Chapter 554
Chapter 554 The Golden Blade
Gao Qiu and Hu Bugui felt their spirits grow heavy as they listened. Helan Mountain was the emotional anchor for the five thousand soldiers—it held their hopes and dreams. Should Helan Mountain fall, these five thousand men deep in the grasslands would be like drifting duckweed, left with nothing to cling to.
Old Gao hummed in agreement. "Miss Xu is intelligent and wise; she must have received your message by now. Perhaps she is already finding a way to establish contact with us. Put your mind at ease, Brother Lin."
The crackling bonfire burned intensely, casting its dim light on their faces. Lin Wanrong shook his head. "What do I have to worry about? From the moment I set foot on these grasslands, life and death ceased to be my concerns. Traveling with both of you in this vast land and accomplishing something magnificent—should I die, I die a hero. What regret could there be?"
"Well said!" Hu Bugui clapped and laughed heartily, full of spirit. "Why envy a fur coat worth a thousand gold? A man should carry a Wu Hook! Standing tall in this mortal world, able to touch the earth and reach the sky, driving away nomads, and protecting our homeland—what’s there to fear in living grandly or dying gloriously?"
[TL: From Baidu: The Wu Hook is a type of curved blade popular during the Spring and Autumn period, cast from bronze. It is a quintessential example of cold weaponry, filled with legendary allure. Over time, it was written into poems by literati across generations, becoming a symbol of galloping across battlefields and aspiring to serve the country.]
Gao Qiu looked Hu Bugui up and down, grinning broadly. "Old Hu, I've known you for some time, and this is the manliest thing I've heard you say! You both rest easy—whether it's a mountain of blades or a sea of arrows, if Old Gao so much as furrows his brow, consider me a coward."
The three men looked at each other and burst into laughter. Their six hands reached out, clasping tightly together. The firelight illuminated their dark, resolute faces.
After three consecutive victories, five thousand soldiers penetrated deep into the grasslands, launching a surprise attack on Bayanhot and wiping out three thousand cavalrymen from Ha'er Helin and Ejina. In just a few days, they killed over ten thousand enemies, all of whom were robust Turkic men. It was indeed a grand victory, psychologically shaking the enemy as well. It was hard to believe that any Turkic people would underestimate this daring team from Great Hua any longer.