The Barbarian Alien King
As the Di'an City was bathed in a gentle spring rain, dark, inky clouds shrouded the Northern Border horizon.
On the vast land, the northern land is frozen, and snow drifts for thousands of miles.
A violent hurricane, mixed with snowflakes, fell continuously from the sky. The sky was so gloomy that it was impossible to tell day from night, or east from west. Visibility was completely lost under the blizzard.
Under the entire sky, only the howling wind and the sounds of fighting, hidden beneath the snow, could be heard.
This is a makeshift camp hastily built by the Black Scale Guard. The walls of the camp are engraved with crude array formations hastily carved by the array masters accompanying the army. However, these array formations have been destroyed, and tall black shadows keep sweeping over the walls and attacking into the camp.
The entire camp appeared so frail amidst the wind and snow.
Shouts of battle, the clanging of metal clashing, and the crisp sound of bowstrings being fired.
Countless corpses of the Barbarian Tribe and humans were buried by the heavy snow.
Firelight flickered throughout the camp, and the fierce fighting gradually cooled down as time passed.
On the high hills outside the camp, several towering figures, as tall as iron towers, appeared and disappeared in the wind and snow, their icy gazes looking down at the human camp below.
I don't know how much time passed,
"Click--"
A huge, calloused foot stepped into the snow, crushing something buried there with a crisp sound.
His gaze slowly turned back to the several "iron towers" standing atop the hill, the bloodlust in his eyes appearing somewhat sinister amidst the wind and snow.
The newcomer was a Barbarian Tribe, a tall and muscular man covered in blood, with many of his bone spikes broken.
Upon seeing these tall figures, the Barbarian Tribe knelt down, his right hand on his chest, and performed a Barbarian Tribe salute, his deep voice uttering a tongue-twisting language not belonging to the Great Yan:
"Your Majesty, Wu Yuan is not in the camp. Please punish him."
After he finished speaking, none of the towering figures uttered a word, their deep blue eyes fixed intently on the newcomer.
Amidst the whistling wind, a voice slowly drifted from behind several iron towers.
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King stared at the now lifeless camp below:
"As expected, Gu Chen, it's already quite an achievement that you were able to wipe out Wu Yuan's entire battalion of Qu. Get up."
Upon hearing this, the Barbarian Tribe named Gu Chen did not rise, but remained kneeling.
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King slowly turned around, his gaze fixed on Gu Chen:
"You seem to have something else to say?"
Gu Chen took a deep breath, his clenched fist cracking at the knuckles, his voice low and rapid:
"Your Majesty, if it weren't for this auspicious snowfall, even with only five thousand men in this camp, my forces would likely have struggled to capture it. In the battle of Dali Mountain, we lost forty thousand of our tribesmen and barely managed to withdraw. Now, Marquis of Martial Achievement of the Flame Dynasty has returned to Beifeng City and may set off into the Northern Border at any time. I implore Your Majesty to reconsider."
The howling wind raged through the snowy night, plunging the hills into silence.
The Marquis of Martial Achievement of the Great Yan was a nightmare hanging over the heads of their Holy Clan. The prestige they had accumulated over decades was built upon the corpses of countless Holy Clan citizens.
Invincible.
Now that the Flame Dynasty has amassed a million elite troops in the Northern Border, the best option is to take advantage of this heavy snowfall to quickly retreat to the depths of the Northern Border and lie low.
If the fighting continues, the entire Holy Clan will be in danger of extinction.
After a long silence,
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King did not directly answer Gu Chen's question:
"Keep the spoils of war in your own tribe, and hand over the Spirit Blade weapons to the High Priest. When handing over the weapons, you can go to him to collect the thousand holy weapons. Rise."
His voice carried a resolute air of authority, conveying a quiet but firm authority.
Gu Chen said nothing more, exhaled a puff of white mist, and slowly rose to bow.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The wind continued to blow, Barbarian Tribe Alien King stared at the camp below, showing no intention of speaking further.
Gu Chen glanced at the king's retreating figure and suddenly spoke:
"Your Majesty, we captured some prisoners during our raid on the camp. Would you like to take a look?"
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King's indifferent voice rang out:
"Among them, who are the valuable ones?"
"There is a confidant of Wu Yuan."
"Wu Yuan?"
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King glanced down at the severed bone splinter in his arm, a fierce killing intent flashing in his eyes. "You can go now, I'll go check on it."
Gu Chen bowed and left without saying another word, his tall figure disappearing into the snowy night in an instant.
Time passed quickly, in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
A towering figure behind the Barbarian Tribe Alien King suddenly spoke in a deep, gruff voice:
"Your Majesty, the morale of the Holy Clan is wavering. Are we truly not going to retreat?"
"."
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King slowly sat cross-legged beside the cliff face of the hill, exhaling a breath of stale air that turned into white mist and dissipated.
"Zha Ye, do you think we should back down?"
The Iron Tower Barbarian Tribe, Zha Ye, fell silent.
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King's keratinized face seemed to smile as he swept his gaze over the several iron-towered Barbarian Tribe around him:
"You can talk to me about anything. We've known each other since we were little, so you can tell me anything."
Zha Ye remained silent for a moment, glanced in the direction Gu Chen had left, and whispered:
"The war with the Great Yan has lasted for four years, and many tribes are exhausted. The spoils we have gained are enough to allow us to return to our ancestral lands for more than ten years to recuperate. The human artisans we have captured along the way will also allow us to be better prepared when the next war begins."
"More adequate preparation?"
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King shook his head, a deep sense of helplessness in his voice. "What constitutes more adequate preparation? More tribesmen? More holy weapons? Or more totem banners?"
"But have you considered that even if we have better preparations, can we gain more than the Flame Dynasty that occupies the Central Plains?"
No one spoke.
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King slowly raised his hand and caught a snowflake falling from the sky, feeling no coldness.
His palms were covered with a layer of calluses, like fingernails.
Adult Barbarian Tribe develop a hard keratin layer around their bodies; it is both a weapon of mass destruction and a means of insulation and warmth that they have evolved over many years in this harsh land.
And so, the snow in the Barbarian Tribe Alien King's palm showed no sign of melting, and he murmured to himself:
"In this Northern Border land, only one or two out of ten newborns of my Holy Clan survive. The majority die from the bitter cold, from food shortages, and from not seeing the sun for most of the year!"
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King casually pointed south with his other hand:
"Zha Ye, have you ever been Beifeng of Beifeng?"
"."
After a few breaths of silence,
Zha Ye's voice was muffled and deep.
I've never been there.
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King's deep blue eyes held a hint of reminiscence and longing.
"I have secretly been there before. The climate south of Beifeng City is warm, with inexhaustible water and food. We can hunt wild animals in the mountains and forests, cultivate fertile fields, and do everything we want."
As he spoke,
The Barbarian Tribe Alien King clenched the snowflakes in his gauntlet, stood up, and swept his gaze over his four trusted men, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"I will lead my people to conquer that insurmountable Beifeng City."
"Only in this way can our tribe continue to exist, can develop, and can we avoid fighting amongst ourselves for a bite to eat in this godforsaken Snow Plain!"