Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Ganquan—the roaster’s cousin, Tulukota of the Terdun tribe—doesn’t know yet that the Tartai tribe has been completely wiped out.

Ganquan didn't even know that most of the nearly a thousand horses in Tartai had been abducted by the cunning two-legged people using estrus horses, clear water and wheat seedlings.

Compared with the Tartai tribe, which was attacked head-on, the Ganquan tribe's attack into Lower Tiefeng County was effortless, because the upper reaches of the Dajiao River were completely undefended.

But Gan Quan also has Gan Quan's troubles - he can't find anyone.

Following the stream that flows into the Bighorn River upstream, Ganquan soon found its first village. Continuing down the road, they found the first town.

But there is lifelessness everywhere, all the houses have been abandoned, all the belongings have been taken away, no barking dogs can be heard, no human beings can be seen, the empty villages and towns are so quiet that it is terrifying.

Hong Lingyu from Ganquan Department was all a new generation in their early twenties. They had never seen such a battle before and were immediately at a loss.

"Bawei, you serve my grandfather." Gan Quan called the old slave: "Tell me, what should I do?"

[Note: Ganquan’s grandfather is the father of the roaster]

"The Platuan people cannot move like other tribes." The old slave [bald tail] held the rosary beads and drooped his eyelids: "They just hid."

"Where are you hiding?!" Young Hong Lingyu [Qing Ma]'s triangular eyes flashed fiercely.

The old slave Tuwei did not answer directly, but looked at the boots of the leader Ganquan: "You can find moist, loose, and darker soil inside and outside the village."

"Why?"

"It is impossible for farmers to take away all their food and property and bury it nearby."

The leader ordered the men to search around, and soon found some clues in the courtyard, under the cowshed, and among the fields.

Without shovels, the Terdun people used hand planers and wooden boards to dig out all the dark cellars that had not been carefully hidden.

The dark cellar was mostly filled with grain, but also farm tools, ironware, bottles and cans, cloth... Everything that farmers could not take away in time was buried in it.

Everyone in the Ganquan tribe was smiling and ecstatic.

A group of Terdun people first made dough and baked naan, and had a delicious meal. Then he gears up and prepares to do something very hard, with a posture of digging three feet into the ground.

Everyone was happy, but Gan Quan became increasingly dissatisfied.

Seeing the tribesmen quarreling and even fighting over a roll of cloth, a porcelain plate, and a kitchen knife, Gan Quan's anger grew stronger and stronger.

For the poor Terton people, a nail or a straw mat is good, and even the things that the Platuan people are too lazy to bury are also good.

But Ganquan wanted more than that.

"Hey... look what is this?" Shi Jian shouted and ran to Ganquan, carefully holding something in his hands: "I have never seen this baby! It looks like a stone, but it is mixed with water. Same! Transparent!"

The object held by the stone arrow is one foot square, crystal clear, and the surface is as smooth and delicate as porcelain. It looks like crystal, but it doesn't quite look like it.

"What is this?" Qing Ma came over in surprise and cautiously reached out to touch it: "Where did it come from."

"There is a big tent in the south. I removed it from the wall of the house."

"This is glass." The bald old slave lowered his eyelids, his eyes as dim as dry wells: "The two-legged people call it [Common Language] glass."

The pronunciation of the common language of the old slave Bald Tai is a bit awkward, probably because he hasn't spoken it for many years.

"Liu Li?" Shi Jian exclaimed, "Shouldn't Liu Li be colored?"

"I have never seen such transparent and flat glass." The old slave said hoarsely with a bald tail: "It should be a very precious thing that can be dedicated to the fire-warmer."

"It's very precious?!" Shi Jian smiled brightly: "There's an entire wall in that big tent! I'm going to tear it down right now."

"Okay!" Qingma said happily, "I'll go too."

With a livid face, Gan Quan grabbed the glass plate from Shi Jian's hand and smashed it to the ground.

The glass pane hit the stone and shattered into pieces.

Shi Jian's expression changed from shock to sadness. He knelt on the ground, picked up a shard of glass, and asked Gan Quan: "What are you doing?"

"This is what two-legged people use to build walls!" Gan Quan pushed the stone arrow away, his scarred face was particularly ferocious, and he shouted: "You are still holding it as a treasure!"

