The fallen city walls were like the collapsing sky, while the rising sun above the sky was like a raging flame.
There were no longer any defenders alive on the stronghold walls. Hassan, Bulan Zir, and the others stood on the walls and fought for a long time before quietly waiting for the ruler of the grasslands to enter the city and descend upon the stronghold.
Before entering the city, Yan Liuyuan rode his horse through the refugee town outside the stronghold. On both sides of the road, the refugees were all hiding in their shacks.
The stronghold had been breached, but surprisingly, the fallen city walls did not affect the town at all. Not a single refugee had died in the battle.
Yan Liuyuan saw a child hiding in a shack with his father shielding him behind him. However, the child could not help but sneak a peek at Yan Liuyuan.
Yan Liuyuan smiled and asked Tsetseg, who was next to him, for some beef jerky and tossed it to the child. However, he did not say anything and continued on his way.
The child who caught the jerky looked at Yan Liuyuan curiously. He suddenly felt that Yan Liuyuan was the most good-looking person he had ever seen since he was born.
His eyes were like stars, and his eyebrows were like swords. When he looked at Yan Liuyuan, it was like he was looking at a perfect god.
But what the child did not know was that when Yan Liuyuan looked at him, it was as though he was looking at himself from many years ago. At that time, there was also a person who always protected him behind him like a father.
When they passed by a brick yard, Yan Liuyuan saw a lot of children hiding inside. He asked, "Is this the school in town?"
A young man said fearfully, "Please let these children go. The oldest among them is 14 years old, while the youngest is only eight. Even if Stronghold 176 has offended you, these children are innocent."
The schoolteacher was terrified. The cavalry that had entered the town stretched as far as the eye could see, and the majestic horse had to raise its head to see the young man riding on it.
But no matter how terrified he was, he did not take another step back.
The strong horse snorted, and white smoke spewed out of its nostrils like arrows. It was a very imposing sight.
The young schoolmaster retreated in fright, but he still protected the student behind him with all his might.
Yan Liuyuan sized up the young man, then said to the children with a smile, "You have a good teacher. Remember to study hard. Someone told me that books are the best way to understand the world. If you want to understand the world after you graduate from school, you'll have to pay the price in blood. This is your last refuge."
Yan Liuyuan seemed to have thought of something as he got lost in thought.
The young schoolmaster was at a loss. The youth on the horse was supposed to be very savage, but the truth did not seem to be the case.
"Kirghiz Yan, give some of the jerky to them." Yan Liuyuan then continued riding forward without looking back at the children.
Kirghiz Yan looked at the group of children in surprise, but in the end, he had his clansmen carry a bag of jerky and throw it on the ground. He said fiercely, "This is a reward from my master."
"Lord" Hassan had already run down from the city gate tower and was. and was kneeling in the city to welcome.
"Get up," Yan Liuyuan said.
Next to him, Tsetseg suddenly realized that after Yan Liuyuan entered the stronghold, his expression gradually turned cold. It was like he was a completely different person from when he was in town.
Clop, clop, clop, clop.
The crisp sound of horse hooves rang out on the long street of Stronghold 176. The entire stronghold was silent out of fear at the arrival of Yan Liuyuan and the others.
The coarse men and clothes of the steppe, as well as the majestic cavalry, formed a stark contrast with the civilization of the Central Plains.
On one side were neat brick buildings, while on the other side were animal hides and bloody sabers. Yan Liuyuan sat calmly on his horse and looked around at the scene around him. He had never thought he would set foot in a stronghold again with this identity, stepping into the place he hated the most.
And now, this was the first time the nomads had entered the stronghold in more than 200 years after The Cataclysm.
The warriors around him were getting restless as they watched the city. Meanwhile, the residents of the city were all cowering in their homes, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Hassan whispered to Yan Liuyuan, "Master, shall we begin?"
Yan Liuyuan glanced at him. "Begin what?"
"Massacre the entire city!" Hassan said, "The tribal chiefs behind us are very excited. They want to massacre the entire city to show your glory. This is everyone's wish."
"Massacre the entire city?" Yan Liuyuan was stunned. He looked at the tribal chiefs behind him. Sure enough, all of them could not wait any longer, especially the two chiefs of the Bulan and Kirghiz tribes. Too many of their tribesmen had died in this war, so it was about time they used the blood of the stronghold residents as a sacrifice for their tribesmen.
Furthermore, they had already asked Hassan about using the blood of Stronghold 176 as a sacrifice.
