Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Song Yun stared intently at the direction of the city gate.

In the dim firelight, crimson crimson crept inch by inch into his pupils, devouring the last vestige of clarity.

He watched helplessly as Han Fei and Yao Jia broke through the enemy lines, and then watched as Li Yi's tattered armor trailed a blinding line of blood as he forcefully pierced through the city's human shields and withdrew, about to disappear into the night outside the city.

She was so close to completely escaping his grasp...

The extreme disappointment, fear, and rage shattered his mind in an instant, burning away all reason in his eyes, driving him to the brink of madness.

"Chase them! Chase them!!"

Before his angry shout had even finished, he suddenly drew his sword from its sheath.

A flash of cold light, and it came crashing down!

A deserter, who had been routed by Hu Kui and whose soul had long since been scattered, staggered to the front of the horse. Before he could even let out a wail, a sharp blade pierced his body.

Hot blood splattered out, covering half of Song Yun's face, staining his eyebrows and eyes red and soaking his clothes.

His vision was blurred with blood, but he didn't blink an inch. He completely lost all semblance of human dignity, his face contorted with rage, his expression filled with malevolence, resembling a demon.

"Not a single one is to escape! Anyone who dares to retreat or flee will be executed on the spot, without mercy!"

Beside him, Xu Kun stood amidst the chaos of the army, his body chilled to the bone.

Seeing the delegation escape and their commander go mad, his face turned ashen, his body swaying precariously, almost collapsing from his horse, his lips trembling uncontrollably, and fragmented, desperate murmurs drifting in the wind:

"I've gone mad... completely mad... it's all over... everything's over..."

"Nonsense! You piece of trash, shut up!"

Song Yun suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him, and swung his sword horizontally with a backhand motion.

The sword's edge grazed past his ear by a mere inch, its cold light splitting the air and severing a strand of hair. Drops of blood dripping from the sword fell and splattered onto Xu Kun's face, splashing into his eyes, both cold and bloody.

Xu Kun's body suddenly stiffened, his breath caught in his throat, a chill ran down his spine, and a warm, fishy smell spread from his groin—he had actually lost control of his bladder on the spot from fright.

Song Yun frowned in disgust, not even bothering to look at this useless man again. He abruptly drew his sword, turned around, and pointed the tip directly at the north gate.

"All troops, listen to my command! Charge! Kill that imposter, exterminate the fake eldest son, and slaughter the remnants of the delegation. Whoever takes the head of any one of them will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces and a hundred acres of fertile land!"

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Greed overcame fear; the county soldiers' eyes turned bloodshot, their breathing became heavy, and their hands gripping their swords stopped trembling. They roared like a pack of wolves drawn by the scent of blood, swarming towards the city gate. Just as they were about to break through the city walls—

"Close the city gates!"

A sharp shout rang out, as loud as thunder. Hu Kui stood guard at the city gate, sword in hand.

He was left with only a few dozen remaining soldiers, all of whom were his loyal old soldiers who had fought alongside him for many years, local militia who had been driven to ruin by Song Yun's oppressive rule, and former garrison soldiers of Chenjun who had been framed and slaughtered and had survived to this day.

They were already mostly dead or wounded, their armor shattered, their blades dulled, and their bodies covered in blood. But at the command, not one hesitated, not one retreated. With a "boom," they ruthlessly sealed off their only way out.

One of Shen Liang's two swords was broken, and his robes were torn in several places by the sharp blades, his flesh was torn and bleeding, but he felt no pain at all. He gripped the broken sword tightly in his left hand, his eyes still fierce, waiting for the enemy to come so he could plunge it into his throat.

A few remaining soldiers stood in formation like a wall.

With their mere mortal flesh and blood, they managed to completely block the escape route of the prefect's entire army, which outnumbered their own by dozens of times.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

Song Yun witnessed all of this, consumed by rage and impotent fury:

"Break down the door! Break it down! Charge out and kill them all!"

He was so enraged that his eyes were bloodshot, and he brandished his sword, roaring wildly in a hoarse, frenzied voice:

"You mere remnant soldier dares to stop me?! Hu Kui, you traitorous old dog, wait till I smash the city gates! I'll skin you alive!"

Hu Kui seemed not to hear, his face as solemn as iron; he didn't even glance at Song Yun.

At this moment, all his energy and strength were poured into the long sword in his hand, which had already been dulled.

He pulled out the knife fiercely and plunged it into the heart of the next enemy, blood splattering on his gray hair, turning it crimson.

The night is drawing to a close.

