Firmament Sword

The Grain and Grass Officer, Li Ming, had thought he could escape disaster by hiding in a depression. This time, however, his caution finally ran out of luck. He was buried alive inside, suffocating to death.

The Grain and Grass Officers at the Great Sword Master Realm who had narrowly escaped stood frozen in place, their minds completely blank.

Wealth, the future—all of it seemed so pale and meaningless when life and death hung in the balance.

What was more tragic was that even now, they had no idea what had just happened.

Why would this strange event suddenly occur in One-Line Heaven Valley, a place that had been peaceful for a thousand years?

’A natural disaster?’

They didn’t dare believe it. If this truly was a natural disaster, didn’t that mean the heavens willed the destruction of Great Yan?

But the National Grandmaster had clearly stated, ”During the Cangqiong Kingdom’s Centennial Star Festival, seven stars will fall—a greatly inauspicious omen!”

He never said it had anything to do with Great Yan!

The kingdom founded upon the Beidou was Cangqiong, not Great Yan!

All of them were utterly devastated, feeling none of the relief of surviving a catastrophe. Not until someone came running back from the front, wailing.

”Officer Li Ming is dead! Thousands of men up ahead were buried under the giant rocks! They’re all dead!”

The Soldier who had narrowly escaped death, his mind already shattered, shouted with a hoarse voice. His face was twisted beyond recognition, as if he had gone mad, and he screamed the news as he ran from the front of the column to the back.

Only then did the surviving Great Sword Master-level Grain and Grass Officers seem to snap back to their senses, staring foolishly at one another.

Some of them simply couldn’t handle the shock and fainted on the spot.

Throughout One-Line Heaven Valley, dust billowed and cries of anguish shook the heavens.

The exit, the middle, the entrance... All of it was completely blocked!

Forget the supply convoy; even they themselves were trapped inside.

One-Line Heaven Valley was now like a dammed river, and they were the fish trapped within.

Just getting out would be incredibly difficult.

As for the provisions and supplies... there was no hope of getting any of it out.

”It’s over... It’s all over...” A Grain and Grass Officer at the Great Sword Master Realm collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, and began to wail. ”How could this happen?! How could this happen?!”

Meanwhile, Xu Luo and the others had already slipped away from their hiding spot and were gathering at their pre-arranged meeting point.

”I never imagined the explosion of a Spirit Beast’s Crystal Core could be so powerful... I’ve really seen something today!” Liang Ziyi’s face was ashen, the corner of his mouth twitching violently.

Xiaotian, Liu San, Xiahou Xian, and the others were also silent, their faces pale. None of them had fully recovered from the earth-shattering scene they had just witnessed.

They weren’t green recruits who had never seen blood; they had already endured a life-or-death battle on the field.

But that had been a contest of life and death. This was different. With almost no effort, they had trapped and annihilated this massive supply convoy in the valley.

Although many Yan Army soldiers had survived, and they still had provisions, so they wouldn’t starve, escaping from One-Line Heaven would be extremely difficult for them.

Dark clouds were gradually gathering in the sky, and it looked as though a heavy rain was about to fall.

Everyone in the Martial Soul Squad knew that if those men couldn’t leave One-Line Heaven Valley soon, they would likely... be trapped there forever.

”War... truly has no justice.” After a long silence, Li Hong sighed and spoke softly.

”I don’t feel much joy from this victory. Instead, it feels heavy,” Huangfu Chongzhi added in a low voice.

”All these people will probably die because of us, and countless families will be broken because of what we did...” Xu Lingtian said, utterly crestfallen.

”Enough!” Xu Luo, who had also been feeling down, saw that nearly everyone was crestfallen and couldn’t help but shout, ”Stop it! Justice and evil, heavy and light—who are they?”

”They’re the ones who started this, the ones invading our country! Don’t tell me they’re just soldiers following orders. Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions! Everyone! This is a battlefield, too! They died a fitting death here! If you’re afraid of dying... then don’t be a Soldier!”

”If we hadn’t stopped them today, this convoy would have provided massive amounts of supplies to the Yan Army at the front! Then, a well-fed and energized Yan Army would have killed even more of our warriors! More of our country’s soldiers would have died! And countless more families would have been broken!”

”If we show them mercy today, who will show us mercy in the future?”

Xu Luo looked at the group and said coldly, ”If being butchers is what it takes to protect our homes, our country, and our families, and ensure lasting peace for generations to come... then what’s wrong with slaughtering every last one of them?”

”Just now, I was even considering whether or not to set a fire in that valley!” Xu Luo said through gritted teeth. ”Put away your misplaced pity! Think about it: would they show us any mercy on the battlefield?”

Despite his words, Xu Luo felt terrible as well.

This was indeed different from killing enemies on the battlefield. A battlefield was a back-and-forth exchange that relied on skill, courage, and passion.

This time, however, they had used a scheme, harnessing the immense power of nature to trap and kill the enemy.