Although everyone had suffered heavy losses in the storm, and although there would be a lot of material losses during the march to war, they would still have a lot of wealth after the massacre.
But Hassan realized his master had fallen silent.
Once the massacre began, there would be cries ringing in everyone's ears. Black smoke would rise from the huge stronghold, and countless people would die.
Yan Liuyuan looked at what should have been a very prosperous stronghold and the dilapidated stronghold walls behind him. If Sister Xiaoyu were here, she would definitely not want to see a massacre here.
He suddenly said, "Pass down my orders. No more massacres are allowed in the stronghold. Find out all the administrators in this stronghold first and tell the residents that they can live as long as they report these officials. It'll be even better if they tell them about their crimes. But before I give the order, I'll kill anyone who kills indiscriminately."
Hassan was a little troubled. "If you kill your own people because of the deaths of the stronghold residents, I'm afraid …"
Yan Liuyuan said calmly, "Then it looks like they still don't understand who's the master of the grasslands."
"Understood." Hassan obeyed the order and left. He would of course obey Yan Liuyuan's orders unconditionally. If anyone disobeyed, he would drag that person out and drag them to death with his horse.
The soldiers at the back moved very quickly. In just a few minutes, they found out where the stronghold officials were staying and dragged them out of their homes.
Yan Liuyuan sat calmly on his horse the entire time, while Tsetseg rode beside him. The large group of people headed towards the center of the stronghold. A stronghold official said that was where the Shen clan's official residence was located.
When they were about to arrive at the official residence, Hassan saw that the manor was heavily guarded. He immediately led his clansmen to carry heavy machine guns and rushed over.
Yan Liuyuan stopped his horse and waited. Less than half an hour later, Hassan opened the door to the official residence for him.
There was a river of blood in the official residence, and everyone who was still alive was kneeling on the ground. Yan Liuyuan urged his horse forward. He looked at everyone in the official residence and said, "I heard that the person in charge of this stronghold is called Shen Yin. Which one of you is he? Stand up and speak. Kirghiz Yan, take some people to loot the granary and arsenal. We'll take everything we can with us. "
With that, Yan Liuyuan dismounted and walked towards the villa in the manor. It wasn't until he sat down on the leather sofa in the living room that he looked at the middle-aged man Hassan was holding down. "You're Shen Yin?"
Shen Yin looked at Yan Liuyuan coldly. "How dare the nomadic barbarians come to the Central Plains to cause trouble? Aren't you afraid of the Central Plains seeking revenge?"
Yan Liuyuan smiled. "Pyro? The Kong Clan? The Wang Clan? Who do you think will avenge the Shen clan? "
When he said that, Shen Yin immediately realized the young man in front of him should know the Central Plains very well. The other party had come prepared to take down Stronghold 176 this time.
"I'm very curious." Yan Liuyuan tapped his slender fingers on the armrest of the leather sofa and asked, "Stronghold 176 was clearly on par with Fortress 178 in the early years, so why has it fallen so far?"
Shen Yin stared at Yan Liuyuan but did not know how to answer this question.
At this moment, a large group of stronghold officials were brought into the official residence by Bulan Zir with a thick stack of papers in their hands.
The officials were forced to kneel in a row. Bulan Zir handed the papers to Yan Liuyuan. "Master, these are the incriminating evidence written by the stronghold residents."
"It looks like y 'all are really unpopular." Yan Liuyuan took the papers from them. "Why don't we play a game? You can all expose each other's crimes and let me see if you've performed any meritorious deeds."
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man immediately knelt on the ground and stepped out of the crowd on his knees. "I want to report that the Shen clan has been acting like a tyrant in the city for decades and squeezing the people into a miserable state. Shen Yin is even more sinful. He even stole his subordinate's wife!"
"Continue," Yan Liuyuan said with interest as he rested his arm on the sofa and rested his chin on his palm.
"Also, Shen Yin is really a despicable person. He even killed innocent people indiscriminately and tortured them slowly after capturing the nomads!"
With someone making the first move, the accusations from the others were like an open tap that could no longer be stopped.
The villa became noisy. Someone said loudly, "That Shen Yin even likes men!"
"He even picked up women and children from the refugee town outside two years ago!"
Yan Liuyuan seemed to be getting a little impatient when he heard the chaotic voices. "Enough."
The villa immediately fell silent again.
Yan Liuyuan looked at Shen Yin. "Look, this is what you stronghold residents are like. You live like princes, but you've lost your backbone and happiness."
Shen Yin knelt on the ground and sneered, "The refugees are just a bunch of pigs. What dignity and happiness do they have?"
