Ch.152Gigantic Crown (3)

Muqali gazed at Juyong Pass.

With the distinctive vision of a Mongol, he carefully examined the exterior of the pass.

“I don’t sense any presence at all.”

Muqali clenched his fist, feeling that his prediction was correct.

As he had thought, there were currently no troops inside Juyong Pass.

This meant that even with just 300 tamma troops, they could successfully capture Juyong Pass.

“We could be in danger if the Jin cavalry that left returns. But…”

Muqali trusted Bulqa.

To be precise, he had no choice but to trust him.

Because if Bulqa failed to completely annihilate the cavalry unit, Muqali’s plan would be compromised.

Therefore, he hoped that Bulqa would pursue the enemy cavalry to the end and completely destroy them.

With these thoughts, Muqali looked at Juyong Pass again.

Whatever happened, Muqali and the tamma he led had arrived at the doorstep of Juyong Pass.

In this situation, turning back was impossible.

It was time to face whatever came, for better or worse.

“Tamma! My brothers! We stand before an opportunity that could end this war.”

The young Muqali spoke these words to persuade the tamma soldiers who were older than him.

Most of the tamma had voluntarily enlisted to survive.

Therefore, they had a strong attachment to life.

Having climbed the mountain with them, Muqali could feel their survival instinct.

He was planning to head into danger with them.

So despite already having their permission, Muqali needed additional persuasion.

“If this strategy succeeds, we can proudly say we’ve achieved the greatest military accomplishment in this war. That’s how dangerous this operation is.”

The tamma soldiers stared at Muqali without responding.

Looking at them, Muqali continued.

“I know that as the shadows of the Khagan, the tamma typically don’t seek honor, glory, or wealth.”

“…”

“…”

“But if we succeed in this mission, we won’t just gain temporary honor and glory—we’ll be remembered in history forever.”

After saying this, Muqali swallowed dryly.

Then in a calm voice, he murmured.

“Let’s make history remember us. Let’s make them remember us forever.”

At Muqali’s final words, the tamma soldiers clenched their fists.

Then they placed their hands over their left chests.

This was a customary gesture in the ulus.

It meant they would follow him, signifying that everyone would accompany Muqali into danger.

“We move.”

At those words, Muqali and the tamma began descending along the ridge.

Moving as stealthily as shadows, no one noticed their entry into Juyong Pass.

They safely arrived inside Juyong Pass.

Muqali pointed at three men with his hand and then pointed forward.

The three tamma moved forward.

They piled something at the spot Muqali had indicated and began to light a fire.

The flames that rose quickly consumed the wooden boxes nearby.

After devouring the wooden boxes, the flames continued to grow.

“Fire!”

“The boxes piled on the east side are on fire.”

As the flames intensified, the officers remaining at Juyong Pass revealed themselves.

Confirming that there were only officers without any soldiers, Muqali smiled.

“Juyong Pass is empty! Brothers! Draw your swords!”

At Muqali’s cry, the tamma no longer concealed their presence.

With swords drawn, they moved to slaughter every living being inside Juyong Pass.

“It’s the Mongols!”

“How did the Mongols get here…!”

“Send a signal to the cavalry immediately! Juyong Pass is in danger!”

Though there were only 300 tamma, with no troops remaining inside Juyong Pass, there was no way to stop them.

So the officers left at Juyong Pass requested help from the cavalry that had gone out to intercept the trebuchets.

Despite these calls for help, the cavalry sent no response.

“Why aren’t the cavalry responding?”

“They must be engaged in battle, sir.”

The officers were at a loss, saying such things.

Muqali didn’t just watch these officers fall into confusion.

“Haap!”

As his sword flashed, the heads of Jin officers flew off.

The officers tried to resist, but with the tamma present, even this was not easy.

“Feel the wrath of the ulus!”

“Who can stop us!”

The tamma began sweeping through the enemy lines like demons with their ild.

The Jin officers were no match for the tamma charging with swords harder than Jin blades.

Thanks to this, Muqali and the tamma easily captured the interior of Juyong Pass.

“Find the commander!”

At Muqali’s order, the tamma scattered.

If they captured the enemy commander, the fall of Juyong Pass would be only a matter of time.

* * *

“Huff… huff…”

Wanyan Husha looked around, breathing heavily.

Then he looked at the government office where he had been staying until just moments ago.

“To think the Mongols would come all the way to Juyong Pass.”

Wanyan Husha was greatly shocked.

If he had been a little later, he could have lost his life.

Fortunately, sensing the commotion around him, he had immediately escaped from the office and saved his life.

“Are you alright, Your Excellency?”

At the aide’s words, Wanyan Husha nodded.

Then he looked around.

“Did everyone get out?”

