Yun Qiang was following Voss, his eyes meticulously scanning his surroundings. They were traversing a large beaten path, wide enough to let a cart pass through. The trees that surrounded them were small and thin, making it difficult for a group of soldiers to approach them unnoticed.
Yun Qiang focused mainly on the large bushes that dotted the path. Each was big enough to hide one or two people, and it wasn't hard to imagine how a coordinated ambush could trap a patrol group.
At least our numbers will make it harder to encircle us.
He estimated in his mind that a group could use bushes only to surround small teams of 5 or 10 depending on what stretch of road they decided to use.
He looked in front of him, the monotonous flat environment they were traveling in had changed, and now he could see a small hill on the horizon.
As they approached a hill, Voss signaled them to slow down and stay silent. Yun Qiang's attention instantly peaked. He continued analyzing his surroundings, somehow paying even more attention to detail than before. He shifted his gaze towards the top of the hill.
Will they come from there?
Voss slowed down his pace and exited the road which circled around the hill. Yun Qiang slightly narrowed his eyes.
Are we just looking for a vantage point? No he wouldn't be so cautious.
He slightly bent forward while moving his body to the side of his spear, ready to take a defensive stance at the first sign of enemy movement. He quickly threw a glance at his companions behind him, they were taking the same stance as him. All of them looked ready to fight, but not everyone looked confident, Yun Qiang could easily see the trembling tips of their spears as they walked in unison. He looked at his hands. He was also trembling. He tightened his grip and moved his hands further away from each other so his spear wouldn't tremble as much as it did. He looked at Sun who was in a similar position as him.
As expected of him...
Sun was firm as a rock, there was no trembling and everything from his walk to his expression only gave one impression. Determination.
He closed his eyes and exhaled, trying his best to stabilize his hands. He couldn't afford to look weak. He needed to project confidence and strength.
Just like.....
He moved his gaze towards Voss. Their leader moved like a wisp of air; his confident steps made no sound on the grassy hill. His back was straight and his spear was firm. The way he held his spear was different from them, he held it with one hand, pointing the tip towards the ground and letting the end of the shaft rest on his left shoulder. While they held their spears to reach a guard position easily, Voss's way of holding his spear incentivized lunges and swipes, making it easy to advance but difficult to retreat.
Even with Voss's calming presence Yun Qiang couldn't stop his heart from beating faster and faster. As he climbed the hill his forehead started to sweat while his tremors intensified, becoming almost uncontrollable. He didn't know what they would find behind the hill but he could already feel it. A fight was about to break out.
Once they reached the peak Yun Qiang frantically scanned the surroundings looking for any threat. Then he saw them. At the foot of the hill a group of soldiers was standing in line with their spears bent forward as if they were waiting for them. Except for one individual that had decorated armor, all of them wore two-piece armor that covered most of their bodies leaving only their arms and heads exposed. Underneath their armor they wore a blue robe, the national color of the Sacred Empire.
Voss stopped, and they instinctively fell into a line, mirroring the enemy formation at the foot of the hill. Voss was at their center. He whispered in a low yet confident voice that all of them could hear.
"Remember what I said this morning. Try to gang up on them, if someone kills their enemy they go and help the others."
Nobody responded, they were too tense to speak. A mix of tension and fear could be seen in their eyes. Voss didn't repeat himself, he understood how they felt, the first battle was something that every soldier remembered. He knew that their entire way of seeing the battlefield would be shaped by this one battle alone.
If they emerged victorious, they might come to see war as a test of skill, a proving ground. If they lost or were reduced to death's door, they would see the battlefield as a slaughterhouse that spared no one. Obviously future experiences could change one's vision of the battlefield but it was difficult. First impressions matter the most when your life is on the line.
Voss knew this very well, he had seen and lived countless battles yet his vision was still influenced by his first battle. To him the border was a great equalizer that put everyone on the same level.
As silence fell between the two groups, Voss gave one last glance at his recruits. He wondered how many of them would survive this battle.
I tried my best, now it's all up to you.
He charged the enemy leader. It was time to battle.
Yun Qiang watched in astonishment as Voss met the enemy leader at the middle of the slope. Voss's speed was extremely high, and Yun Qiang could barely keep up with his movements when his eyes completely focused on him. Even so, what he could see was enough to deeply impress him. Voss's way of fighting was orderly yet heavy, a perfect series of well-trained positions and attacks designed to put pressure on the enemy captain.
His eyes slowly moved towards the enemy soldiers, they were standing still just like them. His gaze started darting between Voss and the enemies, Voss had engaged now what? Should they go help Voss or fight the enemy soldiers?
No, Voss is too fast, we can't keep up with him. We would only slow him down.
