So it turns out that going to war doesn't always mean brothers will be torn from their families, dying wrapped in horsehide on the battlefield.
It turns out that even fighting can feel so thrilling and satisfying.
...
While the city tower of Marigold was filled with cheers, the army camp of Youdan beneath the city was covered in a heavy, oppressive silence.
Several fresh corpses lay in the tent, wearing the uniforms of Youdan soldiers. They had only just come to report losses in men and supplies from the battle, but the furious Gu Master had killed them instantly with poison. They couldn't even be turned into living puppets.
After killing a few men, the Gu Master's rage eased slightly.
"Throw these corpses out to feed the wild dogs."
"Yes."
Once the unsightly bodies were cleared out, the Gu Master turned his cold gaze to the silent general standing nearby.
"General, so many died in the very first battle. What punishment do you deserve?"
The general lifted his eyelids and glanced at the Gu Master. He wanted to say that this battle wasn't even the real first fight, they were ambushed while completely unprepared. So many deaths weren't something he could control.
Also, it was the Gu Master himself who ordered the army to chop trees and fill the river. Now he was blaming him for everything.
Though this filled his mind, not a single emotion showed on his face.
The Sect Leader of the puppet sect held far more power in Youdan than anyone else, even him, the highest general.
And Plumera's sudden reveal of advanced mechanical weapons during the battle had gone far beyond his expectations.
For now... he still hadn't come up with a way to deal with it.
So the general said nothing and waited for the Gu Master to continue scolding him.
"Hmph. Useless trash."
After insulting him, the Gu Master turned to the nearby Gu Masters. "How's the search by the living puppets going? Are there still any Plumera citizens nearby? Capture them all!"
Wasn't General Qi supposed to be the so-called Guardian of Plumera? Ha. Then he would gather all the citizens and use them as shields for his army. He would throw them one by one into the moat to fill it up. Let's see how that so-called "guardian" responds. Will he open the gates, or continue hiding inside the city like a coward?
As soon as the Gu Masters received the command, they ordered all their living puppets to search the area for Plumera citizens.
But to their surprise, it seemed the citizens had already known a battle was coming. Every single place was completely empty. Almost every house they searched, more than ninety-nine percent, had no one inside.
"Gu Master, everyone around here is already gone. Our living puppets searched for a long time, and finally found one hiding spot that still had people in it. But they seem to be human traffickers. Should we capture them right away?"
The Gu Master finally showed a twisted smile. "Good. Capture them all. Put them in ordinary Plumera clothes, gag their mouths, and throw them beneath the city walls."
"I want to see what General Qi chooses when facing people dressed like his citizens."
When the three citizens of Plumera were pushed out below, the guards on the city wall became furious.
Even though it had been confirmed that the oldest was a human trafficker, the sight of the two thin and weak children made the guards clench their fists, regretting not having killed more of the enemies just moments ago.
The enemy forces from Youdan, after the surprise attack, had figured out some of the shooting patterns and knew that although the weapons of the Marigold City defenders were powerful, their maximum range seemed to be only about one li.
So the Youdan soldiers pushed a trafficker and two children from Plumera to a distance of one li from the city, then stopped advancing. They shouted toward the city, demanding that General Qi open the gates and lower the drawbridge to face them alone in their camp. If he refused, they would kill the three people from Plumera one by one.
Hearing such shameless and disgusting demands, the defenders on the wall gripped their crossbows tightly and began to curse out loud.
The deputy general held back his anger and quickly stepped in front of General Qi, advising him,
"General, these bastards are too afraid to approach after seeing the strength of our weapons. Now they're trying to force you out with such dirty tricks. You must not go."
"They dare not even come near the gate, yet want to use a few lives to lure you out alone to their camp. It's disgusting. Curse their ancestors."
"General, you must not fall for this."
The Youdan army was positioned just beyond the range of the defensive crossbows.
If even the fixed crossbows couldn't reach them, the hand-held ones certainly couldn't either. The soldiers would be unable to provide cover, and with the enemy all around, it would be extremely dangerous for the general.
Just as the deputy general finished speaking, a sharp and heart-wrenching scream from a child suddenly rang out.
He turned his head and saw that in the distance, one of the Youdan soldiers holding the children had been shoved aside by a Gu Master. The Gu Master then roughly lifted one of the children, held him in front like a shield, and walked to the edge of the crossbow range. Without blinking, he drew a weapon and with a crack, chopped off the child's leg.
The child had already been through a lot, abducted by the trafficker and tortured. His body was thin and frail, and now, having lost a leg, his screams pierced through the mountains and forests.
Blood gushed from the severed leg. The child trembled and convulsed from the pain, his face covered in tears and blood, nearly passing out.
But the Gu Master wouldn't even let him faint. He forced open the child's mouth and stuffed in a pill, then continued to use the child's broken body as a shield while shouting again for General Qi to open the gate and lower the drawbridge. He demanded that the general come out alone, with no weapons or soldiers.
If the general refused, he would continue to cut off the child's limbs, torturing him to death bit by bit and turning him into a puppet corpse.
Everyone in Marigold who witnessed this cruel and insane scene was overwhelmed with rage.
More than a dozen city guards picked up their crossbows and weapons, kneeling and begging General Qi to let them go out and fight to the death.
General Qi removed the cloak from his shoulders. His long fingers, calloused from training, tightened around the wrist guard given to him by Elara before she left.
"Bring me my spear."
"General!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy and the loyal soldiers of the Qi family army knew their general was determined to go out and rescue those poor citizens of Plumera.
"The city's defense is now under your command, Vincent. As soon as I leave, raise the drawbridge and shut the gate. Without my order, no one is allowed to open the gate or lower the bridge."
"General... understood."
The deputy wanted to persuade him again, but seeing the general's expression, he knew it would be useless.
And the actions of the Youdan soldiers were truly despicable. If he hadn't been assigned to temporarily take charge of the city defense, he too would have requested to go out and fight to the death.
"Everyone else stay on the wall. No one is allowed to leave without orders. Crossbowmen, watch the enemy. Don't let a single one get through."
"Yes. Please take care, General."
"We await your triumphant return."
"We await the general's triumphant return."
"Triumphant return!"
...
Below the city tower, the tightly shut gate slowly opened. The drawbridge, which the Youdan army had failed to budge with all their tricks, was finally lowered from within.
Seeing the drawbridge drop and the gate open straight into Marigold, the Youdan soldiers five li away stared intently, but no one dared to move forward.
They had already tasted the power of those weapons on the wall. None dared to try again.
From beneath the open gate of Marigold, a tall figure on a strong steed holding a long spear began to appear, step by step, from the shadowed corridor.