The rapid beat of war drums echoed through the mountains, drowning out the screams with intense battle cries. The pungent scent of blood spread through the camp, staining the withered grass and trees red. Suddenly, an excited shout rose from the vanguard attacking the camp.
"The enemy is fleeing!"
Xiulote stood on a hilltop, observing the battle. He saw nearly two thousand Guamare Samurai, like a tide of grey-blue, shouting and surging into the camp nestled among the mountains. The Canine Descendants were gradually unable to resist, retreating in disorder toward the rear camp, and it seemed that some areas had even caught fire. Then, a trusted aide of a chieftain, holding a long spear, removed the Red Monkey flag from the camp and fled to the rear.
"The camp has fallen. Chalki did a good job!"
The King showed a smile and nodded slightly. Large groups of Canine Descendants were dispersing from the rear of the camp, leaving only two or three hundred to cover their retreat, clearly unable to hold out for long. The King looked at the Head Warrior beside him.
"Bertade, take five hundred Imperial Guards and tidy up the vanguard. Do not enter the woods to pursue a running battle with the enemy!"
"As you command!"
The Head Warrior bowed respectfully. Then he turned around, started gathering his Imperial Guards while surveying the situation in the camp, and soon furrowed his brow.
"Your Highness, the camp is on fire."
Xiulote looked into the distance and saw isolated flames igniting on the dry grass, which had already spread to large piles of wood. In just a moment, thick, pungent smoke rose from the heated battlefield, and the figures engaged in combat became vague, while the shooting of feathered arrows also started to thin out.
"The fire has started quickly... The Canine Descendants were prepared, they set the fire deliberately!"
New novel chaptđrs are published on ĆĐłeewebnovŃl.com.
"Indeed. The Canine Descendants deliberately burned the camp, it looks like they were prepared to retreat, their will to fight is not high."
Bertade nodded in agreement, then his face showed worry.
"Itâs the dry season without rain. The camp is close to the forest, and once a large fire starts, it might be difficult to extinguish!"
"A forest fire..."
Xiulote looked around at the surrounding forest, recalled the scenes from his memory, and gave a decisive order.
"Sound the conch horn! Order the vanguard to retreat!"
"Dii-dii!... Dii-dii!..."
The sharp sound of the retreat conch horn blew, traveling hundreds of meters down the mountain path, past the thickening black smoke, right to the embattled camp.
In the heart of late autumn, the air is dry, the vegetation turned yellow, and the camp had intentionally stored plenty of dry grass and wood, making it easy to burn. Once the raging fire surged, it quickly became unmanageable and ferociously spread to the surrounding area.
The few hundred warriors at the frontlines, their eyes bloodshot and faces blackened by smoke, were still tightly entangled. They coughed forcefully while fighting fiercely, turning either their opponents or themselves into corpses. Surrounded by flames and dense smoke, blood splattered wantonly, and bodies piled up one after another. Soon after, the rolling flames licked close, and the air filled with an odd fragrance.
Chalki, bent over and coughing, issued the order to retreat. He couldnât be concerned with the frontlines, now engulfed in flames, and led over a thousand Samurai, quickly fleeing towards the outside of the camp.
The mountain wind blew chaotically, flames assaulted them, igniting the Samuraiâs armor and garments. The mature chieftain did not stop his feet, slapping at the flames clinging to his burned cotton armor. By the time he escaped the camp, his cotton armor was burnt through, and even a large chunk of his hair had been singed off.
Balda managed to hold back a laugh upon seeing the middle-aged chieftainâs bald head and blackened face. Hm, a middle-aged bald head, somewhat fittingly comical. Then he looked forward, where rolling, thick smoke was rising, completely obscuring the line of sight for shooting. The blistering hot wind blew from the front, still bringing warmth despite the tens of steps separating them.
Before long, piercing screams arose in the burning camp, where shadowy, smoke-covered figures could be seen frantically running, then collapsing to the ground. The suffocating smoke robbed the warriors of their ability to act, and as the fire approached, they let out their final sounds, followed by nothing but the crackling of burning.
"The fire is so vast, the battling Guamare Samurai..."
Balda sniffed the burnt scent in the wind and shook his head. He quickly swung his War Club, shouting to the left and right.
"All troops retreat, keep away from the forests on both sides!"
At the edge of the forest, the Red Monkey Chieftain, Ozoma, looked on despondently, staring blankly at the fire that swept through the camp.
