Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

The night was heavy; the cold wind was biting.

The light of torches flickered on the walls of Jiming Fortress. A few garrison soldiers could be vaguely seen patrolling back and forth, while the view further away was swallowed by darkness.

In the surrounding dense forest, treetops swayed and branches intertwined like ghosts passing through. A large number of black shadows flashed by, silently approaching the east gate of Jiming Fortress.

Cold faces emerged from the night one by one. Nearly a hundred Qiang soldiers had turned out in full force. Every man held a scimitar, abandoning their horses to fight on foot. After all, the space inside the fortress couldn’t accommodate galloping warhorses anyway.

The leader had a fierce expression. He was the commander of the Qiang soldiers, Centurion Walimu.

With so many enemy troops pressing close to the east gate, the defenders had no reaction. Walimu rejoiced secretly; it seemed Wang Shuang had already dealt with the defenders inside.

His deputy beside him was a bit uneasy and lowered his voice.

“Boss, it’s too quiet. Could there be a trap?”

Walimu curled his lip in disdain.

“A standard commander greedy for life and afraid of death, plus a few dozen defeated remnants, even if they have schemes and tricks, so what? Can they overturn the sky?

“As soon as the gate opens, everyone inside will die!”

“True, just a bunch of trash, hehe. By the way, Boss, how do we handle that Wang Shuang? Are we really going to give him reward silver?”

“Reward silver? Keep dreaming!”

Walimu sneered.

“Giving him a big blade chop is more like it. A traitor deserves to die!”

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the wall, holding a torch high and waving it three times. Walimu’s eyes lit up; this was the signal Wang Shuang had agreed upon in the secret letter. He hurriedly lit a torch and waved it three times in return.

Creak.

The fortress gate, which had been tightly shut for days, actually opened on its own. Inside, it was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

“Haha!”

Walimu laughed hideously and waved his blade forward.

“Kill for me! Once the fortress is breached, leave no one alive!”

“Kill!”

The Qiang soldiers didn’t sneak into the fortress quietly. Instead, they charged in shouting and yelling.

From the bottom of their hearts, they didn’t take the garrison soldiers seriously. The only obstacle was that high wall. Now that the gate was open, wouldn’t it be a slaughtering spree?

Nearly a hundred men swarmed into the fortress like a dark tide, smoothly occupying the side rooms on both flanks. But Walimu soon realized something was wrong.

The fortress was empty. The Qiang soldiers hadn’t seen even a shadow of a garrison soldier.

Walimu became alert and shouted loudly:

“Wang Shuang, what tricks are you playing? Come out!”

Boom!

The wide-open gate slammed shut, completely sealing off the Qiang soldiers’ retreat.

Wang Shuang really appeared, but as a corpse hanging from the wall, swinging back and forth in the wind.

“Not good! It’s a trap!”

Walimu suddenly drew his blade.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Loose arrows!”

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Countless arrows flew from the walls on all four sides. The garrison soldiers, who had been hiding behind the walls all along, finally showed themselves, firing desperately into the fortress.

The terrain of Jiming Fortress consisted of high walls on four sides with an open space and side rooms in the middle. Even if you didn’t aim and just fired randomly, you could shoot a few dead.

Luo Yu carefully poked his head out. The Qiang soldiers were running around like headless flies, much as he had expected.

“Find cover quickly! Hide in the side rooms!”

“Don’t panic! We have more people; there’s nothing to be afraid of!”

The Qiang soldiers were battle-hardened, after all. After a moment of panic, they began to find cover. If all else failed, they dragged the corpses of their comrades to shield themselves.

For this point alone, Luo Yu had to give a thumbs-up. In terms of combat power, the Qian army was far inferior to the Qiang soldiers.

Walimu cursed loudly.

“Damn Qian army, daring to play dirty! This old master will definitely hack you into ten thousand pieces!”

Thwip!

Before his curses faded, the sound of breaking wind rang out. Walimu was startled. He rolled on the ground, barely dodging an arrow attacking from behind, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Huh? Dry grass?”

Half-kneeling on the ground, Walimu suddenly noticed that the ground was covered with dry grass. And not just this spot, the entire fortress was paved with it.

