Before dawn had fully broken, the Death Squad Camp was already being driven up onto the city wall by whips and curses.
Li Jinshui climbed the icy steps, carrying an iron saber in place of his old blunt one. Its edge was chipped in several places and curled over, but at least it was something that could kill.
They had also given each man a wooden shield, its edges wrapped in rawhide. It was heavy.
The city wall was wide enough for horses to gallop along, and men were packed behind the battlements.
The Death Squad Camp had been thrown into the third rank. The first rank was made up of archers and crossbowmen, the second of spearmen. The men like them, armed with sabers and shields, were the last wall of flesh—and the sort of men whose bodies no one would even bother to collect after they died.
The cold wind whipped snowflakes into their faces.
Li Jinshui narrowed his eyes and looked beyond the wall. The Northern Di army spread to the horizon like a dark tide. Dozens of scaling ladders were being pushed forward, the creaking of wheels grinding over frozen earth mingling with the war drums, each beat thudding against the heart.
"Shields up—!"
The moment the order rang out, Li Jinshui almost instinctively raised his wooden shield over his head.
The next second, the sky went dark.
No—the arrows overhead had blotted out the light.
Thud, thud, thud, thud—!
Arrows hammered into the shields as densely as rain beating against banana leaves. Someone beside him let out a muffled groan. From the corner of his eye, Li Jinshui saw the boy who had just filled a gap take an arrow through the neck and fall backward, spraying blood across half his body.
His shield hand never wavered. The force of the Iron Shirt technique began circulating on its own within him, dispersing the blows against his shield throughout his limbs. At seventy percent of the pseudo-realm, it was enough.
The arrow rain had barely let up when the scaling ladders were already resting against the top of the wall.
"Spears forward—!"
The spearmen in front thrust out all at once, knocking down the Di soldiers who had just appeared over the edge. But there were too many of them—the second ladder, the third, the fourth... Barbarian Soldiers swarmed up like ants.
"Death Squad Camp! Hold the line—!"
Li Jinshui was shoved forward by the men behind him. A Di soldier had just vaulted over the battlements when his curved saber came slashing straight at Li Jinshui. Li Jinshui raised his shield to block. The saber carved a deep gash into the wood, numbing his arm with the impact. His body moved almost on its own as his right hand swept the iron saber upward—
Army-Breaking Saber Technique: Upward Slash.
The sensation of the blade piercing a throat was rough and slippery.
Warm blood splashed across his face. Li Jinshui had no time to feel sick. A second Di soldier had already leapt up, swinging a Bone Hammer at his head. Li Jinshui dodged to the side and swept his iron saber horizontally—
Horizontal Slash.
The blade cut into the man's ribs and lodged between the bones. The Di soldier howled and threw his whole body against Li Jinshui, knocking him to the ground. The Bone Hammer scraped past his ear and smashed into the bricks, sending fragments flying across his face. Li Jinshui kicked the corpse away, pulled out his saber, and struck backhand at the third shadow lunging toward him—
Cleave.
The man's head rolled far away.
[You killed a Northern Di soldier. Points +1]
[You killed a Northern Di soldier. Points +1]
[You killed a Northern Di soldier. Points +1]
[Current points: 3]
Three lines of text appeared before his eyes. Li Jinshui leaned against the battlements, gasping for breath. Only then did he realize that the Bone Hammer had torn a huge chunk of flesh from his left arm, exposing the gleaming white bone. The force of the Iron Shirt technique circulated, slowing the bleeding and dulling the pain.
He had no time to think. The wall had already been breached in several places, and the Death Squad Camp had been split into scattered groups. Hunter Han was fighting two men nearby. His saber work was vicious and tricky, but an arrow was already embedded in his back, its shaft trembling with every movement.
Li Jinshui rushed over and brought his iron saber down on the back of a Di soldier's neck. The man turned to block, but Hunter Han seized the opening and stabbed him through the stomach.
"Points..." Li Jinshui's thoughts raced. Put them all into Iron Shirt!
