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 attack. 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.