by Jeremy Bai
It was at this point that the Bone General waved his arm. Sima Zikang couldn’t see what exactly he threw. Whether it was a knife, a needle, or something else, it didn’t matter. It hit its target, and one of the four fleeing figures tumbled to the ground.
Even as the black-garbed figure struggled to stand, the Bone General closed in. Reaching out, he ripped the black hood off of the figure, and long, wavy black hair spilled down.
“A woman?” exclaimed Sima Zikang. To his horror, the Bone General drew a long dagger from behind his back and stabbed it into the neck of the black-garbed woman. He viciously ripped the blade through her neck, circling it around until the body dropped to the ground. Then he then held the head up high for a moment, blood splattering down all over his arm, before tossing it off to the side.
“Loose arrows!” Sima Zikang said. “And where is Dragon Lord Yuwen? He was here in the Dragon Gate earlier. Get him over here. And get Lord Sunan!”
Chapter 45: A Golden Spear
Although Sunan’s hands were clenched into fists of rage, tears welled up in his eyes. “Dead? Yuwen Huo is dead?”
Bao looked down at the ground and nodded slowly.
“What were you thinking?” Sunan barked so loudly that he was almost yelling.
Bao’s voice was barely audible as she replied, “We didn’t know that the Bone General would be there as well. And… the Love General too.”
Sunan shook his head slowly. “The six of you just sauntered into the Fire General’s command tent? Even if he was alone, what makes you think you could kill him?”
A flicker of anger passed through Bao’s eyes. “I’ve killed ogres before.”
“Sure, sure you have.” Sunan snorted coldly. “You need to stop telling that story like you beat the creature in a duel. After all these years, everybody knows what really happened. You crushed that ogre under a pile of boulders. Boulders, Bao! Did you have a pile of boulders in your bag when you went to the Fire General’s tent?”
Bao’s jaw twitched. “It could have worked. If we’d killed the Fire General, the army would have been thrown into chaos!”
“Yuwen Huo wasn’t just a Dragon Lord, Bao. He was my friend. You got my friend killed!”
Bao looked up, eyes filled with both flames of anger and tears of sorrow. “Well, my friends are dead too, did you ever think of that? I didn’t want this to happen! Lin Qingxia and Yang Ziqiong were like my sisters!” She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, and they began to stream down her cheeks. “It was a good plan, and we all agreed to it! I didn’t force Yuwen Huo to go along. He wanted to! He knew you wouldn’t agree, but he went anyway!”
Sunan slapped his palm down onto the table next to him with a resounding thud. “You’re damn right I wouldn’t have agreed. You know what I would have said? ‘It’s too dangerous. You won’t be able to tell who is in the tent until you get inside. What if you’re outnumbered? What if they have better fighters? You could get yourselves killed!’ And guess what? That’s exactly what happened! Dammit, Bao, you always talk about confidence this and confidence that. But have you ever heard of a thing called overconfidence? Just because you believe you can do something doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to succeed. You wanted to throw their army into chaos? Well, you did the exact opposite! Yuwen Huo was my friend, and Lin Qingxia and Yang Ziqiong were your friends. But they were also top leaders in our sects! Now everyone is more scared than they were before! Dammit, Bao. DAMMIT!”
Sunan resisted the urge to smash the table into splinters with his fists. He thought back to when he’d first gotten to know Yuwen Huo, when he was just a new recruit. He thought about how they had trained and sparred together, and how they had fought the river demon. Two tears leaked out onto his cheeks, but he quickly brushed them away and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply, he tried to force his feelings away.
A long moment passed, a moment that seemed like an uncomfortable eternity of silence.
Finally, Sunan opened his eyes and looked at Bao. She was staring down at her hands, which were trembling and wet from the tears that were dripping down her cheeks and off her chin.
He had the urge to comfort her but suppressed it. “Leave,” he said.
Bao took a deep breath. “Sunan, I—”
“Leave! Just leave, Bao. I don’t want to talk to you right now.” He averted his gaze.
Bao took a shaky breath and rose to her feet and left.
