Promise

After her words fell, no tsunami-like roar of excited cheers rose from the Drill Ground. There was only deathly silence, and the complex, doubtful gazes of the soldiers below.

Silently descending from the Martial Practice Platform, Li Junwu's expression remained as cold and stern as ever upon her delicate face, but the hand gripping her saber was clenched tight.

The silence around her, as though she had fallen into the deep sea, wove an invisible hand that fiercely clutched her heart. The gazes in the field seemed to mock the futility of all her efforts.

Li Junwu walked very slowly.

Though her internal meridians continuously sent waves of searing pain through her body, she still walked slowly. She wanted the silence at her ears to be broken, even if only by a few scattered shouts.

But unfortunately, even after she had passed through the long formations of troops, even after she had walked out through the Drill Ground gates, the soldiers of the Second Garrison within remained silent.

"Rumble—"

As the Drill Ground gates shut with a dull boom, Li Junwu halted, and a thread of blood finally spilled from the corner of her lips.

Raising a hand to wipe away the blood at her lips, she lowered her eyes and stared at the crimson stain on her fingers for several breaths. A trace of self-mockery crossed her beautiful but cold face as she looked up at the blue sky beyond the canopy overhead.

"That really was a failed pre-battle speech."

"Fairly speaking, it wasn't a complete failure."

"..."

Li Junwu immediately turned toward the source of the voice. A flash of dependence flickered through her narrow eyes, but she suppressed the emotion and said softly, "Are you comforting me?"

"No."

Xu Yuan pushed himself away from the courtyard wall