YuLin woke to the sound of footsteps in the tent. By the time he sat up in his small cot the general had already thrown on an outer robe and stood by his bed as QianDu knelt on the ground.
"Forgive my intrusion General Zhao but there are emergent matters I must report to General!"
"Report," LiZhao stated with an indifferent face.
QianDu glanced at the messy headed YuLin doubtfully.
"Ignore him. He so much as whispers what goes on in here and his head will roll."
YuLin shivered at that direct threat and drew the covers up to his head looking like a little old woman before stating, "I hear nothing..." before laying back down in the cot.
LiZhao's lips twitched amusingly before looking back at QianDu.
QianDu coughed and reported. "The Feng province is under attack by demons. We don't know where they came from, there were no abnormalities at the border in Huo's province. It's as if they just appeared out of thin air! There are reports that more than a third of Feng province is already up in flames and ashes. The lord's letters have just arrived pleading for help and reinforcements."
With an unchanging face, LiZhao asked, "How long?"
"It'll take half a day for the cavalry, a day at least for the for the foot soldiers," QianDu replied.
LiZhao glanced at the curled up ball in the corner and said without missing a beat, "We'll take all the horses we have, that's five hundred, and ride to Feng province. The foot soldiers will begin marching now. Wake the camp and pass the order. I'll leave now on a horse. Make sure to catch up." LiZhao stalked to the cot and pulled YuLin up by the colar before carrying a startled YuLin off.
"Uh... general what will you do with him?"
"He'll ride with me."
LiZhao dropped YuLin at the entrance and said, "Go pack your tent up and dress for battle, if you're not back in ten minutes I'll send QianDu for your head." He then left to ready himself.
YuLin stood frozen to the ground. Demons, flames, ashes... it all sounded too familiar like a long ago memory. He thought as fast as he could and decided that he will veer off course once they reach Feng province. He will not come face to face with a demon. It must be avoided at all costs. YuLin walked hurriedly to his tent and threw on some extra layers of clothing but did not put on the armour. He stared at it for a while before packing it inside the fold up the tent and throwing it into a wagon. He jogged back to the general's tent and found him staring impassively at YuLin.
"Where's your armour?"
"Aha... I lost it?" YuLin replied with a slight smile.
"Idiot," LiZhao muttered before grabbing him by the scruff and dragging him to the horses.
Once in the makeshift stable, YuLin made a beeline towards a pure white horse with red eyes, an albino, before saying, "Let me ride this one!" He patted the horse's nose as it huffed in his face.
"You're riding with me."
YuLin turned his head, that would make his escape plan difficult. "Eh? why? I can ride pretty well you know..."
"In case you plan on escaping."
YuLin's smile froze. Was he being too obvious? He reluctantly trudged over to General Li's side where he mounted a black stallion who stamped its foot in impatience. YuLin looked at the horse and thought how similar it seemed to the general. Head held high on a tight muscled body with an indifferent gaze.
After LiZhao mounted the horse he was about to extend his hand to YuLin when he felt a weight settle behind him and arms encircle his waist. LiZhao raised an eyebrow at the contact and turned his head to stare at YuLin.
YuLin's face was a mask of innocence as he piped, "What? Wouldn't want to fall off the horse now would I?"
LiZhao turned back around and kneed his horse into a trot. YuLin tightened his grip around the general's armour which dug uncomfortably into his cheek.
As they rode, the wind blew stronger and stronger, YuLin although having worn extra layers felt the cold seep into his very being and so he glued himself closer to the general, in hope of stealing some warmth.
LiZhao rode with a slight frown on his face, for a while now the youth behind him had been stuck extremely close to him. For someone who rarely even shakes another's hand, the feeling was odd. He chose to ignore it until he felt a cold hand slip under his armour.
"What are you doing." He demanded in a deathly low tone.
"... Ah don't be angry general Li, it's just that my hands are very cold... You see I'm weak to the cold so help me out here..."
LiZhao gritted his teeth and with one hand grabbed the two smaller hands roaming under his armour. He then yanked the hands forwards so that YuLin's face squished painfully against LiZhao's back armour.
YuLin cried out as the cold metal dug into his skin. "general, general! It hurts!" He struggled to pull back but could not move even a millimetre.
"Touch me carelessly again boy and I'll sever your hands. Men have died for less." He stated in a cold voice, still with a firm grip on his hands.
YuLin waited for his hands to be released but they weren't until he realised the general was waiting for a response. "Ah, yes yes yes, I won't touch the General again... wait a second... I'm not a boy! I'm only five years younger than you."
LiZhao ignored him and released YuLin's hands. He expected the youth to draw his hands back in fear but they only rested around his waist again as they had originally. LiZhao's clenched jaw could be understood that mildly irritated was an understatement for his current mood. However, he bore with it, for now, no point in disciplining this boy on the road, a waste of time.
The two rode the rest of the way in silence. Not once did YuLin ask for a break as LiZhao had expected, for such a frail body, heavy riding like this was sure to wear down on the body.
After hours of riding, exactly at noon, they had broken out through the forest into a clear landing.
Where in the near distance, tall walls surrounded the city stood strong and proud, the city gates were open as line after line of carriages filled with foreign goods and merchants entered.
At least that would've been what it look like before the demons attacked. The city gate was non-existent, in shambles somewhere. The wall had collapsed upon itself, like a lost game of Jenga, leaving the city defenceless. And the most noticeable thing was the smoke. It rose from the city like a tsunami, claiming the grounds and then claiming the sky, raising and raising, reaching for the sun to cover its glory.
Wailing and screams could be heard in the distance, along with manic laughs and growls.
At the sight, for the first time in a long time, YuLin trembled. As the general urged his stallion to continue forwards into the chaos, YuLin turned his head in the direction of the forest and pulled on the bond connecting him to the beasts, summoning them, as his eyes glowed a frightening red.
................................................................................
A/N- So there was a comment a while back asking me to write an apocalypse BL...
guess what this author is planning now... ;)
What a bad habit to always start a story when I haven't finished the other... this cycle is killing me...
Thumbs up to that comment tho ;)
Hope you enjoyed