Sunan sat alone for a few minutes, wrestling his thoughts and feelings back under control. Finally, he called Sun Mai in.
“Any new developments?” he asked.
“No,” Sun Mai replied. “The command tent fire was quickly put out. The Fire General’s troops are definitely well-trained.”
Sunan chuckled bitterly. “So she didn’t even manage to burn down a single tent.”
Sun Mai didn’t respond.
Another moment of silence passed before Sunan said, “Promote Sima Zikang to Dragon Lord. We don’t have time for all the proper ceremonies now, but make it formal. Let him pick who to replace him as lieutenant.”
Sun Mai voiced his assent, then cautiously asked, “What about… rites for Yuwen Huo and the others?”
Sunan shook his head. “There’s no time for anything fancy. Do what’s necessary to make sure he rests in peace. I’ve heard the stories about corpses coming back to life, and that’s the last thing we need right now.”
He tapped his finger in thought, then continued. “I don’t know much about this Fire General, but from the stories I’ve heard, I can’t imagine that he’ll let an act like this go unanswered. Especially with the Bone General there to advise him. Double the guards on the walls, but don’t use anyone else from the Golden Dragon Sect or the soldiers or constables. Keep them rested and ready for combat. Use militia for the guard duty. I have a bad feeling…”
“Bad feeling?”
“Yes. There will be fighting tomorrow. And dying. We need to be ready.”
***
Sure enough, the following day at dawn, the fighting began. The Fire General sent a force of roughly two thousand men from the north to attack the Thunder Gate, and two thousand from the east to attack the Dragon Gate. The vanguard of each attacking force was made up of heavy shieldmen, followed by a large contingent of spearmen and a smaller group of crossbowmen.
At the Dragon Gate, newly appointed Dragon Lord Sima took the initiative to send out a cavalry charge against the incoming force, followed by light infantry. The cavalry troops were mostly Golden Dragon Sect fighters who had trained in firing bows from horseback, and they quickly flanked the Fire General’s soldiers, peppering them with arrows that pinned down the crossbowmen and threw the formation of heavy shieldmen into chaos.
That, in turn, gave Daolu’s light infantry time to close in. Although the light infantry was composed mostly of ordinary soldiers and militiamen, they were led by qi fighters from the Pure Phoenix Sect. Almost immediately, they began to wreak havoc on the heavy shieldmen, and they even managed to start killing some of the spearmen.
Most of the Fire General’s men were qi fighters, but they seemed completely surprised by the onslaught and were quickly pinned down by the fighters from the Pure Phoenix Sect.
Soon, the two thousand men who had attacked the Dragon Gate were forced into retreat. The light cavalrymen pursued them for a short time but then turned and headed back to the Dragon Gate, along with the light infantry. Overall, Sima Zikang’s defensive strategy couldn’t have gone any better.
Things didn’t go as smoothly at the Thunder Gate in the north of the city, which was under the command of another one of the Dragon Lords, Guan Yunchang. He was a tall, well-built man known for his unusual strength and hand-to-hand combat skills. However, when it came to tactics and strategy, he was sadly lacking.
Unlike Sima Zikang, his plan to repel the two-thousand-man force was to simply shower them with arrows. Unfortunately, the heavy shieldmen provided good cover, and a hail of arrows from the crossbowmen soon for
ced Guan Yunchang’s men to withdraw from the turrets and battlements.
The two thousand men suffered almost no casualties, and soon they occupied the gate structure. Once inside, a few muffled booms rang out, and the gate itself was blasted open. Guan Yunchang led his men to fight back, but they were too disorganized. They were quickly pushed back, and fighting erupted on the streets of Daolu itself.
Thankfully, chaotic melee combat was when Guan Yunchang was in his element. He and other key figures from the Golden Dragon and Pure Phoenix Sects rallied the Daolu troops in a valiant fight in which nearly two hundred enemy soldiers were killed before they were finally pushed back out through the gate. Of course, the Fire General’s soldiers were well-trained, and they were also no strangers to close-quarter fighting. In the end, close to a hundred from the Daolu side lost their lives.
