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…
The drums changed.
***
“Do you have any more of those talismans?” Wu Ying shouted at Bai Hu. When the man looked at him, puzzled by the sudden change of topic and his blood loss, Wu Ying clarified. “That’s the sound of the retreat.”