They caught the group of enemy cultivators semi-unaware. Even if the talismans restrained their auras, they could not do so completely. On the other hand, they must have seemed to the other cultivators like a group of soldiers. Not strong enough to seriously worry about, but enough that their enemy was expecting the attack. What they did not expect was the series of chi-projected attacks, as weapons skills and fist forms gave life to energy projections.
The attacks were so mixed together, even Wu Ying’s Woo Petal Bracer’s metallic energy was hard to pick out. The surprise attack was somewhat successful, taking down one of the cultivators and seriously injuring two of the others. Together, Wu Ying and his team charged in, targeting the three cultivators left standing and unharmed as they reeled from the attack.
As if it was planned, Wu Ying found himself facing off not against the unharmed enemy but the two injured Sect members who were trying to run away. Rather than waste his time, Wu Ying threw another cut filled with the power of the Woo Petal Bracer, hoping he could finish the battle quickly. His energy field attack was blocked by one, semi-blocked by the other, leaving him to engage them in close combat. A lunge, a quick clatter of blades, a cut down low, then he was in, shoulder checking his opponent into the other. As they stumbled back, he took advantage of the momentary confusion to cut across his first opponent’s ankles, hobbling him further.
A sudden thrust of a spear aimed at Wu Ying’s face made him dance aside. He circled the pair, parrying the spear strikes while he countered, cheating by sliding his weapon down the spear shaft every chance he could. The attacks shaved off minor slices of wood, but more importantly, they made his opponent leery of committing for fear of getting his fingers sliced off. As the pair clashed, his first opponent pushed himself back to his feet as blood pooled around his ankles.
Realizing he would have to fight them both again soon, Wu Ying decided to risk it. He threw himself forward, and as the spear shot toward him, he twisted his body. He caught the attack high in the chest, just a couple of inches above his heart and to the left, but it glanced off the lamellar plate. His opponents, neither expecting the sudden charge, were caught by surprise as Wu Ying traded attacks.
Unlike his opponent, Wu Ying infused his weapon with his own chi and his sword intent, planting his front foot as he completed Greeting the Sunrise. The attack left his opponent with a new mouth, one that started below his chin and extended all the way to his ear, a mouth that erupted in a spray of blood.
As Wu Ying turned on his next opponent, the man slumped to the side, one hand futilely grasping at the feathers that stood out from below his chest, just under his armpit. It seemed that Bao Cong had beaten Wu Ying to it. It didn’t matter to Wu Ying.
He turned to the main battle, ready to help. As always, Tou Hei was holding his own, but this time, neither party seemed to have the upper hand. However, it seemed Li Yao was the one most struggling of the three, on the backfoot as her opponent conjured swaths of flame that burnt at her ice spear.
Decision made, Wu Ying threw himself into the fight. They had to finish this fast, before the defenders sent help.
***
As the group ran back, their opponents slain, bodies looted of valuables, they grinned at one another. After so many days of boring patrols, the brief encounter had been exhilarating. Even if it had meant the death of others, doing battle was still a rush. The last trebuchet fired its final payload, moments before coming down with a crash as a massive rose petal energy projection smashed into the trebuchet. As he watched, Wu Ying reminded himself that all this glory, all this excitement, came at the expense of lives.
Civilian lives.
War, no matter how glorious, was paved with the blood and bones of commoners.
People like he had been.
And, perhaps, not anymore?
Chapter 19
Later that night, Wu Ying tossed and turned in his bed as sleep continued to elude him. His mind kept turning back to the siege engines, torn and twisted, discarded after their use. He kept seeing faces—of those soldiers who had fallen, the ones who had screamed in the medical tents as their limbs were amputated or their wounds were sewn closed. All around him, the noise of camp packing up resounded. Extra soldiers were on duty tonight to make sure that the army was not attacked in turn, adding to the noise level. The light from the burning city could be seen through his tent flaps, the damage still ongoing.
None of it helped him sleep, even if he normally slept all too easily. Tonight, his mind churned. Too much. He’d seen too much.
Wu Ying rolled off his bed, the cot sagging and buckling a little as the bamboo legs threatened to come apart. He could have gotten something better, but considering they were leaving soon, it had seemed wasteful. Even the tent he had been allocated was small, though larger than any soldier’s. He had a cot, a meditation pad, and a location to store his equipment. More than adequate for him. He could have gotten more luxurious furnishings, a larger space perhaps, if he had insisted. Spent his contribution points. But it was a luxury he did not need, a waste of resources and time. Not that he had anything against luxury. He wasn’t one of those who railed against it just because he hadn’t had it when he was younger. Wu Ying just thought it wasn’t appropriate here.
His gaze fixed on the meditation pad, considering if he should train. Part of him, the diligent, stubborn part, said yes. He was not talented, he was not gifted, he was not rich. He had to spend every second, every moment he could training. That was the only way he could progress. Even now, while he had been trying to sleep, his dantian and chi had churned, working through his body subconsciously. A part of him, like breathing. But like breathing, concentrated effort would see better results.
As he considered getting back to work, Wu Ying stared at his hands, noted how they clenched and unclenched, felt the unruly flow of chi within his body, the unbridled and restless energy.
There was no way he could get any real training done. He was too agitated to stop, to wait, the train. He needed to move, needed to be out of this stuffy enclosure, needed noise and sound and movement. Meditating could make the energy calm, himself calm, but he’d have to face those images. Face them again—and he was tired of that. Better to move.
Mind made up, Wu Ying quickly threw on a set of robes, this one plainer and darker than his usual Sect robes. Better to dress like a plain soldier than to wear his Sect robes. He drew too much attention that way. Still, Wu Ying made sure to put on the under armor and his sword, worried that a surprise attack might occur. Better to be ready.
As he exited his tent, Wu Ying glanced up and down the pathway. There were no lights on in any of the other tents nearby, which contained other members of the Sect. He let his gaze linger on the tent that contained Li Yao, debating if he should walk in and talk to her. But she was sleeping. His presence would not be taken well. Also, he could imagine the kind of rumors that would start if he entered an unmarried woman’s abode in the middle of the night. Better not to.
Instead, Wu Ying dodged muddy parts of the unpaved path, nodding to the few soldiers who were up. It was well past the middle of the night, and in a few hours, the army would begin its march as the sun rose. The soldiers who were awake and lounging around campfires were up because they too could not sleep. Some would have just come off a watch, some spent their last few hours taking care of their equipment. A few were drinking away their sorrows or nursing injuries that refused to let them rest.