Wu Ying’s eyes widened. Assaulting the walled city, even if it had been softened up with the fire from the numerous trebuchets, was no easy feat. And on their first assault, it was unlikely the army would succeed.
“There aren’t any holes yet,” Wu Ying said as he tried to recall how many sky cloud ladders he had seen. Not enough. Not without more holes in the walls to split the army’s attention.
“The general believes that using cultivators in the initial breech might surprise the defenders,” Chao Kun said.
His tone was entirely neutral, but Wu Ying could not help but glance at his friend. Finding his friend’s face entirely still, Wu Ying sighed. In the end, whatever they thought, they were still under military law. They had orders to follow. And that was it.
“Where will you be?” Wu Ying asked.
“We will be watching for retaliation by other cultivators.” Chao Kun gestured down the line to the left. “My team will be deployed with Elder Po.” Chao Kun paused then added, “Do not expect us to take action unless a Core cultivator or worse shows up. Pray that we don’t have to reinforce you.”
Wu Ying nodded, trying to relax. At least the Core cultivators would be dealt with. If the city used them. Now, all he had to do was survive the arrows, spears, and swords of their opponents as they assaulted the wall.
***
“About time you got here,” Li Yao said to Wu Ying, punctuating her greeting with a hug.
They had regrouped under the awning of an assault wagon, hidden from the prying eyes of their enemy. Chao Kun had dropped Wu Ying off with his team before marching off to inspect a few other wagons.
“I came as soon as Chao Kun got me.” Wu Ying eyed the group, noting how they were all dressed like him in the standard army uniform. It was probably so they weren’t targeted by archers. Yet as he let his gaze rake over the group of familiar and unfamiliar faces, he stopped on one unexpected addition. “Senior Liu?”
“Wu Ying.” Liu Tsong nodded to Wu Ying.
“What are you doing here?” Wu Ying said. From what he gathered from Chao Kun—more between the lines than directly—this was a punishment. Surely his Senior had not done anything that deserved her presence here.
“There are more contribution points here.” Liu Tsong shrugged. “I’ll be providing us cover during the last stages.” She smiled as she tapped her ring, drawing Wu Ying’s gaze toward it. “I have a few tricks that should help.”
Wu Ying frowned but nodded. He was quickly drawn into greeting the rest of his friends.
When Wu Ying got to Tou Hei, his friend pulled him close to whisper, “Senior Li’s being modest. She was sent here because she demanded our release from the lieutetant general.”
Wu Ying’s eyes widened, then glanced at the junior apothecarist. It was obvious that her actions had resulted in failure, but still, he was grateful for the attempt. Finding friends who were willing to risk their standing was rare. Or so he was told.
Because as Wu Ying looked around the small enclosure, his gaze falling on his friends in turn, he realized he was lucky. Lucky to find people willing to risk so much for him. Lives. Standing. Time.
“Thank you,” Wu Ying said.
The words caught the attention of a few, with Yin Xue sneering and Bao Cong shrugging. Li Yao just offered him a grin and hugged his arm quickly before she released it to point at the unfamiliar faces.
“This is Yan Bai Hu, Xu Gong, and Huang Zu from the White Tiger Sect in the lower Ru province,” Li Yao said.
The three members had ruddy, dark faces, looking more like peasants or bandits than the noble sect members Wu Ying was used to. Certainly, the daos and thick axe-blade polearms they held suited their coarse appearance. They offered him curt greetings, which Wu Ying returned before Li Yao continued.
“Lady Pan is an itinerant cultivator who will be joining us,” Li Yao’s curt introductions grew a little softer when she reached the woman.
Lady Pan was well shaped, reminding Wu Ying of a wine gourd even under the formless wear of the army. When Lady Pan caught Wu Ying’s wandering gaze, she raised a single eyebrow and smirked, making the peasant blush.
Li Yao glanced between the pair then punched Wu Ying in the arm, though her smile continued to stay on her lips. “And this is her companion, Yan Qing.”
Yan Qing, on the other hand, was a handsome youth, six feet tall with red lips, thick eyebrows, and broad shoulders. The youth looked to be in good spirits and sported a straight sword, though its hilt and blade were longer than the traditional form, allowing him to wield it two-handed. Near his side, a beautiful, unstrung bow rested.
“You’ll watch over us, right, Brother Long?” Lady Pan asked. She blinked her clear brown eyes at him.
When Wu Ying stuttered, Li Yao laughed and elbowed him in the side. “Stop it, Sister Lian. Wu Ying is quite innocent and won’t be able to take your jokes. He’ll be too distracted.”
“Oh, we wouldn’t want our brave hero to be distracted,” Pan Jin Lian said, her eyes twinkling.
Yan Qing rolled his eyes as he checked over his bow and arrows.
Her introductions done, Li Yao leaned in to continue her chat with Jin Lian inside the siege weapon.
Released from their teasing, Wu Ying escaped to the other side of the small enclosure. Outside of the cultivators, the enclosure contained a few soldiers who stood silently, waiting patiently for the signal under the watchful eyes of their unit leader. At first, they seemed calm and still, but on closer inspection, Wu Ying noticed the shifting feet, the hesitant words the soldiers passed between one another. Rather than witness their discomfort, he turned away to stare out the back, where he saw the remaining members of the army waiting patiently, and the clouds.
“Hopefully we start soon,” Wu Ying muttered.
“Oh?” Li Yao said, cocking her head. “You see something?”
“Rain,” Wu Ying said, nodding to the sky.
Li Yao frowned, eyeing the few clouds and the occasional gusting wind. “I don’t see it.”
“It’s coming.”
“Not according to the general’s soothsayers,” Yin Xue, who was lounging near the exit, said.
“It’s coming,” Wu Ying insisted.
Yin Xue looked at Wu Ying and nodded. Perhaps he recalled Wu Ying’s previous occupation. But he then studied the ground in more detail. Wu Ying could already tell him what it was like. The lush grass beneath their feet hid dark brown river soil. Of course, the river itself no longer overflowed as often, as canals and dykes helped pull it from the banks, so the alluvial soil beneath their feet was old and settled. None of the gray soil from often-flooding rivers, perfect for growing, with touches of nearly black soil from the mountains farther upstream. All of which meant that when rain came, it’d soak into the soil and run off the grass without any issue. For the grass. Not so much for their footing.
Now that that discussion was over, Wu Ying turned to Li Yao, who’d made her way back to him, and dropped his voice to ask, “That’s all?”
“All?”
“Us cultivators.”
“Oh!” Li Yao shook her head. “No. There are more cultivators in the other assault covers. But the general decided to split our attack in hopes that one of us will break through.”
“And once we do?” Wu Ying said.
“We hold the wall until reinforcements arrive. Widen the gap when we can and link up with the next cultivator group. The more sky ladders fix to the wall, the more soldiers will arrive, so providing aid to neighboring ladders will be nearly as important as holding our own,” Li Yao said.