Qi Ling in Peril
The plain before Gwangneung Castle was a veritable hellscape, a pandemonium of blood and chaos. The acrid stench of blood, sweat, and dust choked the air, turning every breath into agony. With each gust of wind, the shredded banners of Yuan Shu's army whipped about like anguished cries.
"Stay calm! They're just eight thousand strong! We've got five thousand, and the walls are high and sturdy!"
Qi Ling, Yuan Shu's Chief General, raced along the battlements, bellowing until his throat burned raw. His massive trident weighed heavy in his grip, but his knuckles trembled ever so slightly.
Sun Tzu's Art of War taught that a siege required three times the defenders' number to stand a chance. Defending with five thousand against eight thousand should have been a walkover—a battle no one could lose, one to yawn through. Yet the nightmare unfolding before Qi Ling's eyes mocked every precept of strategy.
"W-what the hell is that…?"
A soldier clutched the parapet, murmuring in horror.
Through the swirling sandstorm, colossal monstrosities lumbered into view. Siege towers, stacked as tall as the walls—no, taller. Normally, crafting such behemoths took a month, and moving them demanded hordes of men. Liu Yao's ambush force couldn't possibly have brought any. But Taesa Ja shattered all logic.
Upon reaching Gwangneung, he'd unleashed his troops to fell every tree in sight, cobbling together three crude but sturdy siege towers on the spot. No polished imperial siege engines these—their rough logs still barked, slathered in fresh beast hides reeking of blood to thwart fire arrows. They looked like beasts from nightmare.
Kreeeak—thud!Kreeeak—thud!
The groan of massive wooden wheels grinding the earth squeezed their hearts like a vise. The towers closed to within thirty paces of the walls. The impregnable height advantage vanished in an instant.
"Fire! Burn them before they reach us! Incendiary arrows! Loose incendiaries!"
Qi Ling's desperate shout came too late. The enemy was faster. Atop the three towers, level with the defenders' eyes, stood a general in gleaming blue armor. Taesa Ja himself. Backed by Jiangdong's fierce winds, he drew his massive bowstring taut.
Pheeeew—thunk!
"Gaaah!"
Qi Ling's deputy, relaying orders at his side, clutched his throat and toppled. The arrow had pierced the gap in his gorget, severing the carotid.
No feeble shot arcing from below—this was a sniper's strike from equal height, or higher, plunging down with lethal force.
"Keep your heads down! They're shooting from above!"
The defenders' sole edge had been safe archery from cover. But Taesa Ja led dozens of elite archers atop the towers, raining arrows like a storm. Qi Ling's men couldn't even peek over the edge—death awaited any who did, a shaft between the eyes. The walls were useless now.
"Now! Lay the ladders!"
At Taesa Ja's roar, infantry swarmed the base like ants. No mere rabble—these were Danyang elites, forged in Jiangdong's rugged mountains hunting herbs and beasts. They scaled ladders like monkeys.
While Qi Ling's troops cowered under the arrow hail, hesitating, the Danyang men—blades clenched in teeth—were already vaulting the parapets, eyes gleaming feral.
"Hold them! If we fall back, it's over! Pour oil!"
Qi Ling swung his blood-smeared trident, urging them on, but the tide had turned. The Danyang were relentless. They trampled fallen comrades, stabbed through yet swinging for mutual destruction. Qi Ling's veterans were elite, but no match for mountain-bred ambush specialists.
Worse, thunderous booms echoed from the gates. Boom! Boom! Boom! An iron-capped, roofed battering ram pounded relentlessly. Each strike made the gates scream and the walls shudder, morale plummeting. The quaking ground plunged the men into panic.
Then Taesa Ja leaped from a tower across the wall, carving through defenders. Silent as death, his footwork turned the narrow ramparts into open plain—godlike.
"Has Yuan Shu's army no real men? Qi Ling! Hiding like a rat because you fear my blade?"
