by Tao Wong
The soldier let his gaze roam over Bai Hu and his brothers before he said slowly, “I don’t think your life is much better than mine. Going from war to war, being mercenaries. At least I know where my dinner is coming from here.”
Bai Hu glowered at the soldier before he laughed again. “Good man. Keep telling truth to the world. Maybe in the next life, your obstinance will pay off.”
The soldier shook his head, deciding not to answer. Adrenaline and fear could only make him open his mouth for that long. A few seconds later, the whispered message from those at the back of the assault cover, those who could see the flags, came. It was the same old message.
Advance.
“I thought this assault had failed?” Wu Ying said to the soldier.
“The assault covers and the sky ladders are too far forward to pull back. They need to be used. The general will continue the assault. Pulling back now will lose him face and the spent resources for little gain. Better to spend it all properly. And who knows, maybe we’ll pull off a miracle,” Lady Pan said wryly.
“Hun dan!” Bai Hu swore.
Chapter 15
Under the cover of the siege weapon, Wu Ying and his team moved forward. This time around, there was no reason to hold back, so they moved as quickly as they could. They still had a lot of ground to cover, and the siege ladders were nearly at the walls. The last push before the ladders met the walls would only happen when the cultivators were close. Otherwise, they risked the ladders being destroyed well before anyone could ascend. Still, the ladders were close enough to the walls that the trebuchets—which had been firing incessantly—were unable to adjust their angle to attack them. Now, the only risks the ladders faced were talisman arrows and the occasional pot of boiling oil.
As the cultivators pushed forward, the defenders targeted the assault covers. Even if they did not need to hold back too much, Wu Ying cautioned the soldier beside him to slow down a little.
“Why are we slowing down?” Bai Hu asked.
“We don’t want to let them know that cultivators are in here.” Wu Ying drew a deep breath and concentrated, letting his senses feel the auras of those around them. “Start suppressing your auras. All of you. You’re too strong!”
There were more than a few grumbles, but when Li Yao, the titular leader of the group as designated by the general, repeated Wu Ying’s assertion, they complied. As arrows fell like hail and the smell of spilled blood permeated the assault cover, along with the rank stench of fear, Wu Ying continued to sense the auras of his companions.
It was no surprise that most of them were bad at hiding their auras. Luckily, there was a significant distance to the walls. And even if they could not suppress their auras all the way, they didn’t need to. An assault cover with no occupants would be more suspicious than one which had a series of slightly-stronger-than-normal occupants. Still, Wu Ying was grateful that Elder Li had made him practice the aura suppression technique. It was highly useful and continually made its presence known.
The group had initially stopped five hundred yards away, well outside most bow ranges. At least any shot fired with any type of accuracy. Even cultivators had to contend with the vagaries of wind, humidity, and materials. Of course, spirit weapons provided both greater accuracy and range, but those individual attacks were of little consequence in a war. A single arrow would make little difference—not yet at least. And highlighting oneself with that great skill and weapon made oneself a target for future attacks.
Crossing the final distance to the walls was a slog, one that had Wu Ying breathing hard from suppressed fear and nervousness. Arrows rained upon them, like the staccato beat of a child playing with a pot. Except the danger here was more to life than sanity. With each step, the wagon rolled forward at all too slow a pace.
The cultivators were a hundred yards away before the first of the trebuchets targeted them. At first the stones thrown at them were not particularly accurate, landing around and past their assault cover. To Wu Ying’s surprise, a stone fired shortly after the others crashed within ten feet of them. Only a fortunate depression in the ground sent the stone skipping to their left. The noise from the near miss was sufficient to make the occupants behind Wu Ying cry out with questions. The cultivators were, after all, still mortal, and being struck by a siege weapon would likely kill them. They were no Core cultivators, who could shrug off such attacks with a smile.
“Speed up!” Li Yao barked from behind.
Wu Ying put more muscle into the activity, driving the assault cover forward. The soldier beside him had difficulty keeping up, stumbling and making the entire assault cover turn. They shifted from heading straight ahead to swerving sideways and eliciting a set of curses by Bai Hu and his sworn brothers. Realizing that if they kept this up, they’d turn all the way around, Wu Ying slowed down and stopped pushing as hard. A second later, the car lurched forward faster as others provided aid to the soldier.
