Blood on the City Wall

Before the sky had fully brightened, the Death Squad Camp was driven onto the city walls by whips and curses.

Li Jinshui climbed the frozen steps, his dull blade replaced by an iron saber that had been sharpened—the edge was chipped and curled in several places, but it was still a tool capable of killing.

Each man was also issued a wooden shield, its edges wrapped in raw cowhide, heavy and cumbersome.

The city wall was wide enough for horses to gallop, and the battlements were crowded with men.

The Death Squad Camp was thrown into the third row; the first row consisted of crossbowmen, the second of spearmen, and they, clutching blades and shields, were the final wall of flesh—the kind for whom no one would collect the bodies if they died.

The cold wind whipped snow particles against their faces.

Li Jinshui squinted toward the outside of the city—the black, dense Northern Di army formation spread like a tide to the horizon. Dozens of siege ladders were being pushed forward, the creaking of wheels over frozen earth mingling with the war drums, striking against the hearts of the men with every beat.

"Raise shields—!"

The moment the command exploded, Li Jinshui raised his wooden shield over his head by instinct.

The next second, the sky went dark.

No, it was the arrows in the air blocking out the light.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—!

The sound of arrows nailing into the shields was as dense as rain hitting banana leaves. Someone nearby groaned; out of the corner of his eye, Li Jinshui saw the young man who had just been sent to reinforce them fall backward with an arrow through his neck, blood spraying over half of his body.

His hand gripping the shield remained steady, the energy of his Iron Shirt circulating within his body, dispersing the jarring force of the impacts into his limbs and bones. Seventy percent of a pseudo-realm was enough.

The arrow rain had barely thinned when the siege ladders hooked onto the parapet.

"Raise spears—!"

The spearmen in the front row thrust out violently, poking the Di soldiers who had just poked their heads up. But there were too many—the second, third, fourth ladders... the barbarian soldiers swarmed up like ants.

"Death Squad Camp! Move up—!"

Li Jinshui was pushed forward by the men behind him. A Di soldier had just vaulted over the battlement, his curved saber slashing toward his face. He raised his shield to block, and the wooden shield was carved with a deep gash, the vibration numbing his arm. Almost as if his body moved on its own, his right hand swung the iron saber from bottom to top—

Army-Breaking Saber Technique: Upward Slash.

The sensation of the blade piercing a throat was both gritty and slick.

Warm blood splattered across his face. Li Jinshui had no time to feel disgusted before a second Di soldier jumped up, a bone mace swinging toward his head. He dodged to the side and swept his iron saber horizontally—

Horizontal Slash.

The blade bit into the opponent's ribs, wedging between the bones. The Di soldier let out a howl and lunged forward, knocking him to the ground. The bone mace grazed his ear and smashed into the wall bricks, sending shards of brick flying into his face. Li Jinshui kicked the corpse away, pulled out his blade, and backhanded it toward the third shadow lunging at him—

Cleave.

The head rolled away a long distance.

[Killed Northern Di soldier, points +1]

[Killed Northern Di soldier, points +1]

[Killed Northern Di soldier, points +1]

[Current points: 3]

Three lines of text popped up before his eyes. Li Jinshui leaned against the battlement and gasped for air, only then noticing that a large chunk of flesh had been torn from his left arm by the bone mace, exposing white bone. He circulated the energy of his Iron Shirt, and the bleeding slowed, the pain also suppressed by a few degrees.

He had no time to dwell on it; the wall had been breached in several places, and the Death Squad Camp was being cut to pieces. Hunter Han was fighting two men nearby, his saber technique vicious and tricky, but an arrow was already embedded in his back, the shaft trembling with his every movement.

Li Jinshui rushed over and hacked his iron saber at the back of a Di soldier's neck. The man turned to parry, but Hunter Han seized the chance to run him through the stomach.

Points... Li Jinshui's mind raced, Add them all to Iron Shirt!

[Consumed 3 points, upgraded Iron Shirt]

A boom echoed within his body, as if something had exploded.

