The sunset was like spilled bl**d.
The silhouettes of the two were cast long against the war-worn city wall by the evening sun.
“Little Hero Ke!”
“Tsk tsk, did you see that? Little Hero Ke stood on the city wall and didn’t budge an inch.”
“Yeah, He Lian Wu was really smashed to bits by him!”
Seeing him still standing there gave me a feeling of reassurance, as if I had a mystical needle in my heart anchoring me down.
Wherever Little Hero Ke passed by, the exhausted soldiers of Green Wood Camp looked at him with respect, as if victory was right within their grasp.
As long as the Cold Fairy was soaring in the sky.
As long as Little Hero Ke stood on the wall.
No matter what enemies they faced, they felt confident.
They all forgot.
Little Hero Ke was merely at the Observation Realm, not much higher in realm than them, and he could even be said to be on par with some of them.
In fact, he was about the same age as their younger relatives.
All they knew was that with such dazzling figures like Little Hero Ke and the Cold Fairy fighting alongside them, they had never been disappointed.
Little Hero Ke had stood firm against the siege ram and took down the infamous He Lian Wu, who was rumored to unite the tribes of the South Border.
The hopeful gazes of the soldiers made Little Hero Ke uncomfortable.
He looked up and again peered into the distance with his fated divine eye.
【Name: Han Zhen】
【Age: 22 (5330)】
【Foundation: bl**d God Body.】
【Realm: Nine Apertures of Observation Divine.】
【Fate: Purple】
【Evaluation: Former national master of the Da Shang Dynasty, after the fall of the Shang, he comprehended the mysteries of bl**d Phoenix Essence at a deeper level due to his immortality, enabling him to be reborn after his consciousness and flesh were about to perish, and he has now been reborn for the seventh time.】
【Recent Encounter: Obsessed with the divine artifacts possessed by Ying Bing, including the bl**d Phoenix Essence and Jade Phoenix Divine, he aims to acquire them. After losing the bl**d Phoenix Essence, he sought to cultivate the True Demon Summoning Scripture, absorbing the power of countless beings through war and exploiting the d*ath of many souls to regain control over the bl**d Sacrifice Path. The more souls that perish, the stronger his power becomes.】
Thus, Han Zhen didn’t really care how many people died.
Be they slaughtered from the city or the defenders of Qingmu City, he likely wouldn’t care even if it were his own people.
All for the divine artifact on Ice Chunk’s body.
This former national master of Da Shang might stake everything he had on this battle.
Qingmu City had succeeded today, but that didn’t mean there were no losses.
Tomorrow, the fighting would be even more brutal.
The not-yet-closed fated divine eye swept over the soldiers present.
Ying Bing looked at the young man, and paused, reaching out to smooth his wrinkled collar.
They had promised to go eat, but Little Hero Ke was lost in thought, and somehow his direction changed again.
The two strolled over the war-scarred city wall, making their way down to the central tent, where the visible number of generals had noticeably decreased, yet they still fervently handled military affairs.
Commander Qu sat there with a furrowed brow, reading battle reports.
“Commander.”
Little Hero Ke stood at the door and whispered.
Commander Qu saw that he wanted to speak privately, so he got up and stepped out.
After a brief silence, he forced a smile:
“Today can be counted as a great victory; our battle losses are one to five.”
“Commander Qu, does the King of the South Border… mean he wasn’t coming from the beginning?”
Silence.
Little Hero Ke just checked with his fated divine eye, noting that some soldiers had died on the eighth day, while others fell on the tenth day.
If the King of the South Border was coming, it wouldn’t be possible for soldiers to still be dying on the tenth day.
Commander Qu’s expression stiffened, then he lowered his eyelids, his proud head slumping a bit.
“Little Hero Ke is right.”
“His Majesty issued a golden decree not long ago, ordering the prince to report back to the capital.”
“I sent the young marquis to summon the prince, hoping to find an excuse to send him to a safer place. I also wanted you to leave with him, so you could witness how easily you can traverse and cover a vast distance.”
“If the prince had come, Qingmu Great Camp wouldn’t have fallen so low as to run out of supplies. But I can’t say that; if I do, the morale of the brothers would be shattered.”
—
Ying Bing’s clear eyes flickered with thoughtful light.
Upon further contemplation.
The King of the South Border was a powerful law body cultivator and a rare divine general; within the military, he could rival those of the seventh realm.
His d*ath was indeed unnatural.
Li Mo opened his mouth.
Before he could speak, Commander Qu pointed towards the decapitated demon king at the city gate:
“Back then, the prince was still an outer realm presence and along with the brothers, slayed that cursed crocodile. Afterward, he personally built this Green Wood City with the brothers amidst the vast marshland, standing here, akin to the soldiers that died on this land, who remain the same.”
“Even if the final outcome is the fall of the city, I still want to d*e in front of the people.”
“Both of you, war is merciless; war has never been a means to establish a great cause. You’ve seen it already. In the future, when you soar in the Nine Heavens, if you carry a little more compassion in your hearts, it would mean my d*ath has some significance.”
Heroes rise and draw their swords, yet the common folk endure the calamity for ten years…
Thoughts of this surfaced in Li Mo’s mind.
“Let’s go.”
Commander Qu patted Li Mo’s shoulder, saying it for the second time.
After saying this, he rubbed his face and returned to the barracks with newfound confidence:
“Little Hero Li just said we’re about to receive a second wave of supplies!”
He even found an excuse for it.
But the generals likely never thought this would be one of Commander Qu’s rare lies in his life.
One by one, they clenched their fists, as if they were witnessing the dawn of victory.
“Ice Chunk, I’m hungry, let’s go eat.”
“Mm.”
Ying Bing reached for the big-headed doll but then pulled her hand back.
Today, Little Li’s cooking was lacking any inspiration.
Just simple rations, meat soup, the same as what the soldiers were having.
“Ying Bing, should we go for it?”
Li Mo held the bowl and suddenly looked relaxed as he gazed into the distance, “After all, this city can’t be held anymore. We’ve done what we can, we’ve fought our hardest.”
“Do you really think that way?”
Ying Bing stared at him earnestly.
“Yep.”
“You’re lying to me.”
She leaned in closer, taking a whiff of the faint fragrance from Little Li’s cooking; even without looking back, she could tell.
Those icy, mirror-like eyes surely seemed to peer into the depths of one’s heart.
“? I’m not.”
“Then do you dare to turn around and tell me that looking into my eyes?”
“Not brave enough!”
Li Mo, whose mouth was hard as stone, felt the icy hands forcibly rotating his head.
Ice Chunk’s staring—forced version.
“You want to trick me first and then stay here alone, waiting until the city truly crumbles to leave, right?”
“….Wow, Ice Chunk, you’re really smart.”
Realizing his thoughts were exposed, Little Li scratched his nose awkwardly.
Just absurd, could it be Ice Chunk also has fated divine eyes at this point?
Let’s forget that; that’s not the main issue.
Cold Fairy held her lips tightly, with an expression that was not happy and vaguely held some mist in her eyes.
Angry.
She hadn’t said it, but he understood the meaning behind that gaze.
How dare you make decisions without my permission and leave me behind?
…..
PS: How has today’s ice content been? Hehe, I actually wrote a lot of battle scenes today, but a lot of the details of war aren’t necessary; they aren’t the focus, so I omitted some to reduce word count.
I hope for your generous support, mwah~
