729 Praying (1/2)

Seeing that Gu Shenwei had drawn his saber and sword, Azheba straightened up. He still believed that he had done the right thing.

”I killed many people with them,” Gu Shenwei said as he turned around and put the saber and sword down on the table. Without responding to the counselor's increasingly anxious hints, he continued to say, ”If you wanted to kill people, what weapon would you use?”

Azheba didn't understand why the Dragon King had suddenly asked him this question. He thought for a while before replying, ”The bow and arrow.”

Gu Shenwei patted Fang Wenshi on the shoulder, indicating that he didn't have to continue pretending to look for something. ”If the counselor wants to kill someone, he will persuade the stronger ones and retaliate against his enemy with his glib tongue.”

Fang Wenshi revealed a bitter smile. ”Dragon King, you really know me well.”

Azheba still did not understand. ”The Court Attendants Army has no intentions of killing the Dragon King.”

Fang Wenshi opened his mouth. He now understood the Dragon King's meaning. ”For now,” he stressed, ”Although the Court Attendants Army hasn't tried to kill the Dragon King, they know that they have the same saber and sword as the Dragon King, the same bow and arrow as you, and… the same glib tongue as me.”

”Are you talking about the massacre of officers by the soldiers of Court Attendants Army?” Azheba was also a victim of the mutiny, but he still had deep feelings for the army he had once served. ”It was an accident. The soldiers were bewitched. The Commandant had just been murdered and the morale of the army was still unstable…”

”Exactly.” Fang Wenshi interrupted the other side. Most soldiers could see the facts, but not the truth behind the facts. And that was the value of existences like the counselor. ”The Court Attendants Army is a special army that directly belongs to the Khan. They will not pledge allegiance to other lords, not even the descendants of the Khan.”

”That's true.”

Fang Wenshi glanced at the Dragon King. He hadn't said these words before, but he was sure that the Dragon King would understand. At the moment, not only did he have to convince the young, righteous Azheba but also the Dragon King was becoming hesitant. ”I mean no offense, but I have to say that the Khan had lived for too long. The current Court Attendants Army has forgotten that there were many Khans before the late Khan and that there will be new Khans in the future. They are only loyal to one man: the late Khan, dead or alive.”

Azheba reluctantly nodded because this fat white fellow was completely right. If it had not been for their deep affections for the Khan, the soldiers of the Court Attendants Army would not have been so easily bewitched by the shamans. And it was exactly because of the noble officers' little concern of the Khan that provoked the hatred of the whole army.

”The Commandant was the Khan's brother and also a personification of the Khan. With him, the soldiers still had someone they could worship. And the morale of the army was heavily shaken after he died.”

”The Dragon King can raise the morale of an army. He has that ability,” Azheba said eagerly. ”The 100,000 horsemen of the Court Attendants Army are worth 150,000 or 200,000 ordinary horsemen.”

Fang Wenshi shook his head, disagreeing. ”It's impossible now. The soldiers of Court Attendants Army weren't punished when they killed the officers and didn't receive any resistance after pressuring the kings. They lifted the Great Shaman into a sky-high position and then threw him down without mercy. All these acts will have a subtle influence on their minds, suggesting that they wield executive power in their own hands and that the commander-in-chief is dispensable.”

”Let the Court Attendants Army suffer a bit then. As soon as the new Khan is elected, they will return to being a reliable army.” Unaware, Azheba had changed his attitude. He could accept the losses to both sides, but still felt that there was no need to completely wipe out the whole army.

Fang Wenshi smilingly shook his head. He was just about to refute the other side with an indisputable reason when the Dragon King spoke up. ”That's enough. Azheba, let's go out and take a walk.”

Fang Wenshi's smile became bitter again. In order to persuade Azheba, the Dragon King was going to cause trouble again. Also, Fang Wenshi didn't want to walk into that group of soldiers at all. ”Dragon King, your weapons…”

”I'll leave them here. Keep an eye on them for me.”

”Ah? I can't…”

Azheba silently followed the Dragon King, his anger wavering slightly now.

Long Fanyun and the guards who stood guard at the door received a signal from the Dragon King and did not follow them. However, three teenagers jumped out of the darkness and then hid themselvesagain. They were Nie Zeng, Tie Linglong, and Chu Nanping, who were all competing fiercely for the honor of being the Dragon King's bodyguard.

The red-crowned roc had gone elsewhere to look for food. The beef and mutton in the camp were not to its taste and it did not like staying on the ground for a long time.

It was quiet all around the camp, and Azheba could almost hear the snores from the nearby tents.

Without a word, the two walked towards the area where the Court Attendants Army had been stationed. Although they had stopped using the name 'Court Attendants Army' for the time being, they still remained self-contained and refused to mix with the soldiers from other armies.

A dozen horsemen stood guard by the side of the road with torches. After recognizing the Dragon King, they nodded and let the two pass in a reverent and respectful manner, but did not dismount.

This was the pride of the Court Attendants Army. Azheba still remembered that he was treated better as a humble centurion of the Court Attendants Army than the chiliarchs of the kings when he occasionally went on a long journey.

It was late at night, but the soldiers of the Court Attendants Army had not all gone to sleep, and most of them remained outside their tent. There were numerous small bonfires lit between the tents, which were surrounded by a group of soldiers praying on their knees. The whispered prayers merged into a ubiquitous murmur.

A few of them noticed the Dragon King, but only lowered their heads more and did not stop their ritual of kneeling and worshipping the bonfire in front of them.

”I don't know the language of the Norland,” said Gu Shenwei in a low voice. No one wanted to make a loud noise in such an environment.

Azheba immediately knew what the soldiers were praying in whispers when he listened to it closely. Strictly speaking, it was not a prayer at all. He explained, ”It's an edict issued by the Khan that encourages the soldiers to try their best to kill their enemies and share the glory with him.”

The Khan had issued many edicts to the Court Attendants Army and this one was nothing special. Somehow, it had become revered by the soldiers.

Azheba, who had served for nine years in the Court Attendants Army, was now walking around the camp like a stranger and was even feeling a little afraid.

Gu Shenwei sauntered along with no particular purpose, but received more and more attention. After turning a corner, he and Azheba were blocked by a group of soldiers.