Volume 1, Chapter 60: Signing the Blood Pact!

Who has the authority to make the decision?

Chixiao stepped forward, speaking in a stern voice, "I am the Wolf General of the Crimson Wolf Tribe and the commander of the Khan's personal guard! This is our most revered elder shaman, Lord Wushu! Together, we can represent the Khan and make this decision."

Zhang Muyang gave a subtle look, signaling that they should step aside to speak in private.

Chixiao and Shaman Wushu understood the cue. The three of them walked over to a slightly more distant spot and came to a halt.

With his brow deeply furrowed, Zhang Muyang sighed and said, "To be honest with you both, I do indeed possess a secret ancestral method to try and treat the poison afflicting the Khan. However... this poison is far too insidious and domineering; it cannot be completely purged in a day or two. I am afraid that... before I can fully cure the Khan, the elite iron cavalry of Northern Yan will have already trampled our Qiu Hill encampment to the ground."

The one hundred thousand elite cavalrymen of Northern Yan were already on the march, and at any moment they could arrive at the city gates and overrun the Qiu Hill camp.

Chixiao and Shaman Wushu exchanged glances, then asked, "Divine Doctor Zhang, what is your proposal then?"

"It's very simple!"

"I need guarantees! I need time! I need a commitment! A commitment that will allow me to treat the Khan with peace of mind!"

"When we went to the Northern Yan vanguard camp... ahem, to scout the military intelligence, we saw with our own eyes your Rong warriors engaged in a fierce, inextricable battle with the Northern Yan vanguard. The two sides have already forged a deep grudge that will likely be impossible to resolve. Since Northern Yan is so vicious that they even dared to poison the Khan, do you honestly expect to coexist peacefully with them?"

"I want your Rong tribes, at the very moment when Great Liang and Northern Yan engage in a decisive battle, to drive a dagger deep into the backs of the Northern Yan army!"

What?

Both Chixiao and Shaman Wushu were stunned, their pupils instantly contracting.

This condition was far more than harsh; it was earth-shattering, vastly exceeding all of their previous expectations!

The one hundred thousand elite cavalry of Northern Yan were heavily armored and renowned for their valor in battle—were they truly forces to be trifled with?

It was true that the Rong people possessed nine major tribes, a vast population, and no shortage of skilled horsemen and archers, but... they lacked unity!

The chieftains of each tribe harbored their own agendas and selfish calculations, scattering like loose sand. Otherwise, the Rong people would not have been bullied and squeezed by Northern Yan year after year, continually forced to retreat deeper into the barren grasslands.

A suffocating silence ensued.

The elderly shaman, Wushu, furrowed his brow, his wrinkles deepening. "It is not that we refuse, but... the Profound Bear Tribe and the Crimson Fox Tribe that came with us this time only have ten thousand elite soldiers, and our Crimson Wolf Tribe has three thousand warriors. Compared to the one hundred thousand iron cavalry of Northern Yan, these numbers are utterly insignificant. Pitting them against Northern Yan would be no different than casting eggs against rocks."

Heh!

They called them one hundred thousand iron cavalry, but did the Wolf King Helian Bobo truly command one hundred thousand men?

Not long ago, when the two sides fought a decisive battle at Northern Pass, the Pacifying the Frontier Army suffered over a thousand casualties, but the Northern Yan cavalry had also left corpses strewn across the wilderness with devastating losses! This number of one hundred thousand was merely a bluff, fabricated to frighten people!

When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden.

When the crafty rabbits are dead, the running dogs are cooked.

In the current geopolitical landscape, the Rong tribes, Northern Yan, and Great Liang had, to a certain extent, formed a delicate tripartite balance of power.

Once the Rong tribes truly exhausted all their strength to assist Northern Yan in breaching Northern Pass, given the wolfish ambitions of Northern Yan and the overlord-like methods of Helian Bobo, the very first thing he would do upon turning back would be to crush the Rong tribes one by one, annex their pastures, and enslave their people.

Great Liang was different!

Zhang Muyang said in a deep voice, "We have resided in the Central Plains for generations, focusing primarily on agriculture. Our only desire is to guard Northern Pass well and protect our borders and people; we harbor absolutely no intention of marching northward to encroach upon your grassland pastures."

"This time, if we can join forces to heavily damage the main force of the Northern Yan cavalry, even if the Rong people cannot swallow Northern Yan whole for the time being, we will at least severely weaken their strength, rendering them powerless to continue bullying and oppressing the various Rong tribes..."

"This move, for you, relieves the danger of ethnic extinction; for us, it resolves the crisis of a breached pass; for the Khan, it secures a chance at rebirth! It is the ultimate strategy where all three parties benefit! I ask you both to deeply ponder the gains and losses!"

Point by point, the stakes and benefits were laid out with absolute clarity by Zhang Muyang.

Both Shaman Wushu and Chixiao fell into silence.

How could they fail to understand the reasoning Zhang Muyang had laid out?

The threat and ambition of Northern Yan were entirely real, feeling like a thorn in their backs and a bone stuck in their throats.

Yet, the matter carried monumental implications. It concerned not only the immediate life of the Khan but also the future trajectory of the entire Rong race and the life-and-death survival of countless tribesmen. They dared not make such a decision arbitrarily.

Observing their hesitation and inability to reach a verdict, Zhang Muyang sneered inwardly, knowing that without a drastic measure, his words would yield no results.

Zhang Muyang sighed, "Since the two of you cannot make this decision and are unable to take responsibility for the Khan's life and the future of the Rong people, then so be it. Consider it as me meddling in affairs that do not concern me today, making a wasted trip."

