Chapter 110: A Thousand Arrows

Chapter 110: A Thousand Arrows

Thinking of this, Xiao Ce knew they had to speed up their actions here.

Only by causing great chaos in the Turkic rear could they relieve the pressure on Yanbei City.

Moreover, seeing so many slaves captured from the Northern Desert here, and the many horses left behind!

According to Shopkeeper Zhang, the slaves who could survive here were all young, strong, and healthy!

After all, the Northern Desert people here truly did not treat these slaves as human. Their living conditions and food were even worse than livestock.

Those who survived under such circumstances had excellent physical fitness.

A new idea flashed in Xiao Ce’s mind.

He turned to look at the slaves gathered together: “This Prince plans to attack another tribe before dawn under cover of night, to rescue more slaves! Those among you who can ride horses, you can come with me!”

These slaves misunderstood Xiao Ce’s words. They all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze, afraid of being chosen.

What they thought was, there’s indeed no free kindness. Being good to them surely meant they wanted them to be cannon fodder.

At this moment, Wei Wuji whispered beside Xiao Ce: “Prince, these people are afraid… because, when conflicts arose between tribes before, everyone used slaves as cannon fodder at the front! So, they think you are also treating them as cannon fodder!”

Listening to Wei Wuji’s explanation, Xiao Ce laughed helplessly.

He then spoke to the slaves who kept their heads down, wishing they could bury them in the ground: “Don’t misunderstand. I want to take you to show you… that these Turks are not invincible or unbeatable! We also have two shoulders carrying one head!”

“I will let you see, they can feel fear too! Facing death, they can also be scared out of their wits!”

“Of course, it’s all voluntary! And, if you want to charge at the front, I won’t even give you the chance!”

“Those willing, step forward yourselves! The condition is you must know how to ride a horse! I repeat, it’s all based on your own will!”

“As for those who stay, you also have tasks. Go kill those cattle and sheep first, fill your stomachs, then make all the meat into jerky! Then rest well. This Prince will take you home next!”

Saying this, Xiao Ce looked at Zhang Yunqing and said: “Shopkeeper Zhang, you stay here. Lead them in doing these tasks. Then search for Turkic weapons and form a self-defense unit!”

Zhang Yunqing nodded, his face excited: “Yes, Prince!”

“Should I send some Cavalry to protect you?” Xiao Ce continued to ask.

Hearing this, Zhang Yunqing shook his head repeatedly: “Prince, with so many people here, there’s no need!”

Xiao Ce looked towards the soldiers wearing Camouflage Uniforms beside Yan Jia, who were wiping recovered Arrowheads.

“Yan Jia, assemble the troops. Let’s pull off another big one before dawn!”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce asked Zhang Yunqing where the closer sub-tribes were around here.

Zhang Yunqing said awkwardly: “Prince, they are nomadic tribes. I only know their general areas, not exactly where each one is fixed!”

At this moment, Wei Wuji raised his hand.

Xiao Ce looked at this young man and asked: “You know?”

Wei Wuji nodded: “I report to the Prince, I understand. My former Turkic master was the son of a chief and took me to many places. I know not only about the Helu Tribe but also about most tribes around here… I can lead the way!”

Da Lei exchanged a wary look with Xiao Ce.

Clearly, Da Lei did not trust this young man.

However, Xiao Ce was somewhat dismissive. After all, if this kid tried any tricks, he wasn’t afraid.

In the face of absolute strength, all schemes are futile.

“Among the Helu Tribe, which one is relatively close and has more people?”

Wei Wuji bowed and replied: “Prince, not far from this tribe, about half an hour’s ride away, is the Gesa Tribe…”

Hearing Wei Wuji’s words, Xiao Ce understood why the sub-tribes here were called son tribes.

Because, so-called son tribes were the tribes of the sons.

Most of these sub-tribes here were led by the wives of the Helu Tribe’s great chief, Helu. And only those with five or more sons could open up a new place to form a sub-tribe.

That tribe called Gesa belonged to Helu’s principal wife, so among all the Helu sub-tribes, it was considered more prosperous.

They had about twenty thousand slaves alone, and probably still had tens of thousands of cattle and sheep left.

After listening, Xiao Ce decided to attack that Gesa Tribe.

Yan Jia asked Wei Wuji: “How many people are left in that tribe?”

Wei Wuji replied: “Probably similar to here. The strong men from there have all left. After all, when dividing the spoils later, it also depends on how much each side contributed, so they took all their fighting forces over there!”

Xiao Ce nodded and asked Wei Wuji: “Is there Fire Oil here?”

This young man Wei Wuji was very smart: “Prince, there is! Do you want to use fire attack?”

Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised: “How did you know?”

Wei Wuji answered: “Because they are asleep at night. As long as we surround them first and launch a fire attack volley to force them out of their tents, we can shoot them like prey!”

