The domain of strange nights, five in the morning, the sky was dark gray.
As the thick fog slowly dissipated and the strange creatures retreated like a tide back to the western mountains, the soldiers who had guarded the front lines for a day and a night finally received the imperial order to withdraw. They abandoned their armor and weapons, supporting each other as they walked back to the Unyielding City.
Above the Unyielding City, soldiers stood guard. Like the old, young, women, and children seated on both sides of the streets below, they had not slept all night.
Because everyone was waiting for the triumphant return from the western mountains.
After waiting for another ten minutes, a fluttering banner slowly rose on the horizon.
A soldier, his eyelids so heavy he could barely keep them open, happened to notice this scene and quickly exclaimed:
"The great banner, it's the banner of the Jinqi Army!"
His voice was not loud, but it roused the entire Unyielding City.
Whether it was the soldiers guarding the city walls or the civilians below patiently awaiting the safe return of their loved ones, everyone immediately perked up.
"It's true, they're back!"
Another soldier shouted, and then more and more people on the city walls saw a dense cluster of black dots, with blood-stained war banners fluttering in front of them.
"How did it go!"
Below, a woman clasped her hands to her chest, her face filled with anxiety, and asked.
"Officer, why don't you open the city gates? We can't see anything!"
The voices grew increasingly noisy, with inquiries and complaints alike. The guards on the city walls, however, could not answer, as they too could not clearly discern the situation.
Only the commander of the guarding army, a first-tier ability user, could see those blurry black dots with absolute clarity.
Therefore, he did not utter a single word, his lips dry and cracked.
What had he seen?
The Jinqi Army of thirty thousand men, the elite force of the domain of strange nights, now looked like defeated stragglers. Dead were dead, injured were injured, their armor and weapons abandoned, supporting each other. Only about three thousand remained.
This number even included the severely wounded who could not move, carried on others' backs and shoved into carts.
A soldier beside him noticed his commander's expression and, perhaps guessing something, cautiously asked:
"Is the situation… not good?"
The man did not reply. He glanced at the old, young, women, and children piled on the streets below, feeling a pang of sympathy.
These were the families of those soldiers, waiting here for a day and a night out of worry.
And if they knew that less than a tenth of the Jinqi Army had survived, they would surely be heartbroken.
…
Hearing the soldiers' whispers from the city walls, the civilians seated on the road became restless.
Some were filled with hope, their hands clasped tightly over their chests, tears welling in their eyes. Others were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
They knew the battle in the western mountains was urgent, and the chances of their loved ones returning alive were slim.
No one wanted anyone to die, but when someone had to die, people always wished that their own would live.
"Sigh."
Just like the civilians standing on both sides of the street, the soldiers guarding the city gates were also waiting expectantly.
But as the banner drew closer and clearer to the Unyielding City, the guards above fell silent. The Jinqi Army slowly retreating was unlike anything they had seen before; their armor and weapons were abandoned, their formation scattered, and everyone had their heads bowed.
The strange creatures had not reached the Unyielding City, so they considered it a victory. Yet, this army now looked like a defeated rabble, in utter disarray.
"Pfft!"
A few young soldiers, seeing the army in the distance, couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Good thing they rejected us before, otherwise we'd all be crippled."
Three to five soldiers leaned against the city walls, their faces filled with schadenfreude. They had also submitted applications to join the Jinqi Army, but they were all rejected. Now, they felt how fortunate they were.
Hearing the scoffing from the city walls, the civilians below, not understanding, looked up, trying to inquire about the current situation:
"Sir, please tell us, how is the Jinqi Army? How many returned, by the looks of it?"
"Sir, where have they reached? Are there many wounded?"
Looking at the expectant faces below, the soldiers on the city walls all fell silent. They too could not bear to tell the truth. Judging by the size of the Jinqi Army ahead, there were less than three thousand men left.
This number even included those lying on stretchers or supporting each other, limping along.
They could hardly imagine what this elite force, equipped with weapons specially made by the court, had endured in this single day to be reduced to less than a tenth of their original strength.
The bodies being carried on backs, limping, or piled into carts were the fathers and children of these very civilians. How could they possibly bear such news?
Seeing the soldiers on the city walls with expressions as if they had seen a ghost, a woman below, worried about her husband, could no longer hold back. Disregarding the obstructions, she desperately climbed onto the city wall.
"This… this is impossible!"
"How can only this many have returned alive!"
Boom!
The woman's words were like throwing ignited gunpowder onto a pile of firewood, immediately igniting exclamations, laments, and cries throughout the Unyielding City, throwing it into chaos.
"Why are you still laughing!"
Someone reacted, pointing at the young soldiers on the city wall and shouting angrily.
"Heroes who protected our homes are being mocked by their descendants. Why weren't you the ones who died last night!" someone cursed with red eyes, and others picked up stones and threw them upwards indiscriminately, not caring who they hit, as long as it wasn't their own family member.
The crowd surged towards the city walls. Some vented their anger amidst the chaos, elderly people unable to move easily were pushed aside and fell to the ground, while others took the opportunity to steal money, creating utter pandemonium.
"Everyone, stop!"
The sole ability user commander roared in a deep voice, his voice amplified by ability waves, drowning out all other sounds and intimidating many.
"Fellow elders and countrymen, I will surely give you a reasonable explanation for this matter!" the man declared, his expression sharp. "If it were not for the Jinqi Army, the Unyielding City would have been overrun by strange creatures. Therefore, no matter how many casualties they suffered, they have returned victorious!"
The man's voice was resonant, carrying a hint of tragedy.
"You few, for inciting unrest among the people, your crime is punishable by death!"
With that, the man drew the great saber at his waist, exerting force with his right hand, and severed the heads of those soldiers with a single blow through the air.
Gurgle…
Three heads rolled in unison, a bloody spectacle.
The civilians in the city were mostly old, young, women, and children, unable to witness such a scene. They all retreated from the city wall.
The commander above, with a stern and killing intent, slowly removed his helmet:
"All soldiers, remove your helmets and respectfully welcome the officers and soldiers of the Jinqi Army back to the city!"
The Jinqi Army reached two hundred meters before the city wall. The general guarding the city raised his arm and shouted, and all the soldiers in the city removed their helmets and shouted in unison:
"Respectfully welcome the Jinqi Army back to the city!"
"Respectfully welcome the Jinqi Army back to the city!"
"Respectfully welcome the Jinqi Army back to the city!"
Three consecutive resounding and magnificent cries echoed throughout the Unyielding City.
Below the city wall, the sound of weeping like phantoms.
…