Frontier Hero: From Receiving a Convicted Woman to Becoming an Emperor for All Time

Shen Chuxiao's short sword pierced into the shoulder blade of a barbarian soldier, the blade getting stuck in the bone and unable to be pulled out.

He simply discarded his knife, drew a crossbow bolt from his waist, and plunged it deep into the throat of the second barbarian soldier. The man fell, eyes wide open, blood bubbling in his throat, his hands clutching his neck as if he couldn't believe he was dead.

"Vice-Captain, watch out!"

Tie Niu's voice boomed from the left.

Shen Chuxiao turned his head, and an axe flew past his ear, striking a barbarian soldier behind him who was about to launch a sneak attack in the chest. The barbarian soldier was sent flying, crashing into a grain stack, the oilcloth rattling loudly.

Thanks.

Shen Chuxiao took a breath and wiped the blood off his face.

Tie Niu didn't reply. He swept his broadsword horizontally, forcing back three barbarian soldiers who rushed up. His left arm was hanging down, and there was a deep wound on his shoulder that exposed the bone. His leather armor was cut open, and blood flowed down his arm, dripping a dark red line onto the snow.

"Vice Captain, we can't hold out much longer." Tie Niu's voice was hoarse, but not trembling. "There are too many barbarians. We can't kill them all."

Shen Chuxiao looked around.

At the entrance to the grain depot, there were at least forty or fifty corpses of barbarian soldiers piled up, but behind them was a dense mass of people. The burly man carrying an axe was being helped up by three bodyguards, who were wrapping bandages around his wounds, cursing and swearing, his eyes looking like he wanted to devour someone.

The remaining twelve scouts were all wounded.

Sun Ergou's quiver was long empty; he now clutched a barbarian scimitar, its blade chipped and its hilt stained with blood. Leaning against the grain stack, his chest heaved violently, his left trouser leg soaked in blood, and he trembled with every breath.

"Vice Captain..." He grinned at Shen Chuxiao, his teeth glistening with blood, "Er Gou might be going to die here."

"Shut up." Shen Chuxiao walked over, tore off a piece of his shirt to bandage the wound on his thigh. "You won't die. You haven't bought us drinks yet."

Sun Ergou's smile froze for a moment, and his eyes instantly reddened.

The others weren't much better off.

The remaining scouts were like twelve lamps about to go out, but none of them were willing to be the first to go out.

Shen Chuxiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

We can't keep fighting like this.

At least half an hour has passed since they began their ambush. Zhao Wu is riding a fast horse, and it would take at least an hour and a half to travel to and from Ling Shuang Pass. Even if everything goes smoothly, reinforcements will still take at least half an hour to arrive. And these twelve men might not even last half a quarter of an hour.

He opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the depths of the grain.

Hundreds of fully armed soldiers stood guard at the entrance of the barracks, shields held upright in front of them, spears pointing outwards. They remained motionless, observing the battle from a distance like spectators at a play, never moving an inch.

Shen Chuxiao stared at those people, the coldness in his eyes gradually freezing.

"tractor."

"exist."

"How much longer can you hold on?"

"Are you going to risk your life again?"

"Um."

"I knew it! Following you would never bring any good." Tie Niu used his uninjured hand to support himself as he gritted his teeth and stood up. "But I'm not leaving. I can't run anymore. Staying here can help you take a couple more hits."

Shen Chuxiao looked at his still bleeding wound, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't say anything.

"Hang in there, I'll be right back."

"Alright."

Shen Chuxiao swung his sword and slashed down the barbarian soldier in front of him. Taking advantage of the chaos, he bent down and squeezed into the gap between the grain stacks.

He left quietly. The twelve men were blocking the valley entrance, and no one noticed that their vice-captain had disappeared into the depths of the grain stacks.

The granary barracks were about a hundred paces from the mouth of the valley.

When Shen Chuxiao arrived, the guards at the gate were visibly tense. They pushed their shields forward half a foot, leveled their spears, and aimed the tips at his chest.

"Halt!" The leader was a squad leader, a man in his thirties with a fierce face. "This is a heavily guarded area for grain storage; unauthorized personnel are not allowed near!"

Shen Chuxiao didn't stop and continued walking forward.

"I'll say it again, halt!" The squad leader's hand gripped the hilt of his sword. "Take another step forward, and you'll be considered a traitor, killed without exception!"

Shen Chuxiao was covered in blood—his own and that of the barbarian soldiers. His face was stained with blood, sweat, and gunpowder, leaving only his eyes clear. But those eyes held no murderous intent, not even anger; they simply stared calmly at the squad leader, as if looking at a dead man.