Wei Wuji’s plan coincided with Xiao Ce’s.

Xiao Ce looked at him with increasing appreciation!

“You know about warfare too?”

Wei Wuji scratched his head and said: “To be honest with the Prince, I had my former Turkic master use this method before, and it worked very well! So, it should be feasible!”

Xiao Ce nodded: “Alright, then go quickly and get the Fire Oil ready.”

Meanwhile, Xiao Ce saw that among the slaves, many thin young men stood up.

Seeing Xiao Ce look at them, they raised their hands timidly and asked weakly: “P… Prince… we… we can all ride horses, c… can we go?”

Xiao Ce glanced over them and nodded: “Of course. Don’t be afraid. This Prince is here to save you, not harm you!”

Hearing Xiao Ce’s words, these people still avoided his gaze, mumbling hesitantly.

Looking at their expressions, Xiao Ce said: “What’s wrong? Is there something else you want to say?”

One of the young men said: “P… Prince… we don’t want to just watch! Can we also go kill Turks?”

Hearing his words, Xiao Ce was very pleased: “Of course! But, follow all commands! And, once you take action, for every Turk you kill, cut off their left ear. After we return, you can exchange them for Gold and military merits. Accumulate certain military merits, and you can get promoted!”

He then looked at Wei Wuji and said: “Wei Wuji, you take them. You have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”

Wei Wuji cupped his hands. Xiao Ce had the remaining people first fill their stomachs, then slaughter the cattle and sheep!

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wei Wuji led over eight hundred slaves, each having chosen a horse.

Seeing them riding horses with some skill, Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised: “Did the Turks teach you to ride?”

Wei Wuji, at the front, cupped his hands: “Prince, normally, we are not qualified to ride horses. However, the Turks often needed us as cannon fodder, so they would also select some to train in riding. Most of these people survived being cannon fodder several times!”

Xiao Ce felt uncomfortable hearing this. ‘Life as cheap as grass’ was the most fitting description here!

According to what they said, only over three hundred thousand Northern Desert slaves remained, but over the years, millions of slaves had been captured or sent from the Northern Desert.

In the eyes of the Turks, the lives of their cattle and sheep were more valuable than these slaves. Moreover, based on what they said, the average lifespan of these slaves was around three years.

Xiao Ce said in a deep voice: “Blood debts must be repaid with blood! This Prince will take you to collect the debt! Follow behind us!”

Saying this, Xiao Ce gently nudged his horse’s belly with his legs. ‘Iron Egg’ let out a whinny and leaped forward!

Cavalry in Camouflage Uniforms followed closely.

The group carried bows and arrows and machetes, with cloth dipped in Fire Oil on them.

Since their horses had no Stirrups, they had to tightly grip the reins to keep up with Xiao Ce’s group.

Wei Wuji followed at the side.

After more than half an hour, Wei Wuji stopped first and told Xiao Ce there were many dogs kept over there.

With the help of moonlight, Xiao Ce saw a large tribe not far away at a glance.

They would bark at the first sign of disturbance, and those dogs, fed raw meat year-round, were exceptionally fierce!

This tribe was at least twice the size of the tribe where Wei Wuji and the others were before. Moreover, the tribe’s perimeter had a waist-high fence.

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said: “No matter. Just mind yourselves. By the time they realize what’s happening, their tribe will likely be a big pile of fire!”

“Everyone, spread out as usual. Surround them. When I shoot a Flaming Arrow as the signal, two volleys of Flaming Arrows. Wait for their people to come out, then kill the Turks! No close combat!”

After Xiao Ce gave the command, over a thousand Cavalry quickly spread out.

Xiao Ce said to Wei Wuji: “Only shoot your arrows when you’re sure. If unsure, watch first!”

The group behind Wei Wuji nodded.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, when Xiao Ce saw the Cavalry had formed an encirclement, he signaled Da Lei to raise a torch.

Xiao Ce urged his horse to charge. The sound of their hooves startled the Guard dogs, and they began to bark wildly!

Upon reaching the Compound Bow’s firing range, Xiao Ce immediately lit a Flaming Arrow.

Xiao Ce lit the Flaming Arrow. Seeing this, the others nodded.

Soon, in the darkness, a ring of fire appeared, surrounding the tribe ahead.

Seeing this, the dogs barked frantically.

“Aim at their tent locations! Fire!”

After Xiao Ce shouted, a thousand arrows flew at once. The Flaming Arrows turned the tribe’s night sky red.

Some Turks who heard the commotion came out and saw this scene. They rubbed their eyes, looking at it in disbelief.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrowheads struck the tents, which immediately caught fire.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

The Turks who came out to investigate were stunned for a moment before they reacted, shouting at the top of their lungs…