Chapter 33: Youths of the Four Fortresses

Daybreak came, and the thunderstorm that had lasted a day and a night also stopped.

The sun revealed its head; today would be a good day.

In the camp, the cries of Karluk women also slowly disappeared, and everything seemed to return to calm.

But the bloody slaughter had not stopped; all the sins had just begun.

In the open space outside Sanhe Fortress, a group of bound prisoners of war stood, about two hundred people.

Most of them were Karluk captives who had surrendered, either captured due to injury or kneeling to surrender directly after seeing the terror of the four-fortress coalition.

Only twenty-odd people were traitors who had surrendered to the Karluks. Recognized by the Han people of Sanhe Fortress, they would be executed early this morning.

“Everyone!”

Opposite these prisoners, Li Xiao rode on his warhorse, holding a horse lance, and shouted loudly to a team of soldiers not far away.

“Raise bows.”

As his voice fell, more than a hundred young Han soldiers raised their longbows one after another, aiming at the prisoners.

At this time, these two hundred-plus Karluk prisoners finally knew what the four-fortress coalition was going to do.

Everyone looked terrified, retreating constantly, begging the four-fortress coalition for mercy, or even cursing loudly.

“These Han people want to kill us.”

“What to do? Help!”

“Run quickly!” Karluk prisoners and traitors shouted in panic.

Many of them had endured the torment for most of the night, listening to the screams of women from the female prisoner camp in the distance. Those were their wives, daughters, or relatives.

But they were powerless and could only swallow their shattered teeth into their stomachs, weeping silently.

They originally wanted to live a lowly life by being cowardly turtles, but unexpectedly, even so, the Han people still didn’t let them go.

“Shoot!”

Accompanied by Li Xiao’s order, more than a hundred arrows shot toward the Karluk prisoners simultaneously.

These prisoners fell to the ground layer by layer like wheat waves.

In the first volley, only a small portion of prisoners died. The rest turned and fled frantically, but how could they outrun warhorses?

The second round of shooting came.

Those who were hit by arrows but luckily survived also faced the coup de grâce from the soldiers of the four-fortress coalition.

In short, for this Karluk tribe, except for women, not a single person was left alive. Even those children couldn’t escape their fate.

“Wolf cubs are still wolves; their nature won’t change. When they grow up, they will eat people too.” Looking at the small corpses on the ground, Li Xiao murmured in a low voice.

This was a cruel war. One absolutely couldn’t have any sympathy for the enemy; otherwise, the one who died would only be oneself.

The story of the Orphan of Zhao constantly warned Li Xiao.

Even Temujin, when he was young, only avoided slaughter by enemies because he was not taller than a cart wheel.

When he grew up, only then could he kill all his former enemies one by one and exterminate their clans.

Therefore, regardless of age, as long as they were enemies, Li Xiao’s creed was to kill them all and leave no future trouble.

Only after killing all these two hundred-plus prisoners did Li Xiao’s gaze turn to the cavalry team beside him.

Everyone wore leather armor and held bows, arrows, and war sabers in their hands.

The orange-red morning glow colored the earth, highlighting the immaturity and greenness on their faces completely.

These people were precisely the manpower Li Xiao had selected from the four-fortress coalition.

Their only common feature was that they were all under twenty years old.

“Reporting to the Fortress Lord, the youths of the four fortresses are assembled, totaling one hundred and twenty-four people.”

After killing the Karluk prisoners, the young cavalry reorganized their ranks.

After counting the number, Tie Tou shouted a report to Li Xiao.

“Good!”

Li Xiao nodded gently. Riding on his big black horse, holding the horse lance, he constantly patrolled in front of the many youths, his sharp gaze staring at this dense mass of cavalry ahead.

The orange-red sunlight illuminated his face clearly, as if to let all the youths see his appearance clearly.

“My name is Li Xiao.”

“I am the Lord of Hexi Fortress.”

Li Xiao shouted loudly. Holding the blood-stained horse lance, riding on the warhorse, his whole body exuded a powerful aura.

Like a blood-stained demon returned from hell, he gave these youths immense psychological pressure and deterrence.

Among these one hundred and twenty-four youths, almost one-third were from Hexi Fortress.

Children of similar age to Li Xiao, who grew up playing together.

These youths of Hexi Fortress naturally followed Li Xiao.

But for the youths of the other three fortresses, Li Xiao was still relatively unfamiliar.

And Li Xiao’s purpose was to make everyone know him.

Not just these one hundred and twenty-four youths, but also some onlookers in the distance.

“You might be curious. I am about the same age as you; why can I become the Fortress Lord?”

Li Xiao said loudly. After a brief pause of a few seconds, a roaring voice rang out.

“That is because I am stronger than all of you.”

“The number of Karluks who died at my hands is far more than any of you have killed.”

Li Xiao said heavily.

Unceremoniously, immodestly.

He completely trampled all the youths under his feet.

However, when his voice fell, he found that some youths looked unconvinced, even looking at Li Xiao with provocative eyes.

These people were all youths from the other three fortresses and had too few opportunities to interact with Li Xiao.

“Some of you are unconvinced?”

Li Xiao smiled. Meeting those skeptical and provocative gazes, he suddenly laughed.

“Very good.”

“I like the look in your eyes.”

“At least it proves you are not a bunch of cowards. You have fighting spirit; I like it.” Li Xiao laughed loudly, looking very frank and fearless.