He was a bit dazed. Why would the Qian army pave the ground with dry grass? And why did it smell like fire oil? This stuff would ignite instantly. If he shot a fire arrow in from outside, wouldn’t the whole fortress become a sea of fire?

“Fire!”

Walimu understood instantly. The hairs all over his body stood on end. His eyes nearly split with rage as he roared:

“Withdraw from Jiming Fortress! Quick!”

“Too late. Coming in is easy; wanting to get out is hard.”

The corner of Luo Yu’s mouth hooked into a cold sneer. He suddenly threw the torch in his hand into the fortress.

“Light the fire!”

Dozens of torches were thrown from the four walls simultaneously. The dry grass, already soaked in fire oil, ignited instantly. Aided by the evening wind, Jiming Fortress was engulfed in firelight in the blink of an eye.

“Fire! Fire!”

“Save me!”

Arrow rain could be dodged, but a sky-filling fire offered no escape.

Shrill wails pierced the night sky. In the thick smoke, the figures of Qiang soldiers could be vaguely seen twisting and struggling in the sea of fire. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, nauseating everyone.

Heart-rending roars were mixed with despairing curses and cries. Walimu stood dumbfounded; he never imagined a guaranteed victory would turn out like this.

The terrified Qiang soldiers began to retreat toward the way they came, pounding desperately on the gate.

But Meng Hu had already led a few burly men over the wall to the outside, using rocks and logs to jam the gate dead shut. No matter how the Qiang soldiers pounded, the gate remained tightly closed.

With the gate unopenable, the Qiang soldiers could only grit their teeth and rush up the stone steps toward the wall. Unfortunately, the fire was fiercest there, and the path had long been sealed off.

Luo Yu had never planned to use the stone steps; later, they would just jump down using hemp ropes.

A sea of fire; arrows filling the sky.

The Qiang soldiers had lost the will to fight. They only wanted to escape this hellish place.

Screams, roars, being devoured by fire, then burned into charcoal. An atmosphere of fear and despair spread rapidly.

Conversely, the defending garrison soldiers were incredibly excited. Dong Chuan and the others were already prostrating themselves in admiration of Luo Yu.

First, deliberately let the Qiang soldiers into the fortress, use the terrain to establish an advantage, then attack with arrows and fire in turns. Without losing a single soldier, they had already caused heavy casualties to the Qiang soldiers.

Brilliant!

They subconsciously looked at Luo Yu and found that face terrifyingly calm.

The veterans only felt their scalps tingle. He was just a seventeen-year-old youth; how could he have such cold killing intent and a steady mind?

After about an hour, the dry grass was almost burnt out, and the fire gradually died down. The remaining Qiang soldiers were still struggling, trying to find a path to escape.

“That’s about enough.”

Luo Yu gripped his scimitar and shouted angrily:

“Brothers, the time to pick peaches has arrived!”

“Draw blades! Kill the enemy!”

“Kill!”

Everyone drew their blades fiercely, roaring as they charged into the fortress to finish off the remaining Qiang soldiers.

Just as Luo Yu was about to rush into the battlefield, he saw Little Wu behind him. He was gripping his scimitar, trembling all over. Tears and snot flowed down his face together, and his crotch seemed wet again.

Even though the Qiang soldiers were the ones surrounded, the screams and the smell of blood still terrified him.

“Do you remember what I said?”

Luo Yu looked at him with a firm gaze.

“When a person is afraid, they reek of piss. As long as you aren’t afraid, blades and swords won’t touch you; even the King of Hell has to avoid you.

“If you want to go home and see your parents, you have to risk your life!”

Luo Yu didn’t persuade him further. He turned and charged into the battlefield. This fear could only be overcome by Little Wu himself.

Huff~

Huff huff!

Little Wu gripped the hilt tightly, his breathing becoming rapid. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and the look he cast at the battlefield changed from fear to ferocity.

“I want to go home… to see my parents!

“Kill!”

NOTES

Pick peaches: Idiom meaning to reap the benefits/fruits of victory (often after someone else has done the hard work, or in this case, after the fire has done the work).

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