There's an 80-year-old Mother

Staring at the endless stream of soldiers pouring out, Tang Xiaoyu was desperate. But he had no choice but to order everyone to move closer to Wu Yong's side. If he abandoned the captain and retreated, the ruthless military law was something Tang Xiaoyu understood all too well - either way led to death, so he chose to die in battle.

The enemy split into three thousand-men teams to surround and kill Tang Xiaoyu's men, while the rest of their troops assembled into formation to block the follow-up reinforcements.

As the enemy had moved in such a rush, they had not yet established an effective chain of command. This gave Tang Xiaoyu and his men a chance. Relying on the superiority of their battle formation, they quickly merged with Wu Yong's group.

Tang Xiaoyu estimated their numbers. Their original thousand-man squad now had less than six hundred remaining - nearly half had died in battle already.

"While they haven't encircled us yet, let's break through and counterattack," Tang Xiaoyu shouted, raising his spear, "The bravest wins on a narrow road - charge!"

Though Tang Xiaoyu sounded fierce in his yell, his actual combat ability wasn't impressive. But when it came to sinister sneak attacks, he was quite adept.

As more and more enemies appeared, Tang Xiaoyu's side suffered greater and greater casualties. Seeing the enemy finish assembling their formation, Tang Xiaoyu lost all hope.

The Qin Army reinforcements swiftly charged towards them. Instead of holding their ground to defend, the enemy directly clashed with them. Soon, the two armies collided and the difficult terrain quickly led to total mayhem.

Several captains led their men, rushing straight for Tang Xiaoyu's group. Only two hundred-some men were left on Tang Xiaoyu's side, barely holding on.

With the captains' individual valor, they forced open a path right up to Tang Xiaoyu and his men.

"Little Tang, your brothers are here to save you!"

Tang Xiaoyu immediately burst into tears, nearly hugging and kissing them in gratitude.

"Wu Yong, your brothers won't let you die even if you want to!"

"Hahaha, thank you brothers!"

Just as they began their counterattack, an enemy general arrived with his soldiers. The men sent to block them were no match at all. In the brief exchange, over ten men had already been killed.

Wu Yong stepped forth with spear aloft to duel the general. In just three exchanges, he nearly lost his head. Seeing this, the other captains brandished their sabers and charged forth to assist Wu Yong.

But the enemy general was too fierce. Even with their combined strength, they were still no match for him.

Seeing this, Tang Xiaoyu grabbed the white powder he carried on him, snuck behind the general just as the latter had kicked Wu Yong towards the others. Tang Xiaoyu immediately flung the powder at his face, then rolled away in retreat, lying prone on the ground.

The general did not rub his eyes at the first moment. Instead, he slashed in Tang Xiaoyu's direction with eyes shut tight, clearly not bothered by the irritation in them. He pricked up his ears, focusing on the sounds around him.

[This general can't be killed now. We must retreat immediately!]

"Retreat!" Tang Xiaoyu yelled at his men.

Hearing the order, they immediately began their counterattack.

Tang Xiaoyu signaled to the archers in formation: "Shoot him dead!"

Several sharp arrows were let loose towards the general, who casually swung his blade once, slicing all of them cleanly in half.

"I'll remember your voice. Don't let me catch you again." His voice boomed like thunder in Tang Xiaoyu's ears.

Though Tang Xiaoyu was craven, he still refused to back down here. "I'm called Ye Xuan. Remember that name!"

The general muttered under his breath, "Ye Xuan, Ye Xuan. I will shred your corpse into ten thousand pieces."

What Tang Xiaoyu had flung wasn't actually limestone powder, so it wouldn't truly damage the eyes. He simply didn't know any better - anything to briefly blind his opponent would do.

The battlefield descended further and further into chaos. Its savagery was several times worse than the earlier frontal clash.

Both sides saw red, no longer comprehending the concept of fear. Their minds contained only the single thought of hacking down those before them.

As time passed, reinforcements eventually arrived as well.

With the addition of these relief troops, the enemy quickly found themselves at a disadvantage. But there was no trend of their complete collapse yet.

At this point in the battle, Tang Xiaoyu was already exhausted beyond belief. Were it not for Little Wu and the others protecting him, he would have long perished.

The tide of the battle was obvious - the Qin Army was victorious. But they paid a similarly steep price, especially Tang Xiaoyu's thousand-man troop. Only a few dozen remained. They were essentially annihilated.

