“Four thousand contribution points?” Wu Ying asked the commissary officer. It sounded like a high number, but he had no comparison.
“Regular soldiers get between ten and twenty contribution points for participating in the attack itself. As cultivators, we have a higher base number, but even our other assignments were only worth a few hundred at most.” Li Yao frowned, turning the military token around in her hand before she looked at the army personnel in charge of the assignments. “Why is this so high?”
“Because you survived.” The officer smirked at the pair of cultivators. “Base rate is a thousand points for a first wave, first attack. Then we have your contribution because you’re from the Verdant Green Waters. Then you get a contribution increase due to your cultivation base, then a survival bonus for those who returned, which almost doubles your return.”
“What can I buy with these contribution points?” Wu Ying asked. He vaguely recalled the contribution points mechanism from before, but he hadn’t thought it was so elaborate. Then again, he hadn’t exactly been in the army for long. Or contributed to anything.
“The usual. Better food, better weapons, some martial styles. Training by some of our elite members. There are even cultivation manuals, though I doubt you lot will want that.” The officer flicked his gaze up and down the pair of cultivators. “Nothing we have would suit you people. Of course, you could change it for coin or hang on to the contribution amounts and trade in at headquarters. There’s a lot more there.”
Wu Ying raised an eyebrow, but it made sense. All those wandering cultivators, they joined not just for coin but the opportunity to find martial styles and cultivation manuals. It was an opportunity for them to improve themselves, something that did not come along often for those who did not join a sect. Still, they had a level of freedom that sect members did not.
“And what would four thousand contribution points get me?” Wu Ying asked.
“We have some protective talismans for sale at that price. Some low-grade martial styles. Access to the officers’ mess hall.” When Wu Ying looked less than impressed, the man shrugged. “It’s only four thousand points. Any equipment of value is in the tens of thousands of points, especially when we’re in the field. You might be able to find something more when we’re back, but it’s not as if we carry the armory with us.”
Having been disappointed, Wu Ying and Li Yao left to find their friends. They checked back at the medical center first, only to be thrown out. Since neither of them were physicians, they had little to offer other than a warm body. Even the wounded had stopped being brought in by this point—only corpses being moved off the field to be buried in a different location. No one wanted a high accumulation of yin chi to form. That was how you got jiangshi and ghosts, even maybe formed gates to the demonic plane. The priests would be working all night, purifying the corpses and laying them to rest. While the losses were still few, the army would do their best to honor their dead. Later on, Wu Ying knew, that option might disappear and mass cremation would be chosen.
With nothing much left to do, Wu Ying returned to his tent to rest his wounded body. He would need to cultivate and work the Iron Bones technique, making the best use of the damage to reinforce his body. After all, he was certain that he had more injuries to look forward to.
***
To Wu Ying’s surprise, when he woke the next day, rumors were already spreading that another attack was imminent. All through the night, sappers had been working on extending the pits and other lines of cover, offering the next wave additional safety to attack the defenders from. Siege weapons continued to throw rocks at the walls, damaging the archery towers and slowly breaking apart the reinforced wooden gates and their support structures. In the meantime, workmen were making even more assault covers and sky ladders, the necessary siege weapons to ensure that they could mount the walls.
Of course, Wu Ying wondered why they had not assaulted the gates on the first attack but was quickly dissuaded of that notion. It seemed that the gates were often the most reinforced position in a wall, with many reinforced with multiple formations to stop, harm, and destroy attackers. While the army would continue to batter the gates, it was easier and better to go over the walls. At least for now.
When Li Yao appeared, Wu Ying broke away from his conversation from the wandering cultivators and asked, “Are we joining the attack?”
Li Yao shook her head, a wry smile twisting her lips. “We are joining the fifth wave. Because of our previous involvement, we are unlikely to get called upon unless they do manage a breakthrough.”
Wu Ying raised an eyebrow, but it was Yin Xue who spoke first. “Are they likely to break through? They didn’t even activate their defensive formations last time.”
“Unlikely,” Liu Tsong said, appearing from behind the cultivators. They turned to the older woman, waiting for her to explain. “This is all to soften them up. The real assault will come later.”
“A lot of wasted lives for little gain,” Tou Hei said disapprovingly.
“He has little choice there,” Li Yao said. “The general needs to learn what formations and what cultivators are inside. The only way to do so is to push them. I do not think he has any spies in there. And even if he did, I do not know how much he could rely on them.”
Liu Tsong nodded, smiling approvingly at Li Yao. She let her gaze rake over the group before she spoke again. “I will not be with you all for now. I have my own duties with Chao Kun. Watch yourselves.” As the group all nodded, Liu Tsong added, “And stop taking so many risks.”
She stared at Wu Ying at her last words, as if she knew it was him who needed that warning the most. He snorted but accepted her well wishes and sent her off with thanks. Together, the group headed to their assigned position, where they stood in line, forced to wait.
“I still don’t think we have the full picture,” Yin Xue complained. “There’s no need to throw away so many lives.”
“You think they’re rushing this for another reason?” Bao Cong asked.
“Yes. What worries me is that there might be a second army, one coming for us.” Yin Xue looked away, eyes raking over the looming mountains surrounding them. If they were caught in here…
“There are no armies coming,” Li Yao said. “I’ve checked with the scouts. No signs at all. Anyway, you remember your father’s map. The closest army was the Wei reserve, and that was nearly a month away.”
Yin Xue nodded, but that pensive frown did not leave his face.
Wu Ying glanced at Tou Hei, who offered him a shrug and mouthed, “Amitabha.”
It was true. What would be would be.
***
A rock soared through the air, banking gracefully before it smashed into the wall. Stone crumbled, and the rock itself bounced off, landing a short distance away from where the siege ladders were rolling forward. As if the artillerymen foretold the distances, no additional fire appeared. Instead, soldiers from both sides exchanged fire, crossbow bolts and the occasional arrow winging between both armies.
Like the previous battle, a wave of assault covers had approached first, allowing infantry and crossbowmen to near the city. This time, the second wave of assault covers had approached as well, bringing with them a larger number of fighters while the assault covers were drawn back. In turn, the defenders sent fewer volleys of talisman arrows, leaving a larger number of the assault covers intact to make it back to the lines.
All this, Wu Ying watched from the safety of the fifth wave. The constant creak of ropes twisting, the twang of bows, and the shrieks of falling men resounded through the air. He watched as the brave and foolhardy threw themselves forward, attacking intact walls, firing arrows and killing the occasional defender. Infantrymen, crouched in their holes, dug furiously as they extended and built up their defenses, propping up shields while the crossbowmen and archers exchanged fire with the defenders.