Sain was utterly surprised that the fierce general who had followed him on countless campaigns should fall to an unknown figure like Pei Liasha. He had never imagined that Saint Roman actually possessed so many experts.
During Mandulu's engagement with Pei Liasha, Pei Liasha had immediately unleashed a killing blow, felling him from his horse with a single strike, which stunned the barbarian army.
However, Pei Liasha did not press the advantage, but instead let the barbarian forces retreat, displaying the magnanimity of a great nation.
This was precisely the principle that Xiao Xun had instructed him to follow in his operations deep within barbarian territory – to seek only to repel the enemy, not to annihilate them.
Upon hearing that Mandulu had been killed by a mere girl from Saint Roman with a single move, all the chieftains were aghast, exchanging bewildered glances. Clearly, none of them had anticipated such an outcome.
Sain surveyed the chieftains, his expression grave, and with killing intent etched on his face, he declared, "Who will go and take Pei Liasha's head to avenge Mandulu?"
The chieftains lowered their heads one after another. Mandulu was exceptionally powerful; if he could not defeat Pei Liasha, who could?
Yet, they all cast glances towards the Ancient Sultan, for among the chieftains present, only he could contend with Mandulu. Sain swept his gaze across them, and as his eyes fell upon them, none dared to meet his gaze.
Sain finally fixed his gaze on the Ancient Sultan, "Ancient Sultan! Go and bring Pei Liasha's head!"
The Ancient Sultan dared not disobey the order and stepped forward to accept the command to fight Pei Liasha at the First Pass. He led his troops to the mouth of the gorge. At the gorge entrance, there were only a few sentinels. Upon seeing the Ancient Sultan's procession, one sentinel shouted, "Who goes there?"
The Ancient Sultan proclaimed, "It is Gu Jiagana! Tell Pei Liasha to come out quickly and accept death!"
Those few sentinels disappeared into the forest, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
In the dead of night, the Ancient Sultan naturally dared not rashly lead his army into the First Pass, and could only wait in the cold wind at the gorge entrance.
Before long, the sound of hooves echoed from within the First Pass. The Ancient Sultan looked up and saw a force charging out from the gorge entrance. Among them, a general, formidable and majestic, wielded a long spear, pointing it at him and declaring, "Ancient Sultan! My Lord Swain showed you mercy and spared your life because he respected you as a man, yet you are so ungrateful!"
The Ancient Sultan's face twitched fiercely a few times. The barbarians revered strength, but they also valued gratitude and loyalty above all else. Since Xiao Xun had spared his life, how could he possibly fight the Saint Roman army again? The Ancient Sultan harbored no killing intent and thus could not fight Pei Liasha. With a frown, he retreated with his troops.
The Ancient Sultan's return without a single soldier lost, yet without success, greatly angered Sain, who cursed him as a barbarian traitor. In his fury, he intended to have the Ancient Sultan executed.
It was only through the earnest pleas of the tribal chieftains, who were usually on good terms with the Ancient Sultan, that he was spared.
As it was already late that day, Sain did not dispatch any more troops to attack the First Pass. Instead, he resentfully returned to his tent to drink alone.
The barbarians were known for their fierce and unrestrained nature, with a strong inclination towards drinking. There were no restrictions in the military camp.
With no viable strategy to defeat the enemy and no capable general to secure the supply lines to the First Pass, Sain grew increasingly dejected, wishing only for Zu An's swift return to help him resolve the crisis.
His heart was heavy, and the more he drank, the deeper his melancholy became.
Although Zu An, the renowned figure of the barbarian lands, was present, Zu An had not appeared for a long time, causing anxiety among the barbarian chieftains.
The chieftains who were on good terms with the Ancient Sultan were also not optimistic about the current campaign. Furthermore, they were indignant about Sain's intention to punish the Ancient Sultan. After leaving Sain's tent, they all proceeded to visit the Ancient Sultan's tent.
These barbarian warriors were mostly brash and unrefined, incapable of devising any strategic plans.
In the end, they all implored the Ancient Sultan to secretly visit Zu An that night to seek his counsel, thereby reassuring the troops.
Sain had ordered all chieftains that Zu An was in seclusion and that no one was to disturb him. Only someone with the Ancient Sultan's skill could enter Zu An's sleeping quarters undetected.
The Ancient Sultan, already harboring suspicions and unable to refuse the request, rose and headed for Zu An's sleeping tent.
Upon arriving at Zu An's tent, the Ancient Sultan saw that the tent was heavily guarded. He mused, "Zu An is merely in seclusion to set up formations and break the enemy, why is the guard so tight?"
He observed a patrol of five men, divided into eight teams, patrolling the eight directions around Zu An's tent. As one team was patrolling, they suddenly saw a barbarian approaching them.
