The night wind was a bit chilly, even sitting in front of the bonfire.
But Han Hu still looked at Chen Chao firmly and repeated, "No matter what, this isn't something you have to face alone."
In his early years, he was a border soldier on that Great Wall in the North, and he knew one thing best: one could not abandon their comrades at any time, let alone let one of their comrades face the dangers alone.
Chen Chao had originally already stood up, but sensing that the aura had diminished significantly, he sat back down in front of the bonfire. Listening to Han Hu speak, he furrowed his brows and said, "Why should you all go to die in vain?"
Perhaps he would not have said such words before, but by now, he had developed some feelings for Han Hu and the rest of the martial artists.
Especially for Han Hu.
This old martial artist was a genuinely good person.
Through him, Chen Chao even became curious about the Northern Frontier Army.
That was a military force that had always been in the most important position in Great liang Dynasty for over two hundred years. Each year, basically half of the taxes were allocated to the Northern Frontier. Countless elite soldiers were selected to serve in the North every year and many cultivators nurtured by the Great Liang Dynasty would also be sent there.
If not for this, there probably would not have been over two hundred years of peace in the Great Liang Dynasty.
Chen Chao glanced into the distance. Those eyes were still lurking in the darkness, but it had already dimmed considerably.
But they were still there.
It was currently the late hours of the night.
Chen Chao looked at the bonfire and said, "I used to think that all things in the world should be solved by oneself, and no one would help you."
Hearing this, Han Hu was suddenly a little angry as he said, "When we were in the north, we were all together as brothers. How could such a thing happen?"
Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "That makes a lot of sense. I actually changed my thinking when I met a girl at that time."
Hearing this, Han Hu suddenly laughed and said, "That girl is probably the girl you like."
Chen Chao did not refute it. Nodding his head, he said, "She's the girl I like."
When he was talking, he could not help but miss that girl, not hiding his feelings at all.
Han Hu smiled and said, "Since you have a girl you like, you should never think about something like dying so easily. After all... isn't it good to be alive?"
Chen Chao pondered for a moment and said, "Elder Brother, you're right."
Han Hu nodded and said, "In fact, if anyone has to die, it should be old things like us. Let you young ones live on. After all, you'll definitely become stronger than me in a couple more years, won't you?"
Chen Chao smiled and asked, "What if one day, we were told that we had to choose one person to die to ensure the other person's survival, how should we decide?"
Han Hu did not hesitate for long upon hearing this question. The firelight illuminated his weather-beaten face as he told Chen Chao very seriously, "If I must choose someone to die between the two of us, I would definitely choose to die."
Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, rather interested as he said, "Does Elder Brother know how I would choose?"
Han Hu looked puzzled, how could he possibly know what was in the mind of this young man?
"I would say, screw you, there's no reason for anyone else to die while you live. Then we would fight with all our might. In the end, whoever dies would just be unlucky."
Hearing this, Han Hu burst into laughter and then could not help but cough loudly. The sound was very loud, reverberating until the bonfire seemed to be blown by the wind.
But a moment later, the wind really started blowing.
That bonfire was about to be extinguished by the strong wind.
A bone-piercing chill flooded out from the woods.
Han Hu widened his eyes and quickly gripped his saber. He naturally knew what was about to happen.
Chen Chao let out a sigh. This was the worst situation, but it happened nonetheless.
He reached his hand out to press on his saber hilt, his thumb started continuously stroke the saber hilt.
The broken saber was now even sharper than before.
He had also become more stronger than before.
But at this moment, he still lacked confidence in his heart.
Because he was very clear that the terrifying demon hidden in the dark night seemed like it would definitely be above Divine Trove Realm.
Even though he had defeated Song Changxi who was in the Bitter Sea Realm, it did not mean he could kill a Bitter Sea Realm demon.
During the battle by the lake, Song Changxi lost, but it did not mean that Song Changxi was stronger than a Bitter Sea Realm demon.
Compared to cultivators of the same realm, demons at the same cultivation realm would likely be even stronger...
Han Hu drew his saber.
That was a very sharp straight saber. This kind of saber had been circulating in the frontier army of the Great Liang Dynasty for over two hundred years. Each year, after the blacksmiths from the Ministry of Works studied the constitution of demons, they would make improvements to this type of straight saber. Han Hu had left the frontier army many years ago, this saber was something he took with him back then.
This saber was not the latest style in the border army, but it had been Han Hu's old companion for many years. It was something he could not bear to part with no matter what.
Chen Chao looked at his saber and also drew out his saber.
Actually, they had always been curious about what kind of saber was hidden in that ordinary saber sheathe, including Han Hu.
During the previous few demon attacks, Chen Chao never drew his saber, because he did not need to.
But this time, he would likely need to.
Therefore, Han Hu was observing Chen Chao's actions seriously. But when he saw Chen Chao draw out a broken saber, he was rather surprised.
Chen Chao's broken saber was only half the length of a normal straight saber. It had a snow-white blade emitting a chilling air. At a glance, one could tell it was a good sword, but unfortunately, it was broken.
Other than the usual body tempering, what a martial artist like Han Hu loved the most was the saber in his hand. Seeing Chen Chao's broken saber, he would naturally feel a bit sorry for it.
Chen Chao glanced at him, feeling the regret in his eyes, and said rather helplessly, "I also want to find a place to recast it, but it seems that place has no interest in sabers."
The place Chen Chao was referring to was undoubtedly the Sword Qi Mountain. That place had the best flying swords in the world, and the best swordsmiths in the world.
Actually, the best swordsmiths were undoubtedly capable of forging things other than swords.
However, how could the Sword Qi Mountain possibly recast a saber?
If this spread, people would find it absurdly hilarious.
Chen Chao rubbed his wrists.
"But, Elder Brother actually doesn't need to get involved."
As he spoke, a black shadow finally rushed out from the darkness. That pair of crimson eyes looked particularly terrifying at this moment.
Chen Chao stepped forward, suddenly exerted force with his whole body, and charged towards that black shadow.
The body of a demon had always been extraordinarily tough. When the average cultivator encountered demons, they would never think to clash head-on with the demon at such close range. But martial artists had always been a special existence among cultivators. Tempering their bodies was the most frequent thing they did. As such, in terms of body toughness, it was also naturally what others could not compare to.
But even so, choosing to clash head-on with a demon using his body was not a good choice in Han Hu's opinion.
That indistinct black shadow opened its mouth wide and countless waves of energy poured out.
A strong wind suddenly arose.
Chen Chao gripped the broken saber in his hand tightly and slammed into the shadow with his shoulder.
A violent sound erupted.
Amidst Han Hu's astonished gaze, that black shadow was sent flying back into the dense forest.
Numerous trees were crushed. One after another, large trees fell to the ground with a loud bang.
The loud noise startled those martial artists awake.
But when they looked up, the darkness made it hard to see clearly.
Han Hu did not hesitate. He carried the saber in his hand and ran towards the dense forest.
Everyone else exchanged glances. But soon, each of them also picked up their weapons and chased after.
They might not know what happened, but seeing Han Hu charge ahead, they would follow too.
This was trust.
Unconditional trust.
This kind of trust was not something that could be built overnight. It was the result of countless battles fought side by side.
