The Great Wind Rose

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the atmosphere in Kaiyuan Commandery gradually grew tense and oppressive. Although the herders still stubbornly tended their flocks, their hearts had sprouted grass, leaving them suspicious of everything all day long. At the slightest stir in the wind or grass, they wished they could grow wings and fly straight into the city.

On the morning of the twelfth day of the first month in the second year of the Han Tribe's Jianyuan era, a long-awaited storm finally shattered the peace of this grassland.

A patrol of Han Tribe scout cavalry was making its regular rounds along the outskirts when they suddenly spotted billowing clouds of dust rising in the southwest. The sight, as though the apocalypse had descended, filled them with dread.

But to obtain more accurate intelligence, the scout cavalry still risked their lives and moved in for a closer look.

Before they could approach the enemy's main force, however, they were discovered by the enemy scouts on the outskirts. The scout cavalry on both sides displayed their skills, and a small-scale battle involving several hundred riders soon erupted across the grassland.

Some of the Han Tribe soldiers stayed behind to cover the others, while some scouts wheeled their mounts around and raced back toward the main camp, blowing with all their might on the ox horn trumpets hanging before their chests.

The mournful, oppressive notes of the trumpets spread across the surrounding earth. Hearing the warning, the herders hurriedly cracked their long whips to drive their livestock onward, leading their herds desperately toward the city. Whenever they encountered other herders, they did not forget to pass on the warning. The outskirts of Kaiyuan City soon descended into chaos.

The billowing dust in the distance continued to race closer.