Chapter 1: Final Stand
"Go! Kill him! He's out of strength!"
"Kill!"
On a small island, hundreds of Japanese soldiers screamed hysterically as they charged toward the man at the center. No — not a man. More accurately, he was just a boy. Though his body looked fully grown, his face revealed he was at most seventeen or eighteen years old.
His deep black eyes were bottomless. Beneath his messy short hair was a strikingly handsome face, sharp and chiseled like it had been carved by a blade. He gave off an aura of iron-blooded resolve.
His name was Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming watched the oncoming Japanese soldiers with a bloodthirsty smile on his lips.
"Hah! You want to kill me? How laughable! My life isn't something you Japanese ants can take. Not even the heavens can do anything to me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the slaughter began again.
Jiang Ming raised his ancient sword once more. A terrifying killing intent erupted from his body, like an ancient beast ready to devour everything in sight.
In an instant, he met the Japanese soldier at the front. His sword thrust forward with unstoppable momentum. The soldier reacted quickly, raising his blade with all his strength. In his eyes, Jiang Ming was already at his limit.
He was wrong.
With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Ming's black ancient sword pierced straight into the soldier's chest, stabbing through his heart.
Blood sprayed. Jiang Ming charged into the crowd with a cruel grin. He weaved left and right, and in moments, several more lives were extinguished.
The Japanese soldiers had grown numb to his ferocity. Even when their comrades' bodies fell right in front of them, they didn't falter. Yet no matter how many they killed, more kept coming — seemingly endless.
Jiang Ming knew his comrades, his brothers, had already sacrificed themselves for the country. The smiles they once shared were gone forever. Now he stood alone.
He suddenly laughed — a desolate, mad laugh.
"Hahahaha! You little Japanese devils from the Sakura Group, you didn't expect this, did you? No matter how perfectly you planned it, we still tore your conspiracy apart! Haha!"
"Zhulong, don't get too cocky," a middle-aged Japanese man shouted. "Even if the Empire failed this time, your Great Xia Dragon Sparrow has also been wiped out! Tell me… if other countries find out, can China still stay peaceful?"
"I don't know if China will stay peaceful," Jiang Ming replied with a cold smile, "but I do know you have no idea how deep China's foundation truly is. It might give the others a huge surprise. As for you lot… let me ask, how many of your 'Imperial Guard', 'Iga Ninjas', and 'Amaterasu Squad' are even left? Hahaha! Brothers, watch closely! These bastards are all going down with you today!"
"Hmph! Just a dying struggle! Kill!"
"Kill!"
As the Japanese charged again, Jiang Ming began another round of slaughter. Every strike was a one-hit kill.
Gradually, his body grew heavier, and his mind became exhausted. He really wanted to sleep… but the Japanese weren't all dead yet, and his brothers' revenge was not complete.
"Hah… looks like I'm not going back. That's fine. For the country, for the people, for Master, and for myself… this life was worth it!"
"Even in death, I have no regrets! Kill!"
With a final roar, Jiang Ming activated the Pulse Explosion Technique his master had taught him. His entire body turned crimson, his black eyes became blood-red, and the ancient sword in his right hand looked as if it had been dyed in fresh blood. He resembled a bloodthirsty Asura.
"How is this possible?!"
"Hahahaha! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Covered in blood, Jiang Ming struck fear even into the heartless Japanese death squads of the Sakura Group.
Finally, he could no longer hold on. He dropped to one knee, using his ancient sword to support himself, still trying to stand…
He had no idea how many he had killed. A hundred? Five hundred? It didn't matter anymore.
The Japanese had suffered catastrophic losses. Their corpses covered the entire scorched island, which was no more than two hundred meters across. The pile around Jiang Ming was especially horrifying — almost forming a small mountain. Only about a dozen of them remained, and every face showed hesitation and fear.
Finally, these war machines summoned the last of their courage and slowly approached Jiang Ming. Though they moved slowly, they eventually reached him.
Just as they raised their blades to cut off his head, they noticed the mocking smile on Jiang Ming's lips. At the same time, they spotted with horror the high-explosive grenade in his arms — its pin already pulled.
Flashback (Jiang Ming's Past)
My name is Jiang Ming. I'm an orphan — abandoned shortly after birth. I was found by an old man next to a garbage dump in the freezing snow.
From the moment I could remember, the old man took me to a special place called Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.
I grew up there. At five years old, the old man began teaching me swordsmanship, knowledge… and how to kill.
Hard to imagine, right? He actually taught a five-year-old child how to kill people. Even if they were death row prisoners, they were still human. But I never hated him — because he was my only family.
The funny thing is, he made me call him "Old Man," yet he named me Jiang Ming.
At twelve, he started taking me on missions: assassination, protection, infiltration, espionage… and drinking. Yes, drinking. That was one of my tasks too, because the old man was a drunkard. Every time he got drunk, he would lecture me endlessly about patriotism.
Finally, at fifteen, he sent me out alone on a mission. I completed it perfectly and made many brothers along the way.
As I grew stronger, the time I spent apart from the old man grew longer. Later, something happened to him… but I never got to see him one last time.
I felt useless. So I went crazy studying everything — marksmanship, all kinds of knowledge. I could never forget the suicide note he left me:
"Kid, the old man is gone. Don't be sad, and definitely don't cry. You are the son of War Mad! Don't blame me for tying you to Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. I just hope you can become a true Great Xia Dragon Sparrow who protects China. If you ever feel tired, go do what you like. That's what I hope for too! Haha! Enough talk, kid. Good luck! Oh, and one more thing — my name is Jiang Liqiu."
Hah… I felt so helpless. Old man, why didn't you tell me earlier?
This time, the country received intelligence that Japan planned to release a new hybrid virus in China and then ally with other nations to start a war against us.
I led Great Xia Dragon Sparrow and destroyed their plot. But we fell into an ambush by other countries. We wiped them out, but we ran out of ammunition. Then, under the Japanese counterattack, Great Xia Dragon Sparrow was annihilated. All my brothers died in battle. The Japanese were almost completely wiped out too.
In the end, only I remained, fighting to the death against the Japanese Sakura Group… planning to take them down with me.
"Hahaha! The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every common man!"
Boom!
The moment the grenade exploded, a flash of white light enveloped Jiang Ming, and he vanished completely.
All that remained were hundreds of corpses and scattered flesh across the ground.
When Chinese reinforcements finally arrived, everyone was stunned. They took away Jiang Ming's ancient sword and built an empty tomb for him, but held no funeral.
On the tombstone of that empty grave, they carved the words the old man often said:
"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every common man!"