The fierce flames kept spreading like a terrifying Evil Demon. The demon opened its mouth wide, completely engulfing the camp. It was such a voracious seeker of life, devouring not only the more than four hundred Guamare Samurai at the front but also over two hundred Canine Warriors at the rear. Then, it thrust out its burning claws towards the forests on both sides. The thick smoke, like the demonâs Scouts, had surged into the forest ahead of the flames, forcing the ambushed troops out of hiding. Thousands of Canine Warriors cried out in terror, creating utter chaos.
Red Deer Chieftain, Masate, ran out from the forest, sprinting towards us. He looked at the fire that grew fiercer, blackening the sky, his face instantly losing color, then exploding with rage.
"Cough, cough! Cough, cough!... Damn it, Red Monkey, what have you done!"
"I was... preparing a surprise for the Mexica... just lit a fire..."
Ozoma looked at the approaching flames, his face a mix of laughter and tears. He only intended to ignite the camp, never imagining the entire mountainside would be set ablaze.
In just a few moments, the fire at the camp had already completely blocked the mountain path, and without any sign of stopping, it spread in the wind, igniting the oily pines and cypresses. Soon, a great fire blazed in the forest, and surging waves of heat swept over them, setting the hair of many Canine Warriors alight, causing them to retreat in panic.
"Damn! Damn my red hair!... Ozoma, did you start this fire in the autumn forest to burn us all to death?"
Masate covered his head, taking an angry step forward. Then he grabbed Ozoma by the collar with one hand and shook him violently.
"What are you still looking at! The mountain fire has started! Thereâs no rain this season, it wonât stop until it has consumed these dozen miles of forest! Arenât you fleeing with me? The forest is completely different from the wilderness, how can you be the clever Red Monkey..."
After roaring a few words, Masate grabbed Ozoma by the arm, leading hundreds of trusted aides, and ran like their lives depended on it towards the camp at the rear. The Canine Warriors from both tribes stumbled along the mountain road, fleeing desperately towards the East. Occasionally, a panicked Canine Warrior would fall and get injured, swallowed by the pursuing flames.
The mighty breeze rolled along the mountain road, and with it, the vast wildfire spread. The thick smoke blocked out the sun, and the air was filled with a pungent smoke smell. Once a forest fire gained momentum, it was beyond human power to extinguish. Before the ferocious flames, tens of thousands of Allied Forces Warriors and Canine Warriors were forced to retreat, withdrawing more than ten miles in succession.
Xiulote abandoned the Red Deer camp, retreating all the way back to the main camp at the rear. He first urgently ordered the army to fall back, then gathered thousands of warriors, collected all Bronze Axes from the Imperial Guards, and worked day and night in sparser parts of the forest to clear a firebreak. In less than two days, the wildfire had burned towards them along the forest, devouring the Red Deer camp and reaching right before them.
In this era where civilization was just beginning, natureâs flames were always attributed to the will of the divine, burning also within the hearts of the warriors. In the face of the approaching wildfire, the Otomi Warriors were frightened and disordered, seeing it as an ominous sign, clamoring for retreat.
"Praise be to the Chief Divine! He protects us, and even the fierce fire cannot surge forward!..."
In front of the vast wildfire, the King erected a high sacrificial altar and conducted a sacred ritual. To appease the greedy spirits, and even more so to calm the tens of thousands of anxious, restless troops, two hundred sixty Canine captive were sacrificed in the ritual, bound and thrown into the fire. After the grand sacrificial rite, the surging wildfire finally stopped before the firebreak.
"Huff, huff... The mountain fire has finally ceased, and the morale of the Otomi Warriors has stabilized!"
Xiulote stood solemnly high upon the altar, overlooking the legion below. Thousands of Otomi Warriors lay prostrate, praying devoutly to the Chief Divine, beseeching divine protection. Subsequently, twenty thousand warriors got up one by one, their eyes looking up at the King with reverence, as if looking towards a deity.
"The power of the wildfire is truly immense..."
Xiulote gazed towards the East, the sky-high flames still burning on both sides of the mountains, consuming all living things. Flocks of birds flew far away to escape, and the once-burned forest was filled with silence. Witnessing this scene, a new strategy emerged in the Kingâs mind.
"Hmm, I wonder how the other Canine Descendants are faring now?"