Chapter 64 Crossing the River

Within the span of a single cup of tea, Ji Yu’s personal guards commander hurried out of the commander’s tent and approached the off-duty soldiers who were currently eating. He quickly briefed them, causing an immediate uproar among the men. The commander selected a dozen soldiers from the ranks, each outfitted with two horses, and they quickly prepared for departure.

Simultaneously, the veteran inside the tent was tightening his garments and buckling his weapon, packing up for the journey. Ji Yu paced back and forth nearby; though he remained silent, an unconcealable tension and excitement flickered in his eyes and brows. Clearly, the solution proposed by Lie Gang was like a candle in the pitch darkness, offering everyone a glimmer of hope for survival. Even the usually calm Ji Yu could not entirely suppress his eagerness.

Lie Gang also stood to one side, his lips trembling slightly as if he wanted to speak but hesitated, until he finally blurted out after a long moment: "Actually, it would be best for me to make this trip..."

The veteran cast a sideways glance at him, curled his lip, and said, "If we manage to hold this line, you will already have performed a great service. Why bother competing with me for this minuscule merit?"

Lie Gang retorted directly, "The demon clan is about to arrive, and their intentions are unpredictable. You are essentially going to your death in my place."

The veteran paused for a fraction of a second, then burst into hearty laughter. "Galloping swiftly on horseback, going and returning in a flash—we won't be fighting, just retrieving some items. Even if there is danger, could it be that men like us cannot escape? If you truly feel I am throwing my life away for you, then go brew a jar of wine and wait here. When I return victorious over the demons, you can accompany me in getting thoroughly drunk!"

The veteran was bold, generous, and high-spirited. His words were so undeniably reasonable that they left Lie Gang momentarily speechless. Furthermore, it was true that Lie Gang was wounded. Watching from the side, Ji Yu knew that Lie Gang had finally overcome his inner dread of the demon clan to bravely volunteer, yet he also feared that Lie Gang might suffer another mishap. Therefore, Ji Yu advised, "He is right. There is no need to argue further. Go quickly and return swiftly!"

Soon, the commander had the guards and horses prepared and reported back for duty. Ji Yu patted the veteran familiarly on the shoulder without saying much more, and the veteran nodded firmly. Just as he was about to set off, Lie Gang grabbed his arm. Turning back, the veteran met a pair of haggard, dirt-stained eyes that had nonetheless regained a hint of stubborn determination. "If you make it back, let us become sworn brothers. How about it?"

The veteran laughed twice, grasped Lie Gang’s hand in a tight grip, and replied, "Splendid! Absolutely splendid! It is settled then. Tell me your name, brother, and I shall commit it to memory!"

"My name is... Gang Lie!" Lie Gang declared his name with force, having already turned his back on his former identity and adopted a completely new name.

"A fine name! And your surname?"

"No surname, only a name!"

"Good! My name is Zhu Shijiu. Make sure you remember it, brother!" With a laugh, veteran Zhu Shijiu dealt a friendly blow to Lie Gang's chest, turned, and strode out of the tent. Soon, he joined the dozens of personal guards, stepped onto the ice bridge, and headed toward the opposite bank of the river.

Lie Gang and Ji Yu stood by the tent, watching as the figures of the veteran and the guards passed through the surging crowd, moving against the current and plunging deeper into the territory occupied by the demon clan until they vanished from sight. Ji Yu then resumed his meetings with other defeated officers, gathering intelligence and making preparations for battle. Lie Gang stood in a daze for a short while, then walked over to the mess tent where the guards and scribes were eating. Digging into the large cauldron of soup, he began to shovel the coarse food voraciously into his stomach...

More than three hours later, the veteran had not yet returned, but the demon clan had arrived.

Massive throngs of routed soldiers fled back toward the western bank like hunted beasts chased by wolves. The wind blowing from afar already carried a heavy stench of blood and decay, and indistinct shadows began to appear at the edge of the horizon. The demons howled as they pursued from afar.

Half an hour later, the figures of the demons sharpened into clarity. Ferocious and ugly, they revealed their true forms: draped in coarse fur and crowned with horns, their bodies smeared with great swaths of fresh gore. Their stark white teeth and razor-sharp claws gleamed brightly under the setting sun, and saliva dripped from their jaws. Many demons still had scraps of flesh and bone fragments clinging to their bodies as they charged swiftly into the already chaotic mass of refugees and routed soldiers like a violent squall.

Despite their utmost efforts, three to four tens of thousands of routed soldiers and refugees had failed to cross the river in time, leaving them stranded on the opposite bank.

As the enemy appeared, the scene instantly plunged into utter chaos. The order Ji Yu had managed to establish collapsed in a single instant. The crowd scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions to escape the demons' sharp teeth and claws. Piercing screams and wails erupted wave upon wave among the crowd, and flesh and blood began to fly wantonly as gore rapidly saturated the earth.

Tearing, throat-slitting, chest-piercing, disemboweling, limb-severing... Many monsters did not bother to kill their victims outright; instead, they left them half-dead to writhe and roll on the ground, wailing as their blood drained away until they slowly breathed their last.

It was said that this technique had been learned from watching humans slaughter chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs: drain the blood before cooking, and the flavor would be all the better!

The demons charged back and forth through the crowds, rampaging through the throngs. Though the vanguard numbering only in the thousands had just arrived, they could slaughter tens of thousands of humans at will, with no one daring to resist. Aside from fleeing or dropping to their knees to beg for mercy—neither of which worked—there was no defense. The hatred accumulated over a millennium could not be washed away even by blood; humans had been ruthless to the demons, and naturally, the demons' retaliation against humans was equally heavy!

Now, the only path to survival lay across the two ice bridges!

