Chapter 97: Right and Wrong (Ten)

The flames had turned the night sky west of Julan City a blazing red.
Just a few hundred steps away from the city gates, Zhang Yanji could already hear the terrifying, heart-shaking sounds of battle. His guess was correct—something was indeed wrong in the west of the city, and that spy was Li Huaizhong!
He should have expected it—he should have known that scoundrel would turn to the Great Tang’s side!
“Brothers, Brother Kuo is in trouble now. Should we go save him?”
Zhang Yanji turned to look at the dozens of cavalrymen following him and asked firmly. These were his loyal personal soldiers, many of whom he had brought from his own household, and they were utterly devoted to him.
Under normal circumstances, given their personal relationship with Zhang Yanji, they would have strongly advised the young master to stay away from danger. But now, they would follow him without hesitation to the city walls to fight, because the man they wanted to save was worth sacrificing their lives for.
He was the commander of the Bronze Weapons Camp, once the commander of the Shule Army, once the deputy commander of the Anxi Army—brothers whom everyone was willing to entrust their lives to!
For brothers, they would fight to the death!
“Let’s go! We’ll save Commander Li! Young master, tell us what to do, and we’ll do it! Whoever hesitates is a coward—I won’t spare him first!”
Captain Zhang Dong drew his sword from his waist to encourage them. He was originally a household soldier of the Zhang family, sent to the army by his master to protect the young master. Now that the young master was determined to save Commander Li, he could only follow closely behind, shielding him from swords and arrows.
“Hehe, Zhang Dong, do you think you’re the only one with courage among us? Commander Li has treated us well—would we still be human if we only thought of ourselves now? Without a doubt, we’ll go save him!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The soldiers voiced their determination, moving Zhang Yanji to tears of emotion.
“Good!”
Zhang Yanji held the reins in one hand and shouted, “Live together, die together!”
“Live together, die together!”
“Live together, die together!”……
Li Kuo watched the rebels rushing toward the horse path and smiled coldly.
“Da Chui, it seems we have a battle ahead.”
Pu Da Chui drew his pair of black, oil-stained hammers. “Hehe, I just said the killing wasn’t painful enough, and already so many are rushing to die. Fine! If the commander wants to fight, Da Chui will fight alongside him to the end!”

Li Siyeh, standing nearby, paused for a moment with his long-handled halberd and said, “They’re just a bunch of petty clowns seeking their own deaths. Our Anxi Army is by no means so easy to bully. Today, no matter who it is, if they want to pass by me, Li Siyeh, they must first ask whether my halberd agrees!” His words were filled with dominance, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of the Tang generals around him.

“Form a formation!” Li Kuo drew out the black sword that had soaked in countless bloods and gave a cold order.

Nearly a hundred personal guards and fifty halberd soldiers under Li Siyeh formed a semi-circular formation, facing the approaching enemies fearlessly.

“Charge! Charge, brothers! After the Tang people repel the attacks of the Abbasid forces, they’ll kill us all to seize Julan City!” shouted a soldier who appeared to be a captain. He must have been a new recruit gathered by Gao Xianzhi in Julan City. Due to his robust build and skilled martial arts, he was promoted to captain to serve as an example to the barbarian soldiers. Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, he turned against them, leading many new Anxi recruits to attack Li Kuo and his men.

“The Tang people want to kill us and take the city! Instead of waiting to die, let’s fight them! Let General Abu Muslim enter the city!” The captain kept waving his flag, never stopping to incite them.

Most of the soldiers didn’t fully understand the situation, but after being stirred up by the captain, they believed it and rushed angrily at the Tang people.

“The Tang people are truly heartless! We fight to the death for them, only to end up as victims. Brothers, fight them! Fight!” The speaker was a barbarian soldier with worm-like scars on his face. Seeing that many soldiers had been incited, he joined in the shouting with his comrades.

Pu Da Chui was so angry that he could barely stand still, wishing he could rush over and twist off the heads of those inciting soldiers right then.

“Rumors! It’s all rumors! Someone is sowing discord. Brothers, don’t believe it!” Zhou Wuze clearly still didn’t want to give up and kept shouting loudly, hoping that these soldiers were just temporarily deceived and exploited. He believed that if he could explain things clearly, they would stop their evil deeds.

“Hey! Why are you still talking to them? In my opinion, these barbarians are just a bunch of ungrateful wretches. Expecting them to lay down their weapons is nothing but delusion,” Pu Da Chui said, showing no faith in Zhou Wuze’s efforts. These barbarian soldiers had joined the army only for money and had no real loyalty to the Anxi Army. Now, after being manipulated by those with ulterior motives, there was no way they would change their minds.