The energy that had been circulating sluggishly suddenly surged, burning like molten iron, rushing from his stomach through his limbs and bones. A dark bronze luster rose to the surface of his skin, lingering for a full three breaths before slowly fading. The flesh at the wound on his left arm began to squirm on its own, and the bleeding stopped.

[Iron Shirt: First Layer → Second Layer]

[Current Realm: Body Forging Second Layer]

He gripped his saber tightly, feeling it grow much lighter.

"Stay close to me!" Hunter Han's voice was hoarse, the arrow shaft on his back swaying wildly with his movements.

The two stood back-to-back, fighting as they retreated. Li Jinshui pushed his Iron Shirt to the limit, taking two blows head-on; although his skin was torn and flesh mangled, his bones remained intact. Every strike of his iron saber drew blood, and he cycled through the three forms of the Army-Breaking technique, which had somehow begun to flow together.

A Di soldier had locked onto them.

The fellow was as sturdy as a bear, his mace stained with red and white gore.

Hunter Han raised his blade to meet him. The moment the saber and mace collided, there was a crack, and the iron saber snapped. The mace's momentum did not falter, slamming solidly into his chest.

The sound of shattering bones made one's teeth ache.

Hunter Han spat out a mouthful of blood, flying backward to slam against the battlement, where he lay motionless.

The Di Five-Man Squad Leader turned his head to look at Li Jinshui, grinning to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth.

The mace swept horizontally, carrying the sound of wind. Li Jinshui did not retreat but advanced, pushing his Iron Shirt to the peak, and used his half-shattered shield to take the blow head-on—

"Bang!"

The shield shattered completely, and a searing pain exploded in his left shoulder, yet the bone remained intact. Leveraging the momentum, he slammed into his opponent's chest, his iron saber swinging upward in a vicious slash!

The blade sliced through the leather armor, carving a gaping wound across the stomach. The squad leader let out a howl, swinging his mace back in a desperate counter. Li Jinshui sidestepped and slashed horizontally, the blade biting deep into the man's wrist.

The mace flew from his grasp.

The third strike, a downward cleave.

It split the man from the center of his skull all the way down to his collarbone.

The squad leader stood with wide eyes for two heartbeats before crashing to the ground.

[Killed Northern Di Squad Leader (Body Forging Level 3), Points +3]

[Current Points: 3]

Li Jinshui leaned on his saber, gasping for air as his vision swam with black spots. His left shoulder had gone numb, and his Iron Shirt Level 2 was pushed to its absolute limit.

"Retreat! Death Squad Camp, fall back from the city walls--!"

The horn finally sounded. Reinforcements had arrived.

By the time the remnants of the Death Squad Camp were rotated off the walls, the sky had turned pitch black. Li Jinshui dragged his iron saber as he descended, leaving a trail of blood with every step. The survivors limped together—three hundred had climbed the walls, but fewer than eighty were still breathing.

He found Hunter Han among the piles of corpses—his chest was completely caved in, his eyes still wide open.

Li Jinshui crouched down, snapped off the protruding arrow shaft from his back, and reached out to close his eyes.

Back at the Death Squad Camp, no one spoke. The wounded groaned in the corners, while the uninjured sat on the ground in a daze. Li Jinshui collected a bowl of thin gruel so watery it reflected his face, a piece of rock-hard jerky, and a small packet of medicinal powder that stung his nose with its pungent scent.

He leaned against the corner of the barracks and pulled up his panel:

[Technique: Iron Shirt (Level 2 0/15), Army-Breaking Saber Technique (Initiate 9/10)]

[Realm: Body Forging Level 2]

[Points: 3]

He would save the points to upgrade Iron Shirt; his realm was everything.

The sound of war drums drifted in from outside the window—the night assault had begun.

The food had improved slightly since reaching the battlefield. Li Jinshui tore into the jerky, wolfing it down.

The iron saber lay across his knees, its edge even more jagged than before.