Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

Splurt—

“You… you…”

Zhang Gui desperately clutched the wound at his throat, but the blood still gushed out uncontrollably. Shock, despair, and anger filled his eyes as the light within them slowly dimmed.

He struggled, trying to grab the corner of Luo Yu’s clothes with all his might. Luo Yu just watched him coldly.

“Wang Shuang could kill the donkey after it finished grinding; how could you not burn the bridge after crossing the river? If I didn’t kill you, the next one to die would probably be me, right?

“He treated me like a fool, and you treated me like a fool too?”

“You…”

Zhang Gui slowly collapsed to the ground in despair. From beginning to end, Luo Yu showed not a trace of pity, his expression indifferent.

From the struggle between Wang Shuang and Zhang Gui, he understood one thing: danger on the battlefield didn’t necessarily come from the enemy. It could also come from one’s own comrades. Sometimes, the knife stabbed from behind was even more deadly!

From following Wu Mazi out on patrol, to Little Wu being forcibly condemned by Zhang Gui, and then to this attempt by Wang Shuang to kill with a borrowed knife, it seemed every crisis had come from their own side.

So he had made up his mind:

Either don’t fight, or exterminate them completely!

Even after the corpse lay completely still, Zhang Gui’s few confidants were still in shock.

“You… you dared to kill Leader Zhang!”

Luo Yu pulled out his dagger and casually wiped off the blood.

“Put down your weapons now, and I can still leave you a path to live! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

The men exchanged glances, nodded simultaneously, and charged forward with eyes glaring wide.

“He dared to kill Leader Zhang! Fight him!”

“So what if his skills are good? He’s just one man! Kill him!”

“Charge!”

Thwip! Thwip!

They had just taken a step when scimitars plunged into their backs. Their charging motions stopped abruptly.

It turned out Meng Hu and several new recruits had been hiding behind them all along, waiting for the moment they turned violent to deliver a fatal blow. Since he had decided to get involved in the two men’s struggle, how could Luo Yu be completely unprepared?

Luo Yu looked at the corpses and shook his head gently.

“I gave you a chance. You didn’t cherish it yourselves.”

Jiming Fortress fell silent. The firelight from the torches on the walls flickered constantly, illuminating nearly ten blood-drenched corpses. The smell of blood permeated the air.

The remaining twenty-plus garrison soldiers had blank minds. In just a short moment, the standard commander, vice commander, and all their confidants were dead?

“Fellow soldiers.”

Luo Yu turned to look at the remaining garrison troops and shouted clearly:

“I trust you all understand the situation clearly. Standard Commander Wang Shuang secretly communicated with the Qiang thieves and sold out his comrades; his crimes deserved ten thousand deaths! And Zhang Gui seized military merit by force and embezzled military pay; his death is equally deserved.

“But I didn’t kill him for a private grudge. It was only for self-preservation.

“If anyone feels Zhang Gui shouldn’t have died, you are welcome to seek revenge on me, or even report me to the officials in the future. I, Luo Yu, will face you to the end.

“Killing him leaves me with a clear conscience!”

The crowd was quiet. Zhang Gui’s die-hard loyalists were all dead; who else would be willing to stand up for him? Many people here had been humiliated or even beaten by Zhang Gui. For the things he had done, it was fortunate the soldiers didn’t hack his corpse into pieces.

Someone whispered quietly:

“But both the commander and vice commander are dead. Who will lead the troops? There are still nearly a hundred Qiang cavalry outside. We can’t just wait here to die, right?”

“Yeah, who will command the defense?”

A single sentence woke the dreamers. Their biggest crisis wasn’t the infighting between Wang Shuang and Zhang Gui but the Qiang soldiers outside. Their forces were less than half strength, the Qiang soldiers outnumbered them several times over, and their grain was almost gone. It was a desperate situation with a ninety percent chance of death.

How could Jiming Fortress be defended? There had to be someone to take the lead, right?

Everyone looked at each other, but most gazes fell on Luo Yu and the newly mentioned corporal, Dong Chuan.

The style of action Luo Yu displayed was completely unlike that of a green recruit. He had repeatedly killed enemies and established merit, earning a vague prestige in the fortress.

As for Dong Chuan, there were originally five corporals in Jiming Fortress. Wu Mazi died at Luo Yu’s hands, another died in battle, and the other two were confidants of Wang Shuang and Zhang Gui who died in the infighting just now. That meant Dong Chuan was currently the highest-ranking and most senior person in Jiming Fortress.

