At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

At dusk.

A hundred miles outside Wanhu City lies a secluded valley.

The last rays of the setting sun were blocked by the steep mountain walls on all sides, making the valley dark, cold and damp.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixed with the smell of rotting vegetation, making one's chest feel heavy.

The stream at the bottom of the valley had been stained dark red, and a few pieces of torn clothing and broken weapons floated on the surface.

Xiao Yichun leaned against a rock, his face deathly pale. Although the wound on his left shoulder was hastily bandaged with strips of cloth, blood continued to seep out from the gaps in the cloth, staining half of his robe red.

His breathing was rapid and weak, his lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes were beginning to glaze over.

Xiao Yidong squatted down beside him, holding a damp cloth in his hand, constantly wiping the cold sweat from his brother's forehead.

"Brother, hang in there, we'll get out of here."

Xiao Yichun struggled to open his eyes, looked at his younger brother's face covered in dust and blood, and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, your brother's tough, he won't die..."

Xiao Jingyu stood at the entrance of the valley, his back to the crowd, his gaze peering out through the gaps blocked by rocks and broken trees.

His sword lay planted in the ground beside him, its blade covered in dried blood.

He hasn't slept for two days.

From the moment he found his two sons to the moment he was cornered in this valley by Musashi Saki's three thousand soldiers, he never closed his eyes once.

"Your Highness..."

Xiao Jingyu turned around, and a centurion came up in front of him.

"Your Highness, the general's injuries cannot wait any longer. If this is delayed any longer, he will die."

The centurion knelt on one knee, his voice firm.

"This humble general volunteers to lead the brothers and fight our way out! Even if it costs us our lives, we will fight for the general's survival!"

Behind him, the remaining hundreds of soldiers stood up one after another.

Some had broken arms, some had blood-stained headscarves, and some needed to lean on spears to stand.

But in their eyes, there was no fear, only a resolute determination to face death.

"Your Highness, let's fight our way out!"

"General Xiao treated us like brothers; we can't watch him die here!"

"It's better to die on the charge than to cower in the valley and wait to die!"

Xiao Yidong suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse: "If you want to kill, I'll kill with you!"

Xiao Jingyu's gaze swept over those young faces.

Some of them were only in their early twenties, with youthful faces.

They were all injured, some seriously, some slightly, but each of them had a burning flame of anger in their eyes.

"Brothers,"

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Don't be afraid!"

"good!"

Xiao Jingyu bent down, pulled out the battle knife from the ground, and gripped it tightly in his hand.

"Today, I, your king, will charge into battle alongside you!"

"Even if we die, we'll die on the front lines!"

His voice echoed through the valley, like a fire that ignited the last vestiges of passion in everyone's hearts.

In fact, Xiao Jingyu knew very well that they were trapped in the valley and no one would come to their rescue.

Rather than sitting idly by and waiting to die, it's better to give it your all; perhaps you can create a miracle.

"Good! In the next life, I will still be a soldier of the Xiao family!" Hundreds of people shouted in unison, their voices carrying a tragic and heroic force.

They all raised their weapons, looking at Xiao Jingyu with a death-defying resolve.

Xiao Jingyu took a deep breath, walked to the valley entrance, braced himself with his hands against the rubble blocking the exit, and pushed hard... The rubble loosened and collapsed completely.

He held his sword horizontally in front of him and roared:

"Follow me and we'll fight our way out!"

Hundreds of soldiers filed out, following closely behind him.

Xiao Yidong helped Xiao Yichun walk in the middle of the group, gritting his teeth and not falling behind.

……

Outside the valley, Musashi Saki was sitting on a large rock, leisurely polishing his twin swords.

He had been waiting for a whole day and night, without any impatience or anxiety, like a wolf crouching at the entrance of its den waiting for its prey to emerge.

Behind him, more than two thousand Dongyi soldiers stood in formation, swords and spears drawn, ready for battle, exuding a murderous aura.

"General, the Great Qian Dog has emerged!"

One of the Dongyi soldiers shouted loudly.

Saki Musashi looked up and saw the remnants of the Daqian army pouring out of the valley. He saw the general at the very front, and a smug smile crept across his face.

"You've finally come out. I thought you were going to starve to death inside."

He stood up, two swords in hand, his voice booming.

