Liang Qian gazed out at the wilderness.
The late autumn grassland was withered yellow, not flat but rolling with undulations.
The sunset spread a layer of shimmering radiance along the horizon.
Without the soldier saying anything more, he knew how to turn the tide and restore his glory. He could almost see it.
In the shimmering radiance on the horizon, Western Liang soldiers fought desperately. Only a few dozen Great Xia soldiers, fearless and undaunted, clung to Western Liang soldiers even in death. But even the fiercest tiger cannot withstand a pack of hyenas. One by one, the soldiers fell, until finally, the general himself.
Zhong Changrong, pierced by countless swords and spears, still killed several more men before stopping.
He stood firmly, gripping his blade with open eyes, his body bristling with long swords and spears, dying while standing.
Liang Qian wanted to close his eyes, but even with closed eyes, he couldn’t block out the scene. He saw the shouting, celebrating Western Liang soldiers. He saw himself galloping through the dust. He saw himself leading troops to crush and annihilate these hyena-like Western Liang soldiers. He saw soldiers racing with him in hot pursuit, chasing Western Liang forces across the desert—
Then returning, draped in glory.
The soldier’s voice continued in his ears, sometimes distant, sometimes near: “This time Great Xia won’t have to pay a price. No cities will be lost, no civilians will be harmed.”
“Zhong Changrong has already grown suspicious of you. With him around, not only will you be unable to command troops again, but you’ll also be charged with crimes and sent back to forced labor.”
“Is Master Liang willing to let these two years of effort go to waste? To have everything come to nothing?”
“Besides, Master Liang, you are a brave and martial person.”
Hearing these words, the vision before Liang Qian’s eyes dispersed. He turned to look at the soldier: “Brave and martial?”
He smiled self-mockingly.
“How can I, someone who was protected by you on the battlefield, be considered brave and martial?”
The soldier clenched his fist and thumped his chest: “Master Liang shouldn’t be modest. Precisely because we’ve been on the battlefield for so long, although you received our protection, we can see that Master Liang has a brave and martial heart.”
A brave and martial heart. Liang Qian pressed his hand against his chest. So they also believed he had a brave and martial heart, just like Miss Chu.
Indeed, whether as a wealthy young master or when reduced to forced labor, his heart had never abandoned bravery and martial spirit.
“I do have a brave and martial heart,” he murmured.
The soldier’s expression was sincere: “That’s why Master Liang taking over the border army’s heavy responsibility won’t be inferior to Zhong Changrong. You might even do better. You’ll become Great Xia’s glory, the people’s blessing. Your name will surely be recorded in history.”
Liang Qian pressed his chest, his gaze becoming resolute: “Yes, I will achieve this.”
The soldier smiled: “So—”
“So what should I do?” Liang Qian interrupted. He looked at the soldier beside him, “I know your purpose in having me constantly petition Zhong Changrong was to keep me by his side, so I could discover when he fell into an ambush. But how should I handle this crisis? How can I both bravely and tragically defeat Western Liang’s ambush forces without saving Zhong Changrong?”
He had only about a dozen soldiers around him.
He shook his head.
“I don’t believe we can defeat Western Liang forces capable of killing Zhong Changrong with just our dozen men.”
“Or—”
He looked at the soldier.
“As per your arrangement, Western Liang forces will withdraw, but that hardly counts as tragic and brave, does it?”
Hearing his words, another soldier laughed: “Battalion Commander Liang is meticulous.” He tilted his chin up. “This time we won’t let them escape. This time Battalion Commander Liang must kill them all personally, because Zhong Changrong’s trusted men need to witness this scene.”
“And of course, we won’t rely on just our dozen men. Right now, a force of several hundred soldiers is patrolling nearby. We’ve planted our people among them.”
He pulled out five signal arrows from behind his back.
“When Battalion Commander Liang charges into the enemy, it would be better if Zhong Changrong were already dead. If not, we’ll take the opportunity to kill him. At the same time, we’ll shoot these signal arrows.”
