Xiao Xun laughed instead of getting angry. He raised his hand to suppress the anger of the generals and looked at Sain, saying, "I heard that your tribes have been at war for years, and it was you who conquered and unified the barbarian leaders. Is that true?"
Sain said with no small amount of pride, "That is natural!"
Xiao Xun gave a peculiar smile, "Since the Barbarian King can conquer by force, why can't my Emperor?"
Sain was momentarily stunned at his words. He smacked his lips, realizing that the Saint Roman people were skilled in sophistry and he had been drawn into his argument.
Knowing he could not win in an argument, and unwilling to say more, Sain loudly declared, "Kill me or flay me as you wish!"
Xiao Xun burst into laughter, "The Barbarian King has been captured, are you not convinced?"
Sain let out a cold snort, "I was merely captured due to a momentary lapse, how can I be convinced by you?"
Pei Lisha sneered from the side, "The victor is king, the vanquished is the outlaw. What more is there to say?"
Xiao Xun, however, smiled faintly, "Since the Barbarian King is not convinced, shall I release you to fight again?"
The generals in the camp were all astonished and cried out, "Lord Svein, you cannot!"
Sain, however, never expected to have a chance at survival even after being captured. He quickly raised his voice to drown out the generals' clamor, "If you dare to let me go, I will reorganize my forces and return! If I am captured by you again, then I will be truly convinced!"
Xiao Xun gently pressed his wrist, and the generals' voices lowered considerably, but their faces were filled with indignation. Xiao Xun looked at Sain and said, "Does the Barbarian King speak the truth?"
Sain widened his eyes and swore earnestly, "Of course I speak the truth!"
Xiao Xun said, "Good!"
He motioned for his men to untie Sain, "We will release the Barbarian King today, and we shall fight again another day!"
Sain never imagined that the refined middle-aged man before him would be so accommodating and release him so easily. He still couldn't believe it as the Saint Roman soldiers beside him untied him.
"Svein, you are truly willing to let me go?"
Xiao Xun replied noncommittally, "That is natural!"
Sain looked back at his personal guards and asked, "And them?"
"Of course, they will return with you."
Sain nodded abruptly, as if waking from a dream, "Good! If you can truly capture me again! I will be utterly convinced!"
Xiao Xun arranged for Sain and his men to have food. Sain and his men had been fighting all day and were starving. However, they did not suspect anything and ate heartily, without any doubt.
Seeing Sain so composed, Xiao Xun smiled slightly, then had horses prepared for them before letting them go.
After they left, the generals were all indignant. The Saint Roman army had also suffered some losses in capturing Sain, and they couldn't understand why Xiao Xun, after going to such lengths to capture him, would let him go for nothing.
However, due to Xiao Xun's status, none of the generals dared to voice any objections.
Xiao Xun, of course, had long seen through the generals' thoughts. Without waiting for anyone to ask, he stood up and said, "My generals must be wondering why I let him go, aren't you?"
The generals looked at each other and nodded in unison.
Xiao Xun actually wanted to emulate Zhuge Liang and capture Meng Huo seven times.
"The barbarians are naturally fierce and brutal, which leads to constant warfare among them. It is fortunate that Sain has unified the barbarian leaders. Without Sain, the barbarians would surely fall back into chaos, and the people of Saint Roman would be unable to escape. Therefore, only by subduing Sain can the barbarians be pacified. So, we must make him truly convinced, so that he will never dare to covet our territory in his life!"
The generals nodded one after another. However, Falui frowned. He was well aware of the situation in the barbarian lands and knew that the circumstances there were not as Xiao Xun imagined.
Although the barbarian lands had been at war for years, Sain was not the only one who could unify them.
As Falui was pondering, Pei Lisha said from the side, "Lord Svein, the barbarians are inherently cunning and may not easily yield."
Pei Lisha had been stationed at the Northern Ridge in the past and had dealt with the barbarians for many years. The barbarians were no different from each other, all possessing the blood of witches.
Pei Lisha knew their nature well, which was why she said this.
Xiao Xun sighed and nodded, "Although the task is arduous and long, this is the only strategy."
The generals seemed to understand but also not. However, they couldn't help but admire Xiao Xun's ingenuity, and they all agreed without any dissent. They then packed up their camp and retreated to their own stronghold.
Sain, Mendel, Ge Gong, and a few personal guards galloped their horses and whipped them on, fearing that Xiao Xun would go back on his word. They ran for more than ten li in one go, panting from exhaustion, and only stopped to rest when their mounts could no longer run.