"No, they're happier than you." Yan Liuyuan shook his head. Shen Yin laughed loudly. "Those refugees can only work hard to make a living.
Shen Yin laughed out loud. "Those refugees can only work hard to make a living. Some of them sell their daughters to others, while others can only steal. Even if these people die in the mines, no one will care about them. Even when their families go to the mines, they never mention seeking revenge. They only ask for compensation. Some of them send their children to school, only to realize a few years later that the things they learn are useless. Those who are supposed to go digging for sand, they go digging for sand, and those who are supposed to go down to the mines, they go down to the mines. Every day, there's no tomorrow, and they live like animals. Let me ask you, what kind of happiness do people like them have? "
Yan Liuyuan looked at the morning sun shining through the villa's gate. In his impression, the town was not like this, nor were the refugees.
At that time, when his brother came back from hunting, even though the family was already very poor, he would often go to Wang Fugui's shop to buy two hard candies for him, the kind that was so sweet that it was nauseating.
His brother would hide one of them first and only give him one, telling him to eat it sparingly.
But Yan Liuyuan could not help it and would always finish it in one go. Then he would look at Ren Xiaosu eagerly. Only then would Ren Xiaosu take out another one from his pocket. That way, he would get two surprises.
Every New Year, his brother would go to Wang Fugui's shop to buy new clothes for him. Although they were very poor, he would have new clothes to wear every year.
During the cold winter, the adults in town would go to the slaughterhouse to cut some fat meat to make dumplings. On New Year's Eve, the smell of meat would come from the shabby shacks, and the greedy children would look at it eagerly.
Wang Fugui would stand in town and give out firecrackers to the children. They were small firecrackers that had been dismantled from the 5,000 firecrackers. He would give each child five firecrackers for them to play with.
The children would run around town crazily and occasionally knock over other people's shacks. Then the adults in the family would rush to apologize and spank the culprit's buttocks as they apologized.
There, there was laughter and also crying.
During that period of time, everyone had experienced poverty and hardship. But Yan Liuyuan somehow felt that the memories of that period were filled with happiness.
Yan Liuyuan could even recall his brother's rare smile at that time.
But at some point, Yan Liuyuan suddenly resisted recalling all of this.
However, he did not intend to tell Shen Yin about this. He was not worthy of hearing it either.
"Bulan Zir," Yan Liuyuan said.
Bulan Zir knelt on one knee in front of Yan Liuyuan. "Master."
"What's the point? Just kill all of them and hang their heads at the entrance." Yan Liuyuan's gaze never once fell on Shen Yin and the others. "I didn't allow y 'all to massacre the entire city, but I'll allow y' all to raid these people's homes now. Each tribe will raid one home at a time, and I believe it'll be enough to make up for the losses you suffered in the war. Go, don't let them squeal like pigs."
With that, Bulan Zir and Kirghiz Yan stood up excitedly. They used the hilts of their sabers to smash Shen Yin and the others' teeth and made them unable to speak.
The once-prominent officials in the stronghold could only widen their eyes in horror and whimper from their throats.
Shen Yin, who was still a little stubborn earlier, was now incontinent.
Bulan Zir and the others led their tribesmen to the residences of the officials and did whatever they wanted. There were gold bars, jewelry, and firearms hidden in those residences. Hassan also emptied the armory and granary.
In the evening, the plundering finally came to an end.
The men from the grasslands erected a huge wooden fence in front of the villa and hung the corpses of the officials one by one. From afar, it looked like a row of terrifying wind chimes.
Regardless of whether Yan Liuyuan liked these "wind chimes" or not, the nomads needed to arouse their courage before they could face the more difficult battles in the future.
Yan Liuyuan had to let them enjoy repeated victories and massacres before turning them into his most loyal believers.
At this moment, liking or not liking them was no longer important. The owner of the grasslands only needed to consider whether his believers needed these things.
If the nomads needed them, he would turn the corpses of his enemies into his banners.
But even though he repeatedly emphasized not to massacre the stronghold, an accident still happened. The Khoton leader was escorted over by Kirghiz Yan. Yan Liuyuan frowned and asked, "What happened?"
Kirghiz Yan replied, "Master, when the Khoton tribe was raiding the official's property, they actually led their tribesmen to kill unarmed civilians without permission. When the other tribes saw this, they couldn't control themselves. Fortunately, Hassan reminded me and Bulan Zir, so the matter didn't get worse."