Then what—
His stream of thought was interrupted midway, when Sun took a step forward while keeping an offensive stance. Yun Qiang stared in horror as this single step ignited the battle. Like the spark that lights the fire, that single step caused chaos to ensure. Both groups started to charge at each other. Taken aback by this, Yun Qiang hesitated for a second before throwing caution to the wind and charging like the others.
As Yun Qiang charged into battle he started counting the enemies.
18… 19… 20
Their numbers were roughly the same, however the extra enemy soldier meant that one of them had to fight an extra person. He continued his charge at his max speed, while trying to pinpoint his allies' positions on the battlefield, however the constant movements of both groups didn't make it easy for him.
He managed to realize their position only halfway down the hill. His allies seemed to have formed a large half-circle surrounding Voss and the enemy leader, creating something that resembled an arena for them to fight him. However, what he had failed to realize before was that the circle they had formed was smaller than he thought, positioning him at the edge of the battlefield. He gulped. He had to get closer to the center, his position made it way too easy for others to encircle him.
As he heard a series of footsteps, Yun Qiang cursed himself. He had taken too much time to realize his position, and now two enemy soldiers had already approached him. His face darkened. He had to fight a 2v1.
He quickly fell back to a defensive stance, while his mind hurriedly scrambled for techniques, stances, and maneuvers that could get him out of the situation. The enemy duo tried to encircle him, but he constantly stepped back to avoid it. Seeing the stalemate that was forming between them, an enemy attacked with a lunge. Yun Qiang unhesitantly swung his spear deflecting the attack to the side, his mind desperately trying to imitate the moves his counterpart used in his dreams. He stepped back, his mind still in a panic, unable to completely focus on the fight. The second enemy approached him with a downward swing, he sidestepped it, just to be greeted by another lunge from the first soldier. He quickly used the shaft of his spear to deflect the hit towards the edge of his chestplate. Spear tip and plate connecting in a trail of sparks. He took a step back while glancing in panic at his companions; he could see that some of them had already won their fight and were slowly ganging up on the others.
Come here, I'm alone! Hurry!
He wanted to scream at them for help, but his throat was dry so he could only send a cry of help into his mind. Seeing that nobody would come to help him, he continued to fight while trying to follow the moves and stances that his counterpart constantly used in his dreams when fighting blood cultivators.
A mix between a maniacal smile and a terrorized expression started forming on his face.
I just have to hold on, they are winning… Yes, they are winning! We will survive.
He continued to repeat this in his mind, trying to convince himself that help was on the way.
An unexpected attack came close to his face, barely grazing his cheek.
They will come in a moment, keep dodging.
Slowly his mind fell deeper into desperation and his body started to rely more and more on the moves he had learned as a child. If before one could see the shadow of an elegant fighting style, now they could only see the rigidity and reliance of basic moves.
Just hold on… We will all survive…
As his unfair fight went on, he was pushed further and further away from his group.
Keep dodging…
Still no help arrived; it seemed that his companions had reached a stalemate and couldn't come to help him.
We will survive.
He backed up to dodge another hit.
Just hold on, they are coming…
Just as he was deflecting a side swing, a lunge came from his side. In that moment he broke his stance and instinctively moved to dodge, getting hit by the side swing instead. He fell backward, his head painfully hitting some rocks. For a brief second his vision turned into a mess of colors and light, making him unable to see anything; that moment of chaos was enough for his enemies, and when his vision recovered Yun Qiang could already see a spear coming towards him. It was too close, he couldn't deflect it.
His eyes caught a glimpse of his companion, they were too far, his enemy had pushed him away from them. They wouldn't come for him.
His mind completely snapped, all of his desperation and emotion surfaced in an explosion of adrenaline and energy. He let go of his spear and rolled to the side, helped by the inclination of the hill. Another attack came towards him but he ignored it and let it hit his lower chest, the adrenaline and panic instantly covering the burst of pain. He lunged towards the enemy and punched him, hitting him square in the face. As the man stumbled backward, Yun Qiang continued his assault and shoved him down the hill. As the first man started to fall down, the other attacked him again, once again Yun Qiang didn't dodge the hit; instead he threw himself towards it letting it connect with his breastplate in a waterfall of sparks. He used this occasion to get close to his enemy and punch, letting him fall on the ground. However, he didn't push him down the hill; instead he pinned him on the ground and started furiously punching him on the head. Punch after punch the man's reaction started getting smaller and slower until he stopped moving. However, Yun Qiang didn't stop at that and continued to punch him until he was only hitting a mix of blood and bones. A sudden rational thought hit him.
The other one is still alive.
