Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

"Where is the time?!"

Liu Bang suddenly broke free from his restraints, his eyes bloodshot. He scrambled to his feet, pointed to the ever-growing pile of firewood and torches below the slope, and roared hoarsely:

"Once the fire is lit, it will be too late! What countermeasures will be available then? Tell me, do you have a solution?"

Cao Shen's heart sank, and he turned his head away heavily, not daring to meet his gaze.

Liu Bang turned his gaze and fixed it on Xiao He.

Xiao He lowered his eyes, pressed his lips together, and remained silent for a long time.

Regardless of the fact that they had traveled thousands of miles and were already exhausted, the disparity in troop strength was despairing. What countermeasures could they possibly have?

"It's too late."

Liu Bang straightened his disheveled robe, exhaled a breath of stale air, clenched his teeth so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Don't stop me. Fan Kuai is my brother, someone I trained. Even if I can't bring him back, I at least have to stay with him. Brother Xiao, Brother Cao, I can't worry about anything else now. Sorry, I have to go first—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the two men's faces, then clasped his hands in a fist salute: "The rest is up to you all."

Having said that, Liu Bang turned around and was about to rush down the slope without regard for anything else.

"Brother Ji! I'll go with you!"

Lu Wan wiped the dirt off her face and immediately caught up to him, her tone resolute and her eyes firm: "We agreed long ago that wherever you go, I will go. Lu Wan will never break her promise."

"Good brother!" Liu Bang's eyes welled up with tears.

He knew he couldn't persuade Lu Wan, just as she couldn't persuade him, so he could only pat her shoulder heavily:

"Alright, then let's break in together today and bring Fan Kuai back!"

"good!"

Lu Wan rubbed her eyes hard and nodded frantically.

The two men were about to rush downhill side by side when Cao Can was unable to stop them. He was pushed aside and his forehead veins bulged with anxiety. He turned sharply to look at Xiao He, his voice cracking:

"Clerk Xiao! Say something! What should we do? Those two charging down is just suicide!"

Xiao He suddenly raised his head.

"etc!"

A sharp shout caused Liu Bang and Lu Wan, who hadn't gone far, to pause for a moment, just as they were about to continue.

"I will go with you."

The three of them were startled and turned to look at him in astonishment.

Xiao He's usually calm eyes now burned with the same fire as Liu Bang's: "Fan Kuai is also my brother. Since he can't come up with a clever way to escape, then he will accompany his brothers."

He turned to look at Cao Can, took out a scroll of silk from his robes, and handed it to him, glancing at the hands of the Chen Commandery men who had accompanied them on their raid:

"Shen, the rest of the brothers are in your care. Please give this to Magistrate Hu for me."

"you--!"

Cao Shen stamped his feet in anxiety, clutching the silk scroll in his arms, his eyes red as if about to bleed.

Xiao He turned to look at him, smiled for once, and patted his shoulder. "Shen, I'm sorry, I'm asking you for help."

Cao Can opened his mouth, looked down at the roll of silk in his arms that was still warm from his body, then looked up at Xiao He's face, closed his eyes, and stomped his foot hard.

"Screw the 'sorry,' if you're going, come along!"

Just like Xiao He, he shoved the silk scroll into the arms of a brother from Chen County behind him.

It was rare to hear Cao Shen utter such vulgarities. Xiao He smiled wryly and was about to speak up to dissuade him, emphasizing the importance of the overall situation, but Cao Shen's words left him speechless.

"Brother Xiao, you still want to persuade me? Does it mean that just because we met late, you don't consider me a brother?"

He turned around and bowed to the group of Chenjun brothers behind him:

"Thank you all for seeing me off. Magistrate Hu still needs you all, so please stop here. May our paths cross again someday!"

Having said that, he stepped forward a few paces and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiao He, Liu Bang, and Lu Wan.

"Since the five of us came from Pei County together, we must return together. Not one of us can be missing."

"……good!"

Without a high-five or a vow, the five men exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and then turned and dashed off like arrows toward the heavily fortified ruins below.

Once they emerged from the earthen mound, they were greeted by a vast, open plain with no cover whatsoever. County soldiers were everywhere, leaving them nowhere to hide or conceal themselves. But at this moment, no one cared about hiding anymore.

Liu Bang charged ahead, the spear he was holding flying out of his hand.

"kill--!"

The spear tip pierced precisely into the back of the outermost patrolman. The soldier could only utter half a scream before spitting out blood and collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Using the momentum from his landing, Liu Bang strode forward, kicked over the corpse, drew his blood-stained spear, and swung it horizontally, sweeping away two soldiers who had surrounded him from both sides. With a hoarse roar, he crashed straight into the ruined city wall.

"Fan Kuai! Your brother Ji is here!"

This roar made the eardrums of the surrounding soldiers buzz, and finally made the county soldiers guarding the outer perimeter of the ruined city react.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack from behind!"

"Stop them!"

