Chapter 35: The Dragon Mother’s Stunning Arrival

With the fall of the enemy squadron leader at the city gate, the remaining Khergit cavalry seized the opportunity to slay the last three of Xiao Jia’s veteran soldiers.

Caught unawares by Xiao Jia’s sudden death, these soldiers were quickly overpowered and beheaded.

“Fire the trebuchets, now! Fire!” Noyan Tulu bellowed as he saw the complete annihilation of the gate’s defenders.

At that moment, the two trebuchets, fully loaded, launched enormous fireballs towards the main gate. The fireballs, with their formidable force, finally blasted a gaping hole in the gate, shaking the very walls of the city.

The veterans on the wall, destabilized by the shockwave, fell to their deaths. Many others were shot down by Khergit horse archers as they plummeted from the wall.

Awang, dazed by the sudden blast, suffered serious injuries. With intense dizziness and ringing in his ears, he struggled to maintain a clear vision.

This scene didn’t escape Noyan Tulu. He swiftly readied his bow and fired a fierce arrow at Awang.

In his disoriented state, Awang had no chance to defend himself and was fatally struck in the head by the arrow, collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

The remaining old soldiers on the wall, witnessing their leader’s fall and the breach at the gate, lost their fighting spirit and scrambled to hide within the town.

By the time Draxel managed to react, most of his allies had already fallen. Xiao Nan, covered in wounds, was no longer able to fight, and barely ten light cavalrymen remained.

Meanwhile, Noyan Tulu’s force, besides his thirty-some well-trained personal guards, still boasted about twenty cavalrymen.

In the ensuing battle, an uneven clash ensued – about ten men against over fifty.

Having already weathered the loss of Owens, Draxel was more adept at rebounding from the grief of witnessing the fall of close allies.

“Xiao Nan, I realize you’re at your limit, but I need you to lead our brothers in one final assault,” Draxel implored.

“My lord, even a charge under these circumstances is likely to end in a dire defeat. It’s practically a death march,” Xiao Nan said, not out of fear, but as a stark assessment of their predicament. In their current state of disadvantage, initiating an attack would be akin to self-sacrifice.

“I need you to occupy the enemy’s main force. While you make your charge, I’ll seize the chance to take down Noyan Tulu alone. That should cause their formation to crumble,” Draxel outlined his plan.

“My Lord, forgive my frankness, but Noyan Tulu is no ordinary foe. He might even be stronger than you. This plan might be unfeasible.”

In his urgency, Draxel momentarily lost his composure, barking at his comrade, “Do you have a better plan? If not, execute my command. I have a strategy to handle Noyan Tulu!”

“Understood.” With that, Xiao Nan refrained from further objection, readying himself and his men for their last charge.

Draxel internally communicated with the system, ‘Show me Noyan Tulu’s attributes again.’

[The Noseless Man – Noyan Tulu]

[System Note: He has been weakened due to his injuries.]

[Level 28, Strength 26, Agility 28, Wisdom 7, Charisma 11.]

[Weapon proficiency in bows, crossbows, throwing weapons, and polearms: 240.]

[Skills: Archery 5, Throwing 5, Horse Archery 5, Riding 5]

[Evaluation: Even a weakened camel is larger than a horse, suggesting your chances of victory are marginal.]

“Damn it! How can I defeat him? TMD, I need a cheat right now!”

Draxel, feeling helpless and increasingly anxious, realized that even with his ‘golden finger,’ he still felt somewhat impotent.

Suddenly, a familiar figure dashed out within the town of Uxkhal. A white horse, a young dragon, a young woman with a bow and arrow made a dramatic entrance.

“Roar! Count, let me show you the benefits of feeding me,” the young dragon Lein roared with a youthful voice.

At this moment, the system unexpectedly activated.

[System Alert: After interacting with Young Dragon Lein, Safiya has gained a portion of the dragon’s power, significantly enhancing her attributes!]

[Dragon Mother Safiya]

[Level 35, Strength 35, Agility 35, Wisdom 32, Charisma 32.]

[Proficiency in Bows and Crossbows: 280.]

[Skills: Archery 6, Horse Archery 6, Riding 6]

Draxel was ecstatic at seeing the dramatic increase in her attributes and the change in her title from “Dragon Lady” to “Dragon Mother.”

But he was confused and quickly asked the system, ‘Didn’t you say that only my attributes could be developed and that others would remain fixed?’

[System Alert: Other characters won’t improve their attributes with leveling up, but they can undergo changes due to special events.]

‘Ah, I see, that makes sense now. So for Safiya, Young Dragon Lein is a special event,’ Draxel reasoned. This also meant that Merchant Marnid’s abilities wouldn’t remain static; perhaps he too might undergo special events in the future.

Returning to the battlefield, Safiya’s presence now exuded an intimidating and awe-inspiring aura, resembling a goddess of war descending upon the scene.

“Hey, Noyan Tulu, you bearded old man! I’ve been itching to deal with you. Let me, Safiya, teach you a lesson,” she declared.

Following her words, Safiya promptly released three arrows targeting Noyan Tulu’s head, chest, and horse.

Noyan Tulu, agile and quick, narrowly dodged the first arrow and managed to deflect the second with his scimitar, barely avoiding injury. However, he couldn’t escape the third arrow.

“Neigh!” The third arrow struck his warhorse straight in the forehead, killing it instantly. The force of the fall catapulted Noyan Tulu through the air.

Fatefully, he landed near Draxel, who seized the moment to deliver a powerful kick.

“Thump!”

Draxel’s foot landed fiercely on Noyan Tulu’s face, which had already lost its nose and front teeth. This blow hit both of his eyes squarely.

“Ahhh!!!” The intense pain caused Noyan Tulu to howl miserably, nearly incapacitated for battle.

From afar, Safiya, seeing this, didn’t relent. Intent on avenging Owens, and the recently fallen Jia and Awang, she readied a fourth arrow.

“Safiya, aim for his legs, we need him alive for interrogation!” Draxel quickly yelled.

“No problem, aiming as directed,” Safiya responded.

“Whoosh!” The fourth arrow swiftly followed.

The arrow, swift as a shooting star, pierced through Noyan Tulu’s right thigh, completely penetrating his leg and embedding deeply into the ground, pinning him firmly to the earth.