When Luo Zai led the Luo State Dare-to-Fight Warriors out of Zhao City, he had not expected the Luo People to follow in droves, weapons in hand.
Zhao City was the cultural center of all All Xia, and its roads extended in every direction. Now Luo People filled those roads, carrying sabers and swords; some had even come wearing armor.
At the sight of Luo Zai, they began cheering.
A closer look revealed many burly men whose faces bore the marks of wind, frost, rain, and snow, their eyes gleaming sharply. Any general would have liked these soldiers, whose formidable fighting strength was apparent at a glance.
No one was surprised to see the Luo People bearing weapons.
Martial prowess had always flourished among the people of Luo State. Almost every household had sabers and swords, and some even possessed armor bestowed by the Ducal House.
The Luo State Ruling House did not mind, because it never worried that the State People would rebel.
The Luo People revered the Sage King as Heaven, held life and death lightly, and valued trust and righteousness. A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold could not be changed. The Luo State Ruling House had nurtured its people through the Way of the King for a thousand years, its kindness as towering as mountains and as vast as seas.
If anyone dared act against the Ducal House, these State People would kill him outright.
Qiao Cheng rode forward and said with feeling, "Elder brother, it seems you will not merely be taking the Dare-to-Fight Warriors with you. The Luo State elite soldiers are about to return to the world."
Both men knew perfectly well why these Luo People had come.
"Crown Prince, I have not come to see you off, but to fight shoulder