Shi Jian and Qing Ma were shocked by Gan Quan's actions and froze in place.

The green horse's triangular eyes were downcast, and he offered words of comfort: "You and I have plundered so much food and property, and it's easier than roping a horse. Isn't that great?"

"Where's the best?" Gan Quan glared at Qing Ma fiercely: "What the Two-legged people left behind are things they didn't care to take away! They took away the fattest meat and left behind a pile of rotten bones. You can't wait Suck it like a treasure!"

"Why do you say that?" Shi Jian asked back: "Isn't food and black money very good?"

[Note: Iron can be used as currency in the wasteland, so the Hud people call it black money]

"Then don't you want slaves? Don't you want women? Don't you want gold and silver?" Gan Quan was furious: "Is this enough to satisfy you now? The captured wealth is dedicated to that After Yan is dedicated to those who warm the fire, how much can you and I have left?"

Qing Ma and Shi Jian gradually understood what Gan Quan meant, and they stopped talking.

The old slave's bald-tailed expression was unimpressed. He pressed his chest and saluted, and asked Ganquan: "Kota, isn't the current harvest enough?"

"Not enough!" Gan Quan shouted: "Far from enough!"

"What does Kota want?"

"Slaves! Gold and silver! More wealth!"

"What happens after you get these?" The old slave Baldy raised his head and looked into Gan Quan's eyes.

Gan Quan was stared at so weakly that he scolded: "You old slave! What's your intention?"

"Then burn the village." The old slave bowed his head with a bald tail: "Divide the group into two groups, hide the small group, set fire to the large group and pretend to retreat. Wait for the two-legged people to come back to put out the fire, and then follow them. Just like hunting, follow the animal's trails to find where your prey is hiding."

When Qing Ma and Shi Jian heard this, their eyes lit up.

After thinking for a moment, Gan Quan decided to follow the old slave's bald-tail method.

More than a hundred tribesmen were divided into two wings.

The more than seventy cavalrymen on the left wing, led by Qingma and Shijian, took most of the horses and trophies with them, set fire to them and left with great fanfare.

More than 30 cavalry on the right wing were led by Gan Quan himself and hid in the mountain col near the village. Only a few secret whistles were left on the hillside to blow horns.

The materials of the Palatuan people's villages are mainly grass and trees, and the fire burns quickly. Not long after, the entire village was engulfed in flames.

Black smoke shot straight into the sky and could be seen more than ten kilometers away.

Sweet spring is like a hunter who has laid a trap, waiting patiently.

waiting……

Wait...

Until the farmhouse was burned to the ground and the fire subsided and finally went out on its own, the sound of the secret whistle was not heard.

Gan Quan could barely hold back, but Qing Ma and Shi Jian couldn't bear it anymore. They sent riders to ask about the situation, but Gan Quan scolded them.

After venting his anger on the messenger, Gan Quan found the old slave Tuwei: "What do you think we should do about the idea you came up with?"

The old slave Baldtail shook his head: "The leader of the two-legged people in this village has a very strong will."

"Tough-willed?" Gan Quan gritted his teeth and said viciously: "Then burn the woods! I don't believe I can't force him out!"

The old slave's bald tail flicked his rosary: ​​"Set fire to the forest is also a way."

On the contrary, Gan Quan was a little hesitant: "Are you sure this method can force the two-legged man out?"

"Not sure, this is Kota's method."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

The old slave Baldy struggled to open his dim eyes and asked: "Does Kota want a living slave or a dead slave?"

Gan Quan stared: "What do you mean?"

"Fire is the power of the gods and cannot be controlled by mortals. If you set fire to the forest, you may be burned alive before the Two-Legged Man comes out."

"What should we do?"

The old slave Tuwei said calmly: "There are other villages here. If this village can endure it, the next village may not be able to. Kota can burn them one by one."

Gan Quan thought about it, but still couldn't make up his mind.

"If you set fire to the forest, it will be burned." The old slave Bald Tai looked at the toes of Ganquan's boots: "But has Kota ever thought that the babies and chicks of birds and animals will also be burned to death? No matter what the reason, If the fire is ignited, the soul will have to wander in the wilderness for a hundred years before it is accepted by all spirits again."

