Chapter 55: Dusk (II)

“Sigh!”
With a deep sigh, Li Kuo handed his friend over to a bodyguard and continued charging forward. He tried to stop him, but the kid refused to listen! Now, instead of becoming a hero, he had turned into a burden to everyone!
The sudden change gave the giant eaters an opportunity. Though it was just for a moment, they took advantage of Li Kuo’s absence to catch up and regain control.
They had a decisive numerical advantage, and as the fire weakened, more of their comrades would join in. The longer this dragged on, the more favorable the situation would become for them!
It was a tug-of-war—neither side could easily win. Only those truly strong, with unshakable wills, could laugh triumphantly atop piles of corpses after countless battles.
“Brothers, don’t rush! Cover each other and tighten your formation!”
Seeing the giant eaters’ intentions, Li Kuo decided to respond by tightening their formation. This way, they could withstand the attackers more effectively, with better mutual coverage.
Compared to the giant eaters, they acted as one unit—they weren’t fighting alone!
Thanks to their excellent coordination and strategic deployment, the Bronze General’s soldiers moved effortlessly through the enemy’s encirclement, knocking down the bold invaders from time to time. The greatest advantage of a semi-circular formation was its defensive synergy—nothing could break through except heavy cavalry with crossbows!
“Charge! Charge! What are you afraid of?”
Hu Jiahe was so angry he stamped his feet, kicking the military officer hard in the backside. “Order them to charge! Execute those who retreat! Have the enforcement team ready—only forward, no retreat!”
Hu Jiahe drew his sword viciously and swung it in the air, producing a sharp whistling sound.
“Sigh…”
The military officer dared not speak out despite his anger and could only swallow his grievances, then waved the dark blue battle flag.
Some of the wavering giant eater soldiers, seeing their commander’s orders, gave up the idea of retreating and charged forward bravely. After all, the Tang forces numbered only about a hundred—losing one meant losing one less. Their own soldiers were twice as many, and one sword per man would be enough to deal with them.
“Push them back! Narrow their fighting space!”
Li Kuo pulled his sword out of a giant eater soldier’s abdomen with effort, feeling slightly dizzy.
The giant eaters had finally found the right way to counter their formation—narrowing it. Heh, narrowing the formation.
“Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my robe with you. The king has raised an army—let’s sharpen our spears. We share the same hatred. Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my cloak with you. The king has raised an army—let’s sharpen our halberds. Let’s fight together. Can we say we have no clothes? I’ll share my skirt with you…”

At some point, within the Great Tang army camp, that resounding military song of the Tang Dynasty began to play silently!
They were not fighting alone—they had never been fighting alone from the start!
They were comrades, brothers who had shared life and death; they would never abandon their comrades who had fought alongside them just to save their own lives, for such loyalty could not be exchanged for anything in the future!
“Tonight, we fight together!”
Li Kuo raised his black sword high and shouted resolutely. The fierce battle with the Arabs had drained his strength greatly, but the young man showed not the slightest sign of fear!
He was a soldier who must never bow his head or give up under any circumstances!
To the west of this camp, tens of thousands of Anxi comrades were waiting for them, and around Talas, countless brothers were eagerly awaiting their return! This battle was not only about the honor of these hundred comrades but also about the lives of tens of thousands of Anxi comrades. They absolutely could not lose—under no circumstances!
Fueled by anger, Li Kuo thrust his sword violently at the lower abdomen of an Arab officer. This move was no longer typical of his swordsmanship; exhausted from prolonged combat, his technique had become unsteady. Yet the Arab officer clearly did not expect this sudden attack and failed to block in time.
The black sword pierced deep into the Arab officer’s lower abdomen like a short sword. Li Kuo twisted it with force, causing the officer to scream in agony like a pig being slaughtered.
With a cold snort, Li Kuo pulled his sword back and, with a single swing, pierced through the heart of an Arab soldier who tried to ambush him. As long as he had a shred of strength left, he would never bow to the Arabs. That indomitable spirit was ingrained in him—nothing could change it!
Kill, kill, kill!
Anyone who stands in my way must die!
“With a sword at your throat, do you still care about righteousness and morality? Killing one person is killing; killing a hundred is also killing. If you don’t want to be killed, then you must kill others.”
That chubby man with a round head and round body seemed to have emerged from those piles of books once again. He stretched lazily, yawned repeatedly at himself, and spoke carelessly.
It was then that Li Kuo truly understood what Wu Guo had meant. The slaughter of women, children, and civilians was an act condemned by all, but fighting on the battlefield was the most normal and justified decision!
Whether your actions are just or not depends not on the number of people you kill, but on the identity of those you strike with your sword!
At this moment, he was fighting for himself, for survival!
Anyone who stood in his way must die!

