Chapter 89: Dogs That Bite Don’t Bark

Nothing happened overnight.

Early the next morning, the sound of commotion began to rise in the Northern Frontier Army’s camp.

Soldiers were boiling breakfast, packing up tents, feeding their warhorses, and preparing to break camp and leave this place.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Xiao, Li Dashan, and the others gathered in a clearing.

Their eyes were fixed intently on Erhu, who was not far away.

He was holding a Divine Arm Crossbow, slowly tightening the bowstring with his teeth, and placing a crossbow bolt on the arm.

About a hundred meters in front of him stood a wooden stake.

The stake was draped with a suit of Toadskin Armor to serve as a target.

Li Xiao and the others were testing whether the defensive power of the Toadskin Armor was superior or if the armor-piercing capability of the Divine Arm Crossbow was stronger.

At this moment, no one spoke; they just watched Erhu’s actions quietly.

Aiming at the Toadskin Armor a hundred meters away, Erhu pulled the trigger directly.

Twang—

A low sound of the string rang out, and the crossbow bolt instantly hit the Toadskin Armor.

Immediately following was a crisp sound.

Clang—

The bolt hit the plates of the Toadskin Armor and was instantly deflected.

“Go take a look.”

Li Xiao and the others quickly gathered around.

Finding the spot hit by the bolt, they saw there was only a tiny dent on it.

“It didn’t penetrate?” Dahu said in disbelief.

The others were also astonished, completely unexpected that the defense of the Toadskin Armor was so formidable.

After all, they had witnessed the power of the Divine Arm Crossbow just yesterday.

Li Xiao had personally led eighty heavy cavalry in a charge, and afterward, the iron armor of three cavalrymen had been pierced.

Fortunately, the Naiman soldiers had been panicked at the time and fired the crossbows prematurely out of fear, resulting in insufficient power.

After piercing the iron armor, the bolts quickly stopped, with only the arrowheads inserting into the soldiers’ bodies.

The injuries weren’t serious.

If it had been a group of well-trained soldiers operating them, and if the number of Divine Arm Crossbows had been increased several times over…

Li Xiao’s heavy cavalry would likely have suffered heavy casualties.

Yet, even such a powerful Divine Arm Crossbow failed to penetrate the Toadskin Armor.

On the other hand, looking at the arrowhead of the Divine Arm Crossbow bolt, it had become curled.

“The Western Xia people are truly amazing at forging this kind of armor,” Li Dashan said with an exclamation, touching the armor plate.

“If we had a heavy cavalry unit all clad in Toadskin Armor, just one thousand men would be enough to sweep across the Naimans.”

The defensive power of the Toadskin Armor was simply terrifying; its hardness was several times that of the iron armor forged by the Naimans.

Moreover, the Toadskin Armor was light and thin, making movement much easier.

For heavy cavalry, this was simply a divine weapon.

“It’s not that easy,” Li Xiao shook his head lightly upon hearing this.

“Making Toadskin Armor is very troublesome. It takes twenty craftsmen working together several years to complete just one suit.”

“A thousand suits of Toadskin Armor? The entire Western Xia doesn’t have that many.”

The famous Iron Falcons of Western Xia could be considered the pinnacle of heavy cavalry in this era.

But even among them, only a very small portion were qualified to wear Toadskin Armor; most could only wear ordinary iron armor.

Yet the Blackwater Army of Pacifying Yan, a local army, could directly produce twenty suits of Toadskin Armor.

This surprised Li Xiao.

Was the background of the Army Commander of the Army of Pacifying Yan that powerful?

This smuggling ring had connections reaching the heavens.

It would be good to maintain contact.

“Sigh, if only we could forge this stuff too.”

“Then everyone would have a suit of armor. Whoever dares to mess with us, we’d just wipe them out directly,” Erhu said with a drooling expression.

This guy’s nature was just like that—his head was full of fighting and killing, and he loved things like armor and swords immensely.

Li Xiao chuckled lightly but didn’t speak.

Jin Prefecture didn’t lack smelting technology and possessed the ability to manufacture iron armor.

Unfortunately, what was lacking was people.

A large number of craftsmen were needed to establish a complete military industrial system.

“A treasury of talent!”

Li Xiao looked in the direction of Western Xia and sighed with emotion.

If there was a chance in the future, he would definitely have to take people to visit Western Xia.

Nomadic peoples like Temujin and the Naimans often went to Western Xia to plunder; why couldn’t Li Xiao go?

“Alright, take these Toadskin Armors and Divine Arm Crossbows. It’s time to go back.”

The experiment over, Li Xiao called out to everyone.

On the way back, Li Xiao held that curled arrow, looking thoughtful.

The Divine Arm Crossbow couldn’t completely penetrate the Toadskin Armor, likely because the quality of its arrow was poor.

The hardness of the arrowhead wasn’t enough.

“If we switched to arrowheads forged from Wootz steel, would it be possible to pierce the Toadskin Armor?”

Li Xiao suddenly felt that even wearing Toadskin Armor might not guarantee absolute safety.

Soon after, the army broke camp and set out, and the entire team split into two.

Li Xiao personally led the main force and six hundred able-bodied men from the Huoerma Tribe to rendezvous with Xiao Simo’s army.

Lin Dazhuang, on the other hand, led five hundred soldiers to escort the old, weak, women, and children of the Huoerma Tribe, along with cattle, sheep, and other supplies, to meet up with Li Sanhe.

Since entering Naiman territory, all the supplies and women Li Xiao and his men had looted were piled up in that valley.

It was considered a temporary base camp, to be brought back to Jin Prefecture when the army withdrew.

