Chapter 20: Battle of Fan Castle
Summers in southern China always felt damp.
Cynthia stretched out her naked body and opened her eyes, blinking groggily in mild surprise. She was in her lover's tent again. Funny. Was she not by the riverbank the night before? She lost count of how many times he took her there by now, although it certainly wasn't enough for her to be bored of it. But today, in the early morning… ah, yes, he must have carried her back, to rest upon his divan. Thank the gods they had not awoken any of his men! She blushed – if she recalled correctly, she had been especially noisy last night, although it was natural for her stoic beloved to remain almost silent in lovemaking.
She hoped he enjoyed her, every time they spent such precious time together. She certainly enjoyed him.
Sitting at the side of their bed, he had pulled on his undergarments, and was looking down fondly at her. "Come," he said simply. "We are riding to Fan Castle."
He could be so short and brutal with words! She playfully reached up for him with a curled leg, her toe seductively stroking his broad chest. "It is a crucial strategic outpost of Wei," he elaborated, remaining firmly on business. "It is under heavy attack by the Shu general Guan Yu. Reports of an Awakened Being's army have also reached us from that region. We must defeat the Shu forces there, along with the Continent's monsters."
"Then we're helping Wei defend Fan?" she asked, withdrawing her foot and pulling him close with her arms. "Has the alliance with Shu crumbled that quickly?"
His face darkened. "I told you earlier, Cynthia. Our Lord's impatience with Liu Bei's hold over Jing has reached breaking point, and this mission we've been assigned is proof of that. I believe this is the end of our entente with Shu." He lifted her up and set her on her bare feet, and despite the import of the situation, she could not help giggling. "This is serious," he chided mildly. "Do you not remember your friends? Their names slip my mind now. But be prepared. Sooner or later, we may be forced to fight them."
Cynthia's face fell, as if Zhou Tai had reminded her of unpleasant memories. "I know," she mumbled, hugging him and burying her face in his chest. "I know. I'm sorry. Would that I weren't so weak, I would actually be doing my job, but I can still feel so fragile, even with you by my side. It's my own fault."
He sighed, stroking her hair apologetically. "Come, sweet one," he repeated, his deep voice doting, "let me fight by your side again. We will grow stronger together."
*
Fancheng
Guan Yu may have managed to tear past Cao Ren's counterattack and surround Fan Castle, but he had not counted on a temporary truce between Wu and Wei to dispose of him once and for all. His rash incursion into Hubei had exposed his vanguard's flank, and a select alliance of Wei and Wu officers intended to exploit this oversight to isolate him and banish away his meddlesome presence forever. But progress had been painfully slow. A flood attack by Guan Ping, Guan Yu's adopted son, had drowned the seven armies Cao Cao sent as reinforcements, forcing Cao Ren to draft every available man to bolster the city's weakened defences. After several days of intense siege, the waters from the destroyed dam had only just receded; revealing hundreds of thousands of Wei carcasses piled outside the city walls. It was a disheartening sight.
Furthermore, there was to be shocking news that Guan Yu had already been murdered. An unexpected attack by one of the Continent's most fearsome Awakened Beings had changed everything.
It was into this chaotic backdrop that Lu Xun arrived. Astride his warhorse and damp from the torrential rain that had assaulted the region for days, he paused as the reconnaissance scouts concluded their hastily arranged report. "Guan Yu and Guan Ping are slain?" he confirmed, his eyes thoughtful. "That's somewhat… unexpected." He stole a glance at Jean, who rode beside him and was observing the soldiers intently. "Who could have managed to topple those two?"
The scouts looked at each other nervously. One of them spoke up. "It was a woman… pale, and with dark red hair. But she turned into… something else. We've been unable to even scratch her with our weapons. We require greater firepower and fresh reserves." He looked back. "She must have snuck in whilst in that human disguise of hers. We couldn't have escaped if her forces hadn't been distracted by the Shu force besieging the city."
Jean nodded. "Luciela. Her name is Luciela," she said, drawing her sword. "An Awakened Being of unspeakable power, and one of the three Dwellers of the Deep, or Abyssal Ones –Awakened Beings who possess lands and armies of their own on our Continent." She shot Lu Xun a cautious look. "The two of us are nowhere near enough to stop her. You have called for reinforcements, haven't you?"
