After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 65

In the desolate, frigid desert, the northern wind stirred the withered grass, rolling up an air thick with killing intent.

Seeing those black-clad guards charging in like death warriors, wielding blades or spears as they rode, Zhang Hu immediately led six or seven men at his side forward to meet them in battle.

These men truly were trained death warriors, when they charged, their faces showed nothing but cold indifference.

Jiang He likewise leaned forward over his horse, his gaze fixed tightly on Pei Er. As he neared Zhang Hu and the others, he suddenly spoke coldly, “Hold them back.”

The twenty guards immediately changed direction and, in the blink of an eye, surrounded Zhang Hu and the others who had come to fight.

Meanwhile, the cavalry that had been split off earlier were now blocked far behind by the remaining guards. These riders had been able to charge through Hu troops before largely thanks to the formations Pei Er had trained them in, along with his proper command. But in one-on-one combat, they were clearly no match for these specially trained death warriors, and without Pei Er’s command, they quickly fell into disadvantage.

Jiang He used an extremely short time to surround and isolate them, dealing with them one by one, while at the same time riding straight toward the “isolated” Pei Er. His gaze was icy, and the spear in his hand thrust directly toward Pei Er’s throat.

Today, he would personally kill this man to avenge his younger brother! The veins on the back of Jiang He’s hand bulged as he gripped the spear, filled with deep hatred.

However…

Pei Er shifted slightly to the right, easily avoiding the thrusting spear tip. At the same time, his right arm moved instantly; with a twist of his wrist, the long spear carried immense force and effortlessly knocked aside the opponent’s weapon.

Jiang He was instantly shaken by the force transmitted through the spear, his arm going numb, and he couldn’t help but feel shocked.

Pei Er’s expression remained unchanged. Holding the spear in his right hand and pointing it at him, he spoke in an ordinary tone that nonetheless sounded like provocation: “Your brother deserved to die. What kind of revenge are you taking for him?”

Jiang He glared at him coldly and furiously. “You!”

“Or perhaps you’ve done the same things he did?” Pei Er continued before he could finish, and then…

“Your spear skills are too weak,” he said calmly, yet it somehow carried a condescending mockery. “A real spear should be used like this!”

Before his words had even fallen, the spear shot out, cleaving through the air toward Jiang He’s brow. It was so fast there was no time to blink, as if the air itself had been pierced, producing a tearing sound.

A chilling killing intent rushed straight at his face. Jiang He was so terrified that he froze on his horse, completely unable to move.

At that moment, behind him, a black-clad guard who had been sitting on horseback without moving suddenly raised his hand and lifted a kind of crossbow Pei Er had never seen before.

The bolt shot out instantly, its whistling sound tearing through the air!

Out of the corner of his eye, Pei Er had been watching that unmoving black-clad man all along. The instant he took out the crossbow, Pei Er immediately shifted his body to dodge, while swiftly turning his spear to block the incoming bolt.

Jiang He’s crisis was instantly resolved. After coming back to his senses, he realized he had broken out in a cold sweat, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

This had been the closest moment to death in his life. No one was unafraid of death, and Jiang He was no exception. He swallowed and immediately called over more than a dozen of the twenty guards who had been surrounding Zhang Hu and the others to deal with Pei Er together.

Earlier, he had wanted to kill him alone, now, he no longer dared.

On the other side, more than ten of the twenty-odd guards who had been surrounding and attacking suddenly withdrew, and the pressure on Zhang Hu and the others sharply lessened, but Pei Er’s side instantly became perilous.

Moreover, Jiang He deliberately tried to separate him from Zhang Hu and the others to encircle and kill him, leading people to force him farther and farther away from them.

Before long, Zhang Hu and the others could no longer see Pei Er’s figure. Anxiety rose in their hearts, yet they were still trapped by the black-clad guards.

But for Pei Er, the most dangerous was that black-clad guard who kept close with the iron crossbow.

Just as he was being surrounded, the black-clad man fired several more bolts in succession. One barely grazed his right cheek, leaving a streak of blood along his face, while two others brushed past his armor.

The power of those bolts was tremendous, of the two that struck his armor, they directly shattered the armor plates. Fortunately, they hit the edges; otherwise, it wouldn’t just have pierced flesh, but likely cracked bone as well.