Gan Quan was very unwilling: "Then I come to this village once and get nothing?"

"Didn't Kota get a lot of things?"

"What kind of loot are broken objects?" Gan Quan was furious.

The old slave, with his bald tail, lowered his head: "Then please keep waiting here, Kota. It's freezing cold today, and people with two legs are not as tough as the people from other tribes. Sooner or later, they have to light a fire to keep warm and cook food. Kota sets up a sentry post at a high place to watch. Look for smoke wherever it rises."

"What if it still doesn't work?"

"Then go burn down the next village." The old slave's bald-tailed tone was calm: "Kota is a hunter. As long as the hunter is patient, there will always be opportunities."

So Ganquan continued to wait from noon until dusk.

The members of the Ganquan tribe who were initially in high spirits due to the robbery gradually became yawning. Ganquan himself was equally tired.

Just when Gan Quan was arranging for his men to take turns to rest, the secret whistle on the hill came rolling over: "Kota! Smoke! There is smoke!"

Gan Quan suddenly cheered up and rushed up the hillside.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun - although it is very subtle, several wisps of purple smoke can be seen rising from the tree crowns in the distance.

Ganquan observed it for a while and determined that it was the smoke from the fire and not the mist at night.

Leaving a few people behind to record and indicate the direction, the right-wing troops of the Ganquan Department galloped out of the mountain col and rushed towards the direction of the smoke.

As soon as we set foot on the scorched earth of the village, we heard the sound of horns in the distance.

A secret whistle came quickly: "Kota, someone is sneaking around and wants to get close to the village!"

"where?"

"Over there!" The whistle pointed at the boundary between farmland and forest.

Gan Quan laughed evilly at the bald-tailed old slave: "Two-legged people are strong-willed? They can't help but come out!"

The bald old slave saluted with his chest pressed and his head bowed deeply.

Gan Quan looked at the direction, the smoke was in the northwest, and the figure was in the southwest; the smoke was far away, and the figure was close.

"Go to the nearest ones first." The old slave Tuwei suggested: "If it's far away, don't be in a hurry."

"Okay, go to the nearest one. Kill the men! Keep the women!" Gan Quan turned the horse around with a ferocious smile: "I will reward each of you with a female slave!"

More than thirty riders turned around and ran toward the southwest. Horse hooves trampled the wheat fields, and some newly sprouted wheat seedlings were uprooted.

At the junction of forest and farmland, a woman is walking along the ridge to the village with a bucket in each hand.

The sound of horse hooves sounded, and Hurd's horse roared towards him. The woman was so frightened that she dropped the barrel, turned around and fled towards the forest.

The Hittites were chasing after him in a hurry, and the woman had no time to be restrained. She held on to her scarf and ran as hard as she could. The long skirt was rolled up by the wind, revealing two white bare legs.

The people in the Ganquan tribe on horseback couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

"Don't kill her! Don't shoot the arrow!" Gan Quan shouted with a ferocious smile: "Have fun with her! Let her take you and me to the old camp!"

Like a wild cat playing with a mouse, the Ganquan tribe made strange noises to intimidate the woman while slowing down their horses.

The vegetation on the edge of the forest was sparse, and the woman could not hide her figure at all. She fled deeper into the forest, and her clothes were torn, exposing more of her skin.

All the Terton people became more and more excited and shouted louder.

The woman's physical strength gradually depleted and she ran slower and slower.

Gan Quan laughed wildly and drew out a buzzing hammer, stood up in the stirrups, opened his bow and fired arrows.

The dynamite flew towards the woman's back with a scream. The accuracy of the mounted shot was limited. The arrow only landed behind the woman, but it frightened the poor woman so much that she fell down.

The woman got up and continued to run for her life, running even faster than before.

All the Terton people laughed wildly, but the old bald slave remained silent and slowed down his horse.

Most of these Terdun people are also slaves, and they are humiliated and oppressed in daily life. But in the process of inflicting violence on a more vulnerable existence, all their resentment seemed to be released.

"Spread out!" Gan Quan shouted loudly: "Don't let her run away, wrap her up from both sides!"

