Chapter 34: The Southern Battles: Part II
"We'll attack from five directions," said Yue Ying, cocking Sapphire Crescent and glaring up at the disoriented Awakened Beings. "From the east, south, west, and north. And… she nodded at Zhao Yun and Flora. "From above." The couple leaped into the air, their bodies flying like falcons towards the remaining throng of monsters. Their teamwork resembled their dance in Chengdu, their sword and spear fighting together as one formidable weapon. While the more intelligent demons had deduced that the infantry were protecting the Pyrotroopers and Crescent Wardens at the rear, they could not even move to attack the pikemen, for Flora and Zhao Yun had at last managed to cleave into their leader, the beetle-like creature, breaking into its carapace with their simultaneous and complementing attacks.
"One more!" shouted Zhao Yun. His boots skidded along the surface of the beast's armour. "We only need… one more!" Flora quickly initiated her Windcutter, pouring more than all of her strength into her final attack. Her pupils elongated into that of a Yoma's, and her strength quadrupled. Several brief flashes of light, and the strossus clicked its death throes, its body collapsing along with its shell. Pale, writhing maggots fell to the ground along with its severed corpse and were quickly incinerated into ashes by the Wu Pyrotroopers. Zhao Yun and Flora landed amongst the damp reeds, smiling at each other. The leader of the squadron, or at least the most powerful of its kind here at Nanman, was no more.
Yue Ying nodded in approval. But it was not quite enough yet. "All Claymores! Stay on your targets!" she shouted, raising her hand for yet another push on part of the spearmen and pikemen. "Cynthia and Zhou Tai! Clear us a path!"
Cynthia aimed her sword at the roaring colossi, clasping the long handle with her hands. "Tai!" she called, and Zhou Tai loomed behind her back, his gauntlets gently moving to hold her wrists. His armour pressed against her curvaceous back and behind. "Let's do this!"
He nodded. "Together." Their eyes flashed yellow, and their saffron auras united, churning into one condensed cloud of power. It surrounded their bodies and began to channel into Cynthia's Claymore, entering from Zhou Tai's gauntlets and then into Cynthia's slender hands, before slipping into the handle of the sword, and passing to the thick blade. The Awakened Beings had not noticed – or at least, they did not care enough to stop them. It was perfect. "It's time," he urged, gritting his teeth. "Bring my strength within you. It is yours."
She nodded in thanks. "Now!" she cried, and an immense, devastating shaft of light erupted from her sword, cleaving into the swamp and moving in a wide arc, slicing apart twenty Awakened Beings. Chunks of unhealable flesh splashed into the mire, sending geysers of stinking sewage and polluted water into the sky. The screaming sunbeam doubled in power thanks to Cynthia and Zhou Tai's physical union, and allowed the other Claymores to dispatch the confused and blinded Awakened Beings with ease. Yue Ying and her men fired another round of fireballs into the staggering mob, and the swamps burned with a passionate flame as the allied vanguard advanced, overwhelming the gigantic freaks on the first perimeter as Flora and Zhao Yun cut aside those who blocked their way. "Again!" cried a sweating Cynthia, and Zhou Tai nodded. Their auras flared again, embracing one another and shooting into Cynthia's blade. Whereas there had roamed a hundred Awakened Beings, there remained only fifty, and as the alliance vanguard pushed further into the swamps and another arc of fireballs slammed into the throng of writhing creatures, it seemed that victory was only a few steps away.
Before long, the Awakened Beings had been pushed far enough for the main vanguard to break through, and the allies forces roared their triumph, the fire from the bladed bows and flamethrowers consuming the contemptible marauders of China. Ashes drifted into the sky, and the air was filled with the crisp, sickly stench of cooked Awakened flesh. "Now, there only remains one enemy," said Yue Ying, reloading, "and that's the southern Abyssal, Luciela. When will she drawn out by so many of her underlings' deaths, I wonder?"
"My Lady! My Lady!" cried a voice behind her.
