Chapter 1 The Gathering

"Three days, gather at the foot of the South Slope within three days. Everyone must hang a wildling's head on their waist for this seat, whether it's a spy sent by the Snowfield Wildlings or a wildling hunting nearby, whether it's male, female, old, or young. If anyone returns without that head, this seat will twist off their head and hang it on my own waist in their place!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Among the mountains, forests, rivers, and valleys, fifty subordinates, whom Xue San had personally trained through "cramming," were kneeling before him.

The soldiers of Shengle City, led by Liang Cheng, were serving as the vanguard of the Jingnan Army, leading the way, while Xue San's force was in front of the vanguard.

Although Liang Cheng had already swept through this route in the mountains, eradicating several villages in the process, the Tianduan Mountains were vast and the terrain complex. Who knew if there were any stray fish that had slipped through the net?

At the same time, they needed to be wary of the Snowfield Wildlings' infiltration and surveillance of this area. Xue San couldn't command a large army in battle, but he knew that if the movements of this force were discovered in advance, the Snowfield Wildlings could gather their troops and ambush the Yan army when they emerged from the mountains. No matter how capable the Yan army was, they would suffer a setback.

"Go."

In an instant, everyone disappeared into the nearby forest, leaving only one person behind, holding a cloth bag filled with haws.

"Where did you get these?" Xue San looked down at this subordinate.

Xue San valued this subordinate highly, not because he was particularly outstanding or talented, but because of his name. His surname was Dai, and his given name was Li.

Dai Li.

Just because of this name, Xue San couldn't help but pay more attention to him. This Dai Li was also very perceptive, and seeing that his superior seemed to "favor" him, he would often come over to flatter him and build rapport.

"This humble one got them myself. I thought I would always be by your side, so I carried them for you. But now that I have to temporarily part with you, I'm handing them over to you."

Xue San reached out and took the haws, nodding slightly and speaking a little more gently:

"Be careful."

Dai Li was extremely moved and hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing three times to Xue San before turning and disappearing into the forest.

He was a Jin person, a surrendered soldier, and considered to be the lowest rank in the Shengle City army system. Therefore, at this time, being recognized by Xue San was something he would cherish even more.

In fact, Xue San simply felt that he didn't care whether other people lived or died, but if this guy died, it would give people a very unlucky feeling, inauspicious.

Moreover, after entering the mountains, he had his subordinates change their address for him. Since His Lordship was the eunuch official, then he would be the bureau chief.

Reaching out and grabbing a haw, he threw it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

Xue San unbuckled his belt facing the stream in front of him.

He comfortably released a stream of urine.

He shook it,

then walked a few steps upstream, bent down, and began to wash his hands.

San'er quite liked Marquis Jingnan, not because of the relationship between him and his lord, but because he felt that this person was meticulous in battle.

The Jingnan Army also had scouts sent out to kill wildlings on the march. In Xue San's view, this was what real warfare looked like.

If everyone was like Li Fusheng, rushing up recklessly, then what use would there be for people like him?

Alas, not knowing how to use secret agents to scout the terrain was simply a desecration of the art of war.

Splashing water on his face,

Xue San did a few stretching exercises.

Then his figure disappeared into the forest ahead.

………

The speed of the army's march could not be too fast, but in order to save time, rest stops during the march were deliberately reduced. Fortunately, it was not a rapid assault, and for these Jingnan Army elites who had experienced battles, it was not too difficult.

After marching for ten consecutive days, Marquis Jingnan finally ordered a camp to be set up for rest.

The men needed to tidy up, and the warhorses also needed to be tended to.

Zheng Fan sat in his tent, and before him, Tu Fa Su was carrying over freshly cooked noodles.

He didn't know whose big mouth had blabbed,

or if Tu Fa Chengji had "guessed the sage's intentions" after seeing Si Niang and thought he understood his tastes.

Therefore, during this march, whenever he had the chance, he would have Tu Fa Su come to serve Zheng Fan.

Now that the army was resting, setting up camp, and would be resting for three days in a row, it was the perfect time for some exercise.

Zheng Fan brought his own chili powder, sprinkled some on the noodles, and started eating. During the march, Si Niang wasn't by his side, so being able to eat this was already pretty good.