The squad leader, holding his saber hilt, cautiously asked the approaching man, "Who are you?"
However, the man seemed not to hear and continued to advance. The barbarian soldiers, their hands on their saber hilts, warily prepared to defend themselves, awaiting the squad leader's command to strike.
Seeing that the man's speed did not decrease, as if he hadn't heard, the squad leader became somewhat alarmed.
"Stop! Or we won't be polite!"
The man then spoke, "What are you so tense about?"
Yet, he continued to advance without slowing his pace, three zhang, two zhang...
*Swish!* The synchronized drawing of sabers, which had just begun, abruptly stopped. The man darted forward a zhang with lightning speed. His movements were like a fleeting glimpse, his strikes like thunder. In just three punches and two kicks, he subdued the five men, knocking them to the ground.
However, his strikes were precise. Although the barbarian soldiers were knocked unconscious, they were not fatally wounded. The man took a step forward and swiftly reached Zu An's tent, entering it without hesitation.
Inside the tent, it was pitch black and eerily silent. Suddenly, the sound of wind-breaking filled the air. The Ancient Sultan felt a surge of killing intent rolling towards him.
His eyes had not yet adjusted to the sudden darkness, but through his superhuman senses, he perceived two people and two sabers moving towards him like a relentless, surging tide.
These two individuals were highly skilled. The Ancient Sultan was confident that he could defeat either of them individually, but their combined efforts were not to be underestimated. It would be difficult for him to break through their attacks in just a few moves.
Meanwhile, chaotic footsteps could already be heard outside the tent. The Ancient Sultan knew that the barbarian patrol outside had discovered the anomaly and were converging on the tent.
Although the situation was dire, what shocked him even more at this moment was that the soul of the allied forces, Zu An, was gone. This was a war without any chance of victory.
While the Ancient Sultan found it difficult to break through the attacks of the two saber-wielding individuals in his haste, no one could stop him if he wished to leave. Since he had not engaged in extensive combat with the barbarian army, the Ancient Sultan believed that his presence had not been revealed.
However, upon returning to his tent, the Ancient Sultan was still shaken. He did not know what had transpired, but he was certain that Zu An was not in the camp, or perhaps, he was already dead.
Although Sain was brave, his strategic thinking and planning were far inferior to those of the Saint Roman army. To defeat the Saint Roman army, only Zu An could achieve it. Now that Zu An was gone, what was the point of the barbarian allied forces camping by the Chan Water River?
How could a mere Chan Water River withstand the iron hooves of the Saint Roman army?
Moreover, Pei Liasha had already cut off their supply lines, and the hundreds of thousands of barbarian allied forces were about to be put in a disadvantageous position. In such circumstances, were they truly going to die with Sain?
At midnight, Sain's drunken voice was heard outside his tent: "Go! Get me another jar of wine!"
The soldiers outside left and returned with another jar of wine. This was already the fifth jar Sain had consumed that night.
Pei Liasha had blocked their supply lines, the Saint Roman army was menacingly watching, and now someone had intruded into Zu An's tent... The accumulation of these events made Sain feel a profound sense of powerless despair from the depths of his heart.
Sain's anger grew with his thoughts, but he had no solution. As it was late, all he could do was drink his sorrows away. However, he possessed the ability to hold his liquor and, despite feeling his head grow heavy, remained remarkably clear-headed.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps outside his tent, followed by the clanging of weapons and even shouts. He was greatly displeased and looked up towards the tent entrance. Just as he was about to step out to see what was happening, the tent flap was roughly lifted, and the Ancient Sultan, accompanied by a group of men holding their sabers, stood at the tent entrance, glaring menacingly at Sain.
The Ancient Sultan, along with over a hundred barbarians, stood outside the tent, staring at Sain with hostility. Sain, with a fierce gaze, looked at the Ancient Sultan and coldly asked, "Ancient Sultan, what do you mean by this?"
Facing the Ancient Sultan and his over a hundred men, Sain showed no fear and slowly stood up. However, he suddenly felt his vision blur, and countless phantoms appeared. His body sank, and he was unable to stand, falling back into his chair.
Sain rubbed his heavy head and snorted coldly, "You dare to poison me?"
As he spoke, Sain urgently circulated his internal energy, but a feeling of heaviness arose in his chest, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
The Ancient Sultan also snorted coldly, "King of Barbarians, it's best not to waste your energy. This poison is our tribe's sacred medicine, colorless and odorless. Within twelve hours, you will not be able to exert yourself forcefully."
Sain, being a powerful figure, actually calmed down upon hearing this and abandoned the idea of using his energy to expel the poison.