Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 297 Dead End
The river is rising, and the fish in the Tuo River are the first to notice.

Due to the viscosity and internal resistance of the fluid itself, the surging river water becomes almost invisible just one kilometer away from the dam.

But there is no doubt that the water level of the Pangtuo River is rising—in a very subtle way.

"Look! Look at that color! Look at those fish!"

Taichi stared wide-eyed as bubbles-like things kept appearing in the river.

The undercurrent stirred up the silt at the bottom of the river, forcing fish, which usually hide in deep waters during the winter, to rise to the surface to breathe.

The lack of landmarks and hydrological data made it difficult for the Telden people to determine whether the rising water level was a normal fluctuation or...

"You're saying the two-legged people built the dam?" Tai Chi asked another subordinate with a grim face, "Why didn't you guys notice?"

When questioned, Hong Lingyu was speechless: "We thoroughly searched the entire upstream 100 kilometers with our disciples, and we really couldn't find any trace of the dam!"

"Shut up!" Taichi roared, "Is the floodwaters rising because two-legged people are urinating in the river?!"

“That Yan…” Hong Lingyu licked her lips and said with difficulty, “Since two-legged people can build a city overnight, perhaps…”

Before the other person could finish speaking, Tai Chi had already swung his whip hard across the other person's face: "Shut up!"

Hong Lingyu took a solid lash from the whip, the spot stinging with pain. He knelt on his left knee, not daring to utter another word.

If the goal is to use the force of the river to defeat the enemy, the closer the dam is to the enemy, the better. However, the closer it is, the easier it is to expose the dam.

After weighing the two options, Winters ultimately decided to build a dam 80 kilometers upstream to block the waters of the Huiqing River.

At such a great distance, by the time the river water released from the dam reaches the downstream area, it is only a shallow current with no visible waves.

In exchange for shock value, they gained concealment and surprise.

As a tributary of the Pangtuo River, the Huiqing River is located on the north side of the Pangtuo River.

In other words, for the Teldun people who plundered on the south bank, the Huiqing River was an "invisible river" hidden behind the Pangtuo River.

The canyon side path, which could originally accommodate four horses abreast, is now narrowing into a narrow road that can only accommodate two horses.

If the water level of the Pangtuo River continues to rise, this passage will inevitably revert to a narrow path that can only accommodate one person at a time.

Worse news followed: the two-legged men had seized the ford, defeated the defenders who were guarding the canyon entrance, and were building a new horse-blocking wall, seemingly to completely cut off Teldun's retreat.

Now that things had come to this, Taichi realized he had fallen into a trap.

"Build a city overnight? Build a dam overnight?" Tai Chi's face turned ashen, his eyes blazing with rage, yet he couldn't help but laugh: "Does the leader of the two-legged people think I'm some kind of brute bull or donkey! He drew a path for us, and we're expected to obediently follow it?!"

"Could we let our men turn back first?" a seasoned Qinglingyu member cautiously requested. "Even rabbits know to leave a few secret passages. At least we should recapture the canyon exit first, secure our retreat, and then advance?"

"Hey! There's no time to spare!" Taichi's son roared in fury. "This path isn't even as wide as a rope! How can our men possibly maneuver? The only way now is to mount our fast horses, charge forward, and fight our way out from the other side of the canyon!"

"Charge forward!" Tai Chi straightened his whip and declared decisively, brooking no argument: "Go to the Huiqu River. We'll find a way once we get there!"

"But?" the experienced Qing Lingyu was unwilling to give up.

"What do you mean 'but'?!" Taichi stared directly at the other person, his eyes wide. "I already said, there's a way once we get to the river!"

[Note: The 'Huiqu River' mentioned by the people of Teldun is the same as the 'Dajiao River' mentioned by the people of Palatum.]
Upon hearing Da Nayan's statement, the other Teldun leaders all patted their chests in agreement.

……

Heishui Town, Xia Tiefeng County.

The change of ownership of the venue triggered a chain reaction.