"Of course," replied the scholar-general. "General Zhou and his lieutenant, Number Fourteen Cynthia, should be with us very soon." He looked outwards towards the flooded castle. "The Wei forces ere are certainly holding out well. I knew it was a wise choice for Wu to ally with Cao Cao's officers for the time being… at least, to do away with Guan Yu. After all, this man was becoming a thorn in both our sides. And I'm glad Marshal Cao Ren has managed to defend himself against Lucelia's onslaught thus far. I wasn't expecting anyone like her to strike so quickly."
Jean raised her head, closing her eyes. There was more than one foreign aura in the city. "This Yoki… it's unmistakable," she declared. "A warrior called Rafaela is here, fighting Luciela. I should go join her – she will require help."
Lu Xun shook his head. "Not just yet. Your foremost task is to ensure General Zhou does not lose control like he did at He Fei. In that sense, you will act as his control, and that is your first priority. We must surround Luciela completely before presuming to defeat her." He smiled as a large division of troops rolled into view from the wet hills. A familiar suit of red-and-black armour began to cast a powerful aura over the grasslands around Fancheng. "Good timing," called Lu Xun. "Are you well, General of Valour?"
Zhou Tai pulled at his horse, and it neighed as he and a uniformed Cynthia stopped beside the young genius. "We will personally strike at the Awakened Being," he offered quietly. "My men will mop up the Shu remnants."
"Good. Lu Meng has dealt with Guan Yu's remaining troops beyond Fancheng. Our target may be dead, but we still have to repel the forces of Luciela!" He raised his rapier, Silver Swallow. "All units, fan out! Surround the city and prevent any Yoma from escaping! General Zhou, Cynthia and Jean will join my contingent!"
He spurred his horse on, and his three allies followed. Hooves hammering on the ground, the robust steeds charged into the city gates and past the scores of corpses that littered the ground. In the blood-soaked streets fought Yoma and human soldiers, tussling against one another desperately as a giant, feline figure loomed in the backdrop. She had swept aside the Wei Men-At-Arms and the Wu archers, her dual-tailed body seemingly impervious to any manner of blade or projectile. Two gaping jaws, overlapping one another, growled in hunger as squirming mouths of the same kind manifested across her body's surface at her bidding. In her hand was the wide-eyed, cold corpse of a magnificently bearded warrior, a man who once wielded a celebrated blade called Blue Dragon.
Guan Yu.
A lone silver-eyed warrior stood before the Abyssal One, her facial scar a testimony to the pain she had shared with the monster that was once her sibling. The auras emanating from them bespoke of their vast power.
"Sister," hissed Luciela.
Rafaela pointed her sword at the feline demon. "Let me end your suffering. All your sorrow shall pass away if you die in my arms."
"I have no intention of leaving the world today, sister," replied Luciela, glancing at the four riders who were charging past the buildings and houses towards her. "But I can play with you for a short while." She tossed Guan Yu's corpse away and swiped at a contingent of Wu troops, sending a hundred men splattering against the castle walls like dough. A ballista shot from the Wei engineers narrowly missed her, and she quickly disposed of her attackers with a casual slash from her six-foot claws. But reinforcements on horseback were rapidly approaching. Rafaela attempted to stab her sword into Luciela's eye, but the latter backhanded her away, and her caped form landed painfully against the fort walls.
Cynthia tensed. But somehow, she did not feel as terrified as she did when she had encountered Rigardo. Perhaps she had grown more confident in Zhou Tai's newfound strength, in the knowledge that not even Awakening could tear them apart? On her lover's part, he grimaced as he drew Duskstrike. "That… is an Abyssal One?" His heart pounded in contradictory foreboding and excitement. How would he, a silver-eyed general, fare against such an opponent?
Luciela reached for Lu Xun, who somersaulted from his horse and attacked with a graceful lunge. He twisted and cartwheeled away from her angry claws, his form like that of a falcon in the sky. His sword dance was hypnotic, mesmerizing, and he moved with the grace of an acrobat, his eyes focused on piercing through his enemy's flesh. But with each cut that he inflicted, a new mouth appeared on her body and devoured the wound ravenously. He managed to pull out Silver Swallow quickly enough to deny her the satisfaction of consuming it as well. For the first time, his intellectual face was hesitant. "Five to one," he whistled to himself, as Wu soldiers collapsed around him. "Surely we can think of something."
