Wolf Guards Destroyed by a Natural Disaster?

Everyone present sank into thought.

The Wolf Guards numbered fewer than ten thousand, but once they reached ten thousand, they were invincible.

This was not only recorded in the history books; it was a true reflection of history.

Mounted on Giant Wolves, the Wolf Guards' combat strength far surpassed that of ordinary cavalry.

Once, three thousand Wolf Guards of the Wolf Clan had beaten the Ten Kingdoms of the Northern Domain into ruin, even fighting their way to the Central Land Sea.

And now, the remains in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range were very likely those of that Wolf Guard force which had mysteriously vanished long ago.

They had been so formidable that, in the world of that time, they could be called nearly invincible.

So how, exactly, had they been wiped out?

"Could they have encountered a natural disaster?" a geography expert asked.

"That's possible. Most of their bones were buried beneath rocks and soil, which closely matches the characteristics of a mudslide."

"Indeed. Judging from the photographs and videos from the site, it fits the characteristics of a landslide."

"That's right. We tested over two hundred soil samples from the mountaintop, the mountainside, and the foot of the mountain.

The soil distribution here matches the characteristics of a landslide."

"If this Wolf Guard force truly was that force from a thousand years ago, and was ultimately destroyed by a landslide or some other natural disaster...

Heaven bless our glorious Great Xia!"

Everyone sighed.

If history had truly unfolded that way, it seemed simple, yet perfectly reasonable.

Back then, the Great Han Dynasty of the Great Xia Clan had also launched an expedition against the Ancient Xi Kingdom.

Unfortunately, they encountered a massive flood on the way and were forced to return.

Otherwise, the Ancient Xi Kingdom would have been destroyed long ago.

History could be so damn absurd sometimes.

Everyone found it quite plausible.

A Wolf Guard force on an expedition against Dafeng had suddenly encountered heavy rain in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range.

In the end, the army had camped where it was. Then, at night, a sudden landslide had struck, and the once-unrivaled Wolf Guards had been swallowed by rock and mud, dying in the valley.

It was reasonable, and it stood up to scrutiny.

But at that moment, expert Liu Chengchao spoke up.

"There are some problems with this.

Such natural disasters are certainly terrifying, but with the Wolf Guards' strength, it would have been impossible for not a single person to escape. Mudslides, landslides, and similar disasters have a time factor. Given the terrifying natural traits of Giant Wolves, they could not possibly have been completely helpless in the face of a landslide.

If this was a Wolf Guard force of ten thousand men, a force of that scale could not have been completely wiped out by a landslide.

If it had been a smaller Wolf Guard unit of dozens or hundreds, more than half might have been killed or wounded, or they might even have been annihilated.

But this was very likely a Wolf Guard force of ten thousand men!"

Everyone present frowned.

The geographer who had proposed the theory also fell into thought.

Since he had put forward that hypothesis, he naturally knew it was riddled with holes.

But many historical truths, even theories of physics, had come from bold conjectures followed by careful verification.

No matter how absurd a conjecture was, they could put it forward.

After all, they were only hypotheses, offered for others' consideration.

"If it wasn't a natural disaster, then what was it?"

"The natural disaster may have been only one factor."

"Yes. There are far too many strange details here."

"Why have these bones been preserved for so many years?

How many Wolf Guards were buried in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range?

Why did they die? Aside from encountering a natural disaster, what other enemy had they faced?"

The people present continued discussing the matter, while more news from the Great Wilderness Mountain Range kept arriving.

"Everyone, there are currently 725 Wolf Clan skeletons and 424 Giant Wolf skeletons in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range.

This is merely the tip of the iceberg. It proves that this was definitely a fully organized Wolf Guard force.

Furthermore, an iron slip was found beside one of the skeletons.

Three such iron slips have been discovered so far."

A photograph appeared on the conference room screen.

In the photograph was a rust-covered iron slip. It was oval-shaped, with a hollow triangle in its center.

"The style of this iron slip is indeed a creation from the era of A Tiemuda Jinke of the Wolf Clan," a historian said.

"This is... a Golden Crown Iron Slip." A scholar specializing in the Wolf Clan adjusted his glasses. "The Wolf Clan worshiped Giant Wolves, and iron slips were ornaments for Giant Wolves. Back then, the Wolf King A Tiemuda Jinke forged one hundred Golden Crown Iron Slips and bestowed them upon the Wolf Clan's strongest warriors.

Eighty percent of those hundred Golden Crown Iron Slips belonged to the Wolf Guards."

"A Tiemuda Jinke—the Wolf King who nearly destroyed Dafeng?"

"That's right!"

Everyone present was deeply shocked.

It seemed this truly was that Wolf Guard force.

A Wolf Guard force of over ten thousand men appeared to have died in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range.

What on earth had caused it?

"If it was that Wolf Guard force, with over ten thousand elite soldiers...

Ordinary natural disasters would not have been enough to wipe them out.

What if it had been a natural disaster combined with a man-made calamity?"

Suddenly, an expert offered his opinion.

Quite a few people sank into thought.

If it had not been a simple natural disaster—or if human factors had been involved...

Ordinary mudslides and landslides would have caused substantial damage. If people had been involved and magnified those disasters...

Then the destructive power would have been utterly terrifying.

"Great Demon Hei Ze!"

Suddenly, Liu Chengchao spoke those four words.

"Beside those skeletons, there is a stone stele. Written on it in Ancient Wolf Script are four words: Great Demon Hei Ze!"

"What connection could that stone stele have with these Wolf Guards?"

"Could that stele have been carved by those Wolf Guards? There are quite a few problems with that theory."

"Could the stone stele be unrelated to these Wolf Guards?"

"A bold conjecture—it may also be related."

The crowd buzzed with discussion, each offering their own views.

For them, uncovering history from a thousand years ago was enough to make them excited and exhilarated.

It was, in its own unusual way, a chance to witness history.

At that moment, Zhao Guoyan, the commander of the Enforcement Guard, who had remained silent all along, suddenly cut in.

"Could it be that the Wolf Guards invaded us?

Hei Ze was a general, and he led his men in surrounding and annihilating the Wolf Guards in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range.

Those Wolf Guards hated Hei Ze deeply, so they carved the stele?"

Hearing Zhao Guoyan's words, the others fell into thought.

Liu Chengchao smiled. "Dafeng does not lack talented people, but the nation is rotten to its roots.

Perhaps there was a brave and battle-hardened general, but there definitely were no troops forged through a hundred battles.

The Great Feng Dynasty's military service system mostly turned civilians into soldiers. They might not even have been able to defeat bandits, so how could they have defeated the Wolf Guards?

Still, Guoyan's theory is quite possible.

This Hei Ze was a general. His soldiers may not have been strong, but by making use of the terrain and magnifying the natural disaster, it might have been possible to grievously wound the Wolf Guards."

"That's impossible." Someone immediately voiced a different opinion. "Wiping out the Wolf Guards would have been enough to leave one's name in the annals of history. Why have we never seen any historical record of this battle?

Who was Hei Ze? We simply don't know.

Anyone sent by Dafeng to lead troops against the Wolf Guards would definitely have been a recognized official of Dafeng.

Yet we have checked the records of Dafeng officials from beginning to end, and there was no general named Hei Ze."

"Has anyone found any information about Hei Ze?"