Drums of War

by Tinalynge

  The entire beast horde stood in front of the ditch for almost an entire hour before Hui Yue rose his head and nodded to beasts by the side who slowly and carefully started to put soil on top of the corpses showing respect to the beasts who laid down their lives for the sake of allowing the beasts freedom.

  Looking at the eyes of all the beasts, Hui Yue saw a determination he had never seen before. He noticed that it was no longer just killing intent but also an unwavering will to win this war. He too felt like everyone else as his full attention was focused on the battle to come the following day.

  “Excuse me, Lord. Uhh, Grand Marshall!” Someone called out, and Hui Yue stopped in his tracks as he was about to leave the burial grounds. Right behind him was one of the experts who had been burying the beasts. He was clearly an Emperor, but the respect he showed Hui Yue was the same as one would treat a Saint. The respect he showed surprised the young man.

  “Do we want to bury the humans too?” He asked while standing two meters away at a respectful distance, something which caused Hui Yue to raise an eyebrow in surprise. He decided not to comment on the respect he was shown if anything it proved that these beasts indeed saw him as their leader during the war.

  “No,” He said with a gentle voice as he answered the question he was given. “I have a plan for them, but for now, just leave them there to remind the ones on the wall that we have already gotten rid of a major part of their army. It should make them feel uncomfortable, even if only a little.” Looking at the expert in front of him, Hui Yue almost started laughing at the spontaneous expression on the soldier’s face which clearly showed that he had no idea what was going on.

  “Just leave the corpses for now,” Hui Yue said as he walked forward until he could place a hand on the confused expert’s shoulder as he gave it a small pat. “The corpses will serve a great role later on in the war so make sure no one touches them.” Hui Yue’s face was filed with a smile as he nodded to the beast and turned around to converse with the Saints about their plan of attack.

  Chapter 77 – Return to Sender

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Wan Qiao asked hesitantly. Her eyes were filled with doubt, and her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. “I don’t understand how it could help our cause, but in the end, I trust in you,” She said while sighing. Her eyes glanced at the two mountain of corpses, and a shiver ran through her entire body when she saw the careless expression on Hui Yue’s face as he stated his new plans. Wan Qiao finally started to understand that this young man was far tougher than she expected and far more sinister.

  “Well, it’s not something we will do just yet. You will see that during a siege the ones holed up inside the city might be fortunate to have enough provisions for a certain amount of time, but eventually, they will run out. At that time the price for food will rise by an astronomical amount and the poor will start dying. What will they do with all their bodies? They cannot bury them in the middle of town, and if they have them laying around for long, they will start to rot. When they rot, there is a large chance for a plague to spread like wildfire, and fighting a sick and diseased army will give us a greater chance to win.”

  “I thought you wanted us to win the war as soon as possible,” Wan Qiao retorted. Hui Yue had seemed like he was in a rush during the day because he had the beasts cleaning the battlefield, but the question only caused Hui Yue to smirk. “Yes, I wish that we can win this war as soon as possible,” He agreed with a nod, “But I am also aware that it might not be as easy as it seems. The Crusaders are within the capital, and their strong Saints are within the capital, not to mention all their Kings and Emperors. Our battles will be far more challenging in the future, which is why I am going to expedite the process of them getting sick. In a few days, these corpses should be rotting nicely. Maggots will be eating them, and then they will be ready to be delivered to their lords.”

  Wan Qiao said nothing as she heard Hui Yue’s plan once more. During the entire conversation, Hui Yue’s facial expression did not change. He seemed as though he felt no remorse using the enemies bodies to the best of his ability, nor did he show any signs of disgust or guilt. All that mattered to this young man was defeating the opponent that stood in front of him, bringing down the Empire of Siban.

  “Well, please excuse me,” Hui Yue said as a smile appeared on his face, “I need to go and check up on our troops.” Having said this, Hui Yue vanished into the distance. The white-haired young man was true to his word, and he walked straight towards the infirmary to see how the beasts were doing.

  Entering the tent many experts were rushing around. Every expert who had an affinity with Wood was in the tent helping out those who were injured. Some of these experts were trained healers while some were not, but their energy could be channeled by a trained healer. Therefore, they worked much like batteries of Wood enhanced energy.

  “As long as a beast does not die then we are capable of saving them,” Hui Yue mumbled with satisfaction as he saw how broken bones were healed instantly, gaping wounds closed up, and lost limbs were reattached. The healers had spent a full day yesterday and continued during the night before everyone had finally been healed now and the healers all sat down on the many beds and the ground. They were now completely.focusing on restoring the energy they had just used. Contemplating for a short while, Hui Yue sat down in the middle of all the experts and moments after the blue cloud billowed outwards. It made the essence of the heavens and the earth denser, and they all refined the energy greedily. They could feel that the essence was far thicker than usual, allowing them to absorb more than they normally could. Because the energy in the area had increased several fold, it let them recover far swifter than they had before.

