My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

At night, a huge campfire roared in the center of the camp, illuminating almost half the night sky.

Whole roasted lambs, or even cattle captured from Han areas, were placed on the fire, their fat dripping into the flames and making an enticing sizzling sound.

The campsite was bustling with noise.

Most of the Xiongnu warriors had removed their blood-stained leather armor from the daytime raids, and were now wearing open leather robes that revealed their muscular chests. They sat around the fire, using their short knives to cut large chunks of roasted meat and wolfing it down.

They talked and laughed loudly, boasting about their "victories" during the day—who had cut off how many Han soldiers' heads, who had seized the finest silk or bronzeware, and who had captured the fairest and most tender Han women.

Rough laughter, shouts of drinking games, and drunken singing mingled together, creating a deafening cacophony.

Grain bags looted from Han villages, rough but practical iron farm tools, brightly colored but crumpled and trampled cloths, and some pottery and lacquerware were placed to the side.

Most striking were several groups of Han Chinese prisoners, tied together with ropes and huddled in a corner.

Men and women, emaciated and pale, with numb or fearful eyes, trembled under the arrogant gaze and pointing fingers of the Huns.

The captured cattle and sheep paced restlessly within the makeshift enclosure, emitting intermittent mooing.

In front of the largest, most magnificent felt tent in the center of the camp, adorned with a wolf's head emblem, the Left Wise King was drinking with several of his tribal chiefs.

He was a burly man with a full beard, and his open fur robe revealed a hairy chest and several old scars.

He was holding a silver-inlaid horn cup filled with murky, strong liquor.

"Hahaha!"

The Left Wise King drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, then casually threw the gnawed lamb leg bone into the fire, sending sparks flying.

"Han people! Cowardly as marmots on the grasslands, only daring to hide behind earthen walls and tremble! We rushed in like autumn leaves swept away by the wind, and they didn't even offer any decent resistance!"

"Your Majesty is right!"

A burly man with a face full of scars fawned over him, his face still bearing the dried, blackened bloodstains from the daytime battle.

"Those Han soldiers guarding the pass were terrified at the sight of our horses' hooves, only able to fire a few weak arrows! If they hadn't hidden in that earthen fortress, I would have cut off their captain's head and used it as a wine jug!"

Another gang leader, wearing a jade thumb ring stolen from Han China, sneered as he picked his teeth.

"The Han emperor has disappeared, leaving behind a young prince who hasn't even grown his hair yet to guard the house."

"that is!"

Another major household member scoffed.

"They already possessed our clan's sacred artifact, yet they sold it to us. What a bunch of fools!"

"I bet if we rob them this time, they won't dare utter a sound! They might even send us more gold, silver, and silk, begging us to stop fighting! Just like before!"

His words elicited a burst of wild laughter from those in front of the tent.

"Han people are just stupid!"

The Left Wise King wiped the wine stains from his lips.

"They have such fertile land, yet they waste it on useless things! I hear they're even planning to build a steam engine! Ha! Wouldn't it be better to use that treasure to raise more warhorses and forge more swords?"

"They are indeed born slaves, only fit to provide our Xiongnu warriors with food, cloth, and women!"

"The Left Wise King is right!"

One of the tribal chiefs, a little tipsy, sneered.

"Even if they dare to come, so what? Can their two legs catch up with our four-legged horses? Can their wooden carts withstand the charge of our steppe cavalry?"

At this point, a smug look appeared on his face.

"By the time they slowly make their way here, we'll have already taken our spoils, herded our cattle and sheep, and returned to the far north into the grasslands! Let them eat our ashes!"

"The Xiongnu warriors are invincible!"

"Let the Han people forever tremble under our horses' hooves!"

The sycophantic and arrogant shouts rang out again.

More people joined the revelry, getting drunk and staggering, embracing the women they had stolen, or dancing wildly around the bonfire, stomping their feet on the ground.

The night breeze seemed to bring a slight, unusual tremor, but it was drowned out by the deafening noise and went unnoticed.

