Chapter 25: The conclusion to this battle of fighting tyranny
After all of this time of fighting, of running, of trying to save each other and of trying to outwit the enemy, the battle over the fate of this village which will result in the fate of the land, still rages on although the future officers of Wei hope, that the battle will end soon, as they like to think that they're currently battling the last of the enemy. They like to think that this is the case, considering how exhausted they are, and how it's getting harder and harder to maintain their survival in this fight.
And so with Uni and Yuan, they continue to try their best in bleeding the enemy archers that pursue them dry, but it's getting harder and harder as they try to ambush the enemy around the corner due to how the pursuers get wise to this.
The pair of them are quickly concerned about this, as they find themselves not being able to defeat the enemy with their current strategy, but not being able to find a new strategy either as they continue with doing laps around the streets, and trying to ambush the enemy around the corners, but already they feel like they are at breaking point as they have been constantly running as fast as they can, and they're also concerned with how there's nothing to stop the enemy from splitting into two groups, with one going around and then ambushing the duo in a pincer movement, though the pair look back regularly to see that their pursuers have yet to do this, even though it's only a matter of time.
Eventually by sheer luck, the pair then notice something amongst the streets, they notice an area where they can climb up and so hopefully one of them can just simply ambush the enemy one at a time, as the other one passes that area at regular intervals. They then continue to run and do another lap in hopes that they can do this, as the area to climb up is just around the corner. If they can gain enough distance, they'll be able to lift one of them to the roof before the pursuers get around the corner that is if the enemy doesn't choose to split into two groups and ambush the duo in a pincer attack.
Though both Xiahou Yuan and Uni are tired from the running, the pursuing archers are as well and so with the last energy reserves left in their bodies, the pair then try to run as fast as they can, so that they can create as much distance as possible, which will give them as much time as possible to put their plan into action.
As the pair of them run they find that the time seems to pass by slowly, though perhaps this is down to how tense the situation is as they hope that they can finally defeat the archers that pursue them, and bring this long hard fought battle to a close. They quickly look behind them every now and then to see if the enemy had in fact sent some of their forces to catch them on their route, only to find that they haven't.
Eventually they reach the corner where the area that they can climb up is without incident, and it is then as soon as possible that Yuan helps Uni up onto the roof as well as giving her the bow and arrows, only for him to then go running off just before the pursuers turn around the corner. This pleases them both very much, as now they have a chance to finally defeat these archers once and for all, and they can only hope that this tactic will work.
With Uni on the roof she manages to fire a couple of arrows at the archers who pursue Yuan, and despite them running away from her, she manages to shoot a couple of them down and none of them notice that they've lost a couple of their comrades, but rather than that inform them that something is up, the pursuers notice that they're only chasing the male as opposed to the pair of them a few minutes earlier, and so with this realisation, they split up into two groups with one looking for the young lady, and the rest of them pursuing the male in hopes that he'll eventually be too exhausted, and so then they'll be able to kill him at last.
As the group that go after Uni turn back and rush through the street to where she is, the female archer on top sees them coming and so she quickly fires an arrow at one of them, killing them instantly. The thing is this action alerts the other 2, and so they then try and split themselves up while one of them fires and tries to provide cover, in hopes that the two of them being separate can result in them both being able to kill the young lady, as it'll be harder for her to dodge incoming arrows.
The thing is that Uni notices what they're trying to do, and so she just hides while the archer providing cover tries desperately to kill him with his arrows, only to find that he's unable to hit the target as his arrows are always a good amount of distance away from his target.
The archer running towards the other position soon reaches it, but as soon as he does Uni quickly ambushes him and fires an arrow at his torso which kills him, and though the archer trying to provide covering fie, fires an arrow during this time, Uni merely ducks out of the way. The remaining archer then realises that he's unable to kill Uni from where he is, and so he tries to run towards her hoping that by reducing the distance, he'll have a better chance as he does his best to dodge Uni's arrows, but he finds that Uni does not fire any arrows as he's charging, instead she waits for just the right moment such that when he's finished running, she'll fire the arrow at him, and hope that he doesn't dodge it.
