The clash of steel dimmed beneath the eerie horn blast.
Jeng Minh tightened his grip on Zhou Chen's spear. Soldiers around him slowed, hesitant, glancing toward the northern woods where the newcomers marched in uncanny silence.
General Feng stepped forward, jaw clenched."My lord… I have never seen that formation before."
Neither had Jeng Minh—but the unease prickling his skin felt oddly familiar, like a half-remembered plotline from the novel he had once read. Except… this wasn't in the novel.
The newcomers advanced in perfect rows, armor lacquered black, faces masked. No crest, no colors, no clan symbols. Their movements were too disciplined, too unified—like a single organism.
A murmur rippled through Zhou Chen's troops.
"Are they reinforcements?""No clan marches without a banner…""Why do they move like that?""They march as if they don't fear death—"
Jeng Minh raised a hand, silencing them.
The enemy—now routed thanks to the cavalry strike—had already broken rank and fled at the sight of the bannerless legion. Even the ambushers who had come to kill Zhou Chen were scrambling away in panic.
Which meant only one thing.
This new force wasn't here for them.
They were here for him.
A figure stepped out from the silent ranks. Taller than the others, clad in dark robes beneath his armor. His mask was different—white bone etched with scarlet sigils.
He stopped ten paces from Jeng Minh, boots sinking slightly into the charred grass.
Then he bowed.
Not deeply.Just enough to signal recognition—and danger.
"Warlord Zhou," the masked figure said, his voice calm and oddly resonant. "The time has come."
Jeng Minh's blood ran cold.
"Time… for what?"
The masked man tilted his head. "For your awakening."
General Feng instinctively placed a hand on his sword. "Identify yourself!"
The masked man ignored him completely. His attention stayed on Jeng Minh.
"Why do you pretend, Iron Wolf? Your soul no longer hides its unfamiliar scent. We knew the moment you opened your eyes."
Jeng Minh's heart slammed against his ribs.
They know I'm not Zhou Chen.
He forced himself not to flinch. "You've mistaken me."
"Have I?"The man's voice sharpened."The real Zhou Chen died three times tonight—once by poison, once by blade, and once by destiny. Yet here you stand."
General Feng spun toward Jeng Minh, eyes widening.
"My lord… what does he mean?"
Jeng Minh swallowed hard. He couldn't tell the truth—not yet. Not here. Not with the army listening.
The masked man slowly raised a hand. "Come with us. The Legion has waited centuries for the one who would inherit the vessel of the Iron Wolf."
Vessel.
Not title.
Not legacy.
Vessel.
Everything suddenly clicked into place—the unnatural discipline of their march, their lack of banners, the arcane sigils on the leader's mask.
These were not ordinary soldiers.They were not written in the original story.And whatever they wanted… it had nothing to do with kingdoms or wars.
General Feng drew his sword fully now, voice low and dangerous."My lord, step back."
The bannerless soldiers shifted, hands moving to weapons in perfect unison.
Jeng Minh realized something critical:
If a fight broke out, Zhou Chen's exhausted army—still recovering from the ambush—would be crushed.
He needed to buy time.He needed to understand who these people were.He needed to survive.
So he did the only thing he could.
He stepped forward.
"Tell me," he said, meeting the masked leader's gaze. "If you know what happened to Zhou Chen… then tell me this—what do you want from me?"
The masked man's posture eased, ever so slightly.
"At last, the right question."
He raised two fingers—and the entire legion knelt as one, their armor clattering in unison like a thunderclap.
Even Feng Yao faltered.
Jeng Minh stood frozen.
The masked leader lowered his head.
"We kneel," he said, "to the soul reborn in the Iron Wolf's body."
Wind swept across the scorched clearing. Flames crackled. Soldiers stared.
And Jeng Minh—who hours ago was just an office worker—found hundreds of kneeling warriors waiting for his command.
The masked man spoke once more, voice echoing like a prophecy:
"Rise, Zhou Chen—or whatever name you claim. For from this night forward… your war truly begins."