Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 499 Side Story: The Rout (Part 5)
Time can sometimes fly by in the blink of an eye. But on the road of desperate escape, time seems to pass exceptionally slowly and is especially agonizing.

Morton Khan fled frantically like a rabbit being chased by a wild beast.

The Pei family army clung to them like hunting dogs.

Almost every hour or two, a group of Morton Khan's cavalry would be reduced. They were Morton Khan's most loyal guards, willing to die for him.

Pei's army was stopped from time to time, but it wouldn't be long before they caught up again.

Another day passed, and Morton Khan finally ran into the familiar vast grassland. He was initially excited and overjoyed, but then he thought of his great defeat at the hands of Pei Qinghe, being chased into the grassland, and creating a new chapter in the history of the Xiongnu. He was filled with shame and sorrow.

Exhausted, he sat on his horse and wept bitterly, facing the direction where the sun was about to set.

The two thousand cavalrymen who remained by his side also had red eyes and wiped away tears.

Four months ago, the Xiongnu army marched out of the grasslands with great fanfare and pride. The result was a crushing defeat; Bater, Xubu, and Huhanye were all killed in battle, and Tuqi also perished on the battlefield. Countless Xiongnu warriors died on their escape route, and countless others have already fled back to their familiar grasslands.

The somber atmosphere didn't last long.

A fast horse charged forward, and the Xiongnu cavalryman on it shouted with all his might, "Khan, run! The Pei family army is catching up!"

Exhausted, the Xiongnu cavalryman, who had been hit by several arrows in the back, also fell off his horse.

Morton Khan's back was covered in cold sweat. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and loudly ordered his guards to split into three groups and advance.

Riding horses across the grasslands, it's easy to lose one's way. He divided his troops here to mislead the pursuers. The grasslands were the domain of the Xiongnu warriors; as long as they encountered one or two tribes, he, the Khan, could immediately conscript warriors and launch a crushing attack on the Pei family army, which was exhausted after several days of fighting.

If Pei Qinghe valued her life, she should know that she had missed the best opportunity to kill him and should have turned back sooner.

If Pei Qinghe is reckless and continues to pursue him, he will use the advantages of the situation to make her suffer a great loss. Ideally, he would kill her himself to avenge himself.

Morton Khan became more and more excited as he thought about it, and suddenly felt a surge of strength in his body, kicking his horse's belly hard.

Unexpectedly, his warhorse, already exhausted, was kicked suddenly, its hooves buckled, and it collapsed with a thud.

Caught off guard, and having been running day and night for several days, Morton Khan was extremely slow to react. He was thrown from his warhorse and fell to the ground with a thud.

The guards around him were terrified and dismounted to rush over.

Fortunately, their Khan was lucky enough to survive the fall from his horse, but he suffered internal injuries and was coughing up blood. His right leg was also broken.

He's completely immobile. Lying there and resting to treat his injuries might give him a chance to survive. Forcibly lifting him onto a horse would mean certain death from the jolting motion.

How to do this?
Are we just going to wait here for Pei's army to catch up?

They had all fled into the grasslands, so why did they have to encounter such an accident?

Is Heaven truly determined to destroy the Xiongnu?
The guards were in despair.

Morton Khan was knocked unconscious from the fall, and now only the commander of his personal guards could make decisions. The guards looked over: "What should we do now? Should we stay and protect the Khan, or take him and continue our escape?"

Even the commander of the personal guards was struggling to make a decision, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. His heart was pounding in his chest.

How to do?
What should I do?
"We must not touch the Khan." After a moment, the commander of the personal guards managed to squeeze out a few words: "We will still follow the Khan's previous instructions and split into three groups. Each group will flee in three different directions. These three groups are all feints. If we can lure away the Pei family army's pursuers, it will be a great achievement."

"Leave two hundred men to protect the Khan. With fewer men, we'll be a smaller target. Perhaps the Pei family army, eager to pursue the deserters, will simply overlook us." This was a last resort.

The guards split into three groups, each with over six hundred men, and ran off in different directions. Only two hundred men remained, surrounding the unconscious Morton Khan.

Among these guards were some who knew medicine. They found bandages and medicine and first treated the Khan's external injuries. While bandaging the wounds, it was inevitable that he would have to move his body. Morton Khan was awakened by the pain and barely opened his eyes.

The commander of the personal guards, his eyes red, whispered, "The Khan is seriously injured and can no longer run. I've ordered them to split into three groups and flee to draw away the pursuers. The Khan will just lie here and wait for the Pei family army to retreat!"

Morton Khan wanted to praise his personal guard commander, but the pain was so intense that cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he couldn't utter a word. He quickly fainted again.

The good news is that as darkness falls, no more Pei family troops are pursuing them. It seems that the Pei family army has been lured away by the three groups of deserters.

The bad news was that Morton Khan had a burning fever and his forehead was burning hot.

The Xiongnu cavalrymen carried some common wound medicines with them, but none for reducing fever. In desperation, the commander of the personal guards sent several men to search for suitable herbs.

The sky gradually darkened.

Of the five people who went out to find herbs, four returned, but one was still missing. At this time, no one had time to look for him. Perhaps he was killed by some group of herders when he was alone, or perhaps he took the opportunity to escape.

The commander of the personal guards carefully lit a small fire, boiled the last bit of water in a small iron pot, and simmered a thick bowl of herbal soup, which he then slowly poured into Morton Khan's mouth.

The ground suddenly began to shake.

The familiar thumping sound echoed in my ears.

The sound was all too familiar to the Xiongnu cavalry. Despair flashed across everyone's face. Sure enough, the sound of hooves grew clearer and louder, heading straight for them.

Someone was leading the way.

It was the same Xiongnu guard who had been delayed in returning.

There's no way to escape now.

The commander of the personal guards was the first to stand up, mount his steed, raise his sharp scimitar, and shout in the Xiongnu language: "The time has come to die for the Khan!"

The rest of the guards shouted in unison, mounted their horses, brandished their swords, and charged into battle with fearless courage.

The Pei family army that pursued them wasn't particularly large, only about three thousand cavalry. A force more than ten times larger was enough to crush two hundred Xiongnu cavalry.

However, when faced with a desperate situation, these two hundred Xiongnu cavalrymen unleashed a fierce fighting spirit, managing to hold off the Pei family army for a full hour, until it was pitch black.

"Light the torches!" Pei Qinghe ordered in a deep voice.

After days of riding at full speed without sleep, everyone was exhausted, including Pei Qinghe, whose eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, her voice was hoarse, but still calm.

Dozens of torches were lit, illuminating the corpses scattered on the ground. Some were Huns, others were soldiers from the Pei family army. War is like a millstone, relentlessly grinding away at living people.

Pei Qinghe rode past these fiercely dying Xiongnu barbarians and slowly approached Moton Khan.

(End of this chapter)