At exactly the right moment, Uni then fires her arrow at him, and it hits him. The thing is that just as he dies, he finds himself frustrated that he has failed to notice the arrow which came his way as he just quickly fired the arrow at her, which the female managed to dodge with minimum effort.
To know that she has managed to defeat the other archers that went after her in this way pleases her very much, but she knows she can't rest yet, as there is now the matter of defeating Yuan's pursuers, and she can only hope that her ally is still alive, and it's just a matter of a short while before he comes around again to do another lap.
She finds that she doesn't have to wait long before Yuan comes back again, and she also likes how she can have a break from running which is good as she feels less exhausted compared to when she had to run for her life.
The young lady with the bow and arrow then fires at one of the 3 archers, and though they don't see the arrow incoming, they soon know when it has struck leaving one of them to try and kill Uni, and the other to try and shoot at Yuan.
This proves to be their downfall as Uni simply manages to shoot at the one dealing with Yuan, while dodging the incoming arrow even if it was just barely, only for Yuan to notice that Uni has killed his pursuer, which results in him picking up a bow and arrow from a dead enemy, and then firing at the remaining archer.
Upon seeing that the pair were successful in defeating their pursuers, the duo breathe a sigh of relief as they were able to defeat them despite earlier merely trying to run for their lives for much of the battle, as there were just too many of them, and they were all archers which contrasted to them not even having a bow and arrow, but now they're successful though even if it is to be the case, this battle is far from over, as they quickly remember how there were lots of enemies still fighting their friends, and so even if they're both exhausted especially Yuan, they head over there so that they can provide the best support they can, in hopes that their allies are still alive despite the predicament that they're all in, as the allies are heavily outnumbered not to mention that they're all rather exhausted, after a long day of fighting the enemies and protecting the allies and the villagers.
Eventually they find the area and just as they feared, they then see that the enemy mob surrounding the house is still large like before, and they can only hope that they can kill them off one by one, or at least until the enemy number is diminished such that they can kill them before the mob gets anywhere near them.
Both Yuan and Uni like to think that they can defeat the enemy with little difficulty, but they still feel that they need to be on their toes considering the status of their allies, and so as best as they can, they fire their arrows at the enemy mob surrounding the house, though just as they expected it's not that long before the mob realises that one by one they are being shot down, and so they quickly split themselves into two groups with one of them continuing to face the occupants inside the house, and the other group dealing with the archers.
The thing is as the soldiers attempt to head for the duo, the pair continue to fire arrows at the group and though they try to dodge the arrows as best as they could, the rate of fire is such that, there are far too many arrows for them to dodge, and one by one they all fall down just as they try and get within reach of the duo. It proves to be just as well for the pair as now they are out of arrows, but then they realise that they can pick up the swords dropped by the enemies and use them instead, even if fighting with melee weapons is perhaps more risky than fighting with bows and arrows, which they're both used to.
Still in any case, they like to think that they'll be able to defeat the remaining enemies surrounding the house, who now aren't that many and when they quietly rush towards the house, they manage to quietly take down the enemies there that are busy dealing with the occupants of the house. After which the occupants of the house then come out who are the younger twins of Blanc, and they're both relieved to see Uni and Yuan to still be alive, despite the battle raging on for so long and it looking to be ever so bleak and hopeless.
The foursome then waste no time and agree to save their relieves and reunions for until the battle is over, as there is still an area where it looks like their friends and allies will fall at any minute, and so even if they're all exhausted, they charge out for what they genuinely believe to be the last time in this battle, with hopes that they can save their allies.
It's not long at all before they reach the final group of enemies, and though it's not very long before the enemy notices that they've got soldiers attacking them from the back, the amount of soldiers already killed from the back before was such that in some of the fights between the future warriors of Wei, and these troops loyal to the tyrant Dong Zhuo, it's merely one on one and in these duels even with the low level of stamina that the future Wei warriors have, they're still able to defeat the enemy, and so one by one, the enemy gets defeated and at last after all of this time of fighting and concern and desperation, the village is saved but at what cost?
The group of them too exhausted to cheer or even celebrate then lie down on the ground even if it's probably dirty, as they're too tired to do anything else and their body calls out for them to rest.