  The night was quiet, and as the sun broke the sky, Hui Yue rose to his feet. All the experts around him followed suit. None of them spoke, but all were deeply astonished as they understood that the blue cloud that allowed them to restore their inner energies was something their Grand Marshall controlled. Thinking about this, many of the experts were reminded the blue threads and the net which he used earlier to defeat his opponents in a sparring match back in Shenyuan.

  Everyone was silent as they stood up. Their minds were incapable of truly understanding what had happened, yet all of them were grateful that this mysterious young man was on their side. A man with this many secrets could only be a benefit to them.

  Morning swiftly came, and everyone left their tents as Hui Yue summoned the bisons who were pulling the many weapons. “It is time,” He said gently to the many beasts. Their faces turned excited and impatient as the bisons rushed back to the machinery of war and started dragging them towards the city gates. Hui Yue followed behind, and together with the army, which quickly fell into their lines, they marched forward like a proper army causing the ground to shake every time they took a step. The closer they got to the gates, the more the soldiers on top of the walls could feel it.

  “What are those?!” Someone shouted loudly from the top of the city wall as he saw the many tall towers, the catapults, the ballistae, the springalds and the onagers. There were so many new weapons they had never seen before, and although they expected some new weaponry, the ones that were being dragged their way made them all break into a cold sweat. The moment the tower came into sight, everyone on top of the city wall started shifting from one foot to another. The height of these towers was so high that they easily reached the top of the city walls. Seeing them advancing everyone started fearing what they were for.

  “Do not approach the walls yet!” Hui Yue called out, and the bisons stopped in their tracks. All their weaponry was around one hundred meters away from the city walls. All the beasts were staring at the humans and all humans at the beasts. While the beasts’ eyes were filled with an urge to battle, with an impatience that had not been visible before, the humans’ were pale and uncomfortable.

  “We shall start by delivering back their soldiers!” Hui Yue called out loudly and made the sign to ready all t
heir catapults and onagers. These two weapons were quickly armed, not with stones as one would usually expect, but instead with corpses from the two corpse mountains.

  “Fire!” Hui Yue said, and moments later corpses flew through the air landing on top of the city walls. Some broke apart after being apart fired while others smashed against the top of the wall causing blood and gore to cover the guards. All of them grew increasingly uncomfortable.

  One load of corpses after another was shot into the city. The entire day passed by while the only change was that just as the sun was about to set a final load of corpses was delivered into the city. Nodding, a satisfied Hui Yue turned towards the armies and called out, “Tonight we camp here! Get ready for the real battle tomorrow!” Hearing his voice all the beasts allowed for their roars to soar into the sky, their voices filled with a longing for battle. They were so close to feeling success. They were so close to finally gaining freedom!

  ….

  “How can any human be this vile?!” The Grand Marshall fumed out loud as he looked out over the city. He saw how the catapults and the onagers were loaded with corpses which then got launched high into the air and plummeted to the ground behind the city wall. The citizens were alerted by the sound of something clashing against their houses, yet no roofs were broken, and no houses were destroyed which meant that whatever was raining down upon them was not stones or anything else that could destroy their homes. At first, they had been elated to know that it was not stones which could destroy their homes, yet their relief quickly changed to horror. Everyone fled and hid in their homes as blood and gore rained onto the streets; severed limbs, rotting corpses, blood, and intestines rained down from the outside. This was such an outrage, such a disgrace that the faces of all the soldiers on the city wall and within the city had turned green with disgust and discomfort long ago.

  The Grand Marshall’s face was not green like the others, instead it was red like a beetroot. Anger was bursting forth from within him, anger which caused the entire room to shudder. The Grand Marshall was located in a small house on top of the city wall just above the city gates. With him in the house was a group of five servants. All of whom were quivering in a corner not daring to make a sound in fear of causing the Grand Marshall to release his anger on them.

  Apart from the many servants four experts were waiting within the room. All of whom were seemingly carefree not showing any signs of disgust or anger about the multiple corpses being thrown above the city gates.

  One was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. His eyes had a hint of laughter deep within, and his lips were drawn in a light smile as he observed the Grand Marshall, who was filled with anger.

  Two experts were seated at a small table. Each of them had a small cup in their hand, and a teapot was sitting on the table. Steam floated up from the cups. Neither expert said anything, but now and then they would take a sip before once more locking their eyes onto the Grand Marshall. They both did not have a smile on their face, instead there was a polite interest which seemed to be more of a facade than a genuine interest. If anything, their interest seemed to focus solely on the teacups in their hands.

