Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

“Whoaaa!! Ooh-ha!”

Provocative yells and the thundering of horse hooves echoed over Jiming Fortress, striking fear into every heart. The garrison soldiers huddled behind the fortress walls, not daring to poke their heads out. Every man’s eyes were bloodshot.

The Qiang soldiers had besieged the fortress for three days without launching a single attack. Yet, regardless of day or night, a squad of cavalry would occasionally ride up close to patrol, forcing the defenders to remain in a state of high tension.

With so few defenders in the fortress, being forced to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night repeatedly had left everyone physically and mentally exhausted. After days of this torment, their eyelids were fighting to stay open.

What worried them most was that the expected reinforcements were nowhere to be seen.

Where were they?

Now a squad leader, Luo Yu was responsible for the defense of this section of the wall, with several new recruits under his command.

Hiding behind the wall, Luo Yu observed the Qiang army’s movements closely, his brow furrowed.

“Brothers, be careful. The Qiang soldiers are going to attack today.”

“Why?” Meng Hu asked back. “They’ve been wandering around for three days without attacking. Today’s probably just another feint, right?”

“They’ve drained us for three days. The Qiang soldiers figure we’re exhausted, so attacking now is the best timing. Look at their numbers, aren’t there a lot more than yesterday?”

“You’re right. Before, the patrolling cavalry only had twenty or thirty riders. Today, it’s several times that!”

Shooom!

Before his voice had even faded, a shrill whistling arrow tore through the clouds. This was the Qiang soldiers’ customary signal for attack.

The Qiang soldiers who had been patrolling the perimeter all turned their mounts around, splitting into three squads and charging toward the fortress. Every man held a bow, their quivers stuffed with feathered arrows, and ropes with grappling hooks hung from their saddles.

“Defense! Prepare for battle!”

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

The first wave of the Qiang cavalry approaching the fortress unleashed a volley of arrows. The defenders either shrank behind the walls or held up bamboo shields; not a single one dared to peek out.

The Qiang soldiers were famous for their mounted archery; everyone under the heavens knew it.

Three squads of Qiang soldiers attacked in rotation, one squad fired, then the next followed up immediately, giving the defenders no chance to breathe. It was a perfectly executed wheel battle.

After several rounds of arrow rain, over a dozen Qiang riders suddenly leaped out from the formation. They galloped right up to the base of the fortress wall, then forcefully threw the grappling hooks and hemp ropes from their saddles. The hooks caught firmly on the wall’s edge.

Following closely, these cavalrymen leaped from their horses, gripping the ropes tightly with both hands and bracing their feet against the wall, climbing upward as agile as apes.

Suppressing fire with crossbows, scaling with grappling hooks, and storming the walls with brute courage.

The Qiang soldiers used this set of tactics with masterful proficiency; they had conquered countless border fortresses this way.

“Counterattack! Counterattack, damn it! Don’t just hide!”

One could hide from the long-range arrow rain, but once the Qiang soldiers started climbing the walls, one could hide no longer.

Under Wang Shuang’s repeated urging, someone finally summoned the courage to poke his head out, nocking an arrow to shoot the climbing Qiang soldiers.

Thwack!

Just as he popped his head out, an arrow pierced his skull with brutal precision. Brain matter splattered everywhere, a gruesome sight.

Luo Yu was startled. Instant kill the moment you show your head? The Qiang soldiers’ archery was indeed far superior to the Qian army’s.

Arrows crisscrossed in the air. People constantly fell in pools of blood, their screams chilling the bone.

The veterans held up relatively well, but the new recruits facing combat for the first time were scared witless. A young lad under Luo Yu’s command lost his soul on the spot, holding his head and running around blindly.

“No, I’m not fighting! Let me go home!”

“Little Wu, get down!”

Luo Yu roared repeatedly, but Little Wu seemed not to hear. Having lost his mind, he only knew how to run around in panic.

In just two or three days, Luo Yu couldn’t train these recruits into elites. He could only repeat the key points of battlefield survival over and over.

When they listened, they all nodded, thinking they had grasped the essence. But when a comrade’s brains splattered on their faces, who could remember Luo Yu’s key points?

“Damn it!”

Arrows filled the sky, and the Qiang soldiers were closing in. Luo Yu didn’t have time to think. He kicked Little Wu to the ground and cursed loudly:

“Roll into the corner and stay there! Don’t move!”

