Anger of Ceasefire
In the west of Anyi City, the few tender locust tree buds that sprouted from the rubble and scorched earth ultimately could not withstand Yan Song's "thunderous methods".
When Yan Song, leading hundreds of fiercely armed elite soldiers, surrounded Xiao Yuxuan and his last few dozen personal guards and refugee followers amidst the ruins like a plague being driven away, the faint green shoots, along with the soil that supported them, were trampled to dust under the heavy boots. The tender buds were crushed into the mud, leaving only a messy crater, like a silent, bleeding wound on the earth.
"Xiao Yuxuan! You have incited the refugees, amassed an army, defied the king's orders, and plotted rebellion! Because of you alone, Hexi has ceded territory and paid tribute, causing immense suffering! The covenant is here, the evidence is irrefutable! Why not surrender now?!" Yan Song, hidden behind layers of shields, spoke in a shrill voice distorted with excitement, his face revealing undisguised resentment and the ecstatic joy of impending victory. He held aloft a copy of the sheepskin covenant, the final words "Bound and surrender Xiao Yuxuan" gleaming brightly in the torchlight.
Sheng Guo stood in front of Xiao Yuxuan, his left arm shield, left by Jing Zhi, now covered in fresh knife marks. His eyes were bloodshot, like a beast driven to the brink of despair. His ring-pommel sword hummed as he let out a suppressed roar towards Yan Song: "You traitors! The blood on the walls of Anyi is still fresh! The corpses before Guijianchou are still warm! You sell out your country for personal gain, framing loyal officials! If you want to take the general, first ask the sword in my hand!"
Xiao Yuxuan, however, remained unusually calm. He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Yan Song's face, which appeared exceptionally ugly due to its twisted shape, over the spears and halberds gleaming coldly in the hands of the armored soldiers, over Sheng Guo's broad back trembling with rage, and finally settling on the muddy ground, now completely devoid of greenery. A massive torrent, a mixture of desolation, absurdity, and utter exhaustion, instantly breached the dam he had been holding together for days.
Defending the city... what did they manage to defend?
Ceasefire...stopped what?
What did the locust tree's shade sow?
The white bones by the Wei River, the torrents along the Luo River, the mountain of corpses at Guijianchou, the starving corpses in Anyi City… and the crushed tender shoots before him, symbolizing the last glimmer of hope… countless images churned and tore apart in his mind, ultimately merging into a fragmented, stark white. He seemed to see Bai Yu's gaze, a mixture of pity and questioning, as he committed suicide by the Wei River; he saw Jing Zhi's desperate screams at the sluice gate in the rainy night; he saw Gu Yan's cold, indifferent figure before Yinma Slope… all the perseverance, all the struggles, all the sacrifices, seemed so laughable, so powerless, so… meaningless before this vast, cold chessboard, where the lives of countless people were the pieces.
"Heh...heh..." A low, broken laugh escaped from Xiao Yuxuan's cracked lips. The laughter grew louder and more shrill, finally turning into a heart-wrenching cough. He bent over, coughing violently as if he were coughing up his internal organs, his whole body trembling, tears streaming down his face. He covered his mouth tightly with his hand, dark red blood seeping from between his fingers.
"General!" Sheng Guo exclaimed in shock and turned around to help him up.
Xiao Yuxuan abruptly slapped his hand away. He staggered to his feet, a hollow, bitter smile on his face, almost a sign of collapse. His gaze swept unfocusedly around him, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper were being scraped:
"Bind me? Very well... Take it... Take it... If this head can bring a moment of peace to Hexi... If it can fill this bottomless abyss... Take it... Take it..."
He actually took a step forward, his steps unsteady, as if he were walking on clouds. The exhaustion of days of bloody battles, the collapse of his mental support, and the despair of his beliefs being utterly crushed, all overwhelmed him like a flood bursting its banks. The will that had sustained him until this day was shattered.
