Chapter 1313

"General, should we dispose of the bodies?"

A soldier came to ask Yan Liu, who shook his head and walked to the breach in the fortress, looking back with reluctance and apologizing to them with deep regret: "I'm sorry, brothers—I should've taken you home, but the battle situation is dire; we may all die here… I'm truly sorry. I can't take you home."

He knelt down on the spot and bowed his head several times to the fallen brothers.

"General, the brothers will understand," said a nearby soldier, unable to bear the sight.

"It's I, Yan Liu, who failed them."

After rising, Yan Liu's forehead was visibly streaked with blood, but he paid it no mind, continuing his patrol and ordering others to bring flammable kerosene to douse the corpses—should the need arise, they could set it alight as a makeshift defensive wall.

"Brothers, rest quickly—enemy attacks won't take long to come again," Yan Liu urged, his heart aching as he looked at the brothers standing on either side of the breach.

Without doubt, they would all die here.

As for Lord Xuan Wuji's order to retreat if necessary, Yan Liu had already cast it aside—he didn't know the situation on the other side, perhaps Lord Xuan Wuji was still en route, but he knew that here, they must hold out as long as possible; every extra moment could allow the imperial army to destroy the combined forces of Taji and Lei Dun, or else these bastards from the Holy Kingdom would march straight through.

Once they linked up with Taji and Lei Dun's forces, the two imperial legions would be surrounded, and Lord Xuan would be in grave danger—that he could not tolerate!

"General, will we retreat?"

A wounded soldier suddenly spoke up—he had lost one arm, his leg was pierced by arrows, and one ear was gone—his uncertain gaze fixed on Yan Liu as he passed.

This question made Yan Liu freeze in place.

"I'm not afraid of dying—I just want to know who can retreat, so I can leave a final letter for Mother." The words silenced Yan Liu mid-sentence; it was a question he'd never considered before.

Others turned their gazes toward him too—they weren't afraid of death, but all wanted to leave a final letter for their families.

"Everyone who wants to write a last letter, write it—have the literate brothers help you, then give them all to Xiao Jiesi. He's still young, and an imperial academy space mage—his life is more precious than ours!"

Turning around, Yan Liu looked at Xiao Jiesi beside him—the space mage who had been responsible for delivering messages, his eyes red and voice choked with tears.

Placing his hands on Xiao Jiesi's shoulders, Yan Liu's eyes flashed with resolve as he removed his space ring and his official token, placing them into Xiao Jiesi's hands.

"Xiao Jiesi, promise me—you must deliver these letters to the families of the brothers. The enemy's second wave could strike at any moment—you must leave quickly. I'll write a letter too; once you ride through the Skyfall Gorge, find Lord Xuan Wuji and tell him: Yan Liu's life is repaid."

Ten years ago, he had been nothing but a bandit in a gang the Lord Xuan Wuji had crushed during a campaign against bandits in the empire—lowly, troublesome outlaws like them, if caught, would be executed by imperial decree—but Lord Xuan Wuji had unexpectedly recruited them, persuaded them to join the army, and given them a second life.

He had never forgotten Lord Xuan Wuji's life-saving grace.

This wretched life, which should have ended ten years ago, had somehow lasted until now—he felt it had been worth it.

The comrades from his old gang, he didn't know how many still lived, but surely some remained.

Yan Liu smiled faintly, thinking of those who had once been his brothers in life and death.

Xiao Jiesi couldn't hold back his tears.

"Don't cry, Xiao Jiesi—be a man, be strong!" Yan Liu looked down at him, reached out, and patted his head, wiping his tears with his finger.

He was only sixteen—once, Xiao Jiesi had hated being patted on the head, but now he wished Yan Liu would keep his hand there forever.

He vaguely knew that all these comrades he'd lived with would die here today—in a foreign land—and the thought made his tears flow uncontrollably.

"You must go now, Xiao Jiesi," Yan Liu urged from below the wall. "The enemy is stirring again—they'll launch their second attack soon!"

"But—"

"No buts, Sean—take Xiao Jiesi, pick a fast horse, leave through the back gate."

"Yes, General!"

Without allowing Xiao Jiesi's tearful reluctance to stop him, the soldier named Sean forcibly dragged him away after selecting a swift horse from the stables.

Soon, Sean pulled the reins and forcibly led Xiao Jiesi away.

"General, I found this beneath the broken bricks at the base of the wall."

As Yan Liu worried about when the enemy would strike next, a soldier hurried over, clutching a gray burlap-wrapped object.

Yan Liu turned, staring at the gray burlap bundle in the soldier's hands—a colored fuse protruded from it, but he didn't know what was inside.