Oru Village was a very ordinary village in Bulgar; such villages were everywhere in Bulgar, unremarkable.
The village's construction can be traced back to when the Bulgars first arrived in this land; it already existed then, and it has since experienced countless years and witnessed numerous historical events.
There were no special products here, mostly grain. Every harvest season, merchants would come to buy it and take it to Bulgar City. Due to its good quality, the grain here gradually gained some renown.
If things had continued this way, the village's life would have remained unchanged, but politics altered everything.
After Akad's usurpation, the local village masters showed extreme disapproval towards this usurper and kin-slayer.
This, in turn, brought about a murderous calamity. Akad's army arrived with blood and fire, destroying the village.
However, most of the villagers were not killed because they had largely left before the massacre. But from then on, they abandoned the village and began living in the nearby forest.
They knew they were unwelcome under the current ruling order, so they naturally had to hide. While hiding, they yearned for the day that scoundrel Akad would fall.
So, when Akad's men arrived at the village, they suddenly discovered it was already deserted. They searched the entire village but found no living people or intact buildings.
The only building in the village that was largely intact was the temple in the village center. The temple was built of white stone, so the flames only blackened its walls and did not cause any structural damage.
Just as they were about to enter the temple for the night, they finally spotted signs of human activity. An old man was pulling a large cart from a distance. Seeing this, everyone immediately turned their horses and galloped over. Regardless, they first needed to find a local to ask about the situation.
"What is this place? What is the village called? And is there any food here?"
After surrounding the old man, a cavalryman stepped forward and asked impatiently.
When he saw the old man's face, full of trepidation, bowing respectfully, his expression softened slightly. This was how these peasants should behave.
"Sir, this is Oru Village, but it has been abandoned for a long time. I do have some things on my cart; please feel free to take whatever you wish."
The old man gestured helplessly with his hand towards the large cart beside him, which held some food, all of it dark bread.
"I have no family left, so I simply returned to this village to await death. But if you are looking for a place to sleep, there are plenty of places everywhere, and you can use them freely."
In reality, the old man's identity was not what he claimed; he was actually the elder of this village.
As for why he had returned now, he intended to search the ruins for anything useful, as the bricks and such could still be utilized, and then hurry back before dark. He hadn't expected to run into this group of fully armed men.
The cavalryman turned to report to his master behind him. The old man saw their leader nod in agreement after looking at the sky.
Next, under the cavalryman's urging, he turned, grabbed the rope tied to the cart beside him, put it over his shoulder, and began dragging the cart ahead towards the temple.
The cavalrymen were clearly very vigilant. The cavalryman who had spoken to him casually rested his spear on the old man's shoulder, as if he could take his life at any moment. The old man, very shrewdly, pretended to tremble – the way a timid peasant should appear in their eyes.
The others spread out slightly, forming a semicircle as they walked forward. The old man, who had participated in many wars, immediately understood that these men were clearly protecting the person in the middle.
Although that person's hair was disheveled and his clothes were torn, making him appear very disheveled, the old man could still discern the luxurious fabric, and these men were all wearing iron armor. This was not a simple contingent.
Along the way, the old man, like a peasant, chattered incessantly about village matters. While his peasant-like behavior annoyed the cavalrymen, it did relax their vigilance, allowing him to get closer to them.
Next, his aged eyes discerned the face of the protected person.
As he recognized the face, his pupils immediately dilated, as if an earthquake had struck. Fortunately, this tremor was suppressed immediately, causing no abnormal reaction.
Wasn't this the Khan of Bulgar? The elder would never forget the man who destroyed his village. The elder recognized Akad, but Akad clearly did not recognize him.
Then, the moment he recognized him, the old man knew what he had to do.
Upon entering the temple, everyone found a lot of straw, likely left by vagrants who had stayed there. This made the cavalrymen feel excited, as at least they wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.
Akad was clearly preoccupied. He silently sat in a corner, waiting for his subordinates to busy themselves preparing his food.
Under the watchful eyes of the attendants, the old man took out his bag full of food. The attendant looked at the coarse food in the bag and nodded slightly. Then, still uneasy, he rummaged through the cart and, despite the old man's displeased look, pulled out several pieces of dried meat. He then took a silver coin from his bosom and casually tossed it to the old man.
The old man picked up the silver coin, which made him raise an eyebrow. Wasn't this the batch of silver coins minted by Bulgar's mint decades ago? It was still so well-preserved, which further confirmed the identity of these people.
"We'll just eat something here and sleep, get some rest, and continue on our way tomorrow."
Akad, still unaware that he had been recognized, commanded in a deep voice. He watched the guards light a fire on the already ruined floor. As the dried meat and bread were roasted over the fire, the aroma of food made him lick his lips.
"Now at least we can have something hot to eat."
The wild ride for most of the day had exhausted these cavalrymen. Finally, they could lie down under a roof and no longer had to force themselves to stay alert. These men immediately sat down on the ground, relaxing.
"As for that old man, tie him up outside!"
Akad said, gnawing on dried meat, his actions as ruthless as ever.
"If he survives until someone comes to rescue him, then Allah does not wish him to die."
The old man was immediately tied up with the ropes from his cart. As he leaned against the cartwheel, cursing softly, he saw the attendants, exhausted, lying down to rest.
However, Akad remained seated, deep in thought, not knowing what he was pondering, but in the end, he too fell asleep.
Late at night, after pacing back and forth a few times, the watchman leaned against the temple steps and gently closed his eyes. At first, he would occasionally look up, but the fatigue from this period made his eyelids heavier and heavier until they finally closed.
It was then that the old man finally found what he needed. After quietly moving the small knife from under the cart to the side of the cart, he vigorously rubbed the ropes behind him against it.