Just as the Left Wise King stuffed a piece of fatty mutton into his mouth, oil dripped down his beard.

Sudden--

"Um?"

He paused in his chewing motion and raised an eyebrow.

Did you feel a tremor?

"I'm not feeling any vibration! You must be imagining things!"

A drunken tribal chief said nonchalantly.

The Left Wise King frowned, thinking it was a hallucination caused by too much wine, or that some drunkard was stomping and wrestling in some corner of the camp.

He shook his head, preparing to continue the previous topic.

However, the tremor did not disappear; instead, it continued and seemed to be gradually increasing in intensity at a steady frequency.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

It was no longer an illusion. The ground beneath them, the swirling liquid in the horn cup in their hands, and even the leaping flames in the campfire all began to tremble slightly with this low, rhythmic vibration.

At first, it was as faint as a heartbeat, but it quickly became clear and distinct, as if something was approaching.

The cheers and shouts in front of the tent unconsciously subsided.

The captains who were still drinking stopped and listened intently.

The dancers stood there, their steps faltering, looking lost.

Even the hunting dogs gnawing on bones by the fire raised their heads, their ears perked up alertly, and they whimpered uneasily.

What was that sound?

One of the chieftains looked in bewilderment toward the darkness to the south, where nothing could be seen except for the blurry outline of the grassland under the starlight.

"An earthquake...?"

Someone's voice trembled.

Minor earthquakes do occur on the grasslands, but none have ever been as eerie as this one.

The Left Wise King suddenly stood up, instantly sobering up by half.

He pushed away the woman he was embracing and strode to the open space outside the tent, stepping barefoot onto the cold ground.

The vibration became more pronounced, traveling directly from the soles of my feet to my heart, and I could even feel a slight tingling in my calf muscles.

"It wasn't an earthquake..."

His expression turned serious, and a battle-hardened instinct made his hair stand on end.

That sound... that vibration... heavy, dull, and continuous, could not possibly be caused by a horse's hooves!

Even the thunder of ten thousand horses is crisp and dense like a downpour, not this overwhelming roar that seems to resonate even with the earth's veins!

"That...is a Han Chinese?!"

Someone nearby exclaimed, then immediately denied it.

"Impossible! How could a Han Chinese caravan move so fast? And what kind of vehicle could make such a commotion?!"

"That's right! It can't be Han Chinese! If it were Han Chinese, why were they bullied by us before?"

One of them consoled himself.

Even so, panic began to creep up on the back of every Hun, like a cold, venomous snake.

The clamor fell completely silent, leaving only the crackling of the campfire and the increasingly close and louder sound, as if it were hammering directly into one's chest—

"Boom... Buzz... Rumble..."

Now, the sound can be heard clearly.

It wasn't a single sound, but a deep, resonant roar, like the chest of a giant beast.

A piercing whistling sound from the friction, crushing, and rotation of metal.

There is another kind... like the howling of a gale through a huge hollow?

All these sounds converged into a powerful wave of sound, accompanied by a continuous tremor that made the ground shudder, rolling in from the darkness of the south at an extremely fast speed.

"Look! What's that?!"

A sharp-eyed soldier suddenly pointed to the southern horizon, his voice distorted with extreme fear.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

Suddenly, several fast-moving, dim yellow spots of light appeared in the darkness of the southern horizon.

The spot of light rapidly grew larger, turning into two beams...

No, they were several incredibly dazzling, concentrated beams of light.

Unlike torches that flicker and spread, they are straight and sharp, like the lances of light thrown down by the gods in legend when they were angry. They violently tear through the thick night, illuminating the grassy hills and earthen mounds in their wake with a stark white light, revealing every detail.

The beam of light was moving and getting closer.

Accompanying the beam of light was a terrifying roar and earth-shaking tremor that was deafening and made the entire camp tremble.

At the same time, several steel monsters simultaneously emitted loud noises.

"Buzz buzz buzz~!!!"

King Zuo Xian:? ? ?

The Hun soldiers: ? ? ?