According to the military orders of the Teldun Khan's camp, the tribesmen who were captured south of "that river" should be used as reinforcements to attack the north bank in the second wave.

The river that the Teldun people call "that river" is the Pangtuo River. It may have had a name in the past, but as time has passed, even the elders of the Teldun tribe can't remember what the river was called, so they simply refer to it as "that river".

But no sooner had most of the men crossed the river than the two-legged people occupied the wading area.

The Teldens who invaded Iron Peak County were split into two groups, and the two groups had difficulty making contact. Rumors spread among the Teldens who remained in Lower Iron Peak County.

Some leaders were observing, while others wanted to flee. Still others saw it as an opportunity to make a name for themselves and drove their men to the river.

Among all the leaders, big and small, [Blue Horse] and [Stone Arrow] were arguably the two least noticeable.

Because in terms of status, they cannot be considered a proper "aristocratic" class; they are the henchmen of the aristocracy.

In the flattened society of the Heder, their status lay somewhere between nobles and subjects. They were better off than the lowest class, but not quite as high as the highest.

At this very moment, these two unassuming Telden men are doing something horrific they never imagined before—they are beheading “Bald Dogs.”

The small knife that the Hed people carried was originally used for cutting meat to eat, and it was quite inconvenient to cut off heads.

Qingma and Shijian clumsily did the work, sawing and prying, and it took the two strong men a lot of effort to completely separate the bald dog's head from its body.

The tent was a mess. Tables and bowls were overturned during the fight, and wine and blood were splattered everywhere, turning the once clean blankets into mud.

Panting heavily, the blue horse looked at the bald dog's severed head and suddenly burst into tears, crying out, "You bald dog! You gelding! Why did you force us to wait like this!"

While crying, Qingma desperately slashed and stabbed with the knife, pouring out all his grief and resentment. The bald dog's already ferocious face was completely destroyed into rotten flesh.

Shi Jian slumped to the ground, looking at the crazed Qingma with utter exhaustion.

The two men originally came to bribe the bald dog, but it ended up as a vendetta.

Ever since Bald Dog crossed the river, Green Horse and Stone Arrow have been kept under close surveillance.

Bald Dog made no attempt to conceal his greed for annexing the followers of Green Horse and Stone Arrow, and made things difficult for the two at every turn.

Especially after Bald Dog's old camp was attacked and burned down, Bald Dog, who gained nothing and even lost a lot of his savings, simply took over the camps of Green Horse and Stone Arrow as their master.

Qingma and Shijian were satisfied with their harvest and just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

Bald Dog's attempt to force the two to "that river" escalated the conflict, while his public humiliation of Blue Horse while accepting a bribe was the final straw. The temporary victors in this internal power struggle among the Teldonians were Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, as Bald Dog was beheaded, while Blue Horse and Stone Arrow's heads remained intact on their shoulders.

Next, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Bald Dogs and their ilk will kill the Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, and then divide the property of the three dead men.

“Stop!” the weary Stone Arrow suddenly spoke.

Qingma ignored him, still holding the bald dog's hair with one hand and desperately stabbing the bald dog's face with the knife in the other.

The bald dog's eyes had been turned into something resembling bloodshot milk cakes, which was disgusting.

Stone Arrow stood up and punched Green Horse hard: "Stop acting crazy!"

Qingma collapsed heavily into the blood, his usually fierce triangular eyes filled with despair: "Why did he force me! Why..."

"Keep your voice down!" Stone Arrow bared his teeth and kicked his companion viciously. "Don't alert Bald Dog's guards!"

"The Bald Dog's personal guards?" Qingma, as if a drowning man grasping at a straw, suddenly turned ruthless: "Kill! Kill them all!"

"There are only two of us, how can we possibly deal with them?!"

Qing Ma Teng stood up abruptly and headed straight for the exit: "Kill them one by one!"

"What good would it do to kill them?" Stone Arrow shoved his companion hard. "Do you think we can escape?"

