Chapter 141: Wealth Moves the Heart (Part Two)

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The campfire at the encampment cast a deep red glow. As the feast came to an end, the entire Uro Guard camp did not fall into the silence of night. Flames flickered from each tent, and laughter spilled out into the cold night air.

Several drunken guards stumbled out from the felt tents, clutching wine flasks, swaying unsteadily. One of them barely took a few steps before collapsing to the ground, drawing a chorus of jeers and curses.

“Tomorrow we set out on a long journey—be careful not to drink too much and fail to rise. Otherwise, you’ll end up stuck here as a Uro Guard’s son-in-law…”

“The women of the Uro Guard are quite something… a bit dirty and smelling of sheep, but if you like it, you can just stay!”

Zhen Er poked his head out of his tent, spotting the drunken guards and cursing, “What a disgrace… look at you all, such cowards. Tomorrow we have to rise early and hit the road. Go back to sleep now, or you might as well stay and be the Uro Guard’s sons-in-law!”

The guards staggered away in different directions, none noticing the shadows that had slipped out from among them, quietly leaving Zhen Er’s tent under the cover of darkness.

Zhen Er craned his neck to gaze up at the inky night sky, exhaling a breath of white mist. He stomped his feet a few times, sealed the tent flap tightly, extinguished the lamp, and went to sleep.

Not far away, a few faint lights flickered in the shadows. The camp seemed to fall suddenly silent—so quiet one could hear the cold wind howling over the mountaintop, leaping across the valley, punctuated only by the occasional bark of a dog.

Time trickled away slowly. After an unknown span, figures began moving stealthily from various points in the camp, converging slowly toward the caravan.

For the sake of easier trade, Zhen Er had requested from Pukun a vacant spot near the lakeshore to serve as the caravan’s campsite.

Now, countless dark figures appeared around the caravan camp, trained and moving carefully forward, stopping within a dozen yards of the site. Chakan stood at the front, both excited and nervous. At the thought of the mountain of goods and fine weapons, he gripped his sword tighter.

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Chakan admired the exquisite silks of the Tang dynasty and the charm of Tang women, but he valued Tang’s advanced weaponry even more. The Uro Guard tribe lacked everything except cattle and sheep; its growth was stifled by surrounding powers. To the south were the Khitans, to the east the Balhae kingdom, to the north endless icy plains, and to the west the even more savage Shiwei tribes. For the Uro Guard to grow strong, it needed a large supply of iron tools and weapons. Yet neither the Khitans nor Balhae ever transported iron to the Shiwei. Without fine weapons, the Shiwei had to fight with crude bone weapons.

The entire Uro Guard tribe could barely gather five pieces of iron armor, while this caravan carried fifty. How could Pukun not covet them?

Chakan had already reached the edge of the caravan camp. At his command, they could rush in and seize all the caravan’s treasures for the Uro Guard.

Greed sparkled in Chakan’s eyes. He swung his spiked club in the air. The Uro warriors behind him roared in response: “Kill…!”

Several Uro Guard warriors leapt out of the darkness, pushing aside the crude fence surrounding the camp. Their long swords sliced through the tents near the fence, and they peered inside by the light of the campfires.

But just as Chakan raised his club and the Uro Guard surged into the caravan camp, a sudden surge of danger snapped him back to awareness. The camp was too quiet—unbelievably so. Maybe the caravan guards had passed out drunk, but could the Uro women sent into the caravan also be asleep?

As Chakan hesitated and doubted, unable to move forward, a whistle shattered the stillness—a flaming arrow streaked through the night sky. The silent camp erupted into chaos—clashing swords, shouting voices—just like a real battlefield.

Seeing the caravan was prepared, Chakan’s tension eased. Six hundred against one hundred fifty—no matter how ready the enemy was, the Uro Guard’s victory was assured.

“Slaughter the weak Tang men, seize all their treasures…”

As Chakan shouted in excitement, visions of fine silks and superior weapons filled his mind. The glory of the Uro Guard’s triumph over the Jie tribe beckoned.

Suddenly, fiery arrows rained into the camp. Several Uro warriors raised massive wooden shields around Chakan. He pushed through the fence blocking his way but felt something sticky on it, and the ground beneath was slick. Sniffing the air, his face turned pale. He spun around and ran outside the camp: “It’s a trap… it’s oil!”

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Flaming arrows landed around Chakan. With a roar, towering flames shot up from the ground, lighting the entire camp as if it were midday. The fire, like venomous snakes, slithered everywhere. A line of fire crept toward Chakan’s feet. The air instantly grew scorching hot, and his old sheepskin coat caught fire like dry straw struck by a spark, bursting into flames.

Uro warriors rushed forward to put out the fire on Chakan, but as soon as they approached, they too were engulfed in flames like human torches. One agonized scream followed another as these burning figures scattered like stars across the clear night sky.

Chakan felt as if he was being roasted alive. He staggered and fell to the ground, his body curling involuntarily in spasms. His fingers and sheepskin had fused together. He let out a hoarse, pitiful scream, and with desperate eyes glanced back at the caravan camp—where countless burning figures writhed like him.

“Six hundred Uro warriors… all gone. Will the Uro Guard’s winter camp even exist next year?”

“They are demons from hell, the true plague descended upon the Uro Guard…” Chakan longed to warn his father to flee. No one in the Uro Guard could stop this caravan’s massacre. As he had said, the wind and snow would cover the screams.

On the grasslands, caravans and bandits were no different. Tribes were the greatest bandits of all. To survive such harsh lands, no one felt shame in doing what was necessary.

Chakan closed his eyes unwillingly. In his last moments, it seemed he understood everything.

From the start, the caravan had plotted this carefully and deliberately, borrowing the lakeside camp from Pukun under the pretense of convenient market trade. They had built crude fences right under their noses—all a ruse. The real purpose was one: and neither he nor Pukun had seen it coming… the Uro Guard was finished!

The camp was filled with the sickening stench of scorched flesh. Many Uro warriors who realized the trap were burned or shot dead. Few escaped—but it no longer mattered.

Zhen Er stood outside his tent, watching from a distance as Axiong struck down a wildly flailing, burning Uro warrior. He sighed quietly; fighting these savages required little skill. No wonder their master said: conquering hearts is harder than conquering land. Greed is humanity’s original sin.