The darkness that raged all night finally began to slowly dissipate at the edge of the sky. The thick, inky blackness was gently peeled away, and a sliver of pale light seeped out from the horizon, tenderly yet firmly cutting through the blood-red night.

Before the north gate, corpses were piled up in layers, and blood soaked through the blue bricks and mud floor, forming a dark red swamp.

As dawn broke, the village warriors who had fought to the death all night to follow Hu Kui to his execution were already reduced to less than one in ten.

Hu Kui and Shen Liang stood back to back, locked in a fierce confrontation.

Both of them were already exhausted and dying.

Hu Kui could barely lift his knife; his arm was stiff, his tiger's mouth was split open, and wounds were all over his body. The blood had long since stopped flowing, leaving only scabs that revealed the white bones beneath. Every breath he took felt like he was working a bellows, and his throat was filled with the taste of blood and rust.

Shen Liang wasn't in much better shape. His broken sword was stuck in the ribs of a dead enemy soldier in front of him. He tried to pull it out twice but couldn't, so he simply let go and picked up a short knife from the ground. The hilt was slippery and covered in blood. He clenched it twice before he could hold it tightly.

"Jun Cheng..."

Shen Liang's breath was weak, and his voice was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, as if it came from another world, "The delegation... should... have left, right?"

"They've gone far away." Hu Kui uttered the three words with a hoarse, broken voice.

He mustered all his strength to swing the last blade, but before it fell, his momentum was exhausted, and his remaining strength was completely depleted.

"Clang—"

The long sword slipped from his hand and crashed into the bloody mud.

He gazed at the encircling enemy troops, his eyes devoid of regret or remorse, only a deathly calm detachment remaining.

He was tired, tired for far too long.

From the day Hu Ze died, from the night Yangcheng was engulfed in flames, from the moment Chenjun was swallowed by darkness inch by inch—he had been holding on, holding on until he was exhausted, until he was completely worn out, until the city gate finally opened for the eldest son.

"That's enough," he said. "It was worth it."

Facing the incoming flash of blade light, Hu Kui did not close his eyes.

The murky depths of his eyes reflected the cold, sharp blade, and the sliver of light slowly rising on the horizon.

In a daze, he seemed to see Hu Ze kneeling in front of him, looking up and saying, "Father, your son is unfilial."

He shook his head gently, a relieved smile slowly creeping onto his lips.

Having such a son, I have no regrets in this life.

Behind him, Shen Liangyi mustered his last strength and plunged his short knife into the throat of the enemy soldier in front of him.

The dagger became embedded in the bone again, and he couldn't pull it out, so he gave up.

Shen Liang released his grip, letting the blood-stained knife fall into the pool of blood along with the corpse.

A new wave of pursuers immediately stepped over layers of corpses and pounced fiercely, several long swords flashing with a chilling light, aiming straight for the two men's vital points.

The blade is within reach, life and death hang by a thread.

Their bones and muscles had long since shattered, their fingertips were completely devoid of strength, and they had even exhausted the strength to close their eyes and dodge.

Shen Liang's eyelashes trembled slightly. He glanced at the sky one last time, and let out a soft sigh that dissipated into the wind.

"It's a pity...we won't see dawn..."

Just as he resignedly closed his eyes in the final moment—

"All righteous men at the gate, get out of the way!"

Outside the city, amidst the long winds of dawn, a powerful, thunderous shout resounded across the entire battlefield.

Hu Kui shuddered, and Shen Liang suddenly opened his eyes.

Hu Kui, with a sudden burst of strength, turned sideways, grabbed Shen Liang by the collar, and rolled to the side.

A sharp blade grazed their backs, slicing through the blood and mud on the ground. They narrowly avoided a fatal blow, before they could even get up and recover.

"BOOM—!!"

A deafening thunderclap resounded across the land.

The heavy city gate, which had been battered all night and was already cracked and on the verge of collapse, was forcibly blasted open by the immense force of the foreign army.

Wei Liao stood at the forefront on horseback, his beard and hair fluttering in the morning breeze. His long sword was already drawn, its blade pointing straight into the city, shining brightly in the first rays of dawn.

"Form ranks—enter the city!"

------

Don't worry, there's one more chapter. It's an extra chapter combining the two parts from last night. I didn't expect it to be released so late either (・ε・｀).

According to Tomato's rules, the review period is from 7:00 AM to 24:00 AM. If you post something at night, it will get stuck in the review process and you won't be able to modify or delete it. So, what time it will be published really depends on luck (⊙ω⊙).

So please don't stay up all night to watch the extra chapters from now on; wait until you've woken up in the morning to read them! U^ｪ^U