Chapter 73. Contagious Catastrophe
Dudududu!
The uproar created by twenty thousand horse hooves shook the earth, and the breath and snorts spewed by the horses and soldiers rose like fog.
Is he laughing?
Timur Khan's hawk-like eyes, watching the scene of the troops setting out, were trembling finely.
There was a giant standing right beside him, watching him. The giant was more than a head taller than Timur Khan, and even by a small estimate, he looked to be at least nine chi tall.
After a while, when the cavalry completely disappeared beyond the horizon across the plain, the giant looked at Timur Khan and opened his mouth.
"Hyung-nim. Do you think those alone can save Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain?"
The giant called Timur Khan "hyung-nim." Though the great steppe and the great desert were so vast that their ends could not be seen, in this land there was only one person who could call Timur Khan that.
War Giant Mamorota.
He was Timur Khan's tiger fang, a general who had roamed the north for decades and beheaded tens of thousands. In fact, until recently he had been fighting fiercely against the Uyghur tribe that had infiltrated from the northwest. Right after that battle, he had received an urgent summons from Timur Khan and rushed here.
Timur Khan showed no reaction at all to Mamorota's question, then at some point quietly spoke.
"They are not going to Liangcheng or Manhan Mountain."
"... What did you just say?"
In truth, Timur Khan was now in the greatest crisis of his life. Multiple forces were pressing in on him simultaneously from east, west, south, and north. The Uyghurs, who had amassed enormous wealth through intermediary trade between the west and the Central Plains, were continuously invading from the west, and in the north, the Tatar great chieftain Jayarka had raised a rebellion.
Above all, the biggest problem was the fact that the forces of the Central Plains were, as now, steadily extending their reach northward.
At this point in time, a single moment of misjudgment could become the cause of losing everything. It was not much different from a situation where, if he misstepped even once, he would fall into a thousand-zhang abyss.
In such circumstances, thanks to Mamorota's exploits, they had barely repelled the large-scale invasion of the Uyghurs.
Even so, the rebel forces were still running rampant across the great northern steppe even now, and this Hetao Plain region was facing a great crisis due to the incursions of the Central Plains forces. Moreover, no one could know when the Uyghurs would reorganize their troops and invade the border again.
So Mamorota thought that Timur Khan would first extinguish the fire here and then go north to deal with Jayarka. He thought that was the natural order and the best plan. For that, they first had to save Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain.
Those two places were right in front of Guisui. Naturally, if those two strategic points were taken, it would be like allowing the enemy into their front yard. If by any chance Guisui were to be surrounded, this place would become completely isolated, and in the worst case, they might not be able to lift a finger while the Tatars dominated the north.
If the Tatar great chieftain Jayarka took control of the Northern Plains, there would be no more reinforcements to hope for, and then, too obviously, Timur Khan would lose all his foundations.
Thus, for Mamorota, it was hard to understand the answer Timur Khan had just given.
If they were planning to abandon Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain and decide things in Guisui with a fight to the death, then they should not have sent out twenty thousand elite cavalry. Whether it turned into rice or porridge, they had to settle it here on the Hetao Plain—that was what Mamorota thought.
As if he already knew all of Mamorota's thoughts, Timur Khan looked at him expressionlessly, then slowly opened his mouth again.
"Salakat will pretend to go to Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain, then detour and cross the Great Wall. After that, he will strike Datong."
Salakat.
He was one of the ten-thousand-man commanders of the cavalry that had just set out, and also their overall commander.
And he would lead the cavalry and cross the Great Wall? At this point in time?
To Mamorota, it was an utterly incomprehensible use of troops and order. All that would be gained by striking south of the Great Wall now would be the isolation of Guisui.
"... I guess I'm getting old, my ears must be going bad. Could you say that again?"
"You didn't hear wrong. Follow me."
Leaving behind the dumbfounded Mamorota, Timur Khan jumped straight down from the wall. But no one around was surprised. If the khan of the Northern Plains did not have at least this level of martial skill, he would not even be qualified to be called khan.
Though Mamorota's face was still full of doubts, he trusted Timur Khan's judgment. He had no choice but to. They had gone through countless crises, but in the end the victor was always Timur Khan, and Mamorota had faithfully followed behind him to reach this point. Not once had there been an exception. Timur Khan was a born gambler who sought a way to live in the midst of crisis. This time would be no different.
Without the slightest hesitation, Mamorota jumped down from the wall and followed behind Timur Khan.
Timur Khan took Mamorota and left Guisui Fortress, heading to the outskirts. The guards tried to follow behind them, but Timur Khan dismissed them all and went out onto the Hetao Plain alone with Mamorota.
Timur Khan and Mamorota ran, using Lightness Skill. Despite their huge builds, the grass they stepped on was not even slightly bent. Their Lightness Skill was so superb that Flying Over Grass was naturally unfolding.