After eating his fill, he took the towel handed over by Tu Fa Su and wiped his face. Zheng Fan returned to his tent to rest.

The human body actually has a fatigue period. Zheng Fan had been traveling back and forth to the Snowfield with Marquis Jingnan without stopping, and immediately went on the expedition after returning. Even if his body could handle it, the mental fatigue was already very obvious.

Lying on the blanket in the tent, Zheng Fan only wanted to empty his mind.

At this moment, Tu Fa Su crawled in on her knees. Zheng Fan turned his head to look at her, and she also looked at Zheng Fan. Then, she began to take off her clothes.

Actually, Tu Fa Su was quite good-looking. Her face did have some signs of weathering and angularity, which was unavoidable. In Shengle City, a woman who came out to show her face and make a living couldn't possibly maintain herself as well as a noble lady from Qian. Moreover, she did have a very good figure.

San'er said that she had a son and a daughter, and her husband had died of illness five years ago.

"Put them on, I'm not in the mood."

Tu Fa Su bit her lip, took a deep breath, and put her clothes back on.

"Just stay by my side from now on and take care of my food and drink."

Zheng Fan was too lazy to say anything more. Tu Fa Chengji sent her over, and his intention was very obvious. Even if he wasn't willing, there was no need to put this woman in a difficult position.

The customs of this world were like this. Even someone like Wen Su Tong, who was from the scholar-official class, would give away his granddaughter or daughter at the drop of a hat. You couldn't expect a small tribal leader of a local tyrant to have much integrity.

"Help me wipe my armor and sword. Thank you for your hard work."

"Yes, Master."

Tu Fa Su saluted Zheng Fan and slowly got up, taking Zheng Fan's armor and sword out to wipe them.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath, trying to sleep a little longer.

To be honest, he wasn't very enthusiastic about this war. If he had to choose, he would still prefer to bury himself in Shengle City and farm for a few years. Wouldn't it be very fulfilling to play a "Monopoly" game?

Or, in addition to farming, he could disguise himself and accompany a trade caravan to Jiangnan in Qian, visit temples, Taoist temples, and see how those literati still dressed up elegantly with fans even in the dead of winter.

He could even find a sect and learn something, or go to Yanjing to find a magician to compete with, to see if he could learn martial arts and magic.

There were still so many places in this world that he hadn't explored or experienced, but now he could only continue to lie in a cold tent and space out.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath, lamenting in his heart:

He had become decadent, so decadent;

After having a city and a little capital in hand, he started thinking about living a petty-bourgeois life.

That wouldn't do, that wouldn't do………

He slept straight through until the next morning. After such a long nap, his energy was finally back.

Breakfast was dumpling soup, not as rich as in later generations, just plain flour dumplings in soup.

Moreover, if he had to talk about cooking skills, Zheng Fan felt that his cooking skills were much better than Tu Fa Su's. This woman clearly didn't cook much on weekdays, or at least, she didn't really put her heart into the food.

Alas, Si Niang was the best, beautiful, gentle, and a good cook.

After eating well, Zheng Fan put on his armor again and sat down on a stone outside the tent, starting to space out.

He was clearly a general of an army, but he was called by Marquis Jingnan to the central army to be a mascot.

His subordinates were being led by Liang Cheng in the front, which meant that he had nothing to do at this time. At least, before Marquis Jingnan called him to the commander's tent, he had nothing else to do.

Inspecting the military camp wasn't his turn, and checking the morale of the soldiers had nothing to do with him.

In recent days, Zheng Fan felt like he was one of those "supervising eunuchs" he had read about in history.

It wasn't until almost noon that Zheng Fan received Marquis Jingnan's order to go to the commander's tent to discuss matters.

In the commander's tent, there were a total of four generals and a group of adjutants. Everyone was quietly accompanying Marquis Jingnan for lunch.

The lunch was very simple, cornbread soaked in water. Everyone from Marquis Jingnan down was eating this.

After Zheng Fan came in, a soldier also brought a serving of "remembering the bitterness and thinking about the sweetness" meal.

Helplessly,

He could only grit his teeth and start gnawing.

In fact, the army wasn't short of food. Although he felt sorry for the amount of wealth and supplies consumed to support this expedition, Si Niang and the blind man were very generous. Since they were going to be fleeced anyway, they might as well do it beautifully, so at least they could get a good reputation for their efforts.