Pei Er’s expression turned cold. He knew he had to deal with that crossbowman first. But he was besieged by more than ten people including Jiang He, while the black-clad guard kept his distance, staying just beyond the range his spear could reach.

His brows knit tightly as he tried to break through while thinking. The number of bolts a crossbow could fire at once was limited. Just as the black-clad man lowered his head to reload, Pei Er’s eyes sharpened. He suddenly turned his spear and pierced a charging guard, then seized the opening and hurled the spear from his hand with great force.

The guard reloading the crossbow suddenly felt a chill. As he raised his head, the spear instantly pierced through his throat. His eyes widened; after standing stiffly for a moment, he fell from his horse with a thud.

The change came too quickly. The surrounding guards hadn’t even reacted before seeing their companion dead, and they were stunned.

But with the spear thrown, Pei Er now held only a black iron curved blade. A blade’s reach was far shorter than a spear’s.

Jiang He immediately seized the opportunity and shouted to the spear-wielding guards, “Now, take him!”

Seven or eight guards wielding spears attacked at once. Pei Er bent backward to dodge several thrusts, but was still struck in the shoulder by one. His armor couldn’t withstand the force and shattered on impact.

The guard who struck him lit up with excitement, but in the next instant, Pei Er grabbed the shaft, yanked it free with blood spraying, then violently pulled it toward himself.

The spear-wielding guard was caught off guard and dragged forward. At the same time, the black iron blade flashed, its cold gleam slicing through the guard’s throat.

Pei Er seized the spear. Blood from the guard had splashed across his face and body, his eyes cold and fierce, like a killing god emerging from h*ll.

Even these trained death warriors couldn’t help but be shaken by his expression.

With the spear in hand again, Pei Er swept it out, picking off several guards in succession and knocking them all from their horses.

The remaining guards instinctively retreated in shock.

Jiang He shouted angrily, “Don’t retreat! He’s only one man, what are you afraid of with so many of us?!”

At his shout, the guards forced themselves to charge again.

But the more Pei Er fought, the fiercer he became. His blood-splattered face was cold and sharp, as if he knew neither fatigue nor pain. After knocking several more off their horses, he turned his spear and sneered at Jiang He, “Choosing to strike at a time like this is truly foolish. Do you think if I die, you’ll still live after the Hu break through the defenses?”

Jiang He was already shaken by his prowess, but hearing this, he clenched his teeth and replied harshly, “Only if you die can I claim merit!”

That’s what he said, but inwardly he was already terrified. He had never imagined that this soldier he once looked down on possessed such terrifying skill, so much so that even with all of them attacking together, they couldn’t take him down.

Pei Er thrust his spear again, striking another guard, expression unchanged. “Then I’m even more curious, are you truly trying this hard to kill me just for your brother’s revenge?”

As he spoke, his gaze turned cold. He spun and swept his spear sideways, the shaft smashing into Jiang He’s waist with such force that it knocked him straight off his horse.

The spear tip immediately pointed at his throat as Pei Er demanded coldly, “Why are Lu Gonggong’s guards obeying your orders and coming after me? Speak!”

Caught off guard and thrown from his horse, Jiang He’s pupils shrank, but he still forced out stubbornly through clenched teeth, “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for knowing too much.”

Pei Er narrowed his eyes and immediately understood. “It’s about the official salt, isn’t it? You were involved too. That Lu Gonggong is in league with you? Behind you, ”

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind struck! Pei Er hurriedly dodged, but was still hit on the head by a spear shaft. Instinctively, he turned his spear and instantly killed the attacker.

But his helmet had already fallen off during the fight. That blow made his head ring violently, his vision going black in waves.

For a moment he couldn’t see anything. He raised a hand to clutch his head, but the pain grew more intense, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

It wasn’t the pain from being struck, it was as if something deep in his mind was forcing its way out, as though his head were about to split open!

At first, Pei Er thought he only needed a moment to recover. But his body swayed more and more, and just as his consciousness blurred, his body tilted and he fell straight from his horse.

No, I can’t fall. I can’t lose consciousness. Jiang He isn’t dead yet.

I have to go back alive… Miss Shen… Shen…

But his body kept falling. When his head hit the sand, an even more intense pain surged, and countless flashes of white light seemed to explode before his eyes, 

Pain! His mind felt torn and churned as countless scenes flooded in.

