Desperation

"Roost! Hey!"

The taunting shouts and hoofbeats echoed over the Rooster Call Fort, sending chills down everyone's spine. The soldiers huddled behind the walls, not daring to show their faces, their eyes bloodshot with exhaustion.

The Qiang soldiers had surrounded the fort for three days without attacking, but they constantly sent cavalry patrols to keep the defenders on edge.

The fort had only a small garrison, and they were forced to stand guard through the night. After several days of this, everyone was exhausted, their eyelids heavy with fatigue.

What worried them most was the absence of reinforcements.

Where were the reinforcements?

Now that Luo Yu was a squad leader, he was in charge of several new recruits defending this section of the wall.

Luo Yu hid behind the wall, carefully observing the Qiang army's movements, his brow furrowed: "Brothers, be careful. The Qiang soldiers are going to attack today."

"Why?"

Meng Hu asked: "They've been patrolling for three days without attacking. Today is probably just another feint."

"After wearing us down for three days, the Qiang soldiers know we're exhausted. This is the perfect time to attack. Look at their numbers - aren't they more than yesterday?"

"True, they usually patrol with twenty or thirty cavalry, but today there are several times that many!"

"Whoosh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a shrill war arrow pierced the sky, the Qiang soldiers' signal for attack.

The Qiang cavalry that had been patrolling outside suddenly turned and split into three groups, charging toward the fort. Each man carried a bow and quiver full of arrows, with ropes and grappling hooks hanging from their saddles.

"Defend! Prepare for battle!"

"Swish swish swish!"

The lead Qiang cavalry unleashed a barrage of arrows at the fort. The defenders either crouched behind the wall or raised their bamboo shields, none daring to show their faces.

The Qiang soldiers were renowned for their archery skills.

Three groups of Qiang soldiers, one firing after another, giving the defenders no chance to catch their breath. It was a flawless rotation attack.

After several volleys, suddenly a dozen Qiang cavalry charged out of formation, galloping up to the walls. They threw their grappling hooks and ropes from their saddles, hooking them securely to the wall.

Then these cavalrymen leaped from their horses, grabbing the ropes with both hands and planting their feet against the wall, climbing up like monkeys.

Bow and arrow suppression, grappling hooks and ropes, fierce wall scaling.

The Qiang soldiers had perfected this tactic, conquering countless border forts.

"Counterattack! Counterattack, don't hide like cowards!"

You could still hide from the arrow volleys, but once the Qiang soldiers started climbing the walls, there was no more hiding.

Under Wang Shuang's urging, someone finally mustered the courage to peek out, drawing his bow to shoot at the climbing Qiang soldiers.

"Swish!"

As soon as he showed his face, an arrow pierced his skull, brains splattering everywhere in a grotesque scene.

Luo Yu was shocked - the Qiang soldiers' archery skills were far superior to the Qian army's.

Arrows crisscrossed in the air, and more soldiers fell in pools of blood, their screams chilling to the bone.

The veterans were holding up, but the new recruits were terrified. One young soldier under Luo Yu's command completely lost his mind, running around in circles:

"No, I don't want to fight anymore! Let me go home!"

"Xiao Wu, get down!"

Luo Yu shouted repeatedly at Xiao Wu, but he was oblivious, his mind completely shattered, running around aimlessly.

In just two days, Luo Yu couldn't turn these new recruits into elite soldiers. He could only repeatedly remind them of the key points for survival on the battlefield.

When they listened, they all nodded, thinking they understood the essentials. But when their comrades' brains splattered on their faces, who could remember what Luo Yu had said?

"Damn it!"

Arrows raining down, Qiang soldiers approaching, Luo Yu didn't have time to think. He kicked Xiao Wu to the ground, shouting:

"Stay in the corner! Don't move!"

The kicked Xiao Wu curled up in the corner, sobbing and wetting his pants.

"The Qiang soldiers are coming!"

Meng Hu's shout echoed in his ears. Luo Yu's men were in chaos, and the Qiang soldiers seemed to have noticed their weak defense, focusing their attack here.

A skilled Qiang soldier had already leaped onto the wall, using his agility to cut down a terrified new recruit.

From afar, Zhang Gui shouted:

"Luo Yu, keep your men in line! If you lose the wall, I'll kill you!"

Luo Yu ignored him, turning to charge at the Qiang soldier. His foot stomped, his body leaped, and he brought his blade down with a powerful strike.

The young face didn't catch the Qiang soldier's attention, but when the powerful force forced him back several steps, he angrily counterattacked:

"You're asking for death!"

After three exchanges, Luo Yu had the upper hand, and with his final strike, he cut off half the Qiang soldier's head in a brutal display.

In that moment, three more Qiang soldiers climbed onto the wall. Meng Hu, seeing Luo Yu engaged, bit his lip and threw away his scimitar, grabbing a heavy wooden pole that weighed dozens of pounds and swinging it fiercely.

He scared the three Qiang soldiers into jumping off the wall - one hit from that pole would send them to meet their ancestors.

Such strength almost made both sides' soldiers drop their jaws in amazement - it was superhuman strength!

Luo Yu glared at his terrified new recruits:

"Pick up your weapons and follow me and Meng Hu. If you don't want to die, you have to fight!"

…

The Qiang soldiers retreated.

A single hour of fighting had exhausted everyone. The wall was littered with over a dozen corpses, blood everywhere.

The air on the wall was thick with the smell of blood, mixed with sweat and fear.

The setting sun cast a bloody glow over the bloodstained wall, adding a crimson hue to the brutal battle.

"Are you okay?"

Luo Yu collapsed beside Xiao Wu, who had tear marks on his face and didn't dare look at Luo Yu:

"Brother Yu, I've let you down. I was really scared. My parents are waiting for me at home."

Though his buttocks still hurt, Xiao Wu didn't resent Luo Yu. He knew that kick had saved his life.

"Who isn't scared?"

Luo Yu didn't blame him. He knew that without the special memories in his mind, he would have been trembling just like Xiao Wu.

"But this is the battlefield. The Qiang soldiers won't spare you just because you're scared.

When you're scared, your body gives off a urine smell. Arrows, blades, and Qiang soldiers can smell that fear and come for you. Who else would they kill?

But if you're not afraid, these things will avoid you. Even ghosts will avoid you."

Luo Yu patted Xiao Wu's back:

"Remember, if you want to go home to your parents, you have to survive first."

"Is that, is that true?"

The equally seventeen-year-old Xiao Wu listened with wide eyes, half-believing, half-doubting.

"True."

The same age as Xiao Wu, he listened with wide eyes, half-believing, half-doubting.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The defenders hadn't even had time to sit down when the Qiang soldiers' horns sounded again. Without waiting for orders, everyone crouched back behind the wall, their faces tense.

Chief Wang and Zhang Gui cursed angrily:

"Can't they give us a break? Damn Qiang bandits!"

But when they looked outside, they saw no large Qiang force approaching, only a few cavalrymen riding forward, holding spears with bloody heads impaled on the tips.

What was this about?

A flash of recognition crossed Wang's eyes - those heads looked familiar.

The Qiang soldiers stopped at the edge of bow range, planted their spears in the sand, and sneered:

"Open your dog eyes and look carefully. These are the heads of your eastern and western fort commanders. Rooster Call Fort won't get any reinforcements! It's completely isolated!

Surrender, and you might live.

Fight, and you'll die without a grave!"

At that moment, all the defenders' limbs turned cold.