Section 64 Hunting

A figure walked lightly in the darkness.

He led the horse in one hand and explored the way with a stick in the other. Walking in the dark, the stick is actually an indispensable tool. The so-called grasslands actually have a lot of changing terrain. To go fast in the dark, there must be something to find your way. Otherwise, it is easy to fall and sprain.

At his hand, followed by a horse. The horse, however, was the kind of specially trained, very quiet, and did not make a single neigh. But then again, it didn't matter if the horse neighed, because the horses in the team ahead were also neighing. The people in the group probably couldn't notice the sounds of the other horses in the distance. He didn't even need to bother to observe the enemy's movements, just follow the sound of the neighing of the horses.

No other evidence was needed, just from this specially trained war horse, it could be judged that this person was a scout sent by a certain tribe.

He had discovered this group of men and horses today—it was a cavalry detachment, numbering about three hundred, all armed cavalry, but it could be seen that the level was uneven, and most of them lacked Chaos armor. I couldn't really tell what they were doing for a while. If I have to say, it's probably similar to the retinue of a certain big man or something.

A surprise team? Judging by the number and equipment, it seems to be so. But judging from the soldier's appearance, it doesn't look like it at all (in the case of surprise attack troops, they are generally selected elites). So, it was a large caravan, but it didn't follow the carts that were common in the steppe. It's even more impossible to say it's a safari team, a herding team, or something.

Numerically, this team was nothing particularly noteworthy. On a regular basis, the scout would probably take a brief look at the group's whereabouts, and at most make a note of what was going on before leaving. Because such a small team cannot pose a real threat to any tribe.

However, at this time it is different. A war over the most valuable resource in the vicinity, the salt ponds, is about to begin. The arrival of such a team at this extremely sensitive moment really deserves special attention. Who are they, where do they come from, where are they going, what are they going to do?

In fact, in the scout's mind, the key to the matter is not the team itself, but whether they represent some external force. Yes, the situation is tense right now, and there is no inner emptiness in more than one tribe - but it is not a problem to deal with such a small team. Even if there wasn't a single soldier in the camp, closing the gates would be enough to deal with such a cavalry force - unless it was a real sneak attack.

Could it have been a real sneak attack? Of course not. A sneak attack is a joke. Now that the various tribes are all widely spreading, it is needless to say that they are gearing up to seize the salt pond by force, even those who do not intend to participate directly (but want to make some benefits on the periphery, or simply plan to stay alone and not participate in this melee) must be careful, lest others make a false shot, and instead of making a move against the speechless panic tribe, they will find their own trouble. This kind of strategic deception is commonplace in Chaos Territory. So, at this moment, don't look at the war has not yet begun, but the scouts on the periphery have long been unaware of how many ambushes have been laid. A force of thirty men is no one, and it is impossible for such a team of three hundred men to conceal this scout net.

Not to mention, it can be seen at a glance that this team is by no means the kind of elite raiding force that is good at hiding its whereabouts.

It was this judgment that prevented the scout from raising the alarm in the first place. He chose to follow, in order to further investigate the origin and whereabouts of the other party.

The night is the best cover, and this is a truth recognized all over the world.

If it's daytime, scouts must act cautiously, using the cover of terrain, grass, and rocks to avoid being seen by the other party. But in the dark, even with special training, the dark vision of humans is very limited. In some places, people have even completely lost the ability to see at night because of dietary problems. So, at this moment, the scout can blatantly stride his head high.

Truth be told, as long as he doesn't make particularly loud and weird noises, he's not in danger of being discovered. Instead of worrying about being discovered, you should worry about the potholes under your feet.

The neighing of horses in the distance attracted all his attention, so that he did not notice the slightest sound of a branch breaking in the darkness - of course, if he did, nine percent of the time he would think that the beast was frightened or that the dead branch had broken naturally.

Then, a chill of death came from his neck. He instinctively screamed in fright, but an indescribable chill instantly spread through his throat. The sudden force choked the scream in his throat that was about to come out. Then, he felt a pair of hands hold his body.

Change the time, change the place, and he will make the owner of this sudden appearance pay a heavy price. But at this moment, his hand could only slip limply from the hilt of the blade hanging from his waist. The vitality of life quickly disappeared from his body, and the cold of death took its place.

