Chapter 20: The fight for the village.
After waiting for some time though due to this being the 2nd century they have no idea for how long exactly, they finally see the enemy come. The sight of who knows how many enemy soldiers on horseback, along with the sounds of galloping horses concerns them deeply as even if they are unsure of the number of them, they definitely outnumber the Wei officers and this worries them by varying amounts depending on the officer in question.
Despite the sight of these troops increasing their worries and reinforcing the idea that they along with the village will fall to them, they immediately put those thoughts of fear away as they know that it will do them no good. They know that all they can do is to protect the villagers, as well as to do their best in surviving this battle. They have to survive it or else history will be changed for the worse, not for the better and instead of the war of the three kingdoms being over much sooner, it will last for even longer than what it did in the original timeline.
With Uni and Yuan at the front using a few carts as make shift cover, they start opening fire at the enemy horses. They manage to shoot a good number of them down but not before they are forced take cover, as Uni needs to reload her chu ko nu, and the enemy archers start to fire back with their arrows just flying over their own make shift cover.
As if this isn't bad enough for them, they then see that the enemy horse riders have rode around and have attempted to shoot their arrows at them, forcing them to run as fast as they can inside the bar while trying to run in a slalom motion, so that they don't get hit by the arrows. They also try to reload their weapons while sprinting so that they can fire back, although it isn't easy considering how conscious they are of running in a slalom motion as quickly as possible.
As they sprint as fast as they can they then hear the sounds of horses close by once again, and so they look behind them to see that the enemy horsemen have their spears and swords in hand, ready to strike. Worse still is that they're getting really close.
Left with no choice as they realise they probably won't make it, after just barely reloading their weapons again they both turn around to fire at the enemy horsemen who are closest to them, especially those who are armed with melee weapons. But there are still a few more of them who are quite close by and so when Uni runs out of arrows in her weapon once again, the pair of them then try to run as fast as possible as they try and head for the bar, in hopes that the pursuers will be forced to dismount and then the duo can ambush them.
Although Uni desperately tries to reload her weapon again while running as fast as she can, she quickly realises that the horses are gaining ground at quite a rapid pace. The pair of them then start to worry that they're going to die in a matter of a few seconds, but then they quickly notice that the bar is so close, and so they decide to head over there and leap over it as they know the horses will have to dismount or at least go around. Either way they know that that action will buy them some time, even if it is just a minute or two.
Though they sense that the enemy horse riders were within striking distance, they manage to vault over the bar just as the pursuers tried to swing at them, only to just barely miss them. They waste no time being relieved however, as they know they have merely managed to postpone the inevitable. They quickly rush through to the back in this makeshift warehouse where all of the wine is stored in large pottery jars, which they use as makeshift cover while reloading their weapons so that they're ready to ambush the enemy again as they come in. They then notice how the entrance is small enough to force the enemy to come in one by one, which is ideal for the two archers of Wei.
Within a few seconds, one by one the enemy troops come in though they're armed with bows and arrows, and unfortunately only Yuan is able to fire initially because Uni is still busy in trying to reload her weapon. Although the archer manages to wipe out the first one, there's plenty more of them from where that came from, and although Yuan quickly manages to load another arrow into his bow and kills yet another one, they just keep coming and then he's forced to hide behind the jar away from the arrows. After that they come pouring in more quickly though by that time, Uni is able to fire at the enemies who have just come in, killing about half a dozen of enemies or so.
Eventually while she continues to fire her weapon, no more enemies come in and so the pair then escape from the back to assist their allies, but then after hearing footsteps chasing after them, they realise that there's still more of them to go, and that they were merely taking cover as Uni was firing her barrage of arrows.
Once they get to the back entrance and are back outside again, they quickly notice that they are surrounded by enemy horses, and that behind them are at least a few enemy foot soldiers. The pair of them then look at each other worried that perhaps it's the end for the both of them, as there's nowhere left for them to go, and they are sure that they won't survive in fighting these seemingly countless enemies.
They would have hoped to have wiped out more of them, but the mobility advantages of their horses meant that ambushing them would have been difficult, especially as they were able to surround them. There was also the issue that there was just far too many of them, and they just couldn't wipe out a decent amount of them, especially with how Uni has to spend a significant amount of time reloading her weapon.
As they both try to think as quickly as possible for a strategy to defeat these enemies or more realistically how to evade the surrounding enemies, they can't help but feel defeated especially right now as they don't see a way out. Even though they expected this to happen, it still depresses them very much to know that they have lost, and that they have failed to survive or to defeat them. But then they realise that even if they won't be able to help Cao Cao achieve his future ambitions, or even help the people of China out, they have at least tried and at least they can have the honour of dying for their duty.
