The howling of the wind and snow all night drowned out all sounds. Early the next morning, the clear sunlight shone on the dry and soft snow, but it was the perfect powder for skiing.
"My lord! The noble girl from Yamabe...is really a good skier!..."
With a tired look on his face and a bit of aftertaste, the exploration captain Zuvaro emerged from the warm leather tent covered by falling snow. His steps were frivolous, and he stepped into the snow up to his calf. He finally pulled it out, but he saw the warrior captain Shi Jian emerging from the leather tent not far away.
"Eh? Shi Jian, why are you here? This is the tent where the women of Shanbei live... What caused the wound on your neck? Is it a local wolf dog?..."
"Uh... God bless you! I am here... to learn the language of Yamabe... not... to spread the teachings of the Lord God... scratch? What kind of scratch?... Ah! Captain, let me blow the rallying horn!..."
The warrior captain Shi Jian hesitated a few words, then staggered to the open space and blew a short conch horn. Soon, a dozen more kingdom warriors who hurriedly put on armor emerged from the surrounding tents. Looking at their expressions and movements, it was obvious that they were either studying foreign languages hard last night or working hard to preach...
"...Blessed by the Lord God! A large number of warriors from the kingdom appeared in the women's tent. On the one hand, it was the tacit approval of Yamabe's grandmother, and on the other hand, the warriors put down their guard against Yamabe under Yamabe's warm acceptance... And now the two tribes As clans continue to marry each other, who will annex whom?..."
Thinking of this, exploration captain Zuvalo's eyes flashed and his face looked thoughtful.
"Fortunately, I have witnessed His Majesty's prophecies and miracles along the way. The beliefs of the kingdom's warriors are pious and reliable enough!..."
"Mulu Alashanwa! Blessed by the ancestors and the sacred mountain!...Go to war! My brave children!...Go! Go north one thousand two hundred miles to the Lumo River and destroy the most powerful deer tribe!..."
"Hoho! Blessed by the ancestors and the sacred mountain! Let's go!..."
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!..."
The sun rises from the east, illuminating the white sea and the white sacred mountains. And the big white dogs and the gray reindeer set out pulling rows of sleds under the early winter sunshine!
Three hundred and twenty hunters and warriors from the mountains and warriors and sailors from the eighty kingdoms, all mixed in twos and twos, sat on the big sleigh of the reindeer. This large sled is made of wood and leather, with a leather tent set up to protect it from wind and snow. It is actually a mobile winter camp. A large sled tent requires 4-6 reindeer to tow, can accommodate 3-4 people, and carry 200 kilograms of supplies. It can travel one to two hundred miles a day, and the movement and load are very amazing!
"O God! This kind of large sleigh pulled by reindeer can actually drag so many and heavy things! They run very fast. Although they don't have the explosive power of dogs, they are very durable and stable..."
The ice wind blew, and the reindeer walked briskly on the snow, just like the warriors running quickly. At such a speed, Zuvallo won't get car sick, and he can finally look around and feel the smooth feeling of "cavalry".
He counted carefully and counted more than a hundred moving tents and hundreds of running reindeer and dogs. On the vast snowfield, this running team quickly went north, bringing with it clusters of flying snow powder and leaving deep and shallow footprints and skid marks.
"Hoo! God bless you! There are only 400 sleigh cavalry, but they have the astonishing momentum of two thousand warriors! But in this vast and boundless snowfield, they are so vague and quiet! Even the marching people The sound, the sound of dogs barking, is contained by the snow in the snowfield..."
The deer-pulled sleigh ran for two hours and covered at least 60 miles, which is more than 15 kilometers per hour. This speed is an acceptable long-distance marching speed for reindeer, and it is not too tiring.
After running for half a day, the hunting captain Mu Quan looked at the leading group of strong male deer that were a little agitated and started to shake, and then ordered the hunters to stop and rest. As soon as the sleigh stopped, the reindeer couldn't wait to use their long horns to push through the snow and eat the moss and lichen hidden underneath.
"Blessed by our ancestors! Old hunters, please appease the leading deer...rest for two hours, feed the reindeer and dogs before leaving!..."
