OBS Chapter 961 The Demonic Dragon Soars Through the Sky (Continued)
Chapter 961 The Demonic Dragon Soars Through the Sky (Continued)
Chapter 961 The Demonic Dragon Soars Through the Sky (Continued)
"Fulke, retreat quickly!"
Ivan shouted at the top of his lungs.
But at the very front, Fulke was like a raging bull, charging headlong with his shield in hand. This Frankish baron from the distant foothills of the Pyrenees was covered from head to toe in heavy armor.
The battlefield is ever-changing, and the full suit of armor makes them extremely dulled in their perception of the outside world.
"It's over!"
Ivan was somewhat desperate. They hadn't encountered any problems when attacking a powerful city like Isfahan, so were they going to be defeated in this little-known town of Hovezan?
Subutai, who was watching the battle from below the city, frowned and said, "Jochi Nayan! Ivan's vanguard is in trouble."
Jochi, under the golden tent, ordered without hesitation: "Send someone to invite Koko to send out a shaman to take action. Ivan the Triad Commander is a warrior and should not die such a humiliating death."
Others might have thought that Ivan's death would make it easier to annex his people, but Jochi was different. He valued this fierce general from the Hu people who was good at training soldiers and managing the tribe. As for the other party's background, it was not important.
Among the nineteen confidants whom Khan Banjuni swore an oath at the river, there were Khitans and Hui people. Now that he is about to establish his own Ulus in the western lands, he will surely recruit many Hu people to serve under him in the future.
As Jochi gave the order, a shaman named "Kokoch," wearing a wolf-skin cloak and a bronze mask, slowly emerged from a giant white tent.
Kokochu Shaman was once the most trusted sorcerer of the Tatar Khan and the most powerful priest of the Eternal Heaven sect in the entire Tatar steppe. He could command his subjects who spoke nine languages and was considered the most powerful person after the Khan.
He once walked naked through various Tatar tents in winter, and he also subdued a sea monster that caused a white disaster in the North Sea all by himself. People said that he could inherit the will of the Eternal Heaven, so he was called the "Heavenly Wizard".
At that time, the Tongtian Shaman supported the Tatar Khan and bestowed upon him the sacred halo of "divinely granted Khanate," making him incredibly powerful.
However, this shaman, whose personal desires had swelled, attempted to override the Great Khan with the so-called will of the Eternal Heaven, and engaged in a power struggle with the Tatar Khan. He was ultimately defeated and expelled from the center of power.
Although he was unsuccessful in the arena of power, his foundation remained intact.
His strength, which ranks among the top in the entire Eastern supernatural world, his more than ten disciples who are not weak and whom he regards as his confidants, and his admirers in various tribes, made it so that even the Tatar Khan could only exile him.
The shaman then ordered someone to bring him a tanned beast's head. The head was covered with a layer of dry skin, and the two eye sockets were empty, yet two faint blue flames were burning inside.
Kuokuo raised its head and gently blew a breath forward, immediately spitting out two streams of white air that flew to the top of the city wall.
The grease splattered from the fire pots on the city wall instantly froze into a layer of frost, and fire arrows landing on it could not ignite a single spark.
The messenger, filled with awe, asked, "Great Shaman, is this the head of the sea monster that you killed back then, the one that brought about the White Calamity?"
Koko nodded slightly, his aged voice beneath the bronze mask tinged with emotion: "Yes, it's been so many years since it was used. The Great Khan's army is so powerful that he has long forgotten how he won the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge."
The centurion's face showed even deeper reverence as he recalled the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge, where the entire mountain range was covered in snow overnight, and countless Jin soldiers froze to death.
The Tatars, who had prepared a large number of fur coats in advance, seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, swallowing up more than 200,000 elite Jin troops and capturing "mountains of armor and a multitude of weapons" from the Jin army, thus laying the foundation for the establishment of the Great Tatar State.
He clearly dared not comment on this, only saying, "Great Shaman, since you have already made your move, why not simply break through the Sassanid walls?"
Kokochu sneered, "Didn't the Great Khan say that we shouldn't use the power of the Eternal Heaven to interfere too much with the secular world? Let the secular people fight the next battle. Of course, if Jochi Nayan wants to, he can ask Uson to help."