They lie there for quite a while and eventually the village people, or what's left of the, as after so much tyranny and enduring a couple of assaults from the enemy there isn't many left, arrive to greet them. Though they are pleased to see all of the Wei officers in one piece even if they are incredibly exhausted, they are angry and frustrated, not with the officers, but how they've been on the defensive and how they wish to make Dong Zhuo's troops pay for trying to attack this village not once but twice. The villagers then discuss this with the future warriors of Wei, as they would like to know what they intend to do next as it's only a matter of time before the enemy attacks again, and they know that they cannot rely on sheer luck to defeat the enemy.
"Thank you ever so much for saving us twice my lord. I am amazed that you brave warriors were able to hold against the numerically superior enemy again. I wish we can repay you for your kindness." One of the villagers said in awe of them.
"No problem, it is a tragic shame that this village is constantly being attacked just because we tried to assassinate a war lord who ruled with such cruelty and tyranny, and it worries me that they're sure to attack again and again until this village, and its inhabitants are wiped off the face of the Earth." Cao squared explains.
"Yeah, and it frustrates me how although you do your best to train us, we then get invaded again soon afterwards and I think for the sake of those that have fallen, we must take the offensive against one of the villages and try and liberate them from these violent soldiers." A different one of the villagers said.
"Hmmm, while I understand your desire for revenge, I am concerned about how you'll fall to the enemy and I mean no offense when I say this, and yet at the same time if we're to stay here, there'll be more and more attacks and I don't think we have any hope of continuing to hold them off, while our own target Dong Zhuo has probably fled the area for good. I will need to give this some thought, but my men and I are in need of a rest, I apologise if we haven't managed to save more of you." Cao Cao said to them.
"Do not worry I understand completely, after all we are not well trained ourselves and it can't be helped if you are so small in number. In any case despite such odds you were able to save this place twice, and though we have lost many people, we have also managed to defeat so many enemies.
But in any case I believe something needs to be done if we are to have any chance of survival, and even if it's at great risk I would like for us to go with you to the other villages and take the fight to them, and give them everything we have, we might as well." Another one of the villagers said.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure if attacking the enemy is a good idea considering how heavily outnumbered we are, and how they can potentially ambush us if we are to go looking for them. If we stay here we can ambush the enemy here, as that's what we've been able to do to survive so far, as we've outwitted our numerically superior enemies.
In any case we need more time to train the villagers and perhaps then we can attack when our forces are ready." Yuan suggested.
"Yes that is a very valid point but I doubt we'll get much time to train considering we've had an ambush the day after our assassination attempt, and I feel that they'll try again and that time they'll probably wipe out the very villagers we need to protect and train. I highly doubt they'd expect us to go on the offensive, and in any case there might even be a few villagers working in those villages that if we liberate they can help us.
We need all of the strength we can get, and I'd much sooner try and rescue the other villages than keep defending this one." Dun proposed.
"Interesting points you make my cousins. I believe that it is best that we actually attack as like Dun said, I doubt they'll expect it and perhaps we can ambush them group by group.
Although the villagers have yet to be fully trained at least they can fight at all and it's better if you guys come with us than to stay and be killed off by any potential enemies, though I do propose that we gather all the food and the supplies we have then set off and make camp away from the village, so that then we can then recover without having to face an enemy attack, though we should have villagers watching in the unlikely event that they will.
With that said I am willing to allow you people to decide whether we should stay, defend and build up our strength as best we can, or do we leave and make camp with the intention of liberating a village the next night?" Cao Cao asked everyone.
He then asks for those that wish to defend to put their hands up, only for him to find that about a third of them do so. He then asks for those that wish to attack to put their hands up though this time about two thirds of them do so. Cao squared then smiles that the majority agree with him, and with that decision he orders everyone to gather all of the supplies they have, and to join them in their march to a random direction so that eventually at the right time they rest.
As they do so various thoughts run through their minds about whether it's the best choice they have made, but in the end they realise it's the best they've got and they only hope that they will succeed when they attempt to liberate a nearby village, that's controlled by the tyranny of Dong Zhuo.