At Liaodong Garrison, the setting sun was red as blood.
Outside the pass, the Tartar army withdrew at its leisure, swaggering away without taking so much as a wisp of cloud.
Inside the pass, countless soldiers of Liaodong Garrison moved along the battlements, silently gathering the bodies of their fallen comrades.
They had held the fortress.
Yet little joy of victory could be seen within its walls.
Only numbness.
Helpless numbness.
The Tartars had swaggered up to their gates, swaggered through the slaughter of their comrades, and swaggered off home.
And all they could do was watch them come, watch them leave, then lower their heads and silently gather their comrades' bodies...
What gives them the right to bully us like this?
What right?
Many hot-blooded men asked themselves those questions.
Hard men who had never cried out in pain no matter how many blades pierced their flesh now huddled in corners, secretly wiping away tears with filthy sleeves.
"All right, all right, dry up that horse piss. Grown men blubbering like this-aren't you ashamed?"
Jiang Kui walked along the battlements, gently comforting his men. "You're all fine lads. You're all great heroes, brave men who defend your homes and country..."
"Don't lose heart. We held the fortress. We protected the parents, wives, and children behind us..."
"Lift your spirits, all of you. I've had the kitchens slaughter twenty pigs. Tonight, there'll be all the meat and wine you can stomach..."
He had yet to remove his blood-soaked armor or bandage the gash an arrow had scraped across his cheek, but he still forced a smile onto his face, doing everything he could to comfort these men.
Lei Heng and Liu Meng, likewise clad in armor, followed him in silence, watching it all. Some fierce emotion flickered in both their