Start with a red name

After Zhang Shan found his place in the team, his initially tense emotions gradually calmed down.

After stabilizing his mindset, he had more energy to observe the changes on the battlefield around him.

His teamwork with his partners became increasingly smooth.

He didn't need to consider how powerful the enemy in front of him could be.

He only needs to take the hit for his comrade. No matter how disheveled he is after taking the hit, he will no longer need to bear the threat of this powerful enemy.

They might be led by their comrades-in-arms or by another comrade into the next wave of attacks.

Or perhaps he was suddenly struck by a severe injury and died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Zhang Shan appeared to be like a rabbit overestimating its own abilities, insisting on getting involved in a fight between a group of hyenas.

Every time he rushed in, he ended up in a very disheveled state.

But he always manages to find the point in this chaotic and dangerous environment that will cause him the least harm.

"The battle isn't that difficult."

Zhang Shan thought to himself that this was much more interesting than blacksmithing and mining.

Not only him, but his other teammates also performed exceptionally well.

This involves not only individual performance, but also coordination and cooperation with others, as well as with other teams.

Zhang Shan was unaware that this kind of small-scale melee involving dozens of people was the Black Wind Army's specialty.

The shortcomings of large-scale operations are not apparent; on the contrary, the cooperation of small teams allows each person's value to be fully utilized.

In terms of numbers and average strength, the two sides were roughly evenly matched, but in reality, the situation quickly tilted in favor of the "Black Wind Army".

When the squad leader "Brother Li" worked with several of his comrades, he killed the team leader.

The battle that took place around the fire pit was also drawing to a close.

Zhang Shan's team also achieved fruitful results.

Not counting assists, there were five direct kills.

This includes one Bone Refining Realm cultivator, two Blood Refining Realm cultivators, and two Flesh Refining Realm cultivators.

Although two people were clearly injured, apart from the gruesome sight of spilled blood, they were otherwise unharmed.

Zhang Shan felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, panting heavily and drenched in sweat, yet he felt an unprecedented sense of clarity and lightness in his heart.

Zhang Shan grinned. He realized that he actually liked the feeling of constantly walking on the edge of death.

Just once, and it felt like I was getting addicted.

He couldn't wait for the next killing to begin.

However, when he looked around the entire battlefield, he immediately suppressed his lighthearted mood.

Taking this stronghold quickly will not be without casualties on our side.

Seven people fell to the ground.

Three of them had already stopped breathing.

In one particularly dire situation, most of the neck has detached, with only a small patch of skin on the side of the neck still trying to hold the head and body together.

The situation for the other four people is also very pessimistic.

A person's left arm, from the elbow down, is bent at an abnormal angle. The sharp bone spurs that have broken off are visible on the skin of the forearm, making one feel unbearable pain just by looking at it.

One person had a noticeable dent in his chest, as if he had been hit hard in the chest with a heavy hammer.

The other two, although their injuries differed, were in a similar state of criticality to the others.

What Zhang Shan found strange was that his companions, who were quickly given medication and simple hemostasis bandages, did not show much panic.

Those in better spirits could even occasionally scream in pain, laughing and scolding their companions for their clumsy treatment of their injuries.

It doesn't seem like he's forcing himself to stay upright.

Soon, Zhang Shan lost interest in thinking about these things.

They had barely caught their breath when a loud shout came from afar.

"Quickly, quickly, destroy it, destroy it!"

"Don't let it catch fire!"

"..."

Everyone was taken aback. Squad leader "Brother Li" looked around and immediately said, "Follow me!"

As he spoke, he took the lead and rushed towards the direction from which the sound came.

Soon, they arrived at another battlefield.

This is the area that another soldier is in charge of, which also has a fire pit, and they also engage the enemy around the fire pit.

The difference was that this fire pit looked much larger, and the number of enemies was also significantly greater than the group they had encountered before.

Those at the Marrow Refinement level and above not only have a larger quantity but also a higher quality.

The battle has reached a stalemate.

In the hearth, a burning torch had ignited the wolf dung in the surrounding area.

Thick smoke is billowing into the sky.

"Brother Li" glanced at the scene quickly and immediately made arrangements, leading nearly twenty people to rush towards the core battlefield.

Meanwhile, a dozen or so people, including Zhang Shan's team, were assigned to put out the fire.

Not only were there enemies nearby, but more importantly, there wasn't a single drop of water within dozens of steps around.

Fire prevention was never even considered here.

Extinguishing a fire sounds easy, but how do you actually do it?

You can't exactly use urine to water it, can you?

Even if each person contributes one pot, how much would that add up to?
Many people rushed to the fire pit, but seeing the fire growing bigger and bigger and the smoke getting thicker, they felt a bit lost.

Seeing this, Zhang Shan found it somewhat amusing.

The image of these "gods of death" in his mind suddenly collapsed violently.

Are these people really that lacking in common sense about life?

