Chapter 1998: Chapter 2099: Receiving the Mandate in Times of Peril

Everyone’s eyes fell on Xiang Yu. Ahead was a stretch of open plain, with nowhere at all to hide.

Let alone with people wounded like they were now, even if they were all in perfect shape, no one dared guarantee they could make it through safely.

Xiang Yu put Tie Zhuzi down, then looked at the City Guard Army and said, "You few take good care of him. Find a chance in a bit and hurry back to Lieyun City."

The City Guard soldiers looked at Xiang Yu in confusion and said, "Chief, what are you going to do?"

"You don’t need to ask about the rest." Xiang Yu finished speaking, then called the guards and turned to run back.

The City Guard Army stayed to look after Tie Zhuzi. Many of them were wounded, and after running that long just now, they were already running out of strength.

"What do you think the Chief went to do?" one of them asked, sitting down beside Tie Zhuzi.

The others just shook their heads. They were exhausted, and didn’t even want to think.

"Brother Yu, Brother Yu..."

Tie Zhuzi slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"The Chief went inside," one of them hurried forward and said.

"What for?" Tie Zhuzi asked weakly.

The City Guard soldiers all shook their heads. Xiang Yu’s eyes had been so resolute just now, they hadn’t dared ask too much.

Just then, a sudden explosion sounded in the distance, and right after that someone shouted.

"Grab them, they’re Xiang Yu’s men!"

A few more explosions followed. Sun City was thrown into chaos, and many of the surrounding guards rushed toward the center of Sun City.

"The Chief’s been exposed, let’s go get him!"

One of them jumped to his feet and shouted.

"Hold it." A squad leader said coolly, "Did you forget what the Chief just told us? If there’s a chance, get Chief Tie out. Right now is the best chance."

"But..."

"This is the chance the Chief created for us. We can’t waste it. You there, carry Chief Tie, we’re moving."

Tie Zhuzi was only clear-headed for a few minutes. Before he even understood what was going on, he was being carried off, running toward Lieyun City.

This was open plain, with no cover at all around them. If they were spotted, they’d be nothing but live targets.

But fortunately, even after running for so long, they still hadn’t been discovered.

"Stop! Hands in the air, all of you!"

Just as they were about to reach Lieyun City, a shout suddenly rang out from ahead.

"We’re all our own people. Chief Tie is wounded, he needs a doctor immediately."

The people hidden nearby heard that Tie Zhuzi was injured and all rushed out. They had a special bond with Tie Zhuzi.

"Get him to the base, quick," everyone urged anxiously.

At that moment someone grabbed the squad leader and asked, "Have you seen the Chief? Why isn’t he back yet?"

The squad leader quickly described what had happened. When the people around heard that Xiang Yu was still over there, they lost their composure and started clamoring to go look for him.

"All of you stop right there, what are you doing?" At that moment Xi’er’s younger brother Jieke stepped forward. He was now an outstanding squad leader in the City Guard Army.

"Since the Chief chose to do this, he definitely has his reasons. We can’t act rashly, or we’ll ruin his plan," Jieke shouted.

"Then what do we do, just wait here? What if something happens to the Chief?"

Jieke looked off into the distance and let out a sigh. "I believe in the Chief’s abilities. Nothing will happen to him."

The others had no pillar to lean on. Hearing Jieke say this, they all nodded, then went back to their posts.

Jieke shot off toward the base. He went straight to Xi’er’s office and told his sister what had happened.

After hearing it, Xi’er’s face changed. Xiang Yu was the soul of their entire organization. If anything happened to him, the whole organization would collapse.

"What do we do now?" Jieke asked anxiously.

"Don’t panic. Go back for now, I’ll discuss it with Long Wu," Xi’er said, then went to find Long Wu.

At that moment Long Wu was with Jackson discussing base matters. The construction of the base was basically complete; now it was all about strengthening the defenses.

"What did you say, Tie Zhuzi is back?" Long Wu asked, a little excited.

She said a few words to Jackson, then headed outside.

Xi’er followed behind her, saying, "I haven’t finished. Tie Zhuzi came back, but the Chief didn’t."

Long Wu’s heart clenched when she heard that. She turned and looked at Xi’er seriously. "What do you mean?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Xi’er quickly told her everything she knew. To draw the enemy’s attention, Xiang Yu had led a team to raid the enemy forces in Sun City.

Long Wu stood there stunned for a full minute before finally saying, "Don’t worry, he’ll definitely come back. I believe in him."

After speaking, Long Wu went to the infirmary. Tie Zhuzi was lying on the bed undergoing treatment, with four doctors operating on him.

"His arm?" When Long Wu saw the empty space where Tie Zhuzi’s arm should have been, she felt a stab of sorrow.

Xi’er saw it too, and her eyes turned red.

The operation lasted three hours before the four doctors finally came out.

The four of them had all been sent by Liu Yuhang, and each had excellent skills.

"How is he?" Long Wu was the first to step forward and ask.

"He has a very strong will to live. His condition has stabilized now, and there shouldn’t be any danger to his life. After some rest he’ll be able to get out of bed."

Long Wu let out a quiet breath of relief, then immediately felt a fresh pang of sorrow. "What about his arm?"

The doctor shook his head and sighed without speaking. Clearly the arm couldn’t be reattached.

Pain shot through Long Wu’s chest and she nearly lost her balance.

Tie Zhuzi was Xiang Yu’s close brother. She had no idea how Xiang Yu would react when he found out his arm was gone.

She and Xi’er came to sit at Tie Zhuzi’s bedside. Tie Zhuzi was snoring in his sleep, but his expression was tight, as if trapped in a nightmare.

"Zhuzi, no matter what, you have to stay strong and keep living," Long Wu said sadly.

Just then, people outside suddenly started running in a panic.

Xi’er hurried out and grabbed someone. "What’s going on? What happened?"

"The enemy is advancing from Sun City toward us," the man said, flustered.

Long Wu heard it too. She didn’t panic. Instead she stood up and pulled the blanket up over Tie Zhuzi. "Zhuzi, when Xiang Yu comes back, we’ll avenge you together."

Although Long Wu had always been in business, after following Xiang Yu for so long she was no stranger to the big picture.

With Xiang Yu absent, she decided to shoulder the heavy burden.

"I’ll go with you," Xi’er said, eyes burning as she looked at Long Wu.

Long Wu nodded, then strode out.

By now the City Guard Army, the Self-Defense Force, and the volunteers had all taken up the positions they’d rehearsed in advance.

But with Xiang Yu not in the base, they all felt an emptiness in their hearts.

"Call all the squad leaders over. I want to meet with them," Long Wu said from the watchtower of the base.

Xi’er nodded, then passed the order down...