With this thought in mind he swiftly stole the dead man's spear and ran toward the other soldier who was almost at the bottom of the hill and was only now getting back on his feet. The first thing that he saw, however, wasn't his team's glorious victory or his companion's proud smile, it was Yun Qiang's spear. He died in one hit, his death far more clean than the one his companion had.
With his last enemy dead, the adrenaline started to fade and Yun Qiang's thoughts started to settle, becoming unbelievably cold. For a few seconds Yun Qiang could clearly see the battlefield, in an objective way with no attachment or bias. The enemy team had lost ten members counting the two he had slain, while his team had lost four people. This battle was an inevitable victory it only mattered how many of his team would die to close the deal.
As he observed them the movements of a soldier caught his eye, the soldier in question had received a slight wound and had fallen back while his allies covered for him.
They fight in a formation, and cover for each other, this is why it's taking so long.
Yun Qiang didn't know why but his thoughts now felt more like undeniable statements and not opinions that he could disregard or elaborate on with his worldview. He let go of his bloodied spear and seized the spear his enemy used. It had the same weight as his but was slightly unbalanced towards the back of it. Without thinking why he directly threw it towards the enemies.
Unfortunately he was way too far and the spear fell a few meters shy of an enemy soldier. However, it was enough to distract a soldier at the edge of their formation, giving Sun enough time to move in and end him on the spot.
Yun Qiang moved his arm, repeating again the throwing motion he had just completed.
Too weak. Too slow. Too imprecise.
He silently criticized himself as he stood there watching the battle progress without him. Thanks to Sun's kill their team had managed to seize the advantage and they were close to victory. Voss's fight was also close to an end. His opponent was heavily wounded and had started to slow down.
Yun Qiang started slowly moving towards the spear he threw. The moment of sudden clarity had ended and with every step he took towards the spear, more and more chaotic and disorderly thoughts resurfaced in his mind.
Am I injured? How is Sun doing? Will I get punished for not helping sooner? Why didn't they help me? Is it always like this? I'm tired.
But in this myriad of thoughts, one was one step above the others, like a constant in the sea of chaos.
We are winning!
A strange ecstatic smile started forming on his face as a second wave of adrenaline hit him. His body suddently felt lighter than before and his slow walk soon turned into a full sprint.
He reached his spear just as the enemy leader retreated into the woods, his soldiers panicking and fleeing in all directions. Yun Qiang's grin widened, the thrill of victory now completely overwhelmed his mind, making him feel full of energy. He instantly found the closest fleeing enemy and started sprinting towards him.
It took him just a few seconds to be close enough to strike him down. Yun Qiang started moving his spear and was about to kill the enemy when Voss's loud voice reached him.
"Everyone stop! Don't chase! It could be a trap!"
Voss's clear voice was like pouring cold water on a fire, and Yun Qiang's senses came back to him. He stopped, letting his prey retreat back to the safety of the forest. Voss was right, it could be a trap. He turned around to see his companions doing the same. Most of them were chasing soldiers like him and were now standing just a few meters away from the bottom of the hill. Only one of them didn't listen to Voss's orders and continued chasing an unfortunate soldier in the forest, his face was red in a mixture of rage and excitement, the robe under his armor was stained with blood. It was unknown if it was his or the enemy's. Voss tried to chase after him but stopped when the soldier entered the forest; it was too late. Entering the forest would mean leaving their entire team alone for an unruly soldier.
Was I like this when I was chasing them?
Voss pointed at the top of the hill.
"Up the hill. Help each other out and report your injuries."
They started walking toward the top of the hill. Out of all the recruits, only Sun and Hai Ming had followed the orders that Voss gave them in the morning and hadn't chased any enemy, standing in position.
Yun Qiang looked at them, both of them stood straight, with bloodied armor and robe. Evidently, they didn't have any serious injuries or weren't injured during the fight. A wave of shame and anger hit him, only to disappear soon after when the adrenaline completely left his body. As he walked, the adrenaline he had relied on during the entire fight completely faded, giving space to the pain from his injuries. When he reached the top of the hill, only fatigue and relief were left in his mind.
He followed his companions' example and threw himself on the ground, too tired to stand on his own two feet. His head was pulsing constantly, his left leg hurt from a hit he didn't even realize had hit him, all the while some shallow cuts on the side of his chest reminded him of their presence with some occasional bursts of pain.
Yun Qiang slowly moved to the side, careful not to reopen the cuts along his chest. He looked at Voss who was helping Lee walk up the hill, the poor guy looked even paler than before and could barely walk with the help of Voss. He smiled while rolling back to a more comfortable position.
We survived.
For a second Yun Qiang's mind drifted to his family. He wondered how they were doing.