Seeing that the Saint Roman soldiers had not pursued them and had not set up an ambush, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The barbarians valued martial prowess and took pride in it. Sain's momentary lapse and capture were already disgraceful, and being captured and then released was an even greater loss of face.
He immediately instructed the men around him not to mention that Xiao Xun had released him, so as not to shake the morale of the army. Instead, they were to say that he had taken advantage of an unguarded moment to fight his way out of the Saint Roman camp.
The men naturally dared not disobey, and besides, this was not a glorious matter. Since it was their leader's order, how could they refuse? An agreement was reached.
However, Ge Gong could not help but worry, saying, "Does the Great King truly intend to fight him again?"
Mendel said from the side, "Ge Gong, what do you mean?"
Sain's eyes flashed with a cold light. Without waiting for Ge Gong to reply, he said sternly, "Of course, I intend to fight him again! Otherwise, I fear our barbarian race will have no hope of rising again!"
Ge Gong's face showed worry, and he hesitated to speak.
Seeing his expression, Sain let out a cold snort, "Ge Gong, do not worry! I have my own plans, and I guarantee he will never return!"
Sain and his party gathered their scattered remnants along the way and crossed the Chan River to return to their stronghold. Upon seeing Zu An, covered in dirt and blood, and recalling that he had not heeded Zu An's advice, he was filled with shame.
"Zu An, you were right! Sain admits his mistake! I will no longer act on my own in the future! If we had not been vigilant and escaped the Saint Roman camp, we would have died there!"
Zu An nodded, "Sain, Svein is a close confidant who can enter and leave Seleucos's bedroom. It is understandable that you are no match for him. However, you must not lead troops out so easily in the future. Svein is unfamiliar with the terrain and has no supplies to maintain his forces, so he cannot last long."
However, Sain's subordinate said, "Zu An, we were captured, and that Svein even gave us food. He doesn't look like he's short of supplies. I fear the Saint Roman army intends to wipe us out!"
"Yes! Zu An, Svein is a master of war. It is clear that he is very familiar with our western territories."...
Seeing that most of the leaders were greatly intimidated by Saint Roman, Zu An's mind stirred, and he couldn't help but sneer.
"If that's the case, then we must fight him properly!"
The leaders exchanged glances. Although they respected Zu An, after suffering setbacks, they were terrified of the Saint Roman army, especially Svein. Although he looked frail, they always felt that this man was a formidable figure.
Seeing that the leaders still looked doubtful after he had spoken, Zu An knew that these people had lost their morale and fighting spirit under Svein's military strategy. How could such a force fight the Saint Roman army again?
Zu An turned his gaze to Sain and said, "This matter still requires the Great King's deployment. If our strength alone is far inferior to the Saint Roman army, we must unite all our forces to win!"
Sain patted his chest and promised, "Zu An, rest assured! Sain will go and do it now!"
Sain ordered his subordinates to summon the leaders of various legions and strongholds to the camp. Before long, the sound of cattle horns echoed through the camp, dull yet stirring, rising and falling in succession.
After Sain unified the larger portion of the barbarian tribes, he established a rule that cattle horns were used for mutual response as a means of warning and communication.
The barbarian territories were vast and the mountain roads rugged, making it difficult to travel quickly.
However, using the sound of cattle horns for simple warnings, rescue, and assembly made things much more convenient. Whether on the plains or in the high mountains, sound waves could travel far.
Moreover, Sain also built many signal towers, so that if there was any change, the signal towers would respond to each other.
Within a day, troops from all the various routes and strongholds had gathered at one place. Even the defeated troops of Saikas and Gusudan had sent their soldiers.
In an instant, flags of various colors and tents of various types intermingled, converging at one point, creating a magnificent sight. A rough estimate showed no less than a hundred thousand troops, which was clearly a testament to Sain's authority.
Although Sain had unified the barbarian tribes for several years, he had not truly brought the various tribes under his command. However, no one dared to disobey him. Furthermore, Zu An and Sain had already informed the various legions beforehand.
Zu An ordered all legions to concentrate their heavy troops on the west bank of the Chan River, docking all rafts on the west bank, building defensive fortifications, digging deep trenches and raising high ramparts, and using the danger of the Chan River to block the Saint Roman army, with the intention of trapping the Saint Roman army in the Chan River.