Chapter 199:

Night falls, the bright moon hangs high.

The lone city’s old soldier returned victorious, Qiao Mu also killed an inhuman, bringing rare joy to this city that had suffered for forty years.

This night, the half city is restless and unable to sleep.

The bodies of Qiao Shuangsen and Dao Shun were taken out of the city again and Captain Hai, along with the old soldiers, prepared to bury them on a small hill next to the city walls, amidst the countless soldier gravestones.

Qiao Shuangsen is being buried, while Dao Shun’s body is naturally used to mourn the deceased.

Among the gravestones of these one hundred thousand soldiers, there is now a tomb belonging to Qiao Shuangsen.

"It has been forty years…" Captain Hai, facing the night breeze, raised a cup of wine and poured it onto the gravestone.

The wine flowed down the stone monument, seeping into the soil silently, accompanied only by the rustling sound of the wind.

The lonely city had been besieged for forty years, where could they find surplus food to make wine?

These turbid wines were nothing but the remaining stock from the city’s wine cellar forty years ago. Drinking one bottle meant one less bottle, and they had long become a scarce luxury in the lonely city.

Yet at this moment, Captain Hai poured the scarce wine in front of the grave.

Without any other intentions, it was simply a mix of various emotions, using the wine to pay tribute to the deceased.

"Qiao Shuangsen Elder Lao, leading the Immortal Slaying Army, fought side by side with us, and died on the battlefield. He deserves this cup."

"General Li was fond of alcohol… but he didn’t live to see the day when this lonely city would have a turning point. Today, I hope he can have a great drunkenness."

Captain Hai’s eyes were tearless, but the desert wind made his elderly eyes appear red. His words were nothing more than the fragmented mutterings of an old person.

They all grew old.

Qiao Mu is not here.

Although he didn’t shy away from his own body, it felt strange to join others in mourning himself, so he didn’t come.

So at this moment, there were only three hundred old soldiers on the hill.

"Tonight, my comrades can have a great feast." Captain Hai took off his helmet and poured a cup of wine towards the mountain full of gravestones, solemnly said.

As the night wind blew, the three hundred old soldiers in front of the gravestones all took off their helmets, and their hoary white hair swayed in the night breeze.

Inside the tombstones were one hundred thousand soldiers, and outside the tombstones were three hundred old soldiers.

The night wind howled, and you could faintly hear the bustling noise from the city.

People of all ages in the city were obviously celebrating in their own way, and the sounds were quite lively.

Captain Hai stood quietly in front of the monument and listened to the noise coming from the city, feeling a rare sense of tranquility in his heart.

"Laugh not at those who lie drunken on the battlefield, for few return from the ancient wars…" He raised his glass and drank it all in one sip.

Suddenly, he felt a slight movement in his heart and turned his head to look.

Beside him, a white-haired man in a blue robe had quietly appeared, though he wasn’t sure when.

Although this person’s hair was already gray, there were no wrinkles on his face. His long hair was disheveled, giving him a slightly unkempt look, but it couldn’t hide his heroic spirit.

"Earth Sword Immortal? What brings you here?" Captain Hai frowned.

He had never liked Earth Sword Immortal.

As the top martial artist in the world forty years ago, and with the reputation of Earth Sword Immortal, he was actually highly regarded by the people, hoping that he, as the strongest warrior, would lead the fight against the inhuman.

Earth Sword Immortal Lu Yannan had been in this city for thirty years, but he had never drawn his sword.

Lu Yanbei is different from his big brother Wooden Sword Walker Lu Yanbei. After entering the city for a year, he fought alongside the old soldiers for a year.

Although Captain Hai doesn’t like Earth Sword Immortal, he also doesn’t want to provoke this former martial arts powerhouse.

After Li Changge was refused by Earth Sword Immortal to take on a big responsibility before her death, the remaining soldiers in the city no longer held any expectations for him. There was no interaction between the two sides, and they rarely saw each other.

Unexpectedly, Earth Sword Immortal appeared before him from that Taoist temple on this night.

