Novoland: Eagle Flag Chapter 1: The Wilderness II

The last ray of light in the sky was swallowed by twilight.

The fire-like clouds dimmed, iron-gray shadows occupied half of the sky, and night came.

The water in the Iron Line River has been dyed red, the lion flag and the leopard cloud flag are mixed together on the battlefield, and there are corpses everywhere. The surviving warriors roared and brandished their war knives, and people fell like cutting grass in the light of the knives. A strong smell of blood rose to the sky, and carrion vultures circled in the sky, screaming creepily. The battle started in the evening. The soldiers of the Zhenyan tribe crossed the Tiexian River at night and lay in ambush in the dug ditch, waiting for the cavalry of the Qingyang tribe to graze their horses by the river. In a hurry, the soldiers of Qingyang had no choice but to fight with sabers, but they were completely suppressed by the onslaught of the Zhenyan tribe. Troops from both sides continued to pour into the battlefield, the Qingyang Department lost its vigor, and the battle line pushed north for a mile, leaving countless corpses on both sides.

On the hillside on the south side of the Iron Line River, under the banner of the lion, the barbarian warriors looked over immediately, and the young warriors in armor from Donglu stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Can our army win?" The barbarian warrior turned to look at the young man.

"Both sides are at the end of their battles. Whoever loses their morale first will lose the battle."

"Press the last team up too."

"No, if we charge now, we will have to cross the Tiexian River. The river will block us. If there is an ambush behind Qingyang's troops, take the opportunity to push forward and kill us while we are crossing the river. The result will be unimaginable."

"The scout reported yesterday that the cavalry of the Nine Kings of Qingyang was only two hundred miles away from here. If he really came, how would we deal with it?"

"If the Ninth King Lu Baoyin Erlu came with a tiger and leopard, no one could stop him. But our bet is that he dare not push the reinforcements to the battlefield of Tiexianhe. Two hundred miles away, he doesn't know how many troops we have." The young man stared intently at the distant battlefield.

"Dong Liu people, aren't you afraid?"

The young man laughed and turned his head to look at the barbarian warrior: "The master of the Zhenyan tribe is not afraid, and I don't seem to need to be afraid either."

The commoner barbarian warrior is Longge Zhenhuang, the lord of the Zhenyan tribe. People on the grassland call him "Lion King" in awe. Only those who have seen him with their own eyes will believe that he is like an ordinary herdsman, honest and reticent, dancing and singing after drunk, and laughing. He was only wearing a denim jacket, which had been washed white, and the tail of the zebra horse he was riding was a little bald, making him look a bit shabby. The only exception is the half-cut sword protruding from the saddle, which is simple and heavy, with a chilling air.

"I never asked, why help us?" Longge Zhenhuang stroked the handle of the knife.

"Because I like good wine from Zhenyanbu." The young man answered happily.

The young man is not from the Zhenyan Department, and Longge Zhenhuang doesn't even know his name. When he was determined to start an incident, this young man from East Lu rode a skinny horse to the camp of the Zhenyan Department and volunteered to contribute to the Zhenyan Department. It was with the help of his formation technique that the Zhenyan Department was able to hold on to the Iron Line River line of defense for a month in a weak situation, but this was also the last line of defense. After crossing the Iron Line River, there was no danger on the flat grassland. However, the clansmen of the Zhenyan tribe will become the prey of the Qingyang cavalry saber.

The two were silent for a moment.

"It's just nonsense. In fact, it's because of this." The young man showed his thumb from under the gauntlet, which was covered with a blue-colored broad iron sleeve, and there was a faintly spread eagle on the surface.

"The finger for drawing the bow?"

"I got it from my teacher. People who hold this mark, we call ourselves Tianqi. My teacher, he has spent his whole life helping the barbarians on the Yebei Plateau to resist the threat of the Eastern Land princes. I just I hope to help your people and let them live a life of peace and freedom, any heavenly drive will do this."

"Tianqu... how many people like you are there?"

"There have been many, but they are all dead."

"Then your teacher..."

"Dead too, seven years ago in Chen country, he was dragged to death."

"Pull kill?"

"It's the way the princes execute the execution," the young man gestured. "They have a kind of torture device. The noose is put around the limbs and neck, and they are pulled apart with mechanical force. When he died, the executioner went up and cut off his limbs, first his arms, then his legs, and finally his head."

The young man lowered his head, as if remembering.

He looked up: "At that time, I stood in the crowd and watched him die. When he was dying, he shouted, saying 'we will come back', and I knew he was talking to me."

"Brave warrior, it's a pity that I didn't get to meet him... But seeing the teacher was killed, are you still willing to accept the finger of Tianqi?"

"I'm not afraid of being killed, I just want to die like him."

Longge Zhenhuang was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Drink?" The young man tore off the white copper wine jar from his waist.

Longge Zhenhuang shook his head: "I can't drink it, my soldiers are dying in battle."

"Those who died in battle are dead, and those who are alive will continue to live. To drink, remember when they drank with us." The young man rubbed the wine jar and took a sip. He drank like water, the barbarian's strong wine was hot in his throat, like a hot knife was scraping.

The sound of hooves came.

The young man put down the wine jar abruptly and looked to the north. The silhouette of a black horse approached very quickly along the grassy **** opposite the Iron Line River, and then jumped into the Iron Line River. Water splashed on the horse's hooves, and the knight desperately drove the horse towards the main formation of the Zhenyan Department.