Taesa Ja's thunderous bellow shook the field. Each spear dance sent two or three Yuan Shu soldiers flying like ragdolls. A trail of gore marked his path. None dared face him.
Qi Ling ground his teeth. If he didn't step up, the army would collapse. Duty as commander and warrior's pride drove him forward.
"You arrogant cur! I'll take you myself!"
Unable to hold back, Qi Ling shoved through his men. His trident whistled toward Taesa Ja's head, brimming with rock-shattering power—Yuan Shu's mightiest general.
Clang—!
The result stunned. One clash. Taesa Ja parried the full-force trident one-handed, effortlessly. The metallic crash numbed Qi Ling's wrist—bones vibrating in agony.
"Urgh… such power…"
"That's all you've got? I'll take your head and hang it at the gates!"
Taesa Ja retracted and thrust like lightning. Qi Ling twisted desperately, but his shoulder plate shredded like paper, blood spraying.
"General!"
Aides rushed to aid, but Taesa Ja's murderous aura froze them.
His spear tip coiled like a serpent toward Qi Ling's throat. No escape. Qi Ling's pupils quivered. Collapsing to the stone, death's terror gripped him.
'My lord… I have failed you.'
As Qi Ling squeezed his eyes shut—
Pheeeew—!
A shrill tear rent the din. Sensing killing intent, Taesa Ja whipped his head aside. An arrow sheared his helmet plume, embedding deep in a redwood pillar with a thunk! The fletching shivered wildly. A monstrous bow.
"Who dares?!"
Taesa Ja halted, glaring toward the shot. Far off, beyond the horizon, black cavalry churned dust toward them. Not thousands, but their momentum was a tempest. At their fore, a general lowered his bow and drew his sword.
Me, Seowon.
"Quartermaster of the Rear General Yuan Shu's Army—Seowon!"
I spurred my horse, my danjeon-fueled shout drowning the battlefield. Yuan Shu's despairing troops recognized me and erupted in cheers.
"General Seowon is here!"
"The slayer of Hua Xiong! We're saved!"
The undefeated hero who'd felled Hua Xiong and repelled Lü Bu. His legend reignited their dying spirits.
Taesa Ja assessed the cavalry storming his rear from below. A flank attack doomed the siege. He vaulted down without hesitation, landing before me with a ground-shaking thud.
"You're Seowon? Prettier than the rumors."
Up close, Taesa Ja was a paragon of generalship—firm lips, unyielding gaze, aura honed to perfection. But he was afoot; his horse left for the siege.
I reined in.
"Taesa Ja? A shame to waste your talent stacking towers for a worm like Liu Yao."
My taunt twitched his brow.
"Don't sully my lord's name! I'll use your fame as my stepping stone! That horse makes you look down on me—irksome!"
"The horse, eh?"
I chuckled, preparing to dismount. Fair fights favored the superior. I leaped lightly to the ground.
"You're without a mount anyway. I don't care for unfair bouts."
"Hah…"
Taesa Ja's eyes shifted—not mere enmity, but a warrior's thrill igniting.
"Insolent pup. I'll pierce that arrogance with my spear!"
He exploded forward, spear coiling serpentine toward my heart. No mounted skirmish—this was earthbound fury. Ground feedback sharpened his steps, footwork freer, more erratic. Feints layered in thrusts and slashes.
Clang!
I parried precisely. Sparks flew with the clash; the shock through my wrist was heavy. Skill and brute force.
"Not bad!"
Taesa Ja admired, accelerating. Spear tips blurred in a barrage. I countered with sweeps of my blade.
Kakakakang!
Our shadows tangled wildly, dust exploding. Onlookers gaped, too awed to intervene.
Qi Ling gripped the parapet, transfixed.
"Sixty exchanges… seventy…!"
Dismounted, the duel intensified. Each step back invited a surge forward. The foe I'd crumbled in three passes, Seowon met with ease—nay, matched evenly, probing vitals.