The last thing he felt was that the man was holding him up so that he could slowly fall down without making a loud noise. When he had done this, the hands left him, and took the reins of the blade and the steed from him.

Why was it discovered, why was it attacked? The remaining reason in his mind could only think about it over and over again. Could it really be that he was too unlucky, too negligent, to be discovered by the scouts arranged by the other party in the dark? But in such a dark night, the odds are really too low to be negligible.

He couldn't come up with a real reason, and endless darkness and cold enveloped him.

......

Gander watched as Ashrufat sprang out of the darkness with a horse in his hand.

As is inevitable with all marches, cavalry is not as simple as one man and one horse on long marches. In good conditions, one cavalryman should have two horses. In the case of bad conditions, for example, in the current situation, the cavalry must arrange for extra horses in case the horses are injured in the middle of the way.

Now, for example, one of the responsibilities of Ashruphat and Gander is to get the straggled horses (if any) back.

The two are still partners, acting as scouts for large teams. In particular, this is not an accident, but a deliberate request from Gander. Because Gander had already made up his mind to keep an eye on Ashrufat, because if it was a trap, then Ashrufad was the key to the trap. If this is not a trap (but just an ordinary agreement), then Ashrufat is also the most vulnerable part of the agreement.

After all, he is a southerner who has just been here for a short time.

"Is there really a horse that has run away?" said Gander, surprised. He didn't believe it when Ashrufat said that Arima had gone away, because after all, with his experience, he could make such a judgment.

The horses brought by Ashrufat looked a little dumbfounded. However, all the horses were relatively new (the tribe had only a small percentage of their horses), so even experienced scouts could not tell that they were not their own tribe's horses.

However, the time that Ashrufat had been away was really too short, and it was one of those places in the wilderness, with no obvious markers. Therefore, even if Gander was suspicious, he did not consider whether Ashrufat had taken the opportunity to meet anyone.

"You're very talented at that. Gander led the horse to the side of the brigade and exclaimed. He found that Ashrufat really had a talent for scouts, as he was agile and quick in the dark, with sharp eyes and ears. Even if Gander himself has been exercising like this for decades, he is not as good as himself.

"It's really talented. Ashrufat admitted softly.

Gander led his horse away, and Ashrufat stood in place and looked around. The night is his home turf. In the past, as a general, his night vision ability was of limited help to him, but at this time, as a scout, he relied on the strength of one person to control the whole scene.

In the darkness, all the scouts no longer hid themselves, but came out with a big horn. But for Ashrufat, there was no difference between night and day. All he had to do was look around in place, and he would immediately find the unsuspecting stalkers. Then very lightly yì attacked and killed them.

When Gander returned, he had a puzzled look on his face. "Ashrufat, I don't know what's going on, we have dozens more horses. He said.

"What, Mado?"

"When we set out, there were forty-five horses to spare. I brought the horse you brought back just now, and asked them to take care of it a little bit, and not let it run around. As a result, the horse manager and I had a few arguments. We counted the horses, and found that there were seven more horses. ”

"Seven horses?" said Ashrufat, slightly stunned. If Ah Jin was present, he would definitely agree that Eshurufat's expression control skills had reached the point of mastery.

"Yes, you got three horses back, but we actually have seven more horses. Gander said. If there were three extra horses, he might have suspected that Ashrufat was doing something. But the numbers didn't match, so he didn't know what was going on for a while.

It's actually quite simple...... Eshurufat did not always bring his horse to Gander's side, but more often mixed the booty directly into the brigade. For him with night vision, this is a simple matter.

In just one night, seven scouts followed. It is conceivable that if Ashrufat had not been here, the whereabouts of this team would have been known to the whole world.

"It's almost dawn. Gander said suddenly.

"Well, I'll be camped before noon. Ashrufat replied.

The commander of this team is Flint, the only Chosen Warrior in the tribe. No one except Ashrufat knew why he gave such a strange order, hurrying at night and resting during the day. This stupid-looking order slowed down the march of the troops by more than double. Because the march at night was always much slower than during the day, and the number of injuries to horses and the like increased greatly.