The drunken, weaving journey of the assault cover did have one advantage. The defenders shooting arrows and stones at them could not forecast where they were going, missing the assault cover and landing all around them.
As the siege weapon lurched forward at a faster clip, the soldier cried out, “We need to go for the left! There is a—”
“Broken assault cover. I see it,” said Wu Ying.
The wrecked assault cover sat before them, obstructing their conveyance’s path and forcing them to swing around.
As more arrows targeted their transport, some exploding with flame, Li Yao cried out from behind, “They know. Don’t stop.”
As a group pushed, a new and foreboding noise rose above them. The explosions of talisman arrows striking the rooftop shook the assault cover and mixed with the crisp crackle of flames that caught, the fiery explosions occasionally licking across the small gap that allowed Wu Ying and the soldier to see ahead. To Wu Ying’s surprise, the assault cover burned but slowly, the heat not reaching them below. Somehow the cover stood up to the attacks with aplomb.
“Second stage energy cultivators! Pitiful apprentices who think they are any good. Hah!” Bai Hu cried out in triumph.
Wu Ying looked back, spotting Bai Hu slapping glowing talismans on the roof of the assault cover, providing it with increased durability and protection.
“Push, push, you handsome young man. You do it well, I’ll do some pushing myself later,” Lady Pan teased Wu Ying. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glittering in the occasional flash of flame and light.
A moment later, Lady Pan let out a girlish yelp as Li Yao extracted her retribution. As for Wu Ying, he was too busy pushing and hoping that none of those arrows made their way through the gap to pay attention to lewd suggestions.
At least, that was what he was going to tell Li Yao. Even if his cheeks were flushed red.
***
Each step of the way, the assault cover was attacked. Arrows, talismans, and more struck at them. Wu Ying noticed the volume of fire increase as the lack of damage to their assault cover was a dead giveaway about those within. As if the group had agreed to his unspoken thoughts, they released their auras, no longer bothering to suppress them. At the least the numerous soldiers from the first and second waves had relief from being targeted by a portion of the defenders.
A dozen yards from their cover, the sky ladder was being pushed forward to lock onto the wall. Moments from now, they’d be ready to launch their attack. A sixth sense made Wu Ying turn and look up. At the edges of his vision, on top of the wall, a cultivator in yellow-and-brown robes stood with a guandao in hand. He lifted the large polearm weapon, its curved, edged blade glinting in the sunlight as he swung at them.
“Cultivator!” Wu Ying roared. He reached for his ring, recalling the defensive talismans he had stored but doubting they could stop the attack.
A crescent blade of visible energy flew from the edge of the guandao, formed from the attack. As it flew, a rough sketch of a phoenix appeared on the trailing back corners of the crescent att
ack. A disinterested portion of Wu Ying’s mind noted the Energy Stage cultivator must have been in the early stages—Minor Achievement—of his energy attack.
“Move!”
Wu Ying and the soldier were shouldered aside as Huang Zu made his way to the front. Huang Zu crossed his arms, leaning forward and bracing himself even as the image of a golden bell formed around himself and the front of the assault cover. Not a moment too soon did Huang Zu trigger his defensive skill.
The opposing cultivator’s attack struck. Like a bell rung, the noise caught the attention of those around. An explosion of chi, released energy from both styles, pressured Wu Ying’s chest, making it hard to breathe for a second. The low cultivation soldier beside him had it worse, reeling back and spitting blood.
“Out!” Li Yao shouted even as Bai Hu slapped a few more talismans on the assault cover.
Taking the lead, Tou Hei ducked out the back of the cover, his staff spinning to block the approaching arrows. Liu Tsong held up a hand for a second, conjuring an apothecarist cauldron with its integrated brazier. A flick of her fingers saw the lighting of the cauldron, and a follow-up gesture threw in a series of herbs. Moments later, she sent the entire cauldron spinning out and trailing smoke, opposite of the direction Tou Hei had taken.
