Legend Management Bureau Chapter 32

[ … words ]

“Xia… Ying… Chun…” Du Yu read out, emphasizing each syllable. “It turns out that historical records aren’t always true. This girl named Xia Yingchun actually had a very kind heart.”

“It seems there’s no need to descend this time.”

Dong Qianqiu scrolled through the screen, fast-forwarding another few months.

After Zhongli Chun became the queen, she worked tirelessly to govern the State of Qi. After rooting out many corrupt officials, she revised the laws. In her spare time, she went to the drill grounds to train the troops, barely taking a moment to rest.

Meanwhile, Little Xia also used every trick up her sleeve. Whenever King Xuan of Qi wanted to visit Zhongli Chun’s bedchamber, she would throw a massive tantrum—crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. Over time, King Xuan gave up on his intentions toward Zhongli Chun. After all, Zhongli Chun always wore a cold expression, whereas Little Xia was not only eloquent but also skilled in singing and dancing. Even if Little Xia’s looks were slightly inferior to Zhongli Chun’s, King Xuan couldn’t be bothered to subject himself to a snub.

King Xuan of Qi did his utmost to please Little Xia, while Little Xia desperately protected Zhongli Chun, and Zhongli Chun poured her heart into politics. With the State of Qi in an era of peace, King Xuan naturally had even more time to party every night with Xia Yingchun.

Du Yu would never have dared to imagine this unique and stable love triangle if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

“Uh…” Right then, Du Yu seemed to realize something. “Sister Qianqiu… if I don’t need to descend this time, does that mean I’ll have to descend when Little Zhongli faces off against the states of Qin and Zhao?”

“Exactly.”

Dong Qianqiu said nothing. She naturally knew what the problem was.

“Even if I do descend… I won’t be of any help. This is a battlefield in the era of cold steel. With just my strength alone…”

“Du Yu…” Dong Qianqiu looked hesitant. “Actually, my advice to you is… you shouldn’t go this time…”

“I shouldn’t go…?”

Du Yu lowered his head in silence. Sister Qianqiu’s words made sense. In an ancient battlefield where tens of thousands of people slaughtered each other, could he really be of any help?

“The technical department has revised their calculations. If Zhongli Chun participates in this battle, her chances of dying in action are as high as eighty percent. The best solution right now is to use voice transmission to persuade her to abandon the fight.”

Du Yu pondered for a moment, feeling that this approach was also flawed. If Zhongli Chun refused to fight, the fall of the State of Qi would only accelerate. Would the legend of Zhongli Chun still hold true then?

“Sister Qianqiu, how about… you help me prepare some gear?”

“What do you need?”

“A rocket launcher, grenades, and a Gatling gun spitting blue flames.”

Dong Qianqiu shook her head. “Du Yu, setting aside whether you can carry that much gear at once, even if you could bring it over, how would you fight tens of thousands of men by yourself? The famous crossbows of Qin and the renowned armored cavalry of Zhao are not things you can handle with just a few firearms.”

“It’s fine… I still have some street smarts. If the situation gets critical…”

“Street smarts?” Dong Qianqiu sighed. “Do you think the commanding generals of the two states this time—Bai Qi of Qin and Lian Po of Zhao—will be defeated by your little tricks?”

“Bai Qi… Lian Po…” Du Yu was dumbfounded. “Are the two enemy commanders really that big of a deal this time? Those are clearly two legendary figures as well!”

“That’s why I’m advising you… try your best not to go. I will figure out a way to help Zhongli Chun escape.”

“No.” Du Yu ultimately shook his head. “Sister Qianqiu, let me go. If there’s any real danger, you guys can just recall me immediately. After all, I made a promise to Little Zhongli…”

Dong Qianqiu spent half the day trying to persuade Du Yu, but to no avail. Ultimately, she had to agree to his request.

“Du Yu, I will remind you one last time. An operator’s life is absolutely more important than a C-rank legend. If we detect any danger, we will recall you at the very first opportunity.”

