Volume 6 Chapter 26 - Chapter Twenty Six: Lacking A Sword (1/2)

“My generation likes to learn the sword, reside by the cold pool for a decade — ”

The glowing water drop reflected the terrified expression of this border soldier after he understood.

**

The power of the black lake water was gradually weakened by the river bed along the way. After merging with the lake formed from the meltwater of the glaciers, the water did not look any different. Even the strange black color disappeared, and the water became absolutely pure.

The ground grew flatter, the snow disappeared, and large patches of frozen tundra appeared. During the early spring, this would pasture. But right now, no grass grew, and the cattle and sheep relied on the dried grass prepared in the summer season.

The poorer the living environment, the more one just simply satisfied the requirements for survival, the more people feared the natural world, and the more closely they observed the surrounding world.

A herder at the edge of a flock of sheep was looking at the sky above a distant stream. He was an ordinary herder. His skin was like dried leather. Because of the dryness and cold of the high altitudes, his skin was a special purple color, and had many marks of frostbite.

He looked at that part of the sky where vultures were circling. The vultures had been spiraling there for a long time, but seemed fearful, and did not land. These birds were like gods to the herders on the plains, appearing in large numbers accompanied by the deaths of beings.

Yet the scene that appeared now was not common to him. First, he was certain that none of his cows or sheep had gone lost. Based on the season, there could not be any deaths there that could lure over vultures. Even more importantly, the vultures would only appear when the being was going to die. They had extraordinary perception surpassing all other beings regarding death. When a vulture swarm came, then the being was close to death. Then the vultures would come down in a swarm, consume the flesh and blood. In the end, the bloody scent when the vultures were tearing up the flesh would lure in the wolf packs. In the end, even the bones would be chewed to pieces.

The vultures were circling for a long time, but did not land. This was strange. The herder grew nervous. He devoutly counted the beads on the rosary he wore. He shouted, calling over two sons who were turning over the fodder. The three rode horses over there.

They quickly gave shouts of terror. The reason the vultures were circling around a corpse by the bank of the stream.

The cadaver was that of a youth. But he did not seem to belong to this world. The remnants of clothing on his body looked extremely grand. Even more terrible was that the youth had many red lines on his body. The lines looked like wounds, but were extremely straight, and went deep into his body. Also, these red lines seemed to contain a terrible presence. It was due to this presence that these vultures did not dare to land.

For the herders here, this was a terrible omen. It may also be a warning from the gods. So the three were in great terror. Two stayed back to guard the corpse while the third moved as fast as he could to bring the news to the leader and shaman of his tribe.

Moving south, the plains were still broad and desolate, but some cities would appear. The largest city took over the empty space of an entire mountain. The top of the mountain was covered in white and red palaces. At the base of the mountain were flat houses made from yellow soil. This was the capital of Donghu.

Before this, there had been a great change in the city of Donghu. An old monk holding a staff had washed the city in blood, killing his way to the deepest part of the palace, and killing the Donghu emperor. Then, the exiled son of Donghu, Yelu Canglang, was welcomed back from the border to take over the throne, after which he started a crueler bloodbath.

But the bloodbath was targeted at the monks deep in the city that had been loyal to the Donghu Emperor, and had enslaved the serfs. The strongest among the monks had already been killed by that old monk. The remaining did not have the ability to fight back.

The new emperor Yelu Canglang seemed to follow the reforms of Changling but changed for this place. He sent a decree. From a family of serfs, if one person could become a warrior recognized by the imperial city, then the entire family could receive their freedom, completely freed from their status as serfs, and could possess their own land.

One did not need sufficient power to become a recognized warrior, just enough bravery. This was hope.

The conditions of the Donghu serfs were much worse than the common people around Changling in the past. The lives of their wives, children, and even themselves did not belong to them. They could be taken by the nobility at any time. Adding on the shadow of the old monk’s slaughter above the heads of all the Donghu nobility, the new decrees of the new emperor Yelu Canglang did not cause any strong rebellion. It was furiously supported by all the serfs. Their emotions were like faith.

It was hard to explain something like faith. Donghu was sparsely populated. It was harder to spread information here than in any other dynasty. Yet from any corner of Donghu right now, from the mouths of the herders and serfs, the old monk and the new emperor Yelu Canglang were like Buddhas that had come to save them.

But what could deal with faith was faith. The nobility that were being suppressed faked many unlucky omens to spread the word that the reforms of the new emperor Yelu Canglang had angered the gods.

Out of true love love and fanatical support for the new emperor, worried that this strange corpse was an unlucky omen from the heavens, the herders at the very edge of Donghu took great care of the corpse. The news, at an unimaginable speed, was sent to the imperial palace through the army.