Chapter 29: Slaughtering Through, Annihilating Countless!

Upon hearing this report, Agun's expression shifted instantly. He had just ordered reinforcements to the northern tribes.

"Wait, do not pass the order!" Agun immediately called off the general who was preparing to mobilize troops for aid.

"General, why?" the Tartar general asked in confusion.

"I couldn't understand why the Ming army would attack from the northern tribes; after all, that is our clan's heartland. Once discovered, we could have surrounded and annihilated them with sufficient force, leaving them nowhere to run." Agun's face suddenly lit up with realization, as if he had seen through the Ming army's scheme. "But now I understand. The attack on our northern tribes is a lure—a feint. The Ming army's true objective is to gather strength to attack our southern tribes."

"Then General, what should we do?" several Tartar generals standing nearby asked respectfully.

"Increase our forces to defend the southern tribes," Agun replied without hesitation.

"Yes!" The Tartar generals dispersed, leading their troops away swiftly.

"The Ming army..." Agun muttered to himself. "I, Agun, am a warrior highly trusted by the Clan Chief. To think they wanted to lure me into reinforcing the north so they could strike the south with greater force—you thought well, but you have been seen through. Although our clan has suffered minor losses at the hands of your Ming army, compared to the Great Yuan destroying your Ming Kingdom, these are merely small casualties. Once the Great Yuan breaks through your Great Ning, our clan will rise in arms, charge into the Central Plains, and seize everything your Ming Kingdom possesses." Greed surged in Agun's eyes.

***

Shifting focus back to the northern Tartar tribe.

This tribe had a population of no less than twenty to thirty thousand; it was not a small settlement. At this moment, Zhu Ying was still fighting frantically. The war blade in his hand had not ceased its swinging since he first charged into the tribe. He struck down every Tartar he saw without a shred of mercy.

*“Killed a Tartar infantryman, gained 20 Strength points.”* *“Killed a Tartar infantryman, gained 40 days of lifespan.”* ... *“Host's all attributes have exceeded 600 points, rewarded one Ordinary Treasure Chest.”*

The panel prompted him. In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick since charging in, Zhu Ying had slain countless Tartars, directly boosting all his attributes. The moment his attributes ascended, it felt like a level-up; the sublimation of his attributes caused all his fatigue to vanish instantly.

"Brothers!" Zhu Ying roared. "Burn this Tartar tribe! Kill!"

He swung his blade, engaging in a frenzied slaughter. He killed anyone who was a Tartar. The attributes he gathered made his entire body feel invigorated.

Behind Zhu Ying, in the darkness of the night, dozens of torches blazed brightly. Thousands of Ming soldiers used these torches as guides, charging forward in a mad frenzy. Hearing Zhu Ying's command, many of his personal guards did not hesitate; they immediately lit the torches and firebrands they carried, hurling them toward the Tartar tents. In the blink of an eye, raging fires erupted throughout the tribe.

"Where are our clan warriors?" "Why haven't they engaged the enemy?" "Damned Ming people..." "Mercy, please..."

The Tartars in the tribe screamed in terror, calling for their warriors to save them, but amidst the chaos of the charge, their cries only served to incite the Ming soldiers further.

Slaughter. Pure, frantic slaughter!

The Ming cavalry moved like a long, murderous dragon, tearing through the tribe. Zhu Ying was the head of this dragon; wherever his blade passed, countless Tartars fell dead. The sounds of shouting, screaming, and the roaring of the raging fires tore through the tranquility of the night. The northern tribe was completely thrown into chaos by Zhu Ying's charge; they were slaughtered in immeasurable numbers, leaving corpses strewn across the fields.

At the Blue Flag Tribe.

"General," a Tartar general reported respectfully to Agun, "something is wrong. The Ming army at the southern tribe only conducted a probe, firing some arrows before retreating. They haven't attacked at all. We do not know their intent."

Agun looked puzzled. "What exactly is the Ming army's intention?"

"Report! The northern tribe is requesting aid! The Ming army has breached the tribe; our clansmen are being slaughtered, and blood flows like rivers! Please, General, make a decision!" A Tartar messenger from the northern tribe arrived before Agun, speaking with great grief.

"What?" Agun's face changed. "Could I have fallen into a trap? The Ming army isn't attacking the south, but the north?" Panic rose in his heart. "Quick! Mobilize the troops immediately! Follow me to the northern tribe for rescue!"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Agun issued the order and immediately ran toward his warhorse, mounting it instantly.

Time passed. As the night receded, the sky began to brighten. When Agun finally led his army to the northern tribe, his expression was incredibly grim. Burning tents were everywhere, corpses were everywhere, and the sounds of wailing filled the air. The entire tribe seemed to have been destroyed.

"Ming people, how dare you!" Agun's eyes burned with rage, his voice hoarse and filled with hatred.

"General," a Tartar general reported with a face full of bitterness, "the Ming army launched a night raid on our tribe. The losses are catastrophic; over ten thousand clansmen have been killed."

"How many Ming troops attacked last night?" Agun asked through gritted teeth.

"I... I don't know," the remaining Tartar general replied in terror. "When the Ming army entered the tribe, they just killed. They were like a long dragon. We simply couldn't stop them."

"Even though the northern tribe only had a few thousand soldiers, you couldn't even hold back a single Ming unit?" Agun asked with a cold, piercing gaze.

"I... I..." The Tartar general was paralyzed with fear, unable to find words. The Ming attack had been incredibly swift, and because the tribe had been caught off guard, everyone had fallen into panic once the camp was breached, failing to organize any significant counterattack. This was the consequence of being unprepared for a raid.

"Pursue them!" Agun roared. "Nu'alin, pursue them! Tear those Ming soldiers into ten thousand pieces! They have penetrated deep into our clan's heartland; they cannot escape. Use the daylight to catch them!"

"Yes!" a Tartar general responded immediately, leading his troops in pursuit of the direction the Ming army had fled.

"Ming army, Ming Kingdom... I will make you pay in blood!" Agun cursed with deep resentment. Looking at the wreckage of the tribe, with more than half of it reduced to ashes, how could he not hate them?

Meanwhile, twenty miles away from the northern tribe in the Northern Frontier, which was still within the territory of the Jianzhou Tartars.

"Stop." Zhu Ying raised his hand, reining in his warhorse.

"Halt!" The various Thousand-man Commanders issued orders, and the thousands of Ming cavalrymen on the forced march came to a stop. Looking at them now, every single soldier was covered in blood—their armor and their weapons alike. They looked like an army that had emerged from the depths of the underworld.

"Count the men," Zhu Ying said loudly, turning his horse around.

"Count the men by Centuria!" the Thousand-man Commanders shouted. "Report immediately!"

The headcount began.

(End of Chapter)