Chapter 479
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Chapter 479: The Horse Bandit Chiefs
Meanwhile, in a cluster of tents deep within the grasslands, all the horse bandit chiefs from the vicinity were gathered.
Weather-beaten, burly grassland men surrounded a bonfire, discussing their plans.
Among them, a one-eyed horse bandit clearly held the most authority among the group of chiefs.
This one-eyed man was named Buhe, and his band numbered 468 horse bandits, making him arguably the largest horse bandit group in the entire region. Furthermore, One-Eyed Buhe himself possessed formidable strength.
He was considered one of the top powerhouses in the area, having clashed with Burigude three times and surprisingly survived all three encounters.
Of course, it wasn’t without cost; his blinded eye was the result of an arrow shot by Burigude.
Most people had to squint one eye and open the other when shooting an arrow; he, on the other hand, didn’t even need to bother with squinting.
However, his blinded eye apparently did not diminish his deterrent power over the other horse bandits.
In fact, the grotesque scar over his left eye made him appear even more fierce and savage.
“Jirigala, Bayar, Morigen…”
One name after another slowly emanated from One-Eyed Buhe’s lips.
The entire tent fell silent.
They were not unfamiliar with these names, for each was a horse bandit chief like themselves, all operating in this area, having some dealings with each other.
Among them, Morigen’s band numbered over a hundred horse bandits, making him quite a powerful figure among them.
One-Eyed Buhe, having listed at least 6 or 7 names in one breath, paused to catch his breath.
Then, he spoke again in a deep, slightly hoarse voice.
“They’re all dead, every last one, along with their men!”
Upon hearing this, a few of the horse bandit chiefs twitched an eyelid, but most showed little reaction.
They clearly knew what was happening.
That grain transport team, escorted by 1,000 cavalrymen, filled them with despair.
100 or 200 horse bandits couldn’t even withstand a single engagement against this cavalry unit before being wiped out!
“That group of Central Plains people’s grain transport route is directly flaunting itself under our noses. This is a provocation!”
Silence still permeated the tent until a young man, seemingly in his 20s, who was chewing on a root, spat it out with a dismissive sound.
This sole sound in the tent undoubtedly drew everyone’s attention, including One-Eyed Buhe.
“You look a little unfamiliar. Who are you?”
“I am Batel, the son of the Khanar tribe’s chief.”
Facing One-Eyed Buhe’s gaze, the young man fearlessly stated his identity and name.
As this name was announced, the horse bandit chiefs in the tent collectively let out gasps of astonishment.
Rumor had it that when Batel was 12, he went hunting with his hunting party and encountered a wolf pack.
In that moment of peril, he directly drew his bow and shot a fierce wolf, managing to survive the wolves’ encirclement.
Since then, his reputation has been unparalleled.
His father, overjoyed, renamed him Batel.
In their grassland language, Batel meant ‘hero.’
His personal strength was notoriously high.
At the same time, the Khanar tribe was no simple entity.
It was considered one of the top tribes in this part of the grasslands.
Large tribes like this generally disdained mingling with horse bandits like them.
Given the current situation, it was likely that the previous blizzard had caused heavy losses to the Khanar tribe.
Even the chief’s son had to resort to becoming a horse bandit to plunder food.
As thoughts swirled in everyone’s minds, Batel, who had suddenly become the center of attention, spoke again.
“Buhe, everyone is practically starving to death. We’re not here to listen to your nonsense.”
His impolite words made One-Eyed Buhe’s facial muscles twitch.
The other horse bandit chiefs in the tent were also startled.
For a moment, each of them shifted their butts back, fearing that these two would actually start a fight and drag them into it.
Batel looked directly at the grim-faced One-Eyed Buhe.
His posture suggested he completely disregarded the other man.
And in fact, that might truly have been the case.
A horse bandit was ultimately just a horse bandit, while their Khanar tribe was practically an emperor-level existence in this grassland region.
Even after the blizzard, which caused the deaths of numerous cattle, sheep, horses, and tribesmen, and even triggered a food crisis, a scrawny camel was still bigger than a horse.
Was there any need for him to acknowledge One-Eyed Buhe?
The Khanar tribe’s reputation preceded it, and One-Eyed Buhe clearly harbored some caution.
Before thoroughly understanding the other’s true strength, he genuinely dared not make any moves.
Finally, he simply grunted and threw a question back. “Listening to you, it seems you have some good ideas?”
“Heh.”
Batel scoffed.
“Buhe, don’t play these games with me.”
“The Central Plains people are powerful, directly mobilizing a thousand troops to transport grain. Furthermore, I hear there’s also a gigantic, never-before-seen monster in this grain transport team.”
“Facing this level of strength, if we attack individually, there’s no chance of victory whatsoever.”
“The only way to seize the grain and solve the food problem is to gather all the tribal warriors in our hands and act together.”
“The fact that you’ve summoned everyone here also shows you’re considering this. So, save all that preliminary nonsense and tell me directly: how will the seized grain be divided?”
Hearing this, the horse bandit chiefs all pricked up their ears.
One-Eyed Buhe, whose face had been publicly shamed, also looked grim. Yet, he couldn’t erupt.
He finally forced himself to speak.
“Although we’ll be acting together, I imagine some people won’t be convinced about who should lead, and it’s unlikely anyone will hand over their warriors to be commanded by others.”
One-Eyed Buhe’s words undoubtedly hit the nail on the head.
It was impossible to ask these horse bandit chiefs to hand over their tribal warriors.
After all, these were their guarantees of survival. Once they handed their men over to someone else’s command, wouldn’t their fates be out of their own hands? So, One-Eyed Buhe had never even considered that possibility from the start.
Anyway, he had the most men among this group of horse bandits, so no matter how they fought, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Thinking of this, One-Eyed Buhe spoke again, quite straightforwardly.
“Since that’s the case, why don’t we all seize an opportunity, charge in together, and then each take as much grain as our abilities allow?”
As soon as One-Eyed Buhe said this, it immediately garnered a response from the horse bandit chiefs.
Even Batel, who had been somewhat antagonistic towards him, agreed.
After all, at present, there was no better solution.
“Alright then, our target is the Central Plains people’s next batch of transported grain!”
