Chapter 49: The Wei Family Army

The young woman closed her eyes tightly, waiting for a pain that never came even after a long while. When she finally opened them, she realized that Lin Shize's saber had only severed the ropes binding her.

The young man was also released by Liu Wu.

Lin Shize sheathed his saber and said, "I believe everything you have said, but you cannot kill him right now."

The young woman anxiously pressed, "Why? He is guilty of countless crimes and yet you still help him? Are you even human?"

Lin Shize looked into her eyes and replied, "I am human, but I am also a soldier. A soldier's sacred duty is to obey orders."

"My mission is to bring him back to the main camp, and whatever happens after that has nothing to do with me."

The young woman wanted to say more, but the young man stopped her, having grasped the subtext in Lin Shize's words.

Remembering the genuine, heartfelt concern Lin Shize had shown when he first took them for refugees, he was certain this was not a bad person. Since that was the case, they could wait until Chu Luolong was back at the main camp before dealing with the matter.

Lin Shize asked, "I haven't had the honor of learning your names."

The young man stepped forward and said, "I am Wei Zehui, and this is my younger sister, Wei Chuxi."

Lin Shize said, "Lin Shize, commander of the Sky Wolf Battalion."

"Since we became acquainted through a fight, why don't we head into the village together and rest?"

Liu Wu took some men to find Chu Luolong and return directly to the main camp, while Lin Shize led the remaining troops to rest and regroup in the village.

Sitting by the campfire, Lin Shize looked at them and said, "The two of you possess truly formidable martial arts."

Wei Chuxi let out a cold snort and did not reply; she was still angry over Lin Shize's actions earlier.

Wei Zehui answered, "Brother Lin is quite impressive as well. The brothers under your command are the most elite frontier soldiers I have ever laid eyes on."

Lin Shize said, "My brothers fight for their lives against the Mengla people every single day; we wouldn't survive without some skill. Why don't the two of you stay at our Hero Village for now?"

"To be honest, I've had my eyes set against that Chu Luolong for a long time, but military orders are hard to defy, so I had no choice but to protect him for the moment."

Although Lin Shize spoke politely, Wei Zehui knew that Lin Shize was afraid of a surprise attack and wanted to keep them close by to monitor them.

"Then we will accept your hospitality."

After Liu Wu found Chu Luolong, he directly escorted them to the main camp, while Lin Shize went straight back to Hero Village.

The Wei siblings also settled into the military camp. Every morning when Lin Shize pushed open his door, he would see the two of them practicing their martial arts in the open space.

At first, the soldiers of the Sky Wolf Battalion were very curious about them.

After a few days, they grew accustomed to it.

Liu Wu, however, remained fascinated by their training methods.

"Captain, what do you think they're doing?"

Lin Shize remarked, "Those two are true martial artists. Their training methods have been passed down through their family and must be started from childhood."

"What? Envious of them?"

Liu Wu chuckled and said, "Thinking back on that fight the other day, my heart still skips a beat. Six or seven of our brothers charging together were no match for them. If everyone in our unit had that kind of skill, the Mengla? They wouldn't amount to a damn thing."

Lin Shize brushed the dust off his hands and said, "Let's go, get back to proper training. If you want to become as skilled as them, you've got to put in the hard work."

On the training ground, the soldiers continually leaped over obstacles, as Lin Shize completely replicated the training methods of his past life.

Meanwhile, Wei Chuxi stood off to the side, offering sarcastic jeers.

"Oh my, this military formation is far too monotonous. All you know how to do is hack and slash with sabers. Is that all the skill you have?"

Lin Shize curled his lip and retorted unconvincingly, "You little girl, what do you know? This is called the three-man cooperative system, and it can create local numerical superiority in a specific area."

"Relying on this formation, we've killed hundreds upon hundreds of Mengla people."

Wei Chuxi scoffed, "So what? Your formations were still broken through time and time again by my brother and me."

Lin Shize argued, "That's only because our individual combat qualities weren't good enough. Do you happen to know a better military formation?"

Wei Chuxi proudly lifted her chin, revealing her swan-like, fair neck, and looked at Lin Shize as if he were an ignorant bumpkin. "Of course I know."

