444 Together, Through Life and Death (1/2)

Due to the intense proceedings that had taken place, no one had really noticed the oddity; the horses were focused in galloping with all their might as well, charging back alongside the troop. It was only now when things had quietened down, that they felt something amiss.

Previously, they had been surrounded by their own kind, and the horses had not raised a fuss. Now that the surviving Steel Cavalrymen had returned to the troop, these ownerless warhorses immediately felt lost. They shook their head left and right, trying to find their partners in panic.

Wasn't my partner on my back just a while ago?

Why? Why isn't he riding me?

Where have you gone to?

The warhorses neighed in sorrow, clopping their hooves anxiously, and hoped to find familiar faces among the crowd.

Suddenly, a warhorse neighed and reared up, looking around for its master. However, its gaze only grew more panicked, grieved, and despaired.

After a long moment, approximately two thousand horses neighed together in desperate anguish.

Hearing this, no one could help but feel the heart-wrenching lament in them. Fu Baoguo lowered his head forlornly. The twenty thousand men of the Steel Cavalry that had gone back to their battalion bit down hard on their lips without making any sound, tears already shining in their eyes.

The Steel Cavalry, that had never been disorderly, was disarrayed now.

The warhorses carried the empty saddles on them, walking around involuntarily with quivering noses, searching for their partners, their owners.

The looks of grief and loss were saddening to behold.

Suddenly, a long neighing resounded. A warhorse broke away from the group, carrying the empty saddle, and sped towards the battlefield like an arrow.

Warhorses were spiritual creatures. It was obvious that the horse was going back to where its master had disappeared to find him and be together with him, to carry him on its back for all eternity.

With this warhorse in the lead, hundreds of warhorses followed suit, straying from the group and galloping away. The horses' manes fluttered in the wind, dancing, yet full of determined grief.

”Stop them!” Wang Dingguo was shocked, quickly yelling at his men to do something.

”They can't be stopped.” Fu Baoguo shook his head and said, ”They… won't come back anymore…”

The warhorses' neighs resonated across the battleground and faded away with the wind.

On the battlefield, Dongxuan's troops were cleaning up when several hundred horses charged over, galloping at full speed. They did not care about the enemy, carefully searching for their lost masters in the ruins.

Their concentration was unwavering, devoted solely to the task of locating their missing partners.

”Catch them!” An assistant general in Dongxuan's troop could not help yelling with delight upon seeing the horses.

These were all Steel Cavalry's warhorses; any one of them was a magnificent breed, one among thousands. The sudden arrival of such a large herd of ownerless horses was a godsend! Dongxuan's assistant general took the lead in his exhilaration, rushing towards a horse he could tell was of a fantastic breed with just a quick glance.

A wave of Dongxuan soldiers followed, spurred on by the running figure.

”Wait!”

A middle-aged leader who stood farther away knew that things were about to turn awry when he saw what was happening, but his shouted warning was already too late. Besides, there were soldiers who had heard him but were clouded with only the thought of obtaining a great horse.

Hundreds of Dongxuan soldiers had bolted away, entangling themselves with the horses and their bridles.

”This is mine!”

”Haha, mine!”

”Mine…”

The hundreds of warhorses had poured their hearts and souls into finding their partners' remains, only to be forcefully pestered by these men. Some of them had even leaped up onto the horses' backs. How could they have endured it? Unprecedentedly aggressive, they hopped and charged blindly.

With a drawn-out neigh, a horse that was being mounted without permission leaped and bit in a berserk frenzy, as it galloped towards Dongxuan's base. Its reins were being pulled taut, but there was no more rationality in its eyes. Its speed was quick as lightning; it only knew to charge forward insanely without caring what was in front.

All the warhorses neighed in despair simultaneously and began to gallop at a hysterical pace.

”Hop off! Hop off quickly! Hop off now if you don't' want to die!”

The Dongxuan leader roared in panic as he shouted from far away while stomping his foot – these freshly-blooded soldiers knew nothing!

Who dared to provoke these warhorses with their dead owners lying on the battleground? Such foolhardy behavior was practically seeking your own death!

These warhorses had already determined their destinies, which was to return to the battlefield and die with their masters! These loyal horses had never even considered trying to continue living.

It was extremely dangerous to hop off a galloping horse, with the risk of injured tendons or broken bones, but it was still better than just dying like this.

Many soldiers who mounted the horses did not get to jump off in time as the speeding horses were like lightning and thunder.

Some warhorses collided into huge tree trunks head-on, severely injuring themselves and even killing the soldiers. One had knocked into the rocks along the perimeter, blood splattering, while the strong momentum flung the rider high and far, crushing his head.