The Khoton had been badly beaten up in the grasslands. So after they came to the stronghold, he hoped that Yan Liuyuan would order a massacre. That way, his previous losses would not be a big deal at all.
But he did not expect that after the newly joined Bulan and Kirghiz tribes were rescued by Yan Liuyuan, they became the most loyal to Yan Liuyuan. They meticulously carried out Yan Liuyuan's orders and captured all of the Khoton.
Yan Liuyuan asked, "What did they do?"
"They killed thousands of civilians, started a fire in the stronghold, and even bullied the women," Kirghiz Yan replied.
Yan Liuyuan waved his hand expressionlessly. "There's no need for the Khoton to continue existing. Kill them all and hang their heads up together."
The leader of the Khoton cried and begged for mercy, but before he could say anything, Kirghiz Yan cut off his head.
Yan Liuyuan took a deep breath. He did not expect something like this to happen under his command. Perhaps others could calmly say that they should discipline their subordinates more strictly in the future, but Yan Liuyuan did not want to let this matter go so easily.
He might be able to accept killing people, but he would not tolerate bullying women.
After everyone left, only Yan Liuyuan and Tsetseg were left in the villa.
Suddenly, Yan Liuyuan saw the newspaper on the coffee table in front of him. The header of the newspaper read "Hope Media."
…
When Yan Liuyuan saw the newspaper, he did not go to get it. Instead, he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest. The Kyung Clan's envoy had already told him everything he needed to know, so he was not particularly interested in the newspaper.
Tsetseg stayed by his side the whole time. At this moment, she could feel the conflict in Yan Liuyuan's heart. It seemed like he was also struggling with it.
The young girl took out a comb from her sleeve and obediently stood behind Yan Liuyuan to comb his hair. As she combed his hair, she said, "You're the hope of Dad and the others now."
"Hope?" Yan Liuyuan repeated as though he was weighing the meaning of the word.
The young girl added, "Yes, I've never seen Dad so brave before. In the past, when the large tribes asked him to contribute their cattle and sheep, he would only obediently offer them up. The other people in the tribe also dared not say anything even though they were angry. But it's different now. When I saw him speaking to the Khoton chief that day, he was neither servile nor overbearing."
"That's because the power in his hands has become stronger." Yan Liuyuan said with a smile, "Meanwhile, the Khoton Tribe is declining. Originally, I wanted to see if they were brave and good at fighting in this war, but the result disappointed me. The Khoton Tribe kept hiding at the back, and they've lost their courage. How could your dad not have confidence when facing such a person? "
"That's not it either." Tsetseg said softly, "Dad said that God has given him power. Now, every morning, he and Mom will kneel before you and worship you. He said that you can lead the people of the steppe to live a good life and that you don't have to be afraid of anyone anymore. Now, everyone in the tribe says that you're the sun in the sky, and I think so too. Only the sun in the sky will look so good when it comes to the human world. "
"Alright." Yan Liuyuan smiled. "Go find your dad and tell him that I'm ready to leave this place."
For some reason, Yan Liuyuan picked up the newspaper on the coffee table and glanced at the date. It looked like it was from yesterday.
He had heard of Hope Media because Wang Fugui liked to read the newspaper every day.
At that time, he would even ask Wang Fugui why he liked to read the newspaper. Wang Fugui would laugh and say it was to kill time. Then he would tell Yan Liuyuan to learn from Mr. Zhang and that he would give him a candy when he could understand the entire newspaper.
At the beginning, Yan Liuyuan had a longing for candy and studied hard every day. But very quickly, he started playing around and slacking off again. He would beg his brother to take him hunting every day because there was a bigger world outside of town.
Now, he could understand the entire newspaper. However, the person who promised to give him candy was nowhere to be seen.
Yan Liuyuan looked at the first page of the newspaper. It was about the war between the Pyro Company and the Kong Clan, as well as the Wang Clan's movements.
At this moment, the Wang Clan was not in a hurry to join the battlefield. Instead, they were stationed at the border and quietly waiting for something.
Based on Yan Liuyuan's speculation, the Wang Clan was just waiting for an opportunity to kill the Kong Clan in one blow.
Actually, there was nothing special about the consortiums. Everyone was like a wild beast in the wilderness. They would only go all out when there was an opportunity. Before the hunt began, everyone would usually remain silent.
Yan Liuyuan flipped to the second page. This page was about the aftermath of the incident in the Sacred Mountains. For example, how many people had entered the mountains, how many had come out, and how many had suffered heavy losses. Furthermore, this page also described in detail how the expedition to the Sacred Mountains was just a ruse by the Anjing House and the Pyro Company. No one knew who had leaked this to Hope Media.
