After that brutal battle, the fighting at North-Rejecting City fell into a strange rhythm.
The Di Army stopped launching massive, all-out assaults on the city and instead switched to several small-scale raids a day.
Each time, several hundred men charged a stretch of wall with scaling ladders, refusing to retreat no matter how many died. It was as if they weren't trying to take the city at all, but simply to wear the defenders down until they dropped dead.
The Death Squad Camp became the busiest unit of all. Wherever the alarm sounded, that was where they were sent.
Some days they had to climb onto the walls three or four times, and each time they paid for it with their lives.
Li Jinshui was soaked in that river of blood, growing stronger at a breakneck pace.
During the first raid, he cut down four Di soldiers, earning four points, which he immediately put into Iron Shirt.
[Consumed 9 points, Iron Shirt, Third Layer (12/15)]
[Current Points: 0]
After countless fights to the death, Army-Breaking Saber Technique finally broke through, advancing from Beginner to Minor Accomplishment.
[Army-Breaking Saber Technique: Beginner -> Minor Accomplishment]
With the saber technique flowing smoothly, the three forms linked together in all sorts of new ways, making his attacks more treacherous.
During the second raid, he ran into a Di soldier squad leader at the third Body Forging level.
After trading more than twenty blows, he beheaded the man with Monkey's help and earned three points.
[Consumed 3 points, Iron Shirt, Fourth Layer (0/20)]
Iron Shirt's Third Layer proficiency had filled up, and he broke through to the Fourth Layer.
[Current Realm: Body Forging, Fourth Layer]
His skin took on a faint bronze hue, and ordinary blades could barely cut through it.
His strength increased by more than thirty percent. The iron saber in his hand felt as light as a stalk of grass.
Monkey broke through during the third raid as well, stepping into the third Body Forging level.
The two of them worked together with increasing ease. When they stood back to back, seven or eight Di soldiers couldn't get close.
At this rate, if I kill another dozen or twenty, I'll reach the fifth level, Li Jinshui mused during a break one time.
But he sensed something was wrong. More and more Di soldiers had cultivation now.
Before, only one in ten had it. Now, it was one in every three or four. Their levels were rising too. Second- and third-level fighters were everywhere, and every so often, they even ran into someone at the fourth level.
But Li Jinshui was killing more enemies too, and his points were piling up.
[Points +2, +1, +2, +1, +2]
[Current Points: 8]
[Consumed 8 points, Iron Shirt, Fourth Layer (8/20)]
Seven days later, the Di Army changed its tactics.
That morning, the mist had yet to clear.
Three miles beyond North-Rejecting City's north gate, three Di Army formations of a thousand men each suddenly appeared on the open ground.
They didn't attack the city. They simply formed up and stood there, beating their war drums so loudly they shook the heavens, while their horns sounded one after another.
Every defender on the walls tensed. An hour later, a messenger rushed into the Death Squad Camp.
"Orders from the general! The entire Death Squad Camp will leave the city and rout the Di Army vanguard!"
The training ground fell deathly silent.
Li Jinshui cursed furiously inside. Which idiot had given that order? A charge across open ground? Why not make use of the walls? What an idiot! Did he even know how to command?!
Leave the city, form up, and fight in the open.
That meant abandoning the walls and giving up the advantage of the terrain to meet the Di Army head-on.
And the Death Squad Camp would be the first wave of sacrificial meat.
Captain Zhang stood on the platform, his face ashen. "This order sends you to your deaths. But military orders are absolute. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."
He paused, his voice hoarse. "Those at the fifth Body Forging level, step forward now. You're exempt from this battle."
Hearing that, Li Jinshui started cursing again. Was that any way to talk? Were they worried there weren't enough cannon fodder in the camp?
No one moved. There wasn't a single person at the fifth Body Forging level in the Death Squad Camp.
There were a few at the fourth level, and Li Jinshui was one of them.
"Draw armor! Draw sabers!"