She turned around. A scholarly, small-eyed man in minister's robes was standing before her, visibly out of breath. He had pushed to the frontline with a small detachment of horsemen. She raised her eyebrow. "Lord Zhuge Jun?" she mumbled. "But you weren't assigned to the Southern Expedition. Why are you here?"
The slight man kneeled. "Emergency report, my Lady."
"Emergency report?" she asked, her heart suddenly beating louder than she expected it to.
"Two vast Wei armies have been spotted advancing from two different fronts, marching from the Central Plains and to Wan Castle in Shi Ting. Shu and Wu are under direct attack – our men, our allies…" Beads of sweat rolled down Zhuge Jun's face. "Wei has caught us in a double-pronged invasion!"
Yue Ying's eyes widened. "A thoroughgoing offensive, just when we'd begun to make an inroad into Nanman?"
Clare looked at Deneve. "They're trying to wedge us between Luciela and their own troops?"
"Impossible!" cried Yuma.
"Even more than that… they've made progress into Shu and Wu territory already?" said Miria in disbelief. "Do you know who are leading these armies?"
"The Prince of Wei, Cao Pi, is personally commanding the four hundred thousand strong Wu Zhang legion. Xu Huang is leading his own force to Shi Ting – three hundred thousand strong. Scouts have reported of two black-suited, silver-eyed women with him. Lord Zhuge Liang has now changed course and prepared the reserve armies to counter Cao Pi's offensive, but it may not be enough. We require immediate reinforcements, my Lady!"
"My husband… has left the southern frontlines already?" Yue Ying stared at Zhuge Jun. Her Lord had not even notified her! "So we've been forced to halve our army just as we had the advantage," she said in realization. "That Wei would launch an offensive while we were executing our own… I should have expected something like this from Cao Cao and his strategists. He's just like a chessmaster… they must have wanted to take advantage of Luciela's presence, even though they plan to destroy her later. Damn their expedient genius," she grimaced. "They're pretty good, Cao Cao and Sima Yi."
She quickly leaped up on her warhorse, and it whinnied. "Clare, Helen and Deneve! Stay here and reinforce Cynthia and Admiral Zhou. Once you've dealt with Luciela, join Tabitha, Yuma, Miria and Jean, who will be riding to Shi Ting and countering Xu Huang's attack. General Flora and General Zhao will accompany me to Wu Zhang Plains to teach that brat Cao Pi that it takes a lot more than royal blood to rule China. We do not have much time. Let's go!"
"Ma'am!" acknowledged the Shu soldiers around them. The severity of the situation was acute. If Cao Cao's attacks at Wu Zhang Plains and Shi Ting succeeded, there would be absolutely no chance of holding the battlelines against Wei's gigantic military machine. But to fight a three-front war… it seemed to stifle the voice of sanity. Jean, Tabitha and Yuma hastily mounted their own steeds, and Miria nodded a brief farewell to her three subordinates as she joined her junior soldiers. Their horses' hooves trammelled the ground as they fled the marshlands and rode to the east, to Wu territory in preparation for Wan Castle's defence.
"Lady Cynthia!" cried Yue Ying, glancing back at the Rising Dragon General. "Can I leave this battlefront to you?"
Cynthia nodded, her eyes steady. "With General Zhou by my side, I can't lose."
"Well said. Marshal Flora! General Zhao! Come with me! Ride as fast as you can!" The spear warrior and Number Eight glanced at one another, their eyes uncertain, before compliantly following the Grand General as she turned to the north. Yue Ying's eyes flashed as they began their departure from Nanman, hastening their way to the Shu stronghold that lay before the Central Plains. At this rate… we'll need three days to reach Wu Zhang. "No matter what, we must hold off the Wei King's onslaught," she said, breathing heavily as the landscape whirled past the trio, "and survive the wrath of his legions and silver-eyed allies."
*
Fighting a battle suddenly felt a lot more difficult when your comrade head count was halved. At least, that was what Cynthia felt as she and Zhou Tai's backs pressed together, facing the dozen or so Awakened Beings that had survived the initial allied blitz. "At this rate, we'll be hemmed in," she cried. "Lady Huang's strategy can't be executed without the others."