The pain from the blade accidentally scraping his skin made the old man bite his lip. When the restraint on his arm finally loosened, he immediately untied the rope from his body and threw it aside.
Soon, the old man's figure disappeared into the night, heading west.
In the forest to the west, the old man found their village's current location. He first found the village chief, then knocked on doors one by one to gather the young men of the village, and then announced his discovery to them.
"What? Akad? And there are really only a few dozen people?"
Upon learning that their common enemy was there, one person shouted with a hint of excitement, and the others also expressed their agreement.
The old man was surrounded by the village peasants. They were fully armed when called, as calls in the night were often for battle and killing. Upon hearing the news, they were eager to act.
"Of course, it's definitely him. I couldn't possibly be mistaken."
The old man firmly asserted the accuracy of his information, even waving his arms excitedly, as if afraid these people wouldn't believe him, afraid that Akad, that bastard, would escape.
And as the oldest person in the village, he already had a high degree of credibility among everyone, which made people believe him even more.
"In that case… let's do it! Fortune favors the bold! God bless!"
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind. Riches, honor, and revenge were right before him. To not take what Heaven offered would surely invite divine retribution and be seen as foolish.
And most importantly, this was an opportunity to pledge loyalty to the new Khan – they had already learned of Akad's defeat.
As time passed, the night grew deeper, and the land became shrouded in darkness.
The watchman, dozing on the steps, was having a wonderful sleep. He didn't notice a group of dark figures had quietly surrounded the temple. Suddenly, a rope silently slipped to his chest.
With a forceful pull, the rope suddenly tightened around the watchman's throat. The immense force caused the watchman's body to stiffen, then slump onto the steps.
But the sound of iron armor hitting stone steps was so loud in the night. Before the person next to him could even pull the body away, the guard closest to the door had already opened his eyes vigilantly!
"Enemies!"
A roar burst from the guard's mouth. The sleeping guards instantly woke up and immediately grabbed their weapons.
It was then that the awakened guard's long sword struck the head of the first peasant who rushed in. Blood mixed with brain matter flowed out.
At this moment, battle cries were already echoing outside the temple. As figures moved, Akad was astonished to find that the temple was completely surrounded by peasants.
Next, peasants armed with various weapons swarmed in. The Khan's guards, whose combat instincts had been honed through long training, drew their swords to meet them.
Though the peasants possessed a fierce courage and sheer numbers, they were no match for these guards in skill and ability. Under the swing of scimitars, these peasants were quickly routed, leaving behind corpses.
"There are too many of them! Close the door! Block them!"
Although one wave of enemies was defeated, more peasants swarmed forward. They all wanted to take the head of Akad, that important figure; his head represented a glorious future, a prosperous future.
Watching everyone madly charging for his head, Akad couldn't help but roar. His subordinates immediately closed the large door, and just as the door closed, several arrows flew in, instantly striking a poor guard's body, the arrows easily piercing through the iron rings.
"Sir, we must break out!"
The captain of the guard grabbed the Khan's shoulder, "Everyone else can die, but you absolutely cannot die here! Don't forget the plan, even if you die, it can't be so worthless."
But in this situation, there was no escaping. Akad couldn't help but feel dejected. He hadn't expected to be trapped by a group of peasants. He couldn't even die as he wished.
Suddenly, a blaze of fire lit up outside. Just as those inside the temple began to feel uneasy, a torch was suddenly thrown through a broken window, immediately igniting the straw on the ground.
"Bastards! They're going to burn the building! Break out! Quick, break out! Otherwise, we'll all die here!"
The guards instantly panicked. They madly rushed towards the door, but were immediately pushed back by the pre-positioned pitchforks and spears. Some tried to force their way through, but were directly stabbed to death there.
And these bodies blocked their path forward, making it impossible for them to advance, effectively trapping them there.
When the old man had come earlier, he had told the villagers to bring plenty of kindling, as a last resort against these people. Now, these materials were serving their intended purpose.
Under the effect of the kindling, the temple instantly began to burn, and the fire grew larger and larger, filling it with smoke.
Looking at the burning fire, the old man couldn't help but feel the satisfaction of revenge. He remembered how Akad had treated their village back then, and now Akad was trapped here, like cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
He felt immense satisfaction, though he was unaware of a proverb: extreme joy begets sorrow.
Because just as the villagers were growing tired of watching the fire, a cavalry troop suddenly charged out from the main road.
These cavalrymen were well-equipped, each carrying a scimitar, which was too great a threat for peasants who only had old weapons.
When facing manageable enemies in a confined space, peasants could charge forward bravely, overwhelming the enemies before them with their numbers. But now, facing galloping cavalry on the main road, they were at an absolute disadvantage.
As scimitars swung, several peasants fell, which caused the peasants to collapse. They thought Akad's guards had come to rescue him, which made them instinctively flee in a frenzy.
It was laughable, these cavalrymen killed fewer people than they had been killed earlier inside the temple. At that time, they had been forcibly pushed out of the room, and only then were they forced to choose arson.
This was originally the peasants' former village, so they ran very fast, almost disappearing in an instant. Seeing this, the cavalrymen did not pursue; they had more important matters. These men instinctively gathered in front of the temple.
"Damn it, Lord Akad is still inside."
Jia Dabi said with anger. He had rushed over earlier when he saw the fire rising here, but he hadn't expected such a sight.
Everyone busily searched for a while, and unfortunately, they found nothing.
Jia Dabi was silent for a moment, then suddenly said to his subordinates, "The Khan has always been organizing forces in the countryside to resist the Rus invaders, do you all understand?"
These words stunned everyone, but then they understood Jia Dabi's meaning and nodded one after another. Then, after paying their final respects to the Khan, Jia Dabi led his men away from there.