Regrettably, several enemy generals had slipped away as well.

On the surface, this seemed like a victory. But in the overall campaign, it was actually their greatest defeat. The enemy had achieved their goal; the Qin Army, however, missed their best opportunity.

As Tang Xiaoyu's thousand-man squad was now decimated, they required no further participation in subsequent battles.

In the rear camp, Tang Xiaoyu grimaced with bared teeth. "Bro, gently, gently! We are of the same flesh and blood!"

The medic berated with laughter: "Weren't you tough as nails just earlier? Who was it that said yelling out would be conceding defeat?"

Tang Xiaoyu chuckled obsequiously. "Bro, I was only joking. Back then, I couldn't even feel the pain!"

The medic slapped his external injury once. "Alright, they're all surface wounds. Rest for a period and you'll be fine."

"Bro, go softly..."

The medic laughed. "Quit your whining. I'm leaving now."

"Take care, brother. Watch your step. I'll treat you to drinks when there's time!"

After moving about and feeling nothing major, Tang Xiaoyu immediately ran off to check on the others.

He discovered that they had already left to bury their fallen comrades.

Standing atop the hill, gazing at the distant battlefield, Tang Xiaoyu felt immense heaviness in his heart.

Lying on the ground, staring up at the azure sky, Tang Xiaoyu recalled those faces, remembering how they called for Brother Tang to take a swig together.

Tang Xiaoyu did not shed tears. Instead, he declared firmly: "Brothers, may your departure be smooth; victory can only belong to us."

Upon sitting up again, he saw two silhouettes lingering in the distant sky.

He gave a cold laugh. "Heh - Transcendents? One moment preaching for all beings under heaven, the next looking upon mortals as mere ants. Frankly, just a bunch of selfish, petty men."

"If I gain power one day, I will certainly bring you crashing down to the mortal realm and teach you how to be human."

"Do you look upon our battles as some trivial farce? Our lives as fragile beyond compare? While gazing upon the masses below, know that there are also those above who look down on you in turn."

Tang Xiaoyu had turned somewhat deranged. His words contained nothing but fury and resentment towards cultivators.

Leaving the hillside, Tang Xiaoyu did not stay to assist in the work. Instead, he walked alone towards the distant little grove - he wanted solitude to quietly calm himself.

Upon entering the grove, Tang Xiaoyu leaned against a tree and sat down, softly humming a tune to himself:

"Our days of old shone bright and fair~"

"You and I shared in youth's sweetness and delight~"

"Our days of sorrow bitter beyond compare~"

"You and I weathered exhaustion of mind and body alike~"

After mumbling a few lines, Tang Xiaoyu tilted his head back against the tree. Suddenly, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded from behind him.

"Ye Xuan was it? Still remember me?"

Tang Xiaoyu jolted violently. He hastily stood up and turned to face the speaker.

[Damn, how is it this fierce fellow? How did he fail to escape?]

And who was this newcomer? None other than the enemy general whom Tang Xiaoyu had sneak attacked earlier.

The general gazed at Tang Xiaoyu with an amused expression. "I said I would shred your corpse into ten thousand pieces."

Tang Xiaoyu immediately kneeled on the ground before the general, bawling with a face full of snot and tears. "O Hero! This old man kneeling before you has an 80-year old mother at home, and a 3-year old son! If you slay me, who will provide for my old widow of a mother? And who will suckle my young orphaned child? I beg the hero to spare this dog's life but once!"

The general was left stunned by this ridiculous show from Tang Xiaoyu.

Seeing his lack of reaction, Tang Xiaoyu proceeded to hug his legs tightly, breaking into loud wails. "Mother! Your son can no longer care for your twilight years! Must you send off your black-haired son on your own white head? I am so unfilial!"

"My child! Your father can no longer accompany you! You must obey your mother!"

"Dear sister San~"

"Enough! Stand up," the enemy general's composure was slightly shaken by Tang Xiaoyu's antics.

"I won't, I refuse to stand!"

"Still refusing to rise? Then I'll end you now."

Tang Xiaoyu nimbly climbed to his feet. "O Hero, you cannot blame me! The battlefield is kill or be killed. If I did not slay you, you would have slain me instead!"

"Moreover, this is my duty and my mission. I cannot watch you massacre my brothers-in-arms! If you must place blame, blame those who stirred the flames of war!"

As he spoke, he even pressed the general's hand down slightly. "Think carefully. Isn't that how things stand?"