Upon hearing the report, the group immediately became serious and got up to walk outside.
They were currently behind a small hill, only a few meters high, which could block the barbarian army's view and was a good place for them to hide.
After the three of them climbed the hill, they were able to see the state of some of the barbarian army's camps by the light of the fires burning there.
Yan Xiao looked up at the sky and said, "It's exactly 11 o'clock. That barbarian is quite punctual."
As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Situ Nanzhao, who was standing to the side, and suggested:
"Brother Qian, things are going to get dangerous from here. Just in case, you should probably avoid it."
Upon hearing this, Situ Nanzhao glanced at Yan Xiao, feeling slighted, but dismissed it, saying:
"If you, a woman, aren't afraid, what do I, a grown man, have to be afraid of? Besides, my Situ family started out by risking our lives as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), what haven't I seen?"
Yan Xiao rarely showed kindness, but he didn't want to owe the other party a favor. Seeing his attitude, and confident in the battle, he didn't say anything more, tacitly allowing him to stay.
As time passed, the figures of the barbarian army finally came into their view.
Following Yan Xiao's instructions, Wei Wuxiu ordered his men to remain still, and watched as the barbarian army swaggered past right under his nose.
After the barbarian army reached the foot of the Jiangbei city wall and engaged in battle with the defending troops on the wall, he led the Jiangbei army behind him in a sudden attack.
Although they caught the enemy off guard, the barbarian army reacted quickly, with armored soldiers immediately forming a perimeter for protection.
The barbarian army was mainly composed of cavalry, and with armored troops providing outer protection, even though the Jiangbei army had crossbows and arrows, it was difficult for them to break through the defenses in a short time.
Fortunately, the defending troops on the city wall cooperated well with them, and before long, the barbarian army began to suffer heavy casualties.
The barbarian king's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot when he saw this scene, but his goal this time was to force the Miao people to take action, and this was a good opportunity.
He glared at the two Miao people and roared:
"Seeing my barbarian warriors suffer heavy casualties, are you still not going to take action? Is your Miao tribe trying to break the alliance with my barbarian tribe with this behavior?"
The two had not received any instructions from the Grand Elder, so they dared not act rashly. They also needed to give an explanation to the Barbarian King.
They looked troubled, exchanged a glance, and then one of them forced a smile and explained:
“Barbarian King, it’s not that we’re unwilling to take action, but before using that Gu, we must first feed its mother Gu to its full capacity.”
You acted without consulting us. We were suddenly given your orders and came here unprepared.
These two weren't stupid; they guessed that the Barbarian King wanted to force them to take action, so they spoke with a mix of truth and falsehood, merely to buy time and wait for news from the Grand Elder.
The barbarian king was inherently suspicious, so he didn't believe a word of their reasoning. He was furious, but he couldn't expose their lies directly, otherwise it would mean a complete breakdown in relations.
He could only suppress his anger and ask, "How can I feed you? What do you need? I will prepare it for you immediately."
Without hesitation, the two replied directly:
"It requires the blood of ten beasts and three birds."
The so-called "ten beasts and three birds" refers not to the quantity but to the types. Normally, this would be fine, but the barbarian king doesn't have the ability to get them for him immediately.
He glanced at the situation on the battlefield and, seeing that continuing would be pointless, said:
"Alright, I'll prepare the things for you. If you two try to refuse again, no matter whose side you're on, don't blame me for turning my back on you."
As he spoke, he forcefully raised his whip forward, signaling the barbarian army to retreat.
When it comes to sieges, it's normal to retreat and regroup if you can't take the city immediately. The barbarian king originally thought it was just a simple siege failure and he could fight again later. However, an unexpected event suddenly occurred during the retreat.
The once orderly ranks suddenly fell apart, and the reason for this was that the cavalry, for some unknown reason, suddenly split into four groups and went in different directions.
The barbarian king was stunned for a moment upon seeing this, but quickly realized what was happening and immediately cursed angrily:
"You bastards! Are you trying to rebel? Get back here!"
No matter how angry he was, the cavalrymen didn't turn around at all, until a lieutenant jumped off his horse and came to him, trembling as he reported:
"Your Majesty, for some reason, my warhorses are no longer obeying my commands, and the other warhorses seem to be doing the same."
The barbarian king had already guessed a bit, but when he actually heard the news, he was still so shocked he almost fell over backward.
"How is this possible? How could this be?"
No one can answer this question.
At this time, due to the disintegration of the cavalry, the situation of their barbarian army had become very passive, and they lost a lot of barbarian soldiers in a short period of time.
"No, there must be an ambush ahead."
The barbarian king, seeing the cavalry galloping off in four directions, and confirming that the horses were completely out of control, gritted his teeth and made a firm decision, giving the order directly:
"All cavalry, listen to my command! Immediately slay the out-of-control warhorses and join me in breaking through the encirclement."
Although the cavalrymen were heartbroken upon hearing the order, they dared not disobey and began to kill with swift strokes of their swords.
This action startled the warhorses, which had initially been disobedient, causing them to rebel, throw their riders to the ground, and flee at high speed. Despite the chaos, quite a few warhorses managed to escape.
Yan Xiao was heartbroken to see this scene and cursed the barbarian king for being ruthless. These were all her spoils of war, and his actions had reduced them by more than half.
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