Therefore, there was no shortage of food at all, and they even tried to provide the best.

Marquis Jingnan finished eating.

Everyone else finished eating.

Zheng Fan, who arrived last, silently stuffed the last piece of cornbread into his mouth.

Crap,

This definitely wasn't his own food. There were actually pebbles in this cornbread.

"Ugh…………"

Zheng Fan choked.

Yes,

In the commander's tent, Zheng Fan grabbed his chest, looking very distressed.

At this moment, a general named Wang Ge kindly walked over and patted Zheng Fan's back a few times, then brought a bowl of water for Zheng Fan to drink.

"Phew…………"

He felt better.

Everyone else silently watched what was happening.

Just a little bit,

The high-ranking general who died in this expedition would have been born.

Tian Wujing glanced at Zheng Fan and asked:

"Are you alright?"

Zheng Fan shook his head, then cupped his hands to the surroundings to show his apology.

Wang Ge joked: "I heard someone say before that our Brother Zheng came from a merchant family. It seems that he really can't stand hardships."

This was a good-natured joke with no malicious intent. You could tell from Wang Ge's tone. After all, everyone knew that Tian Wujing valued Zheng Fan and wouldn't be stupid enough to cause trouble in front of him.

When the surrounding generals heard this, they all laughed.

Tian Wujing pressed his hand down, and everyone immediately fell silent.

"This expedition, the food and drink in the mountains these days, all relied on the support of City Lord Zheng. You all owe City Lord Zheng a favor."

When Wang Ge and the other generals heard this, they all cupped their hands and saluted Zheng Fan. Zheng Fan could only return the salute.

"Today's meal was specially ordered by this Marquis to scrape the fat from your bellies, so that you won't get tired of eating the fat and tender cattle and sheep after entering the Snowfield in a few days."

"Hahaha…………"

The generals laughed loudly.

"In one more day, our army will be able to cross the Tianduan Mountains and enter the Snowfield. Wang Ge, Zhang Cheng."

"This subordinate is here!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"You two will lead 10,000 soldiers as the right army, with Wang Ge as the commander."

"This subordinate obeys!"

"Xiao Mingxuan, Li Dingdong."

"This subordinate is here!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"You two will lead 10,000 soldiers as the left army, with Xiao Mingxuan as the commander."

"This subordinate obeys."

"This Marquis will set off one day in advance, leading my 10,000 cavalry, joining the vanguard army of Shengle City's 3,000 cavalry as the central army, to enter the Snowfield first. The left and right armies will lag behind, covering and following this Marquis's central army."

The generals said in unison:

"This subordinate obeys!"

It was said to be a meeting in the tent, but in reality, nothing was discussed. The overall strategy was very simple, which was that he, the old man, would lead the central army in front, and you would follow his route.

There was no need to worry about the route of advance, strategic goals, or strategic plans. Just follow his rhythm.

This was Marquis Jingnan's plan for this war. Zheng Fan knew that it was based on Tian Wujing's personal exploration of the Snowfield.

The Snowfield was vast, and for the Yan army soldiers, it was a completely unfamiliar battlefield. For the first time entering the Snowfield, everyone was completely ignorant of everything about the Snowfield. It was useless to formulate even the most outstanding battle plan. If something went wrong, they might even get lost. On the contrary, this kind of plan, which seemed simple, direct, and even a little sloppy, was the safest.

The key was to see how well Tian Wujing, the guide dog, performed.

After the generals left the commander's tent, they began to prepare. Zheng Fan stayed in the commander's tent, helping to carry some things, since he was idle anyway.

After everything was tidied up, Tian Wujing sat on the Pixiu.

Zheng Fan looked at the Pixiu in front of him, and the Pixiu also looked at Zheng Fan. Then, the Pixiu even rolled its eyes at Zheng Fan.

"…………" Zheng Fan.

"After this expedition returns, this Marquis will help you get one from the palace."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis!"

Zheng Fan had long coveted this Pixiu, and the Pixiu that Tian Wujing helped him get would definitely not have a low bloodline level, unlike Xu Fatty's unicorn.

Then he would feed it some elixir and speed up its maturity, or even feed it some vampire blood or zombie blood to see if he could stimulate its bloodline.

