Thud thud thud thud!
The clamor created by twenty thousand horseshoes shook the earth's axis, and the breath and snorts exhaled by horses and soldiers rose like fog.
Was he smiling?
Timur Khan's wren eyes, watching the scene of troops departing, were trembling finely.
There was a giant watching him from right beside. The giant's height was more than a head taller than even Timur Khan, seeming to be at least nine feet at a conservative estimate.
A moment later, when the cavalry completely disappeared beyond the horizon after crossing the plains, the giant looked at Timur Khan and opened his mouth.
"Brother. Can they alone rescue Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain?"
The giant called Timur Khan brother. Though the great grasslands and great desert were so vast their ends couldn't be known, there was only one person on this land who could call Timur Khan so.
War Giant, Mamorota.
He was a general who, as Timur Khan's Tiger Fang, had roamed the north for the past decades beheading thousands upon thousands. In fact, until recently he had been fiercely fighting the Uyghurs who had infiltrated from the northwest. Right after that battle, he had rushed here after receiving Timur Khan's urgent message.
Timur Khan showed no movement whatsoever at Mamorota's question, then at some moment spoke quietly.
"They didn't go to Liangcheng or Manhan Mountain."
"...What did you just say?"
In fact, Timur Khan was currently in the crisis of a lifetime. Multiple forces were simultaneously pressing in on him from all four directions—east, west, south, and north. The Uyghurs, who had accumulated enormous wealth through intermediary trade between the west and Central Plains, were constantly invading from the west, and in the north the great chieftain of the Tatars, Zayarka, had raised a rebellion.
Above all, the biggest problem was the fact that the Central Plains forces were gradually extending their reach northward just like now.
At this point in time, a single moment of misjudgment could become grounds for losing everything. One could say it wasn't much different from a situation where one wrong step would send you plummeting down a very tall steep cliff.
In such a situation, thanks to Mamorota's exploits, they had barely repelled the Uyghurs' massive invasion.
Even so, rebel forces were still running rampant throughout the northern great grasslands even now, and this Hetao Plain region was facing a great crisis from Central Plains forces' invasion. Also, the Uyghurs might reorganize their soldiers and raid the border again at any time.
So Mamorota thought Timur Khan would first extinguish the fire on this side, then go north to execute Zayarka. He thought that was both natural order and the best strategy. To do that, they first had to rescue Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain.
Those two places were right under Guisui's nose. Naturally, if those two strategic points were taken, it would be like allowing the enemy into the front yard. If by any chance Guisui ended up surrounded, this place would become completely isolated, and in the worst case, they might not be able to lift a finger while the Tatars swept through the north.
If the Tatar great chieftain Zayarka seized control of the Northern Plains, no further reinforcements could be expected, and all too naturally Timur Khan would lose all his foundation.
So for Mamorota, it was difficult to understand the answer Timur Khan had just given.
If he planned to abandon Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain and make a life-or-death stand at Guisui, he shouldn't have sent out twenty thousand elite cavalry. Whether it became porridge or rice, they had to settle it on this Hetao Plain—that's what Mamorota thought.
Timur Khan, as if already knowing all of Mamorota's thoughts, looked at him expressionlessly before slowly opening his mouth again.
"Salacat will pretend to go to Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain, then detour to cross the Great Wall. After that, he strikes Datong."
Salacat.
The commander of ten thousand and general commander of one of the cavalry units that had just departed.
For him to lead cavalry across the Great Wall? And at this point in time?
For Mamorota, it was military deployment and orders he simply couldn't understand. What they would gain by striking south of the Great Wall now was only Guisui's isolation.
"...I must be getting hard of hearing as I age. Would you say that once more?"
"You didn't hear wrong. Follow me."
Timur Khan left the bewildered Mamorota and jumped straight down from the wall. But no one around was surprised. If the Khan of the Northern Plains didn't have this level of martial arts skill, he already wouldn't be qualified to be called Khan.
Though questions still remained on Mamorota's face, he trusted Timur Khan's judgment. He had no choice. Though they had experienced countless crises, ultimately the victor was Timur Khan, and Mamorota had faithfully followed behind to reach this point. There had been no exceptions. Timur Khan was a born gambler who found a way to survive in crises. This time would be no different.
Without a moment's hesitation, Mamorota jumped down from the wall and followed behind Timur Khan.
Timur Khan took Mamorota out of Guisui to the outskirts. Guards tried to keep following behind them, but Timur Khan dismissed them all and went out to the Hetao Plain alone with Mamorota.
Timur Khan and Mamorota ran using Lightness Arts. Despite their large builds, not even the slightest disturbance occurred to the grass stepped on by their feet. Their Lightness Arts must be so advanced that Walking on Grass unfolded naturally.