This time, they weren't given leather armor, but old, intact iron armor. It was a little rusty, but it offered solid protection.
They were also issued standard military sabers, their edges gleaming coldly.
Li Jinshui silently put on his gear.
The iron armor was heavy, weighing over thirty pounds, but with his fourth-level Body Forging strength, it didn't hinder his movements much.
Beside him, Monkey tied the armor straps, his hands trembling a little. "This time... we might really not make it back."
"Stay close to me." Li Jinshui said only those three words.
At a quarter past five, the city gates creaked open.
The Three Thousand Death Battalion marched out in formation.
Their iron armor rattled like bells tolling at a funeral.
Beyond the city, the Di Army's three formations were already in position.
A thousand-man infantry formation stood directly ahead, with five hundred cavalrymen ranging on each flank.
The sun pierced the morning mist, shining on the Di soldiers' savage faces.
Li Jinshui stood midway through the ranks, gripping his saber tightly. His panel unfolded:
[Technique: Iron Shirt (Fourth Layer 8/20), Army-Breaking Saber Technique (Minor Accomplishment 5/10)]
[Realm: Body Forging, Fourth Layer]
[Current Points: 0]
Today, he had to reach the fifth level. If he didn't, he was dead.
After killing so many Di soldiers, his Army-Breaking Saber Technique proficiency had increased by another five points.
The war drums thundered.
"Death Squad Camp—charge!"
The three thousand men let out a howl that sounded nothing like a human voice and hurled themselves at an enemy ten times their number.
A rain of arrows shot into the sky from the Di Army's ranks.
Li Jinshui raised his shield to protect his head and pushed Iron Shirt to its limit. Arrows clanged against his iron armor. A few pierced the plates, but his muscles stopped them.
Fifty paces, thirty paces, ten paces—
The two armies crashed together with a thunderous roar!
The men in the front ranks fell like wheat before a scythe.
Li Jinshui slammed into the Di soldiers, sweeping his saber across to sever two legs.
He turned and hacked again. Another head flew through the air.
[Points +2]
Put them into Iron Shirt! Proficiency: 10/20.
Three Barbarian Soldiers charged from the left, closing in around him in a triangle.
Li Jinshui advanced instead of retreating, unleashing Army-Breaking Saber Technique at the Minor Accomplishment level with all his might. An upward slash severed one man's wrist, a horizontal slash split another's chest, and he spun into a chop that sent the third head rolling.
[Points +3]
Put them into Iron Shirt! 13/20.
Monkey was fighting desperately on the right flank, caught between two Barbarian Soldiers.
Li Jinshui charged over and cut one down. Monkey seized the opening and stabbed the other through the throat.
"Thanks!" Monkey's face was covered in blood.
"Don't get separated!" Li Jinshui shouted.
The two stood back to back, charging left and right through the enemy formation.
Cuts layered across their iron armor, but with Iron Shirt at the fourth level, they suffered only flesh wounds.
The battle, however, quickly turned against them.
The Death Squad Camp had too few men, and the Barbarian Army soon split them into more than a dozen groups.
Every dozen or so Zhou Soldiers had to face a hundred or more Barbarian Soldiers. Cries of agony rose one after another, and blood stained the frozen earth crimson.
Li Jinshui saw an old soldier from the Death Squad Camp, at the fourth Body Forging level, surrounded by five Barbarian Soldiers nearby. At last, his strength gave out, and he was hacked to pieces.
Gritting his teeth, Li Jinshui fought deeper into the enemy formation. There, a Barbarian Soldier squad leader was directing the attack.
To catch the bandits, first capture their king!
The squad leader saw him too and came at him with a savage grin. Their saber edges clashed, sparks flying everywhere.
The peak of the fourth Body Forging level!
His saber technique was vicious and seasoned, too. Li Jinshui attacked seven times, but every blow was deflected. The squad leader struck back, slashing at Li Jinshui's neck. He retreated in a hurry, and the saber tip scraped across the collar of his armor, leaving a deep gouge.