"There's a war going on outside, why aren't you moving?"

The captain felt uneasy under that gaze, but still stubbornly said, "The granary has its own rules! No one is allowed to go into battle without orders from their superior. Your lives or deaths are none of our concern."

"Orders from your superior?" Shen Chuxiao's voice was very soft. "Where is your superior?"

The squad leader pointed to the depths of the barracks: "Lieutenant Liu is inside."

Shen Chuxiao didn't say anything more, walked past the team leader and went straight inside.

"You—you can't go in!" The squad leader reached out to stop him, but as soon as his hand touched Shen Chuxiao's shoulder, he was thrown out by a tremendous force, crashing into the barracks door frame, sliding down, and screaming in pain while clutching his shoulder.

The remaining guards looked at each other, none of them daring to move.

The barracks were small, and Shen Chuxiao spotted Captain Liu at a glance.

He was in his forties, with a fair complexion and a light beard. His leather armor was neatly worn, and the sword at his waist gleamed, without a speck of dust. He was sitting in a chair drinking tea, with several plates of pastries in front of him, looking like someone who had come to a banquet, not someone who was at war.

Hearing the commotion, Commandant Liu looked up, his brow furrowed: "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the granary—"

Shen Chuxiao raised his hand, and the knife was placed directly against his neck.

The short sword, salvaged from the corpse of a barbarian soldier, had a chipped blade and was stained with undried blood. At that moment, the broken blade was pressed against Captain Liu's throat.

Commander Liu trembled, and the teacup slipped from his hand, shattering on the ground.

"What...what are you going to do?" His voice trembled. "I'm an official of the imperial court! You—you dare—"

"There's a war going on outside." Shen Chuxiao looked at him coldly. "Three hundred barbarian soldiers are fiercely attacking the vital passage to the granary, and you're still here eating and watching the show."

"That...that was without orders—"

"I am now giving you my orders."

Shen Chuxiao's knife moved forward half an inch, the blade cutting through the skin, and beads of blood seeped out.

"send troops."

Commander Liu's face was as white as paper, and his lips trembled as he said, "You...you don't have that authority..."

"I don't have one?" Shen Chuxiao's voice suddenly rose. "Then do I have my knife?"

Shen Chuxiao was furious. He would never believe that this guy hadn't colluded with the barbarians.

He grabbed Commandant Liu by the collar and dragged him to the door.

The soldiers guarding the barracks outside were stunned by what they saw. Their captain was being carried like a chicken, a knife to his neck, and his crotch was soaked.

Shen Chuxiao shoved the man to the ground and stepped on his chest. "Watch carefully."

"Your captain is cowardly as a tiger, holding back his troops and watching the barbarian soldiers burn our grain. According to the laws of Dajing, he should be executed."

Commander Liu struggled desperately: "No—you can't—I am—"

"Click".

Shen Chuxiao was too lazy to waste words with him and slit his throat with a knife.

Fresh blood gushed out like a jet of water.

There was complete silence at the entrance to the barracks.

The hundreds of guards stared at the still-bleeding corpse on the ground, then at Shen Chuxiao, who was covered in blood and filled with murderous intent, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Shen Chuxiao's gaze swept over every face present.

"Your captain is dead." His voice wasn't loud, but it pierced everyone's ears like nails. "From now on, I am your temporary commander."

He pointed towards the valley entrance: "If the granary falls, all three thousand soldiers guarding Ling Shuang Pass will starve to death. Your families will starve to death as well."

He paused, his gaze growing even colder.

"Do you want to?"

No one spoke.

"I'm asking you—do you want to starve to death!"

"No!" a young guard blurted out, his voice trembling but burning with anger.

If it weren't for Commander Liu keeping him in check, he would have rushed out long ago.

"No!" the second person shouted.

"No!" The third one.

The sounds grew louder and louder, spreading like a snowball in front of the barracks.

Shen Chuxiao drew his nicked dagger, pointed it towards the valley entrance, and said in a voice as firm as iron, "What are you all standing there for! Come with me and fight your way out!"

Tie Niu was fighting so hard his vision was blurring when he suddenly heard a thunderous sound of footsteps behind him. He turned around abruptly and saw Shen Chuxiao at the forefront, followed by a dark mass of guards, their shield wall as solid as iron and their spear tips as sharp as wheat awns, crushing towards the barbarian soldiers.

He grinned, and blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

"Damn it... the vice-captain actually called them here..."