Chapter Eighteen: Old Soldiers Do Not Die, They Only Fade Away Gradually

The Mengla, having suffered heavy casualties, began to fight for their lives. Some raised wooden shields to cover their teammates as they charged, hoping to engage in close-quarters combat to negate the lethal effectiveness of the triangular arrows. Others rushed forward without any defense, desperate only to close the distance with the Great Qi soldiers as quickly as possible.

The Mengla, who had always been invincible and undefeated, were suddenly being suppressed so heavily they couldn't even lift their heads, leaving them momentarily bewildered. At this moment, forced to charge blindly into the rain of arrows, their momentum was broken, and they were no match for the high-spirited Great Qi soldiers.

Lin Shize struck down an enemy before him and roared, "Hold the formation!"

The soldiers, overly excited to see they were suppressing the Mengla, allowed their formation to loosen, and the Mengla seized the opportunity to swallow a three-man squad whole. The sight of their teammates' blood jolted the others into sudden sobriety; the battle was not yet over, and this was no time for carelessness. Their previous string of easy victories had made them complacent, leading them to believe the long-suppressed Mengla were nothing special. The sudden casualties caused a moment of chaos in the ranks.

Fortunately, Liu Wu and the others did not panic; they immediately shouted orders to stabilize the formation. Working in three-man groups, they interlocked and fought their way toward the center of the horse-drawn carriages. While compressing the enemy's living space, they ensured their rear was secure by delivering a final strike to any bodies on the ground.

For the first time, the four iron-clad warriors felt a sense of powerlessness. They had faced fierce enemies before, but they had never seen a military formation like this. To them, the entire formation felt as precise as a master butcher carving an ox. The Mengla formation was divided into dozens of small segments, then sliced, annihilated, and left as nothing but piles of corpses.

The lead iron-clad warrior gasped, "We have surely fallen into the Great Qi's trap."

"Baku, we will cover you in a moment. Look for an opportunity and get out of here!"

The youngest of the iron-clad warriors roared with bloodshot eyes, "I won't go! Ter, if we go, we go together!"

"Listen to me!" Ter bellowed, looking at Batu. "You must take the news of our defeat back. Tell them to be wary of the Great Qi people and have the General avenge us. You must return, or no one will know of the Great Qi's conspiracy."

Relying on their sharp tactics, the Great Qi soldiers pushed forward, gradually closing in on the iron-clad warriors. Dozens of soldiers, filled with high morale and clad in iron armor, stared fixedly at the Mengla. These were the Mengla iron-clad warriors, once the stuff of nightmares for all in Great Qi, now driven into a corner. They were on the verge of creating a legend of their own.

The lead Mengla iron-clad slowly raised his long blade. Though trapped in a desperate situation, his eyes remained calm, possessing the resolve of one prepared for death.

Zhao Dahu synchronized his waist and horse stance, striking down the last of the regular Mengla soldiers, then turned his gaze toward the four remaining iron-clad warriors. A fierce fighting spirit flared in his eyes. The Mengla iron-clad were elites, and today, he would see if the enemy was truly as formidable as the legends claimed.

Taking two deep breaths, he worked his aching arms. He had already slain three enemies, but he still felt it was far from enough. Since childhood, he had lived under the disdainful gazes of others, branded a bastard with no one to raise him. Only Lin Shize had accepted him wholeheartedly, treating him like a brother. He believed that by following Lin Shize, he would surely rise to greatness. He did not want others to look at him with strange eyes in the future; he wanted to live a life with his head held high!

Without caring about anyone else's opinion, he would carve out his own destiny with the sword in his hand.

"Kill!" Zhao Dahu roared, charging forward with his blade.

"Kill!" The other Great Qi soldiers bellowed as they charged. The sound was like thunder, rising straight to the clouds.

Chen Xin, his gaze calm, drew his final triangular arrow. It flew through a gap in the crowd and struck the head of the lead Mengla iron-clad.

Zhao Dahu let out a low grunt, exerting all his strength as he swung his blade toward the Mengla warrior before him.

*Clang!*

*Stumble, stumble, stumble!*

The two clashed, and Dahu retreated three steps; he had not expected the Mengla warrior's strength to be so great. At that moment, his defense was wide open, and the enemy's blade was heading straight for his chest. He could only watch as the blade drew near; it was too late!

*Clang!*

In the nick of time, a blade from beside Zhao Dahu flashed out like lightning, precisely deflecting the lethal blow.

*Bang!*

Lin Shize slammed his shoulder into the enemy and said to Zhao Dahu, "Be careful! Don't be reckless!"

Lin Shize took two quick strides, raised his blade, and swung it at the enemy with the force of a gale. The Mengla warrior tried to block, but the moment their blades collided, he realized something was wrong. The tremendous force transmitted through the blade suppressed him completely; he only avoided dropping his weapon by bracing the impact with his shoulder armor.

While Lin Shize pinned the enemy, Dahu's counterattack followed closely. Facing such a dire situation, the Mengla warrior did not panic. He pushed aside Lin Shize's blade, stepped back, and dodged Dahu's strike—only to be caught off guard when Lin Shize seized the opening and kicked him in the chest.

The kick left the Mengla warrior gasping, his blood surging, and he retreated several steps. Seizing the moment to finish him off while the enemy was visibly fatigued, Lin Shize did not hesitate. His long blade snaked out, parrying the enemy's weapon, and then plunged into his chest.

*Pfft!*

The blade entered the enemy's chest and emerged from his back. The Mengla warrior spat a mouthful of blood onto Lin Shize's face, yet his hands clutched Lin Shize's blade tightly as he used his final strength to roar, "Go!"

Batu, who had been hiding in the rear, seized the opportunity. He shoved Zhao Dahu aside, his eyes bloodshot, and stepped over the path Ter had created with his life, charging out of the village and disappearing from sight.

Ter collapsed to the ground, looking at Lin Shize, and wheezed, "The General will avenge us. You are dead men."

Lin Shize gave a faint smile and replied, "I shall wait."

The other Mengla warriors had already been swarmed and killed by Liu Wu and his men. Zhao Tai finished clearing the battlefield and came over to sit beside Lin Shize.

"Boss, we lost five more brothers."

"Take old Li's family, bring the brothers, and let's go home..." Lin Shize nodded, his tone betraying neither joy nor sorrow.

Liu Wu had originally approached with a look of joy, as they had not only killed so many enemies but also intercepted thirteen carts of goods. But upon hearing that five more brothers had died, he could no longer smile.

The group returned to the valley in low spirits. The morning sun rose, its light leaping over the mountaintop to shine upon their faces. Lin Shize stopped at the village entrance, seeing the sunlight glistening on a massive boulder.

"Old Liu, bury the fallen brothers here. Use a stone tablet to carve their names, origins, ages, and deeds of their lives, and erect it here."

"From now on, this shall be called the Monument of Heroes, and the village shall be the Village of Heroes. As long as we remember them, they will live forever in our hearts."

"Old soldiers never die; they only fade away..."