"I smelled the aroma of wine, I haven’t had a drink in years, so I came to ask for a bowl of wine." Earth Sword Immortal casually said.

"There’s not much wine left in the city’s wine cellar, it’s all meant for the dead. Do you want to compete with the dead for it?" Captain Hai said calmly.

"If the living want to drink, that’s fine, but you’ll have to exchange it for military achievements."



Captain Hai also had a little bit of wine, and he seemed a bit drunk.

Normally, even if he doesn’t like Earth Sword Immortal as a person, he wouldn’t talk like this.

After all, Earth Sword Immortal was once the leader of the martial arts world. Captain Hai wouldn’t provoke him if there was nothing wrong.

"Military merits? Do you consider killing inhumans as military merits?" Earth Sword Immortal said calmly.

"Killing one inhuman will bring endless troubles."

"If we kill one small one today, another old one will come tomorrow. How long can we hold on?"

"Both father and son of the Qiao Family are over a hundred years old, rare longevity in the world. But how many such people can Jiu Province have?"

"Martial artists who live past a hundred years are rare, but as for inhumans who live past a hundred years… guess how many exist in the Nine Immortal Gates?"

Earth Sword Immortal’s gaze was deep.

As a former strongest martial artist, it is natural that he had dealings with the Immortal Gate.

That’s why he became the most worthless person in the world.

"Have you said enough?" Captain Hai frowned.

The night wind was chilly, and the atmosphere was slightly tense.

"You never unsheathed your sword before. But today, when Elder Lao killed the inhuman, you appeared?" Captain Hai frowned and said,

"What’s this? Are you showing off your wide knowledge? Showing off your high vision and foresight? Only now you know about the bigger picture?"

"I’m just here to ask for a bowl of wine." Earth Sword Immortal’s face remained calm, he simply said,

"If you’re willing to listen, you can consider this as a reminder."

"Killing one inhuman will surely bring thunderous revenge later, and this city will only be destroyed faster."

"A reminder?" Captain Hai sneered.

Grave stones covered the mountains, shrouded in the darkness of the night. He pointed at the forest of tombstones and his voice trembled slightly:

"Everyone is drunk, but you alone are awake?"

"You are the only one who is rational? You are the only one who knows the enemy is strong and we are weak? You are the only one who knows that our city cannot be defended?"

"Zhong Province was once a fertile land, how did this Hundred-mile Desert come about? How did the hundred thousand soldiers die in the past? We understand it better than you!"

"Captain… " Some old soldiers stepped forward, wanting to stop Captain Hai from acting unruly while drunk.

Angering Earth Sword Immortal is very dangerous, they are not willing to take such risks at this critical moment.

Meanwhile, Captain Hai became even more excited.

"Since forty years ago, when Zhong Province turned from a fertile land into the Hundred-mile Desert and this city was besieged, everyone has known that this city cannot be defended."

"If we don’t do our utmost to kill that inhuman, how many more days can we survive?"

"You knew it was impossible, yet you still did it, that’s why so few of you are left alive," Earth Sword Immortal said indifferently.

"Can sacrifice be meaningful? Or just self-indulgence?"

He didn’t talk to Captain Hai anymore and walked away carrying a wine jug.

……………

Great Dao Sect (a sect or organization).

Dao Zhen stepped into a small attic, and soon a deacon dressed in Taoist robe approached.

"How did Junior Brother Dao Zhen come here?"



"I came to check Dao Shun’s Soul Jade Slip. He went out to explore a Secret Realm of the sect but hasn’t returned yet." Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Oh? Which Secret Realm did he go to explore?"

"Hundred-mile Desert."

"The Hundred-mile Desert? Can anything happen there? Junior Brother Dao Zhen is worrying too much," the deacon glanced at the shelves displaying Soul Jade Slips of disciples in the Foundation Building stage, suddenly freezing in expression as he noticed a broken Soul Jade Slip.

"Is he really dead? Can someone die in such a place?" the deacon was greatly puzzled and lost in thought.