"General! No!" Sheng Guo's eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed Xiao Yuxuan's arm with such force that he almost crushed bones. "Wake up! Look at them! Look at these brothers who crawled out of piles of corpses with you! Look at those people who are still waiting for you to lead them to a way out! If you fall, Hexi will truly be finished! The Legalists' pens, the Di Rong's butcher's knives, and those parasites like Yan Song will devour this place until not even bone fragments are left! General—!"
Sheng Guo's roar, like a thunderclap, exploded in Xiao Yuxuan's hazy ears. His unfocused gaze unconsciously followed Sheng Guo's eyes. He saw the dozens of ragged, wounded soldiers and refugees around him, still clutching their broken weapons, protecting him tightly. There was no fear on their faces, only a near-frozen, resolute determination born of despair. Their eyes, like those of someone fighting a desperate counterattack in the depths of Ghost Valley, burned with the last vestige of an extinguished flame. Beyond the gaps in the armored soldiers' shield wall, he saw countless numb and empty eyes silently watching from the shadows of the distant ruins. These were the surviving inhabitants of Anyi City, like candles flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment. They might not understand the power struggles of the court, nor the humiliation of the alliance, but they knew that the person who had fought alongside them on the city walls, trying to protect them, was now being driven to the brink of despair.
Sheng Guo's roar, the silent protection of his comrades, the desperate gaze of the refugees... like red-hot steel needles, pierced Xiao Yuxuan's numb nerves. A sharp pain suddenly erupted from the depths of his soul!
“It’s over?…Hexi is over?…If I fall…they…are really over…” A faint voice struggled to rise in his heart, like a drowning man grasping at the last straw.
Just as his spirit teetered on the brink of utter collapse, just as Yan Song grinned and waved his hand, and the armored soldiers raised their spears, preparing to swarm forward—
"Whoosh!"
"Pfft!"
A cold arrow, shot from some dark corner, pierced the heart of a guard who was blocking Xiao Yuxuan's side with a shrill sound! The guard didn't even have time to scream before his body stiffened abruptly, and blood gushed out from two bloody holes, splattering half of Xiao Yuxuan's body and face!
Warm liquid, with a strong, rusty smell, splashed onto Xiao Yuxuan's face like molten lava, flowing into his chapped lips!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Xiao Yuxuan's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum! All sounds—Yan Song's shouts, the soldiers' cries, Sheng Guo's roars—vanished instantly. The entire world seemed to have been stripped of its color, leaving only the slowly collapsing corpse before him, still warm, and the thick, burning crimson of its face, radiating the aura of death!
This blood... is the blood of our comrades by the Wei River!
It's the blood of the artisans of Blackrock Fortress!
It is the blood of the displaced people who perished in the flood of the Luo River!
It's the blood of the assassins at the bottom of Ghost Valley!
It is the blood of every cold corpse on the walls of Anyi!
It was at this moment that the blood of this nameless bodyguard who died protecting him from an arrow was shed!
The scalding blood, soaking every inch of the scorched earth of Hexi, finally quenched his dying heart! An indescribable, violent power, originating from the deepest recesses of his soul, like a volcano dormant for millennia, was ignited by this scalding blood! It was not anger, not hatred, but a pure and ultimate will to protect that transcended anger and hatred! It was the silent cry of countless dead, the desperate plea of countless living, the deepest roar of life emanating from this ravaged land itself!
"Ugh—!"
A roar, inhuman and like the desperate howl of a wounded ancient beast, suddenly exploded from the depths of Xiao Yuxuan's throat! The sound pierced the deathly silence of Anyi City's night sky, carrying a violent power that could tear apart all obstacles and shake the very soul! He abruptly raised his head, the blood on his face still wet, but his eyes were no longer filled with confusion, sorrow, or emptiness! In their place were two blazing, golden flames, as intense as molten lava! These flames were not mystical light and shadow, but the almost instinctive brilliance of will burned to its limit, spirit highly concentrated, and insightful understanding of the ever-changing battlefield!
