Ch.102Occupation War (1)

“I hit the enemy commander’s eye. I hit his left eye precisely, so he must have died instantly or at least fallen into critical condition.”

The man said this as he approached Temujin on horseback.

His words surprised not only Temujin but also Toghrul and Dei-Sechen.

“Is… is that true?”

“Are you saying that knowing the distance from here to Kucha’s walls exceeds 1000 feet?”

“Yes. The two Darughachi saw the archers on the ridge fall after being hit by arrows, so I believe you know my abilities are no lie.”

It was perhaps an arrogant statement for a mere Kheshig to make.

However, having witnessed his almost miraculous archery skills, Toghrul and Dei-Sechen could offer no rebuttal.

This was because, as he claimed, he had indeed shot down the Western Liao archers positioned on the ridge.

And he had done so while mounted on horseback.

“You truly deserve the name Jebe, which means ‘arrow’.”

Temujin praised Jebe’s achievement with a look of reverence.

Jebe immediately bowed to express his gratitude.

“Not at all. I merely carried out Your Majesty’s will.”

“No. Thanks to your arrows, the conquest of Kucha has been greatly accelerated. This achievement is too significant to express in words. I will inform my father, the legitimate ruler of the steppe, Gurkhan, of your military accomplishment.”

“I am endlessly grateful for Your Majesty’s consideration.”

Jebe expressed his gratitude with a moved expression.

Typically, when someone achieved such an extraordinary feat, it was common for commanders to take credit for themselves.

But Temujin did not do this. Instead, he would inform Yesugei of Jebe’s accomplishment so that he might be properly utilized.

“The enemy commander is dead! All troops! Charge!”

Temujin raised his sword and shouted loudly.

At his command, the Mongol soldiers, their morale boosted, began galloping forward.

* * *

The man pushed away the body of his dead comrade.

He barely managed to stand up and looked toward the front of the wall.

“…”

The vast steppe.

His eyes took in the tens of thousands of cavalry charging across it.

And in the sky, countless rocks were falling toward the walls, as if heaven itself were raining down punishment.

There was nowhere to run.

Cornered so completely, the man transcended even the fear that had been consuming him.

“Ha… haha…”

He laughed like a madman.

And unconsciously, he clasped his hands and began to repent while looking up at the sky.

In truth, the man had no idea what sins he had committed.

But with the Mongol soldiers—essentially divine punishment—approaching before his eyes, he felt he had to do something.

Otherwise, he felt he would be crushed under the divine hammer and fall into endless cycles of rebirth.

So he mentally called out to every god he could remember.

Buddha, God, Tengri, Allah, and even forgotten local deities.

But these gods did not even answer his desperate pleas.

The man could only wear a dejected expression at their coldness.

A chilling sound reached his ears.

When that sound reached him, his body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

“There were still archers left on the wall.”

Jebe withdrew his bowstring with an indifferent expression.

Then he looked at the scene unfolding before him.

The gates of Kucha were already in tatters from the massive stones launched by the trebuchets.

It was clear that with just a little more pressure, Kucha would fall.

Thinking this, Jebe turned his head.

There stood Temujin, who resembled Gurkhan whom he had met.

He stood majestically on horseback, as if protected by a god, continuing to command.

Each time his right hand extended, tens of thousands of soldiers moved with precision.

And each time his left hand pointed to the sky, stones rained down.

“I kill soldiers with arrows, while His Majesty conquers fortresses with gestures.”

In fact, Jebe had been unwillingly caught up in war during his childhood.

Each time, he had honed his archery skills to survive, and thanks to that, he had managed to stay alive until now.

In other words, his archery skills were merely a means of survival.

With such means, killing an archer on the wall was an easy task.

But arrows alone could not bring down walls or conquer fortresses.

“He recognizes and acknowledges my abilities.”

Saying this, Jebe looked at his hands.

Due to years of archery practice, they were covered in hard calluses.

“These hands now belong to him. I will follow His Majesty and become his arrow.”

Jebe said this as he took a deep breath.

Then he turned his head to look at the gate.

Crash!

The final projectile shattered Kucha’s gate.

The soldiers guarding the gate revealed themselves.

“About 800 feet.”

Jebe raised his hand to measure the wind.

Then he nocked an arrow to his bowstring.

“Hup.”

A single breath.

With that breath, the arrow flew.

When the arrow reached its target, screams erupted from inside the gate.

* * *

Jebe’s impossible archery skills, combined with Toghrul and Dei-Sechen’s assistance, and Temujin’s military tactics, conquered Kucha.

And they did it in just 3 days.

“Conquering a fortress in 3 days! As expected of my son-in-law! Even my anda Gurkhan couldn’t accomplish this!”

“Hahaha! Lord Toghrul speaks the truth. Your son-in-law has written new history for the ulus!”

Faced with his father-in-law’s enthusiastic praise, Temujin showed discomfort.

He humbly tried to calm his fathers-in-law.

“The greatest credit belongs to my two fathers-in-law and Jebe. I merely received their help.”

“You were the commander of this war. So the greatest achievement is yours.”

Toghrul laughed heartily and patted Temujin’s shoulder.

Nevertheless, Temujin maintained his humble attitude.