“I’ll cover us,” Liu Tsong said, walking out behind the cover as she pulled out her staff as well.
Bao Cong sprinted out, his bow now strung and a quiver by his side. He held three arrows in one hand, a fourth already on the string as he joined Tou Hei on the non-smoky side. Yin Xue, Lady Pan, and her companion chose the safer route and followed Liu Tsong and her cauldrons.
“Move!” Li Yao snapped at Wu Ying when he bent to check on the soldier.
The man shook his head when Wu Ying dragged him toward the exit.
“Leave me. Safer… in here…” he said around broken ribs.
Wu Ying frowned, hesitating, but knew the longer the cultivators stayed where they were, the more likely they would be targeted. Giving up, he followed the exiting cultivators, joined by Li Yao.
Wu Ying was surprised by the efficacy of Liu Tsong’s cauldron. Already, the apothecarist’s mixture had filled their surroundings with thick, unnatural smoke. He spotted the cauldron spinning in circles around their wagon, slowly layering more and more smoke as it moved farther from their location. Liu Tsong frowned in concentration as she controlled the spinning metal object, though she used her weapon to bat aside the occasional arrow that came too close to her.
“To the ladders!” Li Yao shouted at the group, commanding them to rush ahead.
Wu Ying reoriented himself, then led the way to where the sky ladder should be. Together, the group charged forward, their weapons drawn as arrows suddenly appeared from the smoke and fell toward them. An arrow glanced off Wu Ying’s helmet, sending sparks to live brief, fiery lives in front of his eyes before they disappeared. His breathing grew harsh, the familiar churned earth smell of torn ground mixing with the tang of spilled blood, crushed bones, and ruptured organs. Fires brought whiffs of green wood and the smell of Liu Tsong’s herbal mixture, all making breathing harder than ever.
“We need cover,” said Wu Ying.
Even if they were not targeted, they could still be hit by blind chance. He frowned and eyed the wall. Even through the slowly-thickening smoke, he saw the crenellations at the top. Bao Chong had stopped shooting, unable to make out the figures who fired down on then. Most of the arrows that were fired were not targeted, but the volume of fire coming from the vicinity of the sky ladder meant that they were in danger.
Drawing a deep breath, Wu Ying focused his strength through his bracer and swung his sword, sending the arc of energy straight at the wall. Even if he missed hurting anyone, it would keep some heads down.
Wu Ying ran toward the ladder and the gathering of soldiers who had formed around their blockade of shields. Already, soldiers were climbing the ladder, doing their best to rise up under cover of the smoke. But most only made it halfway up the ladder before they were struck off by arcing arrows.
Whether the light wind that had arisen from the river was dispersing the smoke or another cultivator was controlling the wind, Wu Ying noticed that their cover was fast disappearing. Liu Tsong had altered the movement of the cauldron, sending it to work its magic farther upwind. That reduced the fire from that side of the ladder, but by the time the smoke reached them, it had reduced significantly.
Now that he could see, Bao Cong returned fire, though he stayed close to Tou Hei as the opposing archers targeted him as well. Even as the cultivators grouped up to charge up the ladder, Wu Ying could not help but worry that their attack had failed. Only two other ladders had managed to make their way to the walls, with cultivators attempting to ascend as well.
Before Wu Ying could take his position on the ladder, the sworn brothers charged ahead. Xu Gong, who had been silent thus far, and Huang Zu led the attack. Somewhere along the way, Huang Zu had put away the axe-bladed polearm they had carried and was now wielding a pair of swords while he ran up the sloped ladder. His feet barely touched the swaying, bouncing wooden contraption as he charged ahead, showing a surprising degree of agility. Wu Ying could only marvel at their qinggong skills. The occasional arrow that targeted Huang Zu was struck aside while Bai Hu, at the bottom of the trio, cast an array of talismans at the wall. The yellow papers flew as if they were rocks, striking the wall and flaring brightly with light.
