Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

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A roar of vengeance swept across the entire province of Chrysonas. The atrocities committed by the ungrateful Iris in this province were enough to enrage every person with a conscience. Not to mention the civilians they had slaughtered. After the Imperial Legion easily swept through the entire province, all Iris resistance forces were easily crushed, and the Empire began its revenge.

In every village and town, Iris people were being slaughtered and driven away. The emperor's orders had long since reached every corner, which made the empire people cheer and become even more unrestrained.

Those Iris who failed to escape in time often disappeared into villages and towns, with only newly dug pits telling the story of their fate. Those Iris who were lucky enough to escape and wandered the wilderness often met a similar fate. Self-organized civilians of the empire would roam around on mounts they had found or borrowed, and would mercilessly scatter and kill anyone they found.

Nowhere was there any place willing to offer them a sip of water or a piece of bread. These former thugs had become miserable refugees. They received no supplies here, and no one would waste their pity on them. It was considered compassionate and soft-hearted not to immediately draw a weapon and attack them upon seeing them.

The laws and military of this country no longer protect them. They are treated like objects or livestock, without any rights or protection of their lives. This province has become a hell for the people of Iris.

Everywhere, the people of the Empire passed down this saying by word of mouth, and without hesitation, they adopted it as a rule of conduct:

"As long as these ungrateful Iris people have their feet on this land, then smashing their heads with flail is a righteous act worthy of praise, the most just revenge."

No Iris citizen is allowed to take their property with them… or rather, they no longer have the right to own property. Allowing them to leave empty-handed is already a rare act of mercy. If they dare to cause any further trouble, any Imperial citizen has the right to kill them on the spot. If an Iris citizen dares to resist, the nearby Imperial legions will arrive in the blink of an eye. These soldiers, already resentful for not getting any credit, will show them what true "mercy" really means…

Every corner and every piece of land is filled with the expulsion and slaughter of the Iris. This people has been rejected by the entire empire, and no one will show them any sympathy. Those who are lucky enough to escape the slaughter are driven to the border and ordered to disappear from sight in a very short time. If they remain, their throats are slit.

Those Iris who were driven into Kurist territory and were lucky enough to survive did not fare well either. The Kurist people, who had just suffered heavy losses, did not hesitate to put shackles around their necks, using these unexpectedly appearing slaves to make up for their losses. Some tribes would even risk approaching the border, and as soon as they discovered the driven-out Iris, they would swarm forward and take these free slaves back to their pastures.

These thugs, who were so unbridled just a month ago, have finally gotten what they deserved. All the things they did have come back to haunt them. If they were to cry out about the injustice of their fate now, it would surely create a great comedic effect.

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His lungs felt heavy, as if filled with lead, and each expansion and contraction was extremely difficult. His eyelids felt as if they were sewn shut with needle and thread, and he couldn't open them no matter how hard he tried. He could clearly feel the burning sensation when each breath he exhaled passed through his nasal cavity. All the joints in his body felt as if someone had stabbed them with a knife and was constantly scraping them, bringing a painful, sore, and numb sensation.

But compared to his throat, none of that mattered... Every tiny movement brought excruciating pain, like repeatedly swallowing fragments of a dagger that had been smashed into pieces. Even swallowing just a little saliva made his head spin with pain, and he desperately wanted to find a knife and cut his own throat off.

His mind was a complete blank, with all sorts of things flashing through his head, colliding and mixing, making it impossible to distinguish or think. He couldn't move a single part of his body, and the terrible sensation from below told him that the blanket he was lying on was soaked with water, and the cold, damp liquid had seeped into his clothes and spread down his back.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally remembered his name—Toridu… In the language of the Kurist, this name means white feather.

But then he remembered the devastating defeat that day! ...The tribes ravaged and the mountains of corpses, the countless warhorses lying dead with their bloodied entrails, the blood-stained cavalrymen in their iron armor, and that invincible knight in his eagle-faced helmet... Everything seemed shrouded in a bloody glow, with blood flowing everywhere, converging into streams, then into brooks, and finally into the larger river beside them... What appeared before him was a vast, surging river of blood.

The sudden surge of pain deep within him made him ignore all his physical discomfort. He endured the excruciating pain that was tearing his throat and let out a miserable sigh... Even though he had experienced many failures in his life, he had never felt so miserable and terrible. He felt as if his entire head was about to explode, not because of the physical pain, but because of the overwhelming negative emotions.

