Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 431 - 292: Between the Abysses

Chapter 431: Chapter 292: Between the Abysses

Within the colossal canyon, a towering city stood resolute amid the biting cold winds and the swirling snow.

Atop the city walls,

two middle-aged men dressed in White Armors chatted idly, leaning against the ice-bound battlements:

"Old Li, when will we ever see the end of days like these?"

Hearing this, Old Li turned his eyes and slid his hand into the lining of his Armor, rummaging for a moment before pulling out a small wooden box and waving it in front of the other:

"Wang Cheng, quit your whining. You nag all day long like a woman. Want one?"

Wang Cheng’s eyes lit up at the sight of the wooden box:

"Sss... Old Li, we don’t get many of those, and we’ve been out here for more than half a year. You still have such good stuff? Didn’t you trade military merits with the supply unit for it?"

As he spoke, Wang Cheng eyed the wooden box, licking his lips which were dry from the cold:

"Are you really squandering your military merits like this?"

"How could I? I’m still counting on those merits to get promoted to a tooth general after this war is over."

Old Li chuckled, his vague wrinkles stacking together in a sly grin: "It’s just that you have no connections. There are plenty in the Qujiang who don’t smoke these. Just trade some meat and liquor for them."

Saying that, he slid open the wooden box, tossed one to Old Li, and used a fire-starter to light up one for himself. Then he casually threw the fire-starter over the city wall.

The burning fire-starter fell along the ice-bound wall, its faint glow briefly illuminating the blizzard, revealing the macabre sight below...

Piles of Barbarian Tribe women and children’s corpses were stacked into a hill, frozen into grotesque ice sculptures by the snowstorm.

However, to the two of them, such a sight was nothing unusual.

The Barbarian Tribe Holy City would house their own, after all. Leaving bodies to pile up inside could lead to the spread of disease, so the corpses of these Barbarians were moved outside to form the Jingguan.

The smoke mingled with the warmth and quickly dispersed. Old Li, staring down at the Jingguan, suddenly said in a low voice:

"Remember, Wang Cheng, the military handbook says that corpses must be processed before building a Jingguan."

"Yeah, because too many corpses can give rise to ghost fog. But in the snowfields, it doesn’t matter."

Wang Cheng, who practiced the Fire System Technique, snapped his fingers with a "pop", conjuring a small flame at his fingertips to light the cigarette at his mouth and said with a smile:

"After all, this is the Barbarians’ land. If any ghost fog does arise, it’s their bad luck.

"Heh... our lord has slaughtered so many of them, and now there’s the ghost fog to deal with. These Barbarians probably won’t recover for hundreds of years."

As he spoke,

Wang Cheng smacked his lips and took a couple of drags from his tobacco, then resumed his incessant, nagging chatter:

"But Old Li, if the Barbarians are wiped out completely, how will we earn our military merits in the future? We have both been Qujiang for over ten years, right? If we don’t get promoted after this war, could we end up being Qujiang for life?"

Old Li asked with a chuckle:

"Are you suggesting our lord should start keeping ruffians to reinforce his own power, like in that old strategy?"

At that remark, Wang Cheng’s expression changed, and he glared at Old Li, pointing at his nose:

"Li Yongliang, I’m warning you, if we weren’t good friends, I’d be hitting you right now."

After speaking, Wang Cheng’s expression returned to his previous resentment:

"But what the hell is it with our lord chasing down the Barbarians and leaving us in this rundown city? Guarding these Jingguan every day, staring at the godforsaken snow without even a camp prostitute..."

With a cigarette pinched between his fingers, Old Li replied with a smile:

"Who said there are no camp prostitutes? What about those female Barbarian captives awaiting interrogation? I’ve heard from Bai Jiaqi that they’re not a bad experience."

"....."

Wang Cheng was stunned, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

Being in the military year-round, they were used to seeing blood and gore, amputated limbs and gruesome sights, always dancing on the edge of death, and so their hearts had grown somewhat twisted.

But these Barbarians...

Bai Qujiang’s preferences were indeed exotic.

Old Li took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaling plumes of smoke. Suddenly he said:

"Don’t tell anyone else about this, alright? Bai Qujiang only told me, and if it gets out, he’d probably kill me over it."

"Don’t worry," Wang Cheng snorted. "I keep my mouth shut tight."

Old Li nodded assent, inhaling deeply to finish his cigarette in one breath:

"Our Qujiang were the first to break through the Barbarian Tribe Holy City. Barring any surprises, we should get promoted. Quit your whining, we should give the other brothers a chance to earn their merits......"

"Shush."

Wang Cheng suddenly interrupted Old Li, gesturing for him to be silent.

In Old Li’s confusion, Wang Cheng drew the blade strapped to his waist with a "swish" and plunged it into the ground.

With suspicion in his eyes, Old Li asked:

"What are you..."

"Just watch."

Wang Cheng gazed intently at the Spiritual Blade embedded in the city wall.

A silence hung over them,

as under their watchful eye, the blade began to shake.

It was like the tremor brought by a thousand horses. The ice crystals on the battlements cracked, thick snow cascaded down towards the base of the wall, and Wang Cheng and Old Li’s figures swayed with the movement. Cracks began to appear in the tower gate where they stood.

Looking back into the city, many homes had already collapsed under the quaking.

After a dozen breaths,

snow and dust from the fallen buildings dispersed, and everything returned to calm.

Upon the sturdy city wall, they exchanged a look.

Wang Cheng withdrew his blade and sheathed it, exhaling as he laughed:

"I thought it was an enemy attack, turns out it was just an earth dragon turning over."

Old Li glanced at Wang Cheng, who seemed relieved, and stroked his goatee, pulling his mouth into a grin: