More than seventy years ago—
The ancestors of Rhode and his companions had once heard this charge horn on that battlefield in the East.
In their eyes, this horn sounded by the Easterners represented only one meaning.
That was death.
Either you die, or I die!
Whenever the charge horn sounded, Rhode's ancestors would tremble; they would see countless Eastern troops, clad in tattered rags, charging out from the snow, fire, and trenches; ignoring the net of firepower woven by their various weapons, they would relentlessly surge forward.
The charge horn sounds—
Even if only one person remains, they will never stop charging!!
This horn sound became the eternal nightmare in the hearts of Rhode's ancestors.
Because they could not understand at all: "Why, after such a terrifying charge sounded, did those malnourished Easterners no longer value their own lives?"
Rhode, who was only in his early forties, had naturally never had the chance, like his ancestors, to listen to this horn sound on that battlefield in the East.
Tonight—
His God had granted Rhode an opportunity to hear the Eastern charge horn!
And even allowed him to witness with his own eyes—
Even while charging at high speed, the Eastern troops, maintaining their triangular formations, poured into the camp group by group from the inner defense zone.
Gunfire erupted.
The sound of shouting and killing filled the sky!
An indescribable despair made Rhode, standing at the entrance of the command post, want to kneel heavily on the ground, beat his chest with his fists, and question his God: "Who blew up my ammunition depot! How did the enemy break through our impregnable defense zone!?"
God was drinking tea and had no time to answer.
The only answer Rhode received was the desperate screams of his hundreds of men, who were hastily engaging the enemy in the camp.
And the firelight that illuminated half the sky.
Seven kilometers southwest of the Blackwater Forest, there was also a patch of woods.
The area of the woods was not large, but it was enough to hide dozens of people.
At the northernmost part of the woods.
When Li Wujiang saw the sky full of firelight from afar, she breathed a long sigh of relief.
She had been very tired waiting here these past few days.
Especially in the hour before the sky became engulfed in flames, every second had been an indescribable torment for her.
Even though her people were clearer-headed than ever before, she still had the hallucination of "Li Qianfan covered in blood, crying for his mother."
No matter how old a son is—
In a mother's eyes, he is always the child who cried for his mother after falling down when he was young.
Behind her.
Excited discussions came from Qin Zhou and others.
"I never imagined Li Qianfan actually managed to do it!"
"Yeah, if it were me, I probably couldn't have handled it."
"Tch! You'd have to endure thirty hours of lying dormant in the snow, wearing only thermal wear."
"Sigh, how do you think he got through it?"
"Hush—"
As Li Wujiang turned her head, the discussions of Qin Zhou and others abruptly ceased.
Li Wujiang swept her gaze over these young faces, her eyes sharp, and no one dared to meet her gaze.
But her voice was very gentle: "Everyone, be ready to intercept the enemy's escape. Our mission is to not let a single enemy escape from the Blackwater Forest through us. Nor will we allow a single reinforcement to reach the Blackwater Forest through us."
"Received!"
Qin Zhou and the others stamped their feet in unison, agreeing with a roar, and then each rushed to their designated combat zones.
Following Li Wujiang were Li Xingtang, Li Santiao, and Zhai Xing and Zhai Yue.
These ten people were not only Li Wujiang's guards but also her combat strategists, communication soldiers, and even cooks.
"Wujiang."
Li Xingtang said in a low voice, "Qianfan has succeeded, and we are fully prepared here. Shouldn't you personally go over there?"
He suggested that Li Wujiang personally go to the Blackwater Forest battlefield because he was worried that the people of the War Demon Temple would pose a fatal threat to Li Qianfan and his group.
Li Wujiang also really wanted to go.
She truly couldn't rest assured that her "pig" would be able to deal with the War Demon Temple, which was primarily known for its strange and evil ways.
But she knew even better how important the position she was currently holding was to the entire plan.
"No need."
Li Wujiang gazed in that direction and said softly, "Qianfan has grown up, and Su Ziyu has already interned in Longxu. Therefore, he should face any accidents and all powerful enemies on his own."
She was right.
If Li Qianfan was to command Longxu in the future, then the battle of Blackwater Forest was merely a hurdle on his path to growth.
If he could not even overcome this hurdle, then he would not be qualified to command Longxu in the future and accept challenges from enemies like the War Demon Temple!
Li Xingtang nodded.
Changing the subject, he asked, "Those trapped in the Blackwater Forest, like King Gao Ling and the others, should be making some moves by now, shouldn't they?"