Meng Hu was the first to stand behind Luo Yu, speaking expressionlessly:

“I don’t trust others. I only trust Brother Yu. Brother Yu said he could definitely lead us out of Jiming Fortress alive.

“I believe him!”

Little Wu and the other new recruits also stood wordlessly behind Luo Yu. Then came the few veterans Luo Yu had met on his first mission. Even after Luo Yu returned to the fortress and was targeted by Zhang Gui multiple times, he never revealed that they had each stabbed Wu Mazi once. That alone made them grateful.

One after another, more garrison soldiers walked out of the crowd and stood behind Luo Yu. This showed that in just two days, he had built up considerable prestige in Jiming Fortress.

Dong Chuan remained silent for a long time before speaking:

“You are right. Wang Shuang collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country, and Zhang Gui embezzled military pay. Both deserved to die. I, Dong Chuan, can distinguish right from wrong and good from evil; I won’t seek revenge for them.

“I don’t have the ability to lead troops to defend the fortress, and I don’t want to fight you for power. But I absolutely cannot hand over the lives of all the brothers in the fortress to you casually.

“I just want to ask one question: Can you really lead the brothers to survive?”

Everyone looked at Luo Yu. This was the question they all cared about.

Luo Yu took a step forward, his expression solemn.

“In such a desperate situation, no one can guarantee a certain victory.

“I can only say: If we win, we live together. If we lose, I, Luo Yu, will die together with you!”

The crowd was moved. Dong Chuan’s heart trembled slightly. He steeled his heart and gritted his teeth.

“Good! I trust you!

“From now on, Luo Yu’s words are military orders. If anyone dares disobey, I’ll be the first to chop them down!”

* * *

Sunrise, early morning. The cold wind of the Western Border was biting.

Luo Yu stood at the highest point of the fortress, gazing into the distance. He could vaguely see a dozen Western Qiang tents and galloping warhorses. These Qiang soldiers were like jackals and demons wandering beyond the pass, ready to swallow Jiming Fortress in one bite at any moment.

He hadn’t slept a wink all night.

He was thinking about how to keep these twenty or thirty brothers alive.

“Sir, you were looking for us?”

Corporal Dong Chuan walked over with two other squad leaders. They were the only remaining officers in the fortress.

Luo Yu spoke calmly:

“We searched Wang Shuang and Zhang Gui’s rooms and found nearly a hundred taels of silver. With their salaries, they could never have this much money. It must be embezzled military funds and pension silver.

“Distribute this silver to the brothers. As for the pension silver, we’ll ask fellow soldiers from the same hometowns to bring it back after the war ends.”

“Understood.”

The three were surprised. Luo Yu distributed so much silver casually without keeping a cent for himself.

“With this silver, the brothers’ morale will be higher.”

Luo Yu then moved to the main topic.

“I read the secret letter Wang Shuang sent to the Qiang people. He agreed with the Qiang to open the fortress gates tonight and attack Jiming Fortress from both inside and outside.

“In other words, the Qiang soldiers will launch an attack tonight.”

The expressions of the three changed slightly. Was the life-and-death struggle happening tonight?

Cough.

Dong Chuan asked cautiously, “Sir, have you thought of a strategy to break the enemy?”

Luo Yu didn’t answer but asked a question instead, “All three of you are older than me and have been in the army longer. Are you really willing to listen to what I say?

“The enemy is before us. If our hearts are not united, there is only a dead end.”

“Of course we’ll listen!”

Dong Chuan patted his chest and said, “I, Dong Chuan, mean what I say. I await Brother Luo’s orders!”

The other two also shouted in unison:

“We await orders!”

“Very good!”

A flash of madness passed through Luo Yu’s eyes as he clenched his fists.

“Then, according to the agreement… we open the fortress gates tonight!”

“Surrender!”

NOTES

Burn the bridge after crossing the river: Idiom similar to “killing the donkey after grinding” or “kicking down the ladder.” It means to abandon/destroy one’s help after they have served their purpose.

One spit, one nail: Idiom meaning a person’s word is solid/trustworthy; a promise that cannot be taken back.

💝 Support the Team

possible odoabuchi

✍️ Translator

☕ Buy Me a Coffee