The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 346 Heavy Memories

Many years later.

The Russian soldiers who had narrowly escaped the massacre that night, sensing their days were numbered, earnestly instructed their grandsons:

"Be careful before you go to the battlefield in the future. You can go anywhere in Europe. Your grandfather warned you never to provoke the Khitans, especially the Khitans in the Western Regions."

Note (In Russian, China is called Kitai (契丹), a name originating from a historical misunderstanding and influence. Due to the powerful influence and vast territory of the Liao Dynasty, Russians mistakenly believed that the Khitan was China, and thus called China Khitan. This naming convention has continued to this day.)
The youngest grandson is at the prime of his life.

They can't possibly listen to any of this.

He looked at his grandfather, who was lying on the bed and dying, with pity, and said honestly, "You are old and will soon be going to see your great-grandmother."

The veteran's eyelids drooped, and the violent rise and fall of his chest reflected his emotional turmoil.

His voice was hoarse and deep:
"Forty years ago, I was just as fearless as you. At that time, our neighboring country was invaded by the Khitans. The ruler of the neighboring country promised the Tsar the land of the Ili River Valley in the Western Regions, asking us to send troops to besiege the then Guanzhong General's Office."

The Ili River Valley is a fertile land stretching for thousands of miles, suitable for both grazing and farming, and most of the grain for the kingdoms of the Western Regions comes from here. Moreover, this place is very close to our border, making it ideal for trade.

The neighboring country's offer was too tempting for the Tsar, who was then suffering defeats on the European battlefield, to refuse. He immediately dispatched 50,000 elite troops.

After entering the country, we quickly reached an agreement with the nobles of the neighboring country on a cooperative arrangement.

They openly negotiated the hostage exchange, bringing with them 500,000 gold coins and over 10,000 horses that had been fed mad horse grass. Meanwhile, our 50,000 men took a different route through the snow-capped mountains.”

At this point, he closed his eyes and fell into his memories.

The grandson listened intently, but after waiting for a while without any further developments, he gently shook his grandfather's hand and asked:
"Could it be that your plan went wrong and you were betrayed by your neighbor?"

The veteran's recollection was interrupted; he opened his eyes, and a hint of fear appeared in them.
"No, our plan went very smoothly. We almost reached the end of the snow mountain within the agreed time. Hami City, where the Khitan general is located, is only two hundred miles south of the mountain."

"Almost there, but not quite there yet."

"Yes, there's simply no chance of leaving the mountains."

"Grandfather, have you been discovered by the Khitans?"

"Yes! I remember it. That night was exceptionally cold and exceptionally dark! Even though 50,000 men were extremely cautious, there were still sounds of footsteps and horses' hooves! Who would have thought that the Khitans had hidden in the forests of the snow-capped mountains and had used firearms against us?"

"Oh, so your 50,000 men just happened to run right into their line of fire."

"Yes! We were caught off guard and were completely stunned by the gunfire! But we couldn't see anything at night, so they fired based on our movements. Later, the general ordered us to lie on the ground and hide, and to return fire from time to time."

"It's dark at night, and the mountains are dense. Your 50,000 men should be able to fight for three days and two nights. As long as we wait until dawn, we might even be able to turn the tide and win."

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have told you this! After we returned to China, we made many inquiries and learned that the snow mountain was the sacred mountain of the Khitan people, and that there was a mountain god protecting it.”

Grandson: The whole family is Orthodox Christian!

He didn't understand much about the Khitan people's gods.

The young man asked curiously, "Could you tell me what that mountain god did to you?"

At this point, the veteran's breathing became increasingly rapid, and a close look at his expression revealed his dilated pupils.
"It's terrifying, absolutely terrifying! We were hiding in the ravines from the Khitan firearms, never imagining that the gods on the snow-capped mountains were even more terrifying than the jackals and tigers in the forest!"

"How terrifying is it? Does it suck people's blood?"

The old soldier curled up into a ball, muttering, "I shouldn't have gone back to find your uncle. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had nightmares every night for the past forty years."

But it turns out...

The veteran had a twin brother who went to the battlefield with him. He was at the very back of the column, while his brother was at the forefront, clearing the way.

The older brother is rather timid, and when he heard that the situation ahead seemed bad, he quickly hid in a tree hole.

They hid until that afternoon.

He only went to look for his younger brother after the Khitans had finished cleaning up the battlefield.

"Your uncle died a horrific death! He had only one fatal wound all over his body."

The grandson also became nervous: "Grandpa, you were a veteran who had served for five years back then. What kind of injury could scare you like that?"

"Your uncle's brain has been hollowed out! Just think, what kind of force and methods would it take to hollow out a person's brain in such a short time?"

Not only him, but I saw thousands of brothers lying on the ground, all with only half a head left.

Two weeks later, we met up in Yili and waited for another two weeks, but only fifty-two people returned! Fifty thousand went, but only fifty-two came back; seven others broke their legs during the escape.

The little grandson held his grandfather's hand tightly:

"Are you confused? Isn't it said to be the mountain god? How could a deity use such a cruel method to take a person's life?"

"Hehe! The mountain god of the snow mountain is kind to his own people, but why should he be polite to those who are not his own people?"
My child, I'm not the only one who's seen those injuries; more than half of the other fifty-one people have seen them too.

After returning, we were mentally unstable for about half a year, and we couldn't explain what we had encountered on the battlefield. Our superiors had no choice but to discharge us from service.

I've kept this secret for forty years. Now, I'm revealing it to warn you. After saying this, I'll be free.

The words were spoken, and the person perished.

King Atu had no idea that his rampage tonight would leave the fifty-two surviving soldiers of the Rakshasa Kingdom with a nightmare that would last a lifetime.

How can killing be any different from killing?

Gouging out people's brains has always been its perverse pleasure.

Anyway, the master once said that no method is too drastic when dealing with foreign invasions.

Didn't you see that its master was bloodthirsty?

The trees in the mountains became her accomplices.

Thorny shrubs are especially rampant.

There was only half an hour left until dawn.

It's unrealistic to expect one person and one rat to kill 50,000 people.

Gan Minglan could only use vines or branches to strangle most of the Rakshasa people until they were unconscious, and then have her team members finish them off one by one after dawn.

It wasn't until daylight and they saw the corpses scattered all over the ground that the vanguard battalion members broke out in a cold sweat.

Too many, really too many.

What if they encountered these people during the day?

I really don't want to think about the consequences!

(End of this chapter)