He felt as if he were hallucinating. Even though his eyes weren't open, the scene from that day appeared vividly before his eyes—his hands were red, the ground was red, the river was red, the leaves were red, everything was red! ...When he looked up, he found that even the sun was red! So blindingly red, so red it seemed to be dripping blood...

The extreme physical and mental pain made him writhe desperately, even straining to lie on the ground and then banging his head against the hard ground.

Until he heard footsteps approaching, his innate caution immediately brought him back to his composure…

ask for leave

Suddenly I felt dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseous... I could barely sit up straight (；′⌒`). The author decided to rest for a day to recover...

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133 The Khan's Amazing Adventures (1)

The footsteps weren't just from one person—he realized this in an instant, his fox-like ears picking up more information. He heard the sound of leather shoes on the damp ground, and a few indistinct gurgling sounds.

Despite having no strength left in his body, he still desperately reached into his robes—where lay a sharp dagger, which could be used to remove roasted meat from the bone or to slit a person's throat.

He had realized that he was in a bad situation... His legs and arms were unable to move because they were bound by tough, thin strips.

He recalled his last memory—in the midst of a frenzied battle, a gleaming silver prism hammerhead appeared before his eyes, and then everything went black, and he lost consciousness. When he finally opened his eyes again, his warhorse had already wandered into an unfamiliar place.

His helmet had flown off somewhere after the blow, and his head was throbbing with pain. Before he could even figure out where he was, a group of men dressed in leather jumped out of the tall grass.

He was completely powerless to resist at the time and was quickly tied up. The severe head injury caused him to lose consciousness again shortly afterward, and when he awoke, he found himself in his current predicament…

His instinctive action had no effect; the dagger was taken away without a second thought, leaving him with only a few fingers and his wrist that he could move. His armor was also stripped off, leaving him only in a close-fitting silk and linen tunic.

Torrid quickly realized his mistake—just before the footsteps drew closer, he reverted to the state he had been in when he first woke up. At the same time, his body went limp, and he appeared to still be unconscious.

"Latour, this guy looks very robust, so why does he always look like he's about to die? A slave like this won't fetch a good price."

A hoarse voice rang out, accompanied by the swishing sound of someone scratching their hair, scraping their scalp. Tiny bits of stuff fluttered to the ground, too delicate to bear. A hot, pungent odor filled the air, like that of a goat left to rot in the sun for a long time.

The man he called Latour reached out and grabbed Toridu's hair, fiddling with it a few times before speaking with some regret:

"He got hit on the head, and it looks pretty bad. Maybe even his bones are broken. Looks like we were just unlucky this time. We brought him here for nothing; there's no way we can save him."

The third person's footsteps were exceptionally heavy, and his voice was much lower. His dirty sheepskin robe dragged on the ground beside him, appearing somewhat ill-fitting.

"Then don't leave him here. Throw him out into the wild meadows outside. There are plenty of meat-eating animals there. Don't let him stink here."

"Okay, but this thing is too heavy and not easy to move."

"You're so stupid. Why don't we just use this knife we ​​stole to chop him in half at the waist? It would be so much easier if we each took half."

"Latour, you're so smart! Where's that knife?"

Torid's heart jumped into his throat. He immediately realized that he was in a life-or-death situation, but with his hands and feet bound, he was unable to fight back. In the blink of an eye, a layer of cold sweat soaked through his vest.

Just as the sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard began, the man with the gruff voice suddenly shouted:

"You two idiots, do you think that knife can chop this up in a day?! It'll just make a mess of the place. We're supposed to sleep here tonight. If you do anything stupid again, I'll rip your balls out!"

"What should we do then? I don't want to waste my energy dragging this guy out again."

“You two idiots, why don’t you drag him outside the cave before you do it? This knife is probably no good. Use this saw instead; it’ll cut him more cleanly. It’s the place where we slaughtered that woman and her man last time.”

"Great idea, a really great idea! Tulou, you really are the smartest person here!"

"Yes, yes!"

………………

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. Tori knew that if he remained unconscious any longer, he would never wake up again. So he waited a while, and just as the two men began to drag him, he suddenly let out a gasp from his nose, drawing out the last syllable with a few tremors, sounding full of pain. This immediately caught the attention of the three men.