[Spent 3 points. Iron Shirt upgraded.]
A thunderous boom erupted inside him, as if something had exploded.
The qi that had previously circulated at a leisurely pace suddenly surged, hot as molten iron, rushing from his belly through every limb. A dim bronze sheen rose over his skin, lingering for three full breaths before slowly fading. The flesh around the wound on his left arm writhed and closed on its own, and the bleeding stopped.
[Iron Shirt: First Layer → Second Layer]
[Current Realm: Body Forging, Second Layer]
He tightened his grip on the saber. It felt much lighter.
"Stay close to me!" Hunter Han shouted, his voice breaking. The arrow shaft on his back bounced wildly with every movement.
The two of them fought back-to-back, retreating as they went. Li Jinshui pushed Iron Shirt to its limit and took two blows head-on. His skin was torn and bloody, but his bones remained unbroken. Every strike of his iron saber drew blood. He cycled through the Three Army-Breaking Styles until they seemed to flow seamlessly together.
A Di soldier set his sights on them.
The brute was as big as a bear, and the spiked club in his hands was smeared with red and white chunks of flesh.
Hunter Han raised his saber to meet him. The instant saber and club collided, there was a sharp crack. His iron saber snapped. The spiked club kept going and slammed squarely into his chest.
The sound of bones breaking made Li Jinshui's teeth ache.
Hunter Han spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, crashing into the battlements. He did not move again.
The Di Five-Man Squad Leader turned to look at Li Jinshui and grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
The spiked club swept toward him with a rush of wind. Li Jinshui charged forward instead of retreating, driving Iron Shirt to its limit. He took the blow head-on with his half-shattered shield—
"Bang!"
The shield split apart completely. A burst of pain exploded through his left shoulder, but his bones held. Using the force of the impact, he crashed into the man's arms and drove his iron saber upward. Upward Slash!
The blade sliced through his leather armor and opened a huge gash across his belly. The Squad Leader roared and swung the spiked club back at him. Li Jinshui turned and slashed horizontally, the blade biting into the man's wrist.
The spiked club flew from his hand.
The third strike—Cleave.
The saber split the man's head down the middle, cutting all the way to his collarbone.
The Squad Leader stood staring for two breaths, then crashed to the ground.
[You killed a Northern Di Five-Man Squad Leader (Body Forging, Third Layer). Points +3]
[Current points: 3]
Li Jinshui leaned on his saber and gasped for air, his vision going dark in waves. He could no longer feel his left shoulder. Even the second layer of Iron Shirt had reached its limit.
"Fall back! Death Squad Camp, retreat from the wall—!"
At last, the horn sounded. The reinforcements had arrived.
By the time the remnants of the Death Squad Camp were relieved, night had fallen completely. Li Jinshui dragged his iron saber downward, dripping blood with every step. Those who had survived gathered together, limping. Of the three hundred who had gone up onto the wall, fewer than eighty were still breathing.
He found Hunter Han among the piles of corpses. His chest had caved in completely, but his eyes were still open.
Li Jinshui crouched beside him, snapped off the section of arrow shaft sticking out of his back, and reached out to close his eyes.
When he returned to the Death Squad Camp, nobody spoke. The wounded lay groaning in a corner, while the uninjured sat on the ground in a daze. Li Jinshui collected a bowl of thin porridge that reflected his face, a piece of hard jerky, and a small packet of wound medicine that stung his nose just to smell.
He leaned against the corner of the barracks and brought up the panel:
[Techniques: Iron Shirt (Second Layer 0/15), Army-Breaking Saber Technique (Beginner 9/10)] [Realm: Body Forging, Second Layer] [Points: 3]
He would save the points for Iron Shirt. His realm was everything.
War drums sounded outside the window again—the night assault had begun.
At least the food was a little better on the battlefield. Li Jinshui tore open the jerky and wolfed it down.
His iron saber lay across his knees, its edge curled even worse than before.
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