When Xu Gong reached the top of the ladder, instead of stepping off it, he threw himself into a graceful jump. He struck out as he reached the apex of his jump, using his daos on the pair of defenders at the top. One of the soldiers who held the wall wheeled away, clutching at his throat, while the second managed to deflect the heavy attack. Even then, he staggered aside, leaving Xu Gong uncontested on the top of the wall. Immediately, Xu Gong widened the gap, lashing out with his swords at those soldiers who tried to close in on them. In short order, Bai Hu and Huang Zu joined him on the wall, weapons and skills making short work of the soldiers.
“Come on!” Li Yao shouted encouragement at the group, excited at the advance they had made.
She pushed past Wu Ying, taking her place on the ladder and crawling upward. Realizing that he had just been watching, Wu Ying joined Li Yao and Lady Pan as they scrambled up the ladder. Beside the ladder, Yan Qing and Liu Tsong kept the defending soldiers busy, harassing them with arrows and smoke.
Li Yao was nearly to the top of the ladder when screams interrupted their desperate scramble. Looking up, Wu Ying saw an unexpected sight.
Rather than the three White Tiger Sect fighters, there were only two remaining – Bai Hu and Huang Zu. Of Xu Gong, there was no sight to be seen.
Facing the pair was a giant of a man. Nearly seven feet tall, clad in an unusual set of armor that covered his face, his neck, and his body in overlapping steel and iron, the armed and armored cultivator wielded a six-foot-long blade. The sword was nearly as thick as two of Wu Ying’s wrists. The weapon was so long and heavy that it should have been unwieldy for anyone but a cultivator to use. Each of his strikes was so heavy, held such great sword intent that the pair of brothers could not handle them. They reeled back after each engagement, new wounds appearing on their bodies as the wind pressure and remainder sword intent injured them.
Even as Wu Ying marveled at the man’s virtuosity with his unusual weapon, Huang Zu was struck across his chest. Huang Zu’s armor provided him some protection, but even so, it did nothing for the force behind the attack. As the sword crushed his chest, it also sent Huang Zu flying off the wall into the inner portion of the besieged city. His scream echoed before it ended abruptly, leaving only Bai Hu to fight. By this time, Li Yao had reached the top of the wall, but she was forced to engage the soldiers coming in from the other side, exposing her back to potential danger. Wu Ying scrambled up only to find that Lady Pan had frozen, refusing to move farther up from the three-quarter position she had reached.
“Move!”
Wu Ying shouted at Lady Pan.
Still, her form was static. Only slight movements in her hands made him consider that she might be doing something more. Before he could demand again that she continue her ascent, blossom petals fell from the sky, surrounding the unknown armored cultivator. They swarmed him, a stark contrast of pink against the gray-and-black metal, each blossom creeping into the cultivator’s armor. Their enemy let out a cry of pain even as Lady Pan clapped her hands together. The petals converged then exploded outward from his metallic form, leaving behind a trail of blood as the conjured material disappeared. From his vantage point, Wu Ying could see the attack had hurt the armored cultivator, driving him to his knees but not much more.
“Your turn.” After saying that, Lady Pan threw herself off the sky ladder, allowing herself to fall to the ground and leaving the way open for Wu Ying.
Wu Ying scrambled up the ladder as quickly as he could, while Bai Hu struck the stone of the wall with a pair of talismans. When the opponent took another step forward, he froze; energetic light released from the talismans wrapped around the enemy combatant. Seeing an opportunity, Wu Ying got ready to launch a strike against the frozen enemy.
“Don’t touch him. If you do, the talismans will stop working,” Bai Hu warned.
Wu Ying grimaced then finished climbing over the walls and drew his sword, setting himself before the huge man. Wu Ying could only hope that the other cultivators would be on their way soon, for he wasn’t certain he could deal with this monster of a man himself. Bai Hu was certainly not going to be of much use. Wu Ying could tell that Bai Hu was gravely injured, his face pale from blood loss, his side bleeding from one big wound and numerous smaller cuts along his form.
The only good news was it seemed there was only this single defending cultivator here, the others somewhere else. Wu Ying had seconds to contemplate, to take in the field of battle. Now that he could see inside the city proper, he noted clusters of shops and residences, the gap between the city walls and the beginnings of blockades along the streets. And then…