  The final expert who stood next to the Grand Marshall was looking out of the windows watching the many corpses being tossed into their city. Where the Grand Marshall was filled with rage and anger, so much so that he was on the verge of exploding, this expert by his side had a sinister smile on his face. His eyes were burning with a killing intent, and his eyes constantly glanced towards Hui Yue and the Saints behind him. Looking at the many experts, this fourth person could not help but lick his lips in impatience as he waited for the order to go out and battle against them.

  Seeing the sinister expression on the man’s face, the Grand Marshall finally calmed himself down. “You will not enter the war just yet. We need to gather all the Saints before we dare start a fight of that scale. They seem to have around forty Saints with them, but who knows how many they are hiding in their ranks.” The Grand Marshall grumbled as he gestured for a servant to come to him.

  Instantly, as soon as the gesture was showed a servant appeared in front of him. He kneeled on the floor with his forehead touching his hands, his entire body bowing deeply. “Go and find the fifteenth battalion. They will be tasked with cleaning the ground after all this mess.” He waved his hand dismissively, and the young servant scuttled away. He instantly rushed to find the experts who were assigned this dirty task.

  The Grand Marshall grumbled some more as his mood was terrible, yet he got his feelings under control. “I swear that we will crush those disgusting beasts!” He swore with anger in his voice, “We still have the Crusaders on our side after all. There is no way that we can lose!”

  Chapter 78 – The Siege

  The air was crisp as Hui Yue stood in front the city wall just outside the reach of their arrows. His breath could be seen in the early morning air, and he squinted his eyes against the rising sun. In camp behind him, the beasts were slowly stirring. This morning no one woke them up. Hui Yue decided to let them sleep as long as possible, or cultivate if that was what they were doing. For today, he would need them at their peak. They would now start battling the high ranked soldiers of the Siban Empire alongside the fact that they needed to enter the city somehow.

  The city in front of him was built into the side of a mountain, and his army was camped outside the walls by the only entrance in and out of the city. Wan Qiao stood by his side. The One-Horned Jasmine Eagle had spent the entire night flying outside the city and searching for other exits but no matter where she had looked she didn’t see any hidden entries nor tunnels.

  Sighing, Hui Yue was aware that there would most likely be a few tunnels that she was incapable of detecting, yet these tunnels could only allow for a few people to pass through at a time, and there was no way they could receive a sufficient amount of supplies from them. Had they been large enough to allow for many people to travel through them or the supply trains to enter than Wan Qiao would without a doubt have noticed them.

  Hui Yue stood still enjoying the fresh air. He was nervous about the war, and he did not understand why everything had been so easy so far. Why did their Grand Marshall allow for the beasts to arrive at the walls so easily? He expected their army to be waiting for them in front of the walls to swarm them, and weaken the beast horde, but this did not happen causing Hui Yue to feel uneasy.

  Thinking about this, Hui Yue never once turned around to look behind him, but he felt one soldier after another fall into place. Soon the army had completely gathered, and they held their breath waiting for Hui Yue’s command to charge forward.

  That, however, was not what Hui Yue did; instead, he slowly started moving forward one step at a time. Behind him, he heard the rustling of his army follow his every move. The Saints were right behind him, and their eyes were sharply observing everything which was happening. One of the Saints raised his arm and a golden mist-like energy left his hands and wrapped itself around the entire army deflecting all the arrows which rained down upon them. Not one beast was hit by the arrows.

  Although Hui Yue wanted the Saints to save their energy, he too approved of the shield. He knew that some beasts would have died had they not used an energy shield. He had already lost too many beasts; he was not interested in losing more before the actual battle started.

  Lifting his hand and pointing at the walls, the army behind him rushed to the sides while allowing space between them for war machinery to advance. First came the towers, second the onagers and catapults, followed by the springalds and the ballistae. Finally came the gallery and the testudos.

  “Get ready!” Hui Yue yelled out loud and as he did the towers were carried all the way to the mountain-like city walls. Seeing that the towers reached to the top of the city walls, a smile appeared on Hui Yue’s. “CHARGE!” He screamed as loud as he could, and the beasts immediately stormed up the towers. They climbed the towers until they reached the top where they flooded
onto the massive city walls. The flying beasts appeared from above and swooped down using their claws and wings to force the opponents back causing some weaker enemies to plummet to the ground from the tall walls.

  The beasts who jumped from the towers to the city walls were met by focused soldiers, and the humans fought for their survival. The soldiers they encountered were a far higher rank than they had met previously. They beat down one beast after another as they had the benefit of the more numbers than the beasts who were currently rushing onto the walls. Arrows with flames shot from the city walls towards the towers, trying their best to set the massive towers on fire so that no more beasts could use them to ascend to the walls. But the flying beasts managed to deal with the flames before the towers were lit aflame.