“Yes, sir.”

Wanyan Husha looked at those who had followed him.

Among them was the advisor who had previously given him counsel.

When Wanyan Husha’s eyes met the advisor’s, the advisor bowed his head in apology.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency. I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn…”

“It’s not your fault. And now is not the time to assign blame.”

Wanyan Husha did not show personal feelings as they were still in battle.

It was more beneficial to gather the surviving forces to resist the Mongol army than to kill the advisor to vent his frustration.

So he didn’t bother to mention the advisor’s fault.

“Where is the closest friendly unit?”

The aide bowed and pointed to Yahao Ridge.

“We have 50,000 troops there, sir. I believe we should head there, reorganize our forces, and then recapture Juyong Pass.”

“The aide is right. Let’s move immediately.”

They needed troops to recapture Juyong Pass right away.

So Wanyan Husha led his aides and advisors toward the ridge.

As they climbed the ridge, the aides and advisors around Wanyan Husha let out sorrowful exclamations.

“Ah…”

“This can’t be…!”

The scene before their eyes was utterly devastating.

The Jin soldiers stationed at Yahao Ridge were being defeated one by one by the Mongol army’s attack.

The reason for this was simple.

The terrain of Yahao Ridge was very rugged, making communication between units difficult.

Unlike what Wanyan Husha had thought, the 350,000-strong Jin army had become separate units stationed in each valley.

Facing the Mongol army in this state, they were bound to be crushed.

Seeing this, Wanyan Husha was also greatly shocked.

But as the commander, he couldn’t show weakness in front of everyone.

So he decided to do what he could in this situation.

“I will join the unit and command the battle directly. Follow me.”

That was his direct command of the battle.

This way, the unit could at least regain morale.

With this morale, if they could push back the Mongol forces even a little, there was a chance.

If they pushed back the Mongol forces, they could contact Jin units in other valleys.

Then, despite heavy losses, they could defeat the Mongol units using their numerical advantage.

Even if they couldn’t defeat them, it didn’t matter.

They could preserve their forces, return to Yahao Ridge, and recapture Juyong Pass.

As mentioned repeatedly, Juyong Pass was a natural fortress.

If they stationed troops in such a fortress and held out, the Mongol expedition would have no choice but to retreat.

Because supplies were not unlimited.

Having reached this conclusion, Wanyan Husha hastened his steps to join the unit that was in the midst of battle.

When Wanyan Husha, the supreme commander, appeared, the Jin unit that was on the verge of annihilation immediately regained morale.

“The commander has come to help us!”

“The governor is here! Let’s defeat the Mongols!”

Seeing the soldiers regain morale, Wanyan Husha nodded.

Then he took up his command baton and began directing immediately.

“All troops, form a defensive formation! If we hold out using the terrain, we can win!”

To be precise, he was focusing more on holding out than winning.

The plan was to hold out and coordinate with nearby units.

Currently, Wanyan Husha had aides and advisors beside him to assist.

So while he commanded the army, the aides could move to bring units from other valleys to attack here, leading to victory.

“Raise your spears!”

“Hold up your shields and resist! We are the elite soldiers of Jin!”

The Jin soldiers began to resist with such words.

As their resistance intensified, the Mongol army temporarily halted its attack.

Wanyan Husha tried to seize this opportunity.

“Move the troops to the right. Then move diagonally along the ridge.”

Moving troops diagonally was one of the poor methods not recommended in strategy books.

However, Jin was in an urgent situation with no other options.

So Wanyan Husha had no choice but to make this hasty decision.

As the Jin soldiers moved diagonally, the Mongol army, which had paused its attack, suddenly charged again.

Surprised, Wanyan Husha raised his command baton again and shouted loudly.

“Don’t panic! We just need to hold out somehow!”

It was a situation where casualties were inevitable.

But if they could endure this moment, Jin could regain the upper hand.

With this thought, Wanyan Husha encouraged his soldiers.

At that moment, Mongol cavalry appeared before him.

Seeing the Mongol cavalry with their crescent-shaped swords, Wanyan Husha realized his mistake.

He had been so focused on commanding that he had missed the enemy cavalry.

As a result, Mongol cavalry appeared right in front of him.

This meant his death.

But Wanyan Husha had no intention of dying here.

So he rolled on the ground.

By rolling, he managed to avoid the Mongol cavalry’s attack.

But there was something he overlooked.

The place where he rolled was a steep hill.

This meant that for his body to stop, it had to hit something.

Unfortunately, there was nothing soft on the mountain to catch his increasingly fast-rolling body.

There were only protruding rocks and trees of various colors.

Thud.

After rolling down for a while, Wanyan Husha’s body crashed into a hard rock.

And bright blood flowed from between the rocks.