NOVPUBApril’s spring breeze swept past the charging samurai, while the setting sun bathed the flourishing vegetation. Sparse forests stretched long shadows across the plains; tall grasses swayed on the soil, undulating like waves.
Black Wolf Torc, barefooted, hunched low, and swiftly moved through the tall grass. Excitement sparkled in his eyes as he pursued his prey, followed by a large troop of militia in light armor. The springtide’s tall grass, over a meter high, spread across the barren fields, also concealing the hunters’ figures.
At this moment, if one listened intently, cheers were continuous, arriving from a distant battlefield, mingled with hymns dedicated to the deities, echoing in the high skies. Below these songs, a wave of low-profile, swiftly moving grass waves, with a rustling sound, swept towards the southwest as if they were a pack of wolves.
King Su’angua clenched his teeth, relentlessly sprinting across the wilderness like a wounded beast. Fresh blood occasionally seeped from his right arm, staining the cotton bandages red and bringing piercing pain. The young king, drenched in sweat and gasping for air, was carefully supported by two Imperial Guards on either side.
After running for a long while, Su’angua paused briefly to take a deep breath. The brutal battlefield had now receded far away, replaced by the scent of fresh grass and burgeoning life in the plains. The face of the king no longer showed the despair of defeat, only a more resolute tenacity shaped by setbacks.
"Yuku, give me another jar of the priest’s strong Divine Water!"
Upon hearing this, Great General Yuku hesitated slightly. While the potent Divine Water could alleviate pain and reenergize the weary samurai, it often dulled the sharp mind. As a superb warrior, he was not fond of these mysterious potions, but given His Majesty’s current state... Yuku glanced at the sweat on the king’s face and then quietly instructed the Imperial Guard beside him.
"Bring the Divine Water."
The Imperial Guard took out a soft cloth bag from the coarse hemp sack and carefully extracted a sealed pottery jar. Yuku took the jar, tasted it lightly, then handed it to the king.
Su’angua drained the Divine Water in one gulp; its bitter taste lingered in his mouth, but his face instantly lit up with vitality. The potent pain-relieving scopolamine from the tropical American Mandragora flowers, combined with the mentally stimulating muscarine from the northern forest’s fly agaric mushrooms, had swiftly rejuvenated the injured and weary king, transforming him back into a valiant and resilient warrior.
"Your Majesty, please hold on! The sun is already setting; as soon as it gets dark, the Mexica will have a hard time catching up with us!"
Yuku, observing the reddening sky, filled his expression with newfound hope.
Su’angua smiled and nodded, patting the great general’s shoulder. The obstructing warriors couldn’t hold out much longer; they needed to hit the road immediately.
At that moment, Yuku’s intact right ear twitched slightly, and his expression suddenly changed. He spun around sharply, staring into the northern grassland, then solemnly raised his right hand and whispered a command.
"Raise shields, be on guard!"
The Imperial Guards swiftly faced north, assuming a battle stance. Two guards held up great shields, instantly shielding the king in a corner. In just a moment, accompanied by wolf-like howls, a fierce rain of arrows shot through the long grass, striking fiercely from above!
Black Wolf Torc abruptly stopped. He rose to his full height, drew his greatbow, and released a precise shot! An outpost Imperial Guard instantly dropped his shield, clutched his throat, and fell to the ground bleeding. Then, Torc took a few more steps forward and fiercely locked eyes with Yuku at the center of the military formation. Black Wolf broke into a grin, and at a hundred paces away from the hound, released another lightning-fast arrow!
"It’s you!"
Seeing Torc’s face, Yuku’s complexion turned ashen, his heart sinking. The hound did not hesitate, he quickly reached for his longbow, leaped to the left, and nimbly dodged the incoming shot. Then, he swiftly mounted a copper arrow, aimed slightly, and shot back with equal ferocity.
Black Wolf dodged to the right, evading the whizzing arrows, and nocked another arrow in return. The two continued moving, swirling like autumn leaves in the wind, alternately firing deadly feathered arrows! Over a hundred seasoned tribal Longbow Hunters also arrived shortly after. From a hundred paces away, they exchanged shots with the Copper-axe Guards drawing their bows, and together, they fell bleeding to the ground.
A precise exchange of fire lasted only two rounds, with each side having over twenty men felled by arrows. Yuku’s expression changed again. He jumped back two steps, surveyed the increasingly numerous enemies and the Head Warriors about to breach their blockade two miles away, and decisively shouted a command.
"Copper-axe Guards, scatter and charge!"
Nearly two hundred Imperial Guards roared together. Dropping their longbows and raising their bronze axes, they charged furiously towards the hunters. The front row of hunters managed to release one volley of feathered arrows, shooting down more than a dozen Tarasco warriors before the charging guards broke into their ranks!
Though the hunters were skilled archers, they were no match for the Imperial Guards in close combat, and their armor was significantly inferior. Where the shiny bronze axes swung, blood sprayed and heads fell. Torc switched to a war club and, after a few moves, killed a troublesome warrior, then saw Yuku leading a dozen Copper-axe Guards, swiftly clearing the blocking militia and charging towards him.
Black Wolf’s eyelids twitched, his heart quivered, and he immediately turned and fled, shouting repeatedly.
"The flood is coming, save your lives, run! Pursue with the Wind’s Son, keep the hold fierce!"
With their leader’s word, the trusted aide hunters skillfully sprinted off, escaping a good two to three hundred steps in one breath. When the Imperial Guards stopped their charge and turned to retreat, the scattered hunters gradually regrouped, shooting arrows at the retreating enemy from afar.
