Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 782 (1): The Fall of the Fox Spirit

Huangfu Yongxian’s resounding command did not rattle Vulture Beak, but it did send a jolt of urgency through Timur.

Had it been just Batu’s ambush, Timur would have paid it no mind. Even with Wu Weiyang’s elite cavalry of 10,000 joining the fray, it still would not be an immediate crisis; Timur had the sheer numbers. He had more than enough men. He could send a few tribal contingents to hold off Wu Weiyang, at the very least buying time.

But if the frontline collapsed at this critical moment, that was an entirely different story. Timur would have real reason to sweat.

If even Chi Li had realized that Vulture Beak was unlikely to fight to the bitter end, then Timur naturally knew that as well. No matter how he looked at it, other tribes would never have the blind loyalty to die for him. The worse the situation became, the fewer people he could truly trust. And right now, the only force he could rely on was his own Golden Wolf Army.

From both flanks, northern barbarian cavalry surged outward, meeting Batu and Wu Weiyang’s forces in direct engagements. But at the same time, a greater shift was underway. The Golden Wolf Army was finally committing in full. The battlefield roared with their battle cries as the full might of Timur’s elite forces crashed forward.

Just as Vulture Beak was weighing his retreat, a tidal wave of Golden Wolf warriors swept in from behind, their deafening charge forcing him to suppress his hesitation. Instead of retreating, he had no choice but to hold his ground.

But his mind spun faster than ever.

This... This isn’t Timur’s usual approach.

The Golden Wolf Army was Timur’s most prized force, his only irreplaceable soldiers. They had always been held back, used only to secure victory after other tribal warriors had worn down the enemy. Timur needed to maintain absolute dominance over the tribes, and if he sacrificed his Golden Wolf Army recklessly, he would weaken his own position. If they suffered devastating losses, he would be vulnerable, and that even if he won.

For instance, Vulture Beak himself could easily form a secret alliance with Bo’e and move against Timur. The current cooperation between Bo’e and Timur was a necessity of war, not an unbreakable alliance.

Thus, it was practically political suicide for Timur to throw his best troops into the meat grinder. And yet, he was doing exactly that right now. It was proof of just how precarious the situation had become. Military action was nothing more than the extension of politics, and in terms of army cohesion, the fractured northern barbarian tribes of the Grasslands were no match for the unified iron will of the Han army. Even with numerical superiority, they were being forced into a war of attrition they were ill-suited for.

This was one of the driving factors behind Zhao Changhe’s rush to launch his northern campaign. He would never allow Tngri to fully revive and unify the Grasslands under one will. Vulture Beak understood this, but there was no time to think further. The Golden Wolf Army had already merged with his own forces, and together, they clashed violently with Huangfu Yongxian’s advancing formations.

Both sides had men fall in droves. The dead were immediately replaced by reinforcements, arrows rained down in torrents, and the once-golden sea of sand that was the battlefield turned into a crimson sea of bloody mud.

Above, new vultures circled the sky, their sharp eyes watching the battlefield below, waiting for the night to fall, waiting for the bloodshed to end so they could descend upon the corpses.

“Hmm... what’s that?” A strange feeling surged through Vulture Beak. Something on the battlefield had caught his attention.

Back when Batu’s forces were crushed, they suffered devastating casualties and spent the entire winter hiding in the desolate Gobi, barely surviving with tattered clothes and scarce food. Even after receiving reinforcements, the sheer logistical limitations meant that supplies remained inadequate. Now, as they emerged onto the battlefield, they were a sorry sight. Their armor was barely clinging to their bodies, while their horses were so emaciated that their bones were visible. They were the epitome of a beggar army. By all logic, no matter how many of them there were, their combat effectiveness should have been abysmal. The expectation had been that they would be swiftly surrounded and annihilated.

And yet, while Wu Weiyang’s well-equipped forces in the east were locked in a grueling battle, Batu’s supposed beggar army was tearing through the western front like a hot knife through butter. The tribes Timur had deployed to encircle them crumbled almost instantly, their forces being cut down with shocking ease.

What the hell is going on? Is Batu’s army somehow even more elite than Wu Weiyang’s? There’s no damn way!

Then, from the skies above, Timur’s furious roar erupted, “Ying Five! You’re on the Ranking of Heaven, yet you’re actually fighting in the midst of Batu’s army?! Have you no shame?!”

Ah, that explains it.

A calm and composed voice echoed across the battlefield, “I had no choice... Khagan Timur, you’ve broken through to the Profound Control Realm, and so has Great Shaman Bo’e, and King Zhao, and Li Shentong... even my own niece has broken through to the Profound Control Realm... Yet for some reason, I am stuck, unable to make it through the threshold. In this age of gods and demons, we who are at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries are barely worth mentioning. Vulture Beak fights for you, the King of Monan, so why shouldn’t I serve the King of Mobei?”

Vulture Beak’s mouth twitched.

He himself had just broken into the third layer of the Profound Mysteries. He was barely at the initial stages of it, and he was still struggling against Huangfu Yongxian. As for Yin Five, even if he wasn’t at the Profound Control Realm, he was already kicking the threshold.

Meanwhile, Timur had only sent ordinary tribal warriors to stop Batu’s army. How the hell were they supposed to be able to even do anything against someone who was half a step into the Profound Control Realm? It could not even be called a fight.

This damn mounted brigand has no shame. Neither the Grasslands nor the Han has seen such a blatant disregard for battlefield propriety. Everything has fallen into utter chaos.

