Chapter 95 - 66: A Savage in the Desert!_1 - The Demon Lords

CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 66: A SAVAGE IN THE DESERT!_1

The birthday celebration of the Marquise of North Border was at hand, and guests from all corners were convening.

Someone had arrived to plead a case for a tribe whose women, children, elderly, and weak had been exterminated!

The North Border Army began swift mobilization. Black torrents started converging, and the hundreds of soldiers and private troops from the celebrating parties along the riverbank automatically formed defensive lines, as if facing an imminent major threat.

However, no one dared to charge forward and slay such a detestable guest. After all, this was the territory of the Earl of North Border. If you dared to act presumptuously, wouldn’t you be insulting the Earl of North Border and implying they had no one capable?

After Siniang collected the pitifully shattered remains of Yang Wenzhi, she stepped out of the tent. Lifting her head, she saw her lord sitting on the tent’s roof, observing the scene yonder.

"Come up. The view is clearer from here."

Zheng Fan beckoned to Siniang below.

Siniang leaped to the tent’s roof in a single bound and sat beside Zheng Fan. The two nestled together.

The scene was a perfect replica of a modern rural young man trying to woo the pretty widow from next door while watching an open-air movie together at the village grounds.

"My lord!"

Just then, Ding Hao’s voice came from below.

Zheng Fan had sent him away for the past two days, under the glorified pretext of helping guard the camp and manage its defenses. Now that such an incident had occurred, he naturally came looking for Zheng Fan to protect him.

To be fair, Ding Hao wasn’t a good person in the strict sense of the word—he might even have had blood on his hands—but he excelled in one thing: reciprocating kindness.

"Come up, be careful."

"Yes, sir!"

Ding Hao also climbed onto the tent. With the weight of three people on top, the tent began to sway slightly, clearly struggling under the load.

"My lord, should I go down?" Ding Hao asked.

"It doesn’t matter; it’s bound to collapse sooner or later." Zheng Fan shrugged nonchalantly. He then laughed, "Are you still upset that I didn’t let you come over these past two days, meaning you missed out on hot food?"

"I’m used to army rations. How could I dare complain about my lord."

Truthfully, he was a little miffed. Ever since the day he became Zheng Fan’s instructor, Ding Hao had been treated to good food and drink daily at the residence. It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality. Now, when he bit into those dry, cold crusty pancakes, it felt as if a knife was scraping his throat and stomach.

"Well, you should understand," Zheng Fan said.

"I understand."

Zheng Fan stretched out his hand and pointed to a spot amidst the dark, oppressive clouds ahead... where the disheveled man stood.

"Unless you were willing to eat with that fellow for two days."

"..." Ding Hao.

That brutal figure has been in the tent for these two days?

Zheng Fan ignored Ding Hao’s astonishment and asked, "What sort of official position is Left Valley King?"

Zheng Fan had been in this world for some time, but having been unconscious for much of the past half-year, he was still unclear about many of its aspects. After all, this world lacked the kind of internet where one could gather all sorts of information with a few clicks.

"Reporting to my lord, the Left Valley King is an official position in the Barbarian Royal Court. The Barbarian Royal Court is headed by the Barbarian King. Beneath the Barbarian King are the Left and Right Virtuous Princes. Beneath them are the Left Valley King and the Prince of Right Gulixi. And beneath them are the Left and Right Grand Generals, Left and Right Grand Commandants, and Left and Right Grand Administrators."

"The Desert Barbarians honor the left, which is the opposite of us, correct?"

"Yes, the Desert Barbarians honor the left."

"The Left Valley King is already one of the foremost figures in the Barbarian Royal Court, so why does he have the surname Shatuo?"