He had figured it out over the years since he left. Based on his past actions of falsely accusing the Great Khan's second brother, Hasar, of treason and instigating internal strife within the Golden Family, he could no longer be tolerated in the vast East under the Great Khan's rule. The only place where he could possibly rebuild his authority was in this newly opened land in the West.
Although Jochi was respectful to him, he was always wary of him. He even petitioned the Great Khan to invite the Wusun Shaman of the Ba'alin tribe, who had succeeded him as the "Bieqi" (a title of nobility), to fight against him. How could this satisfy the proud and arrogant Jochi?
The messenger, fearing that Kokochu might utter some more treasonous words, hurriedly took his leave and returned home.
When the news reached Jochi's ears, Subutai thought he would be angry, but to his surprise, he just smiled and said, "Tell the shaman Koko to rest well. My brave men will take care of the rest of the battles."
"Jochi Nayan, aren't you angry?"
“That old man doesn’t even listen to my father, the Khan. What do I have to be angry about?”
Jochi chuckled and said, “With the shaman Wusun here, I don’t necessarily need to use Kokochu, but he has nowhere else to go without me. Sooner or later he will realize this.”
Kokochu is undoubtedly an excellent talent, but it is not easy to make good use of this shaman. Since entering Persia, he has made contact with clergy from Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, and Buddhism in order to restrict them.
Subutai said with some worry, "But the shaman Wusun will return to the royal court sooner or later."
Jochi was silent for a moment, then whispered, "And what about me?"
Now, as the commander of the western expedition, he is about to establish his own "Ulus". This is both a sign of his father's high regard for him and a disguised form of exile. But he is unwilling! Doesn't his father know from whom the so-called "Merkit bastard" rumor was spread?
Subutai felt a jolt run through him, realizing that Jochi's words about returning to the royal court were not about returning to the Khan's side to express his loyalty.
"Ivan the commander has gained a foothold on the city wall."
Jochi changed the subject: "Let's send the Kheshig troops out to attack. Hovezan's garrison is weak. Although the enemy general has the courage to fight to the death, he cannot change the overall situation."
Subutai accepted the order, but he couldn't calm down. Could it be that one day in the future, if Jochi's power grew and he gained a foothold in the western territories, he would still march east and rebel against the royal court?
He was a pure general who never liked to get involved in these troublesome matters, but if that day ever came, given the increasingly close relationship between him and Jochi, would he still be able to stay out of it?
On the city walls, with the Kheshig troops joining the battle, the defeat of Khovezan's garrison became increasingly apparent.
Governor Rumi's eyes were bloodshot. He had already led his personal guards into battle twice, and he knew very well that the current predicament was not the fault of his soldiers, but rather the terrifying strength of the enemy.
Even his own personal guards were no match for him, let alone the ordinary soldiers who had received little training due to the long period of peace in Howezan.
"When the damn reinforcements are finally here!"
"If this continues, when the new emperor arrives, he'll only be able to collect our corpses."
"Your Excellency, why don't we retreat first and take refuge in the Governor's Mansion? The terrain there is more treacherous!"
Rumi roared in fury: "Fools! Are we to retreat to the governor's mansion and let the enemy burn us all alive with rockets? No one is allowed to retreat an inch. To lose is to die, to die in battle is to die. We must fight for the eternal burning of the sacred flame!"
Shouts of battle erupted from the city walls.
No one noticed a tiny black dot in the sky that was rapidly growing larger.
Three melodious dragon roars, like the horns of the Tatars, came from the clouds.
Just as the shaman was about to turn back into his tent, he suddenly stopped and looked up.
"A demonic dragon?"
His eyes were filled with astonishment.
The tanned skull in his hand originated from a demonic dragon that lived in the North Sea. Its body was over a hundred feet long, comparable to giant beasts like the Kun and whales. However, he used magic to shrink the skull considerably.
"This ferocious creature is extraordinary!"
"Ha, I'd like to see how you, you brat, can deal with this ferocious beast."
Just by sensing the aura emanating from it, Kokochu knew that this must be a monster even more powerful than the giant monster of the North Sea that he had killed. Even if Wusun could defeat it, he would lose most of his life.
At that time, Jochi will have to come to him for help.