The horns called through the night, wild and urgent, a cry that announced for everyone to hurry. They were so near that the sound crept under Rin's skin and caused her hands to twitch. She rushed toward the stairs to the top of the province wall.
On the way, she saw General Donghai marching quickly down the stairs. His body was already dressed with heavy steel plate armor. His rondels were golden sunbursts; all his fastenings were gilded, and the red steel was burnished to such a high sheen that it shone like fire in the light of the torches on the wall.
The expression on his scarred face, however, seemed to make him even more intimidating than usual.
"General Donghai..." Rin had just spoken when his harsh, raspy voice cut her mid-sentence.
"The Tuhan army stole a march on us! Their commander crept down the road in the night, and now they're less than a mile west of here, forming up in battle array." He spat grimly. "You command those archers at the top. I'll deal with the fuckers at the bottom."
Nodding her head, Rin ran up the stairs. Upon stepping on the top of the wall, a gust of cold wind hit her face. The western sky was a deep purple, speckled with stars. A war horn sounded in the far distance, a deep mournful note that chilled the soul.
Quivers hanging from their belts, the archers arrayed themselves into three long lines on the wall and stood calmly, ready to string their bows. Between them, Rin leaned her hands against the wall to stare into the night, her eyes narrowing up slightly.
It was dark, eerie, but not silent. From a distance, she could hear hooves tearing the earth and trampling the grass and dirt into the ground.
She waited. And waited.
That's when they appeared. On horseback, the Tuhan charged toward the stonewall.
"Archers!" Rin shouted in a cold voice. "Nock!"
Immediately after the words left her mouth, the archers put the tips of their arrows beneath a fire pit, the wrapped cotton around it lighting on fire. By now, they could hear the Tuhan men's shouts. Their voices joined with the sound of the war horn.
"Draw!"
The archers drew their bows, aiming at the incoming Tuhan army. It wasn't until they were within view that Rin shouted her final command.
"Loose!"
On her command, a flight of arrows descended into the sky. Shouts turned to screams as men stumbled and went down. By then, a second flight was in the air, and the archers were fitting a third arrow to their bowstrings. The flames of the arrows lit the sky as if they were blazing, burning stars.
Down below on the enemy's side, a pair of blue eyes looked up at the dark sky, only to see flaming arrows flying toward him.
Manchu's head whipped to the side at the sound of rattled groans. From what he could see, several Tuhan men were struck with blazing arrows of fire, torching their chests, and igniting flames atop their armor.
His head cocked at the sight, and suddenly his brows rose as another arrow struck a man right beside him. He inhaled sharply as his gaze shifted back upward in the direction of the flitting arrows of fire.
At the sight of a burning arrow coming toward him, Manchu raised the shield on his forearm to deflect its attack. A sharp pang sounded against the iron shield and bounced ferociously toward the grass, kindling a small fire before his feet.
Strands of his tousled, sweaty hair plastered against his eyes and forehead. Very calmly, he brushed it aside as he moved onward.
With his eyes bold in front of him and sword in hand, he couldn't help but think how merciless the little strategist's tactics were!
