Chapter 53: Unity Between Military and Civilians

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Chuluolong paced anxiously back and forth inside the military tent. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, his face shifted from delight to terror. Lin Shize smiled knowingly and said, "What's wrong? Brother Chu, aren't you glad to see me?"

Chuluolong forced a smile, more pitiful than tears, and said, "I am glad, Brother Lin. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Lin Shize’s smile didn’t waver as he replied calmly, "Brother Chu, didn’t you send someone to me without telling me either?"

Chuluolong's heart skipped a beat, but he stubbornly replied, "I don’t understand what you’re saying."

Suddenly, shouts of battle erupted outside the tent. Chuluolong's eyes blazed fiercely; he swiftly drew a dagger from his sleeve and lunged at Lin Shize.

Lin Shize sneered, grabbed Chuluolong’s wrist, and delivered a heavy punch to his face. This was the moment he had long awaited.

Chuluolong screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. Lin Shize dragged him out of the tent like a dead dog.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows tore through the air with sharp, piercing sounds.

A dense rain of arrows, like a locust swarm, reached their highest point midair before plunging down upon the remaining five hundred soldiers under Chuluolong’s command.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The arrows struck flesh with muffled thuds, accompanied by heart-wrenching screams. Blood blossomed across the camp's open ground like deadly flowers—striking and vibrant.

The soldiers lying in ambush nearby were thrown into disarray by the sudden arrow storm.

Panicked soldiers were pinned to the ground by the triple-pointed arrows.

"Kill!"

A group of soldiers from the rear ranks roared as they charged toward Lin Shize. True to their reputation as elite troops from the general’s camp, they maintained formation despite the initial surprise attack.

Their brown leather armor gleamed in the sunlight, battle knives glinting coldly, surging forward like crashing waves.

But they faced an even more elite force—the Heavenly Wolf Battalion.

Before the first volley of arrows ended, a second volley screamed through the air.

The soldiers at the front fell like ripe wheat, while those behind stepped over the fallen to press the attack.

A Heavenly Wolf soldier at the front stepped forward, holding a massive shield firmly in place. Behind him, spearmen thrust their long spears straight through the gaps between shields, the spear tips gleaming with deadly cold.

"Charge!"

The soldiers surged forward like a roaring tide, crashing against the shield formation like waves breaking over a boulder.

The soldiers let out a furious roar, raising their battle knives to strike the shields with brutal force.

Clang! Sparks flew as the blades struck the shields, echoing loudly.

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The shields rocked back slightly but were immediately held firm by the Heavenly Wolf soldiers behind.

The soldiers pressed on, but the spears behind the shields jabbed out like venomous wasps.

Pew!

Several spear tips pierced the chests of soldiers, withdrawing with tips glistening red with blood.

The owners of those blood droplets now lay broken and ragged on the ground.

"Advance!"

Goudan shouted loudly. The front-line shield bearers instantly lifted their shields and pushed forward, compressing the enemy ranks.

The sudden shift caught the opposing side off guard, forcing them to retreat repeatedly, causing a brief moment of chaos.

It was this fleeting moment of confusion that Chen Xin seized.

The triple-pointed arrows whistled lethally once more. Amid the wails, the shield bearers interlocked. At a signal, the soldiers wielding knives and spears surged through the gaps left by the shield rearrangement, forming an arrow-like formation that sliced forward as smoothly as a hot knife through butter.

The shields pressed relentlessly against the enemy’s attacks, pushing steadily forward. The spearmen contracted and extended their weapons, transforming the battlefield into a grim reaper, harvesting lives.

Those who managed to break through the shield wall were immediately impaled upon the spearmen’s long spears like porcupines.

Woo—

Amid the urgent bugle calls, the infantry withdrew back to their formation. The enemy hadn’t even caught their breath.

The neighing of warhorses and the thunder of hooves drew near.

One hundred armored cavalry charged directly into the enemy’s ranks from both flanks.

Their long sabers danced like butterflies among flowers, forcefully tearing through the enemy lines, leaving behind a trail of corpses and anguished cries.

Lin Shize stood before the tent, holding Chuluolong, watching. At this point, the battle no longer required his command.

The fierce noon sun warmed the armor, but Chuluolong shivered all over.

He watched helplessly as those who claimed to be the border’s elite soldiers had their heads severed by the Heavenly Wolf Battalion. The headless bodies lay motionless on the ground, then were trampled to pieces by warhorses.

Some remaining soldiers tried a desperate last stand but were turned into pincushions by the long spears; others attempted to flee but were pushed back by the shield wall.

The battlefield was strewn with severed limbs. The Heavenly Wolf Battalion’s formation was like a gigantic meat grinder, pulverizing everything in its path.

Lin Shize observed the one-sided battlefield impassively.

War always came with the stench of death—agonized wails, mangled corpses, blood blooming like flowers.

Only a pervert could find beauty in such horror.

Yet the war went on, and the flowers of death continued to bloom.

In this world, nothing would end until the last shred of humanity was extinguished.

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Amid the screams, the last soldier was beheaded with a single stroke.

Lin Shize’s face darkened. He hadn’t expected these men to fight to the death without surrendering.

The Heavenly Wolf soldiers offered no victorious cheers, only silently cleaned the battlefield.

Killing one’s own men, regardless of reason, never brought joy.

Zhao Dahur strode over and saluted, "Commander! The battlefield has been cleared!"

Lin Shize nodded. "Move out; rendezvous with the deputy general."

As the group prepared to leave, Sun Zheng waited at the camp gate.

"The deputy general has ordered that this one be handed over to me," Sun Zheng said, pointing to the limp Chuluolong.

Lin Shize said nothing, silently staring at Sun Zheng. Sun Zheng met his gaze without flinching.

The two locked eyes for a long moment.

Without a word, Lin Shize dropped Chuluolong to the ground and turned away, leading his men out of the camp.

Woo!

A mournful bugle sounded from the woods as hundreds of soldiers clashed in the valley.

Liu Wu swung his blade down on an enemy before him, roaring, "Hold the line! Protect the civilians!"

But two hundred cavalry could hardly hold formation against five hundred foes.

An armored horseman, trying to protect the villagers, was dragged from his mount and swallowed by the crowd.

The protected villagers’ eyes glowed red as one shouted, "I’ll fight you all to the death! Ah!"

Ignoring his own wounds, he snatched a battle knife from the ground and wildly hacked at the enemy, not stopping even as a long blade pierced his body.

The villagers’ reckless bravery ignited a fiery anger in the hearts of all.

"Brothers, these people are here to kill us. We can’t let our soldiers die in vain. We’ll fight!"

"Fight!"

"Kill!"

A strange scene unfolded on the battlefield—a group of villagers in plain clothes picking up knives, raising hoes, and fighting with fists and teeth alongside the soldiers.

Two hundred cavalrymen and one hundred villagers were locked in fierce combat with five hundred enemies, the struggle fiercely even.

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