Chapter 11: The Battle of He Fei: Part I
The mornings felt especially refreshing in the capital of Wei, especially when they were in each other's company. Having returned to donning her usual silver armour, Galatea stood by Cao Cao's side as he sat on his throne, discussing the Wu punitive campaign animatedly with Xu Zhu and Sima Yi. After a final agreement, the two men payed their respects and departed, having received their concluding orders. Once the duo had left the chamber, Cao Cao finally turned to her, his high cheekbone resting on his hand, and muttered, "What do you think?"
She looked down. "Think of what?"
"Wu's attack is imminent. I must not let He Fei fall to either Rigardo or Sun Quan. The seizure of my castle would leave the heartland unacceptably vulnerable."
"Are you concerned because of He Fei's proximity to the heartland?" When he nodded in affirmation, she continued casually, "Then why waste your forces in dealing with them at all? Why must you send men against Rigardo and the Wu forces when you can have them fight each other?"
He pursed his lips in thought, before smiling in agreement. Anti-Yoma combat, I see. To sweep in and take the spoils only after the mindless beasts have weakened themselves.
"You've just given me an audacious idea, tigress," he declared, his eyes glinting as she kneeled down to kiss him. "One that involves daring, risk, and some measure of luck."
"One that I would like to try."
*
Zhou Tai was glad that none of his men were disrespectful enough to question why his eyes were silver. Surely, at least some of them would have looked at him closely enough to notice. He had lent his horse to an embarrassed Cynthia, walking alongside her and holding the reins as she stared uncomfortably ahead and tried her best to ignore the stares from the Wu soldiers. Her Tai did not seem too bothered – in fact, he enjoyed walking by her side, guiding his horse gently with his gauntleted hand along the grassy terrain of He Fei. The air was chilly, breezy, and birds twittered joyfully in the overcast early morning. Leading an enormous land force consisting of two hundred thousand men-at-arms, Zhou Tai marched on the impregnable He Fei Castle, the stronghold that protected Wei against southern incursions. This would be a crucial battle in determining the balance of power. If they could just break through here…
"He Fei Castle," he repeated aloud, sighing in awe at the Wei fortress that towered over the land. Surprise was of the essence. He glanced at the commanders at his side, and they gave a shout for their respective divisions to split from the main unit. The Wu Army roared its strength and resolve, and began to move out. Cynthia looked down at Zhou Tai, her eyes confused as to what she was supposed to do. "Please keep watch for any Yoma that approach," he prompted. "We will storm the castle and seize it as swiftly as possible." He raised Duskstrike, and the cavalry charged, their horses' hooves thundering courageously on the soft, dew-kissed grass.
Cynthia was about to draw her own sword when he suddenly stopped her, gripping the steed's reins harder. "We are merely fulfilling our duty here, Cynthia. It is best if you and your compatriots do not become embroiled in our war. Your duty is merely to protect our people from the Yoma, yes?" His face was sombre. "If possible, I do not wish to see you fight your own comrades, those who have chosen to follow the other Kingdoms."
She nodded sadly and turned to observe the main force of siege weapons. The catapults and towers were inching closer to the castle ramparts, and it wouldn't be long before the ram smashed down at least one of the fortress gates. She frowned. But if that was the case, why did there seem to be no visible resistance from the Wei troops inside? Indeed, as the battering ram broke through the giant city gate and the infantry charged inside, the bellows of triumph died down very quickly as the soldiers of Jiangdong flooded into He Fei.
They had descended upon a silent, abandoned fort. It resembled an empty mausoleum, as if this colossal tomb had been plundered by thieves and left to stand as a testament to the futile dream of eternity. The soldiers' spirited charge slowly became an unvigilant meandering, they stared around dumbly, unsure of their original orders. "Tai," whispered Cynthia, as the horse whinnied in fear, "something's wrong."
Zhou Tai's eyes narrowed further. His breathing became irregular, rapid, and his knees buckled. "What… what is this," he grunted, and Cynthia quickly leaped off Zhou Tai's horse to help him. "This… sensation…"
"I can feel it too," said the Claymore softly, as she caught his slumping body. "This is quite normal," she assured, nodding. "It's your Yoki. It's flaring because it can detect something with the same energy. This one's particularly strong – it may even be coming from an Awakened Being – "
An explosion suddenly rocked the grassland and the hills, smashing apart the very ground. Cynthia and Zhou Tai looked up in shock: the horsemen and infantry that had made it past the castle gates were hurled into the air like children's dolls, and siege weapons were blown apart into nothingness. Smoke enveloped the immediate vicinity, shrouding the survivors of the initial blast along with the corpses. Could it have been the Wei defences that scattered the men so? No, impossible. This form of counterattack was superhuman, and she couldn't even see any enemy engineers manning the castle fortifications. There was no way…
Her eyes widened as the mist before the fort scattered, revealing a man with black hair and silver eyes. He was not Chinese – he was of the Continent. And his Yoki levels were astronomical, saturating the air with a dark power that seemed to press down on her very head. Despite his youthful face, he was ancient, primeval. There could be no mistaking that countenance. He was amongst the greatest of the first generation's Awakened Beings. Cynthia now knew that the legends were true.
