Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 280: Even if There Were a Million, What Would There Be to Fear

The setting sun cast long shadows over the desert at dusk, where corpses lay strewn for ten li. Severed limbs and the mangled flesh of men and horses stained the yellow sands red.

Batu’s army invaded He Shan’s camp. Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling mixed in with his troops, observing the scene. To their surprise, the slaughter they had expected was nowhere to be seen. In fact, since they were of the same tribe, once the main culprit was eliminated and the camp’s banner was changed, the transition to Batu’s control was swift and efficient, taking less than an hour.

In fact, this process was not unique to only those of the same tribe. When different tribes fought, the winner would quite often also assimilate the loser in this manner, allowing the victors to snowball into larger forces. However, different tribes often formed alliances, which differed from how forces mingled in the Central Plains.

He Lei had been a loyal subordinate to Timur. Otherwise, he would not have been sent to the Central Plains like a special forces operative to cause an upheaval. As someone who was on the Ranking of Earth, he was acutely aware of the terrifying power of the man ranked third on the Ranking of Heaven.

However, Batu lacked such understanding, and ignorance bred fearlessness.

Zhao Changhe thought Batu was fearless due to ignorance, while Batu eyed the pair, thinking the same about them.

Why are these two following me? Are they not afraid of us turning on them and capturing them to be handed over to the khagan?

However, Batu knew that he could not risk doing something like that

He had personally experienced the events in Yangzhou, and Chi Li had concluded that Zhao Changhe was likely a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, and so an official of the Great Xia. It was clear that he had come to the Grasslands to stir trouble. Batu knew that his actions had undoubtedly angered the khagan. Though he might not face immediate retribution, failing to leave himself an escape route would be foolish. Zhao Changhe represented that way out for him; thus, how could he dare offend him easily?

Even though he had been deceived by Zhao Changhe, who posed as whatever Fa Dian from the Maitreya Cult, Batu suppressed his anger and instead put on a heart, welcoming smile. “Prepare a feast! I want to entertain my friends!”

Despite his words, once they were inside the tent, he dismissed everyone, leaving only the three of them inside. They sat down, each smiling with their own ulterior motives.

Yue Hongling crossed her arms with a displeased look. “When did you become friends with him?”

Zhao Changhe pulled her to sit down and winked. “Brother Batu and I fought in Yangzhou. We were both enemies and friends. It is but normal to respect a worthy opponent.”

Batu added, “Just now, you saved my life, Miss Yue. I thank you deeply for that.”

As he spoke, he lifted his bowl of wine, downing it in one go as a gesture of respect.

Yue Hongling, still stern-faced, said, “I was just after the horse.”

Despite her saying that, they all understood the deeper strategic significance of saving Batu. It was unspoken but mutually acknowledged.

Batu followed the conversation about the horse, saying, “That’s a Ferghana horse from the Western Regions. When my uncle headed south, someone presented it as a gift for him, but he unfortunately never returned... and then He Shan shamelessly claimed the horse for himself.”

Zhao Changhe said, “In other words, doesn’t that horse rightfully belong to you?”

Batu waved his hand dismissively and said, “Not at all. Since Miss Yue seized it in battle, it belongs to her.”

At this point, both parties paused, finding themselves at a temporary loss for words, unsure of how to delve into deeper topics.

When Zhao Changhe had posed as Fa Dian, he had once told Batu something quite heavy: Brother Batu, I suggest you put away your wishful thinking. The person who wants to devour your tribe is none other than the khagan.

It was this remark that prompted Batu to point his saber at Hu Lie, then raise an army to destroy the Desolate Wolf Tribe. It marked the unification of the Warring Lion Tribe, and now the beginning of his tribe’s struggle for survival.

But there was a premise: “Fa Dian” claimed that “our forces are vast,” which made Batu feel confident in having external support, thus daring to take action.

In reality, however, it turned out that Fa Dian was Zhao Changhe, and the external support turned out to be the Great Xia... Although Batu understood that this was his only path for survival, it was hard for him to reconcile with the fact, especially since his uncle had just died at the hands of the Great Xia.

After a long silence, Zhao Changhe slowly sipped his kumiss and said, “Logically speaking, there should be many of Ubalu’s men searching for us around this mountain. Why have I not seen any?”

Batu, snapping back to reality, casually replied, “They’re searching for you on the other side of the mountain where you disappeared... Actually, there aren’t even that many of them left. Most of them have already withdrawn, and there is barely anyone on this side of the mountain.”

“They withdrew?”

“Of course, Ubalu wouldn’t leave so many soldiers searching indefinitely in the mountains for just two people.” Batu paused, then sneered. “He wants to mediate between He Shan and me, but I mobilized my troops early, deliberately letting their envoys miss us and finishing the battle ahead of time. He only wanted to mediate between us as a ploy to keep my tribe divided. But how could I just let that happen?”

