Chapter 1

The hooked knife, to open the pouch;

The broad-handled knife, to slay the demons;

Skin the demons, extract their sinews, and earn merit as a good lad...

The tune of this folk song was peculiar but not hard to learn. Even if one had never sung it before, they would pick it up after hearing it a couple of times.

Behind a section of the wall, a dozen men sat on the ground in a circle. They were all covered in blood, their armor and clothes torn, with weapons by their sides and rations in their hands. They ate and rested.

"Stop singing that nonsense!"

"Mind your own business! I love to sing!"

"Tsk, tsk, let Huagou sing if he wants to. He’s got three demon sinews now, hoping to exchange them for silver to send home to his wife by the end of the month. He’s happy about it!"

"Three?! Huagou, you scoundrel, you’re doing great! This time you can buy two more plots of land! But you’d better be careful. If you get the land and then lose your life, those plots will go to someone else, and that would be a huge loss!"

"If you curse me again, I’ll take your sinews too!"

"Ha ha ha, Huagou, don’t be afraid. The more you fear, the faster you’ll die. Didn’t Fengzi say a word yesterday? Hey, Fengzi, what was that word you said yesterday?"

"To live by facing death. Also, my name is Zhang Yan, can you please not call me Fengzi?"

"Right, right, to live by facing death! That’s a good word! To live by facing death! On this Fishback Mountain, this word is really fitting!"

Zhang Yan could only smile bitterly at being called "Fengzi." He knew the temperaments of the people around him, especially their stubbornness in giving nicknames. It seemed he would have to keep the name "Fengzi."

He chewed on the dry, hard bread in his hand, washing it down with water. Although it wasn’t tasty, it wasn’t so bad that it made him gag. After all, even if he were given a feast now, Zhang Yan wouldn’t be able to eat it. He wasn’t used to the killing like the men around him, and his stomach still churned.

Four days ago, Zhang Yan was in a tomb in the Earthly Tianzhu Kingdom, helping a group of tomb raiders. A mistake led to him being enveloped by a black mist and instantly turned to ashes, which should have been certain death. But when he opened his eyes, he found himself in the Fishback Mountain fortress, scared stiff and forced to pick up a spear and fight for his life.

By the standards of the novels he had read on Earth, he was now a soul transmigrator. His body’s previous owner was a convict soldier who had never seen a battlefield and died of fright, after which Zhang Yan took over.

Fortunately, this body was incredibly strong, and with the basic martial arts skills Zhang Yan brought from Earth, he managed to master the combat techniques on the wall and survive. He also pieced together the world around him from the residual memories in his body and the idle chatter of the rough men around him.

This world was called the Wasteland Domain, and the Fishback Mountain fortress where Zhang Yan now found himself was on the border of a country called "Nanyuan." To the west, it bordered the demon race, and the border was always in a state of war.

The demon race was powerful, and even their minor incursions were a huge strain on Nanyuan. Every year, a large number of strong laborers were stationed at various fortresses along the border, and the casualty rate was extremely high.

Therefore, Nanyuan had a "flexible" law. Every year, young and strong convicts would be sent to the front lines as convict soldiers. Convict soldiers who collected three demon sinews could have their sentences reduced by one level. Once their sentences were cleared, they could regain civilian status and choose to return home or stay in the border garrison to earn a living.

Many of the rough men in Zhang Yan’s unit were former convict soldiers who had their sentences reduced and then chose to stay as regular soldiers. The main reason was that with good luck, one could earn enough to start a family in a year.

However, Zhang Yan was far from that. He had only been there for four days, and his crimes were severe. According to Huagou, his first priority should be to survive, and he didn’t need to worry about demon sinews yet.

The rest period was only as long as a meal, after which they had to go back to the wall. Two teams guarded a section of the wall, with a total of thirty-five men. The teams took turns resting.

The wall was only about ten feet high, and a nimble person could climb it with some effort. But they weren’t dealing with humans; they were dealing with demons.

Demon soldiers!

"Fengzi, why are you still shaking? Haven’t you gotten used to it in these few days?"

"......My name is Zhang Yan."

"Ha ha ha, you’re Zhang Yan outside, but here you’re Fengzi. Who makes you mumble to yourself on the battlefield? Aren’t you just like those madmen?"

"......" Zhang Yan was speechless. He was reciting a spell! How could these people not understand? A good Daoist spell, but in their mouths, it became mad talk, completely unreasonable.

