书城传记聆听史诗丛书-格萨尔王传:英文
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第52章 Ling Attacks Moinyo...(4)

“We will definitely beat Sintri in this battle. When Kulha Togyi of Moinyo comes for a contest with us, we should adopt a strategy to deal with him. The muggy air in the south is full of viruses and miasmas. I have some liquid medicine and lucky knots from my aunt ready in my tent. Take them and distribute them to your people. You must remember that the final day to conquer the demons is on the 29th.”

Then all the generals went back to their respective camps.

Shortly after, Kulha Togyi, the great general of Moinyo, challenged Gesar. Gesar saw that Kulha Togyi had a strong physique, and was wearing gold casque and gold armour. With a bloodsucking double-edged sword at his waist and wearing a yellow satin robe, he rode a light yellow horse that, reputedly, could cover a thousand miles a day.

When Kulha Togyi got to the entrance of the camp, five Ling generals came out at once. They were headed by Dainma who waved at Kulha Togyi:

“Are you going to fight with us? Please let’s first have a contest in martial arts skills in an empty space.”

Kulha Togyi saw that they made nothing of him. He wished he could swallow Dainma at once but he bottled up his resentment and followed the five heroes of the State of Ling until they came to the space and were ready to compete.

Although the Lion King had told Dainma what he should do, he still wanted to display his talent in front of these warriors, especially to show his archery skills to Kulha Togyi. He drew out an arrow with a casual manner.

Dainma shot an arrow at Kulha Togyi. With the sound of a crack, the arrow landed in the gold casque but it did not harm Kulha Togyi.

Kulha’s eyes flashed red with rage. He pointed at Dainma and shouted:

“You didn’t keep your promise and shot an arrow in the back. You are not a real hero. You have had your shot, now it’s my turn. If I do not shoot at you, it’s not because I am afraid of you.”

Faster than words can tell, a poison arrow took away the casque tassel of Dainma. After that, the arrow continued flying on into the forest behind the warriors. Several old trees were shot down and the forest burst instantly into flames.

Dainma was not hurt, but he got disabled by breathing poisonous gas. He sat unsteadily on his horse ready to fall off. At this, Kulha Togyi burst out laughing:

“Hero Dainma has an unearned reputation. I will shoot you again, and you are doomed.”

The other four heroes of the State of Ling all brandished their swords at Kulha Togyi before he could shoot again. Kulha Togyi had no desire to continue fighting, so he turned his horse around and vanished immediately.

The four Ling heroes supported Dainma while returning to the Lion King’s holy tent. Gesar administered a magic cure to Dainma. Dainma recovered soon and felt quite energetic.

The Ling troops fought with Sintri’s troops for several days running. There were some loss on both sides, but victory was not yet decided.

Zhaotoin discovered that none of his warriors could conquer Kulha Togyi since he had supernatural powers. Then he asked to be allowed to fight Kulha Togyi. Gesar ordered Dainma to go with Zhaotoin.

The two rode their horses to the battlefield in front of the entrance to the camp. Dainma fell behind Zhaotoin intentionally. Wishing to display his talent in the presence of all the Ling warriors, Zhaotoin quickly rode to Kulha Togyi. He did not say anything and just thrust, with his sword, directly at Kulha Togyi.

Kulha Togyi was surprised to see there was only one person from the Ling army coming to fight him. He had no time to think and had to fight with Zhaotoin immediately. After only the first round, a large piece of Zhaotoin’s armour was cut off. Zhaotoin was scared out of his wits and rode back quickly. When Kulha Togyi was going to give chase, Dainma fired an arrow at him and he stopped.

Dainma laughed and followed Zhaotoin back to Gesar’s holy tent.

Since Gesar was paying no attention, Yulha Togyi pulled a fistful of hair from the tail and mane of Zhaotoin’s horse and a fistful of hair from Zhaotoin’s dog’s tail. He then ran around at speed imitating Zhaotoin. He found a toad skin, a hada scarf and a yak to give to Zhaotoin to “celebrate his success.” This joke was understood by everyone, except Gesar and they all laughed loudly.