With that in mind, Zhang Shan immediately offered his suggestion: "Use soil and sand!"

Not only did he speak, but he also used an axe to chop the ground, shoveling up a large patch of dust and throwing it directly onto the spot where the wolf dung was burning.

The burning of wolf dung is inherently slow, and their arrival was timely.

With a single blow of Zhang Shan's axe, the fire immediately subsided.

Seeing this, the others suddenly realized what was happening and followed suit, immediately smashing the ground and throwing large amounts of dirt and dust onto the area where the wolf dung was burning.

The fire was quickly brought under control.

Just then, Zhang Shan, who was bending over to continue chopping the ground, suddenly felt a tightness in his heart.

A warning to watch out came from beside me.

Without time to think or analyze, Zhang Shan immediately swung his left arm, which was carrying the arm shield, behind him.

"Oh!"

Zhang Shan heard a loud bang, and the arm shield that was said to be able to withstand a full-force attack from a Blood Refining Realm cultivator shattered into pieces in an instant.

At the same time, an overwhelming force came from the elbow and arm shield, spreading rapidly throughout the body along the arm.

A terrifying force rapidly invaded the body.

At that moment, Zhang Shan had only one thought in his mind.

"You can't resist!"

Faced with this sudden and terrifying blow, he did not stubbornly stand still to block it.

Instead, both feet are lifted off the ground in coordination.

Because of the impact with the ground, he was in a half-squatting position when his body suddenly flew up like an iron ball.

A thick stone wall suddenly rushed toward him.

At that speed, even if the body doesn't turn into a thin patty of meat, it will still break bones and shatter internal organs.

The alarm bells of death were ringing wildly in Zhang Shan's mind, but surprisingly, he remained completely calm.

He curled his body into a tighter ball, looking more and more like a human-shaped fleshy ball.

He then swung the axe-spear he was gripping tightly at the stone wall in front of him with tremendous force.

Use the heavy back of the axe!

"boom!"

With a deafening crash, the axe slammed down, instantly cracking the massive stone brick and creating a noticeable dent. The violent recoil made Zhang Shan feel as if his arm had been broken.

However, his speed suddenly decreased significantly.

The next moment, Zhang Shan, who had curled up like a ball, was firmly embedded in the dent in the wall that he had blasted out with his own hands.

Then, Zhang Shan immediately lost consciousness.

……

Swaying and staggering, Zhang Shan opened his eyes and woke up.

I immediately saw a familiar smiling face.

“Soldier…Soldier Commander!” Zhang Shan greeted immediately.

Seeing that he was about to sit up, "Brother Li" quickly reached out and pressed him down, saying with dissatisfaction, "You're good in every way, but you're too distant with your Brother Li!"

Zhang Shan chuckled awkwardly, then, recalling the events before he lost consciousness, he hurriedly asked, "Was the fire put out?"

"Brother Li" said, "It was put out long ago."

"That smoke didn't rise into the sky, did it? Will it affect us?" Zhang Shan couldn't help but ask again.

"Brother Li" looked at him in surprise and said, "Why are you worrying about these things, kid?"
"Don't worry, we put it out quickly. The smoke didn't even reach the intended height and dissipated soon enough, so it had no impact whatsoever."

Zhang Shan felt relieved, but then suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked around and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, are we on a boat?"

Brother Li laughed and said, "Yeah, you're lucky, kid. The battle is over, and we're on our way back now."

"Huh?...Is it all over?...How long have I been unconscious?"

Zhang Shan stared in disbelief, his tone and expression filled with intense regret.

Seeing his reaction, "Brother Li" suddenly smiled mischievously and said:
"Just kidding, the battle on the west side of the waterway is over, that's for sure."

However, the battle at the stronghold in the east hasn't even started yet; we're currently all heading east by boat.

As he spoke, he pointed out the porthole and reminded them, "Look."

Zhang Shan turned his head and saw hundreds of boats of different sizes sailing on the vast water.

Among them were familiar vehicles, ships, buildings, and boats, but there were also many more various types of vessels that he had never seen before.

"Why are there so many more ships?"

"Brother Li" said:

"These are all the spoils from our battle just now... This is not all; we only took all the prisoners and the more than a thousand Xuanyou horses with us on the ship."

There were also some people who had not evacuated in time and were collecting various supplies, so some boats were specially reserved for them.

Once they've finished packing and are joining us, the fleet will be even larger!

From that moment on, Zhang Shan was completely certain that the assassination attempt he had briefly participated in was now over.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look into the cabin. Although he didn't know much about the soldier's condition, there were clearly fewer people in the cabin now compared to when they sailed south.

He estimated that the number of staff reductions was as high as a dozen or twenty.

Zhang Shan guessed that after he fell into a coma, everyone participated in several more battles.

He couldn't help but look at "Brother Li" and asked, "Are we still going to participate in the next battle?"

"Brother Li" nodded and said, "Of course."