Sweat beaded Taesa Ja's brow. His spearplay was flawless, unmatched in Jiangdong. Yet this man anticipated every move.
'Dodges before I strike, flows my power away. What is he?'
Nearing a hundred clashes—dead heat. I sensed his breath hitch faintly. Balance teetered.
Now.
Impatient, Taesa Ja unleashed a sweeping masterstroke. I arched back razor-thin, then kicked off, soaring with gravity and inner power for a overhead smash.
"Take this!"
He raised his shaft desperately, but the weight crushed down.
Thud!
His knees buckled into the dirt, dust erupting. He gritted through, but his helm flew, hair disheveled. Stance broken.
"Nngh…!"
Taesa Ja glared bitterly, not daring to press.
Victory tipped in force—and the battle.
"The enemy's leader falters! All troops—charge!"
I raised my sword; Ju Chang and Jang Heum roared forward.
"Waaah!"
My elite cavalry—Ju Chang bulldozed infantry like a boar, Jang Heum flanked with naval agility. The main force shredded the enemy's panicked rear.
Danyang elites or not, leaderless and broken, they scattered like chaff.
"Hold the line! Maintain formation!"
Taesa Ja bellowed, but couldn't stem Yuan Shu's momentum—nor command, eyes locked on me.
"Taesa Ja! Surrender! Liu Yao's no vessel for you!"
Too fine a talent to kill. Sun Ce's prize, Jiangdong's twin pillar. Win him, gain ten thousand.
But he spat blood-flecked saliva.
"A true general betrays not his lord! Take my head by strength alone!"
His loyalty earned respect. We clashed dozens more as sunset bled the sky.
Finally, Liu Yao's camp crumbled. Ju Chang snapped their banner; Taesa Ja knew it hopeless, teeth grinding.
"Damn… but today ends here!"
He hurled twin short-spears from his bosom.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I batted them aside. He retreated, ordering withdrawal.
"All forces—retreat!"
Liu Yao's army ebbed like tide. I pursued not—Gwangneung held, and I'd gauged Taesa Ja's mettle. Corner a rat too hard, it bites the cat.
"Victory! Long live General Seowon!"
Cheers exploded from the walls. I sheathed my blade, watching Taesa Ja vanish.
'Taesa Ja. I spare you today—but next time, you'll serve Yuan Shu's army.'
Battle over, Gwangneung reeked of blood in heavy silence. At the gates, Qi Ling emerged bandaged and supported, dirt-caked but eyes mingled relief and complexity toward me.
"General Seowon…"
He winced, kneeling. I caught his arm, lifting him.
"No need, General. Your wound's grave."
"Nonsense. Without you, my head would adorn these gates, Gwangneung in flames. Qi Ling owes you his life."
The proud Chief General bowed sincerely. Terror of towers and Danyang, eclipsed by my lone stand—pride meant nothing.
"Taesa Ja's a monster of the realm. Holding him and those abominations merits great merit."
I bolstered his face deliberately. Subtle gratitude touched Qi Ling.
"Too kind… but that fiend's a true beast."
"Indeed. A pity such talent hides in Jiangdong."
I surveyed the field—shattered towers, smoldering rams, fallen men. Victory, but Liu Yao's might was no jest. One man's presence had warped the battlefield; I'd felt it in my bones.
"Taesa Ja won't return soon. Reform ranks, tend wounded."
"Understood. And you, General Seowon…?"
"I'll tour the castle, rally the men. Bolster watches tonight—then rest."
I sent Qi Ling off, gazing at the blood-red dusk. Jiangdong winds blew. My name would spread here now.
But this was just the start. Chaos yawned wide.
'Come if you dare. With me here, Yuan Shu's army won't crumble easily.'
I clenched my fist. Taesa Ja's lingering spear-qi tingled thrillingly. A night of anticipation.