The Ganquan tribe behind them speeded up to the left and right sides, and more than thirty Terdun people slowly spread out in a fan shape.

Ahead, a woman whose clothes were in pieces was unsteady on her feet and fell again, falling into a dead leaf.

Gan Quan felt itchy and couldn't bear it, so he urged his horse to chase after him.

"Anyway, the old bald tail can talk about two-legged people." Gan Quan thought to himself: "Catch her first, and then interrogate her..."

When Gan Quan's spirit reached its peak, he suddenly felt like the world was spinning and he was flying like clouds and mist.

The rest of the Telduans saw that the knees of their leader's horse were bent at an unnatural angle, and the horse neighed and fell over. Their leader was thrown off the saddle, tumbling in mid-air and flying forward.

Then they saw a figure jumping out of the dead leaves. The man was carrying a big stick and brutally hit their leader on the head.

The skull was broken first and the stick was broken later.

A direct descendant of the Terdun tribe, the cousin of the roaster, and the ambitious Hele Hui "Oasis" died like this.

As if they heard the order, dozens of figures appeared like ghosts, as if they jumped out of the ground - in fact, they really jumped out of the ground.

The ghost figures each hold a pointed wooden stick in their hands, and when they see a person riding a horse, they stab or smash them. In an instant, several people had fallen off their horses.

"There's an ambush!" The Terdun people shouted in fear: "Run!"

The Terdun people stabbed their horses and whipped their whips hard, driving their horses to break through the encirclement at a faster speed.

Before they could run ten meters away, the two Turduns who rushed ahead made the same mistake as the sweet spring - there were other stumbling ropes in the forest, and God knows where that woman led them!

"You can't escape! Kill!" A Terdun man pulled out a machete and chopped wildly.

Another Terton man took off his horn and tried to call for help.

"call out."

Accompanied by a sharp sound breaking through the air, the Teltun man who wanted to blow the trumpet screamed in agony, and his left hand and left face were nailed together by a javelin.

Under the severe pain, Niuhorn also took off his hand.

The person who threw the javelin was a majestic middle-aged man. He calmly pulled out another javelin: "[Common language] Be careful of the barbarians! Harness their horses!"

Heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer, and a pale young man emerged from the bushes with a group of men holding various farm tools.

The young man saluted in front of the middle-aged man: "Major! We are here."

"You are not needed here." The middle-aged man pointed to the direction in which the Terdun people came: "Go around the battlefield from the east. If there are barbarians chasing after them, stop them."

"Yes!" The young man raised his hand in salute.

"Mr. Epel." The middle-aged man returned the greeting solemnly, but after all, he still felt uneasy: "Be careful."

Epel nodded, raised his bayonet as a flag, and disappeared into the woods with the militiamen.

…

At the same time, northwest of the village, deeper in the forest, Lieutenant Asko was galloping on his horse.

Along the river valley, he rushed into a hidden camp like lightning.

"Who started the fire!" Ascolema yelled, "Who started the fire?"

Seeing that the people coming were not barbarians, the people in the camp gradually gathered around.

This secluded camp is almost as big as a small town, but there are only women, old people and children in it, not a single young man.

"Sir." An old woman came over tremblingly: "It's me."

Facing an old woman, Asko had nowhere to vent his anger. He yelled: "Major Ronald has strictly ordered that no one is allowed to light a fire without permission! You are listening with your left ear, but is it leaking out of your right ear? Put out the fire! Immediately. !”

The crowd fell silent.

A peasant woman in her forties complained bitterly: "I also made a fire. It's too cold! The children are getting sick from the cold. Without a fire, they can't even eat hot food. Sir, can you stand it? We I can’t stand it!”

When one person takes the lead, others follow suit and complain.

Women and children were placed here alone. More than a dozen of them were crowded into a tent, and they were not allowed to light a fire, leave, or even speak loudly. Everyone has long been full of complaints.

"Idiot!" Asko yelled angrily: "You light a fire here and the smoke is coming out! You can see it from five kilometers away! This camp is exposed! If we hadn't lured the barbarians away, the barbarians would have killed them!" Because you started the fire, your husbands and sons are working hard!"

Asko heard someone scream, and then he was surrounded by women.