“I understand, Sister Qianqiu.”

…

Era: The chaotic Warring States period.

Location: The lands of Qi and Lu.

Infantryman, Ah Wu, descending.

Du Yu’s eyes snapped open, his facial expression twitching uncontrollably.

At this moment, Du Yu felt as though he had been thrust into a massive sandstorm that completely blotted out the sun.

Hot. It was incredibly hot.

He stood in the center of a battlefield where tens of thousands of men were slaughtering each other. Deafening battle cries, screams of agony, and the sharp clashing of weapons roared in his ears. The sudden onslaught of overwhelming noise made him dizzy. Moreover, the massive, swirling clouds of dust left him entirely disoriented. He had no idea how many people were directly in front of him, nor did he know where his escape route lay.

He tremblingly gripped the long spear in his hands, preparing to shout a few words to brace himself. But the moment he inhaled, he caught the thick stench of blood hanging in the air. This metallic tang, mixed with the smell of sweat, rotting flesh, and spilled intestines, was something one would never forget for the rest of their life after taking just a single breath.

A dark object flew over from the distance. Du Yu instinctively reached out and caught it, cradling it in his arms. It felt warm and sticky.

Looking closely, he realized a human head was resting quietly in his embrace. There was no telling how many wounds this head had sustained before being severed. The face was completely scarred, and loose hair clung to the skin, with some strands even embedded deep into the gashes.

“Blargh—!”

Du Yu immediately dropped to his knees, vomiting violently onto the ground.

This oppressive atmosphere, this visceral gore, this terrifying, earth-shaking sensation—it was entirely unique to the era of cold steel.

Countless men dashed past Du Yu without so much as sparing him a glance. After all, on this brutal battlefield, there were a million different reasons for a man to fall to his knees.

“Du Yu! Watch your back!!” Dong Qianqiu screamed.

Before Du Yu could react, he heard the roaring wind behind him. In a flash of lightning, a hand reached out, grabbed him, and threw him to the side. Du Yu rolled on the ground and looked back just in time to see a bald brute swinging a massive broadsword through the empty air where he had just been. Taking advantage of the brute’s miss, several Qi soldiers thrust their spears forward, piercing the man’s body.

A soldier pulled Du Yu up to his feet, panting heavily as he asked, “Which squad are you from? Did you get separated?”

“Squad?”

“A squad is the smallest combat unit in ancient warfare, consisting of five men: one squad leader and four members,” Dong Qianqiu explained.

“Ah…” Du Yu looked at the massive battlefield, having absolutely no idea where to find his squad. So, he shook his head and said to the burly man in front of him, “Everyone in my squad is dead. I’m the only one left.”

“Perfect, there are only four of us left!” The burly man patted Du Yu’s shoulder. “Join our squad, and focus on surviving first! We need to see if we can find a centurion…”

Du Yu stood up and saw that there were indeed three other men nearby. There was no time for introductions; they immediately stood back-to-back to fend off the Zhao soldiers.

“Brother, I’m the squad leader, Di Cong. What’s your name?”

“I’m Ah Wu!”

“Alright, Ah Wu!” The squad leader swung his spear, forcing back the enemy in front of him, before calling out to the rest of the group. “The orders given to the squad leaders are to immediately head to the northern flank to reinforce a trapped thousand-man battalion. We will follow the general’s banner and slowly move north. If we can find a decurion or a centurion, our chances of survival will increase greatly!”

The biggest fight Du Yu had ever experienced in his entire life was a group brawl involving a total of four students back in his school days. It was completely incomparable to his current situation. Back then, their most lethal weapon was a plastic ruler, and neither side actually wanted to kill the other with their strikes.

Fortunately, Squad Leader Di Cong was incredibly experienced. He didn’t recklessly chase after kills; instead, he commanded the entire squad to protect each other and pool their strength to strike down enemies blocking their path. Because they avoided getting tangled in drawn-out fights, their squad moved faster than the others.