The lightly armored hunters, excellent in endurance and sprinting, closely followed Black Wolf’s commands, harassing the Imperial Guards’ military formation repeatedly. Whenever the guards turned to charge, they would immediately disperse. After several such cycles over several miles, the Longbow Hunters had lost nearly two hundred of their number, and the Imperial Guards had casualties nearing half.
"A pack of cowardly hyenas!"
Yuku stood between sparse trees, gazing at the "wolf pack" hanging behind. His face was filled with rage, his eyes ablaze. The Sun God was about to sink into the abyss, and the setting sun thoroughly dyed the clouds in the sky, adding much deep red to the path ahead in the west. The pursuing hunters had not scattered, preventing the imperial guards from sprinting at full speed, while a large force of pursuers had already broken through the barricades and was accelerating towards them!
Great General Yuku howled skyward, sighing deeply. He knelt on one knee before the king, then bowed deeply to his left and right, sincerely addressing the imperial guards.
"My loyal brothers, if the Divine Eagle of Tarasco is to survive, we must offer more sacrifices to the three gods! For the survival of the royal family, for the nourishment of generations, for the loyalty of the imperial guard warriors, please stay here, strive to hold until nightfall. After dark, you can freely choose your own paths!"
Upon witnessing this parting scene, Su’angua closed his eyes. The young king covered his face with his left hand, letting tears slide down his cheek.
The remaining hundred Copper-axe Guards looked at each other then, their faces filled with resolve to die. They knelt down one after another, kowtowing to the supreme king, then saluting the respected great general. Then, these last elite warriors of Tarasco turned decisively, picked up the great shields, and moved to meet the encroaching enemy.
Yuku remained silent for several breaths, then spoke in a grave voice.
"Your Majesty, we should hurry on our way!"
Su’angua nodded silently and, supported by the last two imperial guards, continued their escape toward the southwest, towards the direction of hopeful vitality.
The whistling bone arrows shot through the air and hit the sturdy great shields, creating a dull "thud." The elite imperial guards used the sparse trees to form a loose formation, covering for each other. A squad of overly bold hunters rushed into the woods, but in just a short period, they were chopped down by the steadfast Copper-axe Guards.
Black Wolf Torc furrowed his brows. He looked toward the enemy’s lines, where the enemy’s great general was no longer visible. He then looked to the sky, where the sunset spread a red glow over everything, like a generous promise from the War God. Gritting his teeth, Torc looked back at the leading head Warrior, then shouted to those nearby.
"I, Torc, have pursued for so long, I cannot let the prey escape before my eyes! You all stay here, exchange fire with the enemy, and follow the commands of the Eagle Warrior! Now, the brave Black Wolf will personally strike, to capture the cunning hound for the Wolf King!"
Having said this, Black Wolf Torc did not wait for his trusted aides to advise him and took a deep breath before sprinting away rapidly. His speed, exceeding that of an ordinary man, allowed him to bypass the enemy’s front and suddenly dive into the sparse woods. The mottled shadows flashed under his feet, the dark red sky reflecting into his eyes. Black Wolf reveled in the wind in his dash, chasing the fleeing opponent on his own, regardless of the opponent’s strength!
Less than a quarter later, Head Warrior Bertade led several hundred elite warriors and hastily arrived nearby. He observed the imperial guards defending in the woods, paused to think, then waved a small flag, pointing to both left and right sides. The Mexica warriors immediately split into two groups, utilizing their numerical advantage to flank the enemy’s wings. Then, the head Warrior looked around the loose arrangement of hunters and asked aloud.
"Torc? Where did Torc go?"
"Respected chieftain, the Black Wolf lord just left the troops from the south, circumventing the path, and went alone to pursue the enemy’s leader!"
A tribal chief kowtowed and respectfully answered.
"What? Pursuing the hound alone!"
Bertade suddenly turned pale with anger and cursed, unusually vocal. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
"Abandoning the legion, casting life and death aside, an unworrying whelp! When he catches up to the enemy’s great general, who is hunting whom might not even be clear!"
Black Wolf was someone he had personally promoted, the most outstanding talent among the civilian followers, and he was always favored by His Highness, integral to long-term plans... Thinking this, Bertade gritted his teeth and made a decisive call. He shouted a command to his deputy.
"Take command here! Break through the remaining enemy, spare none!"
After that, the Head Warrior carried his longbow, directly abandoning the pursuing aides, and rushed into the woods bypassing the battlefield like a ferocious beast. He quickly found the traces of movement in the woods and hastened to follow them.
Meanwhile, at the end of the long trail, Yuku again stopped and looked up to the feathered arrows disappearing into the trees. He subtly gestured to the two imperial guards to protect the king well, then turned around again. The supreme warrior’s expressions were as deep as a dark, endless lake, intensely watching the Black Wolf who was pursuing him.
From a hundred paces away, Torc swayed his longbow, his face filled with excitement and he grinned widely with delight.
"Yuku, I, Torc, have finally caught up to you! Don’t run anymore, let us settle who is the bravest warrior once and for all!"
Yuku’s face was like a sculpture, silent. He paused for a moment, took out a jar of Divine Water from his chest, ripped off the sealed pottery lid, and drank it all for the first time. Then, an abnormal crimson flush appeared on his face, as tremendous strength rapidly surged throughout his body.
Feeling the sudden vitality and an incomprehensible excitement, the hound finally couldn’t help revealing a predatory sneer before the hunt!
