Chapter 06 Part 08 - Forest (1/2)
**Chapter 06 Part 08 - Forest**
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“Ambus.h.!.+” Scout’s warning quickly turned into a scream as a handcrafted javelin pierced the soldier’s chest with pinpoint accuracy, signalling an array of javelins raining down on their position and turning that single scream into a dozen.
When under attack, the soldiers from the Central Army immediately narrowed their ranks, forming a circular defensive formation. Wielding sword with one hand and s.h.i.+eld with the other, the s.h.i.+eldbearers instinctively formed the outer circle. Hundreds of square-shaped s.h.i.+elds pushed together into a defensive wall. Archers, grouped in the center in a half kneeling position, returned the favour, unleas.h.i.+ng a barrage of arrows over the s.h.i.+eldwall and towards the depth of the forest. Javelins continued to rain in, but most simply fell short in reaching the soldiers hiding behind the s.h.i.+eldwall.
The Captain, Banner Warrior – Dukla shouted: “Fifth platoon, attack! Bring me the heads of those underhanded b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”
Thirtyish sabre wielding soldiers roared: “Woaah!” as they charged towards the dense forest of shrubbery. Even though they were initially Cavalries and due to the inaccessible terrains in the forest they had to fight on foot, it did nothing to change their fearless style. Three soldiers fell to the incoming spears during their charge, but the rest all managed to close in on the enemy, surrounding over a dozen Beastmen in melee.
Beastmen fought back just as valiantly with their simple javelins against the sharpened sabres, completely ignoring the soldiers shouting in Beastmen’s tongue – “Surrender and be spared!” Blood, screams and death continued to stalk the muddy jungle after the rain. Neither side gave ground. A Beastman who had just lost one of his arm fought on holding the javelin in his other hand, another who had his shoulder crushed pounced on his enemy with his teeth. On the other side, a soldier with a broken leg continued to swing his sabre wildly, slas.h.i.+ng at his enemy’s feet while tumbling over in the mud.
Soon, over half of the Beastmen had either fallen or were incapacitated. Captain Dukla shouted backwards: “Make way for the archers! Finish them!”
Several rows of archers moved forward, just as they were about to notch their arrows and draw back their bows, sudden warcry sounded all around them. Hundreds of Beastmen poured through the dense forest wielding javelins and clubs alike, surrounding them and hungry for blood. Soldiers readily fell back behind their defensive formation, and another brutal battle began beyond the s.h.i.+eldwall.
Dukla realized the situation he found himself in. “It was a trap!” He shouted loudly: “Fifth platoon, fall back to the defensive position!”
Three dozen soldiers from the fifth platoon separated from the battalion tried desperately to get back, but over a hundred club-wielding Beastmen had already surrounded them, roaring. Everywhere around them, weapons clashed and no quarters were given. Several of the soldiers instantly had their heads caved in and their bodies torn apart, turning a few screams into an endless wail.
Dukla’s battalion struggled desperately trying to narrow the distance between them and those separated men, but several hundred Rebels had severed their path. Both side fought fiercely over every inch of the ground, felling either men or beast every second in a pool of blood. Even though they could already see and hear each other, they were unable to move an inch closer despite being less than thirty meter apart. It looked like the surrounded fifth platoon would get wiped out before Captain Dukla could reinforce them.
A clear whistling and a shadow flashed by, not sure how, but it broke through several layers of the encircling enemies and through to the surrounded soldiers. A not-so-tall human nimbly moved between the taller enemies with incredible speed with nothing but his bare fists, dropping a score of Beastmen left and right without so much as making a sound, no one even saw how he did it. The bulky Beastmen who were well known for their physical prowess fell like flies around him and a tight encirclement was suddenly torn into a gap, allowing the surrounded soldiers to escape and return to the main unit.
Seeing the ambush had failed, a slightly taller Beastman’ officer shouted a few unintelligible words, and instantly, what was once a large group of angry Beastmen scattered like scared rabbits in all directions, disappearing into the shadows behind the overgrown underbrush. Thus, they vanished as sudden as they had appeared.
Gone was the sound of combat in its place came the chirping of the birds, the falling of the raindrops from the trees and wailing of the wounded still lying on the ground. In the once again quiet forest, the dim sunlight on a late autumn afternoon barely shone through the heavy foliage, leaving speckles of brightness against the green moss of the jungle, over the murky puddles and on the pale faces of the young fallen warriors.
Soldiers breathed heavily, gasping for air. Their muscles tightened, their fingers clenched firmly around the sabres, and their eyes filled with bloodthirst scanned their surrounding constantly, seeking out their next target. They couldn’t believe that the soul-stirring battle had already ended.
Dukla was the first one to regain his senses; he shouted the order: “Don’t just stand there like idiots! Help your wounded brothers! And you there, cut down a few trees and make stretchers.”
Like waking from a nightmare, soldiers awkwardly unpacked their med kit, patching up the wounded, checking whether the person on the ground was still alive and if they could capture a surviving rebel as hostage.
Only now did Dukla remember: “Who was the brave soul who rescued my men?”
Several archers pointed him towards a young soldier examining the area: “He did! He saved our brothers; he is a hero!”