Every single person thought the same thing. Tens of thousands of people surged forward simultaneously, the press of the bodies so dense that movement was utterly impossible. Without even needing to take a step, the sheer momentum of the human tide pushed individuals forward toward the bridgeheads.

Soon, weapons were drawn. The instinct for survival and the ugliest aspects of human nature erupted completely at that moment. Countless routed soldiers turned their weapons against refugee women, children, and former comrades-in-arms, all for the sake of advancing a single step closer to the bridgehead. They killed indiscriminately, treading upon the corpses of their own kind to press forward in hopes of crossing the river!

More people leaped into the river, clinging to the edges of the ice bridges to make their way across. Yet how could one maintain a firm grip on a bridge formed of ice? Coupled with the crushing crowd, dense clusters of people constantly dragged each other down, swept away by the fierce currents into the river, where a few rolls rendered them completely vanished...

At that moment, the Cang River became the boundary between life and death! Right here, right now, everyone could clearly see the dividing line of life and death with unprecedented clarity: cross and live, fail to cross and die, with no other alternative.

The humans on the western bank were butchered and slaughtered by the demons, and the pools of blood eventually submerged the ground. The soil could no longer absorb it, and the gore began to flow along the depressions into the river, forming little crimson streams. These streams rapidly dyed the river red, and countless corpses drifted downstream with the current, bobbing up and down like a pot of porridge overloaded with meat scraps.

Including Ji Yu, all the soldiers, refugees, and routed soldiers on the eastern bank held their breath as they watched the tragic spectacle unfold before their eyes. Across the river, the cries and wails shook the heavens, yet this side was utterly silent, as if even heartbeats and breathing had stopped.

When more and more demon soldiers arrived and issued the military command for capture alive, the slaughter finally began to subside. It was not out of pity in the hearts of the demon vanguard, but rather because they remembered the parting admonition of their commanders:

"To eat meat, one must eat it fresh. This is the truth the human race imparts to their descendants, which our great king went to great lengths to have spies steal and learn. Do not forget it!"

The humans on the western bank had all knelt in surrender, prostrating themselves on the ground. The demon vanguard selected dozens of sturdy, fierce individuals from the crowd, stepped forward, and carved the character '　　' onto their foreheads—this too was a tradition of the demon clan. Those chosen henceforth became slaves among the demons, tasked solely with menial and trivial chores such as imprisoning, cooking, and herding (herding humans). Though they might still be treated as livestock for meat when provisions ran low, they were temporarily spared from death.

Instantly, countless people lifted their heads in anticipation of being chosen as slaves by the vanguard. Some even went so far as to bare their bodies to display their physical strength, while others postured and fawned, striking seductive poses in hopes of being taken as playthings. All manner of hideous behavior was on full display.

The demon soldiers stood by, laughing uproariously, occasionally selecting individuals to be led away. Those chosen performed even more desperately, their cackling laughter rolling in waves all the way to the opposite bank.

Many soldiers on the eastern bank gnashed their teeth until a grinding sound echoed, glaring with wide, enraged eyes. Yet many others, while glaring in fury, silently etched this scene deep into their hearts. Every detail was observed by Ji Yu, stirring within him complex emotions and a tempest of mixed feelings.

Throughout his life, the teachings he had received were to fight to the death in service of his country; surrender and capture were the ultimate disgraces. Yet, when truly confronted by the bloody and brutal terror of the demons—seeing so many soldiers groveling and fawning to beg for life—he understood profoundly in his heart of hearts that when facing the crucible of life and death, those truly capable of sacrificing themselves for righteousness were rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, one in a hundred. Most people would still choose to live rather than rush to their deaths.

The Great Zhou’s punishments for human traitors who served demons were exceptionally harsh. When capturing enemies of the demon race, soldiers were often sold or otherwise disposed of rather than executed outright, but for human traitors, there was only a single punishment: "Drive wooden stakes into the ground by the roadside, smear them with honey, and feed them stagnant water," ensuring they wailed for ten days and nights until rats, ants, and maggots devoured their internal organs, suffering every imaginable torment before finally perishing.

Ji Yu could hardly imagine what it would be like when he had to issue the order to execute these people. Yet he was also well aware that if such a moment truly arrived, he would not hesitate for even a fraction of a second when ordering their crucifixion, nor would he show the slightest leniency or mercy!

Because he was a general of the Great Zhou!

The captives were soon herded away, leaving the opposite bank vast and empty. The demons did not immediately cross the river; instead, they retreated several li to rest. Having marched and raided through the night, even the demons had exhausted the greater part of their stamina. They needed to recover their demonic power and physical strength before launching a massive assault.

Night finally descended. Far from the riverbank on the western bank, a great red glow illuminated the sky—that was the demons roasting human flesh, accompanied by bursts of ghostly wailing cries that rang out from time to time. Only a small number of demons remained on the shore to keep watch. While the humans guarded against sudden raids, the demons were likewise on alert against any counterattacks by the human forces.

Tonight was bound to be a sleepless night. Many suffered from insomnia, drifting into a restless slumber only late into the night, only to be jolted awake soon after by the clamor and commotion rising from the opposite bank. Starting up in fright, they saw the upright figures of the watch guards still standing steadfastly; the noise came from across the water, not an enemy attack.

Ji Yu was no different. Yet the moment he awoke, his personal guard hurried over to report, his face beaming with joy:

"Young General! It worked!"

"It worked!?" Ji Yu sat up abruptly, joy flooding his features as he demanded urgently, "Where are the goods? Where is Zhu Shijiu?"

"The goods have been delivered, but Commander Zhu... Commander Zhu..." The joy vanished from the guard's face. His expression grew heavy, and his voice dropped several octaves: "The Young General should go see for himself... Commander Zhu's head has been mounted on a pike across the river!"