"Reporting to my lord, the Barbarian Royal Court has been in decline for a long time. A hundred years ago, during its zenith, the Royal Court itself was the most powerful tribe among the Desert Barbarians. The Left and Right Virtuous Princes, as well as the Left Valley King and the Prince of Right Gulixi, were all positions of regional hegemons. But ever since the Barbarian King’s disastrous western expedition a century ago, which decimated the Royal Court’s elite forces, the Golden Family has been in decline. Not only did the various Desert Barbarian tribes cease to obey the Royal Court’s edicts, but even the Royal Court’s own sphere of influence has been continually shrinking. The bloodline of the Golden Family grew weaker with each generation. Thus, starting from the previous Barbarian King, positions such as the Left and Right Virtuous Princes, the Left Valley King, the Prince of Right Gulixi, and those below them were no longer exclusively filled by members of the Golden Family. Instead, outstanding individuals began to be selected from all Desert Barbarian tribes to fill these roles. I have heard of this Shatuo Queshi. It’s said that he was chosen by a Royal Court shaman during his childhood and brought into the Royal Court. After reaching adulthood, he was enfeoffed as Left Valley King by the current Barbarian King."

"Heh, quite a remarkable figure indeed. So, even though he is the Left Valley King of the Royal Court, he has come this time to avenge his matriarchal clan?"

"My lord, I believe this Left Valley King is being overly sentimental. Throughout history, the Desert Barbarian tribes and our Yan State have constantly clashed. It’s always been a matter of you die or I live. He wants to demand justice for the dead Desert Barbarian women and children, but then who will demand justice for the citizens of Yan State who have died under Desert Barbarian sabers?"

"Precisely, a double standard," Zheng Fan said.

"Double standard? What does that mean?"

"It means having two sets of standards: one for yourself and another for everyone else."

"My lord is brilliant. Every word is a pearl."

"Alright, stop with the flattery. Actually, I can understand him to some extent. A battle is a battle; who lives and who dies is decided by the blade in one’s hand. He should be very clear on this point. That’s why he previously stated he came to demand justice for the thousands of elderly, weak, women, and children of the Shatuo tribe, not for the young and able-bodied men who died in battle."

"My lord, how are you so clear about this?"

Zheng Fan pointed to his own face and said, "Otherwise, I’d already be a corpse by now."

After all, he, Zheng Fan, was the one who had beheaded the chief of the Shatuo tribe.

"We, as onlookers, can certainly criticize others for having double standards. But he is the one directly involved; his own matriarchal clan was slaughtered, which is tantamount to his entire hometown being burned to the ground. To him, there are no double standards. He’s angry, he’s furious, he’s unreconciled, so he has proactively come to demand an explanation."

At this point, Siniang spoke up, "My lord, he said he has already resigned as Left Valley King."

"Yes. He’s probably afraid of dragging the Royal Court into this."

During the power struggle between the Yan Emperor and the Earl of North Border, the Earl of North Border’s household chose the Shatuo tribe to make an example of, to intimidate the others. The Barbarian Royal Court made no response, even though the slaughtered tribe was, nominally, its subject. If one looked carefully, they would probably even find an envoy sent by the Royal Court to offer birthday congratulations to the Marquise of North Border. The Earl of North Border’s household indeed wields formidable deterrence over the entire desert.

But despite all this, he still resigned from his official post and came here alone to demand an explanation.

He was already prepared; last night, he had even performed his own funeral rites. Essentially, he came here to die. Most people in the world understood compromise and knew how to assess a situation. He, however, did not. He just wanted an explanation—an explanation for himself.

...

"The Old Madam said, ’The Royal Court is facing difficult times. If another hero like the Left Valley King is lost, the days ahead will be even harder. She advises the Left Valley King to reconsider, for the sake of the Royal Court and for the sake of all Desert Barbarian tribes.’"

The aged voice rang out again, conveying the words of the "honoree."

The disheveled man slowly straightened his posture and shouted, "I request an audience with the Princess Commandery!"

His voice, like a clap of thunder, echoed across the riverbank.

A short while later, a voice transmitted from within the Earl’s residence: "The Old Madam says she is tired and wishes to rest. She requires quiet."

