Aftermath of Victory

Amidst the swirling flames and clashing blades, the true close-quarters combat had just begun.

After suffering from the rain of arrows and the raging fire, about twenty to thirty Qiang soldiers still survived, matching the number of defenders.

In the past, the Qiang soldiers would have been confident in killing all the defenders, but now they had no fighting spirit left, only wanting to escape this hellish place. The defenders, on the other hand, were brimming with morale and killing intent.

Even new recruits like Xiao Wu were roaring as they charged into battle, hacking away at the Qiang soldiers. Meng Hu was especially fierce, lifting a Qiang soldier's corpse and throwing it forward, knocking down two more Qiang soldiers…

One after another, Qiang soldiers fell until only the hundred-man commander Walimu remained standing in the center, surrounded by the defenders.

The scattered bodies of his comrades filled Walimu with rage and sorrow, and he cursed:

"You treacherous scoundrels, you dared to fake surrender!"

"Faked surrender? That's because you were too stupid."

Luo Yu stepped out of the crowd, mocking: "A hundred soldiers couldn't beat our twenty to thirty men, and you still dare to lead troops?"

"Damn it! Who are you!"

Walimu's eyebrows furrowed: "You look familiar. I remember now, you were the one who fought against cavalry a few days ago!"

On that day when Luo Yu fought against cavalry, Walimu had been watching from a distance, and he remembered this face clearly!

"Good eyesight."

"Indeed, it's you!"

Walimu sneered and raised his saber:

"Wang Shuang's death must be related to you?"

"That's right, I deliberately let you into the fort."

Luo Yu chuckled: "I didn't expect you to fall for it so easily."

It wasn't that the Qiang people were stupid, but they had long looked down on the Qian border troops, never taking them seriously. Otherwise, Walimu wouldn't have been so reckless in charging into the fort.

"Cowardly dog! If you dare, fight me to the death!"

Walimu knew he had no hope of survival, but he wanted to take Luo Yu down with him before dying!

"Alright!"

Luo Yu waved his curved saber: "I'll give you a chance to die with honor!"

The surrounding soldiers were worried. Walimu wasn't just any ordinary soldier. As a hundred-man commander, his martial arts must have been far superior to ordinary soldiers.

"What arrogance, just a wet-behind-the-ears brat?"

Walimu laughed in anger and leaped forward:

"Take my saber!"

"Roar!"

The heavy saber blade fell straight down from mid-air. As a Qiang hundred-man commander, he could still deliver such a powerful strike after fighting for so long.

The watching defenders were extremely tense. Could Luo Yu really win?

At the moment the blade was about to strike, Luo Yu lightly sidestepped. The blade almost grazed his chest before hitting the ground.

Luo Yu was quick to react, stepping on the blade. Walimu struggled to pull it free, but it wouldn't budge.

Just as Walimu was gathering all his strength to yank the handle, Luo Yu suddenly let go, causing Walimu to lose his balance and fall flat on his back.

"My turn."

Luo Yu shouted coldly, taking quick steps forward and leaping high into the air, his curved saber gleaming in the firelight.

Walimu's pupils contracted, a trace of fear appearing in his eyes. Before he could steady himself, the blade came crashing down.

"Thrust!"

Walimu's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the blade piercing his chest. He couldn't understand why he couldn't even block Luo Yu's single strike.

"Phew."

Luo Yu stood up with his saber, his cold gaze devoid of any emotion.

He was greeted by countless passionate gazes and cheers:

"We won!"

"We won!"

At dawn, the cold wind blew.

Jiming Fort was reduced to ruins, the broken walls and scorched earth filled with smoke and the smell of blood.

The exhausted defenders sat in a row against the walls. Some were grinning foolishly, some had collapsed from exhaustion, and Xiao Wu was enthusiastically telling Meng Hu about how he killed a Qiang soldier…

The taste of survival was truly wonderful.

Luo Yu smiled with satisfaction. After this fierce battle, the new recruits had undergone a transformation. At least they wouldn't tremble in fear at the sight of Qiang soldiers anymore.

Dong Chuan sat beside Luo Yu, completely in awe:

"Brother Luo's mind is truly remarkable. If it were me, I would have only defended to the death, I would never have dared to let the Qiang soldiers into the fort. I don't have the confidence to kill nearly a hundred Qiang soldiers at once."

Dong Chuan still felt like he was dreaming. Twenty-odd defenders had defeated over a hundred Qiang soldiers, losing only two brothers. This was something he would never have dared to imagine before.

"Jiming Fort was out of supplies. Defending to the death would only lead to our own destruction."

Luo Yu said quietly: "Only by fighting to the death could we give our brothers a chance to survive."

"I'm impressed."

Dong Chuan gave a thumbs up: "This battle has scared the Qiang soldiers. The dozen or so Qiang cavalry outside didn't dare to come to the rescue, they just ran away."

"Actually, there's nothing to fear about the Qiang people. They're just people with two shoulders and one head. They die when cut by a blade too."

Walimu led the main force to attack Jiming Fort at night, leaving only a dozen men in the camp. When the fire broke out in the fort, those dozen men were patrolling outside, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Because they didn't know what was happening, they didn't dare to enter the fort rashly. When Walimu's corpse was hung on the wall, those men scattered in panic, not daring to stay for a moment.

"But we can't celebrate too soon."

Luo Yu chuckled bitterly, looking around:

"The fort is in ruins, and we have no supplies left. If the Qiang people have reinforcements, we won't be able to hold out. We need to think about our next move."

"Look, cavalry!"

Just as he spoke, Meng Hu's alarmed cry rang out.

Everyone stood up, looking anxiously at the distance. If another group of Qiang cavalry arrived now, they would be doomed.

Fortunately, the approaching riders wore Qian army uniforms.

"Reinforcements, our reinforcements!"

A line of over twenty tall horses galloped forward, and the riders actually wore breastplates. In the entire Jiming Fort, there wasn't a single piece of iron armor. On the Qian border, soldiers who wore iron armor were definitely elite troops.

The cavalry came with a fierce momentum, but when they got closer, Luo Yu noticed that many of the riders had Qiang soldier heads hanging from their horses.

They were the Qiang soldiers who had fled from the outskirts of Jiming Fort!

In other words, these men had encountered those Qiang soldier remnants and killed them on the spot.

Luo Yu looked curiously at the cavalry. He had seen some cavalry at Yunyang Pass before, many of whom were just for show, weak and powerless. These men were completely different, exuding a solemn and deadly aura.

"Whoa."

At the front of the cavalry, a young commander pulled on the reins, stopping steadily in front of everyone.

He wore light armor, with a sharp blade at his waist, having the efficiency of a battlefield warrior. However, his appearance was delicate and fair-skinned. If not for his military uniform, he would look more like a scholar.

He frowned slightly, scanning the damaged fort walls:

"How did it get to this state? Where's Wang Shuang? Where's Zhang Gui? Where are the Qiang soldiers besieging the fort?"

Luo Yu hurriedly stepped out of the crowd, saluting:

"Both commanders are dead, and the Qiang soldiers have been defeated by us."

Although he didn't know who this person was, he could tell from his tone that his rank was higher than Wang Shuang!

"Both of them are dead? Then who led the troops to defeat the enemy?"

"It was me."

"Me?"

The young commander looked at Luo Yu with interest:

"What's your name?"

"Luo Yu."

"Good name. Enter the fort."

He smiled slightly:

"Oh, by the way, I'm Xiao Shaoyou, deputy hundred-man commander. From now on, you all report to me!"