The silver-eyed Lion King…
"Rigardo!" she cried, drawing her sword, her heart pounding loudly in her ears and stifling her own voice. She tried her best not to tremble, for she had never seen this mythical monster in the flesh before. "What… what are you doing here?"
"Is it not obvious? I have arrived in a bid to control this fort. And, of course, to prevent any amongst you from interfering." He gazed out around at the groaning troops that had survived his first attack. "This castle now belongs to Isley," he declared softly, with finality.
Zhou Tai moved beside her, raising Duskstrike. "I shall fight you," he challenged calmly, his black greaves inching closer towards Rigardo.
As if in response, a geyser of Yoki burst from the ground below, and Rigardo's body began to visibly change, transforming into the Awakened form that was feared amongst all warriors for generations. The form of a sinister humanoid with a lion's head… "Come," he challenged, his dark muscles bursting open his garments, his roar deep and bestial. He bared his fangs as Zhou Tai, Cynthia, and the vanguard of the Wu troops advanced. He aimed his open hand at the advancing army and shot forth five elongated fingers, stabbing into the mass of soldiers, impaling several dozen alone. They shrieked in shock and terror as he flung them up and slammed them into their comrades, flinging a hundred helpless men into the air, only to dash them against the hillside. He parried Zhou Tai's cleaving attack and aimed another hand outwards, his tendrils smashing into the formations of several more phalanxes.
In frustration, Cynthia threw herself in front of him to divert his attention away from the soldiers, but he read her body movements easily, slipping away and slashing apart several more with his blood-soaked, tentacle-like fingers. She shouted an aggravated battlecry and tried a diagonal slash while Zhou Tai cut up from below, a projectile of light screaming towards Rigardo. The Lion King narrowly evaded and smashed his elongated fingers downwards, crushing into Zhou Tai's armour, and before the Wu general could grunt in pain, Rigardo's claws swiped across his chest, sending him flying back and crashing into his soldiers.
Rigardo turned his attention to Cynthia, aiming a finger at her forehead. She slipped past the lethal tendril clumsily and swung, but he counterattacked with such force that her skull warped, and a molar hurtled out of her mouth. She staggered, reeling from the cranial trauma, blood spilling from her lips. She held up her sword instinctively, barely managing to block the earthshaking punch from his arm.
Zhou Tai growled as he tapped into his Yoki for the first time in combat. An aura began to gather around him. How well he could control it, he was not sure. But he needed more power; Cynthia was in danger. She cried out in pain again as Rigardo's unexpected kick sent her careening in the direction of the castle walls. Zhou Tai dived and intercepted her body, rolling along the ground protectively to absorb the shock of her momentum. Coming to a halt beside a mound, he disentangled himself from her and scrambled up, slashing wildly at Rigardo. His eyes flashed yellow, and Cynthia looked at him in shock.
His speed… it was increasing. And his armour… it seemed larger. As if the muscles inside had expanded…
The Lion King counterattacked, but Zhou Tai stood his ground, parrying his claws with an upward slash. Rigardo let out an impressed hum as his hand momentarily struggled against Duskstrike. "Yoki? From you? How is that possible?" he murmured, as the Wu general's power surged around him, and he swung Duskstrike again, aiming for Rigardo's neck. Rigardo barely managed to dodge, snapping backwards as Zhou Tai's face mutated, his clenched teeth slowly growing into grotesque fangs.
Impossible. Our power, coming from a man of this realm? Does he have the flesh and blood of a Yoma inside him too? mused Rigardo, as he slipped past another blow from Zhou Tai's broadsword. The vast, crescent beam of light missed and sliced into the Wu troops, killing several dozen instantly. The Lion King's large eyes narrowed slightly as he observed his opponent's indiscriminate power. This one has a natural gift for harnessing Yoki. His level… it has the potential to surpass even mine.
The remaining warriors scattered as he and Zhou Tai began to trade blow-for-blow, their attacks against the other shaking the very castle. Energy exploded from underneath the two combatants as they struggled against each other's weight. Zhou Tai's curved blade smashed against Rigardo's lion claws, and each Yoki-inflamed strike sent yet more men careening away.