The first day of combat ended rather early. Apparently, the Fire General had only been probing the city, as he didn’t send any more forces out to attack.
When the Thunder Gate was inspected, they found signs of fire and smoke, leading to rumors that there were fire demons in the army, monsters that could destroy the city gates with a single breath of fire from their nostrils. That did little to help morale.
Engineers went to work repairing the Thunder Gate as best possible, but it wouldn’t be back to its full strength for quite some time.
Sunan was not happy with Guan Yunchang. Although he had led the fight to slay two hundred of the enemy, the dozens of Daolu fighters who had died included many from the Golden Dragon Sect and the Pure Phoenix Sect. Considering the enemy army numbered 20,000, and the two sects didn’t even have a thousand total members, such casualties were severe.
Because of Sima Zikang’s success at the Dragon Gate, Sunan appointed him as acting general and gave him command of the entire city. Sima Zikang immediately set about devising an overall defense strategy, preparing various plans and backup plans for the following day.
***
The next morning, the Fire General attacked the White Rat Gate on the western wall of the city. However, that seemed to be little more than an exploratory skirmish, as in the afternoon, he again attacked the Thunder Gate in full force. This time he used enormous crossbows to fire burning bolts at the walls. Some areas of the wall were seriously damaged, and a few of the burning bolts made it into the city itself, setting some buildings ablaze. The gate was once again breached, and fighting broke out in the city.
However, Dragon Lord Sima Zikang had anticipated this development and had made advance preparations. The Fire General’s troops were quickly routed and pushed back out the gate. Unfortunately, the damage to the gate was even more significant than last time.
***
During the first two days of fighting, no one saw Chieftainess Bao. Rumor had it that the Claws of the Phoenix had demanded she relinquish any military authority during the siege. The truth was that she felt as if she had no face left to appear in public.
Mao Yun cajoled and threatened her, but she refused to leave her room. As the fighting raged, she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling.
She thought about the dagger piercing into Yang Ziqiong’s eye. She thought about Yuwen Huo and the grin on the Bone General’s face when he’d slit his throat. And she thought about how she had looked back to see the Bone General holding Lin Qingxia’s severed head in the air.
A few times, she beat her pillow in rage.
Three emotions fought back and forth inside of her heart. One emotion was sorrow. Sorrow for the death of her friends, and even sorrow at disappointing Sunan. Another was shame. Shame for trying to be a hero but turning out a fool. The third was rage. Rage toward the Bone General for killing Yang Ziqiong, Lin Qingxia, and Yuwen Huo. Rage toward the Demon Emperor for causing everything. And even rage toward Sunan for how he’d berated her and sent her away so dismissively.
I’m hurting too, Sunan.
Late in the night of the second day, the rage and sorrow wiped out the shame. Then, in that time before sunrise, when the night was darkest, her rage battered the sorrow down and down and down until it was so deep in her heart that she managed to lock it up and forget about it.
Finally, she sat up in bed, fists clenched on her knees.
What happened is my fault, but that doesn’t mean I need to run around like a criminal. If she was going to avenge Yang Ziqiong, Lin Qingxia, and Yuwen Huo, then she needed to bring the fight to the Bone General. Maybe the ogres had some magic that made them invincible to their martial arts, but they were not immortal. They could be killed. And I’m going to kill the Bone General!
She jumped off the bed and was just preparing to go give Sunan a piece of her mind when she realized that a slight breeze had just touched her neck. She frowned slightly and turned to look behind her.
To her shock, the wardrobe in the corner of the room was wide open, and a man was standing in the doorway, holding a torch. He was tall and handsome but also tough-looking. He wore golden robes, and he was holding a short golden spear in his left hand.
Bao’s hands flicked, and her knives dropped out of her sleeves into her hands.
“Who are you?” she growled. “And what are you doing in my room?”
The man took a step forward and leveled his spear at her. Smiling, he said, “That’s the same question I wanted to ask you.”
Chapter 46: A Message
Two men stepped out of the door to flank the man in the golden robes. As soon as Bao laid eyes on them, she knew who they were.
