Chapter 1220: The mining soldiers show their mettle

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere.

On the official road between the Left Wei Guard camp and the East Gate of Changancheng, a massive crowd of mining soldiers and Xiongnu were running forward, each carrying a heavy load of one *shi* on their backs.

Although they had shed their heavy armor, the one *shi* load on their backs felt like a small mountain, causing everyone's spine to sink slightly.

Although there were many people, running like this often produced two types of people: those who liked to show off.

They had good stamina and speed, so they would take the lead, creating a gap and pulling far ahead.

The other type—those who forced themselves to show off.

Their stamina wasn't that great, but under the gaze of the crowd, they didn't care about anything else and just charged out first.

Added to the one *shi* load on their backs, it wasn't long before the distance between them widened.

"Damn, this is heavy as hell!"

"Running from the camp to the East Gate of Changancheng and back twice—wouldn't that just ruin us?"

Feeling the weight on his back, Pu Duo couldn't help but curse as he ran.

Beside him, Zhao Bushi also felt his heart sink and wanted to curse, but he was more composed.

"I advise you to curse less and save some strength."

Pu Duo adjusted his breathing while cursing, "If I don't curse now, I'm afraid I won't even have the strength to curse later."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bushi pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Damn!"

"But let's give it a try. For that generous treatment—in this world, money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat; hasn't it always been like this?"

The earth trembled, kicking up dust from the ground; for a time, dust filled the air.

The Xiongnu charged out like arrows released from a bow, quickly leaving the mining soldiers behind.

They glanced back at them with mockery.

Although they were challenging together, both sides were competing against each other.

Although the Xiongnu had entered the military camp, the concept that "those who are not of our race must have a different heart" was deeply rooted, so neither side looked favorably upon the other, whether regarding treatment or the people themselves.

When Gao Yang ordered them to retreat on their own earlier, most of those who retreated were Xiongnu, with very few mining soldiers.

Therefore, the mockery and disdain were immense, which also made the Xiongnu hold a grudge.

So, at the very beginning, they left the mining soldiers behind and even mocked them wantonly.

Pu Duo then glanced back.

A smile appeared on his face.

"Lord Gao relies so much on these mining soldiers, but now it seems they aren't much either!"

Zhao Bushi didn't speak when he heard this.

Because the one *shi* load, combined with the distance already run, was extremely draining on his stamina.

Pu Duo also gradually felt the strain and stopped talking.

Time passed second by second.

After one *li*, the Xiongnu's mockery gradually weakened, and they were drenched in sweat.

Some of those with poorer stamina felt as if their feet were weighted with a thousand *jin*, and every step was extremely difficult.

More and more Xiongnu fell behind, while the mining soldiers' pace became increasingly steady.

Pu Duo and Zhao Bushi were drenched in sweat, gritting their teeth.

Beside them, a gust of wind blew past.

Pu Duo looked to the side and saw a lean young man, not yet thirty, flash past them.

Pu Duo's eyes almost popped out.

"Speeding up?"

"Are these mining soldiers crazy?"

The young man took the lead, his pace extremely steady.

He overtook them one by one, even leaving Wang Xiao behind.

He looked back and mocked the Xiongnu, "What? Can't handle just this much weight? Weren't you very arrogant?"

Upon hearing this, Pu Duo suddenly couldn't hold back.

"My temper!"

Beside him, Zhao Bushi also felt anger rising, but he stopped Pu Duo.

"The road is still long; at this speed, he'll be finished in less than a *li*."

Pu Duo nodded when he heard this.

"That makes sense. Carrying a one *shi* load and running this fast—he'll be crying later."

Pu Duo and Zhao Bushi maintained their original speed, staring with cold smiles at the mining soldiers who were gradually overtaking them.

One hundred meters passed.

Two hundred meters passed.

One *li* passed.

But the speed of the mining soldiers in the front did not decrease at all; on the contrary, they got faster and faster, leaving them further and further behind.

"What is going on?"

Pu Duo was shocked.

Beside him, Zhao Bushi was also dumbfounded.

If it were just one freakish young man, that would be one thing, but for many mining soldiers to be far ahead of them was inexplicable.

Pu Duo gritted his teeth and increased his speed.

But even with a slight increase in speed, he felt as if his legs were filled with lead, making it hard to take a step.

Finally,

He cursed helplessly, "Damn!"

"These freaks!"

At this moment, Pu Duo was convinced.

During the first five *li*, everyone could still curse, but when they reached the East Gate of Changancheng and returned to the Left Wei Guard camp—the second five *li*—they couldn't even curse anymore.

On this stretch of road, many Great Qian soldiers chose to quit.

Even those who gritted their teeth and persisted basically slowed down, panting heavily.

By the third five *li*, nearly one-third of the people chose to quit.

They lay on the official road, their chests heaving violently, calling them freaks.

By the fourth five *li*, Zhao Bushi was drenched in sweat, and even his vision was blurred.

Pu Duo couldn't even curse anymore, and he didn't even have the strength to wonder why the mining soldiers were so strong.

He wanted to give up.

His wife's nagging, his descendants' future—under the weight of this one *shi* and legs that felt like lead, none of it mattered anymore.

It was too tiring.

Every step seemed to consume a huge amount of energy.

At this moment, they were relying purely on gritting their teeth and that powerful willpower to keep moving forward.

In this stage, not many people chose to give up.

Because this was the last stretch of the road; as long as they persisted, they would see the dawn!

One step,