The sky was covered in swirling snow, making everything a blur of white; he couldn't see anything else.
As far as the eye could see, charred corpses lay on the ground, forming a stark contrast with the pristine white snow, which only made those still alive appear more disheveled.
He thought of how disheveled he himself looked at that moment.
The young Tatar's fierce gaze intensified, his high nose and deep-set eyes appearing more sinister.
He roared, unreservedly, "Where is that woman's brother? The terms of your surrender to this Prince were that you could help me eliminate that detestable woman."
"..." The dwarf staggered back two steps from his roar, lowering his head guiltily and muttering something too low for anyone to hear.
The young Tatar grew even angrier, "This Prince intends to take that woman's head back to honor my father's spirit. This is a promise I made to my mother."
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became, reaching the peak of his fury. "You short, scrawny runt, you said that if we captured that woman's brother, she would willingly surrender herself."
"But now? I haven't seen that woman's brother, and that woman seems to have reappeared on the battlefield."
Now, a grim legend circulated among their Tatar tribes: there was a woman from the Great Ming who, whenever she appeared on the battlefield, brought heavy casualties and even annihilation to their Tatar people.
Just like today; it seemed he had gained nothing and lost many of his men.
"Argh, argh." His bloodshot eyes glared at the surrounding white, like a trapped beast roaring loudly.
The Japanese pirate kicked to the ground, also terrified. This cunning race was always more sensitive to danger than others.
He wanted to escape, lest he feared this brute would kill him with his own hands.
Escape was paramount.
How could he be allowed to escape? Fu Xin Ci, with her acute senses, had overheard their entire conversation.
Although she couldn't understand their language, she could infer a portion of their conversation from their expressions.
Besides, even if she hadn't understood, the mere thought of them abducting Ning'er made everything else unimportant; they would only bear her wrath.
Seizing the moment, the Japanese pirate, about to flee, felt something entwine around his body.
It rapidly coiled upwards from his feet. The roots, as if alive, exerted immense force, dragging him into the ground.
He watched in horror as his body sank into the white snow. The hard earth terrified him, and he screamed desperately in their language, accompanied by the sound of his bones cracking and breaking.
"Argh, argh!"
This was utterly inconceivable.
The young Tatar beside him, who had been furious moments before, now stared with bulging eyes, having wet himself in fear.
"My heavens! I don't know what demon dragged this dwarf underground to be fertilizer. It's too terrifying. I want to go home to my mother immediately."
Go home? We never agreed to that.
Captain: It's best if you all stay and become fertilizer. It's not only less troublesome, but we'll also have a good harvest next year.
Xiang Tong: It's best to plant trees, one on each head. Grown trees can protect against wind and sand, and also record how many enemies we've eliminated.
Xu Jia Can: You're talking about bones and heads, what about the faint-hearted? I think burning them to ash for fertilizer is more reliable.
Pang Dun Er: I reserve my opinion. We can discuss it after the battle.
...
The snow continued to fall, but a closer look revealed it had lessened considerably.
The thunder was similar; although it didn't stop, the sound seemed to be coming out awkwardly.
Fu Xin Ci was the first to notice and took a bottle of water from her space, handing it to the Captain.
The Captain smiled. He had used his abilities for half the day and was already parched.
See? Xin Ci was as thoughtful as ever.
"Xin Ci, I want one too," Xiang Tong said, seeing this, afraid that Sister Fu would forget him.
Fu Xin Ci didn't say anything. Three bottles of water landed in the hands of three people.
"Ah, this water is delicious. Xin Ci, after the matter in Qilin Town is settled, will you leave some of this spring water for us too?"
"Mm."
Fu Xin Ci responded with a single word, and Xiang Tong was so happy his nose threatened to bubble.
He wouldn't admit he was shivering from the cold.
With one bottle of spatial spring water each, the Captain's gradually depleted strength slowly recovered, filling him up again.
Xiang Tong's eyes shone even brighter, rivaling the electric sparks emanating from him.
For a moment, flashes of lightning were interspersed with a ray of dazzling light – that was Xiang Tong's gaze.
On the parapet above, Lan Tian Yao clung to it, shouting, "Xiang Tong, are you done yet? We're really itching to fight."
Pang Dun Er, fearing he would injure himself from holding back, shouted back, "You can come down now. Even if these scoundrels weren't struck to death, they're almost frozen."
The more Pang Dun Er thought about it, the happier he became. He had had a great time today, the flesh on his large cheeks quivering with delight.
Upon receiving permission, Lan Tian Yao pushed aside the small gate left open and was the first to rush out.
Uncle Chen, not to be outdone by age, quickly reached the vicinity of the small gate, eager to join the close-quarters combat.
The people behind him were much faster. With Lan Tian Yao leading the way, the soldiers of the Thousand-Household Commandery surged forward like a tide.
Uncle Chen was instantly pushed aside.
Someone even spoke to comfort him, "Uncle, you just watch us fight from up here."
"Yes," Qi Yuan Shan also worried about crowding the elderly gentleman. He hadn't seen him trying to push past those brats.
Uncle Chen: He's not old yet; he didn't agree with what these people were saying.
However, they were all young and strong; his old arms and legs really couldn't keep up with them.
Oh dear, he couldn't be a hindrance, so he had to step back again.
Alas, it wasn't just Uncle Chen who felt deflated at this juncture.
Qi Yuan Shan wasn't much better. All the soldiers from the Thousand-Household Commandery had run ahead, leaving only him and a few squad leaders above.
This didn't include Zheng Chang Min, who, relying on his agility, had already gone down.
What could Qi Yuan Shan say? As a Thousand-Household commander, he really couldn't compete with the soldiers for space.
Sigh, after all the soldiers had gone down, he would quickly follow.
Fu Yu, with his two sons, also wanted to go down, but Uncle Chen stopped them in time.
"You father and sons are clearly scholars. The battlefield is not suitable for you. Especially since there will be close-quarters combat below, you father and sons must not go down."
"..." Yu Er wanted to help.
"Child, you are still young, don't go down, or someone will have to stay and look after you."
Uncle Chen, a veteran soldier, spoke about warfare with great expertise.
"Below is now hand-to-hand combat, also known as close-quarters fighting. Your small frame is better off staying with me on the parapet and cheering them on."