Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

Fire! A huge fire!!

It's burning so brightly that it's almost unbearable to look at.

For the Hushan tribe members at this moment, the scene before them was like a divine punishment from their tribal mythology: the mountains and fields were ablaze with fire, and the air was filled with a "fragrance" that was completely different from the smell of cattle and sheep.

"Chieftain, the fire to the north hasn't started yet! We must escape while we still have a chance!"

The tribesmen, their clothes slightly burnt and radiating an aura of defeat and panic, looked at their chieftain, their eyes revealing a glimmer of hope for survival.

Looking at everything before him, Hushan Ham, as the clan leader, felt like crying but couldn't, his whole being in a state of grief and sorrow.

He had always thought it was unrealistic for his people to escape to the north. How could those gray-armored demons have left such a large opening? They had gone to great lengths to drive them to this vast wasteland, wasn't it all for this moment?

Even so, with the lives of his people at stake and the teachings of his ancestors behind him, he had to make a decision:

"Gather all the horses and charge out! As long as we break through, even if it's just a few of us, it means our Hushan tribe still exists, and Tengri's will still be watching over us!!"

As the few hundred remaining warhorses charged towards the path of survival, carrying able-bodied men and women, the old and children left behind in the fire pit sang songs about "Tengri" amidst their mournful cries:

"The spark he brought us---"

"The life he brought us---"

"We will eventually return to his embrace----"

The lyrics were simple yet dense, causing Li Yuanheng, who had been watching from a distant mountaintop, to curse them in response:

"Damn it, half the people are dead, how much less money will we get from selling them?!"

"Send the order to Hu Wu: none of these people should be spared; kill them all!!"

As if he had thought of something, Li Yuanheng immediately gave another order:

"Horses are still worth some money. A hundred or so of these can fetch some cash. We can't afford to lose so much that we can't afford the compensation."

"Avoid the horses. If they're all killed, then I've come all this way for nothing!"

-------

"Chieftain, a way out! We've truly found a way out! We're saved!!"

"There's hope! There's really hope!"

"Tengri, are you protecting us?"

When the surviving Hushan tribesmen rushed out of the fire, they were greeted by the blazing sun of the grassland, a warm sunshine that was different from the raging fire. In particular, the fragrance of grass in the air was especially comforting.

Hushan Ham gazed at everything before him, muttering to himself:

"We survived, we really survived, Tengri, Tengri who rules over all, your descendants have survived the devil's fire, we will inherit your glory, and we will raise up the Hushan tribe----"

"Whoosh!!"

Before all the Hushan tribesmen could react, an arrow took the life of one of their companions, followed by a second, then a third, and in an instant, eight lives were lost.

"Quickly, draw the bow! Draw the bow!!"

Hushan Ham gripped the reins, his face devoid of the excitement and joy he had just displayed, replaced by a pale, unsettling white.

"Clop clop clop," accompanied by a familiar sound of hooves, dozens of knights dressed in gray armor and wearing demon masks came running down the hillside not far away. By the time the Hushan tribesmen reacted, the distance between the two sides was only forty or fifty paces, a distance that was only a few breaths for the warhorses.

In the chaos, the two collided, the gleaming gray armor meeting the crude arrows, and the final outcome was self-evident.

When the scimitar's blade sliced ​​across the neck, blooming a crimson rose, the carefully planned encounter had long since come to an end; all that remained was a repetition of the first encounter.

Armor against leather armor offering only slight resistance, sharp scimitars against flimsy iron-tipped weapons—it's all a microcosm of history, where the side with complete iron-smelting technology always inflicts massive damage on the side without it; it's not even damage, it's slaughter.

The naked slaughter was the same as that of the Han and Tang armies of yesteryear, and indeed any Central Plains dynasty with strict military discipline and well-equipped cavalry. When dealing with these nomadic tribes, so-called civilized education was sometimes not as effective as imagined. They relied more on armor and sharp iron swords. After all, in the law of the wild, whoever has sharper teeth and bigger size can obtain a higher ecological niche.

"ah!!"

In the final moments, one by one, the tribesmen protecting Hushan Ham fell, and he himself fell off his horse, landing on the grass, his head covered in foxtail grass, his face smeared with dirt, and his eyes revealing a hint of fear and determination.

"Come on, take your head to claim credit. The eldest son should at least reward me with the good wine that the young master brought."

The young man opposite him was probably afraid that he wouldn't understand, so he deliberately spoke in Turkic. Although he was from a small tribe speaking a Turkic language, he could still understand the basic meaning. It was precisely because of this that as soon as he finished speaking, Hushan Ham raised his knife and slashed at him.

The two blades missed each other, and Hu Wu grinned, revealing his somewhat blackened teeth:

"Wow, that's strong. I bet you eat the most usually."

"Again!" Hu Wu swung his sword and slashed horizontally, keeping Hu Shan Ham busy. Before long, Hu Shan Ham had revealed a weakness.

"ah!!"

When a fresh, living hand falls to the ground, it is followed by a head with wide-open eyes, filled with resentment and fear.

The owner of this head was none other than Hushan Ham, who had just been fighting desperately.

The wind and sand blow across the mountains, leaving bones to rot; when will the sorrow of the world end?

This was Wang Hailun's reflection after hearing about the war. However, Li Yuanheng thought this advice was utter nonsense. Although he came from the future, since arriving in this world, apart from his family and friends, most people were "numb." This numbness was not a numbness of their own bodies, but a disregard for life and a contempt for human life itself.

Back then, Li Yuanheng was also a passionate young man who wished he could complete the so-called moral education and peaceful era in this time.

Then he learned it in his first battle: in war, you can't be soft-hearted, and you can't give the enemy the illusion that you'll go easy on them. If you do, you'll be the one who dies, your family, and everything you need to protect.

After the first war, Li Yuanheng set rules for himself:

"I live, you die; you die, I live. Even if you all die, I will still live!!"

To be alive is the greatest respect one can show to this era!