desert. If they rush into a pack of wolves like this, even if they can kill one of them off guard, the cavalry that has lost its speed will soon be in a dilemma and be outnumbered. Difficult situation. Young He Han frowned. Although he wanted to rush to Tuya's side immediately, he still suppressed the anxiety and uneasiness in his heart.
But he never thought that just when he was planning an attack, Qingli, who was leading the way, spread his hooves and rushed towards the wolves! Jiang Yan understood immediately and reached out to grab the horse floating in the air. He reined in the reins, but it was still a step too late. Seeing Qingli's lonely back retreating, the young man felt his nose suddenly sore - the old horse actually wanted to use himself as bait to lure away the pack of wolves blocking the front. !
The sound of horses neighing echoed through the sky. Even the thousands of galloping wolves on the desert side could not believe that a living creature dared to do such a stupid thing in front of them. But as Qingli passed in front of the group of wolves at an extremely fast speed, When they then changed direction and ran at full speed towards the setting sun, they were finally angered by such a brazen provocation.
A giant wolf with pure black fur roared, obviously the leader of the team. Under his leadership, nearly 90% of the galloping wolves stuck out their bright red tongues and followed Qingli to the west.
Only a few hundred wolves were left standing guard.
As a result, even though they still had an advantage in numbers, these unsuspecting ferocious beasts would no longer be able to defeat the cavalry of the Red Flame Army coming from behind.
The long knife filled with endless anger was like chopping melons and vegetables, knocking down the giant wolf that came towards him head by head. The young He Han led the crowd to fight in a bloody battle, and finally caught Qing Li with his life.
With this rare opportunity, he fought off a pack of wolves and found Yuan Ti, who was seriously injured in a seabuckthorn forest that had long since died, but still led the last hundred or so Tiezhongshan men to protect Tuya to the death.
Seeing the young man leading the troops to rescue him, the old general's face finally showed a trace of relief, and he exhaled the breath he was holding in his chest, but he couldn't even utter a single word, and he suddenly lost strength and knelt down in front of General Yan.
The armor on his front and back was already soaked with blood.
Tuya exclaimed and rushed forward, pushed aside the soldier in front of her, supported the man's crumbling body, and then gave her husband a fierce look with her tear-filled eyes:
"Thank you for knowing how to come back! Do you know how many people have died on the grassland now? How many people have died!"
As Shuodi girl said this, she burst into tears. Jiang Yan stood in front of her at a loss, but he didn't know how to comfort her. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and whispered:
"I will seek justice for those prairie people who died!"
When Yuan Ti saw this, he also pushed himself up and persuaded:
"It's lucky that Da Hehan was able to come back in time. The most urgent task now is to protect the princess and get out of here safely before those galloping wolves come back!"
However, Tuya wiped her tears and shook her head vigorously: "The old general wants to persuade me to go to Yubei to ask for help through Dankli again? I won't go! What happened today happened on the grassland, even if I go to ask for help,
Those southerners trying to help will definitely have no results!"
"But hasn't Dahehan returned today? The princess has seen Chilang's offensive. If we don't take precautions, no matter how strong the cities of the southern vassal states are, once the trade routes and freight are cut off, and if we continue to hold on, we will be trapped by the wolves sooner or later.
In that city wall. If the old minister can understand this truth, the new Lord Yubei will naturally understand it too!"
Before he could finish his words, a shrill and loud horn sound suddenly sounded from the east. Everyone turned to follow the sound, only to see that less than a mile away from them, they were led away by Qingli.
The main force of Chilang actually turned back under the orders of someone unknown, kissing and clawing, preparing to launch a fatal blow to the humans in the desert!
"Hurry up and leave!"
As the old man with gray beard and hair spoke, he actually took off the white iron armor on his body and struck it on the girl's shoulder. Tuya immediately took half a step back to avoid it, but saw the old man opposite him look in the eyes, and then the sound of "
With a "hoo" sound, he was actually knocked unconscious by a Tiezhongshan guy.
"Don't the old generals plan to leave together?"
Jiang Yan watched helplessly as the old man raised his saber again and led Tiezhong Mountain to mount his horse. He suddenly felt as if a big stone was pressing on his chest, very, very stuffy.
Yuan Ti shook his head decisively:
"The old minister vaguely remembers that Hehan and the princess once said that these galloping wolves were raised in Lancang Mountain by someone. Now it seems that they can obey their command. If no one leaves behind, I am afraid that we today
No one can leave alive!"
As he spoke, the blood from the wound on his back was still dripping down. Seeing that the black-eyed young man did not respond, his eyes suddenly widened, as if there was fire burning in his eyes:
"In the future, I will no longer be able to protect the princess. Please also ask Dahehan to take good care of her!"
Young Hehan's throat twitched. He wanted to say that by gathering the strength of everyone, no matter how slim the hope was, he might be able to find a way out. However, he understood that this move had almost no chance of winning. And the opponent was Bao Tuya.
It's okay, and I will never agree to it.
"Jiang Yan is lucky enough to meet the old general once in this life. How honored he is!"
The young man suddenly put his right palm on his left chest and gave the opponent an incomparable Shuodi military salute. The 500 red flame troops behind him also stood on their horses and struck their armor with their swords, and unexpectedly started singing again in unison.
The iron-blooded war song that has been circulating on the grassland for thousands of years:
"At the foot of Lancang Mountain, the wild geese fall on the plain,
Durengel, riding a horse to the top of the clouds.
The wolf is the banner, and the white deer is the flag.
The sky is a dome and the mountain is a tent.
Grazing through grass, shooting eagles with bow,
Difficult to obey destiny, unyielding in war.
Cross my good wife, raise my sword and spear,
Changge Liquor can support life and death!"
Yuan Ti also smiled happily, nodded slightly to Jiang Yan, then turned his back and took a deep breath. With some difficulty, he raised the saber in his hand above his head, with the tip of the blade pointing straight at the sky. He just listened to his order and took the lead.
With more than a hundred Tiezhongshan under his command, he launched the final charge against the wolves!
The starting point is not the first release, and all copies are free.