"Zhou dog, you've got some skill," the squad leader grinned. "But it's not enough!"
His saber suddenly changed, hammering down like a raging storm. Li Jinshui barely managed to block, his arm going numb and his palm splitting open again.
He couldn't fight him head-on!
Li Jinshui recalled his last fight against someone at the peak of the fourth level: circle around and look for an opening!
He began circling his opponent, using the chaos and corpses on the battlefield as cover. The squad leader's furious attacks missed several times, and he grew increasingly agitated.
Just then, Monkey suddenly sprang out from the side and stabbed at the squad leader's ribs!
The squad leader swung his saber to block. Li Jinshui seized that split second and brought his saber down with all his strength—
Army-Breaking Saber Technique: Chop!
This blow was the pinnacle of Minor Accomplishment.
The blade cleaved through the leather armor and bit into the shoulder blade. The squad leader screamed, his saber slowing for a moment.
Monkey seized the chance and stabbed again, driving his blade into the man's lower back.
Li Jinshui yanked out his saber and struck again!
The second blow severed the man's neck.
[Killed Northern Di squad leader (peak of Body Forging, Fourth Layer), Points +5]
[Current Points: 5]
Put it all into Iron Shirt!
[Consumed 5 points, Iron Shirt proficiency 18/20]
Two more points!
With the squad leader dead, the Barbarian Soldiers around them slowed their assault.
Li Jinshui and Monkey took the chance to fall back, joining seven or eight surviving soldiers from the Death Squad Camp to form a circle.
"How many of us are still alive?" an old soldier asked, his face covered in blood.
"Don't know... at least half of us are dead," someone answered.
Li Jinshui swept his gaze over the battlefield. The Death Squad Camp's banner had fallen, and its remnants had been split into more than a dozen small groups, each fighting alone. The Barbarian Army was slowly tightening the encirclement.
He had to kill two more!
He fixed his eyes on a Barbarian Soldier nearby and said to Monkey, "Cover me!"
The two of them suddenly burst out of the circle and charged straight at the Barbarian Soldier.
The man didn't react in time. Li Jinshui cut him down with one slash.
[Points +2]
That was enough!
[Iron Shirt proficiency full]
[Breakthrough: Fourth Layer -> Fifth Layer]
The shackles within his body shattered with a thunderous crash!
His inner force surged like a river bursting its banks. A dark golden light rose over his skin, lasting a full three breaths.
His strength nearly doubled, and his senses suddenly sharpened. Every detail on the battlefield etched itself into his sight.
[Current Realm: Body Forging, Fifth Layer]
He'd done it!
Li Jinshui let out a long howl that shook the battlefield. His iron armor felt as light as if he weren't wearing any, and the military saber in his hand felt like an extension of his body.
One sweep of his saber sent three Barbarian Soldiers tumbling to the ground.
[Points +3]
[Consumed 3 points, Iron Shirt, Fifth Layer (3/25)]
More into Iron Shirt! Fifth Layer proficiency: 3/25.
[Current Points: 0]
Li Jinshui charged into the enemy ranks like a tiger among sheep, and the Barbarian Soldiers fled wherever he passed.
Monkey followed at his side, and together they carved a bloody path through the enemy formation.
"Reinforcements! Reinforcements are here!"
At the city gates, the Zhou Army's cavalry finally moved.
Three thousand horsemen swept into the Barbarian Army's flank like a river of iron.
The Barbarian formation fell into chaos and began to retreat.
The remnants of the Death Squad Camp seized the chance to break through and retreat toward the city gates.
Li Jinshui supported Monkey. Monkey had taken a saber wound to his left leg and limped as he walked.
The two of them followed the retreating crowd back through the gates, leaving a field of corpses behind.
As the gates closed, Li Jinshui looked back.
Of the Three Thousand Death Battalion, fewer than three hundred returned alive. Outside the city, corpses lay piled like a mountain—Zhou soldiers and Barbarian soldiers mixed together, impossible to tell who was who.
