They tore across the ravaged landscape, two desperate shadows racing against the wind. The urgency of their mission was etched in every line of their bodies, a desperate gamble for the city left behind. Their eyes, hard and singular, were fixed on the vanishing road to Zoaging City.
The cold, cruel autumn breeze was not a simple chill; it slashed against their faces, an incessant, biting rush that made their skin itch and tingle with a thousand furious pricks, like pine needles violently raking flesh. With every galloping stride, they pushed their mounts harder, knowing that the distance between them and their vital rendezvous was all that stood between salvation and ruin.
"I know that you are in a hurry," Kaj yelled, her voice strained. "Although these are warhorses, they will have to rest and drink water." She looked at the back of her horse and found that its hide was streaked with red where she had whipped it repeatedly, urging it to continue running. "The horse will not hold on for long."
Khair knew she was running out of time, but Kaj had a point. Without rest, the horses would collapse from exhaustion, jeopardizing her mission even more.
Khair slowed down her horse and came to a complete halt beside the river. "Okay, let's rest and have the horse eat and drink."
The two women dragged their horses down by the small creek bank, and the horses immediately began drinking. Khair looked around at the tall range of Whitefang Peak and sighed, wondering aloud.
"How come Nue-Li and Zoaging don't have a horse post?" Khair asked.
Kaj replied, "I don't know, maybe it's because there was no reason to have a horse post here since it's only a day's walk, and the other side of Whitefang Peak is a sheer rock mountain range that cannot be climbed." She let out a small, nervous chuckle. "But I guess that prediction is wrong since you and the others had climbed it." She turned to look at Khair, who was slightly older than her and very good-looking. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
Khair lowered the leather water bottle from her mouth and wiped her hand across her face. She swallowed the water and said, "Go ahead and ask."
"I noticed that most of the soldiers under Jeet are women... does he really not have a liking for any of the women in his unit?" Kaj asked shyly. "I mean... they all have a very good relationship."
Khair smiled and shook her head. "We have a good relationship with Captain Jeet. It's the bond of brother in arms. He had risked his life multiple times over the years to save his subordinates, but that's all there is to it. Back home..."
Kaj knew that this was not something she should ask during this troubled time, and she was afraid of knowing an answer she didn't want. But then she thought back to herself and decided that she was a woman with stains, and if Jeet had another woman back home, so be it. It wasn't as if she was a pure woman.
"I think the horse has rested enough," Kaj said, cutting off Khair, her tone brisk. "We have more important things ahead of us. Let's save this conversation for some other time." She grabbed the leash, pulled her horse back onto the road, and mounted up. As she did, she saw five people riding towards them.
"Khair, there are people heading our way," Kaj said, clenching the leash closer, unsure if the riders were allies or enemy soldiers who had already taken over Zoaging.
Khair grabbed her sword and quickly got up. She mounted her horse and rode to Kaj's side. She watched closely, and then, as the group came closer, she recognized Hye, who was the only person in the group who wore no armor.
"Sire Hye!" Khair shouted at the top of her lungs, rushing toward the approaching riders.
Chinua, Hye, Chong, Xao, and Long had already left Zoaging early in the morning, rushing back to Nue-Li. They were worried that with Chinua gone, the soldiers and the people in the city might clash due to lingering cultural differences.
Just when Chinua and Hye were discussing the siege of Zoaging, Chinua looked up the road and found someone was calling Hye's name, rushing toward them.
"I believe that person is calling for you," Chinua said, pointing at the two women riding fast towards them. "Heh, did you offend any women lately in the city?"
Hye scoffed. "If that is a joke, it's not funny. I like your chicken coop joke better."
"Oh, you know of that joke?" Chinua said with a smile, slowing down her horse.
"Yep," Hye confirmed with a smile. "Khunbish told us all about it."
Xao asked, "What is the joke?"
