Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 784 - 66 Competition for Position _2

Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 The other Terdun struggled to lift a man and a horse out of the pitfall.

An old slave felt around the injured leg and ankle of Gancao Huang, thankfully saying, “It’s not broken, it’s not a big deal.”

The old slave led Gancao Huang forward, the latter whining incessantly, its right front leg not daring to touch the ground at all.

It seemed that although Gancao Huang had not broken its hoof, it would need some time to recover before it could be ridden again.

On the contrary, the middle-aged slave who stepped into the pitfall was more severely injured: a sharp wooden spike had pierced through his boot sole, leaving a deep bloody hole in the sole of his foot.

Seeing a man and a horse in such a sorry state, the morale of commoners and slaves sank even lower.

At first, the Terdun encountered large pitfalls with spikes and bear traps.

...

These large pits and bear traps were deadly but quite easy to detect.

Especially the bear traps—with several jin of good iron, the Terdun were too pleased to care.

But then, the Terdun could no longer laugh, as the pitfalls they encountered became more concealed day by day, and the materials used became increasingly simple.

By now it was all “a dirt hole, a wooden spike” small traps, and pitfalls hardly larger than rat holes, aimed specifically at horses.

Perhaps the nobles still thought two-legged people were just docile prey like lambs, but the ordinary members of the tribe were very clear that the Paratu People were definitely not sheep—at least not the ones here.

Shi Jian looked at the injured slave and the injured Gancao Huang, not only not angry but somewhat pleased.

Just as Shi Jian was contemplating, three riders came through the forest, led by none other than Turu Koda [Bald Hound] himself.

Shi Jian and his men hastily paid their respects.

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“What’s all this commotion?” Bald Hound asked with a somber face.

“My man stepped into a pitfall.”

“What’s the big deal about stepping into a pitfall? March quickly.”

“But…” Shi Jian hesitated: “We need to send some people to take the injured back.”

Bald Hound narrowed his eyes, gripping the gold-inlaid handle of his knife: “Who is injured?”

Hearing this, the middle-aged slave who had stepped into the pitfall scrambled up in a panic. Enduring the pain, he stood straight, blood seeping from the bottom of his boot and into the earth.

“March quickly,” Bald Hound ordered: “If you delay the hunt, I’ll kill you.”

Shi Jian held back his anger and paid respects.

For Herders, manly courage is an important part of authority, but Shi Jian had no time for that now.

Bald Hound had clearly come for him, and any slip of the tongue could result in him being executed on the spot.

Shi Jian left behind the injured man and horse and continued moving forward. Despite having just encountered a trap, they still had to follow this trail.

Because there might be traps by the side of the road, and not using the ready-made path to walk through the wild forest would be a waste of time.

This wasn’t the vast steppe, where one could go in any direction. This was a primeval forest where every step might be deep or shallow, and carelessness could easily lead to getting lost.

Shi Jian walked forward reluctantly.

Bald Hound didn’t let it go but became even more demanding. He rode behind the column like the true master of these members, supervising the troops on horseback.

Following the trail to the end, they came to a river valley.

The valley ran east to west, with no signs of habitation on either side.

Bald Hound sniffed against the wind and commanded Shi Jian to lead the men east.

The dog’s nose was indeed keener than a horse’s, and just after turning a bend, a concealed encampment on the south bank of the valley was exposed to the Terdun.

The camp was surrounded by walls made of inserted branches. Inside the walls, one could see tents and roofs made of birch bark and wheat straw, and even vague human figures.

This was the prey, this was the reason the Terdun had come to this place—the Paratu People’s secret encampment.

“Ha! A two-legged people’s secret camp!” Bald Hound was overjoyed: “Conceal yourselves and wait for the right flank and the central army to arrive. If you startle the two-legged people, I’ll show no mercy in executing!”

After leaving behind a few threats, Bald Hound went to find his own men.

…

Hiding in the woods, setting up concealed camps, leaving behind empty villages and towns…

The two-legged people’s acts of survival did not surprise the Terdun at all—because that’s exactly what the Herder tribes did.

Whenever there was a conflict, all adult men in the Herder tribes had to go to battle.

The leaders would then gather all the cattle and sheep, goods, women, and felt tents and settle them in a remote and concealed place, which is called an “old camp.”

While the men fought, the elderly, women, and children hid in the old camp waiting for news. If it came to abandoning the old camp, the tribal leaders would not hesitate at all.

So, for the tribes, scouring the old camps was one of the crucial phases of war.

Since there was nothing to be gained from fighting on the battlefield, the fat cattle and sheep, beautiful women, and glorious palaces were all within the old camp.

In Shi Jian’s view, the two-legged people here were simply using many small camps to replace a large centralized old camp that held all their wealth.

After pillaging the floating wealth of the villages and towns, the Terdun who were not satisfied with their haul naturally turned their eyes toward the forest.

The Terdun pursued, defined their boundaries like a hunt, tracked shadows, combed the mountains, and dug three feet into the ground.

Although secret, the camp could not grow legs and escape. A wisp of smoke, a flock of birds, a trail tread by humans or livestock, or even a stroke of bad luck could reveal the encampment.

As the secret camps were found one after another, some Terdun leaders had already filled their saddlebags with plunder, with no horse left that could carry it all.

Leaders who returned empty-handed were green with envy—like Bald Hound.

…

Shi Jian had little interest in this “old camp” in front of him; he wouldn’t get a share of the spoils.