Chapter Eight: A Pyrrhic Victory

Just as Sun Li was still dazed, completely unaware of the impending danger, Little White's voice echoed in his mind: "Lord, quickly organize the defense—the enemy leader is charging over here with fifty gnoll warriors!"

Sun Li snapped back to his senses, shifting his gaze away from the gnoll troops who were being attacked from both flanks. He saw a tall and imposing gnoll leader leading dozens of his clansmen in a charge, now only a few dozen paces away!

"All swordsmen, form up and defend!" Sun Li shouted at the top of his lungs.

No sooner had the swordsmen formed their defensive lines than—bang, bang, bang—the gnoll squad crashed directly into the square shields of the swordsmen. Three were flung into the air, landing with blood bubbling from their mouths, clearly beyond saving.

Yet there was comfort in the absolute loyalty of the system soldiers. The lord's life always ranked first in their order of priorities. With the lord just behind them, these rigid yet awe-inspiring warriors fought with a desperate resolve, abandoning all defense and using an all-or-nothing strategy—trading life for life, stabbing and slashing with reckless abandon.

Even Battlewolf was stunned by this suicidal exchange, thinking, "These warriors would be considered elite among even the greatest beastmen!" But no matter how worthy of respect the enemy might be, an enemy was an enemy—the best enemy was a dead enemy. So Battlewolf quickly adjusted his mindset and continued his slaughter.

While Battlewolf regained his composure swiftly, the other gnolls were not so quick-witted. Fear gripped them, their morale plummeted, and the fearless swordsmen slaughtered these so-called elite gnolls, driving them to wails of despair.

Battlewolf never imagined that his most elite guards would break and run! Yes, as casualties reduced their numbers to a dozen or so, these gnoll guards lost their nerve, turned tail, and fled even faster than they had charged, thinking only: Get away from these demons—they're not human! What kind of creature has no fear of death like this?

Still, even as the gnoll guards fled, Battlewolf and his squad managed to kill over thirty swordsmen! If these guards had been as fearless as Sun Li's swordsmen, Sun Li would have surely been chatting with the Buddha in the afterlife by now.

But the battle was not over. Battlewolf was unwilling—deeply unwilling—to accept defeat. His fury at the betrayal of his guards and the grief for his fallen kin all transformed into a violent rage, propelling him relentlessly toward Sun Li, ignoring the myriad wounds inflicted upon his back.

It was clear now: when a low-level knight fought desperately for his life, these swordsmen, who possessed only the combat prowess of knight trainees, could not withstand him.

When Battlewolf, bleeding from over a dozen wounds, appeared before Sun Li, only two swordsmen remained by his side; the rest were desperately fleeing behind Battlewolf toward their lord.

At this moment, Sun Li, too, was stirred to a fierce resolve—if death was inevitable, at least let him drag his opponent down with him. Let’s see who falls first!

Sun Li drew his rapier, aiming a strike at Battlewolf’s neck. Battlewolf, still unsteady, could only forcefully knock aside the deadly blade. Though Sun Li timed it well, his strength and speed were far inferior to Battlewolf’s; Battlewolf easily deflected the sword, sending it flying from Sun Li’s grip and numbing his hand from the shock. Battlewolf, out of habit, lashed out with a kick, sending Sun Li soaring through the air, his insides feeling as though they’d turned upside down. After a painful collision with the ground, Sun Li nearly lost consciousness, and found it suddenly much harder to get up.

"Is this how I go?" Sun Li thought, unwilling to accept his fate.

Battlewolf was not about to let this opportunity slip away. In a few moments, a dozen swordsmen would catch up, and given his own battered state, he would be easily chopped to pieces. He had to kill this hated enemy who had pushed him so far before he died!

Battlewolf strode forward, raising his machete, and swung it mercilessly at Sun Li, who lay prone on the ground. As Sun Li closed his eyes, waiting for death, a hot, foul-smelling liquid splashed across his face. He opened his eyes in confusion and saw that one swordsman had blocked the fatal blow for him, while the other seized the moment as Battlewolf withdrew his blade and stabbed him in the chest, pushing him back over a meter.

Battlewolf, regaining his senses, howled in agony and chopped off the swordsman's head. Yet in that brief delay, the remaining swordsmen surged forward—seven or eight blades pierced Battlewolf from all directions. Suddenly, the once vigorous Battlewolf froze; as the blades were withdrawn, his body, riddled with wounds, spurted fresh fountains of blood.

"Damn it, just a bit more!" Battlewolf fell with eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.

Sun Li felt as if he had died and been reborn; the swordsmen's self-sacrifice replayed in his mind again and again.

"They bleed, they die, but they’ll lay down their lives for me without hesitation!" Sun Li thought, grief-stricken.

From this moment on, Sun Li seemed transformed. No more foolish smiles, no more idle fantasies, no more pointless complaints. The carefree attitude of his past vanished like the wind, heralding the death of the old Sun Li and the birth of a cold, iron-hearted new self.

Sun Li was lifted to his feet by the swordsmen, his expression calm, but if one looked closely, a glimmer of tears could be seen at the corner of his eyes. It was the first time he had cried since arriving in this strange world, and Sun Li believed it would be the last—for tears were for needless deaths, and from now on, he would not tolerate such meaningless losses.

He staggered across the battlefield, gazing at the bodies strewn everywhere, the blood-soaked earth. No nausea, no vomiting, and certainly no relief.

Sun Li felt only a heavy sense of responsibility—for the lives of his soldiers. If he hadn’t foolishly ordered the spearmen to charge prematurely, if he hadn’t sent the foot archers into close combat with the gnolls—so many mistakes, so much regret. There would not have been such horrific casualties.

"From now on, I am the empire, and the empire is me. Whoever harms my army, no matter how far, will be punished!" Sun Li swore silently to himself.

"Beastmen, I will wipe you out in this life, to appease the souls of my fallen soldiers!" Sun Li murmured.

"Report, Lord, the beastman army has collapsed. Should we pursue? How shall we handle the prisoners? (Under Ryan's command, the spearmen managed to capture some prisoners.)" Ryan inquired.

Sun Li uttered just two words: "Pursue! Kill!"

"Yes, my lord!" Ryan turned to relay the orders.

The defeated Wild Wolf tribe was hunted for two days and nights; fewer than one in ten survived, and the Wild Wolf tribe was forever erased from the ranks of the beastmen.