The 10,000 soldiers of the central army quickly completed their preparations and set off in advance. One day later, they joined up with the vanguard army led by Liang Cheng, totaling more than 13,000 cavalry, and began to leave the mountains.

………

"Angda, the tribes here are simply a bunch of trash. They are unworthy of the strong physique bestowed by the stars."

"Quemu, my good brother, please stop complaining. They have already given us food and water. What more can we ask for?"

"Angda, the tribes here are very rich. They should contribute their warriors to dedicate themselves to the King's great cause!"

Angda stroked his beard, thinking that his brother was simply naive and cute.

They were ordered by the King to lead 5,000 warriors to the west, because news had come a few days ago that the Yan people were making big moves in the mountains in this area. Many wildlings who originally lived in the mountains in this area had to flee their homes and seek survival in the Snowfield.

Their force was actually here to guard against them.

And there were already many tribes in this area. Because of their proximity to the Tianduan Mountains, they had learned to do business over the decades. Trade caravans would come from time to time, so they lived more comfortably than the tribes in other parts of the Snowfield.

In the past, when Angda accompanied the King in doing business, he had traveled back and forth here many times, so he naturally knew how much benefit trade could bring to the tribe.

Even though the bulk of the profits had been earned by those black-hearted merchants from Yan, Jin, and Qian, the tribes in the Snowfield were still able to obtain some of the most valuable supplies.

"Quemu, don't be angry with them. The King's fame has already spread here. Didn't you see that when these tribes saw us arrive, they actively sent food, water, tents, and sheep?

They don't reject being led by the King. When the King resolves the battle on the Xuehaiguan side, the King's banner will personally come here, and the warriors of these tribes will become the King's most loyal followers."

"But, but why can others fight the Jin people at Xuehaiguan while we have to run all the way here?

The Jin army is all at Xuehaiguan. What are we defending against here?"

This was what Quemu couldn't understand the most. He and Angda were both warriors under the King's command. He longed to tear apart those Jin people who had oppressed them in the past on the battlefield, not to run here and drink their sheep's milk!

Angda's eyes became deep.

The wildlings' vision was still too narrow. The King had lamented this to Angda more than once.

And as a warrior who had traveled outside with the King, Angda knew how vast the outside world was.

"What we are defending against are the Yan people."

Angda said very seriously.

"The Yan people? How could the Yan people come here?" Quemu was incredulous.

"Can you be sure that the Yan people will definitely not come here?"

"This……… but………"

Angda said in a deep voice:

"How powerful are the Jin people?"

"The Jin people have already been defeated by me. Their emperor has also been defeated by us."

"Fool, that's just a part of the Jin people. The Jin people have three families. Over the years, the one that has been constantly at war with our tribe is just one of the Jin families."

"I know, there are still two Jin families."

"They're gone. They're already gone. Those two Jin families have now been annexed by the Yan people. The Yan people have occupied their territory and captured their population!"

"So what? If the Yan people dare to come to the Snowfield, I will lead the warriors to tear them apart. I will surround their heads in a circle to worship the stars!"

Angda reached out and patted his forehead.

This Quemu in front of him was very strong, one of the strongest fighters under the King's command, but his brain………

Angda recalled the scene when he and the King were in Beifeng County, and the figure of the Zhenbei Army in black armor appeared in his mind.

"Quemu, please put away your ignorance and arrogance!"

"I………"

"Yes, I also believe that the Yan people cannot come to the Snowfield, because I really can't think of a reason why the Yan people would run to the Snowfield. The King is the same.

The commotion in the Tianduan Mountains may be the Yan people clearing nearby settlements. This is normal. In the past, when the Helian family of Jin was around, they would also enter the mountains from time to time to clear the settlements.

But precisely because they are the Yan people, the King would rather send you and me here to watch. You don't know how much the Yan people weigh in the King's heart, and you have never seen the power of the Yan people!"

Back then, the still young him and the King were leaning against the tent outside the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion after finishing their work, and the two of them looked up at the stars together.

The stars in the desert were the same as the stars in the Snowfield, very bright and very clear.

Angda remembered that the King asked himself at the time: Which is stronger, our holy tribe or the barbarians?

He was silent for a long time, gritting his teeth and answering: The barbarians are stronger.

Their warhorses were taller, their warriors were stronger, and their archery skills were sharper.

The King asked again: Then what about us compared to the Yan people?

Angda couldn't say anything, because the incomparably powerful barbarians were suppressed by the Yan people in the desert. The result was too clear.

Although the King later said that our holy tribe would also become strong in the future, we would take back the homeland that the descendants of the Great Xia had taken from our ancestors, and we would become as strong as the barbarians, as strong as the Yan people.

But the shadow that the Yan people had imprinted on Angda's heart was still too deep.

And that……… the little girl who left that scar on the King's face.

That day, the King was almost executed. After returning from being whipped, he was not angry or in pain at all. Instead, he pointed to the scar on his face and said to himself:

That little girl will become my "Empress" in the future.

"Angda, Angda!"

Quemu's shouts woke Angda from his memories.

"Quemu, you can disobey my orders, but you must respect the King's will. Do you remember what the King said to you before we set off?"

"I remember………"

Angda took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"Then please remember, when you see the black dragon flag, please put down all your pride."

Quemu clenched his fists tightly, making a "creak" sound, obviously, he was very unconvinced in his heart.

Angda put his hand on Quemu's shoulder,

Soothing him:

"Okay, when the King's army attacks Xuehaiguan, you will have the opportunity to fight the Yan people. At that time, you can completely prove your martial prowess.

Now, please help me send someone to notify the chieftains of the nearby tribes and ask them if the tribal warriors they sent into the mountains have returned with any news."

"Hmph."

Quemu turned and left the tent.

Angda exhaled, pursed his lips,

There was something that Quemu didn't know, or rather, the entire tribe, except for himself and a few others including the King, didn't know at all.

That was that the King had sent a team to Yanjing, hoping to join forces with the Emperor of Yan to destroy the Situ family.

But that delegation,

Had disappeared without a trace.

………

After the Yan army left the mountains, they did not immediately gallop into the Snowfield. Instead, they reorganized and took a final rest, while waiting for the left and right armies to follow up. They didn't have to wait for them to come out together, but they had to shorten the distance between them.

At this time, Zheng Fan returned to his own unit and went directly to Liang Cheng.

"Lord?"

"Don't talk nonsense, I have limited time. I have to go back to Marquis Jingnan's side later."

"Tian Wujing is deliberately cultivating you, Lord."

Bringing you along in battle, there was no more luxurious opportunity for an internship observation than this.

"Damn it, I spent so much effort raising this army, but I can't command them myself. After pulling out a force, I have to go and be a personal guard."

Zheng Fan didn't have so much resentment until this was mentioned. At least this force was pulled out by himself. It was like you worked hard to buy a toy, but you couldn't play with it yourself. Instead, an older brother snatched your toy and said shamelessly to you:

Come on, brother will teach you how to play, you watch carefully.

"Lord, this time it's………"

"Oh, I almost forgot. Tell me quickly, how should we fight this time? Don't be too specific, just tell me the general direction. I have a feeling that Tian Wujing is going to test me on this later."

In recent days, Tian Wujing had been keeping Zheng Fan in the central army, and would often ask Zheng Fan some military questions. Some questions were more profound, and he would deliberately let Zheng Fan think about them before answering.

It was like the teachers in school assigning homework, and turning it in the next day.

Zheng Fan took the opportunity to run to the front army to find Liang Cheng. After getting the standard answer from Liang Cheng, he would go back to find Tian Wujing the next morning:

"I thought about it all night and finally understood something. See if I'm right………"

Every time after answering, Zheng Fan could feel the satisfied look in Tian Wujing's eyes. Sometimes, some of Zheng Fan's answers could even make Tian Wujing think deeply and feel touched.

Therefore, no one was an omniscient and omnipotent god. Tian Wujing was the same.

Perhaps, in Tian Wujing's eyes, Zheng Fan was a rising "star general," but he didn't know that he was "communicating" with another military master every day.

It was hard on Zheng Fan, because he was worried that the standard answer he copied was too standard, so sometimes he had to deliberately ignore some things and blur some things to make the answer look brilliant enough, but not perfect.

This would allow Marquis Jingnan to have room to "guide" you after listening to the answer and be satisfied.

In this way, he could get his job done, and Marquis Jingnan could also get a sense of satisfaction, a win-win situation.