The third page started to get boring. It was about what the chief editor, Jiang Xu, had seen and heard in the Wang Clan, as well as his records of the artificial intelligence. There were mixed reviews.
The newspaper said that Jiang Xu was still in Stronghold 61 and would continue to observe the artificial intelligence.
When it came to the fourth page, the newspaper started to talk about the transformation of the Qinghe Group in Luoyang City. Other than Xu Ke, the rest of the Knight Organization had left Luoyang City and were nowhere to be found.
Yan Liuyuan flipped through the pages slowly and waited for his subjects to gather.
But the moment he flipped to the fifth page, the young lord froze.
He saw that half of the fifth page only had two lines of words.
Don't let the sorrow of the times become your sorrow.
61。
…
Yan Liuyuan was all too familiar with these words. He also knew who said them. All of the beautiful memories he had of the refugee town were related to that person.
On that day, he saw a red spear pierce through that person's abdomen before being swept away by the flood.
That flood was like time that could not be reversed. It took away almost all of the beautiful things he had in this world.
There were no more sweets, and he no longer needed new clothes every year.
At that time, he was that person's younger brother. But now, he was the new king of the grasslands.
At this moment, Tsetseg rushed into the villa. "Dad and the others are back!"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she realized the young man was sitting alone on the sofa. In the distance, the dusky sky shrouded the young man in a dark shadow. He looked exceptionally lonely.
Yes, this was the loneliness of a king.
A loneliness that was wrapped in snow and thorns.
Yan Liuyuan looked up outside the villa. He wanted to go to Stronghold 61 to look for Ren Xiaosu.
But when he looked up, he saw the corpse hanging from the wooden fence swaying non-stop. Purplish-black blood was dripping to the ground.
It was the person he had ordered to be killed, and it was also his sorrow.
Meanwhile, flames were burning in the stronghold. Those were the sins committed by the Khoton tribe who followed him. There were thousands of corpses of civilians and women who had been bullied in the flames.
He did not know when it started, but he seemed to have become a part of this sorrowful era.
Perhaps it would be very difficult for many people to face their former selves after they grew up.
He was no longer naive, kind, and no longer claimed to be a good person.
The fervor in Yan Liuyuan's heart gradually extinguished. It was as though he had slipped into an abyss. The humanity that had been pulled back by Sister Xiaoyu lost to his divinity a little more.
Even Sister Xiaoyu did not know that he no longer needed to pay a price to cast a curse.
Or rather, the price was only invisible to others.
Every time he cast a curse, every time the world fell apart, Yan Liuyuan would feel like he had taken a step towards a higher level.
That might be a higher level for humans, but Yan Liuyuan did not know if it was the heavens or the abyss for him.
Just as Li Shentan had said, perhaps when humans could really unlock absolute willpower, their willpower would become the will of the world.
But would humans still be human at that time? No one could be sure.
At this moment, Yan Liuyuan's gaze pierced through the sky. It was as though there was a past and himself that he could not face. He did not want Ren Xiaosu to see him in such a state.
At the same time, Hassan and the tens of thousands of cavalrymen had gathered beside the wooden fence's corpse. Tens of thousands of people formed a sea, and the rough cavalrymen kept lining up on the long street. There was no end in sight.
Suddenly, these people dismounted from their horses and knelt on one knee. They cheered for the birth of a new king, and the stronghold began to tremble.
Yan Liuyuan could see the expectant eyes of Hassan and the others from afar. They were pious and passionate.
He remembered what Tsetseg had said about hope.
At this moment, Yan Liuyuan got up and silently lit the newspaper on fire. Then he threw it into the villa and set it ablaze.
The luxury and decadence in the villa burned together and started spreading.
Yan Liuyuan stood in the flames and looked at the flames around him. It was as though he was looking at this decadent era.
"Brother, I can't go back."
"Brother, I'm not going back."
In the flames, Yan Liuyuan took out the black fanged visor and put it on his face, hiding everything about his past.
He felt that there was no longer a need for his past identity and this era to exist anymore.
Hassan knelt in front of his horse and acted as a stool for him. Yan Liuyuan stepped on Hassan's back and mounted the horse. "Let's go home and return home in triumph!"
The warriors cheered. Some of them fired into the sky with the automatic rifles they had just obtained. The men who had come out to fight had finally followed their new king back to their hometown.
Their hometown was in the north.
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