Chapter 708: Baptism of Blood and Fire

When the smoke and dust had cleared, the sun was setting.

The camp reeked of a mix of blood, burnt stench, and sweat. Inside and outside the wooden walls lay chaos: broken spear shafts, scattered arrows, congealed black bloodstains, and a few corpses of soldiers that hadn't been dragged away, slumped at the edge of the trench.

Xu Da and Tang He were leading personnel in counting casualties and gathering the bodies of their own fallen. Suppressed sobs echoed from a corner of the camp — those were the relatives of the dead. Many survivors sat slumped elsewhere, eyes vacant, or stared blankly at their blood‑stained hands.

Zhu Yue did not rest.

He walked alone to the stone formation. The few foundation stones engraved with the Knife‑Plow Emblem stood silent and upright; aside from weather‑erosion marks, their surfaces showed nothing unusual. The fleeting glimmer seen during the battle seemed merely an illusion of the fierce fight.

But he did not believe it was an illusion.

"Who was nearest the stone formation on the wall at that time?" he asked, turning his head.

A youth with a sword‑cut arm, his wound simply bandaged, lifted his head and hesitated: "Elder Brother Yue… I… I was at the northeast corner battlement then."

"What did you feel when the flames rose?"

The youth thought for a moment. "I… just felt a sudden tightness, like the breathless oppression before a summer thunderstorm — very brief, and it passed in an instant."

"And the enemy? What happened to those few soldiers who almost climbed up?"

"They…" the youth struggled to recall, "they were fierce, their blades almost reaching me. But then the fire below surged, and they seemed to… slip on their feet? Or lose focus? Either way their motion stalled, giving me the chance to thrust my spear."

Zhu Yue nodded. He then asked a few others who had taken part in the wall defense and the front‑gate counterattack. Their accounts were largely the same: at the moment when the flames surged and the battle cries peaked, their bodies felt a subtle lag or exhilaration, while the enemies right before them seemed to suffer a more pronounced effect.

It was not an illusion.

The stone formation, or more precisely, a certain "thing" condensed upon it, could be briefly triggered under specific conditions — such as intense battle emotions, focused attention, perhaps aided by fire as a catalyst.

The effect is very weak and limited in range, but it does exist.

A weak field based on collective will and specific symbols, opposing "pollution" or "corrosion"?

Zhu Yue could not fully explain it with the scientific theories he knew. Yet he had witnessed the uncanny nature of Yuneng Pollution and the Iron Crow Army's irrational "guidance." Since such unconventional forces exist, a counterforce rooted in gathered human will and symbol‑guided influence does not seem entirely impossible.

The key lies in how to understand it and how to use it.

"Xu Da, Tang He." He called the two over.

Both men's faces showed fatigue and lingering indignation.

"How are the casualties?"

"Nine dead, five seriously wounded, twenty‑three lightly wounded." Xu Da's voice was low, "The soldiers dragged out twenty‑seven or twenty‑eight corpses; the wounded were carried off by them. We… lost."

"But we drove them back." Tang He added, clenching his fist, "They gained nothing!"

"One repulse will be followed by a second, a third — coming faster and with more men." Zhu Yue spoke calmly, yet it made the two feel a chill. "Next time we can't rely only on the wooden walls and bloody courage. We need something else to rely on."

He pointed to the stone formation.

"This thing is somewhat useful, even though we can't yet explain the principle."

"Effective immediately, the area within thirty steps of the stone formation is designated a restricted zone. No one except those on duty or with permission may approach, let alone touch the carvings."

"Find a few trustworthy, detail‑oriented people to take turns guarding outside the formation, recording any abnormality. Even if they sense the air beside the formation is a bit cooler or warmer than elsewhere, or hear an extremely faint sound, they must note it."

"Also," he gazed at the largest open space in the camp's center, "there we shall build another, smaller replica of this stone formation's layout and symbols, using the best stone we have."

Xu Da was somewhat puzzled: "Elder brother, this is to…"

"To run a test." Zhu Yue said, "If the stone formation's effect is tied to its layout and symbols, then a newly built one under the same conditions should produce a similar reaction, even if weaker. If there is no reaction… then the key may lie not only in the stones and symbols, but also in this very place itself, or something else."

Tang He seemed to grasp: "Like… conducting an experiment?"

"Yes." Zhu Yue nodded, "At the same time, when the enemy comes again we will try to actively provoke it, rather than wait for it to react on its own."

"How to provoke it?"

"Greater concentration of will, clearer intent, stronger… emotion." Zhu Yue spoke slowly, "Tell everyone that these stones, the knife and plow etched on the ground, are one of the proofs that we can survive here. They are our 'seal' against the eldritch things outside."

He paused.

"Whether they believe or not is up to them. But I want them, whenever they see the stone formation or pass by it, to tell themselves in their hearts: we must hold this place, we must survive."

"The more who speak of it, the more who believe it, perhaps… the power will truly increase a little."

Xu Da and Tang He exchanged a glance, seeing shock in each other's eyes. The method sounds somewhat mystical, yet having just witnessed that uncanny instant in battle, they also felt it might not be entirely baseless.

"Understood, we'll get on it right away."

The two hurried off.

Zhu Yue remained beside the stone formation.

He reached out and lightly brushed the deep grooves on the foundation stone. The feel was rough and cold.

Science, mysticism, collective belief, the will to survive… on this polluted, besieged land, every force we can grasp must be attempted, understood, and employed.

He turned and gazed toward the northeast.

The first encounter battle ended.

They survived, but paid the price in blood.

Yet the northern shadows and southern threats have not dispersed.

But at least they have not only found the way of iron and fire.

It seems they also touched a glimmer of light.

A glimmer belonging to the human heart itself — faint yet tenacious.

He does not know whether this light can dispel deeper darkness.

He only knows that he must make this light burn brighter.