Chapter 409 Brother Praises Me

Zong Zhao couldn't say it.

He could tell lies to his elderly parents without any pain.

However, when he looked at Zong Yan's tablet, what appeared before his eyes was his younger brother who was forever frozen at the age of sixteen. The guilt and hatred in his heart grew exponentially, and all words became difficult, blocking all his excuses.

"You can't tell it, right?" The old marquis said sadly, "Because this is not the truth. The truth is dirty. Zong Yan served the country with all his heart, but in the end he died at the hands of his own people. And you, after returning to Beijing, overturned the case of the Yan family, and then killed the murderer with your own hands, so that Zong Yan could rest in peace in the underworld, right?"

Zong Zhao took Zong Yan's tablet with trembling hands and held it in his arms, just like he was holding his younger brother, whose eyes were full of admiration, in his arms across decades.

Ten years ago, a night in the military camp.

The sixteen-year-old Zong Yan came back angrily with firewood in his arms, muttering, "This is too much. The son of General Zhao can be a captain when he enters the army. Brother, you are so powerful and a champion in martial arts, but you are only a centurion. Not only do you have to sleep in the same bunk with us every day, but you also make us do hard and tiring work. They just bully us because we are injured and don't come to the battlefield, so they think no one can protect us."

Zong Zhao took the firewood from his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. We can make a name for ourselves with our own abilities. We don't need to bother with them."

Zong Yan's temper came and went quickly. After speaking angrily, he threw all these injustices behind his mind. He held up something glittering with gold and showed off excitedly, "Brother, look what this is?"

Zong Zhao looked up and saw a silver claw with a thin silver wire underneath. It looked familiar but strange. He asked uncertainly, "Iron Claw Hook?"

The Iron Claw Hook is a special weapon that can be used for both attacking and climbing. Zong Zhao has seen it in weapon diagrams, but the one in front of him seems different. The claws look very soft and the silver wire is very thin.

Zong Yan nodded and introduced it to him enthusiastically: "This is my improvement. Although the silver coin is a little thin, the black iron wire used is very tough and can kill people without blood. Oh, and the claws can also be retracted. You see, press here to retract it. This is open. This is more convenient than the original. Just tuck it in through the sleeve. What do you think? Isn't it amazing? This is all my own idea!"

Zong Zhao took it, looked around, and commented: "Not bad, you have a talent for making hidden weapons."

Zong Yan grinned when his brother praised him: "Haha, I knew you would praise me. The teacher in our martial arts academy also praised me like this. It's a pity that I don't have enough experience now. After I hone my skills on the battlefield for a few more years, maybe I can make more powerful weapons for all the soldiers in Da Chu to use!"

Zong Zhao returned the Iron Claw Hook to him with a faint smile on his face, and encouraged him, "What a great ambition! I'll wait and see if you can improve it into a more powerful weapon."

Zong Yan smiled for a while, then took out the Iron Claw Hook and put it back into his hand: "Brother, I'll give this to you first. I'm still making mine. When it's done, we'll each have one. It can kill enemies and protect ourselves. It must be very useful."

Zong Zhao didn't want it, and replied: "Since you just made one, you can keep it. I'll wait for your second one."

Zong Yan thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. I can make it quickly and give it to you in a few days."

"good."

The two brothers sat quietly in the corner.

The wooden sticks in the fire were burning with a crackling sound.

It was four o'clock in the morning and it was still dark.

A soldier came to report: "Zong Zhao, the general has ordered you to lead a team of troops out of the city and lead the enemy into the western jungle. We will then send people over to encircle them."

Zong Zhao frowned and said, "We only have a hundred people, which is too few even to be used as bait."

The soldier did not explain, but raised his token and said in a stern voice: "Military orders must not be disobeyed. Do you want to disobey them?"

It seemed that the two were about to clash.

Zong Yan stepped forward and pulled his brother, asking, "Brother Soldier, which general gave the order? General Zhao?"

The soldier said coldly, "It's Zong Qiyun, General Zong."

Zong Yan heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He advised, "Brother, it was Uncle Qiyun who gave the order. He is our cousin, and unlike Zhao Yumin, he will definitely not harm us. I guess Uncle Qiyun must have a brilliant battle plan, but it is not convenient to tell us subordinates."

Zong Zhao also thought it made sense. It was indeed inconvenient for their subordinates to know the general's plan, so he stopped counting the number of people and prepared to leave the city.

Of course, a squad of a hundred men was too fake to be used as bait, but since it was still dark, it was easy for them to create a large-scale battle formation, which soon attracted the enemy's troops to chase after them.

Zong Yan said excitedly as he retreated, "Brother, there are more than a thousand people chasing us. Although we can't deal with them, if Uncle Qiyun comes to flank us, none of these thousands of people will be able to escape!"

Zong Zhao hummed and said, "Be careful, don't really fight with them, wait for Uncle Yun to come."

"good!"

These hundreds of people kept retreating, fighting with real guns and knives for a while, and then retreating hastily. It seemed real and fake and it was impossible to tell.

From a baiting perspective, they did a great job.

But--

The soldiers in the rear suddenly shouted, "Sir, we can't retreat anymore. There's a cliff behind us!"

"Ah? A cliff? Why is there a cliff behind the jungle?"

"I don't know either. We are all new recruits this year and are not familiar with the terrain at all... Centurion, what's going on?"

The panicked inquiries of the soldiers made Zong Zhao's heart skip a beat. He realized that something was wrong, but he still forced himself to stabilize the morale of the troops: "Since we can't retreat, let's fight. Don't worry, reinforcements will be here soon!"

"Okay! Let's fight them!"

"Today is the day for us to become famous!"

The soldiers were full of morale. They held their weapons and shouted as they rushed towards the enemy.

The team of soldiers led by Zong Zhao was very strong. He had been training them painstakingly since he entered the camp, so even though it was their first battle, they were extremely brave and killed with great momentum.

However, there were too many enemies.

As the enemies are killed and fall one by one, new enemies will come to replace them. Their fighting power is not that strong, but their numbers are endless... endless...

Zong Yan was in the crowd, bloodshot. His body and face were covered in blood, both from the enemy and his own. He saw his own soldiers falling in a pool of blood one by one, and there was no movement from the distance. He turned to Zong Zhao and asked, "Brother, is Uncle Qiyun not coming?"