Chapter 1085

Chapter 1085: Expedition to the West (Continued Two)

The sky was vast and the clouds sparse, with a clear sky stretching endlessly.

Beneath the majestic Mount Muller, the verdant grasslands extended far into the horizon, sprinkled with wildflowers, painting a serene and tranquil landscape.

Aguda wielded his long whip, herding the Sheep Herd towards a distant stream.

This young man from the Tulu Tribe had just celebrated his fifteenth birthday, and by tribal custom, he was now eligible to marry, start a family, and establish a new clan separate from his parents.

Aguda had once dreamed of marrying a maiden from his own tribe, using his savings to purchase two Slave Girls from the East, and fathering a brood of ten or eight children.

But this dream was shattered just days ago when the Tulu Tribe rebelled against Great Zhou, joining forces with other tribes to raid the Zhou territories.

The tribe had hoped their warriors would return laden with Gold and Silver Treasures and captives, but instead, they suffered a crushing defeat.

Of the seventy thousand warriors who went to battle, fewer than forty thousand returned, with nearly half lost; many of the survivors were wounded, and the clan was draped in mourning, with white cloths hanging from every tent.

Only one of Aguda’s two brothers returned; the other had lost an arm, casting a pall of gloom over their home.

To escape the oppressive atmosphere, Aguda took up the task of Shepherding.

He glanced back at the town nestled in the Snow Valley, watching the blue smoke rise from the village, his heart heavy with sorrow.

Damn the Zhou people!

Aguda clenched his whip, silently swearing vengeance for his Family.

He vowed to slaughter all the Zhou, seize their lands, and enslave their women and children!

Suddenly, Aguda felt the ground tremble slightly.

Puzzled, he looked around but saw nothing amiss, though the Sheep Herd ahead grew restless.

The tremors intensified, and sensing danger, Aguda quickly ascended the hillside.

What he saw next left him aghast.

A vast host of iron cavalry appeared on the distant grasslands, like a black tide sweeping across the earth. The lead rider crossed the clear stream, charging directly towards Aguda.

Red battle flags fluttered fiercely in the wind!

Each flag bore a large character "Zhou."

The Iron Cavalry of Great Zhou!

At the sight of these menacing battle flags, Aguda’s blood ran cold; he opened his mouth but no words came out.

The cavalry closed in with terrifying speed.

Moments later, Aguda snapped out of his daze, dropped his whip, and turned to flee, shouting, "Enemy Attack…"

He had to warn his unsuspecting clan; otherwise…

Thud!

A feathered arrow whistled through the air, instantly piercing Aguda’s body.

The young Tulu collapsed into the grass, his limbs twitching briefly before he lay still.

As he breathed his last, dozens of cavalrymen bearing battle flags surged up the hillside, their sharp eyes fixed on the Tulu tribal town in the distance.

This town, nestled in the Snow Valley, was home to tens of thousands of Tulu people.

Outside the town, numerous earthen houses and tents housed an even greater number of lower and middle-class tribespeople.

Boom—

The powerful charge horn suddenly blared, and many Tulu tribespeople who were working hard looked up in confusion, gazing toward the source of the sound.

Then they witnessed a terrifying sight they had never seen in their lives!

Thousands of iron cavalry descended the long slope, ruthlessly charging toward the outer area of the tribal town.

When the tribal warriors snapped back to reality and tried to organize a resistance, countless bullets poured down like a raging storm, turning them into sieves.

Their thin leather armor and poor-quality shields could not withstand the firepower of the flintguns, and the unprepared Tulu tribespeople found it impossible to resist the heavily armed iron cavalry of the Great Zhou.

What was once a peaceful homeland instantly transformed into a living hell.

Countless Tulu people screamed and scattered in all directions, some kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, while others hid inside earthen houses and tents.

But these people all became souls under the blades of the cavalry.

Men, women, young, and old—none were spared.

Meanwhile, the upper elite of the Tulu tribe, upon discovering the approaching iron cavalry of the Great Zhou, immediately closed the town gates, locking out hundreds of thousands of lower and middle-class tribespeople.

Many tribespeople rushed to the gate, desperately pounding on the bronze-covered doors, crying and pleading to be let inside.

But the great door remained firmly shut.

Instead, many guards appeared on the walls and towers of the town, attempting to use arrows to attack the cavalry outside.

They quickly became targets for the flintguns and were met with heavy casualties, forcing them to retreat.

Moreover, fireballs whizzed and struck the towers within the town, collapsing and igniting wooden buildings, killing and injuring many.

The elders and leaders of the Tulu inside the town were thrown into chaos, each behaving like ants on a hot pan.

Some wanted to rush out for rescue, some wished to raise flags and surrender, and others planned to break through—all without a single authoritative decision.

As time passed, blazing flames rose outside the town.

Almost all the tents and thatched earthen houses caught fire, and those trapped inside were burned alive, while those who escaped were shot down by flintguns or struck down by swords.

Blood stained the earth!

The Great Zhou cavalry did not plunder; they simply slaughtered, thus achieving great efficiency.

After an hour, the outer area of the town that held hundreds of thousands of Tulu people had turned into scorched earth, with not a single tribesman left standing.

Once the massacre was nearly complete, thousands of cavalrymen withdrew to regroup, all gazing toward the front of the town.

"Surrender!"

At that moment, an elder from the Tulu appeared atop the town wall, waving a white flag and shouting desperately, "Stop the killing! We surrender!"

In the next instant, the lines of Great Zhou cavalry parted, and a war chariot rolled out.

Standing on the war chariot, Wang Chen smiled coldly and said, "Kill them."

As soon as he uttered the words, a fierce martial general beside him immediately hurled a short spear toward the town wall, killing the Tulu elder on the spot.

Surrender was not an option. Wang Chen personally led fifty thousand iron cavalry on the expedition to the west, with the first target being the three rebellious tribes and their vassals.

For these fickle and treacherous savages, the annihilation of their entire clan was the only correct course of action!

Wang Chen leaped down from the war chariot and waved his hand to retrieve numerous field artillery pieces from the Cangqing Ring.

Along with accompanying ammunition, in less than half an hour, over a hundred cannons aimed at Tulu City roared in unison!

The apocalypse had arrived.