As these words were spoken, Ba Wei’er, who stood nearby with a knife, silently lowered his head, his face turning red all the way to his neck. He didn’t understand why his comrades would suddenly rebel while he was engaged in fierce battle with the giant eaters; he couldn’t fathom how decades of friendship could be shattered in an instant by a single rumor.

“Big Hammer, stop talking nonsense!”
Li Kuo gave Pu Dahei a cold glance, signaling him to stay silent.

“Hey, governor, old Pu here, hey!”

Pu Dahei shook his head in frustration and let out a long sigh.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Kill all the Tang people and defend our homeland!”

“Kill all the Tang people and defend our homeland!”

The Hu soldier officer successfully sowed discord between the two sides, smiling triumphantly as he shouted loudly. Once tonight was over, he would be relied upon by the king and become wealthy and honored! And all it took was a little talk from him—what a great deal!

“Charge! Leave no Tang people alive!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Groups of Hu soldiers surged toward the horse path. Their numbers were several times that of the Tang soldiers, enough to crush them instantly.

It was a fight with no suspense, at least in the eyes of these Hu soldiers. Once they broke through the horse path, they could remove the sandbags in front of the city gates and let the giant eaters enter. Then they would be heroes and heroes of merit—provided they killed all the Tang soldiers before them.

They were obstacles to his success and glory, demons cursed by the fire god Ahura Mazda—they must not be spared!

The Hu soldiers in the front had already reached the front lines of the Tang army. Some impatient soldiers even waved their simple knives, aiming to strike the faces of the Tang warriors. But they were just new recruits trained for just over ten days. They might be good at marching in formation and putting on a show, but they were utterly outmatched when it came to actual combat against the Tang warriors.

Before the blade of one Hu soldier could even touch Zhou Wucui’s chest, General Zhou Xia had already slit his throat. The Hu soldier fell to the ground with wide eyes. He instinctively covered the wound in his throat, but thick blood gushed out like a fountain, staining a large area of his armor red. Zhou Wucui didn’t give him another chance—with a slight thrust, he pierced through his body.

Pu Dahei had just smashed the skull of a overconfident Hu soldier. Gathering his strength, he swung back and knocked another Hu soldier who tried to attack him from behind to the ground. He could clearly hear the sound of the other man’s ribs breaking and the dull thud of bones piercing his spleen and lungs. The Hu soldier writhed in pain on the ground before being torn to pieces by the Tang warriors’ swords.

Li Kuo kept flipping the blade, swiftly claiming lives. With each strike, he could kill an enemy—swinging, chopping, thrusting, drawing—the moves were simple yet highly effective. Unlike the complex and elaborate sword techniques of martial artists, the young man focused solely on killing. On the battlefield, the more and faster you killed, the greater your chances of survival.

If one had to choose between dying or letting them die, then naturally, it would be you who died.

He slightly blocked with his sword, deflecting three knives aimed at his face. Taking advantage of the momentum, he leaned forward, spun around, and swung his sword at the lower bodies of the enemy soldiers in the front row. In the blink of an eye, several of the enemy soldiers collapsed, groaning in pain.

But the young man didn’t stop. He turned and stabbed a soldier behind him through the heart, then followed the motion of his sword to split the abdomens of two more enemy soldiers.

“Only the ringleaders shall be punished; accomplices are spared!”

Li Kuo managed to catch his breath and shouted in Turkic. Turkic was the common language among the countries along the River Middle. Although these enemy soldiers were part of the Anxi army, they hadn’t been there long enough to fully understand Tang language. Communicating with them in Turkic was clearly the best option. Though the young man wasn’t sure if his words would work, even if they caused a slight stir in their minds, it would be an opportunity for everyone.

The bronze-armored generals, all elderly men who had followed Li Kuo, immediately understood his intention and shouted, “The commander orders that only the ringleaders be punished; accomplices are spared! Don’t be deceived by these traitors—drop your weapons quickly!”

“The commander orders that only the ringleaders be punished; accomplices are spared!”

The enemy soldiers already found the officer’s words strange, and now, hearing what the bronze-armored soldiers said, they grew suspicious. Seeing everyone looking at them, the enemy officer hurriedly shouted, “Don’t listen to their nonsense! The Tang people are full of tricks. They want you to surrender and be executed! Once you drop your swords, you’re doomed. The Tang people want to kill us all—they not only want to kill us but also take our homes. Brothers, fight them to the death!”