Swish!
The cold arrow flew over from the sky and quickly nailed itself onto the snow-covered branches. The huge force caused the branches to tremble and snow to fall.
The warmth of early spring did not take care of the Northwest. The snowy mountain was still covered in snow.
Swish!
Another arrow flew over. This time, it did not nail into the tree. Instead, it landed in the snow, only an inch away from a soldier lying on the ground. The soldier did not move or make a sound. He just laid there.
“Old Yu! Old Yu!” Wu San bent down and passed through the rain of arrows shot by the Xiongnus, jumping into a newly dug bunker.
The bunker was not big. The top was covered by a row of interlocking branches.
Yu Shaoqing sat cross-legged inside. A stray arrow shot into the branches behind him and almost hit his head, but he didn’t even blink. He was racing against time to make a “weapon”.
These weapons were modified from the stray arrows that the Xiongnus had shot over and were loaded into a few simple small crossbows. The range of these small crossbows was not long, and their attack power was not as good as that of an experienced archer. However, they were convenient. They could be loaded with five arrows at a time, saving the process of pulling the arrow on the bow. If necessary, they could trigger five arrows at once. It was also a life-saving method.
“Old Yu… F*ck!” As soon as Wu San sat down, a stray arrow shot through the branches that were used as cover. Wu San hurriedly covered his head and dodged. The stray arrow nailed into the “ice wall” behind him.
Yu Shaoqing calmly took off the arrow. However, Wu San could not remain as calm as he was in the face of danger. Yu Shaoqing could clearly die under the arrows of the Xiongnu at any time, but he could still remain so calm.
It had been half a month since New Year’s Eve, and today was the Lantern Festival. However, there were no glutinous rice balls during the Lantern Festival, nor were there any reunions. There were only waves of Xiongnus chasing after them and rounds of arrows.
After General Xiao came, Old Yu brought them out of the cave and headed southeast.
They were afraid that the fire would attract the Xiongnu people, and General Xiao’s body could not be cremated and brought back. He could only be buried in the vast snow mountains like the others. Perhaps no one would know that he was buried under that silent mountain in this lifetime.
Wu San muttered, “Do you think we can still find General Xiao’s grave when we return?”
Although it was called a grave, it was just a pit that was level with the ground. In order to prevent the Xiongnus from digging the grave and whipping the corpse, they did not even dare to build a grave, let alone erect a tombstone.
General Xiao had killed many enemies when he was alive, but he ended up dying in the wilderness. Every time Wu San thought of this, he would feel desolate.
“Hai’zi, Long Hair, Ah Yi…” Wu San counted the brothers he had personally buried.
“Why are you looking for me?” Yu Shaoqing interrupted his thoughts.
Wu San was stunned for a moment before he finally remembered why he was here. He perked up and said, “Da Niu asked me to tell you that the Xiongnus have already set up camp at the foot of the mountain. They’re going to cross the river tonight and wipe us out.”
Their current terrain was not good. It was unknown what General Xiao had said to Old Yu back then, but Old Yu did not wait for help on the spot. Instead, he began to bring them over the snow mountain. The first two days were still peaceful, but on the third day, they encountered Xiongnu soldiers.
They were forced to cross the river. They thought that by dismantling the wooden bridge, they could at least stall for a while. Unexpectedly, the canyon ahead suddenly encountered an avalanche and their path was blocked.
“How long until we can dig through the canyon?” Yu Shaoqing asked.
Wu San sighed and said, “Tomorrow morning at the earliest.” But tonight, the Xiongnus were going to cross the river.
Yu Shaoqing’s hand paused. “Who came?”
Wu San relayed Da Niu’s words word by word. “… I didn’t see the details clearly. That’s about it.”
“It’s King Wuheng. I’ve seen General Xiao fight with him,” Yu Shaoqing said.
“Is he good?” Wu San asked.
Yu Shaoqing nodded. “No one has ever lived under General Xiao’s blade. He’s the first.”
Wu San was shocked. “…Then, then what should we do?”
Yu Shaoqing said coldly, “Kill him.”
Wu San was dumbfounded. It was easy to say, but how were they going to kill them? The other party had a hundred archers. They would be shot to death before they could reach King Wu Heng.
“What do we do now?” Wu San asked.
“Wait.”
“Waiting for what?”
Yu Shaoqing narrowed his eyes and said, “Cross the river.”
The reason why the Xiongnu people chose to cross the river at night was because the ice was not thick enough during the day. It was not because they were afraid of the Northwest Army. After night fell, the ice became indestructible, and the Xiongnu people could cross the river without restraint.
Of course, they were not sure if General Xiao was in the team. It was not King Wu Heng’s turn to personally deal with the remaining soldiers.
It was not until Yu Shaoqing put on General Xiao’s battle robe, picked up General Xiao’s saber, and stood on the cliff that King Wuheng finally could not hold back. He wanted to defeat this Han! He wanted to avenge his previous humiliation!
King Wuheng rushed to the front. He was the first to go ashore, but Yu Shaoqing did not face the enemy head-on. Instead, he turned around and led him into the forest. There were a few archers lying in ambush in the forest, but unfortunately, no one hit them.
When King Wuheng ran into the net, Da Niu, who was hiding at the side, pulled hard. In the blink of an eye, King Wuheng waved his saber and cut the net in half.
Everyone was dumbfounded. This King Wu Heng was too powerful! Centurion… Centurion was most likely dead!
“Not good! The Xiongnus are attacking!” A soldier shouted.
Da Niu and the others drew their swords and charged over.
“Ah—” It was Xiao Yu’s scream. He had just amputated his left foot on New Year’s Eve and used General Xiao’s medicine to save his life. Unexpectedly, he was slashed by the Xiongnus again.
Da Niu rushed over and killed the Xiongnu who had stabbed Xiao Yu. He reached out to help Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu shouted in fear, “Be careful!”
An arrow hit Da Niu’s back and pierced through his heart.
Da Niu lowered his head and looked at the arrowhead on his left chest. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood before falling onto Xiao Yu.