Rigardo reeled back, blood trailing from his arms. He glared at Zhou Tai. You are indeed worth taking seriously. He lunged without warning, his claws digging into Zhou Tai's bulging legs. The Wu commander could barely restrain a scream of pain as his Yoki began to overflow its boundaries. But if he could not match Rigardo's strength, how could he ensure that his remaining men survived?
How could he protect the woman whom he secretly loved?
Recovering from Rigardo's initial onslaught, Cynthia could barely make out the figures of the two fighters, enveloped in the sickly blue light emanating from their bodies. Blinded, she shielded her eyes as she stepped cautiously forward, crying out Zhou Tai's name. She desperately raised her sword to help, but another explosion rocked the vicinity, this time coming from his mutating form, and she felt herself rolling back painfully along the ground. The Wu general gritted his teeth, unsure of how much more she could take. He also felt himself weakening, despite his surge of Yoki. Duskstrike had served him faithfully for many years, but even the supernatural broadsword strained to break past Rigardo's thick, trunk-like arms. And with a wild twist, Rigardo shoved him back, sending him crashing limply away. He silently winced as Rigardo's triumphant voice echoed through the grasslands. "Begone. I have no business with weaklings."
But then, a different voice – a noble, militaristic voice – thundered across the castle's ramparts, silencing Rigardo. "But you do with us!" The Lion King whipped around, his eyes widening at the sight of a mounted warrior, his entire body encased in silver armour and wielding twin halberds. His eyes were alight with fire as he led a contingent of Wei horsemen that hurtled down from the fortress walls. They landed on the ground like comets and galloped towards Rigardo.
Ambush? How did I not sense their aura?
The Wu troops backed away, awestruck at the sight of the charging Wei commander. He had taken them completely by surprise, and although he had few troops with him, it was as if they had descended from Heaven. "Zhang Liao!" they screamed. "Zhang Liao is here!" The fearsome general had arrived with this leonine demon to destroy them… was fate intending to give them no quarter? Terrified and angry, they impulsively began a charge without Zhou Tai's authorization, but a sudden shockwave from the end of a powerful halberd sent the entire phalanx flying back and falling painfully on their backsides. Someone had descended from the battlements with a superhuman leap, landing and slamming his polearm against the ground. Who could have possessed such strength to hurl an army back simply by smashing his weapon into the soil?
"Do not even think about it. You're no match for that lion freak." The Wu soldiers glanced up at another man's voice, whose helm boasted a snow-white ponytail at its rear. His armour was predominantly blue and exposed his thick arms, while his lower body was protected by long, steel lamellar. "I am the Wei Kingdom's Lord High General, Xu Huang," he proclaimed, rising to stand between Rigardo and the Wu troops. His dignified eyes met Zhou Tai's. "Warrior of Wu. I suggest that you give up your King's ambitions of taking He Fei Castle for the time being. Our original orders were to standby until you and this monster destroyed one another. But it seems his superior power has overwhelmed you. It has forced our hand, too. We may be enemies…" he pointed his weapon at Rigardo.
"But we'd rather see this one dead."
The Wu general staggered back up. His Yoki was flowing through him freely, and he wasn't sure how long he could maintain the ideal level. But he could not worry about that for now. Things had certainly taken a bizarre turn. Still, it was a somewhat favourable situation. He nodded. "Fine."
The battered Cynthia looked at the newcomers in grateful astonishment as she stumbled to Zhou Tai. He nodded at her, and she smiled back. "Rigardo! On the orders of the Imperial Chancellor, step forward, and offer your head!" roared Zhang Liao, dismounting along with his troops. Rigardo growled and lunged, thrusting his claws at him and his troops. Although the horsemen were disposed of easily, the guardian of He Fei crouched and thrust his halberds forward, jamming his enemy's elongated fingers. With one twist, he severed them. Even as Rigardo staggered back, Zhang Liao went on the offensive, his Twin Eagles a perfect union of offensive power and defensive finesse. Cynthia and Zhou Tai flanked Rigardo, their swords cutting into him as one. Rigardo roared in frustration and pain as Zhang Liao's attacks quickened from the front, leaving him no room to counterattack. He backed away to regain lost ground –
And walked into the swinging polearm of Xu Huang.
The Lord High General had cut off his final route of retreat. His voice was gallant and certain. "Turn around, demon, if you think you are worthy." He called out his weapon's name – Destroyer – and it began to hum obediently. His eyes glinted with blue fire as the four temporary allies surrounded Rigardo completely.
"Let us see if your strength is as great as your arrogance for daring to set foot in our venerable nation!"