Hye took a moment to recount the story. "Back then when Chinua was first stationed in the East of Hmagol, Chief Behrouz..." He turned back to the men riding behind him. "You do know of Chief Behrouz, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, the Chief of Salran Hill."
"That's him," Hye said. "Chinua went to him with a peace offer, asking his bandits to serve under her and become soldiers of Hmagol so their children would have a better future and wouldn't be labeled bandits. But he refused strongly, so Chinua came up with a plan to burn down his hill. She called it the chicken coop."
The three men laughed heartily. After a good laugh, Chong sighed happily. "After so much loss, it's good to be able to laugh again."
"Hye!" Khair yelled again, now only meters away.
"That's Khair," Chinua said, immediately recognizing her rider.
"Chinua!" Khair halted her horse and said, relieved to have found her.
"What are you doing here?" Chinua asked, confused as to why a trusted soldier would be riding alone away from the city.
"Chinua," Khair said urgently. "Big trouble in Nue-Li."
Listening to Khair's tone of voice, Chinua knew right away that it must be something very urgent since Khair was sent to fetch her personally.
"What is it?" Chinua demanded.
"Prince Dzhambul," Khair said, struggling to get the critical words out. "Prince Dzhambul came with a royal decree that Chinua is charged with treason."
"On what ground?" Chong asked, utterly baffled.
Hye sneered, the corner of his mouth turning up in bitter recognition. "I suppose you are being charged with helping the Ginmiao, and your King rejected your proposal for Nue-Li City's future."
Chinua, who had absolute faith in her father, the King, argued differently. "My letter was clear, and as long as I know my father, I am sure he is most likely to give Nue-Li City as a present for me. There must be some misunderstanding."
Hye thought for a moment, and his heart sank as the depth of Dzhambul's plot became clear. "Chinua, there is no misunderstanding. Think about it: why did he suddenly appear at this time? It's the perfect time. The charge of treason, as a general, you are not to leave your post unless the King says otherwise. You will be charged with treason if you aid enemy soldiers without a clear decree by the King. You have broken both. You are not in Nue-Li, and you are letting General Chong and his soldiers aid Zoaging." He rolled his eyes back and forth, piecing the entire trap together.
Xao asked, "If that's true, how does he know that Chinua had left Nue-Li?"
"Sir Hye, the red smoke," Long said as he suddenly remembered. "You asked me to destroy it. Could it be the red smoke is a signal, not for a nearby enemy, but for a faraway ally?"
"Did Khunbish order to close the gate?" Hye asked Khair.
Khair nodded solemnly.
"We must hurry back and prevent the fight," Hye urged.
Khair looked at Hye and Chinua with a defeated face. "Sir Hye, I believe the fight had already begun since Prince Dzhambul only gave Captain Zhi and Sir Khunbish one hour before he attacks the city."
"If that happens, and the Northern soldiers are killed, even the King himself will not be able to save Chinua and those soldiers' lives," Hye stated.
"Where is Haitao and the others?" Chinua asked, already anticipating the worst.
"Captain Haitao, Sir Khenbish, and his subordinates, along with most of the Eastern Camp soldiers, are outside Nue-Li City," Khair reported. "It was Sir Muunokhoi who brought us the news of Prince Dzhambul's arrival."
Hye showed a sign of relief as a contingency plan began forming. "Well, at least we are not all in the city. If a civil war is really breaking out, Dzhambul and his soldiers won't stand a chance against us."
"It's too late to prevent the fight, but we must hurry back to prevent death," Chinua insisted. "Knowing Zhi and Khunbish, they won't be the first to release the first arrow. As long as the second royal brother releases the first arrow, there's still room for us to defend ourselves."
Chinua, Hye, Chong, and his subordinates, along with Khair and Kaj, immediately turned their horses and rushed back toward Nue-Li City. Chinua knew in her heart that riding back now was too late to prevent the initial fight, but showing up would prevent further senseless death. In her heart, she still deeply believed that Batukhan was not the kind of King who would allow Dzhambul to take away her victory.