“Squad Leader!” Du Yu was already drenched in sweat and panting heavily from the continuous marching and hand-to-hand combat.

“What is it!?”

“I wanted to ask, where is our commanding general?”

“Who knows!” The squad leader glanced at Du Yu and asked, “Is this your first time on a battlefield, kid? Once the fighting breaks out, let alone finding the commanding general, you might not even be able to tell which direction is which! The squad leaders’ movements are entirely directed by the various signal flags.”

“This…” Du Yu felt a bit anxious, terrified that he wouldn’t be able to reach Zhongli Chun in time.

However, the squad leader’s words made perfect sense. The entire plain was covered in swirling dust and a mist of blood. Visibility was no more than a few dozen meters. Trying to grasp the flow of the entire battlefield in such a place was simply too difficult.

“Keep moving! We’re about to reach that trapped thousand-man battalion!”

“Squad Leader!” one of the soldiers in the squad shouted. “Are we nearing the enemy camp? Why are there Zhao soldiers everywhere?”

The squad leader looked around. The number of Zhao soldiers in their vicinity had doubled. However, he genuinely didn’t know their current position. He only knew that he had to obey military orders. Right now, many squads were converging in this direction, but they had moved a bit faster than the rest. He estimated that it wouldn’t be long before more of their own troops arrived here.

“Don’t falter! We will carve a path out and rendezvous with the thousand-man battalion! We’re just a single squad; staying trapped here will only result in death!” the squad leader bellowed. The entire squad began to break through the lines. The five of them fought as one, only attacking the enemies directly in front of them. Soon, they carved out a bloody path, though the sheer number of enemies nearby meant that everyone suffered injuries along the way.

The moment they broke through the throng of soldiers, what met the eyes of the five men was a massive mountain of corpses, piled high layer upon layer.

A lone figure stood at the summit of this grisly mountain, staring coldly downward. The soldiers surrounding the area were completely intimidated by the martial prowess of this person at the top, and not a single one dared to advance.

“Little Zhongli?!” Du Yu roared.

Zhongli Chun seemed to hear a familiar voice. She looked down the mountain of bodies and met Du Yu’s gaze.

“Brother Ah Wu, who is that? Is that one of our decurions?” Seeing that Du Yu recognized the person, the squad leader couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you blind, Squad Leader?” one of the infantrymen chided. “To kill that many enemies, they have to be at least a thousand-man commander!”

“What thousand-man commander or decurion! Hurry up and protect her, this is our commanding general!” Du Yu said as he began to scramble up the mountain of corpses, completely ignoring the dead bodies beneath his feet.

“Ah?! Her Majesty the Queen??” The men exclaimed in shock.

An infantryman looked at the tall woman in front of them, still unable to believe it. “Didn’t they say Her Majesty the Queen was unmatchably ugly?! This woman before us is absolutely beautiful!”

“What time is it to be focusing on that!” The squad leader kicked the infantryman and quickly followed Du Yu up the mountain of bodies.

Seeing Du Yu reach the top, Zhongli Chun offered a faint smile. “This time, only twelve years have passed before you appeared.”

Du Yu carefully inspected Zhongli Chun and noticed that she seemed injured. He immediately asked, “Little Zhongli, how did you get hurt!?”

Zhongli Chun gritted her teeth. “Blame my own incompetence. After I assassinated the deputy general of Zhao here, I was surrounded layer upon layer. I killed every man I saw, and I’ve been slaughtering them for three whole days now.”

“Three days…?” Du Yu looked down at the mountain of corpses. If there weren’t ten thousand bodies here, there were at least eight thousand. “Little Zhongli, you went on a complete rampage…”

…

Inside a Zhao military tent, a tall, middle-aged man clad in armor sat upright and solemn. Opposite him sat a pale-faced teenage general. The atmosphere between the two was rather delicate.

“General Lian, three days ago you claimed to have encircled the thousand-man battalion of the Qi commanding general. Now, three days have passed, and you are still just encircling them. Don’t you want to explain yourself?” the pale-faced teenage general asked coldly.