"A true large-scale military formation requires shield-bearers in the front rank, spearmen in the rear, supplemented by swordsmen, and archers to anchor the line."

"That kind of formation is the ultimate weapon in major warfare. Your formations involve troops that are far too uniform; they're only good for small skirmishes."

Lin Shize laughed disdainfully. "Utter nonsense. What do you know about true military formations?"

Wei Chuxi's face flushed red, and she retorted, "I am not spouting nonsense! This is the military formation of the Wei Family Army."

Before her voice had even faded, she hurriedly clamped a hand over her little mouth.

Lin Shize nodded in satisfaction. That made sense—how could a teenage girl possibly understand military formations? It turned out she was a descendant of the Wei Family Army.

Realizing she had let slip a secret, Wei Chuxi grew irritated out of embarrassment. She walked over, pinched the soft flesh at Lin Shize's waist, and said through gritted teeth, "You actually tricked me into talking!"

"Big brother, he's bullying me!"

Lin Shize hastily begged for mercy, "Ow, ow, my mistake, my mistake."

Looking back, he saw Wei Zehui walking over with a smile on his face.

After so many days of getting along, he could confirm that Lin Shize was a person worth befriending.

Wei Zehui rescued Lin Shize from his sister's clutches.

Lin Shize quickly expressed his gratitude and made a funny face at Wei Chuxi. "Be so fierce and you'll never find a husband."

"None of your business!" Wei Chuxi lunged at Lin Shize with claws outstretched.

Lin Shize dodged by circling around Wei Zehui and Wei Chuxi, treating them like a pillar in a martial arts duel.

As he ran around them, he taunted, "Can't catch me, can't catch me, oh, making you mad!"

Wei Chuxi stamped her foot in anger. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"

With an indignant huff, she turned and stormed off.

Lin Shize wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "That grand-aunt of an ancestor has finally left."

Wei Zehui looked at Lin Shize with an ambiguous smile and asked, "Brother Lin deliberately provoked my sister to leave—is there something you wanted to ask me?"

Dropping his playful demeanor, Lin Shize asked seriously, "Is Brother Brother indeed a descendant of General Wei?"

Wei Zehui nodded and said, "Yes. My father was Wei Yuyi, the commander of the Wei Family Army."

Lin Shize let out a long sigh. The Wei Family Army could be considered the foremost elite fighting force in the Longdong region.

Back in the day, they were fierce warriors capable of going toe-to-toe with the elite Mengla forces, striking terror into the hearts of the enemy.

Regrettably, a year ago, to cover the retreat of the main army, Wei Yuyi led five thousand men of the Wei Family Army alone to stubbornly hold off thirty thousand Mengla troops.

In that battle, the entire Wei Family Army was wiped out, and Wei Yuyi died on the battlefield without even having his body recovered.

Yet, despite outnumbering them heavily, the Mengla forces lost over ten thousand men in the clash, a feat that made the Wei Family Army legendary throughout the world—though that fame was forged in the blood of five thousand soldiers.

Lin Shize said, "General Wei's death was heroic! If not for those five thousand soldiers of the Wei Family Army sacrificing their lives to hold the rear, our main force would likely have been completely annihilated, and the frontier would have been breached by the enemy long ago."

"That battle nearly became the war of destruction for the Great Qi dynasty. It is fair to say General Wei died for Great Qi."

"The reason the Great Qi dynasty still stands tall today is not because of some so-called unflagging national fortune spoken of by those folks in the imperial court."

"It is because of hundreds and thousands of people in our Great Qi, just like General Wei, who built a flesh-and-blood wall with their lives to protect Great Qi from foreign invaders!"

Hearing this, Wei Zehui wore a sorrowful expression. With his mother having passed away early and his father dying on the battlefield, only the two siblings remained, depending on each other in this chaotic world.

Realizing he had touched upon Wei Zehui's painful memories, Lin Shize hurriedly changed the subject.

"How does Brother Wei find my Sky Wolf Battalion?"

Restraining his emotions, Wei Zehui replied, "An elite force rarely seen at the frontier..."