“But with just your passion, you are far from being able to step on me.”

“You don’t have the qualification, nor the strength.”

Li Xiao shouted loudly, not giving them any face at all.

In fact, among these one hundred and twenty-plus youths, nearly forty were Li Xiao’s little brothers from Hexi Fortress.

In the other three fortresses, there were also some youths who were on good terms with Li Xiao.

For example, Luo Meng, and Li Xiao’s aunt’s two sons.

So, a small half of these people were Li Xiao’s men, knowing Li Xiao’s formidable strength and past achievements very well.

They were genuinely convinced by him.

What Li Xiao needed to do was subdue the remaining youths.

Sure enough, hearing Li Xiao’s arrogant words, some vigorous youths couldn’t hold back.

Buzzing sounds instantly erupted in the crowd. Some youths who prided themselves on their bravery even wanted to stand out and challenge Li Xiao.

But at this time, the role of Luo Meng and others became apparent.

“Do you want to die?”

Luo Meng grabbed a youth from Hedong Fortress who wanted to step forward and challenge Li Xiao.

He told him with a serious face: “Do you think he is joking?”

“The Karluks who died at his hands are definitely more than all of you combined have killed.”

Listening to Luo Meng’s words, the surrounding youths of Hedong Fortress all showed expressions of disbelief.

“What?”

“Really?”

“Brother Meng, are you teasing me?”

They thought Li Xiao was boasting. Moreover, during the raid on Sanhe Fortress, the sky was dim, and everywhere was chaotic; they hadn’t noticed how many people Li Xiao had killed at all.

“At least twenty!”

Facing everyone’s doubts, Luo Meng said firmly.

“I followed Da Long all the time. I saw with my own eyes that he killed at least twenty Karluks.”

“Moreover, a few days ago, the people of Hexi Fortress ambushed a unit of Karluk cavalry. In that battle, Da Long also killed nineteen Karluks!”

Hearing Luo Meng’s words, the surrounding youths of Hedong Fortress instantly went into an uproar, dumbfounded.

“So formidable?”

“So, at least forty Karluks died at his hands?”

“Is he still human?”

These youths of Hedong Fortress only felt this was a fantasy. If any of them could kill five Karluks, it was already very impressive, enough to boast for a long time.

But killing over forty Karluks in two battles?

This was simply abnormal, right?

But Luo Meng had considerable prestige among them, and they didn’t think Luo Meng was lying to them.

Thus, everyone’s gaze couldn’t help but look toward Li Xiao riding on the warhorse in the distance.

His figure was as straight as a mountain, holding a horse lance, covered in blood, his gaze cold and sharp, radiating sharpness.

At this moment, Li Xiao’s deterrence in their hearts became even stronger.

So much so that the youth from Hedong Fortress who prepared to challenge Li Xiao earlier now unconsciously shrank his head, no longer mentioning any challenge or dissatisfaction.

Besides Hedong Fortress, the situation in Gushan Fortress and Ta Village was similar.

Soon, all the youths knew of Li Xiao’s formidable achievements. The gaze looking at Li Xiao now held a bit more awe.

And Li Xiao wanted this effect.

He wanted to build a true army, an army where only his voice could be heard, starting with these youths.

When the buzzing sounds of these youths slowly disappeared and everyone’s gaze looked at Li Xiao again, no one dared to step forward to challenge anymore.

“Among you, perhaps many doubt I am boasting about my achievements.”

“Eager to challenge me, unconvinced by me?”

“It doesn’t matter; I’ll give you a chance to challenge.”

“But not now.”

Li Xiao said indifferently: “You might think the battle is over and you can go home?”

“But I want to tell you, the battle is far from over.”

“The people of Hou Village have surrendered to the Karluks. They captured many soldiers who survived the Battle of the Northern Mountains.”

“Among those people, there is my uncle, brothers from our Hexi Fortress, and even relatives of your Hedong Fortress, Gushan Fortress, and Ta Village.”

“They are suffering in Hou Village, waiting for us to rescue them.”

“The people of Hou Village are conspiring with the Karluks, wanting to capture more Han fortresses. Once their conspiracy succeeds, not only will the eastern Han villages fall.”

“Our four fortresses will also be unable to escape; we will become Karluk slaves.”

“We will fall to the ground like these Karluk prisoners.” Li Xiao pointed the horse lance in his hand toward the bloody pile of corpses in the distance.

Then he pointed in another direction, toward the female prisoner camp.

“Our mothers, sisters, and relatives will also be sent to the prisoner camp to be ravaged wantonly by the Karluks.”

Following Li Xiao’s stirring words, the eyes of these youths also began to turn red, and their palms unconsciously clenched into fists.

They had seen with their own eyes the fate of the Karluks in Sanhe Fortress.

So, they absolutely couldn’t accept themselves and their relatives falling into Karluk hands.

Angry emotions appeared on the youths’ faces, and the will to fight bred in their bodies.

Li Xiao shouted directly: “I will lead people to destroy Hou Village and rescue our relatives.”

“Who is willing to go with me? Follow me to kill the enemy.”

As his voice fell, Dahu, Erhu, Luo Meng, and others shouted loudly one after another: “Kill the enemy!”

“Kill the enemy!”

“Kill the enemy!”

Increasingly loud voices rang out, and all the youths raised the spears in their hands.

(End of this chapter)