“That is me.” Feeling slightly embarra.s.sed, the young soldier smiled mildly while showing his white set of teeth… Unfortunately it was about the only clean place left on his face. Everywhere else was practically covered in mud. Even though he wasn’t very tall, he looked like a man capable of holding his own. His gazes were sharp and focused. His uniform was covered in mud and blood; one couldn’t even tell what colour it used to have. He seemed to have lost his hat somewhere during the battle as he searched methodically through the battlefield.
“Good work, son. You fought well! You are not from my unit right?”
“Right, I’m just pa.s.sing through. You must be the Captain…?”
“Right your a.s.s!” Dukla roared: “Didn’t your officer teach you anything? When you are talking to a superior officer, you need to use honorific and do so with conviction. Say: ‘Right, Sir! Yes, Sir!’ Now try again!”
The amiable young man smiled and stood at attention: “Yes, Sir!”
“Good, now you look like a soldier! Very well, tell me your name, rank and your unit. I will make sure you are rewarded!”
“You are too kind, Sir.” The young man showed a pleasant smile: “My name is, Stirling. I’m currently serving in the Central Army; rank – Central Army Commander and a member of the High Command… So, when are you planning to reward me, Sir?”
He finally found his hat. Shaking off the dust and wiping off the sludge, the golden hawk badge once again shone brightly on top.
……
“Sir, you are acting out again!” Central Army Staff Officer - Tang Ping complained, he sounded as if he was talking to a child unwilling to take his medicine: “You were only supposed to inspect our defences, how did you end up in the frontline again? What if something happens…”
“Exactly!” Second in command, Deputy Commander Qin Lu chimed in: “All the division leaders are complaining: ‘We welcome Sir Stirling to inspect our defences, but can he please not rush into battle every opportunity he gets? We cannot afford if something happens to Sir Stirling!’ Sir, we all know how brave you are, but as the Commander of the Army, your duty lies beyond that of a normal soldier. You are responsible for our overall strategies, planning and leading us in battle…”
“Yes, yes. I know.” Stirling hastily changed the subject: “Today I went to check up on the three divisions on our left flank. Lu Ning’s division did a decent job on the defences; good trench work. Wen He’s division was terrible, not a single person knew what they were doing. I walked through his territory for almost half a day, not even a single guard stopped me for questioning, and his trenches were more like ditches, so shallow no way a soldier can hide behind. There was even an idiot Captain who led a small force of three hundred men into the forest, trying to stir up trouble for the rebels. Didn’t I specifically give the order: ‘Never chase into the forest?!’” By then, Stirling’s voice was throbbing with anger.
Qing Lu hurriedly explained: “Wen He’s division was originally a Cavalry division. They were used to be on the offence, not defence. All his officers were not trained to hold the line. I will talk to him about this later.”
“We can’t attack anymore. Our casualties are way too high. That d.a.m.ned forest; we’ll never have enough bodies for that!”
Stirling sighed, his voice turned from angry to stern: “Wen He must be held responsible for his negligence. Tell him, he has been demoted, from Red Banner Master to Banner Master. He will however remain as the commanding officer of the third division. Warn him, if he messes up again, he can go report to the constables himself.”
Both Qin Lu and Tang Ping couldn’t help laughing: It was already the third time Wen He got demoted this week, and every time Stirling sounded seriously angry. Yet, every time he managed to find some excuse to promote him right back to his old position.
It wasn’t just Wen He, almost every officer knew, Stirling was strict but fair. When serving under his command, one could easily get promoted, but could very easily get demoted just the same. Stirling had a zero tolerance policy for failure. Almost all of the officers had to regularly check in with the Staff office first thing in the morning, asking: “Am I still a Banner Master today or Red banner Master?” or “What? I’m only a Banner Warrior now?! I was still a Deputy Commander just yesterday!”
Finally, Tang Ping found the opportunity to inform Stirling, the Acting Commander of the Black Banner Army – Ming Hui had arrived. He had been waiting for him at the Army Headquarter.
Stirling was overjoyed. Ming Hui’s arrival signalled the presence of the powerful Black Banner Army nearby. The soldiers of the Central Army would no longer have to fight without support and would finally have time to take a breather!”
……
Inside the simple and crude Headquarter held together by branches and sticks, two highest ranking officers in the Far Eastern Region met face to face.
Stirling saluted: “Greetings, Commander. As ordered, I’ve held the line.”
Ming Hui returned the courtesy: “Greetings, Commander. As ordered, I’m here to provide support.”
Ming Hui and his escort wore the identical deep blue uniform; their snow white gloves were spotless. In contrast to their polished black boots, the golden epaulettes on their shoulders s.h.i.+ned brightly under the sun. Each of them looked well rested. On the other hand, Central Army Officer’s uniforms were more like filthy rags. Every one of them looked completely exhausted with their muddied bandages wrapped around their body. Some of the officers even came to the meeting stripped to their waist and having half of their foot exposed through their rotten boots. Even the highest ranking officer, Stirling wasn’t doing much better either. Covered in sludge from top to toe, he didn’t even have a hat on when he came to welcome the guests, which could be considered as an unacceptable behaviour for someone of his stature.
Black Banner Army officers exchanged a look amongst themselves, revealing their imperceptible intention to laugh. Was this what the most elite army of House ZiChuan looked like? They were hardly much better than a group of baggers.
Normally a high level meeting between two major armed forces was a very important and historical moment, but Ming Hui spoiled it t completely when he whined: “Stirling, don’t you guys in the Central Army eat? We’ve come a long way and we are tired. Not a single person has offered us anything to eat.”