Zhou Tai advanced. Silently, he thrust his sword forward and shot a shattering arrow of light at the Abyssal One. She growled as the shaft of brilliance tore a large gash through her. She could not devour this attack as she had done with the others. "Yoki?" she hissed. "Augmented by your sword… you have stolen our power to further your own." She lunged, her speed blinding. "You deserve death for that."
Jean approached a recovering Rafaela while Zhou Tai and Lu Xun commenced a renewed attack. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice completely emotionless as she dismounted. Her eyes flashed yellow as she watched the Awakened Being cautiously, her arm preparing to rotate.
"I am here for only one thing: information," replied Rafaela curtly. "What happened beforehand is a story I need not tell."
"Information?"
"The Yoma are not here merely because they are attracted by the scent of a nation's people." Rafaela cleanly hewed a lunging demon in two, keeping her gaze on Luciela's thrashing figure. "The King of Wei can smell the stink of a plot. Exactly what plot, I do not know just yet."
Two projectiles of radiance from Duskstrike shot towards the Abyssal One, and she pounced forward to evade them, attempting to tackle Zhou Tai. But the Wu general held his ground, veins bulging from his face, and her catlike eyes narrowed as he met her full attack with relatively little difficulty, his arms steady against her full weight. He lifted her off – lifted her off! – and counterattacked with another two diagonal missiles, drawing purple blood from her chest. I've never seen such a powerful half-human, half-Yoma, she thought in amazement.
Why can he control it? Why is he not Awakening?
And why can I not heal my wounds from the magick of his sword!
Cynthia moved to assist Zhou Tai whilst Jean began to twist her arm. Her rotations gradually constricted in spring and coil as her eyes flashed yellow. She quietly counted up to ten rotations as Rafaela and Lu Xun danced around Luciela, cutting at wherever they could without being rent into chunks of lifeless meat. But Zhou Tai's Yoki-enhanced projectiles had managed to inflict deeper wounds than expected. Luciela attempted to close the distance between them, but Rafaela's expertly timed attack thrust into her shoulder, and the mouth that emerged to consume the wound was hewed in half by Lu Xun's rapier. Luciela's two tails hurtled at the Wu strategist, welting him and crushing him against the ruins of a house. But even as she withdrew and prepared to deal with Jean, Rafaela's sword once again stabbed into her, this time from behind and into her windpipe. She swiped angrily behind her – and ate the full force of Zhou Tai's frontal missile.
"Annoying pests," she hissed in frustration, blood pouring from her neck. Killing Guan Yu should have ensured her dominion over Fan Castle. But a battle against the five accomplished warriors was becoming tiresome, especially when the power of that man in the black armour was amplifying by the minute. He had become a threat to her, and she could come to only one conclusion as to how a human could have advanced to such a plane of power…
"Her weakness is the flow of chi that cannot be hindered by Yoki," said Lu Xun calmly, conjuring six discs of pure energy and hurling them at Luciela. "I believe the damage I can inflict is not great, but with your augmented strength, you may be the key to sweeping her aside," he concluded, leaping back. Zhou Tai nodded and began to raise his Yoki levels, power surging through his gauntlets and into Duskstrike. But he could not allow himself to overextend this time. He glanced at Cynthia. He would not fail her. His broadsword hummed, and he swung, a current of lightning crackling around him, electrocuting the Yoma around him before shooting at Luciela. It tore through her guard, and she reeled backwards. He inwardly smiled.
He was truly mastering this volatile power!
"Twenty-one. Critical number of rotations reached."
Jean's taut legs propelled her upward, and her Drill Sword punched through Luciela's exposed abdomen. The Dweller of the South shrieked in pain and ire as her front disintegrated, the blade too large and strong for merely one mouth to devour. A wide hole torn through her body, the Awakened Being screamed again as Rafaela seized her chance and severed her right arm from her bleeding torso. "Sister," roared Luciela, "What purpose do you possibly see in aiding this human Kingdom? In aiding these pieces of meat? Stand by me! We are far more powerful together than alone!"
Rafaela merely leaped away, her only eye clouding over. "You and I both can't go on like this," she muttered, slicing off her attacking claws. Her face was impassive as Luciela staggered, her body systematically weakened by the allies' combined attacks. "I will have us return to where we should have remained."
