When the attack began, these enemies resting in the temple leapt out, fully armed, some even wearing stolen clothes, but it was a trap to let them out.
Arrows rained down from all directions, pinning Ross people to the doorways and doorframes. One Ross person was shot by an arrow while climbing out a window, his leg, which had already stepped out, was left dangling, but many still managed to rush out.
However, another volley of arrows greeted them. Although they were wrapped in much of their stolen loot, these things could not protect them from the arrows. Seeing their comrades fall, these people became even more panicked.
The long-awaiting Bulgar warriors surged forth like ferocious beasts. They charged through the ruins scorched by flames and the slaughterhouse littered with the dead, killing the Ross people who appeared particularly bewildered by the encirclement.
Jia Dabi rode on his warhorse, watching his classmates, now filled with the aura of the battlefield, hack their scimitars into the Ross people.
Although the Ross people were barely civilized, they were dressed entirely like barbarians from the forest, and their actions were also full of savagery.
The leader of the Ross people seemed to have died at the very beginning, and among these looters were quite a few drunkards. These drunkards clearly had no fighting ability left; they couldn't even stand steadily. It was hard to imagine how they managed to rush out of the temple.
Jia Dabi watched calmly, observing how the Ross people were hacked and killed. These former perpetrators had now become the slaughtered. Some were stabbed to death, some were hacked into sieves, and some were knocked unconscious on the ground. Their defeat had become inevitable.
Finally, the remaining few Ross people threw down their weapons and surrendered before the Bulgar people, announcing the end of the battle.
Seeing this scene, Jia Dabi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was glad to see that none of his classmates had fallen. These people were the essence of his troops; he would be incredibly pained if even one died.
At times like this, Jia Dabi couldn't help but doubt the days when Akad Khan was still around. Many times before, he had thought of himself as a wise commander, believing that if he led the situation, everything would surely turn for the better.
But the truth was, he realized how difficult leadership was. His single decision determined the life and death of thousands of his subordinates. Many times, he envied Akad Khan, wishing he could be as cold and ruthless as him.
After driving the captives aside, these young Bulgar people mercifully tended to the wounded on the ground. They were once students of a religious academy, but now, more than scholars, they resembled soldiers.
The jurists, meanwhile, were comforting the people they had liberated from the looters. Jia Dabi was grateful that they found these people so quickly.
Otherwise, it would be hard for him to imagine how these old people would survive in the Bulgar wilderness, and they would also lose a valuable force. The energy of these jurists was far greater than their aging bodies.
For example, if it weren't for their presence now, these people could not be appeased at all. The jurists understood the people, knew the people, and knew how to comfort them.
These elders also gathered the survivors, letting each victim tell their stories of how they faced the Ross people's atrocities, stirring up people's emotions, awakening everyone's hatred, and strengthening their will to resist.
Jia Dabi's army had grown much larger than when he first left Akad. Along the way, they took in many people displaced by the Ross people's looting and massacres, and also incorporated some scattered soldiers willing to continue resisting the Ross people, bringing their total strength to almost three hundred.
As for why there were only three hundred, it was because many of his classmates had left the resistance during this time. After all, most of these people came from wealthy Bulgar families. Why should the children of these families choose to resist? Even if the ruler changed now, they could still live good lives. Why should they die for Akad's cause?
Jia Dabi did not force anyone to stay. Rather than making things ugly, it was better for everyone to part ways amicably. And even though they left, this connection could still be maintained. These connections might be useful someday in the future.
After expanding his army, Jia Dabi quickly chose to divide his forces. Now, the Ross people and Adam's forces occupied this land, so their strength could not be too concentrated. Concentration would only lead to encirclement and attack, and then complete annihilation.
The army was divided into ten units of thirty people each. Jia Dabi appointed the classmates he selected as the leaders of each unit, and assigned their respective areas of operation. They were all people who had proven their loyalty and ability in war, and he also set down their principles of operation.
He also gave his army a name, the "Sword of Justice." They announced that Akad Khan had appointed them to rescue the tormented Bulgar people, and that Akad Khan himself was commanding this army.
At the same time, to confuse the enemy, Jia Dabi had each unit announce that Akad Khan was present within their army.
Although the Khan's reputation was originally not good, after the Ross people's looting and destruction, the Khan's reputation quickly improved.
So now, they should act under the Khan's banner. This banner would gather heroes from all sides who intended to resist the Ross people and their puppet government.
Among the previous unorganized uprisings against the Ross people, many had fought under the Khan's banner. Unfortunately, they were annihilated before they could accomplish anything, but even though they were annihilated, the people were still there. These people were potential forces that could be absorbed.
And this army is now roaming the Bulgar countryside. Their primary targets are the Ross looting parties rampaging in the countryside; these bastards have committed countless heinous acts.
And most importantly, these looters have also been largely abandoned by Rostislav, so attacking them is the safest and least likely to provoke retaliation from the Ross people.
Now, with the help of the Ross Army, Adam's regime has basically controlled the entire Bulgar, and the cities of Bulgar have almost unilaterally surrendered to Adam's regime.
During this time, they eliminated countless resistors. These resistors were too scattered, often just the men of one or two villages standing up to resist, and then being quickly eliminated by the Ross people.
Of course, if there was an opportunity, they would also attack Adam's regime officials and the Ross people's grain requisition teams, and the Ross people's supply convoys were also targets. Attacking these could greatly disgust those damned Ross people and their puppet.
Unfortunately, to this day, they have not had a single successful instance of taking down an entire enemy force. Neither their unit nor other units have.
The Ross people's legitimate grain requisition teams are truly large, and there are even some elites among them. Each time, at most, they manage to seize some grain.
But Jia Dabi did not feel discouraged by this, because he understood that the Ross people would make his army grow stronger and stronger, and by then, these guerrilla fighters would be able to pose a threat to the Ross people.
Along the way, he had witnessed many tragedies. The Ross people swept across the land like locusts. They killed, they burned, they tormented good people, killed men, raped women; there was no atrocity they did not commit.
And many villages, although not massacred or burned, found their people's lives made difficult by the Ross people's requisitions. They were even so struggling that they needed aid from Jia Dabi and his forces.
This made Jia Dabi and his subordinates' determination to resist even stronger. These students, who once only spoke grandly in the religious academy, had now transformed into true warriors.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Jia Dabi's army began to prepare to leave the area. Before leaving, they gave all the loot from the Ross looters to the farmers.
As for the Ross captives, they were hanged by the roadside. This was the very place where they had hanged the Bulgar people. Now, the identities of the killers and the killed had been swapped.
In return for their gratitude, these tormented farmers still offered some grain and even sent several young men from the village to Jia Dabi's army.
Jia Dabi did not refuse any of these, choosing to accept them all.
Now he needed all supplies, and the nature of his army dictated that they could not make any requisitions from the Bulgar people. They could only seize spoils on the battlefield. However, if others were willing to give, Jia Dabi would accept without hesitation.
As for why they were leaving so urgently, it was because they received news that a group of looters was preparing to leave the area with their spoils plundered from the Bulgar land, and Jia Dabi would not allow the invaders to leave with the wealth of the Bulgar people like that.