Li Dian POV
“Jia!”
I heaved and huffed as I swung my reins over and over, sending my horse in a frenzied gallop. Lu Xiang’s head bobbed up and down and landed against my shoulder as I held onto her while I tried to catch up to Cao Ren. As I looked ahead, I saw that the gates were closed.
Kuh! They sealed off our retreat!
When I looked at the walls and the tower, I saw that the drums were still there but the men were now wielding bows and shooting our troops instead.
“Don’t falter, shield warriors! Just 1 more wave!” Cao Ren yelled. The anxiousness and panic in her tone was obvious. It would indeed be fatal if we were unable to get out of the city soon.
Kuh! I raised my spear and deflected the oncoming arrows, feeling that the current situation was truly laughable. Right now, it seemed like we were trying to break down the gate and charge into the city but in reality, the situation was the exact opposite.
“Lord Cao Ren!” I yelled as I neared and she looked back at me with a frown. It was clear that she was really troubled.
“We’re late.” I said I got closer and saluted her while holding on to Lu Xiang.
“No, it’s fine as long as you’re alright.’ Cao Ren said as she deflected more arrows.
“What’s the current status?”
“Not good. Zhao Yun’s troops charged in from the outside just now and we suffered more losses.”
“Where are their troops now?” I asked, looking about but not finding Zhao Yun’s troops.
“They immediately disengaged after charging. Their numbers were not many to begin with so it was likely just a distraction. After the charge, they closed the gates and we are still unable to open them.”
“Are there no levers on the gates?!” Cao Ren yelled out.
“None at all. This is a pulley-operated gate and the switch is at the tower!”
Pulleys… I looked about and saw that there were thick chains that were connected to the tower and were wrapped around the handles of the gates which were impossible to destroy with swords.
After all the battles, we had lost a significant number of our shield warriors. If this situation continues, we will not make it out alive. Maybe we should go to a different gate– No, that will not be possible. The south side is filled with enemies who will likely move to seal all the other gates once they have cleared out the remnants of our troops before coming here at top speed.
“Incoming!” Cao Ren yelled and when I looked up, I saw another cascade of arrows and raised my spear to deflect them.
“Command the troops! Tell those at the front to open the gates as soon as possible! We aren’t safe here, if we don’t make it out, we are doomed!”
“I am doing that right now!” Cao Ren frowned as she replied with frustration. This is probably the first time Cao Ren is in such dire straits in a battle.
Wu… Ah!
An arrow pierced my thighs. I broke off half of it with 1 hand and just that bit of motion was enough to make it hurt badly enough that my entire leg began to tremble. It was a good thing that i was on horseback now. If I were on foot, I would have collapsed to the ground by now.
“Have the troops sent to the tower not made it to the switch yet?!” Cao Ren yelled.
“Not yet! They’re being hampered by Zhao Yun’s troops!”
Kuh… Must I go…
— Wu! Just as I was about to turn my horse, the pain in my thighs forced me to stop moving.
“Lord Li Dian, don’t push yourself!” Cao Ren yelled when she was what I was trying to do, “The route to the tower is narrow! It will only be more dangerous if we send more men!”
I looked ahead again and saw a row of men pushing against the gates but it did not budge. Looks like it has been reinforced huh? No, if this goes on, we will not make it out.
Is there any other… Is there any other way…
…
Wait, we are trying to break the gates right?
“Incoming!” A soldier yelled and I snapped out of my daze to look up but the arrows were already nearing.
“Wu!!” I raised my spear and swung it about as I steered my horse towards an area where the arrows were sparse. Even that bit of motion was enough to make my thigh hurt enough that I was sweating buckets.
But now is not the time to indulge in my pain. I looked about but did not fine what I was looking for.
“Cao Ren!” I yelled out as she looked at me, “Where are our siege weapons?”
“Siege weapons?” Cao Ren said as she thought for a moment, “For the sake of saving time, I told the troops to leave them in the alleys.”
Ah… But that’s fine.
“What about the smaller items? Like ropes and logs?”
“… Ah!” Cao Ren understood what I meant and hurriedly asked the troops nearby before looking at me again, “We have everything we need except wooden logs!”
As long as we have the rest, it’s fine.
“Tell them to get it ready!”
“Alright!” Cao Ren nodded.
“100-man generals, are there any nearby!”
“Here!”
“Here!”
“You and you, you both, tell your troops to cut down some logs, the thicker the better, and bring them over!”
“Yes!”
I looked about and saw that there were some trees around with thick trunks. I turned back again and saw that there were still troops streaming out from the alleys but these were likely among the last batch who managed to retreat. If the enemy makes it here while we are still trying to break down the gates, we might as well surrender.