The courtesies have been extended. Since you still lack discernment, then go and die. This is a military order!

"North Border Army!"

Three North Border Army captains raised their swords.

"Exterminate the barbarians!"

Three thousand iron-clad cavalry shouted in unison, a murderous aura filling the plains.

The black torrent began to move, and the earth started to tremble in unison. The infantry of Jin State and the navy of Chu State were both renowned in the East, but only the iron-clad cavalry of Yan State were universally acknowledged as the world’s finest!

The disheveled man nonchalantly took a step back, raised his wine jug again, and poured all the remaining liquor over his face.

Good wine. Truly good wine. What a pity... if only I could have drunk this wine sooner. Perhaps then I wouldn’t have come on this trip. At worst, I could have just drunk myself into a stupor day after day to drown my sorrows.

CRASH!

The wine jug shattered.

The disheveled man’s hair began to flow wildly, his crimson eyes swept his surroundings. On his body, red patterns began to surface, as if a long-dormant ferocious beast had just awakened and opened its eyes!

"TIGER!"

The North Border Army completed its formation. Thousands of cavalry began to maneuver in the outer circle, maintaining their speed. The inner circle was composed of units of one hundred riders each, which began to charge sequentially from eight directions.

The vanguard of one hundred riders were all clad in Black Armor. At that moment, the hundred riders of each formation seemed to breathe as one. Each formation was like a single man, like a single blade!

The disheveled man’s figure accelerated as he proactively charged towards the nearest formation. Opposite him, the cavalry also began their charge.

BOOM!

The disheveled man smashed a fist into the formation. The bodies of over twenty North Border Army cavalrymen at the forefront, who bore the brunt of the attack, directly disintegrated, their armor twisting into scrap metal. The other cavalrymen also spat blood, injured by the shockwave of qi and blood. The sharp spearhead seemed to have struck unyielding rock, and a large gap was torn open.

However, the disheveled man’s own punching right hand began to tremble, and blood could be seen seeping from his knuckles. And before he could press his advantage and charge into the breached formation to kill more enemies, the remaining North Border Army knights in this formation quickly spurred their warhorses to scatter in all directions. Fleeing? Of course, it wasn’t a true retreat, but rather to make space for the next cavalry formation.

Before the disheveled man could calm the turbulent qi and blood in his body, the second formation had already charged forth!

The disheveled man let out a long howl and threw his body forward once more.

BOOM!

His body, like the hardest refined iron in the world, smashed directly into the military formation, actually breaking right through it. Any of the twenty-odd North Border Army cavalrymen in the center of the formation he touched either had their bodies explode or their limbs torn off.

"TIGER!"

However, the next wave of military formations arrived.

BOOM!

...

Eight military formations were broken by the disheveled man alone.

The ground around him was already covered with blood and mangled corpses. He himself was covered in wounds, blood streaming like rain; in some places, bone was visible. If at first his momentum was like a rainbow piercing the heavens, now he resembled a dwindling river, a tiger fallen onto flat plains. However, his eyes were still filled with deep resentment, undiminished in the slightest.

Meanwhile, the North Border Army’s iron-clad cavalry showed no sign of wavering despite the deaths of hundreds of their fellow soldiers. The surviving cavalry from the eight formations that had previously charged actively retreated to the outer circle to regroup, while the cavalry that had been maneuvering on the periphery had already formed eight new military formations.

A new round of charges was about to begin!

Just then, that aged voice from within the Earl’s residence sounded again: "The Old Madam said, ’You were originally a general of talent; why do you insist on displaying the courage of a mere brute?’ The Old Madam also said, ’That old fellow, the Barbarian King, has few resources left. If you fall here, how will that old fellow manage to go on?’"

Hearing this, the disheveled man burst into loud laughter. He showed no fear as he faced the eight cavalry formations that had reformed and were charging at him from all directions.

At the same time, he roared, "I am nothing but a savage from the Desert!"