#7 - Chapter 7: Sunset

Another half-day passed. You successfully arrived at Jianqiu City. The situation in Jianqiu City is currently stable. The Demonic Path's offensive has weakened. The City Lord of Jianqiu City, True Person Changming, is a Core Formation Stage cultivator in the middle stage. He warmly welcomed you and the other reinforcements.

That evening, you were treated to a welcome banquet. As a Qi Training Stage cultivator at the ninth level, you were qualified to attend the City Lord's banquet, but only in the outer hall. The inner hall of the City Lord's mansion was reserved for cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage and above.

Those Fake Core Stage and Core Formation Stage True Persons from Blackwater Market, including Black Fire Daoist who came this time, were all seated at the head of the inner hall, talking and laughing. True Person Changming chatted with them enthusiastically.

Midway through the banquet, Black Fire Daoist suddenly stood up and declared that he would save the remaining wine in his cup for when he returned after killing all the Demonic Path cultivators. He would spend the next few days killing enemies and driving back the Demonic Path.

Upon hearing this, everyone present applauded. True Person Changming happily said, "Black Fire Daoist truly lives up to his reputation as a Core Formation seed of the Righteous Path Alliance, possessing a righteous spirit."

Black Fire Daoist replied that his Wang family had always been taken care of in Blackwater Market, and in the past thirty years, he had also received much favor from Fairy Nishang. Serving Blackwater Market and the Righteous Path Alliance was his duty.

Listening to these words from outside, you couldn't help but feel, perhaps due to your own biases, that there was something peculiar about Black Fire Daoist's words. Immediately, you chuckled at yourself, feeling that you were overthinking things.

The day after the banquet ended, you and the other reinforcements began to be assigned tasks to defend the city. Your squad was assigned to the West Gate to fight against the Demonic Path alongside the defenders of Jianqiu City.

There was nothing to say. You quietly wiped your sword, eager to kill enemies.

There was a murderous aura in your heart. The scenes of white bones and desolate wastelands you had seen along the way had filled your heart with rage. You couldn't wait to kill Demonic Path cultivators.

The Demonic Path launched their offensive as usual, but the arrival of you and the other reinforcements caught them off guard. The Demonic Path attacked the city walls, but facing your fresh strength, they were caught unprepared and suffered heavy losses.

You were even more vigorous than before. Although your hair was already white, you beheaded enemies with your sword. Eventually, you became excited, bent your bow, and fired three arrows in succession, killing three Qi Training Stage eighth-level enemies. Finally, you wielded the Azure Mystic Sword and chopped off the head of a Qi Training Stage ninth-level Demonic Path cultivator.

Your old teammates looked at you with admiration. This was their old captain! He had been killing demons for thirty years, and although he was old, his hands were still steady!

At the end of the first day, the City Lord of Jianqiu City rewarded you and the other reinforcements handsomely with many cultivation resources. You also received some, as well as many contribution points.

You thought to yourself that perhaps if you killed demons for another three years, you would be able to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

You just didn't know if you could live for another three years.

On the second day, the Demonic Path cultivators reacted and realized that Jianqiu City had reinforcements. They began to be cautious. There were no major battles between the two sides that day, so it was considered a draw.

For the next three days—the third, fourth, and fifth—the Demonic Path cultivators' offensives gradually became fiercer, but with you and the other reinforcements, Jianqiu City remained as solid as a rock and withstood them all.

In these five days, you killed many more Demonic Path cultivators, and your body accumulated many more wounds. Of the two hundred team members you brought, more than thirty had died.

This was the cruelty of war. In these five days, you were generally in an advantageous position, but deaths were still unavoidable.

After the war on the fifth day ended, you silently packed the bodies of your team members on the city wall into storage bags, with your old teammate Er Hei helping you.

This had been your habit in recent years. These dead team members all had families. You would return their bodies to their families so they could be buried at home, so they wouldn't disappear without a trace.

People should return to their homeland after death, just as fallen leaves return to their roots.

On the sixth day, the Demonic Path's offensive became a bit fiercer, but Jianqiu City still managed to resist. After the war on the sixth day ended, the City Lord of Jianqiu City, True Person Changming, brought good news.

He told everyone that as long as they defended for four more days, reinforcements from the Righteous Path Alliance would arrive.

Although the situation in the other counties of Qingzhou was also not optimistic, the Righteous Path Alliance still squeezed out some forces to go to Jianqiu City for reinforcements in response to Jianqiu City's request for help. It was said that several Core Formation Stage True Persons were leading the team.

As long as these reinforcements arrived, Jianqiu City would definitely be as solid as a rock and might even be able to repel this siege of the Demonic Path.

Could they defend for four more days?

You had some doubts in your heart. It sounded like an easily achievable condition.

Due to the appearance of you and the other reinforcements, it was difficult for the Demonic Path to launch an offensive, and even if they did, they could be pushed back.

It seemed that defending for four more days was not difficult, but for some reason, you felt uneasy.

"Old Captain, if we defend for four more days, we can go home!"

The setting sun was like blood, the sun was setting in the west. On the war-torn city tower, you carried your sword, panting, and quietly looked at the corpses all over the ground.

Beside you, your old teammate Er Hei was lying on the city tower without any regard for his image. There was blood on his face, and he even held the head of a Demonic Path cultivator in his hand.

It was a very bloody scene, but his face was filled with longing as he said that if they defended for four more days, they could go home.

His son was ten years old and had been found to have a mid-grade spiritual root. For Er Hei, his son's talent was already good enough.

If they defended for four more days, he could go home and see his wife and son.

Hearing Er Hei's words, looking at the corpses all over the city wall, some of which were very young with childish faces, and then turning your head to see the cheers of some survivors, and in the afterglow of your gaze, seeing the setting sun like blood and the wild geese flying south, you had a moment of trance, and finally silently said that you would return home alive.

You did not voice the unease in your heart.

"Can we defend for four more days?"

Looking at the text simulated on the panel, Lin Changqing also became immersed in it. Through the text, he saw scene after scene.

It was as if he saw himself standing on a city wall filled with corpses, with a broken iron sword, in the setting sun.

He couldn't help but worry about the fate of this city four days later.

Would it be the arrival of reinforcements, or... ...

On the seventh day, the seemingly advantageous situation for Jianqiu City continued, and the Demonic Path's offensive was once again resisted.

Some people were very happy. In three more days, reinforcements would arrive, and from today's perspective, the Demonic Path's offensive was weaker than in the previous two days. Defending for three more days was really not difficult.

On the eighth and ninth days, two more days passed, and several waves of the Demonic Path's attacks were all resisted. Everyone in Jianqiu City gradually cheered with excitement. Your old teammates were all beaming with joy. In one more day, reinforcements would arrive!

After the war on the ninth day ended, the City Lord of Jianqiu City, True Person Changming, personally inspected the city and told everyone good news: tomorrow morning, the reinforcements would arrive half a day early to Jianqiu City.

Hearing this news, everyone cheered. They only had to defend for half a day tomorrow.

When returning to the residence that evening, Er Hei, the old teammate, made a request to you, the old captain. He scratched his head and said with embarrassment that he wanted to ask you to take his good-for-nothing son as your disciple.

You smiled and agreed. Er Hei had been your teammate for almost twenty years. There was nothing wrong with accepting his son as a disciple.

Hearing you agree, Er Hei was very happy. In his heart, you, the old captain, were a legendary figure, a peak Qi Training Stage ninth-level cultivator. To him, you were already a high mountain. To have such a person teach his son, his future would definitely be bright.