Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

"You… what are you…" Nan Luo wanted to ask why Nan Hua was here, but all of the words were stuck in his throat. He knew very well that Nan Hua had higher skills than him and that she would be able to protect herself better.

But it didn't change the fact that he was still her older twin brother. He didn't want to see Nan Hua in this place where she could get hurt at any moment.

"Nan's task is to protect you, Young Master," Nan Hua repeated.

Nan Luo was silent.

Feng Ao Kuai was silently calculating the distance from the High Pass to the Capital City. There were still a few days' journey and even if Nan Hua was fast, it meant that she must have heard the news from at least four to five days ago to be able to reach here at this point of time.

They had only received news five days ago because of the lack of manpower and also the obvious smoke from Han Zhong City. If not for the Wind City reporting to the High Pass, they might not know about the matter. Information should have only arrived in the Capital City around three to four days ago.

For Nan Hua to be able to receive the news faster than them showed that she must have another means to gather the information.

"You're fast, Nan," Feng Ao Kuai commented on another matter.

Nan Hua looked at Feng Ao Kuai then passed another look at Nan Luo. "Commander Feng is resting and will participate in the battle along with General Long and General Chi. Young Master didn't have to worry about him."

"Ah, I thought he didn't survive in Wind City." Feng Ao Si was stunned.

Feng Ao Kuai looked at his older brother and felt glad that they were having private discussion like this. If other people were to hear what he was saying, Feng Ao Si's head might not stay intact on his shoulder anymore.

Dai, Feng Ao Si's strategist, also lowered his head. He grew increasing regretful for his decision to become Feng Ao Si's strategist. With that kind of head, it would only take some time before he eventually fell into some kind of problems.

"Commander Feng abandoned his post and retreated with the soldiers to the valley. He also brought the necessary information about the enemy's strength." Nan Hua glossed the matter over.

In truth, Commander Feng was likely to be court-martialed if only they were not in a pressing matter. For him to abandon the Wind City so fast meant that he was very incompetent. In truth, he could have slowed the army down by another day, but it was not what he did as he instead abandoned his post when the enemy came.

The generals were all angry, but they said nothing.

For now.

They needed everyone who could fight to fight. And with the High Pass already closed, Commander Feng wouldn't be able to retreat even if he wanted to. The only escape route would be through the mountain but there were a lot of soldiers stationed there from various army.

Everyone had gathered here, ready to fight for their deaths.

"Nan, do you have the list of enemies we're going to face?" Feng Ao Kuai asked. He knew that Nan Hua had her means of gathering information, so he tried to ask.

"Yes. From Zhang Xu Kingdom, Prime Minister Lei is leading. From the two Heavenly General, General Zhang come. There are also General Yu and General Kang along with several other commanders." Nan Hua was calm.

"A Heavenly General come?" Nan Luo was dumbfounded.

Every kingdom had their own rules of naming their talented general. Fei Yang Kingdom and Fan Yi Kingdom used the term 'Great' while Zhang Xu Kingdom and Shi Long Kingdom used the term Heavenly. Wei Da Kingdom used the term River. Lastly, Qi Xi Kingdom hadn't used such term anymore ever since their crushing defeat more than a decade ago.

"Yes. This is a battle of existence for Fei Yang Kingdom. If we lose, we'll lose everything." Feng Ao Kuai's face was grim. He understood more because of his observation and realized that the other kingdoms' purpose was simply to destroy them all. By destroying Fei Yang Kingdom, they would be able to divide their territory.

As for why they made their move?

Wasn't it because of the current Emperor of Fei Yang Kingdom? Rumors about how the tide was turning in his favor after the failed rebellions and the fact that the Second Prince's faction was supporting him had been circulating. He would be of age soon and at that time, it would be too late for them to make a move once he had consolidated his power.

They had to move as fast as possible.

And that was how this battle come by.

They had to survive and won. There were no other alternatives if they wished to stay alive.

"How about the others?"

"From Wei Da Kingdom, Prince Fan is leading the troops. He's accompanied by River General Pan and River General Kui. In his ranks, there are also General Pan and General Nan."

"General Nan?" Nan Luo blinked his eyes.

"The text is written differently. You're not thinking of your father, did you?"

"For a moment, that did cross my mind."

"…"

Nan Luo laughed sheepishly. He did think of that, but he really didn't know why. Probably, it was because people who had the same surname as them was rare.

"Young Master Luo is correct. By relationship, they're your distant cousins."

At this sentence, Nan Luo's face turned harsh. "How in the world did they become part of Wei Da Kingdom?"

"Nan Family used to be a big family and in your great great grandfather era, there are some wars that split the family. Some of them lived in Fei Yang Kingdom while the rest live in Wei Da Kingdom."

Recalling the history lesson his grandfather had given him, Nan Luo sighed. "Forget it, it's not like it matter anymore. How about the other 3 kingdoms?"