Mom and Dad are probably the same as always… Mei's birthday should be coming up soon… And Nian…
He closed his eyes and sighed. Nian hadn't helped him when he was accused of stealing, but Yun Qiang had already forgotten him for that. Now that he was a cultivator, he understood things better; Nian's situation was probably as complicated as his own.
Nian has probably reached the Foundation realm already…
He slowly came back to reality when Voss reached them and carefully laid Lee close to him.
Voss gazed at them, his eyes both filled with pride and a hint of sorrow.
"Sun, help me patch the injured. Hai Ming, do a search of the fallen soldiers, look for any identificatives or something used to recognize them."
Both of them responded simultaneously:
"Yes Sir."
The trio soon got to work, and while Hai Ming checked the corpses of their enemies, Voss started showing Sun and everyone close by how to clean and patch injuries. In this process, Voss made it an important point to clean thoroughly any injury; they were cultivators but infections could still be lethal if left unchecked.
Yun Qiang had moved to a sitting position and, like the others, watched attentively. Healing others and himself would definitely be an important skill in the future. Lee suddenly asked:
"Sir, can't we use Qi to heal ourselves?"
Yun Qiang nodded, he had the same doubt. Qi could be used to create temporary weapons, summon elements, and a myriad of other things; couldn't they use it to heal themselves? Voss responded while keeping his eyes focused on Lee's injured leg.
"To use Qi to heal yourself you need a Healing technique. But they are extremely rare and difficult to learn. If you are wounded, your best bet is to use healing pills. I have two of them with me but I'm reserving them for emergencies. Your wounds aren't that bad; they will heal in a few days."
Hearing this, Lee didn't seem so relieved, and Yun Qiang could understand why. Even if his wounds weren't serious, they still had to spend two days on patrol; this meant fighting and marching while being injured. Yun Qiang closed his eyes. The wound on his head had stopped bleeding, but it still hurt. He silently promised himself he would buy some healing pills for long patrols when he became an official soldier.
By the time his turn had arrived, he already understood the basics of healing. The process was very straightforward: clean the wound, apply pressure, and bandage it. Obviously he knew that more serious wounds would require sewing the wound closed or something similar, but he hoped he would have some healing pills in hand if something like that happened.
He looked around. The atmosphere seemed more relaxed now and while most of the sounds he could hear were groans or low curses, Yun Qiang could see some smiles in the group. Soon after he got his leg bandaged, Hai Ming came back, his face was sickly; a clear look of disgust and revulsion was sculpted on his noble-looking face.
"Don't worry, you will get used to the sight of dead bodies."
Hai Ming nodded before sitting with others. Even if he wasn't injured, he was also exhausted by the fight. The group rested on the spot for about an hour before Voss moved to the edge of the group and announced:
"Everyone stand up, we will begin marching."
Everyone started standing up, some did it silently while others lamented their pain. While standing up, Yun Qiang counted how many of them were left; they were 13, which meant that two of them had died in the final moments of the fight. He shifted his weight onto his right leg.
Six deaths in the first fight…
He looked at the dead corpses of his companions. He didn't know them well but he still felt bad leaving their bodies out in the open. Yun Qiang spoke while pointing at the corpses nearby:
"Sir, what do we do with them?"
Voss looked at him, a look of regret and sympathy clearly written in his eyes.
"We will leave them here; burying them will expose us to further attacks. We can't stay in the same place for too long." He shifted his gaze towards Yun Qiang's spear then added:
"Your spear is bent, change it when you get the occasion…"
Yun Qiang looked at his spear. Indeed, the tip was slightly bent. Throwing it at the enemy wasn't his brightest idea.
"Yes Sir…"
Voss started marching back towards the road that they had left before climbing the hill. On their way there, they passed beside the first soldier that Yun Qiang had killed. Voss made them pause for a second. The body made for a gruesome spectacle: the chest had caved in, while the head was completely destroyed, brain matter and fragments of bones were completely shattered on the ground, forming a red and squishy puddle. At this sight, some of them showed signs of vomiting while others, like Lee and Guang, couldn't help but vomit some of their breakfast.
Yun Qiang's expression darkened. He knew he was the one who did it, but he couldn't help but feel repulsed by the bloody spectacle. Only now did he realize how much control he had lost during the fight.
He shifted his gaze away from the corpse and searched for his spear. He found it where he left it, close to some rocks that had blood on them. He briefly broke formation to get it and abandon the bent one. While he took his spear, he made sure to get a good look at the body. That corpse reminded him of his inexperience. He knew he had survived not because he was the strongest or most skilled. He was alive because he had lost control and fought like a cornered beast. He couldn't let this victory blind him; the border was dangerous and he had a lot to learn.
Voss paused beside the corpse only for a few seconds, then continued marching. Their patrol hadn't ended yet.