A quick count puts them as less than 7,000…
Kuh! We lost half of our troops!
“Protect yourselves, everyone! Don’t panic, and protect your vitals from the arrows!” I yelled anxiously to the troops who were looking haggard and at the brink of collapsing.
“Coming!”
Un?! I looked over where the voice came from and saw that the 2 platoons I sent to get some logs running back.
“Will this do!?” The leading officer asked between breaths and I looked at the log he brought. It was not as thick as I wanted but it would do.
“Cut down the roots immediately and bring it to the gates!”
“Yes!”
“Lord Cao Ren, the log is coming!”
“Troops, open up a route! Shield warriors on either side, watch out and protect the troops with the log!” Cao Ren yelled as she raised her spear and issued orders to the troops.
“Spread out some more! Don’t congregate at the gates! You’re only making yourselves easy targets!” I yelled to the troops as I looked back, “Keep to the walls, each shield warrior must be protecting 3 others at the least!”
First we are making some battering rams, now I am getting the troops to disperse. It’s like we are preparing to siege the city, which we are, but to get out and not to get in.
“Hu~” I inhaled and exhaled a few times before looking about. Looks like I can only give myself 0 points for this battle. All I hope for is that as many troops here can survive as possible.
“The log has been fixed in!” A yell came over and I looked at the gates and saw that the battering ram was now complete and headed towards the gates.
Good, we are getting out of the city soon. Once we get out, things will be easier.
*Sou* *Sou* *Sou*–
Another wave of arrows came down but I found that they were much sparser and had been getting sparser with each wave. As expected, there were not many archers in Xinye city nor were there many arrows. If we had mounted a siege from the very beginning, the results would have been much better, better than the current situation at least.
But all this is just hindsight. Saying all this has no use and only brings needless anguish.
“Hold on for a bit more, everyone!” I yelled out again. The archers above clearly could not put out more than a couple more waves of arrows but the mental state of our troops was weak enough that this would not bring them out of despair. If any troops were to defect now, our army would likely collapse in no time at all.
“It’s ready!” Another yell came from the gates and I turned to see that the battering ram was now at the gates.
“Good!” Cao Ren nodded at me and shot me a glance before looking back at the gates, “Begin ramming the gates!”
“One! Two! Three!”
*Dong*!
A loud and dull thus rang out as the battering ram made contact with the gates.
Li Dian POV
“Jia!”
I heaved and huffed as I swung my reins over and over, sending my horse in a frenzied gallop. Lu Xiang’s head bobbed up and down and landed against my shoulder as I held onto her while I tried to catch up to Cao Ren. As I looked ahead, I saw that the gates were closed.
Kuh! They sealed off our retreat!
When I looked at the walls and the tower, I saw that the drums were still there but the men were now wielding bows and shooting our troops instead.
“Don’t falter, shield warriors! Just 1 more wave!” Cao Ren yelled. The anxiousness and panic in her tone was obvious. It would indeed be fatal if we were unable to get out of the city soon.
Kuh! I raised my spear and deflected the oncoming arrows, feeling that the current situation was truly laughable. Right now, it seemed like we were trying to break down the gate and charge into the city but in reality, the situation was the exact opposite.
“Lord Cao Ren!” I yelled as I neared and she looked back at me with a frown. It was clear that she was really troubled.
“We’re late.” I said I got closer and saluted her while holding on to Lu Xiang.
“No, it’s fine as long as you’re alright.’ Cao Ren said as she deflected more arrows.
“What’s the current status?”
“Not good. Zhao Yun’s troops charged in from the outside just now and we suffered more losses.”
“Where are their troops now?” I asked, looking about but not finding Zhao Yun’s troops.
“They immediately disengaged after charging. Their numbers were not many to begin with so it was likely just a distraction. After the charge, they closed the gates and we are still unable to open them.”
“Are there no levers on the gates?!” Cao Ren yelled out.
“None at all. This is a pulley-operated gate and the switch is at the tower!”
Pulleys… I looked about and saw that there were thick chains that were connected to the tower and were wrapped around the handles of the gates which were impossible to destroy with swords.
After all the battles, we had lost a significant number of our shield warriors. If this situation continues, we will not make it out alive. Maybe we should go to a different gate– No, that will not be possible. The south side is filled with enemies who will likely move to seal all the other gates once they have cleared out the remnants of our troops before coming here at top speed.
“Incoming!” Cao Ren yelled and when I looked up, I saw another cascade of arrows and raised my spear to deflect them.
“Command the troops! Tell those at the front to open the gates as soon as possible! We aren’t safe here, if we don’t make it out, we are doomed!”