An invisible, suffocating, and overwhelming aura, like a tangible raging torrent, erupted from him! The surrounding air seemed to be instantly sucked away, forming a visible, distorted ripple! The few magic-based warriors closest to him were so shocked by this sudden mental storm that they lost their footing and staggered backward! Yan Song's sinister smile froze instantly, turning into incredulous horror!
Those who block my way to survival—die!
Xiao Yuxuan's voice was like a mixture of the coldest ice and lava from the deepest hell, each word carrying the clanging, murderous sound of metal clashing! He was no longer a passive, trapped beast, but had transformed into the most ferocious spear of defense! His body moved! His movements were as fast as a ghost, completely surpassing the limits of human endurance! There were no fancy moves, no complicated techniques, only the simplest, most direct, and most lethal battlefield fighting instincts!
Just as a soldier beside Yan Song, wielding a powerful crossbow and having just killed his personal guard, was about to cock it again in terror, Xiao Yuxuan appeared before him like lightning tearing through the night sky! The soldier only saw a blur before his wrist was gripped tightly by a massive, iron-like hand! Crack! A tooth-grinding sound of bone breaking rang out! The crossbow was released! Xiao Yuxuan seized the crossbow, and without even looking, used it as a club, sweeping it horizontally with immense force!
"Bang!" The heavy crossbow, carrying an overwhelming force, slammed solidly into the side of the helmet of another armored soldier who was thrusting his spear! The fine iron helmet instantly dented and deformed! The soldier didn't even utter a sound; his head tilted at an odd angle, and his body flew out like a broken sack, knocking over several people behind him!
"Kill him! Kill him now!" Yan Song screamed hoarsely, his soul almost leaving his body.
More spears came hurtling in from all directions, sealing off all of Xiao Yuxuan's space to dodge! Sheng Guo roared and swung his sword to block, instantly adding several more deep gashes to his shield!
In this seemingly inescapable deadly situation, the golden flames resembling lava in Xiao Yuxuan's eyes suddenly leaped! Time seemed to stretch out instantly in his perception! The trajectory of the spear tip piercing the air, the subtle signs of the armored soldier's muscles straining, the distribution of rubble underfoot, even the rapid breathing of his comrades behind him... all the minute details flooded into his mind like a torrent, instantly integrated and calculated by an almost divine battlefield intuition!
He didn't retreat! Instead, facing the densest thicket of spears, he twisted his body at an incredible angle and ducked! Several spears whistled past his scalp and back! At the same time, his left leg whipped around like a whip, fiercely striking a charred, slightly upturned beam half-buried in the rubble beside him!
"Boom!" The long-rotten roof beam snapped in response! The heavy broken wood, carrying immense force, crashed down on the group of armored soldiers surrounding them on the left! Amid screams, several men were knocked to the ground!
Taking advantage of the momentary opening and chaos, Xiao Yuxuan slipped out from the gaps in the forest of spears like a fish! He used the crossbow arm he had snatched as a short spear, stabbing it viciously into the abdomen of an officer who was trying to command the encirclement! With a twist and a pull, blood and fragments of internal organs gushed out!
"Charge out with me!" Xiao Yuxuan's roar was like a war drum, instantly igniting the fighting spirit of all his followers! He was no longer passively defending, but had transformed into the sharpest arrow, actively tearing apart the enemy's formation! His figure darted left and right in the flickering torchlight, each dodge perfectly executed, each strike precise and ruthless, aimed straight for the vitals! He seemed to be able to predict the trajectory of every attack, always managing to inflict maximum casualties on the enemy with minimal cost! Sheng Guo and his personal guards followed closely behind, like tigers imbued with a soul, unleashing astonishing combat power, fiercely protecting his flanks!
"Stop him! Fire arrows! Fire arrows!" Yan Song cried hysterically from behind the shield wall.
The bowstring twanged! Several crossbow bolts flew in with a sharp whistle!
