IRON BLOODED HEART (Book 1 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Boundless Desert Part 7

When Wanyan Honglie first laid eyes upon Jamuka, he saw a tall and skinny man with a few strands of gold in his mustache and a pair of eyes that were filled with energy and enthusiasm. He looked strong and spirited. Senggum, on the other hand, was fat and pale, probably from living in luxury all of his life and not at all like someone who grew up on the Steppe. Not only that, he had an arrogant look on his face and seemingly ignored Temujin whenever he felt like it; a stark contrast to the warmth of Jamuka.

After another day of riding, they were very close to Ong Khan's encampment when two of Temujin's advanced scouts suddenly returned with news. "There are Naimans blocking the way ahead. About thirty thousand of them," they reported.

"What do they want?" Wanyan Hongxi asked, panicking a bit after hearing the news through his translator.

"From the looks of it, they want to fight," the scouts reported.

"They.... they have.... they really have thirty thousand troops?" Wanyan Hongxi stuttered. "That... that's more than us... this... this...."

"Go and find out what's going on," Temujin ordered Muqali, not waiting for Wanyan Hongxi to finish his sentence.

Muqali headed off with ten bodyguards while the rest of them stopped and waited. Muqali returned not long after. "The Naimans said that since the great Jin princes granted a title to our Khan, they want to be granted a title too," he reported. "If not, then they say they will take Your Excellencies the princes as hostages until they too are granted titles from the Great Jin Empire. They also said that they want a title that's higher than our Khan Temujin's."

"Demanding titles by force? That... that's rebellion! What do we do?" Wanyan Hongxi's face went pale on hearing this news. Wanyan Honglie began organizing troops into fighting positions in case of any unexpected escalations.

"Brother, those Naimans frequently steal our livestock and cause trouble for us. Are we really going to let them get away with this?" Jamuka said to Temujin. "I don't know what the Jin princes would have us do?"

By now, Temujin had thoroughly surveyed the surrounding landscape and was confident of victory. "Let's show the Princes how the two of us do things around here!" He replied to Jamuka before letting out a howl and cracking his whip in the air twice, causing the five thousand Mongolian soldiers to simultaneously howl in response and startling the unprepared Wanyan brothers.

A cloud of dust had appeared ahead as the enemy slowly approached, forcing the advanced scouts to return.

"Brother, order our boys to charge now!" Wanyan Hongxi said. "These Mongols are of no use now."

"Let them fight first," Wanyan Honglie whispered back.