“Bai Qi, when this old man first stepped onto the battlefield, you were still wetting the bed. Do I need to report my actions to you?” the middle-aged man retorted with a hint of anger.

“I am not commanding you. I just want to know when I’ll get to see the head of the Qi commanding general,” Bai Qi replied impatiently. “The sooner you chop off her head, the sooner I can return to Xianyang to rest.”

“Hmph. This Queen of Qi, Zhongli Chun, is indeed as formidable as the rumors say. Her thousand-man battalion was slaughtered by my army until only she remained, yet she managed to massacre another thousand of my men all by herself,” Lian Po said.

“There is no need to make such excuses to me.” Bai Qi shook his head. “That only proves the incompetence of the Zhao soldiers.”

“Incompetence?!” Lian Po slammed his hand on the table furiously. “My soldiers are flesh and blood, raised by their parents just like anyone else. Knowing full well that this woman is a terror, why would I needlessly send my subordinates to their deaths? By my reckoning, if we lay siege without attacking, it won’t be long before that woman dies of exhaustion and starvation.”

“Which is exactly why I say the Zhao soldiers are incompetent,” Bai Qi sneered. “If they were my subordinates, I would undoubtedly have them beheaded in public.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” Lian Po grew even more furious. “As a general of the Qin State, do you not treat the lives of your subordinates as actual lives?”

“Hahahahaha! My subordinates’ lives?” Bai Qi burst into laughter. “Lian Po, never mind my subordinates’ lives. If the day comes when we go to war with your Zhao State, I won’t even spare your civilians or prisoners of war! In this world, any life that cannot be used by me can be slaughtered without hesitation!”

“You…!” Lian Po immediately stood up. “Bai Qi, are you trying to provoke this old man right here and now?!”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Bai Qi shook his head. “Great General Lian Po’s prestige is renowned far and wide. Surely you wouldn’t lose your temper here with a junior who has just taken office?”

Bai Qi offered a faint farewell, then walked straight out of the tent.

‘This Bai Qi of Qin is truly terrifying. If the State of Zhao were to actually clash with him…’ Lian Po dared not think further on it, only silently shaking his head. He was already past middle age, while Bai Qi had just taken his post. If that day really came, he only hoped he would still be able to don his armor and ride into battle…

…

Atop the mountain of corpses, the five men, led by Du Yu, shielded Zhongli Chun behind them, facing five different directions as they confronted the enemy.

“Heavens… I never expected that following the general’s banner would lead us straight to Her Majesty the Queen…” The squad leader turned his head to glance at Du Yu. “Ah Wu, it seems like you and Her Majesty go way back…”

“Squad Leader, let’s put that aside for now. My mission this time is to protect the Queen,” Du Yu said through gritted teeth. Although he knew exactly what his objective was, he had absolutely no idea how he was actually supposed to protect her.

“You all should leave…” Zhongli Chun said. “This battle is already lost.”

“Lost?!” The squad leader and the infantrymen were in utter disbelief. “How could we have lost! There are still many Qi soldiers scattered across the battlefield fighting, and as our commander-in-chief, Your Majesty hasn’t fallen either!”

“Though I do not know the identities of the two enemy commanders, they deploy their troops with divine skill. Their tactical formations are not in the slightest bit inferior to mine. I have been trapped here for three days with no military orders issued. The Qi army must have already descended into chaos. Retreat and defeat are only a matter of time.” Zhongli Chun looked at Du Yu. “I cannot allow you to be injured. Go, quickly.”

“No, if we’re leaving, we leave together!”

Hearing this, Zhongli Chun gritted her teeth and said, “Even if I can truly escape from here, the Qi army would still need a general-level figure well-versed in military strategy to join forces with me to have any chance of winning this war. With my strength alone, it is impossible to withstand the tactical formations of those two enemy generals.”

Du Yu clenched his jaw. Unfortunately, he was neither skilled in martial arts nor proficient in military strategy. In this war, it seemed like there was no hope in sight.