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Xiao Yuxuan, the instant the arrow left the bowstring, swiftly grabbed a terrified refugee beside him and shoved him to the side! At the same time, he used the momentum to fall in the opposite direction! *Thud thud thud!* The arrows were deeply embedded in the ground where the refugee had just stood and where he had fallen! A close call indeed!
He leaped into the air, his eyes blazing with golden flames like the sun, locking onto Yan Song, whose face was deathly pale, behind the shield wall! A chilling, tangible killing intent, like an invisible giant hand, instantly seized Yan Song's heart! Yan Song felt his blood freeze, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground!
"Protect the master!" The armored soldiers were terrified, and their shields closed even tighter.
Xiao Yuxuan did not charge into the shield formation. Instead, he grabbed a half-burnt log scattered on the ground and hurled it with all his might at a dilapidated arrow tower above Yan Song's head, a tower piled with rubble and logs!
"Boom—Crack!"
The burning logs struck the most vulnerable point of the arrow tower with pinpoint accuracy! The arrow tower, already ravaged by war, let out a chilling groan and collapsed with a deafening roar! Large chunks of burning wood, heavy rubble, and sharp stones rained down like a meteor shower, crashing heavily onto the shield formation where Yan Song was positioned!
"ah--!"
"Be careful, sir!"
"Scatter!"
Screams, screams, the cracking of shields, and the dull thuds of heavy objects striking flesh mingled together in an instant! The impenetrable shield formation was shattered by this sudden, unexpected disaster! Smoke and dust filled the air, and flames soared into the sky! Yan Song was dragged away by his personal guards, but he was still struck on the forehead by a flying piece of gravel, causing him to bleed profusely and fall to the ground screaming in agony!
Chaos! Utter chaos! The formation of the magic-based warriors was completely disrupted, descending into panic and trampling!
"Go!" Xiao Yuxuan seized the fleeting opportunity, shouted, and stopped fighting. He led Sheng Guo and the others like tigers released from their cages, breaking through the chaotic encirclement in an instant and crashing into the deeper, labyrinthine alleys of Anyi City. Their figures were quickly swallowed by the darkness.
All that remained was a desolate battlefield. The firelight illuminated the collapsed watchtower, the crushed corpses of soldiers crushed by rolling logs, the groaning wounded soldiers, and, most notably, Yan Song's obese body, contorted in fear and pain, clutching his bleeding forehead in the mud. He stared at the dark alleyway where Xiao Yuxuan had disappeared, his eyes filled with boundless resentment and a deep-seated fear he himself refused to acknowledge.
Deep within the ruins, the rapidly advancing group paused briefly to catch their breath in a relatively secluded dead end. Xiao Yuxuan leaned against the cold, broken wall, his chest heaving violently, each breath searing with pain. The old wound on his forehead had reopened during the earlier outburst, blood mingling with sweat as it flowed down, yet he remained oblivious. The molten gold flames in his eyes had faded, but the lingering, cold, and violent power originating from the depths of his soul still surged and roared through his veins.
Sheng Guo tore off a piece of his clothing, intending to bandage his wound, but his hands trembled slightly. He gazed at the still-damp blood on Xiao Yuxuan's face and his unfathomable eyes, his lips moved, but he only managed to whisper, "General…you…"
Xiao Yuxuan slowly raised his hand, wiping the blood from his forehead, his fingertips tracing the sticky, dark red liquid. He looked at the crimson on his fingertips, then gazed up at the deathly silent sky of Anyi City, illuminated by firelight like a ghostly realm. After a long silence, a hoarse voice, carrying a strange, penetrating power, like a declaration, like a vow, echoed in the cold air of the dead-end alley:
"The path to ending war... is neither repaying evil with kindness, nor begging for mercy..."
He slowly clenched his blood-stained fist, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute determination to sever all confusion:
"Let the flames of fury burn away the thorns! Let iron and blood... forge my Great Wall!"
Each word was like a knife, piercing into the long night and into the depths of the soul of every follower present.
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