The setting sun was as red as blood, spilling across that slaughterhouse.
Back at the Death Squad Camp, no one spoke.
Those who had survived sat or lay down, their eyes hollow. Some wept quietly; others stared blankly at the sky.
Li Jinshui leaned against the barracks wall and brought up the panel:
[Techniques: Iron Shirt (Fifth Layer 3/25), Army-Breaking Saber Technique (Minor Mastery 8/10)]
[Realm: Body Forging, Fifth Layer]
[Points: 0]
The fifth layer of Body Forging... He'd finally made it.
After constantly killing enemies, his Army-Breaking Saber Technique had also climbed to 8 points of proficiency.
Captain Zhang came over, glanced at Li Jinshui, then at Monkey, who had also broken through to the fourth layer of Body Forging.
"You two, come with me."
In the captain's quarters, Captain Zhang took out two wooden plaques and handed one to each of them.
"Li Jinshui, fifth layer of Body Forging. Under military regulations, you're leaving the Death Squad Camp and joining the City Defense Army's Third Battalion as a Squad Leader. Your monthly allowance is one tael of silver, one Blood-Qi Pill, and twenty jin of meat."
"Hou San," he said, turning to Monkey. "Fourth layer of Body Forging. You're promoted to Corporal in the Death Squad Camp. Your monthly allowance goes up by three qian, and you'll get five jin of meat. Once you break through to the fifth layer, you can leave too."
Monkey took the plaque and grinned, though his eyes glistened. "Thank you, Captain."
Li Jinshui ran his fingers over the characters carved on his plaque—"Squad Leader Li Jinshui."
Three months of fighting tooth and nail had finally earned him this sliver of hope.
"Report to the Third Battalion tomorrow." Captain Zhang paused. "Remember, even though you've left the Death Squad Camp, you're still on the military register. You may not leave the camp without orders. Violators... will be executed."
"Yes, sir."
That night, Li Jinshui gathered his few belongings—two changes of clothes and a pair of worn-out shoes.
Monkey helped him wrap everything up.
"Tomorrow we won't be killing Barbarians together anymore," Monkey said with a grin. "But it's for the best. At least you'll get proper meals now."
"When you reach the fifth layer, I'll buy you a drink," Li Jinshui said.
"It's a promise."
Early the next morning, Li Jinshui walked out of the Death Squad Camp with his bundle on his back.
Two City Defense Army soldiers were waiting outside the main gate.
They checked Li Jinshui's plaque, then led him toward the city.
As they passed the city wall, Li Jinshui looked up.
Blood that hadn't yet dried still stained the battlements. The defending soldiers stood guard with expressionless faces.
Farther away, laughter and jeering over a drinking game drifted from the officers' quarters—the army had won a great victory the night before, and the general was hosting a celebratory banquet.
He looked away and kept walking.
The Third Battalion's quarters were much tidier. Barracks stood in neat rows, with a drill yard and an armory as well.
Li Jinshui was led to a separate barracks room. It wasn't large, but it was clean, with a bed, a table, and a small window.
A porcelain bottle sat on the table. Inside lay a single dark-red pill, its medicinal fragrance filling the room.
Beside it, a parcel wrapped in oil paper held pickled meat—twenty jin in all.
The soldier who had led him there said, "Squad Leader Li, take today to rest. Muster at the hour of the Dragon tomorrow, and they'll assign you your men."
"Thanks."
After the soldier left, Li Jinshui shut the door.
He went to the window and looked toward the Death Squad Camp.
It was dead quiet over there. Compared with the orderly quarters here, it was like another world.
From today on, he wasn't cannon fodder anymore.
But the road ahead was still long.
Li Jinshui opened the porcelain bottle and swallowed the Blood-Qi Pill.
A rush of warmth spread through his belly. He sat cross-legged on the bed and circulated Iron Shirt.
His points increased by two.
[Iron Shirt (Fifth Layer 5/25)]
The Blood-Qi Pill really was good stuff. Too bad he only got one a month.
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