Purgatory of the Werewolf - The Wolf of Dorian Gray (Book 2)

Chapter 24 - The Battle of Tongzhou Part 2

The acrid smell gave the wolf enough warning to split the shaft of the spear with his uninjured hand and spring away as they exploded, killing the spear-wielding warrior, but doing little damage to its intended target. The Kheshig was thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion and now rose slowly. His helmet was gone and there was blood on his face, but the man was undaunted. He spun his halberd expertly and looked around for the werewolf.

A spinning curved sabre sprayed blood as it smacked into the temple of the Kheshig. The wolf had pulled the warrior's weapon from his gut and thrown it in a clumsy approximation of the guard's expert throw. The weapon struck the Kheshig by the pommel and bounced off, but it was thrown with enough power to knock the warrior to the ground.

The wolf snarled and wrinkled his snout in frustration. He grasped the scimitar lodged in his body and drew it out slowly with a human-like wince. He sniffed the weapon and then discarded it. His healing had slowed again from the many wounds.

The Kheshig stood unsteadily, his vision slightly blurred. Again, he attacked the monster, this time thrusting the point of his halberd like a spear. The wolf grasped the blade of the weapon, accepting the grievous wound and clamping down on the blade as blood poured from his hand. He moved in and with his other hand, grabbed the man's armor by the collar and pulled him close. Their chests were nearly touching as the wolf opened his jaws in preparation to savage the Mongol's throat.

In a desperate move, the guard planted his foot on the werewolf's knee and lifted himself upwards, before driving the top of his head downward in a vicious head-butt. The blow caused the wolf to lower his head and release his hold.

A group of the heavy cavalry had heard the explosion and wheeled about. They had witnessed the creature fighting the Kheshig and had regrouped, preparing to attack. The well-armored Mongols surged forward as one, raising their scimitars and spears. No foe could withstand such a charge.

That was when the first of the English and French ordnance fired. The English seventy-five-pound guns erupted with a mighty boom, and canister shot exploded on top of the charging horsemen. The large shell detonated on impact, sending hundreds of steel balls in all directions. They pierced horseflesh and the men's armor like a marble thrown through a glob of butter. Men screamed out in agony, and the wolf roared as the small balls shot through limbs and shattered bones upon contact. The Kheshig fell to the ground, dead as two balls passed through the exposed back of his skull.

The wolf fell to all fours in anguish as his body struggled to push out the steel balls and heal the disaster the canister shot had wrought on his internal organs. His neck twitched as one of the small balls dislodged from its place at the base of his spine.

Explosions sounded from all around as the larger French explosives shells gouged out mounds of earth and sinew. The Minggan-u Noyan commanding of the center called for an immediate tactical retreat in the face of such devastating fire. The horsemen on sides of the barrage broke up into smaller groups of Tumen and continued their charge on a new path to flank the enemy artillery.

The wolf sighed as the last of the loathsome balls exited his body and fell into the tall grass. He brought down a one-armed Mongol staggering nearby and gorged himself on his blood and flesh. The healing flared back to full life and his remaining wounds closed. He had learned his lesson well and now gave the large shells and whistling canisters a wide berth as they fell to the earth.

The Mongol line was in chaos, and the wolf found the remaining warriors nearby all too easy of prey. After a few moments, the shelling rotated outward, tracking the splintering groups of cavalry that were rapidly approaching their firing positions.

The Mongol's made it as close as fifty meters when the French and English Marines began firing their rifles in alternating lines of three. The first line of kneeling men fired low at the legs of the charging horses, hoping to cut under the animals' armor. They then immediately fixed their bayonets and braced their rifles against the ground. The second line was composed of the best marksmen and had been instructed to aim for the faces and necks of the enemy. The charging cavalry slowed under the onslaught of their volley. The second line of Marines then stepped back behind the third to reload. The third line was under orders to pick their shots, targeting any riders that made it within attack range of the artillery.

The Mongols died by the thousands as they retreated and charged repeatedly. The French and English suffered minimal casualties save for a brave Mongol archer who rode through the French line. He was somehow able to survive long enough to hurl several gunpowder bombs at one of the French guns, destroying it and killing its six gunners.

The cheer that went up from the Mongol Tumen was short lived as the French began firing their short-range thirty-one-kilogram carronade. The grape shot cut the horsemen to ribbons and set them to a full retreat. Their path back towards the trees led them directly into the waiting jaws of the wolf.

The werewolf had created a new territory among the carnage. It proved deadly for any man or animal that came too close. Pinned between the monster and the relentless volleys of French and English troops, some warriors of the Mongol army chose to take their chances and flee through the killing grounds in range of the heavy guns.

Lord Crawley held his troops back from givingpursuit of the Mongol army. He rested his gunners in shifts, calling upon thereserves to rotate in and keep the guns firing long into the night.    

That morning, General Sengge Rinchen surrendered,opening the path to the city of Beijing.The English scouts found Dorian in the center of the battlefield, surrounded bypiles of bodies. He was clothed in some scavenged Mongol clothing, which didnot completely hide his bloodstained skin.