The hunting captain Mu Quan gave instructions, and the hunters got busy skillfully. Those leading strong bucks are very tall and strong, weighing 300-400 pounds, and are indeed extremely powerful. These male deer are the leaders of the reindeer herd. They clear the way in front, and the rest of the herd will follow behind. The relationship between them and the hunter is not an almost unconditional master-slave relationship like that between dogs and people, but more like a conditional partnership.
"Ancestor, only those who can command strong big deer are truly qualified reindeer hunters! These male deer must be trained from a young age and accustomed to accepting the hunter's command before they can control and run when they grow up. Once the male deer grows up, its strength will If it is far beyond a person, it will be difficult to tame..."
Hunting captain Mu Quan wiped the wind and snow from his face and came to his son-in-law Zuvalo with his translator Wu Hai and a simple smile on his face. He looked around, looking at the desolate rolling hills and the mountains behind him in the distance, and estimated.
"It's December now, and it gets dark early... We can walk for about four hours every day, and I'm afraid we can only cover 120 miles today! But this is a snowy road between hills, with ups and downs, and the walking is relatively slow. When we arrive On the west coast, along the flat tidal flats and ice roads along the coast, the speed will be much faster!...And walking along the coast, it should be difficult to be discovered by the small groups of deer spending the winter..."
"God bless you! Mm, will we be discovered by the hunters from the Lutai River Department this time when we raid north? If we can take advantage of the opponent's unpreparedness, we can suddenly rush into the camp and fight..."
"Ancestor, on the periphery of large tribes, there are herds of deer grazing and guarding, as well as herdsmen living with the deer. It is difficult, very difficult to make a complete surprise attack...unless there is a snowstorm that covers the sky, but that will Both sides are in danger..."
Hearing this, the hunting captain Mu Quan shook his head and told about the nomadic fighting in the snowfields of the North. It was a form of warfare that Zuvalo had never seen before.
"Witness our ancestors! The reindeer and dogs we control are not as easy to hide as humans... Therefore, our raid is estimated to be half a day to a day in advance, and the Lumohe tribe will know... If we can suppress it for half a day, it will be very good A surprise attack! In that case, the Lumohe tribe would not have time to call back all the hunting teams and herding teams that had been dispersed for the winter, at most half of them!"
"You have to know that in winter, deer can only eat moss and lichen. The range of foraging is very large. The pastures are often more than one or two hundred miles away from the main camp... They don't have time to call reinforcements from the surrounding tribes, and they will be in a difficult situation. The state of insufficient troops... and if they are given enough time, the number of people they can assemble from various ministries will actually be more than the 400 people we have... To fight in this snowy field, the tribe is unprepared, slightly prepared, and fully prepared The preparation and strength are completely different!…”
"Phew!...I see...the nomadic tribes are scattered over vast pastures and need time to gather. So the speed of the raid is actually the strength of the troops and the power of the attack!..."
Zuvalo touched his chin, thoughtfully. He looked at the skilled and busy mountain hunters in the wind and snow, and lowered his head slightly to express his respect for the speed and strength of these nomadic tribes!
Half a month ago, when he walked into the hot spring mountain with his entourage, he still looked down with habitual contempt. And after the old grandmother's shaman inquiry, blood alliance, and blood wedding... he was clearly arranged, like a wolf walking into a bear's den. Looking back now, the feeling of danger brought to him by this group of 800 to 900 people from the Hot Spring Mountain tribe was actually even more dangerous than that of the 5,000-person Miwok North Bay tribe! …
"Blessed by the Lord God! In this dangerous land of the West Sea, a long ship and ninety warriors hide life and death step by step... It's really not easy!... When will the kingdom's follow-up support arrive?..."
Zuvalo's eyes were deep and he was thinking about the distance. Hunting Captain Mu Dog curiously looked at the big sled where Zuvarro was, looking at the long golden heavy tube on it, and asked doubtfully.
"Ancestor, ancestor witness! This 'shaman's magic weapon' you brought almost accounts for the weight of two people... But what is its use? Is it the whistle inherited by your ancestor giant?"
"Uh...it...it is the whistle of the Thunder Giant, a sacred weapon given to us by the Great Shaman. It can emit shocking thunder and destroy the deer camp!..."
Hearing this, Zuvalo smiled slightly, looked at the bronze tiger squatting cannon pulled on the sled, and said with a faint smile.
"Mom, wait patiently! Although this magic weapon is very heavy, you will know its power when you use it! The Lord God bless us!..."
(End of chapter)