"Lord, in fact, the strategy is already very clear. Tian Wujing himself leads the central army, with the left and right armies behind as support and response. In combination with the situation on the Snowfield, he should be using the method of wolves chasing sheep, biting off the shepherd dogs in the flock first, that is, specifically targeting the strongest tribes. If they are defeated, the remaining tribes may panic and collapse. We must also seize the opportunity, either not starting a war, or once we start, we must bite down all the way and not let the wildlings on this Snowfield have the opportunity to gather many tribes to form a coalition army."

While Liang Cheng was still talking, Xue San, who was covered in dirt, walked over. Xue San had been missing for a long time. When the army was still marching in the Tianduan Mountains, he might have already sneaked into the Snowfield to scout for news in advance.

"San'er, you've been gone for so many days, I was worried to death." After Zheng Fan finished speaking, he immediately turned his head and said to Liang Cheng, "Is there anything else to add? Say it quickly."

He was about to put on a show of a bitter love routine;

Xue San: "…………"

Then, Xue San came over and said:

"Lord, I have a latest military situation here. You can submit it to exchange for credit. Just say that you personally scouted it back."

Liang Cheng chuckled and said, "San'er, you haven't been here for a few days, you don't know that the Lord basically takes classes in Tian Wujing's central army every day."

"Uh………" Xue San was stunned for a moment.

Zheng Fan didn't care and said, "It's okay, I'll take you to report to Tian Wujing later."

………

"This subordinate Xue San, greets Lord Marquis Jingnan."

Xue San took the initiative to salute, took a piece of paper from his arms, and handed it up.

Zheng Fan walked over, took the paper, and made eye contact with Xue San. Then, he turned around and handed the paper over to Marquis Jingnan.

Marquis Jingnan spread out the paper and found that it was actually a distribution map of several forces in the area in front of him, drawn with charcoal pencils, a bit rough.

In fact, Xue San originally wanted to draw contour lines, but he thought about it and decided to forget it. It was better not to gild the lily.

Tian Wujing quickly found a place that was wrong and said:

"There's an extra tribe?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, this tribe should have migrated here recently. Rather than a tribe, it's more like an army, stationed on a green beach in the northeast direction."

"How many people?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, around 5,000 people, half of them are armored."

"Are you sure?"

"This humble one is sure, there will be no mistake."

"Good."

Tian Wujing turned his head to look at Zheng Fan, who was standing beside him, and said:

"If this Marquis remembers correctly, this is also your subordinate, right?"

Because Xue San's image was really unforgettable, it was hard not to leave an impression.

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

"You really know how to gather talent."

"This subordinate is just gathering talent for the Lord Marquis."

Tian Wujing directly ignored this flattery.

"It seems that this extra force should have been transferred from the northeastern Xuehaiguan line recently. That wildling King is indeed giving my Great Yan face."

No one could have expected that the Yan Kingdom would send troops, even Zheng Fan didn't expect it before receiving the order, but that wildling King had specially separated 5,000 soldiers to keep an eye on this place when the war was at its most tense. This vigilance was worthy of praise.

Tian Wujing looked at Zheng Fan,

And said:

"City Lord Zheng."

"This subordinate is here."

"What do you think we should do next, which one should we attack first?"

He guessed the question correctly.

"We should attack this force sent by the wildling King.

In front of the many tribes nearby, defeat and devour this force, so that they can feel the terror of my Great Yan's iron cavalry from the very first moment, so that they will be frightened, so that they will despair, and finally, so that they will become panicked flocks of sheep, and we will be the wolves on the Snowfield, tearing them apart all the way, letting their blood stain this Snowfield!"

Zheng Fan streamlined Liang Cheng's answer a little, and added an "exaggerated" rhetorical technique at the end to express his feelings.

It could be seen that Tian Wujing was very satisfied with Zheng Fan's answer.

"That wildling King stole a teacher from the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion for several years, and actually caused such a climate. Now, it's time for the master to clean up the apprentice."

Accompanied by Marquis Jingnan's order,

Tens of thousands of iron cavalry began to move. They no longer concealed themselves, nor did they hide. They trampled on the land under their feet openly with the iron hooves of the warhorses under their crotches.

Under the galloping iron cavalry,

The black dragon flag, unfurled in the wind!