Lions of Peace. Could I take the two of them out, and this guy in the golden robes too? He doesn’t look like a fighter.
“Not only did you take my room,” the man in the gold robes said, “you took my tempest stone. Where is it?”
Bao narrowed her eyes. “Tempest stone? You mean the wind stone?”
A cold light flashed through the man’s eyes. “So you did take it. Tell me where it is.”
He took another step forward, and two more Lions of Peace entered the room. Bao knew there was no possible way for her to fight them. Besides, there were surely more soldiers further back in the corridor.
That was when the man’s golden robes, coupled with the words he had just spoken, caused everything to click in Bao’s mind.
“You’re the Golden Immortal!” she said, raising her right hand and pointing a knife at him.
“I am,” he replied, flashing her a smile. Despite his smile, his eyes still radiated coldness. “Now let me take a wild guess. A young woman with knives. In my room. With my tempest stone. I would bet money that you’re Chieftainess Bao of the Pure Phoenix Sect.”
Bao didn’t respond. I need to get out of here. He couldn’t possibly have come from Sunan’s mansion, could he? If not, then where did he come from? Does the tunnel somehow go past the city walls? That would mean… that the Fire General can get inside! No. He already is inside!
“I can see what you’re thinking,” the Golden Immortal said. “You’re trying to decide whether to fight or run. Before you choose either, wait a moment and hear me out. This silly war doesn’t have to happen. The fighting can end right now.”
Bao almost chuckled in response, but she wasn’t in the mood. “How? By us surrendering? That’s not going to happen.”
The Golden Immortal’s smile widened a bit. “No, that would be foolish. I am not here as a representative of the Fire General. As you know, the Fire General is the spear that slashes across the battlefield. The King of the Pure Ones has other servants, people who are not interested in killing and destruction. For example, the Love General.”
“You work for the Love General?”
“I don’t work for her. I represent her. Surely you know the level of authority she commands in the empire.”
“Of course. The dove of peace who woos allies.”
The Golden Immortal took another step forward, placing himself within five paces of Bao. His slight movement allowed more men to enter the room. This time, they weren’t Lions of Peace
; they were ordinary soldiers. Furthermore, Bao could tell from the shadows behind them that there were even more of them in the corridor.
“Chieftainess Bao, believe me, this is a fight you can’t win. It doesn’t matter how cleverly your men defend the wall. It doesn’t matter what fancy fighting moves you’ve developed. The Pure Phoenix Sect and the Golden Dragon Sect number in the hundreds. You can’t fight an army of thousands. You must be able to see that. Even a bear can be crushed by an avalanche.”
Bao clenched her jaw. “The Bone General is here. He hates me. Been trying to kill me for years now. There’s no way he would pardon me for my supposed crimes.”
The Golden Immortal shook his head slowly. “That is a thorny problem. But believe me, the ogre generals all have equal standing and sway before the King of the Pure Ones. Right now, the empire needs allies, not martyrs. Think of how many lives you could save!”
Bao wanted to believe his words. She truly did. But they were too good to be true. She remembered things that Sunan had told her about the Love General, who was clearly an adept schemer, someone who wouldn’t think twice before lying to get what she wanted. Besides, what kind of diplomatic envoy was made of up a bunch of soldiers who snuck into a besieged city via a secret tunnel?
Bao lowered her knife. “Very well,” she said. “I think—”
Before she finished her sentence, her left hand shot out with lightning speed, sending her knife flying toward the Golden Immortal’s face. She spun in place and crashed through the door.
The Golden Immortal’s golden spear arced through the air, knocking the knife to the side. “Li, Xu, you’re with me. Everyone else, carry out the mission!”
While the words were still leaving his mouth, he burst into motion, followed closely behind by two of the Lions of Peace.
As the Golden Immortal emerged from the door, another knife flew toward him, which he batted away just as easily as the first one. Bao was already halfway across the courtyard and had leapt up onto a decorative rock. From there she called upon her qinggong to fly into the air toward the western wall of the residence, over which the glow of dawn was just beginning to spread.