Blood kept splashing onto Li Kuo’s cheeks, turning them red. The young man didn’t even bother wiping it away; he just kept swinging his sword, taking a living life with each swing. From time to time, brothers were killed by the enemy soldiers and fell in front of him—brothers who had shared life and death with him! They lay there helplessly, and Li Kuo could even see their desperate eyes. Hatred filled his mind and his chest. “Avenging our fallen brothers!” With a sidestep, Li Kuo dodged the piles of corpses in front of him and, with a swift motion of his wrist, slashed at the knee bone of an enemy officer. The officer’s tendons seemed to tear, and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Without giving him a chance, Li Kuo plunged his sword deep into his throat! “Blood for blood!” Li Kuo pulled his sword out and slashed at another enemy recruit’s waist. “Kill one, gain one; kill two, gain a pair!” “Blood for blood! Blood for blood!” The soldiers of the Copper Warriors were blinded by rage, shouting along with Li Kuo. Those fallen soldiers were their brothers-in-arms, elite fighters who had risen from the dead. Yet now, they had all perished in this deep valley, at the hands of these enemy scum! Blood debts must be paid in blood—kill one, gain one; hey, kill one, gain one; kill two, gain a pair! “Kill, kill, kill!” The enemy soldiers felt an inexplicable fear, like believers abandoned by Allah, feeling powerless. Why? Why, after several battles, instead of becoming exhausted, did they grow stronger? Why? Some of the less determined enemies even cried out for the devil! Fear, like a plague, could spread at any moment. As soon as these words were spoken, chaos began to spread among the enemy soldiers—a terrifying sign. In such a decisive battle, any soldier who fled could trigger a chain reaction, amplifying the chaos. Eventually, the soldiers in the back rows might even be overwhelmed by their own comrades and swept away. “No retreating! Those who retreat will be executed on the spot!” Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Hu Jiahe Lian grabbed his sword and slashed at a soldier who was retreating. That soldier wasn’t killed by the Copper Warriors but was beheaded by Hu Jiahe Lian. Holding the deserter’s head in one hand, Hu Jiahe Lian roared, “Those who retreat will be executed! Charge forward, damn it!”

By now, neither side had any secrets left, and any tactics seemed utterly ineffective. Both sides now had only a last breath left—whomever could hold on the longest would achieve the final victory.
It was all that Tang general’s fault—because of him!
Hu Jiahe Lian spotted Li Kuo moving as if unchallenged at all and clenched his fists tightly.
“Bring me my bow!”
Hu Jiahe Lian roared, giving orders to his personal guards. As long as he killed that Tang general, these less than a hundred soldiers would lose their direction and their last strength!
Soon, the guards brought Hu Jiahe Lian’s three-stone hard bow and handed it to their commander.
Hu Jiahe Lian raised the corner of his mouth slightly and pulled the bowstring taut. With this arrow, his enemy’s life would surely be taken!
He released the string, and the arrow shot out swiftly through the air, spinning as it flew toward Li Kuo.
Hu Jiahe Lian was an expert archer, and the distance was less than sixty steps—how could Li Kuo avoid it?
Worst of all, the young man wasn’t even aware that someone was shooting arrows at him from afar!
The black arrowhead was already twenty steps away from the young man’s face when he finally realized death was approaching. He instinctively leaned back, but the arrow followed him!
“Commander, get out of the way!”
Yu Ji, the deputy commander, rushed forward and pushed Li Kuo aside, only to be struck by an arrow himself!
Pushed by Yu Ji, Li Kuo stumbled forward more than thirty steps. The young man forced himself to stand up and look back—Yu Ji was already gasping for breath, spewing blood.
The arrow had pierced his lungs!
“Yu Ji!”
Li Kuo screamed and staggered over to Yu Ji, helping him up. “You’re so stupid! You really are stupid! You didn’t have to do this… You’re so stupid…”
“Commander, I… I have no regrets. Over these years with you, I, Yu Ji, have had a glorious life. I’ve never been this happy. After I die, please take care of my mother… and my sister.”