He paused, looked at Zhang Shan, as if he had thought of something, and quickly said:

"Oh, you don't need to worry. Just stay on the ship and rest."

Zhang Shan immediately waved his hand and said:
"Commander, that's not what I meant. I absolutely must participate in this next battle!"

"...Don't be reckless at this time. You were lucky in that battle just now, but that doesn't mean you'll be so lucky every time."

Based on the merits you accumulated in the last battle, you are already good enough to take a big step forward. You should take good care of yourself.

"After the next battle, I'll teach you some more good stuff. Then you can just wait to take off!"

Although he didn't understand some of what was said, it didn't stop Zhang Shan from sticking to his stance.

"Commander, I wasn't being reckless. I will definitely participate in the next battle!"

As he spoke, he turned and stood up, patting his chest and saying:
"Look at me now, I don't need any manners at all... If you really care about me, please find me a suitable shield as soon as possible."

After confirming his firm stance, "Brother Li" went along with his wishes and actually found him a brand new shield.

It is no longer an arm shield, but a standard shield that must be held in one hand.

It also has sharp, serrated edges.

"This shield is much more powerful than the arm shield you used before."

The defensive range is also larger, take a look at this too..."

As he spoke, "Brother Li" pointed out the jagged edges to him.

Finally, he said, "Let's hurry up, I'll teach you some new things."

When the fleet crossed the more than 30-mile-wide waterway and rushed into the dock of the "Water Gate Army" in the east, Zhang Shan was already able to wield his shield with considerable skill.

With his agile movement, rolling, and the shield's occasional forward or reverse rotation in his hands, the protective capabilities were comprehensively enhanced compared to the arm shield.

The shield's inherent attack power should not be underestimated.

This time, we had experience.

The ship rushed into the dock, but the sudden jolting did not cause Zhang Shan to lose his balance; he remained firmly in place.

Soon, he joined his companions and rushed towards the battlefield.

This time, the task of extinguishing the warning smoke before the enemy could react did not fall to them.

In Zhang Shan's view, the already formidable sergeant "Brother Li" was just one of the many in a fast-charging, densely packed group.

Squad leaders like him are everywhere.

There were tens of thousands of soldiers like Zhang Shan.

This massive force of over ten thousand soldiers, led by sergeants and more powerful and centrally located generals and captains, charged straight toward the "Water Gate Army's" camp.

The tension vanished the moment Zhang Shan disembarked.

When they finally encountered their first enemy, Zhang Shan and his companions pounced on him like starving men who had been hungry for a long time and found a delicious feast.

Even though this person displayed terrifying attack power, after being reminded by his companions, they learned that this should be a powerful enemy with a senior Bone Refining Realm cultivation level.

But Zhang Shan, this little henchman, still didn't back down an inch.

Not long ago, during a break in "Brother Li's" intensive training of Zhang Shan, Zhang Shan learned from him that the one who slammed him into the stone wall was a master who was only one step away from refining his marrow, and that it was a full-force attack made in a fit of anger.

At that time, Zhang Shan was shocked, but something puzzled him.

"How did I survive?"

Isn't it said that the difference in skill level, in actual combat, is like a father beating his son?

He, a nobody who was only at the skin refining stage, was far inferior to a powerful expert who had just stepped into the marrow refining stage, by more than one realm.
"Brother Li" cleared up his confusion.

His own abilities and appropriate handling of the situation are certainly one aspect.

But more importantly, it is due to the unique nature of the "battlefield".

Generally, to compare the strength of two cultivators, they are placed in a one-on-one situation.

In that case, according to "Brother Li's" own words, "even if you handle it flawlessly, you'll still only face death."

On the battlefield, unless the difference in strength between the two sides is so great that they can be crushed with a single finger, the difference in strength between individuals will be reduced.

The more chaotic and crowded the battlefield, the greater this weakening effect.

To put it more bluntly, a low-level henchman only has one life.

Even a high-ranking henchman only has one life.

The terms "big henchman" and "small henchman" are relative, not absolute.

Compared to those at the Blood Refining and Bone Refining realms, Zhang Shan was merely an insignificant nobody.

However, these Blood Refining Realm and Bone Refining Realm cultivators are actually in a similar situation to him when faced with stronger opponents.

It's hard to say who has a higher chance of surviving until the end of the war.

However, in retrospect, the strength of an individual is only one of many factors.

Luck, the right response, perception of the overall battlefield situation, and most importantly, the overall strength of both sides... all these factors combined ultimately determine who lives and who dies.

Even at the peak of the Marrow Refinement stage, there's no guarantee that one will survive to the end.

Even someone as insignificant as him, like an ant, will have many survivors; there will never be a situation where everyone is wiped out.

This state of "life and death are unpredictable, one can live or die" fascinates Zhang Shan.

Gazing at the surging "turbid current," unable to foresee his fate, Zhang Shan leaped into it without hesitation. (End of Chapter)