King Gao Ling and the others—
Without a doubt, they had been playing the role of "abandoned children of humanity" for a considerable period.
And no one could describe in the most suitable words how arduous their lives had been during this time.
What people usually called "eating chaff and swallowing bran" was beyond their reach.
For most of the time, they huddled in dug-out pits, chewing on dry grass roots (which were not lacking), eating accumulated snow, and fantasizing about sitting at a table, eating steaming hot pot.
In short.
If King Gao Ling and the others were given another chance, they would have chosen to die fighting rather than endure freezing and starving here.
Fortunately, before Li Xiao visited them last time, he not only "cheated" by having Bai Hong bring a lot of medicine but also personally killed a wild boar, providing them with the basic conditions to survive until now.
After more than two months of consumption—
Only the last half of the leg of that wild boar remained.
This small half of a leg was their last reserve food, their lifeline.
They would not touch it unless absolutely necessary.
Starting from midnight—
King Gao Ling, whose night watch was taken over by Wang Zhe, began to have the same dream he had had at least sixty times before.
In the dream, his gentle sister, like water, held him in her arms, feeding him hot pot with her delicate hands (the colder it got, the more he craved hot pot).
He even pretended to be reluctant, saying he wouldn't eat unless his Wan Mei Zi fed him with her mouth.
Wan Mei Zi pouted and tugged at his beard: "Eat or not?"
"Ouch, don't pull my beard, it hurts, it hurts!"
King Gao Ling yelped and suddenly opened his eyes.
The gentle and tender Wan Mei Zi vanished instantly.
In her place was Wang Zhe's face, which resembled a wild boar's head.
Damn it!
Although he had been "living together" with Wang Zhe for so long, King Gao Ling, jolted awake from his dream, still shuddered at the sight of his face in the dim light.
He reached out and grabbed Wang Zhe's collar, complaining in a low voice: "Damn it, couldn't you have woken me up after I finished eating in my dream?"
"First, first, stop eating."
Wang Zhe shivered all over, and as he uttered the word "eat," saliva involuntarily dripped down the corners of his mouth.
King Gao Ling quickly shut his mouth and pushed him away.
He was genuinely worried that Wang Zhe's saliva would drip onto his face.
He thought Wang Zhe had woken him up because he couldn't stand the cold outside and wanted him to take over the night watch.
Didn't he see Wang Zhe shivering incessantly?
But as soon as King Gao Ling sat up, he saw Wang Zhe waving and slapping the others: "Get up, get up everyone! Hurry, hurry!"
The other few who were sound asleep were also woken up by Wang Zhe.
Only then did King Gao Ling realize something was wrong. He quickly grabbed Wang Zhe's arm and sternly demanded, "What's wrong!?"
"Outside, outside."
Wang Zhe pointed towards the outside of the pit, gasping for breath: "Boom, boom boom!"
What boom boom boom?
King Gao Ling and the others looked at Wang Zhe with bewildered expressions.
The glib Hammer, still in the mood, asked, "Is it ding ding ding, or boom boom boom?"
It turned out.
Wang Zhe, who was on guard outside, suddenly heard a earth-shattering loud noise, followed by seeing the sky ablaze with fire.
He immediately realized something and scrambled into the pit in a hurry.
Wang Zhe thought that King Gao Ling and the others must have heard the loud noise too.
They hadn't.
After falling into a deep sleep due to extreme physical and mental exhaustion, King Gao Ling and the others, if not woken up, might not even have been startled if firecrackers were set off next to their ears.
The more anxious Wang Zhe became, the less he could explain clearly.
He was in a great hurry!
He didn't know where the strength came from, but he grabbed King Gao Ling's arm and dragged him out of the pit.
Then he pointed outside the forest: "Look, look!"
King Gao Ling saw it then—
The sky ablaze with raging fire!
And faintly heard—
The piercingly loud horn sound!!
"That, is that the charge horn!?"
As King Gao Ling said this in a hoarse voice, his eyes suddenly blazed with a brilliance more dazzling than fireworks.
Yes.
That was the charge horn.
That was the charge horn that originated from the land they had longed for for so long.
"Our people have come to save us!"
King Gao Ling suddenly understood.
His whole body trembled, and unable to control himself, tears streaming down his face, he turned to Hammer and shouted: "Quick, quick! Get the pig leg. Bring out the pig leg. Eat, eat quickly! After eating, charge immediately!!"