688 Saber Technique (1/2)
A crowd, even if it were filled with well-trained soldiers, was more unpredictable and more fathomless than a restless sea. And only the most experienced old boatmen could foresee the storm before it came.
Gulun, the deputy commandant, looked out at the faces of the hundred or so chiliarchs, most of whom he was familiar with to the point that he could call out their names and backgrounds. But now, they seemed as strange as a pack of beasts with hostility hidden behind their smile as if they were ready to tear him apart at any moment.
'No more illusions; the facts are right in front of your eyes,' Gulun said to himself. The Dragon King might be able to work miracles but he couldn't place all of his hopes on a foreigner. Although Azheba and his fellow officers were reckless, they had at least dared to put their ideas into practice. He had to do something too.
The five candidates sat in a row, each with an empty wine-jar in front of them, while all the generals and officers ranked below captain had five small sheepskins in their hands, one of which was stained with blood. They would line up in front of the wine-jars and throw a sheepskin into each, and the man with the most blood-stained sheepskins would be the new commandant of the Court Attendants Army.
According to tradition, no one was allowed to show his sheepskin to the candidates, let alone speak to them, so eyes were their only means of communication.
Gulun received a lot of suggestive eyes. If all of them were credible, he would be the new commandant for sure.
He confidently looked back at them with firm eyes but clearly knew at heart that he, like the other three candidates, were just decorations.
The vote was over and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Gulun stood up with a smile and warmly greeted everyone who came by and occasionally paused to listen to the whispers of the officers, pretending that everything was still up in the air.
King Shengri, the mediocre king who had once been famous for his wine and bird addiction, was now the most popular figure in the Norland. Some officers were already eagerly congratulating him before the result had been announced, and Gulun had to push his way through the crowd to reach him.
”Commandant Gulun…” King Shengri spread his arms as a welcoming gesture, already prepared with a few words of ridicule on the tip of his tongue.
Gulun had also prepared a few greeting words, but he changed his mind at the last moment. He threw himself at King Shengri with a dagger held high in his hand. But he wasn't a killer and couldn't bear the dramatic temptation of words, so he shouted, ”You traitor to the Norland…”
No one was allowed to enter the tent with a weapon, but in the Norland, a dagger was seen more as a tool than a weapon, so no one cared about them or had searched the deputy commandant's body.
King Shengri was so frightened that he didn't even have any time to put away his smile, which made the whole scene feel more bizarre.
Gulun suddenly felt a pain in his lower back and fell onto King Shengri, no longer able to thrust out with his dagger.
The second assassination in the Court Attendants Army had also failed.
Gulun, the assassin, died under the gaze of over a hundred people. The news immediately spread through the whole camp as fast as a flood rushing out of a dam.
No one knew when or how the message had changed as it proliferated, but more and more people began to mention the word 'Dragon King' in their retelling of the event.
”There's no such thing as coincidence. The Commandant just died and the Dragon King showed up soon afterward. Is he a flying immortal?”
”He's not an immortal but a devil. You know, he has a devil bird. It's said that the bird likes to eat dead people, and many people have died in the Royal Court recently…”
”Indeed, the night before yesterday I saw a very large shadow in the sky that definitely couldn't have been a cloud.”
”The Dragon King must have ordered the devil bird to kill the Commandant so that he could then he appear and play the part of a good man.”
”The Dragon King brought some strange drugs from the Western Regions and Commandant Gulun became a different person after being forced to eat them.”
”Do you remember, ever since that devil came, the Royal Court has been in turmoil. One misfortune after another …”
The soldiers woke up from their silent vigil like a group of dolls suddenly being brought life, who had been summoned by a mysterious force and gathered at the tent of the Dragon King.
The influence of the rumors was fantastic. When the Dragon King was accused and seen as a murderer, his power and image were magnified by a thousandfold. The crowd stopped a few dozen paces away and was held back by the moodswings of hatred and fear.
”Silver Condor is exorcising the devil.” These words were like a secret signal that spread through the crowd like ripples. No one asked how Silver Condor had suddenly appeared in the camp.
The duel that was about to start was interrupted. Silver Condor took a glance at the crowd and said, ”As I said before, you can't escape the prairie.”
Gu Shenwei shook his head slightly, replying, ”I also said that I didn't kill him.”
As he looked up at the starry sky, Silver Condor, who had never believed in ghosts and gods, could almost feel the late Khan's eyes staring down at him. He could not explain the coincidence of him suddenly receiving so much support in his challenge to the Dragon King. He wasn't very sure of winning at the beginning, but now he felt that losing was impossible.
”What are you waiting for? Kill the Dragon King, and subdue the demon!”
It seemed like someone couldn't wait any longer.
”Ehh, aren't you King Riyao's guard? Why are you wearing a suit of the Court Attendants Army?”
King Riyao's subordinates had just stirred up trouble in the camp so this accusatory question immediately attracted the whole crowd's attention. No one found the questioner but all eyes quickly focused onto the one soldier who had just shouted 'Kill the Dragon King'.
”He really is one of King Riyao's men.”
The soldier who had been recognized panicked. There were people everywhere and he had no way to escape. ”I, I borrowed the clothes. I hate the Dragon King as much as you do. He's the devil and brings bad luck to the grasslands…”