How far had they run?
When Timur arrived at a certain place on the plains, he stopped.
Whoooosh—
A desolate land where only cold wind brushed grass and sand. It was just a barren grassland, and looking around in all directions, there was nothing special to find—just an empty field.
Except for one thing.
The only unusual thing was a single large pit dug into the field, as if someone had dug it.
Without a word, Mamorota walked past Timur Khan toward there. It seemed the reason he brought him here was likely there.
Thud.
Mamorota approached right up to the pit, crouched down, and looked inside the hole. The pit's depth was much deeper than expected, appearing to be easily fifteen to seventeen meters. And at the bottom...
"...!"
There were things piled haphazardly, and as they decayed, a terrible stench was coming out of the pit. Very familiar things and a familiar smell. They were things Mamorota had created countless times in his life thus far and would continue creating.
He sniffed slightly, then spoke with a grimace.
"Aren't those corpses? What about them? Well, they do seem to smell a bit worse than others."
Swish.
Without him noticing when he'd approached, Timur Khan placed his hand on Mamorota's shoulder while looking down into the pit. His thin eye corners trembled finely upon seeing the corpses. His mouth corners also rose slightly—he was clearly smiling, albeit faintly.
"Do those look like just corpses to your eyes?"
"Well, they're just corpses. Are they monsters or something?"
At Mamorota's mention of monsters, Timur Khan's finely trembling eyes opened wide. Then his eyes, hidden by eyelids, were revealed in broad daylight.
Odd Eyes. His eyes were heterochromatic. One side blue, the other black.
In the Central Plains they called this cursed eyes, but here in the north it was different. Those born with Odd Eyes were said to be born with the destiny to encompass the world. According to what was passed down, the Great Khan was also born with Odd Eyes.
"Monster? Monster..."
Mamorota turned his head to look up at the muttering Timur Khan's face. It had been truly a long time. Since he'd seen Timur Khan's Blue Eye.
"Yes, you're right. Those are monsters. And monsters that won't die or disappear easily—black monsters."
"What are you saying? I have no idea what you're talking about, Brother. Speak so I can understand."
"Duv Tuag."
Timur Khan's Blue Eye gleamed eerily as he uttered two words in a low voice.
"Duv Tuag...?"
Mamorota asked back. To this, Timur Khan added some explanation.
"That monster accomplished what the Great Khan's hundreds of thousands of cavalry couldn't."
"You said a monster accomplished what the Great Khan's hundreds of thousands of cavalry couldn't...? No way!? No way? That? Are you really talking about that right now?"
Instead of answering, Timur Khan nodded.
Finally realizing what Timur Khan was talking about, Mamorota hurriedly retreated backward from the pit. Disregarding him, Timur Khan still stood in place, looking down into the pit while speaking.
"One of them came from Liangcheng. And I killed everyone who had even the slightest contact with that thing."
"..."
"Another one of them came from Manhan Mountain. So again! I killed everyone who touched that thing even slightly."
"..."
"And finally, the bastards who dug this pit are all rotting here too."
Timur's Blue Eye was still flashing with eerie madness as he spoke calmly. Mamorota looked at Timur's eyes from the side and spoke.
"...Then Salacat is really..."
"Right now Datong is being defended by twenty thousand untrained greenhorns. Though Salacat's soldiers are cavalry, if they directly assemble catapults at Datong to attack, they can take Datong without difficulty."
"Brother. But if the enemies who occupied Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain return to Datong..."
"Do you think they'll be fine during their return march? Most of the enemies are foot soldiers. By the time the enemies arrive at Datong, they'll already be in a state of having their entire bodies gnawed by monsters."
"But then Salacat and our brothers remaining at Datong might also be in trouble."
"Yes. If things go wrong, our brothers might also be swept up by the monster along with the enemies. But with their sacrifice, we'll gain another opportunity to dominate this north. And while we resubdue the Northern Plains, that fertile Central Plains will fall prey to the black monster."
"..."
Wind blew strongly, sweeping away the stench rising from the pit, but soon a worse stench rose to stimulate Timur Khan and Mamorota's noses.
"Mamorota."
"Speak."
"Now there's nowhere on these grasslands to avoid that monster. If that's the case, we must thoroughly use it at least. Just as the monster has no eyes, we too must sometimes close our eyes and swing our swords."
"..."
"And the monster has already devoured Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain. What we must do now is abandon those two places. That's all. That will lead us to victory."
Timur Khan's eyes looking down into the pit were still wide open, and his Blue Eye still emitted a bizarre radiance. Mamorota just silently watched that sight...