Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

"Once this nail is driven in, there will be no going back."

"When did you start talking so much nonsense?"

"you……"

Shen Shuyan was so angry that he didn't even finish a sentence.

The sixth black nail fell, piercing Pei Jinghan's heart.

Pei Jinghan froze abruptly, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The soldiers of the Duanfeng Battalion on the city wall turned red with rage when they saw this scene.

"The seventh nail, locking the vital energy point!"

The black nail flew up and pierced Pei Jinghan's brow.

The eighth black nail hovered in front of Shen Shuyan. With a slight movement of his finger, the black nail moved forward as well.

Just then, Pei Jinghan suddenly spoke.

"Wait a moment!"

Shen Shuyan stopped what he was doing and noticed that Pei Jinghan's expression was rather unpleasant.

"It's no use calling a halt now; it's too late to regret it."

Upon hearing this, Pei Jinghan chuckled softly.

"You've known me for so many years, when have you ever seen me regret anything I've done?"

Shen Shuyan remained silent.

Pei Jinghan took a breath and his gaze fell on Qin Lie.

"I just have a few words I'd like to say to Qin Lie."

Qin Lie was startled, not expecting Pei Jinghan to suddenly call him out at this moment.

"Qin Lie, please don't forget what I told you before."

"I am here to express my gratitude."

Qin Lie felt a pang of sadness after hearing this.

Because when Pei Jinghan said this, he did not refer to himself as "this general" or put on airs of a first-rank martial artist; instead, he used his own name.

That means it wasn't an order at all.

It was just a dying man entrusting his last worry to someone else.

Before Qin Lie could speak, Pei Jinghan pointed to the long sword on the ground again.

That was his personal sword, the one he had used to kill monsters and even slay powerful demons.

Even now, though it has fallen to the ground, the blade still carries a sharp aura.

"I've had this Snowfall sword for many years, but I don't need it anymore, so I'm giving it to you as a thank you gift."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lie immediately waved his hand to indicate his refusal.

"General Pei, this is inappropriate."

"This is your knife, how could I..."

"Stop with all this fancy stuff."

Pei Jinghan interrupted him directly.

"I don't have much time left either. If you keep making excuses, I'll have to waste even more time persuading you."

Qin Lie opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed his words back.

Shen Shuyan raised his hand and beckoned.

The snowflakes on the ground trembled slightly and then flew to Qin Lie's front.

Qin Lie looked at the knife, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

This is no ordinary weapon; it is Pei Jinghan's sword, and also the sword of the commander of the Duanfeng Camp.

Qin Lie hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and took the long sword with both hands.

As soon as he held the knife, his wrist sank slightly; the knife was much heavier than he had imagined.

"General Pei, I will do my best to fulfill the promise I made to you."

Pei Jinghan looked at him, his gaze finally relaxing a little.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that."

After saying that, Pei Jinghan looked at Shen Shuyan again.

"Drop the nail."

Shen Shuyan stared at him for a moment.

This time, he didn't say anything more, took a deep breath, and pointed.

"The Eighth Nail, Suppress the Soul!"

Black nails flew out.

puff!

The eighth Wind-Breaking Nail pierced directly into Pei Jinghan's nape.

Pei Jinghan's reaction was not as strong as before.

He just shuddered, then his eyes went unfocused, and he stood there motionless.

"General Pei!"

Qin Lie called out instinctively.

"Stop shouting, he can't sense anything from the outside world anymore."

"The eight nails have been installed now, only the last nail is left."

At this point, Shen Shuyan turned to look at Qin Lie.

"You have to put this last nail in place."

Qin Lie then realized that Shen Shuyan hadn't left him here to protect them at all; what he really wanted to do was take this final step.

He was right. How could a mere seventh-rank peak cultivator protect two first-rank martial artists?

Qin Lie gripped the broken snow that Pei Jinghan had just given him.

"Where is the ninth nail? Where should it be inserted?"

Shen Shuyan looked at the drum platform in the central hall of Duanfeng Pass.

"The ninth nail will be delivered to you soon. Go to the drum platform and wait. Once the ninth nail is formed, you must nail it into the bottom of the drum platform as soon as possible."

"That is the foundation of the Broken Wind Formation. Only when this nail is placed there can Pei Jinghan and Broken Wind Pass be completely connected."

"Only in this way can we ensure that he will not leave the area of ​​Duanfeng Pass after he becomes the core of the formation."

Qin Lie originally wanted to ask why it had to be him who went.

But the words stuck in his throat.

Since he was chosen to do this, there must be a reason for doing it.

Shen Shuyan then turned to look at Li Tiezhu, who was not far away.

"Old Li!"

Li Tiezhu was panting with a knife in front of him when he heard Shen Shuyan call him, and he immediately looked up.

"exist!"

"I'm assigning you a task: escort Qin Lie to the Drum Platform!"

Li Tiezhu grinned.

"Don't worry, strategist. Even if it costs me my life, I will definitely get Qin Lie there."

Qin Lie glanced at Li Tiezhu.

"Brother Li..."

Li Tiezhu simply waved his hand.

"Stop talking nonsense and get going!"

Qin Lie shut his mouth, gripped Pei Jinghan's longsword with one hand, and supported his wounds with the other, following Li Tiezhu as they rushed towards the ancient platform in the central hall.