The young man's heart seemed to be lifted up, and the hand holding the wine jar couldn't help trembling. Longge Zhenhuang led the horse forward, and the scouts of Zhenyanbu on the back of the black horse reined in the horse. It was a young warrior, the Eastern Lu warriors had seen his skills in the wolf hunting meeting, he rode the black horse he grew up with, galloped among the lads, and captured the ferocious live wolves and the young girl. Heart, blush is not red, just proud and quietly smiling.

But at this moment, he just pointed to the north with his finger, and stared at Longge Zhenhuang with all his strength, without saying a word.

"Is it Qingyang Nine Kings?"

The scout nodded.

"Is it a tiger and leopard rider?"

The scout nods again.

"Thanks for your hard work." Longge Zhenhuang nodded.

A look of relief appeared on the young scout's face. He swayed on the horse's back, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell headlong into the grass. Three black-feathered long arrows were tied side by side in his vest, and the blood that flowed out had already dried up and turned black.

"Tiger and Leopard Rider!" The cupronickel wine pot fell to the ground, and the East Lu warrior tremblingly repeated the name. The blood all over his body was cold, he lost the war bet. He is not afraid of death, but he is betting on the soldiers of the entire Zhenyan tribe and the women and children in the rear camp. The maharaja of the northern capital was enraged, and finally sent the tiger and leopard cavalry who swept across the grassland. He underestimated the "bow of Qingyang" Lu Baoyin, the prince with the most military exploits in the Qingyang tribe. The dangerous soldiers go out to battle, capture the flag and cut the general in one blow, and win the game.

In one day, the brigade of the Nine Kings of Qingyang ran two hundred miles, and the arrow of the "Bow of Qingyang" shot into the battlefield at the last moment. The Iron Line River was over, there was no longer a line of defense, and what was left was only a stage for the Qingyang iron cavalry to trample and slaughter.

The stars have risen, the night wind blows across the grassland, and it is desolate.

This is the last calm. Longge Zhenhuang took a deep breath and looked at the thousand-man team behind him. This is the only army he has left, a team that has not been trained at all. There are young men in their thirteens and fourteens, as well as old people in their fifties and sixties. The last men from the Zhenyan Department are all here. Holding simple wooden handle spears, they sat in a scattered formation on the ground to rest, and stood up together at this time, all eyes were focused on him.

Longge Zhenhuang smiled silently.

"You are crazy! Let me lead this team to rush up to block the tiger and leopard cavalry, you go! See that blue star? Follow its direction, go to the south, cross the Tiantuo Gorge and arrive at Dong Lu, you will be safe, and there will be a chance to come back in the future! You are dead now, and everything is over!" The young man regained his senses, and stopped him by pressing his spear on the head of Longge Zhenhuang's horse.

"I'm not crazy, I just don't understand," Longge Zhenhuang said in a calm and gentle voice, "You told me a lot of Dong Lu's stories, and then I kept thinking, people in this world should love each other after all, It's up to you. We barbarians have a song that says 'lions fight wolves, wolves eat elk, elk eat grass, and grass is innocent'. Big animals eat small ones, even elk eat grass, but who will pity those What about grass? Is it the same for people, the big tribe will eat the small ones, and the small ones will eat the smaller ones?"

"But why? We didn't want to eat others in the past?" Longge Zhenhuang looked at the young man and waved his finger at the miscellaneous soldiers behind him, "Although our Zhenyan is a small tribe, can't we survive? Is it?"

The young man stared blankly at Longge Zhenhuang. The herdsman-like prairie lord stared at him seriously, his eyes like a confused child.

"No...that's not what you said..." The young man waved his hands vigorously, but the exhausting and desperate thought was still lingering in his mind.

The scene of the teacher's figure being torn apart on the torture rack reappeared in front of my eyes again. A year before that, the barbarian tribes scattered in Yebei finally bowed their heads to the army of Chen Guo. Dance girl, in exchange for Chen Guo's asylum. Behind the blood of the teacher, the poor herdsmen did not live a better life.

"I can't escape. My name is Longge, I am their leader, they believe that I can lead them to prosperity, no matter where I take them, they will follow me. The reverse is also the same. I fight with them I will leave it to the maharajah of Qingyang if I don't understand. Qingyang is a lion, and our real face is a trivial weed, but even weeds want to live on this grassland!"

Longge Zhenhuang pulled out his saber, slowly led the horse, and the thousand-man team followed him silently.

When the young man was about to follow him, Longge Zhenhuang suddenly turned around: "Can you take my daughter to Donglu? Let her live instead of me. Tell her that father loves her very much. It's a pity that before It's stupid not to be able to tell her all the time."

The young man was silent for a long time, then nodded.

Longge Zhenhuang smiled: "I've always wanted to ask, what's your name?"

"Xie Gui."

"Nice to meet you, Xie Gui. Skydrive... right? A warrior of Skydrive."

Longge Zhenhuang raised his heavy saber and pointed it forward. The daunting sharp weapon roared in the night wind. The roar rose to the sky, and the old men and young men raised their spears high and followed the Lord to the vast battlefield.

This was the last time Xie Gui saw Longge Zhenhuang. What the Lion King left him was a silhouette from behind in the night. It was the first time he saw Longge Zhenhuang roar, like a real lion, and never looked back. At the end of the world, smoke and dust rolled up faintly, and the tiger and leopard rider finally came.