Chapter 113: The Conflagration

The bandits’ stronghold was still burning, though the flames had diminished considerably. Yimoyan gazed anxiously at his fortress, his heart uneasy.

All his hopes now rested on the surprise force he had sent to attack Windstone Village. If this unit succeeded in capturing the village, he could still maintain his dominance.

If they failed, at least the returning troops could be useful—enough to counter the cavalry from Pegasus Fort.

Beside him, the chieftain of Red Halberd Fort shot him a sharp look. Yimoyan immediately understood. The Red Halberd leader had always been aligned with him, but this time all his men had died in the fire, making him even more reliant on Yimoyan.

As soon as the surprise troops returned, they would launch an assault on Pegasus Fort.

But so much time had passed with no sign of Windstone Village falling, and Yimoyan grew increasingly worried.

The winged horse stood arrogantly nearby, casting a sidelong glance at the group. “Once Windstone Village is taken, we follow the old rules—let our men pillage freely for three days before dividing up the spoils.”

Yimoyan thought bitterly: If my soldiers hadn’t failed to return, would you have the right to give orders?

Suddenly, a group of wounded bandits approached, supporting each other as they slowly neared the camp, their eyes filled with despair.

Yimoyan looked closely and recognized them as the unit he had sent out. He hurried to meet them. “How did it go?”

“We lost, chieftain,” the bandits said miserably. “We were ambushed…”

“What about our casualties? How many returned?” Yimoyan pressed.

“Only a few of us…” the wounded answered.

Yimoyan felt as if the world spun around him, a heavy hammer striking his chest, making it hard to breathe. “So… the entire force was wiped out…”

It was over. After over ten years of hard struggle, the empire he had painstakingly built was gone.

There would be no more Black Wind Fort, no more leader. His foundation, which had seemed so assured in this war, was utterly destroyed. From then on, the world would know no Black Wind Fort.

To have his lifelong efforts crushed was more painful than death.

The winged horse dismounted, patting Yimoyan on the shoulder. “Brother, you don’t have to…”

But before he could finish, he suddenly stopped.

A blade protruded from his belly, gleaming brightly as blood dripped from its tip.

Yimoyan and the winged horse exchanged stunned looks before the winged horse collapsed. Behind him, the assassin wiped the blood from his blade with the sole of his shoe.

Everyone was stunned; no one understood what had just happened.

Yimoyan recognized the killer—he was the leader of a small fort, one whose name Yimoyan could barely recall.

“Why are you all staring at me? We didn’t take Windstone Village! Instead of dreaming about dividing it, we should be thinking about dividing among ourselves,” the small fort leader said casually.

The others were suddenly awakened. Indeed, rather than scavenging behind Pegasus Fort, it was better to think about consuming the other forts.

“Yes,” Yimoyan suddenly smiled. “I’ve been a fool.”

He need not have been so anxious about his losses; the other forts were in similar straits.

If that was the case, there was nothing to fear.

A head soared high into the sky before dropping down, blood spurting like a fountain from its severed neck, then collapsed.

Yimoyan’s blade dripped with blood as he looked at the corpse. “Thank you for reminding me.”

He then raised his arm and shouted, “Yimoyan of Black Wind Fort here! Anyone willing to follow me, come this way!”

But what he saw were the hostile gazes of the other chieftains.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Yimoyan laughed. “At a time like this, shouldn’t we all think seriously about the future?”

“It’s because of the future that we want to kill you!” several small fort leaders shouted together, rushing forward and plunging their blades into Yimoyan’s body.

Yimoyan cried out in pain, “Why not follow me? Let’s conquer the world together!”

“We’re all fort leaders on equal footing. Why should we submit to you?” they retorted.

Yimoyan suddenly spotted the Red Halberd chieftain and pointed at him. “You won’t join me either?”

“I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time!” the Red Halberd leader snarled, his expression ferocious.

“Ahhh!” Yimoyan summoned his last strength, driving his blade into the Red Halberd chieftain’s neck. The other leaders cried out as they withdrew their knives from Yimoyan’s body. Blades flashed wildly as the two men collapsed together, dying in each other’s arms.

Witnessing this upheaval, Yimoyan’s guards were dumbfounded; they never imagined their chieftain would fall so easily.

“What do we do now?” one rider asked.

“Avenging the chieftain!” another snarled fiercely.

“I am the highest leader here now. You must all obey me,” a minor leader suddenly declared. “We retreat immediately.”

One rider turned sharply. “Our chieftain died so tragically. If we don’t avenge him, are you even human?”

The minor leader swung his blade, and blood sprayed from the rider’s neck as he fell off his horse.

“Any objections?” the minor leader asked, receiving no reply. He clapped his hands. “Then listen to me. We’ll fight back, kill the Cloud Steppers, and take over their men. Whoever contributes most will be the new leader!”

The riders howled as they charged away. Behind them, the bandits’ internal struggle raged fiercely.

…

Seeing the bandits tearing themselves apart, Xu Wenshan ordered, “Withdraw in an orderly fashion.”

Three squads passed by the fierce fighting bandits as if unaffected. The bandits were too engrossed in their internal conflict to notice, and Xu Wenshan’s troops quietly withdrew.

Once inside the fort, the soldiers collapsed onto the ground, unable to move. They had fought all night without water or food, their strength utterly spent. Xu Wenshan urgently organized an engineering unit to supply logistics and rest. After a full day’s recovery, the soldiers regained their vigor.

Outside the fort, the bandits, weakened by their internecine conflict and lacking supplies, began to scatter. These roving bandits posed a threat to Windstone Village, so Xu Wenshan sent three squads to patrol the outskirts, capturing any isolated bandits. In a single day, they took over a hundred prisoners and crushed two newly formed bandit groups.

Pegasus Fort had become a thing of the past. Its internal strife was the fiercest of all the forts, with people all but wiped out. Yet many horses remained, which the Deer Crane Guard seized along with the captives.

With this, all bandit forces outside Windstone Village were wiped out by Xu Wenshan. Against five hundred enemies, he triumphed with just fifty men, becoming a legendary figure in the village. Rumors exaggerated his deeds into the realm of myth, with villagers even proclaiming him a war god incarnate—a fate Xu Wenshan never expected.