Ch.77Merger (3)

I noticed the Western Xia soldiers’ movements becoming noticeably sluggish. Some soldiers were clearly confused about what to do, wandering aimlessly.

This meant Bekhter had successfully completed his mission.

It wasn’t certain if the chancellor had been killed by the refugee unit.

But from the current situation, it was clear that the enemy’s command structure had been compromised.

An army without leadership was essentially no different from civilians.

“Now’s the time. Their command structure has collapsed!”

The khans of the ulus cheered at my words.

Then, as if by agreement, they immediately mounted their horses.

“It’s time to end the enemy’s lives. Brave warriors of the ulus! Raise your swords high!”

The khans and soldiers raised their swords high and shouted.

“Hangarad! Daichi Tengri!”

“We shall arrive on this land!”

Soon they began to sing.

When the song reached its climax and all the soldiers’ morale was at its peak, I immediately issued the attack order.

“Chaaaarge!”

“Chaaaarge!”

“Attack!”

“Follow the orders of the great ruler of the steppe!”

Boom boom boom boom boom

A sound like an earthquake erupted.

With that sound, thousands of cavalry charged toward Xingqing.

Behind them followed the Kerik soldiers of Western Xia origin who had newly joined the Mongol forces.

Seeing the terrifying charge of the ulus, the Western Xia soldiers at the city gate began to tremble with fear.

The area in front of the gate was a cauldron of chaos.

It was a place where frightened sheep had gathered.

I was a wolf, so killing sheep wasn’t difficult.

While thinking this, I noticed a fearless one blocking my path with a spear.

I smiled at this brave sheep.

“Chap!”

Thwack!

With that sound, the brave sheep’s head was crushed by a mace.

As his head was smashed, countless blood and flesh fragments splattered onto the other sheep nearby.

“Hee…heeek!”

“I…I don’t want to die…!”

The startled Western Xia soldiers immediately threw down their weapons and began to flee.

Normally, such desertion would have been impossible due to their rigid command structure.

But with their leadership compromised, there was no one to stop those who fled.

“Throw down your weapons and surrender! I’ll spare those who surrender!”

After hearing the Tangut merchant who translated my words, most of the enemy immediately discarded their weapons.

Having already lost the will to continue fighting, only a few wished to sacrifice their lives.

“You Mongols! I will not surrender!”

“For His Majesty! For Western Xia!”

Some officers chose to resist until the end.

The ulus soldiers were not generous enough to show mercy to those who made such choices.

“Resisting the ulus! How foolish!”

“We’ll give you the most painful death!”

With those words, the ulus soldiers put away their maces and took out ropes.

Then, with skilled movements, they threw the ropes and captured the officers.

Since there were multiple ropes, the officers couldn’t even resist.

“Urgh!”

“You cowards…!”

Though the captured men said something, the ulus soldiers who didn’t understand their language didn’t even respond.

They simply attached the rope ends to their saddles with expressionless faces and began riding in different directions.

It was difficult to gain speed with water on the ground.

Nevertheless, the horses’ strength was superhuman, so the enemy officers tied to the ropes had their arms or legs torn off while still alive by the tremendous force.

“Aaaaargh!”

Seeing this terrible sight, the enemy soldiers gave up resistance and began to surrender.

“P…please spare me.”

“I…I won’t resist…”

As the enemy’s surrender accelerated, the situation at the gate began to resolve quickly.

“We’ve almost captured the front of the gate, Seonwoo.”

I nodded at Elunka’s report.

Then I turned my head to look at the wall.

“How’s the situation on the wall?”

“There are still some resisting, but they’ll likely surrender soon.”

“I see.”

Unlike the gate area, the enemy archers on the wall had not yet surrendered.

This was because, unlike those at the gate, they were protected by the wall.

Objectively, it was a meaningless resistance.

However, as cavalry, they were quite bothersome to us, so I thought I needed to intimidate the archers to make them submit quickly.

While thinking this, I noticed a spear in front of me.

It was larger than an adult man, made of iron, and looked quite heavy.

I approached the spear and pulled it out with one hand.

“Elunka.”

“Give your command, Seonwoo.”

“In my view, the one wearing a helmet decorated with feathers appears to be commanding the wall. Do you agree?”

Elunka immediately nodded.

“I share the same opinion as Seonwoo.”

“Good.”

After saying this, I took my stance.

Then I concentrated on the hand holding the spear.

“Hap!”

I tensed my abdomen and threw the spear.

The spear drew an arc and flew straight.

At the appearance of the massive spear crossing the battle line, both Western Xia soldiers and ulus warriors watched it with surprised expressions.

When the spear that had drawn everyone’s attention reached its destination, a terrible sound was heard.