Women and children were all asking for news:

"Is my son safe?"

"Where's my dad?"

"How's it going over there, men?"

"Why is there smoke in the village?"

Asco was so noisy that he yelled, "Stop it!"

No one paid any attention to him.

With a heart in his heart, Asco lightly stabbed his horse in the ribs, squeezed out of the crowd, said "pack your bags and follow orders to change camps" and left in a hurry.

…

At the other end of the forest, the battle did not drag on for long.

The bows, arrows, fast horses and scimitars that the Tertun people relied on for battle were not effective in the forest. Melee battles relied on numbers and tenacity.

The more than 30 light cavalrymen who advanced rashly were quickly eliminated, and the more than 70 cavalrymen who followed were repelled by the militiamen.

"Take away all the horses that can still walk! Take away the Hurds who are still alive! Leave the bodies behind." Major Ronald, holding a javelin, directed the Wolf Town militia to clean up the battlefield.

"What to do with the horse corpse?" someone asked.

"Take all the meat you can and throw the rest here." Major Ronald urged: "Quick! We have to leave quickly!"

Lieutenant Adam, whose clothes were in tatters, took off his turban, rolled up his skirt to his waist, and exposed his thighs.

He was holding an axe, cursing and unloading the meat from the horse carcass: "You bastard! If the barbarian doesn't come, let us weave baskets! If the barbarian comes, we have to fight for him! It's just him who knows how to summon people!"

Every time Adam said a word, he struck with an axe, venting all his grievances on the horse corpse.

If the people of Teltown, who were trembling with excitement just now, saw that the "barefoot woman" turned out to be such a foul-mouthed Plato man, they would definitely feel very complicated.

Luckily they didn't have to watch because they were almost all dead.

Epel walked past Adam and whispered a lesson: "Stop talking nonsense."

Three former garrison officers led more than 200 Wolf Town militiamen to quickly clean up the battlefield.

Dozens of Teltun people were stripped naked and lying on the ground, and their robes, boots, scimitars, bows and arrows were all reused.

"Do you want your ears cut off?" Epel asked Ronald.

Ronald chuckled and shook his head: "No one will give us credit."

"Cut it! Why not?" Adam said angrily: "One ear is worth one hundred working hours, isn't it fair?"

Epel ignored Adam and continued to ask: "Where to send the wounded?"

"Send to the women's and children's camp."

Hearing the word [women and children camp], some militiamen asked tentatively: "Sir, when can we be reunited with our wives and children?"

Other militiamen also pricked up their ears.

"Hurd Barbarian has not left Tiefeng County for a day." Ronald explained to everyone in a friendly manner: "We can't camp together for just one day. Don't worry, as long as the men's camp is not destroyed, the women's and children's camp will be safe, and your wives, children, parents It’s also safe.”

The militiamen looked a little disappointed.

Adam, who was holding an axe, couldn't see it and scolded sternly: "If you are reunited with your wife and children, how can you still think about fighting? Aren't you all coaxing your children and sleeping with your wives? You are so comfortable. When the barbarians come, you will all Wash your neck and wait to die?

This is war! Deadly stuff! What the hell did you think it was an outing? If the barbarians don't leave, who dares to sneak into the women's and children's camp and hang you in front of your wife and children? If you don’t believe it, just try it! "

The Wolf Town militiamen stopped talking.

"Sir!" Someone shouted in the distance: "There is a living person here! He can speak our language!"

Major Ronald cheered up and walked over quickly.

An old Hud man was sitting under the tree, holding a rosary in his hand and closing his eyes to meditate. The old Hud man's face had ridges and grooves, and he looked very old.

The battle just now did not affect him, because he did not enter the encirclement at all and dismounted from a distance.

Major Ronald looked the old Hud man up and down: "Do you speak Common Language?"

"Do you call it Common Language?" The old Hed man slowly opened his eyes and said stiffly: "When I was young, it was called Imperial Language."

"Oh, you really know how to speak." Second Lieutenant Adam was amazed: "Where did you learn that?"

"No need to learn, I can speak naturally."

"what is it call?"

"The Hittites call me 'the horse without a tail', which means bald tail. The Platts call me..." The old Hittite smiled half-heartedly: "Father Saul."

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