“I am doing that right now!” Cao Ren frowned as she replied with frustration. This is probably the first time Cao Ren is in such dire straits in a battle.
Wu… Ah!
An arrow pierced my thighs. I broke off half of it with 1 hand and just that bit of motion was enough to make it hurt badly enough that my entire leg began to tremble. It was a good thing that i was on horseback now. If I were on foot, I would have collapsed to the ground by now.
“Have the troops sent to the tower not made it to the switch yet?!” Cao Ren yelled.
“Not yet! They’re being hampered by Zhao Yun’s troops!”
Kuh… Must I go…
— Wu! Just as I was about to turn my horse, the pain in my thighs forced me to stop moving.
“Lord Li Dian, don’t push yourself!” Cao Ren yelled when she was what I was trying to do, “The route to the tower is narrow! It will only be more dangerous if we send more men!”
I looked ahead again and saw a row of men pushing against the gates but it did not budge. Looks like it has been reinforced huh? No, if this goes on, we will not make it out.
Is there any other… Is there any other way…
…
Wait, we are trying to break the gates right?
“Incoming!” A soldier yelled and I snapped out of my daze to look up but the arrows were already nearing.
“Wu!!” I raised my spear and swung it about as I steered my horse towards an area where the arrows were sparse. Even that bit of motion was enough to make my thigh hurt enough that I was sweating buckets.
But now is not the time to indulge in my pain. I looked about but did not fine what I was looking for.
“Cao Ren!” I yelled out as she looked at me, “Where are our siege weapons?”
“Siege weapons?” Cao Ren said as she thought for a moment, “For the sake of saving time, I told the troops to leave them in the alleys.”
Ah… But that’s fine.
“What about the smaller items? Like ropes and logs?”
“… Ah!” Cao Ren understood what I meant and hurriedly asked the troops nearby before looking at me again, “We have everything we need except wooden logs!”
As long as we have the rest, it’s fine.
“Tell them to get it ready!”
“Alright!” Cao Ren nodded.
“100-man generals, are there any nearby!”
“Here!”
“Here!”
“You and you, you both, tell your troops to cut down some logs, the thicker the better, and bring them over!”
“Yes!”
I looked about and saw that there were some trees around with thick trunks. I turned back again and saw that there were still troops streaming out from the alleys but these were likely among the last batch who managed to retreat. If the enemy makes it here while we are still trying to break down the gates, we might as well surrender.
A quick count puts them as less than 7,000…
Kuh! We lost half of our troops!
“Protect yourselves, everyone! Don’t panic, and protect your vitals from the arrows!” I yelled anxiously to the troops who were looking haggard and at the brink of collapsing.
“Coming!”
Un?! I looked over where the voice came from and saw that the 2 platoons I sent to get some logs running back.
“Will this do!?” The leading officer asked between breaths and I looked at the log he brought. It was not as thick as I wanted but it would do.
“Cut down the roots immediately and bring it to the gates!”
“Yes!”
“Lord Cao Ren, the log is coming!”
“Troops, open up a route! Shield warriors on either side, watch out and protect the troops with the log!” Cao Ren yelled as she raised her spear and issued orders to the troops.
“Spread out some more! Don’t congregate at the gates! You’re only making yourselves easy targets!” I yelled to the troops as I looked back, “Keep to the walls, each shield warrior must be protecting 3 others at the least!”
First we are making some battering rams, now I am getting the troops to disperse. It’s like we are preparing to siege the city, which we are, but to get out and not to get in.
“Hu~” I inhaled and exhaled a few times before looking about. Looks like I can only give myself 0 points for this battle. All I hope for is that as many troops here can survive as possible.
“The log has been fixed in!” A yell came over and I looked at the gates and saw that the battering ram was now complete and headed towards the gates.
Good, we are getting out of the city soon. Once we get out, things will be easier.
*Sou* *Sou* *Sou*–
Another wave of arrows came down but I found that they were much sparser and had been getting sparser with each wave. As expected, there were not many archers in Xinye city nor were there many arrows. If we had mounted a siege from the very beginning, the results would have been much better, better than the current situation at least.
But all this is just hindsight. Saying all this has no use and only brings needless anguish.
“Hold on for a bit more, everyone!” I yelled out again. The archers above clearly could not put out more than a couple more waves of arrows but the mental state of our troops was weak enough that this would not bring them out of despair. If any troops were to defect now, our army would likely collapse in no time at all.
“It’s ready!” Another yell came from the gates and I turned to see that the battering ram was now at the gates.
“Good!” Cao Ren nodded at me and shot me a glance before looking back at the gates, “Begin ramming the gates!”
“One! Two! Three!”
*Dong*!
A loud and dull thus rang out as the battering ram made contact with the gates.