“Gu…gurk!”

“G…general!”

“Get a hold of yourself! General!”

“A…a spear?! W-where did such a huge spear come from…!”

The general commanding the wall died instantly from the sudden spear.

The archers who lost their commander looked with shocked expressions toward where the spear had come from.

Naturally, their gazes gathered on me.

I savored the shock and fear on their faces with a satisfied smile.

“Surrender! Otherwise, the next spear will aim for your necks!”

It was a shout without translation.

But the enemy on the wall seemed to understand these words and immediately raised white flags.

* * *

As the ulus successfully captured the wall, their forces poured into Xingqing.

“Do not resist!”

“Resistance will only bring terrible consequences!”

“Surrender to the ulus!”

The Keriks, infantry of Western Xia origin, urged surrender with these words.

Hearing this, Western Xia soldiers began to surrender immediately.

“Now that the Mongols have come this far… it’s over.”

“There’s no point in resisting anymore.”

With Wei Xiaoyun imprisoned, Western Xia’s command structure had not yet recovered.

In this state, with Mongol cavalry entering, the recognition that further resistance was futile spread quickly among Western Xia soldiers.

Of course, the number of Western Xia soldiers was still greater than the ulus forces.

But soldiers belonging to an army without a command structure were no different from ordinary civilians.

From their perspective as ordinary people, the fact that they had more troops wasn’t important.

Simply being able to preserve their lives was more important.

“I…I surrender!”

“I…I will surrender!”

As more people surrendered, the Western Xia army began to disintegrate rapidly.

“Disarm those who surrender and execute those who resist on the spot.”

The one controlling the interior of Xingqing was none other than Bekhter.

He was quickly organizing the interior of Xingqing, leading the refugee unit and cavalry.

“Khan, the eastern region is completely under control.”

“The western region will soon be captured as well.”

Reports were coming in from Western Xia-born officers.

Bekhter nodded and immediately issued follow-up orders.

“Most forces should focus on controlling the western region. The remaining cavalry will assist them while searching for the enemy commander.”

Bekhter, who was successfully leading the battle of Xingqing, was already being called Khan by the refugee unit.

Considering the military achievements he had made, the title Khan seemed almost insufficient.

His achievements were undoubtedly outstanding in the overall battle of Xingqing.

It was an achievement that would have made the old Bekhter arrogant, but he showed no such behavior.

Having matured, he acted as calmly as possible and knew exactly what he needed to do.

While issuing these follow-up orders, a messenger from the refugee unit who had infiltrated the city earlier urgently approached Bekhter.

“Khan! The enemy commander, the chancellor, is on Vermilion Bird Road! However, my colleagues and I have surrounded him, but we’re in a dangerous situation due to his guards.”

“Finally found him! Our ulus people are in danger, so we must move quickly! All cavalry, follow me!”

The cavalry that was supposed to assist in controlling the western region all followed Bekhter.

The Keriks of Western Xia origin looked at Bekhter with moved expressions at his actions.

“Truly worthy of being Khan…”

“He should rightfully be our leader, not those who treat our lives like insects.”

While leading the refugee unit, Bekhter had already gained the support of the Western Xia people.

This was because he had minimized civilian casualties while controlling the interior of Xingqing.

Additionally, he had prohibited all looting that typically occurs during war, so civilian damage was minimal.

Unlike Bekhter who showed mercy, the Western Xia soldiers under the chancellor had committed all sorts of atrocities.

Soldiers who didn’t receive rations frequently looted civilian homes.

Because of this, the Western Xia people welcomed the Mongol soldiers and refugee unit more than the Western Xia soldiers.

Bekhter had gained the full support of the Western Xia people.

Ironically, Bekhter himself considered this support temporary and focused only on what he needed to do.

“Move! We must capture the enemy commander to minimize casualties!”

With those words, Bekhter headed toward Vermilion Bird Road with his cavalry.

Racing there, they soon encountered the refugee unit confronting the chancellor in the center of Vermilion Bird Road.

“The…the Khan has come!”

“The Khan himself has come to save us!”

The moved refugee unit welcomed Bekhter with raised arms as if they had already won.

Bekhter raised his hand in response and then continued commanding.

“Keriks, fall back! Our cavalry will handle this!”

Using cavalry against the guards was more efficient.

Bekhter issued this order simply for this reason, but the refugee unit thought Bekhter was sparing Western Xia people and looked at him with moved expressions.

Anyway, after the refugee unit withdrew, the cavalry led by Bekhter surrounded Wei Xiaoyun.

Mounted on his horse, Bekhter looked at Wei Xiaoyun who was protected by guards and spoke.

“Finally, we meet.”