Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 333 Catching Up with the Main Force

Regardless of whether Jiu Que was truly confident, the group quickly advanced towards their predetermined goal. During this process, they did not encounter any defeated grassland troops. Although everyone harbored doubts, out of trust in Jiu Que, no one uttered a sound.

The group galloped all the way to the grassland. To be honest, by this point, no one could tell which way was which. The sky was vast and the wilderness boundless; at this moment, the clear boundaries between heaven and earth seemed to have disappeared. Just as Generals Wang and Li were about to ask a question, Jiu Que slowly reined in his horses and told everyone to rest on the spot.

It was a gentle slope with a slight curve. Hiding under that slope would at least partially conceal their figures, but what good would that do on such a vast grassland? The enemy would spot them immediately once they turned the corner.

Faced with everyone's questions, Jiu Que did not directly stop them, but instead smiled and said...

"We've been chasing each other for so long, everyone must be tired. Let's rest here for a while, maybe there will be an unexpected surprise."

Hearing Lord Ying say this, although everyone was still unsure, they listened anyway, after all, Lord Ying had just led them to a great victory.

Just as they were setting up camp to rest, the fleeing Muldun Namtso, surrounded by his personal guards, quickly escaped. Their warhorses were exceptional; even carrying two people, they quickly reached the grassland thanks to their familiarity with the terrain.

Murden pressed hard against the wound on his left chest. The arrow had been too fast; he hadn't been able to dodge it in time, and it had pierced through him from his back to his chest, leaving a gaping hole. Even if he were normally very healthy, he couldn't withstand such repeated trauma. He had lost more blood today than he had in the past 20 years.

Everyone was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. When they realized that the pursuers behind them had been shaken off, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and let the horses, which were running so fast that they were foaming at the mouth, slow down and move forward.

"Damn! Where did that woman get such strength? She drew that huge bow with just three fingers. Is she even human? Even General Ying back then didn't have that much strength. Looks like we've got a real opponent now. I thought that after those old guys in the Northern Frontier Army died, no one could beat us anymore. It seems there are always stronger people out there. But do you think those thunderclaps we just saw were brought by that guy surnamed Ying? If so, they're incredible. If our grasslands had such divine weapons, would we still be afraid of not being able to conquer the Northern Frontier Pass?"

Murdon rambled on and on, but Namtso, sitting in front of him, didn't respond at all, which made him so angry that he gave him a hard shove.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you scared...?"

Murden's movements suddenly froze, because he noticed that Namtso in front of him had fallen forward hard due to his momentum.

For a moment, Murden's heart stopped beating.

"Hey!"

He grabbed Namtso by the neck, leaned forward, and saw the other's deathly pale face. Murdon was now truly panicked.

"Namtso! Stop pretending to be dead! I haven't even had a proper fight with you yet! You're so cunning, like a fox, how could you possibly die so quietly? Open your eyes! We've already left. Now let's go back to Father Khan, regroup, and one day we'll make a comeback!"

"Namtso? Namtso!"

“…So noisy…” Just as Morton was sinking into despair, Namtso slowly opened his eyes, though his voice was so faint it was almost inaudible. But it was precisely this barely audible sound that made Morton breathe a sigh of relief, followed by a fit of rage. If this guy was still alive, why hadn't he made a sound? He was practically fuming.

Wait a minute, is this guy doing this on purpose? Is he faking his death just to scare him?
This would be impossible for anyone else, but if it happened to Namtso, it's 99% likely to be true.

If it weren't for the pale face and bloodied, miserable appearance of the other person, Multon would have really wanted to punch him hard.

"It's good that he's not dead. Let's hurry on our way, catch up with Father Khan, and regroup the troops. We'll be able to fight our way back sooner or later!"

"Um……"

Namtso's voice was low. Immersed in the joy of regaining what he had lost, Murdon didn't notice; his eyes were fixed ahead, as if he could already see his father, Khan, waiting to reunite with him in the distance.

Although losing to a woman, especially a woman from the Central Plains, was shameful, Muldur hadn't always been a winner since childhood. What grassland warrior would dare admit to never having failed? Only by experiencing repeated failures can one accumulate enough experience to eventually turn defeat into victory.

"By the way, do you know where Father Khan and the others are now? Those falcons have flown off somewhere, and we can't even see a trace of them."

"Let's wait a little longer, they'll come back eventually."

After all, they are creatures that belong to the grasslands.

The group wandered aimlessly across the grassland. After a while, the falconer, who had been kept in captivity, finally spotted traces of a hunting falcon and excitedly pointed the way for them. Under the shadow of death, they disregarded everything else and ran forward as fast as they could, practically risking their lives.

About an hour later, they discovered traces left by the army, and even some wounded soldiers left behind.

Those were all soldiers from the grasslands.

Murdon's expression was rather grim. He wasn't quite sure what had happened to cause the renownedly brave steppe army to suffer such a crushing defeat. Could it be related to that strange woman from the Ying family?
They seized one of them and questioned him loudly. The soldier, seemingly terrified by the battle, stammered that the war they had thought would be won effortlessly had taken a dramatic turn. The wise and valiant Khan, Saqi, had been killed like a helpless chick, his arm severed and a large gash in his stomach; his fate was now uncertain. The scene was so horrifying that many soldiers were disoriented and lost. Coupled with their own physical limitations and other reasons for being abandoned by the main army, they were filled with even greater anxiety.

Seeing the two princes, they clung to them like they were lifelines. Of course, Murden wouldn't let them get away, but his expression was not good. He hadn't expected that not only had he and Namtso suffered a defeat, but his father had also been beaten so badly.

But they had meticulously planned and analyzed the situation before setting out. While attacking the Central Plains was hardly a wise decision given the widespread rumors, the defeat shouldn't have been so swift. There must have been some unexpected turn of events…

(End of this chapter)