The drum platform wasn't actually that far from them, but they walked very slowly.

Because now the entire Duanfeng Pass is a battlefield where demons and soldiers of the Duanfeng Camp are fighting.

With each step forward, Qin Lie saw people fall. After walking for a while, Qin Lie couldn't help but look back.

Just then, I saw Shen Shuyan slowly rise into the air.

The Zhenguan Seal hung above his head, and a silvery-white light flowed continuously beneath the large seal.

Shen Shuyan's face was pale, but his voice carried clearly throughout the entire city wall.

"Brothers, General Pei has already driven eight Wind-Severing Nails into his body. Now we only need one more to complete the Wind-Severing Formation and win this war."

"And this last nail requires your flesh and blood, your very souls. Are you willing?"

After the sound faded, the city wall remained silent for only a brief moment.

"I do!"

Immediately afterwards, a second person shouted the same thing.

"I'd like to too!"

The third, the fourth...

Until the very end, everyone still able to speak on the city wall was screaming.

"willing!"

"willing!"

……

They didn't hesitate at all, and didn't even glance at each other.

The brief silence earlier was to allow the other comrades to hear what the strategist was saying.

Qin Lie stood at a distance watching this scene, feeling as if his heart had been squeezed hard.

He knew that the people of the Broken Wind Camp were not afraid of death, because he had witnessed their determination in the past few days.

But he didn't expect that when the final moment really came, they would agree so quickly.

No one bargained, and no one asked why it had to be them.

Shen Shuyan only said that he needed them, and they immediately agreed.

Qin Lie's fingers tightened their grip on the knife handle.

He suddenly realized that his understanding of the word "sacrifice" was too superficial. He realized that there really are people who would willingly give up their lives for the sake of those unseen people behind them.

A soldier from the Duanfeng Camp, his face covered in blood, suddenly burst into laughter.

"I grew up in Duanfeng Pass from the time I was born."

"I used to play behind this wall when I was a child, and now I've been guarding this wall all my life."

"Now that I'm dead, I can still guard this wall, so I have no regrets."

After saying this, he picked up his broken longsword and charged directly at the blood corpse demon puppet in front of him.

As the Blood Corpse Demon Puppet's claws slammed down, the soldier not only didn't dodge, but instead slammed his body into them.

The next moment, a dark red light shone from his body.

boom!

He exploded right in front of the Blood Corpse Demon Puppet.

Flesh and blood, qi and blood, and broken sword fragments all transformed into a beam of red light that shot into the sky.

The blood-corpse demon puppet was blasted and staggered backward.

Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second.

"Old Zhang, you can't steal all the limelight! Wait for me!"

Another soldier from the Broken Wind Camp charged forward, laughing loudly.

boom!

Then, the third one.

the fourth.

More and more soldiers of the Broken Wind Camp began to charge towards the Blood Corpse Demon Puppet.

They knew they couldn't kill the monsters with their blasts, but they just wanted to inflict as much damage as possible on the monsters in front of them before they died.

Qin Lie's eyes stung as he watched this scene.

He used to think that the so-called fearlessness of death was mostly just a slogan.

When it comes to the point of death, people are always afraid.

But today he witnessed firsthand a group of people who showed no fear in the face of death.

These soldiers are different from those who sacrificed themselves in the previous battles against the demon race; today, these soldiers died voluntarily.

At that moment, Qin Lie suddenly understood why the people of Dongxuan City were able to live and work in peace despite the rampage of the demon race.

Because they are protected by a group of people with faith.

In mid-air, Shen Shuyan's hand gestures became faster and faster.

The blood, broken armor, and fragments of broken swords that had been destroyed were all drawn upwards by the Zhenguan Seal, gradually gathering below it.

The previously empty space is now beginning to show the outline of a black nail.

The black nail wasn't fully formed yet, but Qin Lie could already feel its weight.

This single nail carries the hopes of everyone in the Broken Wind Camp.

Li Tiezhu also saw the outline of the black nail, turned his gaze away, and called out to Qin Lie.

"Kid, stop looking and let's go! The strategist's side is doing well, we can't let him down here."

Qin Lie then came to his senses and quickened his pace.

Li Tiezhu walked in front of him, his right hand still tied to the knife.

He could barely walk steadily, but he still acted as carefree as ever.

"Kid, if you ever have the chance to go back to Dongxuan City, remember to go to Li Family Town, which is thirty miles east of the city."

"At a time like this, you still have the mind to talk about this?"

Li Tiezhu chuckled.

"If I don't say it now, I'm afraid I won't have the chance later."

"There's a liquor shop at the entrance of Lijia Town that sells the most authentic baijiu."

"When you get there, just drink. After you're done, give this to the boss, and he definitely won't charge you for the drinks."

As he spoke, Li Tiezhu took out a piece of iron from his pocket and handed it to Qin Lie.

"I said I'd treat you to a drink, and I absolutely won't go back on my word."

Qin Lie glanced at the piece of iron with a look of disgust, but still reached out and took it, solemnly placing it in his pocket.

"I don't believe a piece of metal can cover the cost of alcohol."

"After this battle is over, let's go for a drink together, and you'll prove it to me."

"Keep this here for now, I'll keep it safe for you."

Li Tiezhu glanced at Qin Lie, neither refuting nor agreeing.

He just grinned.