In a daze, he saw himself leading troops in battle against the Hu, people around him calling him “Shizi” and “General Pei”; a flash of white, and he saw himself dressed as a common soldier, mixed among war captives taken by the Hu; another flash, and he saw himself fighting alone through encirclement, his armor soaked in blood, until finally, exhausted, collapsing onto the yellow sands.

Half-conscious, he seemed to be lifted by someone. Thinking the Hu had caught up, he tightly gripped the blade at his waist and struggled to rise, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand jin, his arms like iron, unable to lift, unable to open his eyes.

Noisy voices came from his ears, 

“Someone actually brought back a living one?”

“Injured like this, like a lump of blood, can he still be saved?”

“Physician Hu said there’s no saving him. Just leave him in a corner and let fate decide.”

“Ah… a pitiful person too.”

…It seems to be in the Great Zhou, not the land of the Hu tribes.

The tension in his mind eased slightly, but he still gripped his blade tightly in vigilance. However, his head injury worsened, the pain intensifying, and his consciousness growing increasingly blurred.

At last, as darkness swallowed all awareness, he felt a slightly cool hand gently touch his wound, very softly…

He struggled to open his eyes, but couldn’t resist the darkness and completely lost consciousness.

Suddenly, a burst of white light exploded before his eyes, shattering into countless fragments, 

He snapped his eyes open and found himself lying on yellow sand, surrounded by the corpses of warhorses and men in black.

Two or three who were not yet dead were gripping their blades and closing in on him.

***

A few breaths earlier, Jiang He had been pinned at the throat by Pei Er’s spear and had thought himself doomed. Unexpectedly, a half-dead black-clad guard suddenly crawled up and launched a sneak attack from behind, succeeding in one strike.

Seeing the opponent suddenly fall from his horse, Jiang He was overjoyed. He quickly drew his blade and rushed forward in a few quick strides.

Amid his excitement, a thought of resentment couldn’t help but arise…

What a pity there was no cliff here. Otherwise, he would have made this Pei Er die just like his younger brother had back then, his body utterly mangled.

But as he approached and raised his blade, Pei Er suddenly opened his eyes. Startled, Jiang He staggered back, nearly losing his grip on the weapon.

Those eyes were pitch-black and unfathomable, like a bottomless abyss, carrying an inexplicable chilling authority. Though Jiang He stood and the other lay on the ground, he felt a trembling sense of being looked down upon by someone of higher status.

It was as if, upon reopening his eyes, Pei Er had become a different person.

Although the man had been imposing before, it was nothing like this moment, cold, lethal, and filled with the commanding presence of someone in power, as if Jiang He were nothing more than an insignificant ant before him.

Suppressing his fear, Jiang He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the blade with both hands, and thrust forward fiercely.

However…

With a sharp clang, a flash of cold light streaked past!

Jiang He suddenly came to his senses and realized that the blade in his hand had been cut cleanly in two. He hadn’t even seen how the other had moved.

The man who had been lying on the ground flipped up in one motion, his black iron curved blade sweeping across Jiang He’s legs. A horrific scream rang out as both of Jiang He’s legs were severed.

At the same time, the blade’s momentum did not lessen. It swept across the abdomens of the other two black-clad attackers rushing in. Both fell instantly, their blood staining the yellow sand red.

Pei Er stood up, wiped the blood from his blade with his sleeve, and looked at Jiang He writhing on the ground in agony. His dark eyes were calm as he stated, “Jiang… He? You chose the wrong opponent.”

As he spoke, he walked toward him step by step, as if strolling leisurely.

Jiang He was filled with terror, as though watching the King of H*ll approach to claim his life. Enduring the intense pain, he desperately dragged himself backward, leaving a trail of blood, his face drenched in cold sweat.

“You, you can’t kill me! If you do, Lu Gonggong won’t let you off when you return!”

Whether from excessive blood loss or uncontrollable fear, his face turned pale, his teeth chattering, his body shaking like a leaf.

“Lu Gonggong?” Pei Er seemed to find it amusing. He casually picked up a spear from the ground and suddenly stabbed it into Jiang He’s right shoulder. Leaning down, his dark eyes fixed on him as he said coldly, “I told you, you chose the wrong opponent.”

Almost at the same time, the sound of galloping hooves echoed in the distance. Yang Yuanyi, leading forty or fifty Black Iron soldiers, along with Xuanping and others, was rushing toward them at full speed.

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