"Just say it was a two-legged man who killed him!"

"Who can you fool?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Qingma shouted hysterically, "Then what do you suggest we do?!"

"Shut up!" Shi Jian slammed down on Qingma, gritting his teeth. "Run! Only by running away can we survive."

"How can we escape?" Qingma was on the verge of collapse.

"Just you and me!" Shi Jian racked his brains, planning: "We'll take nothing but horses, food, and water. We'll run day and night! If we run back to the grasslands, we'll survive!"

"Even if we run back to the grasslands, we'll have nowhere to go!" the blue horse cried out in despair. "The fire-warmers won't let us go!"

Qingma suddenly grabbed the stone arrow, his shoulders trembling: "Let's surrender! Surrender to the two-legged man! Become slaves or riders, the two-legged man will give us a way to live."

"Don't be stupid!" Stone Arrow's emotions gradually calmed down: "Even two-legged people won't give you or me a way out."

"To be impaled on a wooden pole and shot to death by a thousand arrows, to be stuffed into a leather bag and trampled to death by ten thousand horses..." Qingma looked at the sword in his hand: "I might as well end it all myself."

"The Terdun tribe can't tolerate us anymore. A lone horse can't survive." Stone Arrow had made up his mind. He gripped his companion's shoulder tightly and said fiercely, "Red River tribe! White Lion! We're going to find White Lion!"

Qingma's body suddenly stiffened, and he was so shocked that he couldn't even speak.

Later, flames engulfed the camp, and the remaining Teldun were busy salvaging their valuables and livestock, so no one noticed that Stone Arrow and Blue Horse had already escaped.

……

Zhongtiefeng County, within Niuti Valley, on the east bank of the Pangtuo River embankment.

Stone Arrow and Green Horse, facing a dead end, abandoned everything for a glimmer of hope.

At this moment, Taichi could not even see that glimmer of hope.

“Once we reach the river, we’ll find a way.” These are Tai Chi’s exact words.

To the south of the Teldun people was a river, to the north a valley, and further north a forest; their retreat to the east was blocked.

Thanks to Taichi's assurance, the leaders of the Teldun tribe suppressed their unease and fear, and led their people westward along the river valley.

The further west you go, the closer you get to the confluence of the Pangtuo River and the Dajiao River, the lower the terrain becomes on both sides of the Pangtuo River, gradually becoming low enough to climb.

Taichi dispatched elite cavalrymen, lightly equipped, to the north to scout out enemy positions. Meanwhile, he urged his men to march westward at full speed.

However, once he reached the shore, Taichi was helpless—because a fleet of boats was patrolling back and forth on the river.

The Teldenans had no boats, only rafts.

It goes without saying who owns those small rowboats on the river.

Taichi could feel the stinging gazes on his back.

"A solution?" Every Teldun leader looked at each other asking, "Where is the solution?"

……

Niu Ti Valley, the third line of defense.

Tamas received a letter—a letter from the Teldun people.

The letter was written in charcoal black on parchment.

“What does it say?” Tamas handed the letter to the fifth company commander [Lannis], who couldn’t read: “It looks like Common Language to me.”

Lannis took the sheepskin, glanced at it briefly, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "It is indeed Common Tongue... Perhaps... we have people among the barbarians."

Because of the arrow wound, Tamas's shoulder was swollen high, making it difficult for him to even lift his arm. He asked wearily, "What did you say?"

Lannis slowly rolled up the sheepskin: "Barbarian chieftain, please surrender."

The letter was immediately sent to Winters, and then quickly returned.

There was no reply, only one more word written on the parchment:

"No."

[My update schedule has been messed up... This chapter is just to make up for what I missed over the weekend.]
[I've come up with a reasonable update schedule: tentatively, updates every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. That means there will be one chapter tomorrow, then the next chapter will be on Thursday, and the one after that on Saturday.]
[Once I gradually regain my rhythm, at least until I finish writing this part of the story, I will resume daily updates.]
[I apologize to everyone]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)