dognovel Chapter 371 Fight with them
Chapter 371 Fight with them
In the vast desert, a small fortress stands firmly near an oasis, surrounded by some low-rise houses where the Kushan people, who rely on water sources, live. The outer wall of the fortress is made of solid stone, with a soft luster in the sun.
The castle hall is spacious and cool, with arched doors and windows that allow breezes to pass through, bringing a touch of comfort. It is paved with blue carpets and is surrounded by brightly colored fabrics and paintings full of local characteristics.
Sitting at the top of the hall was a man in Kushan clothing, with a black robe embroidered with golden patterns, looking majestic and noble. Hashim had a calm face and a sharp gaze, staring at the Murcian soldiers at the bottom of the stairs.
On both sides of the hall, several soldiers holding spears stood vigilantly, while the dozen Murcian soldiers standing in the center of the hall looked quite arrogant. The leading officer had a fierce look on his face and a threatening tone in his voice:
"Chief Hashim, I hope you can compare the strength of the Murcian army with yours before you speak. How many people are there in your tribe? How dare you disobey the order of the King of Murcia who has tens of thousands of soldiers!"
Faced with such provocation, Chief Hashim calmly replied without looking away:
"It is precisely because there are not many young and strong laborers in my tribe that I will not hand over my subjects to King Murcia for enslavement and abuse."
Before he finished speaking, the face of the Murcia officer became more gloomy. He obviously could not tolerate such contempt. In anger, his tone became even tougher:
"Then you just wait for our Murcia army to flatten your broken city!"
Chief Hashim was obviously not afraid of the threat at all, but smiled slightly, he had seen through the officer's unreasonable behavior. However, the Murcia officer obviously did not intend to give up, and when he turned around and prepared to leave with his men, he was interrupted by a shout.
"Who told you to leave?"
With a thunderous roar and a momentum that soared to the sky, dozens of soldiers rushed in from the doors on both sides of the hall and quickly surrounded the Murcian soldiers. The hall was instantly filled with a tense atmosphere. The Murcian officer showed fear on his face, turned around, looked at Chief Hashim and said anxiously:
"You...what do you want to do?"
"Drag these rude guys out and chop them up!" Chief Hashim's voice was cold and ruthless, like the biting cold wind in winter, which made everyone present shudder.
The soldiers received the order and rushed towards the Murcians without hesitation. An inevitable fight ensued. Although some Murcian soldiers reacted and drew their weapons to break through the blockade of the soldiers, facing the fully armed and high-spirited soldiers, the unprepared Murcians were either chopped down on the spot or disarmed and taken away for execution in a short time.
Listening to the sad wailing outside the castle, Chief Hashim took a deep breath, and then he ordered the soldiers:
"Call the ministers and tell them there is an urgent meeting."
At night, in a dim secret room inside the castle, the flickering candlelight illuminated a dozen Kushans dressed in various costumes. They looked tense, and a repressive atmosphere filled the air. Hashim stood at the head, his eyes heavy and firm, and directly told everyone the news that he had executed the Murcia slave-hunting team in the morning, and then he said sternly:
"I will never allow my subjects to be enslaved by other tribes."
After hearing this, the ministers all expressed their agreement, and some of them said:
"The king of Murcia is cruel and incompetent. We must never submit to this tyrant."
Hashim felt relieved and then discussed strategies of resistance with his ministers.
"We must prepare, fortify the city, and prepare sufficient food and water to cope with the siege."
One minister said urgently:
"King Murcia's army far outnumbers us. We need to go outside to find reinforcements before they can react!"
However, another minister responded calmly:
"Chief, the tribes are far apart. Even if we find other chiefs, we don't know if they are willing to help us. To fight against Murcia's tens of thousands of troops, we need to gather at least ten tribes of the same size as ours."
The meeting room was suddenly filled with arguments, with people discussing how to deal with the current crisis. While they were discussing, the minister in charge of trade suddenly stood up with a gleam in his eyes.
"Recently, I learned from a foreign Kushan merchant that there is a Kushan monarch named Mamtim II in the south who is at war with Murcia, and he has a generous personality and may be able to help us."
As soon as this was said, everyone started to discuss it. Many of them asked doubtfully:
"This news may not be true. How can we act rashly? Even if this Kusha monarch is real, we don't know where his capital is. If we set out rashly, we may be buried in the sea of sand."
Chief Hashim was also in a fierce struggle. Finally, he made up his mind and said to the ministers present:
"For their future, he decided to visit the southern monarch in person."
The next morning, Chief Hashim, accompanied by dozens of servants and guards, rode on camels and headed south.
After several days of arduous trekking, the team finally arrived at a river. The clear water sparkled in the sun, like a silver ribbon, refreshing.
"Everyone, rest here and replenish water."
Not long after, Chief Hashim leaned against his camel and was about to take a nap when he heard the urgent voice of his guard:
"Chief, there are cavalry coming from the front!"
He immediately became alert, stood up suddenly, and looked towards the sand dunes in the distance, and saw several cavalrymen galloping down from the sand dunes like arrows from a bow, with dust flying and horses' hooves splashing. Hashim's heart tightened, and he remembered the rumors about the pagans in the south, and immediately ordered:
"Everybody gather together!"
The cavalrymen stopped about ten meters away from Hashim, and a tense atmosphere hung in the air. Hashim observed carefully and found that the cavalrymen were all wearing Kusha turbans, but because their faces were covered by helmets, he could not confirm their identities.
Just as he was feeling anxious, a man with a Kusha face from the cavalry team came forward and saluted Hashim first, speaking in a sincere and dignified tone:
"Hello, we are Lord Mamtim's patrol team, responsible for patrolling the nearby territory."
Hearing the other party speak fluent Kushan, Hashim felt a little relieved. However, after learning that their monarch was the one he was looking for, he immediately told the other party:
"I am the chief of the Hashim tribe, and I am here to visit the Mamtim monarch."
When the Kushan heard this, he first looked at Hashim's clothes and then continued:
"Then please come with us."
After saying this, the Kushan turned around and signaled that the entire cavalry team would move westward. Hashim and his guards followed closely behind, with anticipation and nervousness surging in their hearts.