"This guy didn't die, he came back to life!"

"His head was swollen like that, yet he was still alive. What a sturdy slave."

"...So, are we still going to saw it or not?"

A loud slapping sound and a short scream rang out together, along with the burly man's shout; he was clearly the leader of the three.

"A sturdy slave like this can be traded for five sheep! Saw! Saw! All you know how to do is saw. Go get some water and at least revive this guy!"

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Tori still managed to pick up on the faint complaint:

"...Didn't you come up with this idea first...? And now you're coming to beat me up again..."

…………

What if he can't be saved?

"Even if it can't be saved, there's no need to throw it away. Don't waste this good flesh."

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After taking a couple of sips of the strange-tasting water, Tori finally caught his breath. Although his head was still buzzing and he felt dizzy even with his eyes closed, he had a feeling of finally coming back to life.

The guy didn't even have time to give him water; he just splashed a cup of water on his face. It was thanks to this cup of water that his blood-covered eyes were finally able to open and see what was in front of him.

He felt as if his entire face was covered in a hard shell, incredibly stiff, and the thing in front of him (that was the only way he could describe it) startled even this Khan…

Before me was a bristling mess, its tangled hair a good two feet long, each strand pointing in a different direction and shape. Its beard was a similar length, completely obscuring its face. The tattered sheepskin covering its body gleamed with an oily, dark gray sheen, the exposed wool matted into clumps. Its long, yellowish, rough nails made it look like some kind of wild animal, its feet bound together with a tattered leather sheet and then tied with straw rope.

In short, this guy was the best embodiment of the word "savage," displaying a blatant barbarity and madness that made people want to keep their distance. Add to that the stench that even the most unkempt Kurist would find unbearable, and normally he wouldn't even bother to kill such a creature with a sword; he would simply shoot them down with a couple of arrows from a distance, like hunting wild animals.

Toridu lowered his eyelids, concealing his thoughts; he needed to think of a good way to extricate himself from his current predicament…

"This guy is really tough; he actually survived. We can take care of him for another two days and then sell him."

"Just throw the rest of the food in the bowl to him. I've been waiting all day and haven't seen any good business. I need to go get some sleep."

"I know, I know."

The three guys all looked alike, except one of them was noticeably burly, while the taller and thinner one was obviously the lowest in rank. He did all the dirty and hard work, and he was the one who stayed behind. The other two had gone deep into the cave, leaving only the two of them at the entrance.

A grumbling sound came from under the rotten sheepskin and hair, drifting gently into the night and into Toridu's ears. His eyes flickered slightly, and he had already made up his mind.

………………

A broken wooden bowl smashed down in front of him. The black and yellow paste inside emitted a sour and foul smell. A greenbottle fly, as big as a bee, kept buzzing around on it. There were also clearly visible white, thin, thread-like things wriggling inside, making it impossible to look at it a second time.

Just as the man in front of him turned to leave, Tori suddenly sighed. When the man turned back, he slowly said:

"It's my bad luck to have fallen into your hands. This is the fate that Tuttri has ordained for me... I just hope you won't sell my things for a pittance."

"That's none of your business. Those things are already ours. We can sell them however we want."

The guy in front of me rubbed his messy hair, letting the white bits of dirt and black mud fall down, and a mocking expression appeared on his face covered in black grease.

“My armor was made by the best craftsmen over a year… I know you won’t let me go, because with my status, killing you all would be a piece of cake… But this armor isn’t worth 300 sheep. I just regret that you’re going to use it to trade for some worthless things…”

"You're smart enough. To tell you the truth, I'm going to cut your tongue out tomorrow. Otherwise, if you go around spreading rumors, we'll be in big trouble. We'll definitely sell your stuff for a good price."

"What can you get in return? With your current status, my armor might only get you a dozen sheep at most, maybe even a tent... My knife is inlaid with gold, even the saddle is studded with gemstones, and I have the strongest and best horses of my kind... and the gold necklace inlaid with green fluorite and turquoise in my pocket... You definitely can't get any value for these things. You might as well let me have them; you'll get much more than you have now. Then you can blindfold me and let me go, and who will be able to find you?"

The man suddenly stopped all movement, even the mocking expression on his dirty face froze. After a while, he suddenly grabbed Toridu's collar in a fit of emotion:

"What gold chain? Where did this gold chain come from? Why have I never seen it before!"

