Revenge

The news of the General of the North-Suppressing's first victory reached North-Rejecting City on the third day.

That morning, a rider on a swift horse galloped in from the south. The man was covered in blood, yet his face was full of excitement. As he charged through the city gate, he shouted, "A great victory! The General of the North-Suppressing has achieved a great victory!"

As the news spread, the entire North-Rejecting City erupted in cheers.

Li Jinshui stood at the entrance of the barracks, listening to the cheers echoing from afar, but his face remained expressionless.

A great victory.

They had won.

Yet, the sight of that blood-soaked messenger suggested that the price of this victory was likely not small.

Sure enough, more detailed news arrived in the afternoon.

The General of the North-Suppressing had fought a bloody battle for three days against the main force of the Di Army three hundred miles outside Yanmen Pass, resulting in heavy casualties for both sides. The commander of the Di Army had been severely wounded and forced to retreat a hundred miles. However, the Great Zhou side had also lost nearly fifty thousand men, and the General of the North-Suppressing himself had been wounded and was currently recuperating.

Fifty thousand men.

Li Jinshui remained silent for a long time.

Fifty thousand lives traded for a great victory.

Was it worth it?

He did not know.

He only knew that those who had died would never return.

In the days that followed, the atmosphere on the battlefield became strange.

Huyan Zhuo seemed to realize that he could not take North-Rejecting City in the short term, so the offensive slowed down significantly. It was no longer a fierce assault once a day, but rather small-scale skirmishes every two or three days—probing attacks that withdrew as soon as there were any casualties.

The Seventh Prince was not in a hurry either, simply wearing them down.

Both sides seemed to be engaged in a tacit war of attrition, neither willing to pay a heavy price again.

Yet, on the battlefield, the slaughter continued.

On the fourth day, the Di Army came again.

Li Jinshui charged onto the battlefield wielding his Black Iron Blade. He had just killed three Di soldiers when that familiar aura appeared again.

Tuoba Feng.

He stood ten zhang away, holding a curved blade, watching Li Jinshui coldly.

The two locked eyes, and without a word, they began to fight.

This battle lasted for nearly half an hour.

Tuoba Feng's swordsmanship had clearly improved since a few days ago.

His blade technique was more fluid, with more variations, making him harder to deal with. Although he was still being suppressed by Li Jinshui, he was no longer as disheveled as before and could occasionally counterattack with a strike or two.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Li Jinshui became.

This man was actually improving while being suppressed by him.

Another genius.

A genius just like him, capable of rapid growth in the heat of battle.

On the fifth day, the Di Army came again.

It was another small-scale battle.

Three thousand Di soldiers arrived and attacked for two hours.

Li Jinshui charged at the very front, and wherever his Black Iron Blade passed, Di soldiers fell one after another.

As he fought, his gaze swept across the crowd and suddenly stopped.

Thirty paces away, a familiar figure was locked in a fierce battle with a Di soldier.

The man was wearing iron armor from the capital, a burly, thick-faced brute.

He recognized that man.

It was the same brute who had searched his barracks that day, the capital soldier who had kicked the door open, thrown his military blade on the ground, and patted his face while calling him a "mud-legged peasant."

At this moment, the brute was fighting a Di soldier in the early stage of Internal Strength, sweating profusely and struggling to keep up. His blade technique was mediocre, relying entirely on his cultivation realm to hold on, but his opponent was much more agile and had nearly struck him several times.

Li Jinshui watched the man, a slow curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

He pretended to charge forward, but his footsteps quietly drifted toward that direction.

Passing by a stone, he gave it a light kick.

The stone was not large, only the size of a fist, but it flew out from his kick, heading straight for the back of the brute's knee.

"Bang!"

The stone struck the back of the knee perfectly. The brute's leg went weak, and he tumbled forward.

The Di warrior opposite him lit up, hacking down with his blade!

"Ah--!!!"

A scream rang out as the burly man's right arm, the one gripping his blade, was severed at the elbow, blood spraying wildly!

He lay on the ground, clutching his severed arm and rolling about in agony, his shrieks sounding inhumanly shrill.

The Di warrior was about to deliver a finishing blow, but was intercepted by a Zhou Army soldier rushing in from the side.

The burly man seized the chance to scramble up, clutching his stump and running for his life, howling as he fled.

He had run barely a dozen paces when his foot caught on something--

It was another stone.

He sprawled face-first onto the ground, his face covered in blood from the impact.

The Di warrior had already shaken off his opponent, charged over, and hacked a blade into his back!

"Ah--!"

A second strike!

A third strike!

A fourth strike!

The burly man lay prone on the ground, drenched in blood, begging desperately for mercy: "Spare me! Spare me! I'm from the capital! I'm Lady Yun's man! Spare..."

The burly man gathered all his strength to crawl up, turning to run again.

The direction he ran in happened to be toward Li Jinshui.

Li Jinshui was locked in a fierce struggle with a Di soldier, blades clashing back and forth.

As the burly man ran past him, he tripped over something unknown, stumbled, and crashed hard onto the ground.

"Snap!"

His leg twisted at a grotesque angle; it was broken.

The pursuing Di warrior had already caught up and hacked a blade into his back.

"Ah--!"

A final strike to the neck, and he finally stopped moving.

Before dying, he twisted his face, struggling to turn his head and look around.

He saw Li Jinshui.

Li Jinshui had just plunged his blade into the chest of the Di soldier, pulled it out, and turned his head to meet his gaze.

Yet, there was something flickering in those eyes.

It was not pity, not fear, and not even satisfaction.

It was merely a calm observation.

Like watching something finally fall into its proper place.

The burly man's mouth opened, wanting to say something.

He recognized those eyes.

That day in the barracks, when he had slapped that face, those eyes had looked at him exactly like this—as calm as a frozen winter lake.

But he hadn't cared back then.

Just a mud-legged peasant, after all.

Now, he understood.

What was hidden beneath that calm.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

His eyes slowly lost focus, a final mouthful of blood surged from his mouth, and he moved no more.

Seeing the burly man hacked to death, the smile at the corners of Li Jinshui's mouth deepened by a fraction.

The Di warrior killed the burly man and was about to pick up his saber, but Li Jinshui had already charged over.

With one strike, the Di warrior fell to the ground.

[Killed Northern Di Decurion, early stage of Inner Strength, points +10]

Li Jinshui stood beside the burly man's corpse and glanced down.

The burly man's eyes were still wide open, staring in death.

Li Jinshui crouched down, helped him close his eyes, and whispered in a voice only he could hear:

"A search is just a search; there was no need to be so violent."

Then he stood up and continued to slaughter the enemy.

Behind him, the corpse was quickly trampled beyond recognition, swallowed by the chaos of the army.

The slaughter lasted until noon, when the Di troops finally retreated.

No one would notice him.

No one would know what he saw before he died.

The battle ended, and the troops withdrew back into the city.

Li Jinshui walked among the crowd, his steps steady and his breathing even.

Monkey followed behind him, chattering incessantly about the battle that had just taken place. Er Gou chimed in from the side, boasting about how many he had killed today.

Li Jinshui nodded occasionally, but said nothing.

Returning to the barracks, he set down his Black Iron Blade, sat on his bed, and pulled up his interface.

[Points: 87]

He had saved up quite a bit more today.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

The sound of Monkey and Er Gou's laughter drifted into his ears, along with the clamor from the neighboring barracks and the distant horn signaling the end of the day.

Listening to those sounds, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The smile was faint, and it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Outside the window, the sun dipped below the horizon.

Another night in North-Rejecting City had arrived.