If they had been battle-hardened veterans, they probably would have been jumping up, celebrating with high-fives, and then finding a place to drink themselves into a stupor.

But the youths of the Martial Soul Squad, even though they had been on the battlefield once and faced a trial of life and death, were ultimately still just a group of kids who hadn’t fully grown up.

The previous plot against Mo Yun’s remnant forces had also been brutal, but they had been spectators then. This time, they were all participants.

Even adults would usually find such a scene unsettling, let alone a group of bright, passionate youths. It would take time for them to slowly adapt.

”You know, you guys don’t have to feel so bad. I think what we’ve accomplished, a small squad of just twelve people, is an incredible achievement! I bet this battle of ours will definitely be written into the history books!”

Little Fatty Liu Feng suddenly spoke up calmly. ”How future generations judge us is their business. But right now, for us, we successfully cut off the enemy’s supply line. To do that, we braved the elements, schemed and plotted, and went through hell to find this place and set this trap.”

”Now that we’ve succeeded, shouldn’t we be drinking and celebrating? Why does everyone look like someone in their family just died? Oh, sorry, Liang Ziyi, don’t glare at me like that. Go find a mirror and take a look at your own face. You’ll see I’m not lying.”

”And you, Big Brother. Who are you? You’re a Prince! Just because others look down on you for your status, are you going to look down on yourself too? They say the imperial family is the most ruthless, so how come you’ve become so weak? Shouldn’t you be roaring with laughter? This is getting rid of a public menace!”

”Second Brother, your old man is the Champion Marquis. How many people has he killed in his lifetime? Hmm? How many happy families has he torn apart? He probably can’t even remember himself, right? And how’s he doing now? Isn’t he still eating well and sleeping soundly? Isn’t he still a legendary figure that even the big shots from other kingdoms have to acknowledge, saying: ’The Champion Marquis of Cangqiong, what a fierce general!’”

”So why are you being so quiet? You think killing people isn’t as fun as forging iron and sharpening swords? Master Fatty here thinks it was hilarious. With one press of a button—BAM—the enemy looks up... ’Waaah, the heavens are punishing us!’ HAHAHA, isn’t that funny? They died without ever knowing who schemed against them!”

”Finally, with those looks on your faces like you’ve just eaten shit, have you ever considered how Sui Xiaoshi feels? Dammit, so you’re the only ones with sympathy? You’re the only kind ones? Does that make Sui Xiaoshi, who worked his ass off for days setting up all those mechanisms, the big villain? Master Fatty thinks you’ve all read too many sage books and have your heads full of pedantic crap!”

Liu Feng’s other words had resonated with the group, but none were as powerful as his final point.

Hearing this, everyone flinched slightly. Then, they turned to look at Sui Yan, who was sitting in a corner with his head down, silent.

The members of the Martial Soul Squad suddenly realized what a blow their behavior must have been to Sui Yan...

The painstaking preparations, the brain-wracking design, having to consider the safety of his brothers so they wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest, while also ensuring the explosion was powerful enough to completely sever One-Line Heaven Valley in one go...

Over the past few days, Sui Yan had put in the most effort and hard work!

Yet he had never once complained or said he was tired. He had just been contributing silently.

This time, their military merits would surely be great, but the primary credit... belonged to Sui Yan!

To put it bluntly, the rest of them were just props. Anyone else could have gone there and completed the final step.

”Fuck, now that you mention it, I was being hypocritical!” Xu Jie suddenly slapped himself across the face and cursed.

The crisp sound of the slap seemed to wake everyone else up.

Their gazes toward Sui Yan were filled with apology.

Liu Feng turned his head and looked at Sui Yan, whose head was bowed very low. He exclaimed in surprise, ”Huh? Sui Xiaoshi? Little Stone? You... you’re actually crying? Holy crap, what are you crying about?!”

At Liu Feng’s words, Sui Yan’s shoulders began to tremble even more violently. He lifted his head, his face streaked with tears, and choked out, ”I’m sorry... I only wanted to cut off the supply line, I didn’t mean to kill so many people. I really never thought... that so many people would die... I really didn’t...”

”Holy crap, Sui Xiaoshi, are you serious? So Master Fatty just said all that, and you didn’t hear a single word, did you? Who gives a shit about those dead guys! Your old man is the great general Sui Wanli, a man said to have the spirit of a tiger that could swallow a thousand miles! You... can’t you have a little more backbone? Who was blaming you?” Liu Feng was so frustrated he was scratching his head, then he roared at the others, ”What the hell are you all staring at?! Apologize to him already!”

”That’s right, we should apologize. We were being hypocritical,” Huangfu Chongzhi and Li Hong said in unison. After speaking, they both stood up, walked over to Sui Yan, and gave him a deep bow.

”Fifth Brother, I’m sorry. This time, Big Brother was wrong! Your actions today will spare the families of tens of thousands of Cangqiong Kingdom soldiers from the pain of losing a son, a husband, or a father... Because of that, you are a true hero!”