ITF Chapter106

Bai Heting stood facing the wind, lifting his head to glance at the midday sun.

The armor on his body was already covered in blood and filth, masking its original color, yet Shao Yixiao still recognized his silhouette within the chaotic crowd at a single glance.

It was often said among the military that Bai Heting on the battlefield was a terrifying grim reaper. Whether in close-quarters combat or tactical planning, he had always been fiercely decisive and unyielding, every single move and strike aimed directly at the opponent’s vitals. Ever since his appearance in the Bania Valley, Shao Yixiao’s nerves had not dared to slacken for a moment. They had engaged in intermittent, fierce combat with the rebels for several days, using a visibly immense advantage to force them back to this very spot.

Yet even so, Shao Yixiao did not act rashly.

Although they had failed to scout any traces of rebel reinforcements, he knew one thing full well—when facing an opponent like Bai Heting, even with victory within grasp, one must still not rush for success; a single lapse in caution could result in falling into his trap.

That being said, a title like “grim reaper” was probably an exaggeration after all. Across a distance of dozens of meters, he could clearly see that Bai Heting’s physical movements had grown somewhat sluggish; just a moment ago, he hadn’t even managed to pull out the longsword embedded in the chest of a corpse at his feet.

The terrifying grim reaper was, in the end, nothing more than a human being.

“Can you still keep going?” Bei Yang took two steps back, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bai Heting, as he checked in with him once more.

Panting for breath, Bai Heting did not answer.

His physical stamina was a world away from what it had been four years ago. Throughout this journey, he had consistently led a unit of light cavalry to personally bring up the rear, avoiding several bloody battles to ensure the main army preserved as much of its strength as possible. Yet he himself was already thoroughly exhausted. Unclasping his grip from the hilt, he detached the scabbard from his waist and threw it onto the ground along with the sword, drawing a lightweight dagger instead.

Shao Yixiao was slightly smarter than he had imagined. He was very cautious, never easily showing his face on the frontline of the clash between the two armies. But at this moment, the corners of Bai Heting’s lips curved into a silent, faint smile.

Amidst the pervasive scent of blood, he had located that pungent odor of tobacco.

This was inevitable. As long as Shao Yixiao’s objective was his head, reaching this step was merely a matter of time.

“Kid.” He flexed his stiff fingers a few times, then cast a glance at Bei Yang and said leisurely, “All of your enemies have arrived.”

Before he spoke, Bei Yang had already spotted Shao Yixiao across the clashing crowd. This Alpha commander, who was sitting steadily atop his warhorse, had once locked Bei Chengzhou away in a cramped cage, leaving him to be slaughtered like livestock. And the person right beside him had used a long arrow to pierce straight through Bei Chengzhou’s throat.

Both of them had the blood of his biological brother on their hands.

“That isn’t funny at all.” Bei Yang wiped away the blood splattered across his face, revealing a grim, ashen expression.

Bai Heting let out a soft laugh.

This young man had only lived and worked alongside him for a few short days, yet he was already able to understand what he meant and could even discern which words were spoken in jest.

This was a tacit understanding that could only be forged after giving one’s back entirely to another.

Unwilling to pursue this topic with him, Bei Yang said coldly, “This fellow is certainly cautious enough. If he hadn’t shown himself soon, I would have charged in.”

With that, he cast a rapid glance toward the south, throwing an inquiring look at Bai Heting.

Bai Heting nodded. Without saying anything else, he simply instructed, “Don’t be stupid.”

Bei Yang nodded in return. Tightening his grip on the longsword in his hand, he raised his left hand and gestured to a squad of Alphas behind him.

“I know,” he took a deep breath and exhaled, his sharp gaze remaining locked firmly on Shao Yixiao. “You want him alive.”

*

Behind Bai Heting, a banner suddenly soared high into the air.

Amidst the rows of revolutionary army flags emblazoned with the crest of Pei Ming’s family, that three-colored feather commander’s flag stood out with exceptional prominence. Before Shao Yixiao could think it through, his eyes instinctively shot toward the south.

That was the highest ground best suited for an ambush on this entire battlefield.

The Adjutant beside him looked over along with him, his eyes widening in sheer astonishment—

The ground quaked, and the mountains seemed to tremble.

The deafening roar of artillery fire instantly drowned out the startled cries of the soldiers. A cavalry unit was hurtling from that location toward their position and arriving on the battlefield along with them were massive stone cannonballs plunging down from the sky.

Shao Yixiao’s mind went blank for a moment.

The scouts he had dispatched had failed to detect any trace of the Urdan people transporting artillery. How could these giant cannons appear here completely undetected?

The warhorses fell into a panic amidst the immense racket, forcing Shao Yixiao to dismount, though he could barely keep his footing. He looked back, only to witness a scene straight out of hell.

One stone projectile after another screamed through the air before crashing down behind him. Horses scattered in panic, bolting in every direction, while men’s agonized screams rose amid the relentless bombardment. Most unbelievable of all, at the locations where the stone projectiles struck, the soldiers under his command were actually plunging one after another into the splitting earth!

How could this be possible?

Even with giant cannons of this caliber, there was absolutely no way they could rip the earth apart…

Shao Yixiao drew his sword from its sheath and drove the heavy steel blade forcefully down into the thick snow beneath his feet, but the tip struck something hard and solid, emitting a sharp, metallic ring.

Only a few moments too late did the realization finally strike him. The terrain along this route was far too flat, devoid of any landmarks that could be used to confirm their position. He had completely failed to notice that what lay beneath their feet was not a stretch of frozen ground at all.

Instead, it was—

Lake Urdan, frozen over with thick ice in the severe cold.

*

Spring in Urdan arrived a bit later than in the south.

Under the impact of the massive stone cannonballs, the solid ice surface shattered and collapsed, as chunk after chunk of broken ice sank into the water, dragging everything atop it down with it. The freezing lake water was quickly stained a turbid, bloody red. The revolutionary army, which had been scattering in retreat just moments ago, rapidly converged toward the center at the exact same time, trapping the royal army within the artillery fire using a tight, flawless encirclement. Bei Yang led his troops to cut through the middle, locking into a chaotic melee with the enemy forces who were resisting to the death.

The tide of battle had completely turned, yet not a single trace of gratification showed on Bai Heting’s face. He remained standing in his original spot, silently watching the clamor and chaos ahead. Among those corpses sinking to the bottom of the lake, many had once fought shoulder-to-shoulder with him; just like four years ago, he was pointing the tips of his blades at his own people once more.

He slid his dagger back into its sheath and then snapped his head up to track that familiar scent of pheromones.

Like a sudden gale, or a flash of lightning, Luo Congye leaned low over his horse’s back, his galloping black steed kicking up a cloud of white mist in the snow. The gloom lingering between Bai Heting’s brows finally eased slightly, but the moment their eyes met, Luo Congye’s expression changed dramatically. A look of utter panic flooded his face as he let out a thunderous roar, “Watch your back!”

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