If the Beast King was directing them, that was another matter entirely. Jiang Yan Hai had seen it from the rooftop just now: when the Beast King ordered the Taotie to form human ladders, the Crane Army's attacks meant nothing to them. They simply let the women strike them, because they could not kill many Taotie at all.
"Come to think of it, you're the real heroes," Jiang Yan Hai said as he looked at Lin Mei.
Lin Mei gave a bitter smile and gently shook her head. "Women are born lowly. Even princesses born into the imperial family are often sent to the Shadowless Imperial Guard to serve in the Crane Army, to earn prestige for the royal family. They cannot choose their birth, much less ordinary commoners."
"With so many men dying, many places have far more women than men. So the surplus baby girls and women, especially the female relatives of disgraced officials and the like, are all sent here."
"At least here, though their lives are in danger and their training is harsh, they have dignity."
Jiang Yan Hai smiled before saying, "That's true. They can find their dignity here. And finding a husband among the soldiers here, living out their lives here—it's not bad either. If not for the Taotie, perhaps spending a lifetime on this frontier would be more comfortable than living somewhere like Bianliang."
"Perhaps. I don't know much about the outside world. I grew up here, but even within the Shadowless Imperial Guard, there are many unseen struggles, let alone in Bianliang. So I don't want to go back. I only want to stay here, even if I die in battle." Lin Mei nodded.
"What about you? What are women like in your Great Qin Empire?" Lin Mei asked curiously. Jiang Yan