"Give the order: Charge in and leave no one alive!"

"Take the heads of those three leaders and return to Wanhu City to report your achievement to the Commander-in-Chief!"

In an instant, the Dongyi soldiers pounced on their prey like hungry wolves, howling as they charged forward.

The two armies clashed once again.

Although the remnants of the Great Qian army were fearless in the face of death and their fighting strength had increased considerably, they were too exhausted.

After more than ten days of guerrilla warfare, the lack of food and water, coupled with their injuries, had pushed their physical strength to the limit.

Therefore, it was very difficult to defeat those Eastern Yi bandits.

But none of them retreated; when their knives broke, they used their fists, and when their fists couldn't be swung anymore, they used their teeth.

They fought to the death with the Eastern Yi bandits.

Xiao Jingyu brandished his sword amidst the crowd, slaying more than a dozen Dongyi soldiers.

But his breathing became more and more rapid, and his arms became heavier and heavier.

Xiao Yidong brandished his long sword to protect his brother. The sword flashed like snow, and he cut down the Dongyi soldiers who rushed up one by one.

But he also had several wounds on his body, and blood was dripping down his clothes.

"Father! Fourth Brother!"

Xiao Yichun struggled to stand up, but his legs wouldn't obey him.

"Big brother, don't come up!"

Xiao Yidong forced back the enemy in front of him with a single strike, then turned around and roared.

An hour later, on the open ground outside the valley, corpses were piled up like mountains.

The remaining soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty were reduced from several hundred to only a dozen or so.

Xiao Jingyu knelt on one knee, his battle sword supporting him as he barely managed to stay upright.

His hair was covered in blood, blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth, and his chest was heaving violently.

He had a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his left arm, and blood was dripping from his fingertips.

Xiao Yidong stood protectively in front of his father, his long sword already chipped and bleeding from his wounds.

But he still gritted his teeth, like a wall that refused to collapse.

Saki Musashi stepped out from the crowd, his twin swords slung over his shoulders, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

He looked down at Xiao Jingyu, his eyes full of smugness: "Old man, you're quite the fighter, but too bad, you can't run anymore, can you?"

He raised his twin swords: "Surrender, and I'll let you die a quick death."

Xiao Jingyu raised his head, his eyes showing no fear, only a calm that had seen through life and death.

"Surrender? I've lived for over fifty years and I've never even learned how to write those two words. Come on, enough nonsense..."

He struggled to his feet, his sword pointing diagonally at Saki Musashi.

"Last time in Ninghai City, the battle ended inconclusively. Today, I will settle things with you."

"kill!"

Xiao Jingyu suddenly sprang up, his battle blade flashing like lightning as he slashed towards Saki Musashi's chest.

Saki Musashi sidestepped, his twin swords crossed to parry, and with a loud clang, Xiao Jingyu was knocked back three steps.

At that moment, Musashi Saki drew both swords simultaneously, one above and one below, their blades flashing like scissors, ensnaring Xiao Jingyu's battle sword and then violently swinging it away.

Xiao Jingyu was thrown off balance and staggered backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he crashed heavily to the ground.

Saki Musashi walked up to him, crossed his two swords, pointed the tips at his throat, and wore a smug smile.

"Old man, you've made quite a haul this time."

"Your head is enough to make this general proud in front of the commander-in-chief."

He raised his twin swords: "Die!"

Xiao Yidong roared hoarsely, "Father!"

Xiao Yichun struggled to get up from the ground, reaching out his hand, but he couldn't reach his father.

Just as the twin swords were about to fall...

"Whoosh!"

A long, black arrow shot out from the forest, whistling through the air with lightning speed, aiming precisely at Saki Musashi's face.

Saki Musashi's pupils contracted sharply, and his body instinctively leaned back. The arrow grazed his forehead and struck a large tree behind him with a "thud," its fletching trembling.

Saki Musashi whirled around, his twin swords held horizontally in front of him, his gaze fixed on the dark grove from which the arrow had been fired. His voice was filled with wariness and anger: "Who's there? Show yourself!"

There was a moment of silence in the woods.

Then, a loud voice came from deep within the shadows of the trees.

"Saki Musashi, the vanguard general of the Eastern Barbarians? I've got your head for you!"