Zhao Changhe said, “Won’t he come to attack you now?”

“For now, he has far fewer troops than I do.”

“Then do you dare to attack him?”

“Ubalu is the commander appointed by the khagan to watch over the Huangsha Market. Attacking him would be no different from attacking the khagan.”

“Do you still expect the khagan to be kind to you? Or are you already satisfied with just unifying your tribe and now you have no issue turning around and kneeling to Timur?”

Batu remained silent.

When he united the Warring Lion Tribe, he would become a powerful warlord. While the decisive battle at Yanmen Pass was yet to happen, Timur would likely not oppose him and would even most likely acknowledge his position as the khan of the Warring Lion Tribe, even having him join forces on the siege of Yanmen.

However, what would happen after that was uncertain.

The logic of the Grasslands was simple: to avoid being suppressed later, he needed to become stronger himself

It was not like Batu did not have a plan... Hu Lie was still in his hands. The next step of his plans was to use this as leverage to threaten Hu Lie’s tribe. If he could annex them, great; if not, he could at least extort a large number of cattle, sheep, and horses from them. At that point, his power would genuinely rival the khagan’s. Even if the khagan wanted to turn against him, he would have to consider the consequences.

In other words, Batu did not necessarily need to rely on Zhao Changhe, an outsider from the Great Xia who had little influence on the Grasslands. Zhao Changhe was merely a backup plan, currently with limited significance. The best strategy for him was actually to reconcile with the khagan, declare loyalty, follow orders to attack Yanmen, and simultaneously plot against Hu Lie’s tribe.

As he thought of this, he felt less inclined to even entertain Zhao Changhe. If word got to the khagan that he was secretly collaborating with Zhao Changhe, it would only complicate matters.

While he was contemplating, a personal guard entered the tent and whispered something urgently in Batu’s ear.

Batu listened and frowned. Then, he suddenly smiled at Zhao Changhe and said, “It’s already dark. Brother Zhao, why don’t you stay tonight? I have some matters to attend to. I must go for now, please excuse me.”

Zhao Changhe picked up a lamb leg and his cup of wine. He said nonchalantly, “Of course, go ahead.”

Batu smiled and said, “I suppose the two of you have never properly stayed in a tent of the Grasslands before. I assure you that it’s definitely worth experiencing at least once.”

After saying that, he quickly left, turning the tent into an impromptu guest house.

As Zhao Changhe gnawed on the lamb leg, he turned to Yue Hongling: “Living inside the mountain was fine. The only problem really was that there was nothing to eat. We could only rely on pure energy the entire time. Gnawing on roasted lamb and drinking kumiss feels fantastic now.”

Yue Hongling sipped her drink. “This wine is too gamey. I don’t like it.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Would you prefer wine from the Central Plains?”

Yue Hongling responded, “What scheme are you plotting?”

Zhao Changhe stood up, parted a small section of the tent flap, and peered outside. Torches were everywhere, with guards patrolling back and forth, nervously watching the tent.

He smiled slightly. “Batu is too crude... Anyone could tell that Ubalu’s envoys have arrived.”

Yue Hongling nodded. “Indeed.”

“Batu has not been cornered yet, and he has yet to make the final decision to completely fall out with Khagan Timur. He still thinks he can use his powerful tribe as a bargaining chip to keep Timur in check and maintain unity. If he continues down this path, we’ll have effectively created a new Warring Lion Tribe to replace He Lei and attack Yanmen.”

Yue Hongling understood what he was saying. “Not only that, but if he does make a firm decision, we both will be sacrificed.”

“Nothing is that simple.” Under the firelight, Zhao Changhe’s eyes glinted with cruelty. “If he can’t make a decision, we can just help him... Just like I did in front of Wang Daoning.”

Yue Hongling looked at her lover’s profile, admiration clear in her eyes.

When Ubalu’s envoy died in Batu’s tent, the khagan would not listen to any excuses. Batu would have no choice but to align with Great Xia, with no other options left.

Just like killing the envoy of the Maitreya Clan in front of Wang Daoning, Maitreya, who was not present at the scene, would only think that Wang Daoning, a top-tier expert on the Ranking of Heaven, had intentionally let the envoy die. The same logic could be applied here. In the midst of tens of thousands of troops, how could an envoy be assassinated unless Batu himself allowed it?

However, assassinating an envoy in the middle of a large army was no small feat compared to the skirmish in front of the Wang Clan.

Zhao Changhe turned to look and said with a smile, “We’re in the midst of tens of thousands of soldiers. Are you scared, my heroine?”

Yue Hongling smiled back. “With you by my side, even if there were millions of soldiers, what would there be to fear?”

“Then let’s go. It’s a dark and windy night, perfect for killing.”