Countless corpses lay layered across the battlefield, some clad in Heaven Dou Empire uniforms, others in Star Luo Empire battle robes, as if recounting the brutality of yesterday's fight.
An indescribable stench hung in the air.
The smell of blood, scorched flesh, and rotting corpses blended together, making people want to vomit.
Vultures circled overhead, shrieking harshly as they waited for their feast.
Several wild dogs ran out from the distant woods, dragging a severed arm into the grass.
Gu Xiao stood beside Gu Ci, his right arm suspended in a sling while his left hung at his side.
His left arm had been broken in yesterday's battle. The military physician had set the bone, but it would take at least half a month to heal.
He stared silently at the battlefield beyond the pass for a long time before finally speaking. "There is war every year, and people die every year.
"They died this year. Next year, it could be us."
Gu Ci said nothing.
He did not know what to say.
He remembered the enemies he had killed on the battlefield yesterday—their faces, their eyes, the sounds they made before they fell.
Some had been very young, perhaps only fifteen or sixteen, not much older than him.
Others had been old, their hair already white, yet they had still been sent to die on the battlefield.
Why had they come? Because of the Star Luo Empire emperor's orders? For military pay? Or for something else?
He did not know.
He only knew that they were dead, while he was still alive.
"Come on. Let's go down and take a look."
Gu Xiao patted his shoulder and turned to walk down from the city wall.
Gu Ci followed behind his father. Zi Dian leaped down from the wall and