"It's the one inside my armor...you poor unlucky bastard..."

Torrid initially tried to explain, but in the blink of an eye, he looked at the guy in front of him with a knowing expression and a hint of mockery:

"Everyone in the eastern grasslands knows that no matter how wealth is acquired, a share must be given to the partner... Only you, the unlucky one, will be an exception."

The dirty man in front of me plopped down on the ground, muttering to himself:

"I knew it! I knew it! Tulu stripped the armor, and Latour helped him! They wouldn't even let me see it... So those two swallowed all the good stuff!!"

Torrid's eyes flickered. This was easier than he had imagined... It seemed that this guy's resentment had accumulated to a great depth. He had only provoked him slightly, and it had burst forth like a collapsing dam. His suspicions were like dozens of snakes trapped inside a sheep's belly. If you gently cut the thinnest part with the tip of a knife, they would gush out wildly.

This is a good thing; it saved me a lot of effort.

"Even though I've only been open my eyes for a short while, I can tell that out of the three of you, you deserve the most credit. Look, you've done so much. Without you, what could they have accomplished? Logically, you should have received a larger share when it came to distributing the spoils. How did things turn out like this?"

The man gritted his teeth and nodded fiercely. Those two sentences from the other person struck a chord with him—why was it that he did the most work, did the most tasks, yet received the least when it came to dividing the spoils?! And he was constantly being beaten and verbally abused…even the lowest of beasts couldn't live worse than him. Thinking this, his anger became even more uncontrollable, threatening to tear his chest apart.

“Even the most foolish Kurist knows that the more you do, the more you should get. You have the most credit, and you can’t even share the spoils with them! I can’t stand this kind of humiliation. How can I let them keep bullying me? If this continues, they will go further and further, and in the end you won’t get anything at all… I’m sure you’ll get less and less.”

The man's teeth were grinding together so hard that he tore apart the grime from the corners of his eyes.

“That’s right, you’re absolutely right! ... At first, I could at least get some money and a piece of clothing, but now I don’t even get a few broken bowls!”

"You see, just like I said... No man should put up with this kind of humiliation. If it were me, I would definitely fight them to the death."

A look of resentment and murderous intent immediately flashed across the man's face without a moment's hesitation, but he quickly became dejected again.

"But those two are way better than me... what can I do?"

The man slumped to the ground in dejection, his shoulders slumped. But after a while, he suddenly realized something—and his gaze fell on Toridou, whose eyes were half-closed:

"I see you're quite the formidable warrior... Do you want me to let you go?"

The Khan of the Kurist people's lips twitched slightly, and he finally raised his head...

134 The Khan's Amazing Adventures (2)

"You want me to help you?"

Tori looked at the man in front of him with a half-smile, calmly adjusting his body, seemingly completely uninterested.

"Don't you want me to let you go? You should know that if I don't take care of you, you'll be a slave tomorrow, and you'll have your tongue cut out and be whipped for the rest of your life."

The man was slightly agitated, his urgency almost written on his face. He desperately wanted the burly man in front of him to help him, otherwise he knew he couldn't handle those two guys on his own.

"You make it sound so nice..."

Toridu narrowed his eyes, but his words were cold, continuing to manipulate the emotions of the man before him.

"Even if you say you'll let me go, the condition is that I have to fight those two to the death... I'm injured right now, and I can't even use half of my strength. It's just suicide. I might as well accept my fate as a slave and maybe I'll have a chance to get my freedom in the future."

The man grew increasingly impatient, his fingers involuntarily digging into his arms, causing the grime to flake off. Seeing that the time was right, Toridu abruptly changed the subject:

"But it's not impossible, as long as..."

"Just what?!"

"As long as you give me my armor and my knife, I naturally won't be afraid of those two... You won't even need to lift a finger; I can take care of them... I only want my knife and armor; you can have everything else. Then we can part ways amicably, how about that?"

A hint of joy appeared on the man's face, but just as he was about to agree, a moment of hesitation flashed across his mind—this guy looked like he'd killed a lot of people; if he gave him the knife and armor, what if the guy wanted to kill him too…

"I can give you the knife, but I'll keep the armor for myself. Do you agree? If not, fine. I'll just put up with this for a few more years and then find a chance to strike. You'll become a slave then."