As dusk finally settled over the bloody battleground, a profound quiet descended, replacing the earlier chaos. The uninjured Ginmiao soldiers, along with the newly allied Musian and Salran forces, came forward. They were joined by a stream of people emerging tentatively from the safety of Zoaging's walls—the citizens who had been saved by the immense sacrifice made on the field.
The work was somber and slow. They moved through the carnage under the deepening twilight, helping to collect the bodies of their fallen soldiers. There was no celebration, only the heavy, shared duty of recognizing the cost of their victory. Allied and Ginmiao hands worked together, laying the dead onto stretchers, separating friend from foe, and retrieving shields and shattered weapons. The bloody plain, still marked by the path of the Scorpion formation, became a silent memorial to the three hundred Ginmiao volunteers, the Razaasia dead, and the final, brutal alliance forged in the Death Ground.
By this time, the logistical effort was already underway. The wagons of rice recovered from the abandoned Razaasia camp were being swiftly transported inside Zoaging. The vital food supplies would immediately be distributed among the starving citizens, providing the first relief the city had seen in months and confirming to the people that the siege had truly been broken.
Walking out of Zaoging with the others was Hye, who was making his way straight toward the small gathered group of leaders: Chinua, Azad, and Hibo.
As he moved, he confirmed a secret truth in his mind: he knew exactly why Azad and the Salran Hill Bandits were here. When they had initially left for Nue-Li City, Hye had had a private conversation with Behrouz, pleading for help and giving them precise directions to make their way across Whitefang Peak—a secret, dangerous passageway that he had accidentally come across years ago when he had fled Nue-Li City. Hye hadn't relied on hope; he had engineered this alliance and their sudden appearance.
"Well, me and my soldiers are taking off tomorrow morning," Hibo said, looking around the battlefield where the somber work of collecting the dead continued under the settling dusk. "I have to report back to Prince Mandla that we successfully sought vengeance." She turned to look at Chinua and gave her a soft smile. "I shall thank you for giving us an opportunity to get rid of Payam. Over the years, he planned many attacks on us and killed thousands of our brothers and sisters." She sighed, and her lips spread into a wide smile of final satisfaction. "Now, I can say that we finally have taken revenge."
"Oh, so that's how it was," Hye said, walking toward them. He stopped and stood beside Chinua. "A bargain to seek revenge, but I still don't get how you and Azad showed up at the same time."
Hibo smiled with a knowing glint. "Call it fate."
Azad stepped forward to explain the happy coincidence. "We happened to meet Hibo and her soldiers when we were making our way up north."
Hibo continued, detailing the remarkable timing. "And since we shared one single common goal, we marched together. If I hadn't come across Azad, we wouldn't have made it on time, as we planned to take the long way across Whitefang Peak in a different location, and then bypass Nue-Li City entirely."
Just as Chinua was about to speak, a Ginmiao soldier rushed to her and halted her, his urgency palpable.
"This General," the soldier said, his eyes lowered to the ground, daring not to make eye contact with Chinua.
"What is it, soldier?" Chinua asked, her tone even.
The young soldier, still fixated on the dirt, stammered, "Two Razaasia soldiers were caught walking into the battlefield with white cloth bandanas on their forehead."
Hye chuckled and shook his head at the young, frightened soldier—a man who had feared no enemy when his city was under attack, but who feared Chinua's mere presence.
"Soldier," Hye said, his voice sharp enough to startle the man. "Is this how you speak to your commander-in-chief? Did they not teach you that when you speak to someone, you must lift your head and make eye contact?"
"They did," the soldier quickly replied. "But... I heard from others that if you look at the Hmagol Eastern General, she will kill you on the spot or gouge out your eyes."
Chinua, Hye, Azad, Hibo, and the small group of gathered soldiers immediately broke into genuine, collective laughter. Their laughter, loud and unexpected, made the young, frightened soldier finally look up in confusion.
Azad stepped forward, throwing his arm around Chinua's shoulder with exaggerated familiarity. "If that was true, then every single bandit on Salran Hill would be blind right now!"
"So the rumors are not true?" The soldier asked, still bewildered by the laughter.
"The rumors are absolutely true," Azad said with a sly wink, taking two steps closer to the already frightened soldier. "Especially when you are less than ten steps from her."
The Ginmiao soldier quickly took two full steps back, a reaction that made Azad break into another round of laughter.