"What do we do, Deneve?" yelled Helen, dodging the flying head of a slain Shu soldier. It sunk rapidly into the marsh waters. "We can't hold of all of them without Moony's elite goons – "
"Shut up, Helen." Crouched on the ground, Clare placed a finger to her lips as the Awakened Beings perked up, their long snouts sniffing the air. They began to back away, lumbering past the reeds and the bubbling quagmire. The beleaguered army did not dare to lower their weapons, but something was compelling the Awakened Beings to relent in their brutish assault, as if… as if…
They did not want to interrupt something.
A new presence was here. It had hidden itself amongst the throngs of dark minions, revealing itself only when it was left with no choice. A colossal aura of Yoki smashed upwards into the firmament in the shape of a pillar, and from the skies hurtled a feline form, with four sets of teeth and many more mouths crawling over its feminine but humongous form. The Awakened Beings around her hissed, clicked and howled in awe and fled altogether, in a twisted imitation of servants scurrying away from a queen's presence. Zhou Tai's eyes, usually contemplative and withdrawn, widened like a small boy's as the towering Awakened Being stretched, mock-mewling as it stared hungrily at the allies. "It is she," he said in apprehension. Luciela, the Dweller of the South, had at last shown herself. "One of the three Abyssal Ones… We fought her at Fan Castle." He raised his sword, glaring up at her. "We must make sure she does not survive her defeat this time."
"Don't get cocky, mortal," snapped Luciela, drawing herself up. The Shu and Wu infantrymen roared and pushed forward, but were sliced apart in moments by huge, cutting claws that seemed invisible to the naked eye. Those lucky ones who had somehow managed to survive tasted the sharp end "Unfortunate circumstances do not have the final word on victory or defeat." She snorted as Clare, Helen and Deneve leaped up. "Do you think a frontal attack can be anything more than suicide – "
"Now!"
With Cynthia channelling her Yoki into him, Zhou Tai swung his sword down, and a curved projectile of lightning shot up towards Luciela. Her arm's maws opened to consume this new weapon, but it was a futile endeavour. She shrieked in outraged shock as the voltage coursed through her body, enabling Deneve to swing down onto her head, and Helen's rubber arm to stab at her from behind. Clare tapped into a large reserve of her Yoki, and her speed tripled into a pace that outpaced light itself. She slashed up and down, left and right, hacking determinedly, sweat pouring down her face as she desperately attempted to weaken Luciela in time for another battle-making diversion.
But Luciela was far too tenacious. More firepower was required. "Cynthia." Zhou Tai pointed upwards, and crackling energy emitted from his sword. "Again. Lend me your Yoki – "
A sickening crunch of bone and a squelching of internal organs echoed through the swamp. Cynthia blinked in innocent surprise, looking down at the pillar of hardened Yoma bone that had impaled her through the stomach.
"What… what is this?" she mumbled, her distressed voice a stutter.
She had not registered the pain just yet, but with each passing moment, the tears flowed faster. She released her sword and fell back, reeling for an eternity, falling towards the mire in a dazed trance as the world around her slowed to an agonizingly lucid pace. It seemed as if all her friends around her had stopped in time, just for her. Everyone's eyes were wide apart, their mouths split wide in shock. It felt surreal. Everyone…
Everyone… I'm so sorry.
Zhou Tai felt his stomach open, although it was not Luciela that had inflicted that wound. No. It was his terror that forced his knees to the ground as he stared at his crippled sweetheart, the woman who so desired to be his wife. "Cynthia… Cynthia," he breathed frantically, diving and catching her in his arms. He cradled her head inconsolably, his eyes simmering with fury as Luciela smugly retracted her Yoma lance from Cynthia's body. A foot-wide hole had opened up the Wu general's abdomen, flaying open the flesh inside and spattering the ruined innards across her torso. She blinked slowly as she looked up into Zhou Tai's distressed silver eyes, and the moment their gazes kissed, the world suddenly reverted to its frenzied, insane mayhem.
"Commander!" roared the Wu troops in fury.