Meanwhile at another area of this place, the rest of the large army of evil enemy horse riders then charge through a bunch of houses, where next to the houses are a few pieces of pottery but as the horses ride through there, a few officers of Wei: Blanc and her two twin sisters Rom and Ram strike against them, though only when the majority of horse riders have already passed through them, as they quickly realise that there's far too many enemies for them to face, and so they hope that by wiping out those left behind they can bleed the enemy numbers without alerting them.
Although the trio manage to successfully finish them off after striking them, they quickly become worried about where the enemy have gone after riding past them. They're worried about how the enemy seems to be looking for soldiers to kill, or even stray villagers who are outside the village though thanks to the Wei officer's efforts, everyone except the soldiers are inside their homes. The unfortunate thing is however is that it will only be a matter of time before the soldiers have looked everywhere, and then start storming in the houses, looting them and killing the occupants, perhaps they even intend to burn the houses if not the entire place to the ground.
The trio, especially Rom and Ram quickly soon become concerned to say the least about what to do. Do they hold their position and wait for the enemy to pass through again, or do they try and find them? Neither option looks good as the threesome will probably die against the massive numbers that the enemy has, but then again there's also the horrible idea of innocents being slaughtered by them.
The very thought of the villagers being killed by the enemy soldiers sickens the three brown haired females, but it also makes them feel guilty. This is because they start to believe that they are responsible for the soldiers coming in to avenge Dong Zhuo. They also feel a sense of hopelessness that they don't feel that they can protect the villagers from the enemy. They fear that during the assassination attempt, many villagers have died because of them and many more will die today.
Suddenly they then see the enemy again though this time there are no horses or the massive numbers, instead there are only a few of them and they're all armed with either swords or spears but no bow and arrows. In response the three females stay hidden and wait for the golden opportunity to ambush them, while hoping that it won't be the end of this village or them just yet, as it would be a tremendous shame if they fall before they can even slay the tyrant Dong Zhuo, let alone help Cao Cao unite the land so that it doesn't have to face many years if not decades of chaos.
Even though they know what to do with regards dealing with the three enemy soldiers heading their way, they still have no idea on what to do next as various thoughts are racing through their minds, as they struggle to think logically and to focus on the task at hand. They can only hope that an opportunity presents itself, or that circumstances force them to make the most sensible choice possible.
The thing is that the enemy patrol walks slowly, almost as if they are taunting anyone listening to dare attack them. The soldiers reek of cockiness, especially with their body language and how they casually hold their weapons over their shoulders, laughing their heads off. The very fact that they take so long bothers the females as they feel that they're merely there for a diversion, acting as if they are aware of the brown haired female's presence.
But eventually after walking slowly, acting in the same manner all the way towards them, the three ladies expose themselves and strike them down while the trio of soldiers are caught off guard, as the soldiers get whacked to death from Blanc's hammer and Rom and Ram's staffs. The fact that they have managed to wipe out the enemy trio without as much as entering proper combat against them, does not bring much comfort to them as there are still plenty more enemies in this village.
What makes it worse is how they hear the sound that they feared to hear, the sound that brings them so much sadness and despair, the sound that they have just heard: the sound of a villager screaming their head off as they know that they are just about to die.
The trio tries not to think about how frightening it is, to know that the villagers are in fact dying and will probably be wiped out soon, but what makes it worse is the fear that the threesome will not stand a chance, and experiencing this worries them a lot more than when they were hiding by their makeshift hiding places. Soon afterwards they quickly come to the conclusion that even though it will probably not make much difference if they head over there to help, it's the least they can do. In fact it is their duty, even if it gets them killed and denies them the ability to make their lord Cao Cao's dream a reality.
Fortunately for them, they know of the location of the scream and so they quickly head towards there, knowing full well that a bunch of horseback riders could attack them from behind and wipe them out at any time. When they reach there though, they already see various soldiers barging in doors with little effort, a few of them are then dragging out the villagers into the streets before beating them up harshly only to then kill them.
Though hearing the sounds of the screaming brought various negative unpleasant emotions, which run through the various thoughts of the minds of the female warriors, the sight of the slaughter increases the emotions and makes it worse, but worse still is their feeling of powerlessness as this is almost certainly happening all over the place, and stopping it all will be very difficult if not impossible.
Although the morale of the females is at an all-time low right now, there is one thing that they realise that they can use to their advantage: the element of surprise. They quickly come to the conclusion that if they can surprise the soldiers attacking the villagers, then perhaps they can defeat them all without so much as an injury, though it will be quite the difficult challenge.