Having taken a kick, Little Wu curled up in the corner, weeping bitterly, his crotch damp.

“The Qiang soldiers are coming up!”

Meng Hu’s roar echoed in his ears. Luo Yu’s subordinates were in chaos. The Qiang soldiers seemed to have noticed the weak defense here and deliberately focused their attack on this spot.

An agile Qiang soldier had already leaped onto the wall. Relying on his skill, he cut down a panicked, fleeing recruit on the spot.

In the distance, Zhang Gui, directing the battle, cursed loudly, “Luo Yu, control your men! If we lose the wall, this old master will slaughter you!”

Luo Yu ignored him completely. He turned and charged at the Qiang soldier. Stomping his foot, he launched his body into the air and brought his blade crashing down.

The young face didn’t initially garner the Qiang soldier’s respect. But when the mighty force forced him back several steps, the soldier counterattacked with a face full of rage.

“You’re looking to die!”

After three exchanges of blows, Luo Yu held the upper hand firmly. With a final, fierce slash, he sliced off half the Qiang soldier’s head.

In just that short time, three more Qiang soldiers had climbed onto the wall. Seeing Luo Yu occupied, Meng Hu gritted his teeth, threw away his scimitar, and grabbed a wooden pile weighing dozens of catties. He swung it with terrifying force, the wind howling around it.

He actually scared the three Qiang soldiers into jumping back off the wall; if they took a hit from that log, they’d be meeting the King of Hell instantly.

Such arm strength nearly made the soldiers on both sides drop their jaws. Divine strength!

Luo Yu glared wide-eyed at the few rookie recruits.

“Pick up your blades and follow behind Meng Hu and me! If you don’t want to die, you have to fight for yourselves!”

* * *

The Qiang soldiers retreated.

The assault lasted only an hour, but it left everyone exhausted. Over a dozen corpses now littered the wall, dripping with blood.

The heavy smell of blood mixed with sweat and the stench of fear permeated the air.

The setting sun cast its afterglow on the bloodstained walls, draping a layer of crimson over the tragic battle.

“Are you okay?”

Luo Yu sat slumped beside Little Wu. Little Wu, whose eyes were streaked with tears, didn’t dare to meet Luo Yu’s gaze.

“Brother Yu, I disgraced you. But I was terrified. My parents are still at home waiting for me to return.”

Although his butt throbbed with pain, Little Wu didn’t hold a grudge against Luo Yu. He knew that kick had saved his life.

“Who isn’t afraid?”

Luo Yu didn’t blame him. He knew very well that without the special memories in his mind, he would be trembling just like Little Wu.

“But this is a battlefield. The Qiang soldiers won’t spare your life just because you’re scared.

“When a person is afraid, they reek of piss. Arrows, blades, Qiang soldiers—they smell that scent and come running. If they don’t kill you, who will they kill?

“But as long as you aren’t afraid, these things will avoid you. Even ghosts will avoid you.”

Luo Yu patted Little Wu gently on the back.

“Remember, if you want to go home and see your parents, first you have to survive.”

“Re… really?”

Little Wu, also seventeen, listened with wide eyes, half-believing and half-doubting.

Wooo!

Wooo-wooo!

The defenders hadn’t even sat for a moment when the Qiang horn sounded again. Without needing orders, everyone threw themselves back to the wall’s edge, faces full of alertness.

Standard Commander Wang Shuang and Zhang Gui cursed angrily.

“Won’t even let a man breathe! Damn Qiang thieves!”

But when they looked outside the fortress, they found no large force approaching. Instead, only a few riders trotted forward, holding long spears. Impaled on the spear tips were several bloody heads.

What was this?

A flash of doubt passed through Wang Shuang’s eyes. Those heads looked strangely familiar.

The Qiang soldiers stopped at the edge of crossbow range. Thrusting the spears into the sand, they laughed hideously.

“Open your dog eyes and look clearly! These are the heads of the standard commanders from the eastern and western fortresses! Jiming Fortress will have no reinforcements! You are completely cut off!

“Surrender, and you may live.

“Fight, and you will die without a burial place!”

In that moment, the hands and feet of every defender turned ice cold.

NOTES

Wheel battle: A tactic where waves of troops attack in succession to wear down the enemy without pause, like a spinning wheel.

Whistling arrow: Also known as a signal arrow; it has a hollow tip that makes a loud whistling sound when fired, used for signaling commands.

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