Cynthia leaped off Luciela's hand, aiming her sword at her eye. Another bright missile from Zhou Tai cut into the fingers that tried to grab the silver-eyed woman. Drawing on all her strength and that of her beloved, she finally broke past Luciela's defence. Her eyes were yellow as she swung with all her strength. She roared, her sword tearing through Luciela's lips and flaying open her fanged mouth. "Go!" she cried, bathed in gore. "She's injured! Finish her!" Zhou Tai leaped up, his eyes cold and dogged, and thrust forward, emitting a final beam of light from Duskstrike that stabbed through Luciela's chest. She moaned and teetered as the shaft of light tore through her.
This was their chance to defeat the infernal titan –
"You swine dare to hinder me?!" she suddenly shrieked, her feline eyes recovering their light. They bulged with fury. "It will not end here!" She staggered back, clutching at her bleeding stump with her left hand. At her mental bidding, the remaining Yoma under her command moved to hold back the allied warriors, and as Lu Xun cut down the slobbering minions that protected her, she abruptly leaped up into the sky, past the castle ballistae and fortifications. Cynthia cried out in shock and Zhou Tai desperately shot a beam of light at her direction. But it was too late – Luciela had vanished without a further trace. Rafaela glared at the grey sky into which she had disappeared. Her escape was swift to say the least, as if it had been planned from the outset.
Her sister was even faster than memory served to remember.
Thankfully, the allies had accomplished their most important objective. While the failure to kill Luciela was unfortunate, the defence of Fancheng was commendable. Battered and bruised, the young Lu Xun lowered his sword, returning to near-stillness. "Why do you not pursue her?" asked Jean, her eyes returning to their silver colour. "She is weakened, if only for a while. I thought our objectives were to search and destroy."
"We will return to Jianye," he replied, gazing around the corpses that littered the city. He turned away and mounted his horse wearily, guiding it in the direction of the city gates. "You may not be able to sense it now, but conflict with Shu is imminent."
"How do you know that?" she muttered, walking beside him. Zhou Tai and Cynthia lagged behind, and Rafaela did not care to follow them.
"Simple. Guan Yu is dead," he answered. "The King of Shu, Liu Bei, is certain to attempt revenge. But whether he will blame the Awakened Beings or Wu, I'm not sure." His eyes were cautious. "Perhaps both."
Cynthia's eyes suddenly widened at the sight of an approaching man and a contingent of soldiers who had cut down the Shu soldiers and Yoma beyond the city walls. They were riding into the municipality. "Xu Huang?" she blurted, recognizing him from He Fei.
Xu Huang nodded his helmed head. "I see we meet again, noble warrior. But today, we are fortunate to be temporary allies once again. I did not expect it myself. While it will require many days to cleanse this city of its corpses, what's most important is that we've claimed victory. Guan Yu has fallen, Luciela is repulsed, and we may soon even discover the true stronghold of the Awakened Beings. Our heartfelt thanks go to Wu for their assistance!" he finished sincerely.
"Lord High General?" asked Cynthia suddenly.
He blinked, and then chuckled. "You're under no obligation to call me that," he interjected. "You are not of Wei, after all."
"Lord Xu Huang," she corrected herself bashfully, "if it's alright for me to ask … " She looked at him directly. "What is your opinion on this war that you are waging, and of the war against the Yoma?"
He paused, thinking carefully. "If you want my honest opinion – and I'm sure you do – I foresee far greater conflict against the creatures of your Continent than I do with Wu. In fact, Lord Zhang Liao and I have already convinced the Prime Minister to focus personally against the Awakened Beings ravaging China. I believe your King, were he wise enough, would do the same. After all, he does not stand a chance against Wei's military might." He nodded at her. "We bid you farewell. I hope we can maintain this truce for as long as possible." With those parting words, his horse began to trot away, and his troops turned to follow.
Rafaela moved to depart as well, although she did not follow the Wei party. "Are you not going with them?" probed Jean, looking at Xu Huang's back.
"I am reporting directly to the Imperial Court," said the veteran warrior. "Cao Cao's generals hold no authority over me. And the next time we meet, we may be enemies," she added, shooting Jean a hostile glance.
"I'm not so sure," quipped Number Nine. "With the way things are looking, it would probably be better that we weren't."
Zhou Tai looked down at his hand thoughtfully. So he had managed to stand toe-to-toe against an Abyssal One? He was growing stronger, of that there was no doubt. But as he looked down at the blonde woman who walked beside him, he began to wonder. How further would he be able to go… until he broke once again?
And would she be strong enough to save him?