And so with everything they quickly thought about in mind, they start to strike at the various guards there who are preoccupied in their evil deeds. But it's only when they manage to get about half a dozen or so of them, that they alert the rest of the enemy although at least there's only about a few dozen of them, but even then there's bound to be more of them nearby. What makes it worse for them is how there are a few archers as well, meaning that even if they can deflect the blows from the enemy strikes from their melee weapons, they will probably get shot by the arrows.
They try to think of a way to get out of this but many thoughts tell them that this is it, this is the end and that they will probably fall here. This bothers them deeply but even though Rom and Ram feel like crying and their eyes start to show this, they try to restrain themselves as they know that they have done their best in doing everything they can, in not just helping this village but helping their lord Cao Cao achieve his ambitions.
In a different part of the village where there's a row of houses opposite another row of houses, the hero of chaos Cao Cao, his cousin Xiahou Dun as well as his female ally Noire hide in an empty house, as they just know that the enemy intends to look for villagers and soldiers to kill, before they would then go into each house and kill all the occupants inside along with looting what possessions they have, maybe even burning the houses to the ground as well.
The trio wait and try to remain as calm as possible, despite the fact that there are a large number of enemy horse riders heading their way. Though they know that they have done their best in terms of finding the best place to ambush them, the fact that there's so few of them excluding the villagers who they know won't stand a chance, convinces them that they're perhaps postponing the inevitable, that they won't survive this encounter with the enemy.
They try not to show this concern in their body language and they do try and tell themselves that they will make it, but they know deep down inside that they probably won't. For Noire particularly she feels that this is because they have tried to find and assassinate Dong Zhuo, before he has a chance to obtain power and to use it with absolute tyranny. But instead of being successful and saving lots of lives, they have ended up being indirectly responsible for the death of the villagers, and perhaps their own.
They soon realise however that there's nothing they can do but to try for the sake of the land and hope that somehow, some way both themselves and their allies throughout the rest of the village, can get through this without dying and that as many as villagers as possible can survive the fight.
They soon manage to put these thoughts in the back of their minds when a few guards barge in through the door. The enemy soldiers themselves become shocked when they find that there's no one there but within a few seconds, all 3 of the guards are then killed by the strike of the Wei warrior's swords.
They waste no time after killing them, as they then move the bodies around the corner of the house so that hopefully they can then do the same to the next group of guards who try to come inside. Soon afterwards they then hear the footsteps of more soldiers as well as yelling from them. Their words suggest to the three officers inside that they mean business, they're confident and cocky as well as sadistic with what they would like to do to the villagers inside.
The new enemy group appears to have come to a stop outside of their house but when they hear them barging through the door, they quickly realise that the door they're barging in is the house opposite. They know that they intend to kill or do other horrible things to the villagers inside, and since they don't like the idea of leaving the villagers to the fate of the soldiers so that they can live, they break cover and rush to the opposite house.
They then successfully rush into the opposite house and slay the guards just as they tried to grab the poor family in there, but they then hear lots of footsteps rushing outside, indirectly telling them that they have been spotted leaving their house to help the villagers. It becomes clear that they're surrounded and what makes it worse is that they are with villagers who can get hurt at the very least, the worried looks on their faces do not help them in the slightest. Eventually one of the soldiers outside speaks to them.
"Look we know you are inside, we saw you. Now if you all exit the house with your hands up, we promise that we will spare your lives. But if you don't then we will enter your house, make you pay for your defiance before we kill you all, loot you all and then burn the houses down. You have until the count of 20." One of the guards said in a menacing manner, knowing for sure that the Wei inside are trapped.
The people inside the house look to one another, in fear and panic of what to do, whether to surrender and hope that they will be spared and perhaps when the time is right to try and escape, or do they just try and fight to the death now? But they also wonder about whether there's an alternative as they look around and try and think of something. The problem is for them is that even though they try to remain calm, it is ever so difficult and they genuinely feel that their lives will end here, being surrounded by the enemy and being outnumbered with no way out except to die by them.
All they can do is to just look to one another, almost as if to say goodbye as well as to apologise for being in this position. The villagers appear to be ever so upset that they will not live through this terrible ordeal, while the officers are frustrated and beyond upset that they will not live to see their dreams. They try not to show it in their emotions and body language but it is proving to be quite difficult.
The group of them agree to not show that they're scared, or upset or defeated as they try and think rationally about how to get out of this appalling situation, where all answers seem to lead to death and suffering. But even so they try not to give up what little hope they have left in that they can survive and get through this, even if it looks impossible to say the least.