The whistle was sharp and piercing. The county soldiers, who were originally lined up to carry firewood and sprinkle tung oil, suddenly erupted into chaos. Countless spears and ring-pommel swords turned around and charged towards Liu Bang and his three companions. The glint of the swords reflected in the thick smoke, and the murderous aura was overwhelming.

Lu Wan followed closely beside Liu Bang, wielding her short sword with impenetrable speed, fiercely protecting Liu Bang's flank. Anyone who dared to approach even half a step was smashed aside, sword and all, their roars echoing Liu Bang's from afar.

"Fan Kuai! Wan has come looking for you too! Come with us and fight your way out!"

Before the words had even finished, a powerful, thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the ruined city, carrying a blood-soaked ferocity that pierced through the sounds of battle:

"Brother Ji! Fan Kuai is here!"

With a single response, all four men felt a jolt of excitement—Fan Kuai was still alive!

Liu Bang's eyes surged with wild joy, and he attacked even more fiercely, his spear sweeping and thrusting, tearing a gap in the encirclement.

Although Xiao He was a civil official, he did not hold back at all. He picked up the short knife left behind by the soldier and targeted the soldiers who were separated by the two people clearing the way in front of them and who were unsteady on their feet. Every strike was precise and deadly.

Cao Can covered the rear. He was more skilled than Xiao He. He wielded a long spear, and with agility, he thrust and parried, blocking the soldiers who were flanking from behind. Blood splattered as the spear tip rose and fell.

In the distance, the commanding officer stared coldly at the four men being pressed closer, his face ashen and ruthless, and he barked out an order:

"Surround them from all sides! Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

Once the military order was given, the county soldiers' offensive suddenly became several times more ferocious, and the pressure increased sharply. Under the human wave tactics, the four men were forced to fight back to back.

A flash of cold light, and a long spear pierced straight into Liu Bang's back.

Lu Wan's expression changed drastically. He parried the enemy's blade with his twin swords and spun around to block back without thinking. However, he was a beat too slow, and the spearhead was deflected and pierced straight into his left shoulder.

He groaned, and half of his robe was instantly soaked with hot blood, causing him to stagger.

"Lu Wan!"

Enraged, Liu Bang kicked aside the enemy soldier in front of him and leaped back to protect Lu Wan. However, his spear, which had been used in fierce battles, was already too heavy to withstand the blows. With a crisp crack, it broke in two, and half of the spear shaft flew out of his hand.

Xiao He, who had always kept a close eye on his brothers' safety, saw this and his eyes widened in fury. He roared:

"Liu Ji, catch the blade!"

He threw the short sword at Liu Bang with a backhand, but he couldn't turn around in time. A ring-pommel sword was already slashing down on his head with a strong wind. Behind him was Cao Can, who was fighting to the death. There was no room to dodge to either side. Xiao He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and waited for the blade to fall.

Clang!

The deafening clang of metal striking metal was deafening, but the expected excruciating pain did not come.

Xiao He suddenly opened his eyes and saw that Cao Can had already turned around and blocked the attack. The huge impact made his arms go numb, and his tiger's mouth instantly split open, with blood flowing down the spear shaft.

"Brother Xiao, be careful!" Before Cao Can's shout had even finished, Xiao He's expression suddenly changed.

"No, get back on defense immediately!"

The speed was too fast, and he was unarmed, so he could only watch helplessly as the long sword slashed hard into Cao Can's back.

"Pfft—"

The long sword pierced flesh, blood splattered, Cao Can groaned, his body swayed, but he held on tightly to his spear without taking a step back. With a backhand thrust, he pierced the throat of the soldier who had ambushed him, and then could no longer hold on, collapsing forward, only to be caught by Xiao He.

The four-man shield had collapsed at one corner, making it increasingly precarious.

The encirclement tightened, and the sounds of armor clashing, roaring, and weapons slicing through the air filled the air. The four were forced into a corner of the ruined wall, with nowhere to retreat or escape.

Liu Bang was panting heavily, his hands supporting his knees, the tip of his sword touching the ground, blood flowing down the hilt. Lu Wan was beside him, the wound on her shoulder still bleeding, soaking half of her robe.

Xiao He was in the very center, holding only a stone, without a knife. Cao Can was kneeling on the ground, his back wound reopened, and blood dripped down his clothes.

His strength was completely exhausted, his clothes were soaked in blood, and all he could see were flashing blades and spears. He had almost no strength left to throw another blow.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Fan Kuai.

The four men looked at each other and smiled bitterly, already prepared to die.

"Whoosh—"

An arrow whizzed past their heads and struck a soldier in front of them in the chest as he was about to bring his sword down.

Liu Bang suddenly looked up.

"Release the arrows." A cold, sharp voice came from behind. "No need to conserve arrows, fire—"

Li Yi, wielding a long sword and leading a group of guards carrying bows and crossbows, waved his hand, and the group surged forward like a dark cloud, raining down arrows. They managed to clear a gap in the encirclement of Liu Bang and his men.