Boom!

A golden spear of energy descended from the sky, streaking toward Batu’s troops like the lightning of divine judgment.

With a swift motion, Ying Five shot upward, extending a hand and dispersing the spear image into the heavens. Without pausing for even a breath, he surged higher into the sky, his voice echoing once more, “Since you’ve invited me to battle, I shall accompany you in this dance of death.”

He’s getting more shameless by the second... Timur, who might have originally held a slight edge over Lady Three, was already struggling to focus amid the chaos. He was forced to command his troops, maintain battlefield cohesion, and continue drying the earth all at the same time. If it were not for his sheer strength, he would have long since fallen.

And now, Ying Five had actually come and joined forces with Lady Three.

Accompany me in this dance of death? Aren’t you just kicking a man while he’s down? No... Come to think of it... isn’t Third Lady Yuan part of their Mounted Brigand Brotherhood, too? Is every single one of them like this?

More infuriatingly, the damage had already been done. Even if Ying Five suddenly pretended to be neutral and stopped fighting, it would not change the fact that Batu’s forces had already torn a hole through the battlefield.

At this point, even if Batu’s men were pigs, there was no way they could be encircled again. Even children would know what to do, let alone these were warriors who had spent their entire lives in the saddle. They knew the tides of battle better than anyone. And once an opponent’s formation was thrown into disarray, even a supposed beggar army could turn the entire battlefield upside down.

Vulture Beak’s brow furrowed slightly as he quietly retreated behind the Golden Wolf Army.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion erupted from the sky. No one could tell what kind of devastating attack Ying Five had unleashed upon Timur, but the latter was now howling in fury.

A terrifying wave of energy spread in all directions, sending violent gusts howling through the battlefield and scattering the clouds overhead.

Those who still had the strength to look up could see Ying Five and the two Lady Threes flung backward in three different directions. In the center, Timur stood like an unstoppable war god.

Timur no longer had the mind to oversee the battle. He had decided to go all out. Under normal circumstances, Vulture Beak might have prostrated himself before such a figure. But at this moment, it hardly mattered anymore.

“Withdraw,” Vulture Beak murmured to his trusted followers. “The Han army is mostly infantry. Even if they win, they cannot completely annihilate us. At best, Batu and Wu Weiyang can pursue the retreating armies. Nevertheless, there will be powerful tribes left intact, ready to rise from Mobei and replace Timur in the future... And if that’s the case, then whoever is prepared will be the one to take that throne. Batu could become the King of Monan with his meager strength, so why can’t one of us become the King of Mobei?”

His trusted confidants had long understood his ambitions. One of them whispered back, “Khan, the battle is still undecided. If we flee after a defeat, it would be understandable, and even the tngri may not hold it against us. But if we withdraw now, before the outcome is clear, and the tngri finds fault with us...”

“The trend is already clear...” Vulture Beak gritted his teeth. “Blow after blow, the Han army’s morale is only growing stronger while ours is crumbling. The balance has already shifted. Timur’s intentions are obvious. He deliberately sent us to bear the brunt of the bloodiest fight. He sees me as his greatest rival and wants to wear down my strength. Now that our tribe has suffered heavy losses, we have already done enough to honor the tngri. Are we really supposed to stand here and bleed to the last man? For what? For Timur’s ego?”

The confidants fell silent, but a fiery ambition flickered in their eyes.

On the Grasslands, the strong devoured the weak. Aside from the unifying faith in the tngri, there was no such thing as loyalty or righteousness. Indeed, Batu’s Warring Lion Tribe had once risen to power, so why could they not do the same? Both were great tribes, and the Warring Lion Tribe had even lost its Ranking of Earth leader. If a mere weakling like Batu could become king, what would prevent Vulture Beak from doing the same? He was the former King of Man who was now at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries!

Punishment from Tngri? Batu had yet to die. If the Golden Horde suffered total defeat, Tngri would need a new tribe to support his rule. How severe could his wrath really be? Were they supposed to fight to the last man just because Timur demanded it?

And besides, who knew what was happening on Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing’s side? Their revered Tngri had to worry about his own survival first!

Low whispers spread throughout the Vulture Tribe, and they gradually began to retreat. Before long, those clashing directly with Huangfu Yongxian were no longer from the Vulture Tribe. All that remained was Timur’s Golden Wolf Army, left to face the slaughter alone.

Yet, no matter how “discreet” a retreat of tens of thousands might be, the shifting tide was unmistakable in the grand scheme of battle. The frontlines were in chaos!

How could the seasoned Huangfu Yongxian possibly miss such an opportunity?

“The Vulture Tribe is defeated! All troops, charge!” His voice rang out, not only to his own forces but also to the enemy ranks.

“The Vulture Tribe is defeated!”

“The frontlines are collapsing!”

The sensation of bodies surging backward rippled through the enemy ranks—a telltale sign of retreat and disorder. Those at the rear of the Golden Wolf Army, unaware of what was happening, began to fall into disarray. Meanwhile, the retreating Vulture Tribe crashed into them, throwing their formation into complete turmoil.

Swish!

Huangfu Yongxian’s spear skewered a general of the Golden Wolf Army, and he raised the man’s body up high, roaring, “Press forward!”

Like a tidal wave, the Han army surged forward. Their momentum was unstoppable. Then, like a row of falling dominos, the chaos in the frontlines spread through the entire formation of the Golden Wolf Army, unraveling all the way to the central army.

This time, it was truly unstoppable.