“Charge!”
At Shu Yichao’s order, the terracotta soldiers charged at the stone combat puppets like a dam that had broken open. Yet, the stone combat puppets remained unfazed by the undead army’s tremendous momentum.
It was only when the terracotta cavalrymen were about to reach them that the stone combat puppets finally began moving. They raised their massive scimitars and swung them down on the charging terracotta soldiers.
Bam!
The terracotta cavalrymen and their steeds were obliterated by the stone combat puppets’ overwhelming might, their remains scattering over the mountain valley like mud rain.
A huge hole opened up in the terracotta soldiers’ formation.
The stone combat puppets proceeded to charge into the opening and mercilessly slaughtered the terracotta soldiers. Like meat in a grinder, the poor terracotta soldiers were smashed apart and crushed into pieces.
“Amazing!” Shu Yichao exclaimed. “If only I had such footsoldiers too!”
What he lacked now were footsoldiers who could hold their formation against any enemy.
“Oi, bro!” Miazova rolled its eyes. “Don’t you think your focus is off? Your troops are the ones being massacred right now!”
“All’s good, all’s good,” Shu Yichao relaxedly replied. “It might blow up on me if I keep too many terracotta soldiers.”
It was fun to mobilize an army of a million troops, but it wasn’t fun to have to pay them at the end of every week. He needed money to construct all sorts of buildings in Kucha, Shule, and Khotan, so it was best for him to save on military expenses as much as possible.
Thus, Shu Yichao came to adopt the mindset that the more dead terracotta soldiers there were, the happier he was. He would have to manually release the terracotta soldiers at the end of the week if he couldn’t properly expend them, and that would be a chore to do.
“Ah...”
So, what in the world are you doing?
Miazova glanced at the ghost horsemen behind Shu Yichao.
It had realized one thing through its interactions with Shu Yichao; the latter still wasn’t in a safe position. The undead he summoned appeared to be a double-edged sword.
Having too little undead would result in his army being too weak, but having too many undead would eat into his life force.
Each time they summoned more terracotta soldiers, Shu Yichao would start crying about how he was doomed, and it was all going to burst apart. He would proceed to dispatch those undead to recklessly attack his enemies to reduce their number.
This confused Miazova.
What are the ghost horsemen up to?
Shu Yichao achieved yet another easy victory.
But unlike before, he was unable to replenish his soldiers with his Soul Summoning. Those stone combat puppets weren’t living beings, so how could he reanimate them as terracotta soldiers?
“Looks like this is the Tibetans’ plan,” Miazova murmured as he looked at the smoke puffing up in the distance. “They are clearing the area into a no-living zone.”
“Ah.” Shu Yichao noticed the smoke too. He eyed his mini map. “Shit, there’s not a single living being! Are they stealing my business now?”
Despite being a far distance away, Miazova could already smell a blood stench and a nasty charred smell wafting through the air. Even from the forest, all he could smell was the trickling of a little stream.
This didn’t bode well.
As they had expected, when they passed through the mountain valley guarded by the stone combat puppets, they were met with a devastated village. The fields had been destroyed, and the huts had been burned to cinders.
Other than the eagles prowling in the sky, not even the barking of a dog could be heard.
Many corpses were strewn along the narrow village routes. Most of them were dressed in tattered farmer clothes. A few of the ladies had their clothes ripped off.
Most of the livestock that couldn’t be easily transported had been slaughtered too.
It was truly a mess.
At the center of the village, dozens of charred corpses were tied to wooden stakes. Other than their heads, the flesh on their bodies had been scrapped clean till only their bones were left.
Placed beside them were all sorts of twisted remains. It looked like someone had held a sacrificial ritual here.
What particularly drew attention was the footprints on the ground that were two times larger than that of an ordinary person.
“It’s the Snow Guards.”
Miazova swiftly realized who the culprits behind this tragedy were.
Tsenpo Ling had dispatched the Snow Guards, who were known for their excellent maneuverability in the snow mountains. Those ape-like creatures were not only fast, but they had thick skin and were adept at throwing rocks.
They had always been the Tibetan Empire’s ace army.
It looked like the Tsenpo had no intention of confronting Shu Yichao yet. She had deployed the lifeless stone combat puppets on the frontlines to stall for time while her Snow Guards cleared away all living beings in the vicinity.
The chances were that most living beings within a radius of a few hundred kilometers had been slaughtered.