This was because Temujin himself knew better than anyone that the siege of Kucha had succeeded thanks to divine blessing, or rather, a series of fortunate events.

Among these fortunate events, the most important was gaining Jebe, the master archer.

Without Jebe, they could not have assassinated Kucha’s commander.

Moreover, the archers on the ridge would likely have delayed the battle significantly.

Thus, obtaining the right talent at the most crucial moment was indeed fortunate.

Another factor was that after the commander’s death, enemy resistance weakened considerably.

Of course, this was to be expected, but if there had been a deputy commander or other generals who could rally troops and stubbornly resist using the walls as shields, the conquest might have resulted in greater casualties.

However, after the gate collapsed, the enemy immediately surrendered, perhaps shocked by the deaths caused by Jebe’s arrows.

Thanks to these fortunate circumstances, Temujin was able to conquer Kucha quickly without losing any troops.

“I am grateful for everyone’s help.”

Temujin turned and looked at Jebe.

Then he approached him and spoke in a solemn voice.

“It feels like fate that Gurkhan sent you to me.”

“It is an honor to meet Your Majesty’s expectations.”

“I want to keep you by my side as my aide.”

Temujin made a sincere offer to Jebe.

For him, Jebe was an essential figure.

Therefore, he did not want to keep him merely as a Kheshig guarding him.

In a way, this was overstepping his authority, violating Gurkhan’s orders.

Temujin knew this better than anyone. But even if he were to be scolded by Yesugei, he wanted to keep Jebe by his side.

“I want to go with you beyond Western Liao toward the west. I want to conquer that land, let our livestock graze there, and make it a place where our descendants can live. Will you follow me?”

Moved by Temujin’s sincere offer, Jebe showed an emotional expression.

He bowed deeply to express his gratitude to Temujin.

“It is an honor for me to serve Your Majesty.”

Having gained not only Jebe’s abilities but also his heart, Temujin wore a happy expression.

With his skills, it felt as though conquering the world would not be lacking.

“Haha! Looking at my son-in-law and Jebe reminds me of myself and my anda in our younger days.”

Toghrul smiled as he looked at Temujin and Jebe.

Temujin blushed and smiled awkwardly in response.

“Indeed. There is nothing more joyful than valuing people, treating them with sincerity, and winning their hearts. I’ll give this to my son-in-law.”

Toghrul handed Temujin a bottle of fermented mare’s milk from somewhere.

Receiving it, Temujin looked at Toghrul with surprise.

“After first meeting my anda, we drank fermented mare’s milk all night and had a heart-to-heart conversation. Thanks to that conversation, we’ve maintained such a close relationship until now. It seems to me that you need this now.”

“Thank you, father-in-law.”

Temujin expressed his gratitude to Toghrul.

Toghrul responded with a gesture and then looked at Dei-Sechen.

Understanding what Toghrul meant through his gaze, Dei-Sechen nodded and left the ger with Toghrul.

Thus, only Temujin and Jebe remained in the ger.

“Would you like a drink?”

“How could I refuse a drink offered by my lord?”

And so, a small drinking party celebrating their victory began in the ger.

The initially quiet gathering became increasingly lively as time passed.

* * *

“Hahaha! Really?”

“Yes, my lord! Even when drunk like this, my shooting skills don’t diminish!”

“You’re an interesting fellow. Good. Then hit that over there.”

The intoxicated Temujin giggled and pointed somewhere with his hand.

Equally drunk, Jebe staggered as he nocked an arrow to his bow.

“Urgh… hic…!”

With that sound, the arrow left Jebe’s hand.

The arrow pierced the dawn air and flew precisely toward its target.

Neeeigh!

“Hahaha! Your words were correct!”

“Do you believe me now! Haha!”

The target Temujin had asked him to hit was none other than a hitching post at an inn in Kucha.

Since horse reins were typically tied to such posts, the horse was startled by Jebe’s arrow and made a noise.

“Truly amazing marksmanship.”

“My bow is yours, my lord. If you wish it, I would hit even the stars in the sky.”

“Stars, you say? Hahaha!”

It was immensely joyful to have found a like-minded friend after so long.

Temujin giggled and looked up at the sky.

Thus, Temujin was enjoying a rare moment of happiness with Jebe.

As they were enjoying themselves, someone appeared from the inn and approached the two men.

The Mongol soldiers guarding the two men blocked the man.

“Step back!”

“You stand before a noble person!”

“Ha! Step back, you say? My horse is injured now! How can I stay quiet?! Where is the law that says Mongols should treat fellow Mongols this way!”

Temujin was surprised by the man’s fluent Mongolian.

He turned his head to look at the man.

“What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter? Didn’t you just startle my horse with an arrow? It’s too dark to see exactly who you are, but I know you’re a person of high status. Still, I must be compensated for my injured horse.”

“Hmph.”

Temujin clicked his tongue in disbelief at the man’s bold words.

This was because an ordinary person would have been too intimidated to speak this way.

But the man was boldly confronting Temujin as if he had two lives to spare.

“Interesting. What is your name?”

“Ha! Leisurely exchanging names? Fine! I need to know your name to report to your commander and get compensation, so I’ll tell you right away.”

The man took a deep breath and answered as if to make sure Temujin heard clearly.

“I am Boochu from the Arlat clan! Remember it well!”