At the time of parting, Li Xiao called Lin Dazhuang over and instructed him:

“If the able-bodied men of the Huoerma Tribe rebel, I will send someone to notify you.”

“Do not hesitate—immediately kill all the old, weak, women, and children of the Huoerma Tribe.”

Hearing this, Lin Dazhuang nodded heavily, understanding what his mission was.

It was to put a shackle around the necks of the Huoerma Tribe.

“Also, keep an eye on the brothers under your command. Don’t let them spill the beans.”

“Yes, sir.”

Among the five hundred soldiers Lin Dazhuang took away this time, apart from the Ten-Man Commanders, Five-Man Commanders, and other core members who were from Jin Prefecture, the rest of the lower-ranking soldiers were all borrowed by Li Xiao.

And all of them were those who prepared to stay in Jin Prefecture and were unwilling to go back.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Xiao added the names of these four hundred or so soldiers to the list of those killed in action.

In the future, these soldiers would change their identities and become true people of Jin Prefecture.

Three days later, by the banks of the Arak River, armies gathered like clouds.

The Liao army and the Naiman army were set for a decisive battle here.

On the Liao side, after the Battle of Altai Mountain, there were still twenty-three thousand soldiers.

Although the troop strength had decreased somewhat, those who survived had all undergone the baptism of war. The new recruits had shed their immaturity and weakness, so their combat power had actually increased.

On the Naiman side, Tayang Khan had conscripted all the males from the surrounding tribes, as well as soldiers who had successively fled back from the Altai Mountain battlefield during this period.

Adding in the Imperial Guards originally protecting the Khan’s Court, and the five thousand troops transferred back from the border of the Keraites in the east…

The total military strength added up to over fifteen thousand men.

Although the number wasn’t small, morale was slightly insufficient.

In this battle, the attack order for the troops under Li Xiao’s command was in the second sequence.

Therefore, before the great battle began, he still had time to observe the situation on the battlefield.

“What are you looking for? Are you looking for Buyruq Khan’s army?”

Just as Li Xiao was observing, a voice came from behind him.

Li Xiao turned to look, and his face instantly fell.

He scolded, “Why are you here? This is simply nonsense. Go back immediately.”

The person who came was none other than Xiao Yanyan. She was wearing a black cowhide armor, her hair tied up behind her head and covered by a sheepskin hat. Her face was also smeared with a layer of dirt.

Someone unfamiliar would not be able to tell this was a woman at all.

“Why can’t I come? The battlefield isn’t just a matter for you men,” Xiao Yanyan huffed lightly, riding her horse to Li Xiao’s side and lining up with him.

“This isn’t a joke. It’s dangerous here,” Li Xiao said with a stern face.

It mainly stemmed from the suspicion Li Xiao held in his heart regarding Buiruk Khan.

This war probably wouldn’t develop in the intended direction.

“It’s not like I haven’t experienced dangerous things before.”

“Besides, aren’t you here?” Xiao Yanyan smiled, looking at Li Xiao.

“Even if I die…”

“Dying together with you wouldn’t be lonely.”

Hearing these words from Xiao Yanyan, Li Xiao instantly lost his temper.

This woman really was bold and unrestrained.

It was just a pity she didn’t listen to him.

He still had to find an opportunity to make her submissive.

“Then you have to follow me closely. Whatever you do, don’t get lost,” Li Xiao instructed uneasily.

If the battlefield situation turned unfavorable, he could take her with him immediately when fleeing.

“A grown man, don’t be so long-winded.”

“It’s not like I haven’t killed anyone before,” Xiao Yanyan huffed.

However, she still found Li Xiao’s concern very enjoyable.

“By the way, I haven’t told you yet. Buyruq Khan’s army should be thirty li away at this time.”

“Preparing to catch Tayang Khan off guard,” Xiao Yanyan said.

“How do you know?” Li Xiao asked, somewhat surprised.

He had just been wondering why he hadn’t seen Buyruq Khan’s army.

“A few days ago, Buyruq Khan came to the army alone with some men and discussed this plan with my brother,” Xiao Yanyan said.

At that time, Li Xiao was still leading troops outside, so he hadn’t seen the situation then.

“Came alone? Quite sincere,” Li Xiao muttered.

“Are you worried about him?” Xiao Yanyan asked.

“Mmm…”

“I feel a bit uneasy inside, worried that Buyruq Khan might pull some trick,” Li Xiao nodded.

Xiao Yanyan, however, didn’t quite understand this.

“Buyruq Khan and Tayang Khan are like fire and water. The thing he wants to do most is snatch the Naiman Khanate throne back from Tayang Khan’s hands. There shouldn’t be any problem.”

Li Xiao shook his head lightly. “That’s hard to say.”

“Hearts are separated by bellies. Who knows if the two brothers have teamed up to play us?”

Xiao Yanyan pondered for a while and said in a slightly uncertain tone, “When Buyruq Khan came to the big tent a few days ago, he seemed quite respectful.”

But in Li Xiao’s view, mere respect couldn’t represent anything.

“Dogs that bite don’t bark,” Li Xiao said in a faint voice.

He looked at Xiao Yanyan. “Anyway, just stay by my side then and don’t get lost.”

Suddenly, Xiao Yanyan gave a charming smile and looked at Li Xiao. “You’re guarding against Buyruq Khan so much—could it be because of me?”

Meeting Xiao Yanyan’s half-smiling gaze, Li Xiao shook his head slightly and huffed, “You’re flattering yourself.”

Xiao Yanyan giggled, “Little man!”

Just then, the low sound of a horn came from the distance.

Woooo—

Li Xiao’s gaze turned forward, only to see a group of Khitan soldiers in iron armor driving their warhorses, beginning to advance slowly.

The decisive battle had begun.