How long had they run?
When Timur reached a certain spot on the plain, he stopped.
Whooo—.
A desolate land where only cold wind brushed past grass and sand. It was just a barren grassland, and no matter where one looked, there was nothing special to be found—just an empty wilderness.
Except for one thing.
A single huge pit, as if someone had dug it, was left gaping in the field. That alone was unusual.
Mamorota passed by Timur Khan without a word and walked over there. It seemed that the reason he had been brought here was probably there.
Tak.
Mamorota approached right up to the pit, then squatted down and peered inside. The pit was much deeper than expected, easily five or six zhang deep. And at the bottom...
"...!"
There were things piled up haphazardly, and as they rotted, a terrible stench was rising out of the pit. They were very familiar things, and a familiar smell. Things Mamorota had made countless times in his life, and would continue to make.
He sniffed lightly, then frowned and said.
"Those are corpses, aren't they? So what about them? Well, I guess the smell is a bit worse than others, though."
Sok.
At some point, Timur Khan had come up beside him and placed a hand on Mamorota's shoulder, looking down into the pit. His thin eyes trembled as he looked at the corpses. The corners of his mouth also lifted slightly—it was clear that he was smiling, if only faintly.
"To your eyes, do those look like just corpses?"
"Then if they're not just corpses, what are they, monsters or something?"
At Mamorota's word "monsters," Timur Khan's trembling eyes opened wide. Then, the eyes that had been hidden by his eyelids were revealed in broad daylight.
Heterochromatic eyes. His eyes were mismatched. One was blue, the other black.
In the Central Plains, they called these cursed eyes, but in the north it was different. They said that one born with heterochromatic eyes was born with the destiny to rule the world. According to what is passed down, even the Great Khan was born with heterochromatic eyes.
"Monsters? Monsters, you say..."
Mamorota turned his head and looked up at Timur Khan's muttering face. It had been a very long time since he had seen Timur Khan's blue eye.
"Yes, you're right. Those are monsters. Monsters that neither die easily, nor disappear easily—black monsters."
"What are you talking about? I really don't understand what you're saying at all, hyung-nim. Please explain it so I can understand."
"Dub Tuag."
As he spoke the two words in a low voice, Timur Khan's blue eye was gleaming coldly.
"Dub Tuag...?"
Mamorota asked back. Timur Khan added a little explanation.
"That monster did something that even the Great Khan's hundreds of thousands of cavalry could not do."
"A monster that did something even the Great Khan's hundreds of thousands of cavalry couldn't do...? No way! Don't tell me! Are you talking about that? Really, are you talking about that right now?"
Instead of answering, Timur Khan nodded.
Finally realizing what Timur Khan was talking about, Mamorota hurriedly stepped back from the pit. Ignoring him, Timur Khan remained standing there, looking down into the pit, and said.
"One of those came from Liangcheng. And everyone who had even the slightest contact with it, I killed them all."
"...…"
"Another one of those came from Manhan Mountain. So again! Everyone who even slightly touched it, I killed them all."
"...…."
"And lastly, the ones who dug this pit are all rotting here too."
Timur's blue eye, speaking so calmly, was still flashing with a blue madness. Mamorota looked at those eyes from the side and said.
"... Then Salakat really is..."
"Right now, Datong is being guarded by twenty thousand untrained brats. Though Salakat's soldiers are cavalry, if they assemble catapults directly in Datong and attack, it will not be difficult to take Datong."
"Hyung-nim. But if the enemies who occupied Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain return to Datong..."
"Do you think they'll be fine while returning? Most of the enemies are just foot soldiers. By the time they reach Datong, they will already be in a state of having their whole bodies torn apart by the monster."
"But if that happens, Salakat and our brothers left in Datong could also be in danger."
"Yes. If things go wrong, our brothers could also be swept up by the monster along with the enemies. But through their sacrifice, we will gain another chance to dominate this north once again. And while we pacify this Northern Plains again, that fertile Central Plains will fall into becoming prey for the black monster."
"...…."
A strong wind blew, carrying away the stench rising from the pit, but soon an even worse stench rose up and assaulted the noses of Timur Khan and Mamorota.
"Mamorota."
"Yes, speak."
"Now, on this steppe, there is nowhere left that can avoid that monster. If that's the case, we must at least use it thoroughly. Just as the monster has no eyes, we too must sometimes close our eyes and swing our swords."
"...…."
"And already, the monster has swallowed Liangcheng and Manhan Mountain. What we must do now is abandon those two places. That is all. That will lead us to victory."
Timur Khan's eyes, looking down into the pit, were still wide open, and his blue eye was still emitting a bizarre light. Mamorota could only watch that in silence.
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