Chapter 316

Zhang Cheng and Chen Jinghe stood in front of the counterfeit bed, one on each side, arms crossed, looking down at him.

The person lying in bed had their eyes closed, brows furrowed, as if having a nightmare. Their face was as pale as paper, and despite the cold winter, they were covered in sweat.

Zhang Cheng impatiently kicked his butt, "Hey! Get up, you old hag!"

Arp was kicked in his sleep, which startled him awake. He opened his eyes groggily, thinking he was still in the Turkic camp. Before he could see clearly, he scrambled and rolled to his knees.

"General, spare my life! General, spare my life!" The person was humble and completely different, wearing Murong Yan's face.

His head was spinning, and his face was flushed; it was clear he had a high fever.

Suddenly, he heard mocking laughter, which cleared his muddled consciousness somewhat, but it was followed by stiffness all over his body and a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He glanced up at the two pairs of feet beside him, took a deep breath, and forced a smile, trying to get away with it.

To everyone's surprise, neither of them bought it. Chen Jinghe grabbed him, pulled him close, and sneered, "Stop pretending, you Turkic dog. I know you're not Murong Yan."

Alp's eyes widened instantly, he swallowed hard, and said in a trembling voice, "You...you've misunderstood, I am Murong Yan."

"Alright, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense!"

Chen Jinghe grabbed his collar, didn't even give him a coat, and threw him out into the snow.

He was thrown heavily to the ground, his head feeling as heavy as if it were filled with iron. A surge of survival instinct made him immediately get up and kneel at the feet of the nearest person.

"Spare me! Spare me! It was all the general's fault that I did this!"

Those present gasped as they watched him grab Duan Gan's clothes.

Alp noticed something was wrong with his surroundings, his face turned pale, and he slowly raised his head to see the man above him.

His arrogant demeanor, sinister face, and extremely oppressive gaze immediately caused his pupils to dilate and his whole body to tremble.

"General Dingyuan, spare my life... spare my life..."

He seemed terrified, only able to repeat the same sentence over and over again.

Duan Gan lifted his chin with his toes, scrutinized his sweat-drenched appearance, scoffed lightly, and said with a faint smile, "Am I that scary?"

Alp dared not move. He had heard about Duan Gan's deeds back in the Turkic Khaganate.

I've heard that he's ruthless and cruel, even more terrifying than other people from the Central Plains, and that those who offend him will suffer inhuman torment.

They will use a small hammer to slowly break your bones and forcibly pull out your fingernails and toenails, causing you unbearable pain.

But with all the bones shattered, he couldn't even struggle or curl up.

Then someone will use a knife as thin as a cicada's wing to cut off pieces of your flesh, making you live in a living hell of pain every moment, experiencing endless torment.

Even so, you can't die. You're kept alive with the best medicine until he gets tired of you, and then you can be free.

When he was around ten years old, he saw the corpses of prisoners brought back by General Dingyuan's army, which terrified him so much that he had nightmares for a month.

In the past, no Turk was afraid of General Dingyuan's name.

This name may seem righteous and honorable, but only those who have experienced it can truly understand the bloodshed it contains.

So many years have passed, and they have long forgotten how terrifying this person was.

Only he remembers.

However, he could not disobey General Nuhachi's orders and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go ahead. He thought he had not been discovered, but in less than half a day, they found out.

Alp tried to suppress the terrifying images that kept flashing through his mind, but he was only a sixteen-year-old boy, and he couldn't control his fear or his trembling body.

"General Dingyuan, please...please spare this lowly person...I know nothing..."

Duan Gan clicked his tongue in disdain and kicked him to the ground.

What's your name?

Upon hearing the question, he quickly got up and knelt down again, saying, "My name is Alp."

The name Alp implies courage, strength, and unwavering spirit; it means hero.

They were completely mismatched with the person kneeling on the ground in front of them.

"Do you want to become the commander-in-chief of the Turkic army and replace Nuhaci as a general?"

Upon hearing this, Alp was stunned, staring blankly at him with a bewildered expression. Noticing his impatient look, he immediately said, "I want it! I dream about it!"

He really dreams about it.

He used to be bullied because he was small in stature, so he chose to join the army in order to become stronger.

Unexpectedly, he was deemed weak and incompetent and sent to take care of the military horses, becoming a lowly stable boy who only knew how to wash the stables and shovel horse manure.

Anyone can ride on his neck and show off.

Suddenly, a deafening clap of thunder, accompanied by a towering burst of flames, struck everyone's minds. Their bodies trembled involuntarily, and their eardrums seemed to rupture, buzzing loudly.

Everyone turned to look.

Chen Jinghe rubbed his numb ears and muttered, "My God, the power of this thousand catties of gunpowder is no joke."

Alp's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

He recognized the direction; it was the direction of their army's encampment. A thousand pounds of gunpowder... a thousand pounds of gunpowder destroyed their army!

He was utterly desperate, thinking that not only was he doomed, but tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers would also perish.

Alp was ashen-faced and collapsed to the ground, utterly powerless.

At this moment, Meng Tian rushed over and said excitedly, "Your Highness, can we leave the city now? The brothers below have been waiting for a long time."

"Let's go, take him with us."

Duan Gan walked ahead, his clothes fluttering, striding briskly, a smile playing on his lips, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Alright, Your Highness."

On the other side, in the dim night, the black mushroom cloud that lingered for a long time could still be clearly seen.

The impact of a thousand pounds of gunpowder was simply too great.

Especially when these people were drunk, apart from a few guards, the others slept like logs, and most of them were blown to pieces in their sleep.

Limbs and remains were scattered everywhere, and the scarlet blood resembled blooming flowers, beautiful and dazzling, yet terrifying.

The screams continued incessantly, and some people even began to cry.

Before they could react, the soldiers saw a man dressed in black from the Central Plains grab their general by the collar and drag him out.

The soldiers who went to find the deputy general Anachuo also saw the terrible scene in the tent.

Suddenly, they became completely lost and panicked, like ants without direction, spinning around in circles.

Just as their attention was entirely focused on the kidnapped General Nuhachi, the two remaining watchtower guards spotted a large group of dark figures rapidly approaching in the firelight.

"Sneak attack! Someone's attacking!"

"Quickly! Prepare for battle! Hurry!"