"Number Fourteen!" screamed Helen. Clare cried Cynthia's name and lunged. But the advantage had been lost. Luciela leaped to meet Clare's attack and swiped, inflicting a massive gash that tore through the Claymore's entire set of clothes, breaking past her pauldrons and ripping away her faulds. Helen shrieked in fury and moved to assist Clare, but her elongating arm had barely reached Luciela when the punch from an Awakened Being's fist smashed her out of the air and sent her crashing into the reedy marsh. Helen coughed, blood and muck pouring from her body as she felt her tailbone fracture. "Damn… damn that bitch," she spat.
"We won't fall to that alone," gritted Deneve vengefully, hurtling towards Luciela. In response, ten missiles shot forth from the Abyssal One's fingers and stabbed into Deneve's arms, legs and chest, sending her sprawling to the ground and crashing amidst a heap of allied corpses. Luciela smiled in satisfaction and turned to Zhou Tai, who was clutching Cynthia to his breast. He'd already dropped his sword, wrapping himself defensively around her haemorrhaging body. He had torn off his cape and wrapped it around her stomach, but vermillion was visible even through the black cloth.
"You were the warrior who could control his Yoki unusually well, despite being a man," noted Luciela, glaring down at him. "You almost defeated me at Fan Castle, did you not?"
"You shall pay," growled Zhou Tai. He bared his sharpening teeth, his eyes already a sickly yellow. "You shall pay for hurting her."
"How touching," sneered Luciela, "to see the emotions of love in true blossom. But I have long ceased to care for such drama." She raised her claws. "All it remains is… for you to disappear."
Zhou Tai broke. He howled in rage, red and blue geysers of light exploding upwards as he reached into the deepest recesses of his Yoki. Cynthia had slumped into near-unconsciousness; her head lolling back past his arms. He was somewhat glad she rarely saw him like this. His ugly face, his distorting features, his desperate bid to avenge her, to kill Luciela. The wound was far too deep, even for her healing capabilities. He no longer cared. If this was how it was to end… then let him end here, too. Before he had met Cynthia, the world seemed a tough but worthwhile place to fight in.
Now, a world without her could only be a living hell.
"Tai…" sputtered Cynthia, gore drenching her soft lips. "No. Not now…"
"I can lose my life, my honour, even my Lord's Kingdom. But I cannot lose you." He shook his head, his gaze at once furious and mournful. "Why must you leave me so soon?"
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," she wept. "After… I… made all… those stupid promises… to marry you…" Her eyes blinked slowly again. "Tai… look out… behind you…"
The flat of a sword roughly bashed against the back of his head. Reeling forward and almost releasing Cynthia, he growled, glancing back, preparing to rip his aggressor's head from its shoulders. Instead, his yellow eyes widened as his gaze wandered onto the woman behind him. "You… you are…" he muttered, as a grey cape billowed before him.
A scarred eye. A veteran's countenance. The symbol of the Organization's Number Five embroidered in between her collarbones.
"Rafaela."
"Stop it," reprimanded the senior Claymore. "Awakening here is something you'll regret for the rest of your worthless life. Take the woman in your arms and flee, instead. I'll show you just how incompetent you all are. I'll show you how to truly slay an Awakened Being."
"Sister, you still insist on standing against me?" cried Luciela in disbelief, towering over the mass of dead and wounded. Slightly encouraged, Clare, Deneve, and Helen struggled back up. "I cannot fathom the reasons for such insanity!"
The scarred warrior stepped forward, her hands clutching the handle of her weapon like a casual toy. She then lifted it, bypassing Cynthia and Zhou Tai. They stared at her as she spoke. "I will kill you, sister."
"Has Wei launched an offensive here, too?" queried Zhou Tai, glaring at his onetime but still suspicious ally.
"Pathetic," declared the Wei agent, staring up into giant, sinister, feline eyes. "Use your common sense. Let your army and your useless friends cover your retreat now. None of you can aid me. Not when these riff-raff will simply keep coming, no matter how many you kill."
"Then… these Awakened Beings are her progeny, her legions?"