"Alas, Northern Yan has already used such virulent poison to take the life of your Khan, and yet you are still hesitating over whether to continue acting as their spear—oh, as their arrow! Truly pathetic and lamentable! Very well!"

"Fine, then I shall return. Feel free to attack the Qiu Hill encampment all you like! At worst, we shall perish together! Even if you ultimately manage to raze our Qiu Hill camp to the ground, I, Zhang Muyang, guarantee that I will make you pay a heavy price and tear several chunks of flesh from your bones!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Muyang seized Bai Zhi's wrist and spoke with decisive firmness, "Let's go! It seems our help is not needed here after all."

"Wait!" The elderly shaman Wushu abruptly raised his head and shouted urgently.

"What? If negotiations fail, you intend to resort to force?"

Zhang Muyang came to a halt, though he did not turn around. His hand quietly rested upon the hilt of the saber at his waist, his body slightly tensed as he entered a state of heightened readiness. Turning his head slightly, his gaze swept coldly over them with a dangerous and low tone, "Could it be that you still intend to murder the two of us medical officers right here?"

The atmosphere at the scene instantly grew tense to the breaking point, charged with gunpowder, needing only a tiny spark to detonate completely.

Every Rong warrior's hand instinctively rested upon their weapon, their gazes locking uniformly onto the shaman and Chixiao, awaiting their command.

Chimei's heart leapt into her throat as she watched this hair-trigger situation with bated breath.

"These two Liang dogs walked right into the trap of their own accord to seek death. Why waste any more courtesy on them?"

"I'll kill them! To avenge our fallen tribesmen!"

Wuman, the young chieftain of the Profound Bear Tribe, could no longer contain his murderous intent and fury. With a fierce roar, he swung a heavy sabre and lunged violently toward Zhang Muyang's back like a berserk black bear.

Zhang Muyang drew his sabre from its scabbard, the cold-feathered blade tracing a chilling arc through the air.

Clang!

A deafening explosion of clashing metal rang out!

Zhang Muyang's stance remained as steady as a boulder, managing to forcefully block Wuman's immensely powerful and calculated strike with his blade!

The force of their collision met violently through the blades, resulting in a dead even match with neither side yielding an inch.

Wuman was somewhat startled. He was blessed with divine strength and had cultivated his meridians to the martial realm; how could a single slash fail to cut down Zhang Muyang? And the man wore mysterious iron armor, yet he was merely a centurion!

This sight astonished not only Wuman, but also the Crimson Wolf Tribe's shaman, the wolf general Chixiao, and the other military commanders.

"I'll butcher you!"

Roaring in fury, Wuman gathered his strength once more, preparing to unleash an even more ferocious slashing momentum.

Suddenly...

A crimson-red figure shot like a phantom between the two men, a curved blade deflecting Wuman's long sabre at an angle.

Chimei chided sharply, "Wuman! What are you trying to do? On the surface you claim to kill the divine doctor... but I suspect you are trying to take this opportunity to cut off the Khan's last path to survival and take his life!"

As these words fell, they struck like a thunderclap!

Everyone's expression changed drastically, especially the warriors of the Crimson Wolf Tribe, whose gazes toward Wuman instantly filled with suspicion and wariness!

Indeed, if they killed Zhang Muyang, the only person capable of curing the poison, would the Khan have any hope of living?

Wuman's face flushed crimson with anger as he retorted, "Chimei, do not spit blood and frame me, I—"

"All of you, stand down!"

The hulking frame of Wolf General Chixiao stepped forward, blocking Zhang Muyang like a solid wall, and spoke in a stern voice, "Whoever dares to show disrespect to Divine Doctor Zhang again will be treated as an accomplice conspiring against the Khan, and executed on the spot!"

"Lord Wolf General, he—" Wuman attempted to argue further.

"I told you to stand down!"

In Chixiao's eyes flashed an unquestionable authority and murderous intent, "This is an order! Or perhaps you wish for the blades of the Crimson Wolf Guards to taste blood?"

Wuman glared fiercely at Zhang Muyang before finally retreating with a sullen expression, though the venom in his eyes remained entirely unabated.

Chixiao glanced at the shaman and finally nodded toward Zhang Muyang, cupping his fists together, "Divine Doctor Zhang, you have been gravely offended just now! Circumstances forced our hand, so I beg your forgiveness! Your conditions... we accept them! Please apply your miraculous skills immediately to detoxify our Khan; saving the Khan takes precedence above all else!"

Zhang Muyang asked, "Are you certain? Can you truly represent the Khan and the Rong coalition forces marching south in making this pledge? This matter is of monumental importance and is by no means a child's game."

Chixiao and Shaman Wushu exchanged glances before nodding heavily, "Certain! Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! Chixiao and Shaman Wushu shall jointly bear all consequences! Please, Divine Doctor Zhang, proceed with your work without hesitation!"

"Very well, I shall now administer the antidote to the Khan."

"Wait!"

At that exact moment—

Bai Zhi, who had been quietly standing behind Zhang Muyang looking gentle and delicate, suddenly stepped forward. Meeting the gaze of Wolf General Chixiao with fearless eyes, she slowly spoke, "Lord Wolf General, it is not that we mistrust your word, but... verbal promises hold no weight. I hope we can adhere to the most ancient and sacred covenant of the grasslands, and forge an unbreakable oath... the 'Wolf Fire Blood Oath'!"

The Wolf Fire Blood Oath?!

In an instant, every single Rong person—from the high-ranking commanders down to the ordinary soldiers—saw the color drain completely from their faces, replaced instantly by a look of profound awe and shock.

The air froze once again.