"Stop scaring the young man," Chinua said, though a hint of amusement lingered in her voice. "Take me to them." She turned and looked at Hye, who smiled and shook his head, then followed Chinua and the soldier toward the middle of the abandoned camp.
Kneeling in the middle of their own abandoned camp, the two Razaasia soldiers dared not look up. Just earlier, they had faced a barrage of verbal assault and the occasional accidental kick from the vengeful Ginmiao soldiers passing by. They knew why they were here: they had no choice. It was either finish the desperate task given to them and perhaps return safely, or refuse the direct order of their commander-in-chief and be killed on the spot. They knew that either path risked death; their only hope of survival rested solely on the white piece of cloth tied across their foreheads.
Approaching the middle of the camp, Chinua looked at General Xue, establishing the necessary diplomatic boundaries. "General, as you know, I cannot make decisions when it comes to prisoners of war. I was only helping you; therefore, I have no right to keep any prisoners."
Xue nodded, understanding the nuance of their military alliance. "But these two prisoners... they specifically asked for you, and..." He sighed, a heavy sigh that acknowledged the difficult path he was taking, knowing that what he was about to say might slightly betray his people's long-held beliefs. "You have spared the lives of Nue-Li and Zaoging's citizens because of the white piece of cloth, General Chinua. The least I could do is honor your code of ethics."
Chinua and Hye stepped forward toward the two kneeling Razaasia soldiers. Chinua lowered herself slightly, bringing her gaze level with the two men.
"You two are asking for me?" Chinua asked.
The younger soldier still dared not look up, but the middle-aged soldier lifted his head, meeting her gaze with a desperate sincerity. "Hmagol Eastern General." He sighed. "We came to you with no weapon in our hands. We came to you as two commoner men with no ill intent. As you know, the Razaasia do not collect their dead soldiers, but..."
"But..." Chinua's voice was low and icy.
"But... Strategist Payam had saved the two of us many times. We cannot let his body rot away," the middle-aged soldier finished. "We ask that we could take his body back and properly bury him, to thank him for all the things he had done and helped us with."
"Alright," Chinua said, understanding their reason immediately. "But you will have to leave the camp and stand by the other side of the Golden Triangle. I will have someone bring Sir Payam's body to you."
"Thank you," the middle-aged soldier said, grasping the younger soldier's arm. The two slowly rose and walked away, their white bandanas stark against the desolate landscape.
Chinua watched the two Razaasia soldiers disappear into the distance, then turned and walked back toward Azad and the Salran Hill Bandits.
Konn looked at his father, Xue, perplexed. "Father, are we really going to let two enemy soldiers walk away, and in addition, give them the dead body of the person who was behind the attack on our city?"
General Xue sighed, a deep, world-weary sound. "Son, when you have fought as many battles as she and I, you will understand that beneath the heavy armor, we are just men and flesh."
Hye looked at Konn and offered a gentle, insightful explanation. "The battlefield knows no villains. It knows only fighters, and every fighter is a hero to the people who wait for them." He gently patted Konn on the shoulder. "Chinua understands this, and for her, she respects her enemy as much as she respects her own soldiers."
Konn, still grappling with the concept, asked, "Why? Why do you need to respect your enemy soldiers?"
"A true leader shows respect to their opponent, not out of weakness, but out of wisdom," Hye said with a proud smile. "For it is only through acceptance that one can truly learn and ultimately grow beyond their opposition."
He turned and saw that Azad and two bandits had wheeled Payam's dead body on a wagon, moving past them toward the two Razaasia soldiers who were waiting near the Golden Triangle.
Standing behind a dirt mound, Koorush waited with his remaining soldiers, his face a mask of grief and fury. Just as the sun was setting before them, casting long shadows across the Golden Triangle, the two Razaasia soldiers pushed Payam's dead body toward him on the small wagon.
Koorush quickly dismounted his horse and ran to the wagon.
He knelt beside Payam's corpse, his breathing ragged. He took Payam's cold hand in his, gently kissing it with profound respect and honor.
He closed his eyes, squeezing Payam's hand one last time. Angry tears moistened his eyes, and he spoke through gritted teeth, his voice a low, fierce hiss of raw vengeance. "Send a message to Dzhambul that on the tenth day of next month, either Chinua is on the executing ground for treason, or a letter detailing his betrayal of his country will reach Batukhan's hand."
"Yes, General," a soldier replied immediately, recognizing the weight and gravity of the threat.