"Don’t want to end up like Liu Mazi with a flower on your head? Keep your head down, don’t show it!"

"Okay!"

Zhang Yan tightened his grip on the spear. Although he had experienced many battles in the past few days, he still hadn’t fully adapted, but at least he wasn’t trembling anymore.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Sharp whistling sounds passed over their heads. These were ironwood spears thrown from below. Liu Mazi, the one with a "flower" on his head, had been hit in the face by one of these spears, and half his head was instantly shattered by the impact.

They had to wait, not act rashly, until the drum sounded.

The enemy had ironwood spears, and the wall had arrows in response. The whistling sounds in their ears were like whispers of death, forcing Zhang Yan to crouch even lower. At this moment, only the wall’s parapet could give him some comfort.

"Boom! Boom! Boom......"

"The drum! Stand up, raise your spear! They’re coming!"

Zhang Yan almost reflexively stood up from his crouched position, holding his spear horizontally at chest level, one hand gripping the shaft forward and the other backward, the spear tip poised to strike downward from the edge of the parapet, his muscles tense, even the veins on his neck standing out.

"Roar!"

The moment Zhang Yan took his stance, a black shadow leaped up from outside the wall. By the moonlight and the huge bonfire on the wall, he could see the creature had a huge mouth with sharp teeth, a head covered in mottled fur, and vertical pupils, standing at least two heads taller than Zhang Yan.

This was a demon soldier!

Zhang Yan thrust his spear with all his might at the creature’s head, muttering: "Heaven and Earth, the source of all qi. Cultivate through countless ages, to prove my divine power......"

"Thud!"

The spear pierced the creature’s eye socket, feeling soft at first, then hard, and he twisted it before pulling it out with force.

No one but Zhang Yan noticed that as he recited the spell, a faint golden light flowed over his skin, transforming into strength that disappeared with each thrust of his spear.

At first, Zhang Yan hadn’t noticed it. Scared almost to the point of wetting himself, he had merely recited the Daoist "Golden Light Spell" out of habit, which he had used to make a living on the streets. But after reciting it many times, it actually worked, and it was the reason he had survived the intense battles so far.

Killing one or two demon soldiers wasn’t the end; it was the beginning of a battle.

"Watch out! On the right! You, watch the right! They’re coming! Backup! Backup, take care of that bastard! Hurry!"

The wall was crowded with soldiers, but there were always gaps or breaches. The demon soldiers that leaped up needed to be dealt with by the backup team. But the backup team wasn’t enough, and if too many gaps or too many demon soldiers appeared, they couldn’t handle it. So the soldiers on the wall sometimes had to form their own formations to deal with the breaches, not only holding them but also plugging them.

The strength of the demon soldiers far exceeded that of ordinary soldiers. They could easily cut a person in half with a single swing of their large swords, and their tough skin, combined with armor, made it difficult to kill them unless you aimed for their eyes, necks, or other vulnerable spots.

"Fengzi, go to the right! They can’t hold it there!"

Zhang Yan gritted his teeth and nodded, not thinking much. On the wall, there was no distinction between you, me, and him; everyone was fighting for their lives. If the defense broke, everyone would die.

The right side was only about fifteen feet away. Three men were already lying on the ground, their stomachs torn open, their intestines spilling out. In their panic, they tried to pick them up and stuff them back in, but they soon fell silent.

"Heaven and Earth, the source of all qi. Purify the impurities, the void is clear, the light is bright......"

Zhang Yan gripped his spear tightly, his eyes fixed on the back of the neck of the demon soldier that had leaped onto the wall, reciting a different spell.

Invisibly, the sound of the spell was like the buzzing of flies, something ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but the demon soldier shuddered and seemed to weaken.

"Kill!"

Zhang Yan seized the opportunity, thrusting his spear with great force. The spear tip pierced the demon soldier’s neck, sinking in five inches with a "thud."

Seeing Zhang Yan’s success, the surrounding soldiers roared and followed, thrusting their spears, most aiming for the head. Taking advantage of the demon soldier’s injured neck, they stabbed it in the eyes and even the mouth, and it fell to the ground, its head shattered, twitching a few times before it stopped breathing.

"It seems the 'Purify the World Spell' really works on these demon soldiers!" Zhang Yan had only a moment to feel excited before he heard Huagou’s call again. He hurried back to his previous position and resumed the mechanical act of killing.