“Our people will immediately guide that force over. This way, Battalion Commander Liang can display bravery without being outnumbered and dying tragically.”
Liang Qian reached out for the signal arrows and examined them in his hand: “Indeed thorough.” Without waiting for the soldiers to speak further, he looked ahead, took up his crossbow, and said, “Then let’s go kill the enemy.”
With that, he spurred his horse forward at a gallop.
The soldiers hadn’t reacted yet and exchanged glances, their eyes showing mockery and disdain.
“So eager.”
“Of course, Battalion Commander Liang hasn’t had a chance to display his bravery for a long time.”
They whispered and laughed, but at the same time, their eyes turned strange as they looked ahead. The jokes that were about to leave their lips turned into distorted shouts.
“No—”
A sharper, more explosive sound drowned out their shouts.
Liang Qian, galloping ahead, raised his crossbow on horseback and shot the signal arrows one by one into the sky.
The signal arrows exploded with piercing whistles, blooming like brilliant flowers in the sky just swallowed by dusk.
The soldiers’ faces were as if torn apart, incredulous.
They had expected to see this scene, but not now!
Summoning reinforcements now disrupted everything!
Liang Qian hadn’t released the signal arrows by mistake!
He had done it deliberately!
“After him—” The soldiers galloped in pursuit, looking at the young officer racing ahead with anger. “This damned puppet, he wants to die. This time, let him die!”
Liang Qian paid no attention to the cold gazes and angry shouts behind him. After shooting all five signal arrows into the sky, he felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
His body, once always heavy, became light. Riding on horseback, he felt as if he might fly.
He turned his crossbow, galloping forward heedlessly. After crossing several hills, he heard the sounds of battle and saw horses and men in chaotic combat.
His entire being ignited with excitement.
Just now, he had finally realized something.
He had a brave and martial heart—this was what everyone saw, what even he believed.
But all he had was just a heart.
If a brave heart couldn’t become brave actions, it was nothing at all.
And how could there be no loss? If Zhong Changrong died—the commander of Great Xia’s border army—Great Xia’s military morale, civilian morale, and prestige would all suffer!
He could indeed replace Zhong Changrong.
But would that replacement be truly him?
Just a Liang Qian with an empty heart of bravery and ambition.
Could such a Liang Qian become Great Xia’s glory and the people’s blessing?
Could such a Liang Qian have his name recorded in history?
What did such a Liang Qian have to do with him?
The fighting forces ahead were now visible—the cold gleam of blades, flying blood and flesh—like the King of Hell’s palace against the gradually opening night curtain.
Let such a Liang Qian die in this Hell.
Fire ignited in Liang Qian’s eyes as he swung his long blade and shouted.
“Reinforcements have arrived—”
“Reinforcements have arrived—”
“Western Liang bandits, prepare to die—”
……
……
Reinforcements? The battling forces heard this piercing shout that tore through heaven and earth.
Zhong Changrong swung his blade to split a massive axe, continuing forward to strike the soldier wielding it. The Western Liang soldier let out a miserable cry, fell to his knees, his head rolling away as blood spurted.
Through the blood mist, Zhong Changrong saw a young officer charging from a distance, then unhesitatingly leaping into the boiling battle.
Like a pebble falling into the sea.
A single reinforcement?
He looked again and saw about a dozen more men in the distance—
Not enough, but it didn’t matter whether there were reinforcements or not.
Zhong Changrong felt not the slightest ripple in his heart as he swung his blade, cutting down an enemy soldier pouncing from behind.
……
……
Even a small pebble thrown into the sea still creates ripples.
The shouts about reinforcements caused some panic among the Western Liang soldiers conducting the ambush.
“There’s only one—”
“Only about a dozen—”
“Don’t be afraid—”
But soon the shouts became chaotic because the ground was trembling. The night in the distance grew bright, as if fire serpents were emerging from beneath the earth.
They meandered closer, splitting into multiple streams, spreading and encircling across the ground.
“Reinforcements—”
“Great Xia reinforcements have arrived—”