"You're only scratching the surface," said Rafaela quietly. "The Imperial Chancellor never told anyone save me and God-Eye, did he? That they are endless… As long as that still stands, the presence of the Awakened Beings will always be here, feeding on the latent Yoki of the slumbering Lu Bu." Her eyes flashed. "That portal in the Dunhuang Caves…"
"That does it," cried Helen, struggling up from her would-be watery grave. "Now you're just trying to confuse us."
"Are you dense?" snapped Deneve, wearily pulling the last spike out of her left breast. Blood poured from ten different holes in her flesh. "You know of Zhuge Liang's visions… his visions of Isley and Priscilla. And I don't know what the King of Wei has been telling you," she added, shooting a look at Rafaela, "but it's obvious his hands aren't completely innocent from this fiasco either. I suspect that's why he's trying so hard to contain it."
"Enough talk." Rafaela lunged and somersaulted at Luciela, parrying and bashing aside the lethal needles that the other shot. Her speed suddenly increased, and she found Luciela's face, grabbing Luciela roared in frustration, but Rafaela did not release her. "Go," she snapped, struggling against Luciela's strength. "Flee while your legs are still attached to your bodies."
Zhou Tai glared at her. "You can't give us orders."
"I'm not," said Rafaela simply, as Luciela swung her against a tall, gnarled tree. She somersaulted in mid-air and hurtled forwards again like a coiled spring, thrusting her greatsword at her sister's eye. "If you wish to survive another day, flee. It's as simple as that."
"I can't accept this," muttered Helen, staring up. "What are we if we just take flight from that freak? What'll Moony say?"
"Lady Huang will understand," came Zhou Tai's deep, haunted voice. He had suddenly risen to his feet, carrying a limp Cynthia in bridal fashion, and his silver eyes were filled with anger and scorn. "Let them kill each other. I do not care," he said bitterly. "Let us go. We shall move as ordered to Shi Ting."
"No way," mumbled Helen, taken aback. She looked at Clare and Deneve as Rafaela and her Awakened sister continued to struggle against each other's power. "Are you saying we should just leave them here? That's a stupid idea!"
"The Grand General is no longer present. As the highest-ranking officer here, I will assume command," growled Zhou Tai, "and I order that we retreat." He glanced down at Cynthia. "We must retreat," he whispered, his voice almost begging.
Clare nodded. For a moment, it was as if she could taste a small portion of the admiral's pain. "Then let's go," she said, sliding her sword back behind her. She glanced at the cowering, trembling warhorses that had survived the initial onslaught of Luciela. "We must hurry while the southern Dweller is occupied with Rafaela. If Number Five really means what she says, we have a little more time to make a retreat together. And from there, we can reunite with Miria at Shi Ting."
There were only several hundred weary troops remaining from the main vanguard, and none of them were cavalrymen, Pyrotroopers or Crescent Wardens. But they were brave warriors, too, and it was the Claymores' duty – and honour – to escort them safely from a battle they could not prevail in. Zhou Tai gently sat a panting Cynthia on his horse, her raspy breathing troubling the steed. It would take all his strength to spur it on to Shi Ting, which stretched many li away from Nanman. There was no time to lose. "We go. Now."
"If Rafaela doesn't slay you, then we'll finish it," muttered Helen, mounting her stallion along with the others. She looked back at the thrashing Luciela one last time. "We'll take revenge for all the friends you hurt today, you Abyssal freak."
*
They rode. They rode past the mounds of human bodies, between the massive corpses of Awakened Beings. The remnants of the allied forces followed them, their morale crushed but their faces bespeaking of their relief at having survived. The raging battle between Luciela and Rafaela had disappeared entirely from sight. For now, the alliance forces were spared certain annihilation. Their tenacity and will to survive would now be tested at Shi Ting. But as far as Zhou Tai was concerned, it did not make a difference. Not the slightest bit. Refusing to cry, he cuddled closer the blonde woman in front of him, her already fragile body gushing out even more blood under the strain of the horse's gallop. "It's my… fault, Tai," she forced out. "It's… all because of me."
Cynthia was dying.
And his resolve to fight, along with her.