Arrival of the Horde - Battle Thread

[Ma Chao]

Operation Trample Your Face - Music

As it did previously at Chang An, the ground began to quake and rumble due to a massive army in the distance. However, this force was like no other the land had seen and would be the one major threat to all the lords present. With the aid from Qiang Barbarians, who were skilled soldiers, the Golden Horde went from powerful to overwhelming. There was no doubt that they would move from Chang An toward Luo Yang and beyond if allowed to snatch victory at Qing Ni. The allies had to stop them, here and now, or face an even stronger army in the future. Should Ma Chao the Splendid defeat such an array of talent and influence, people would flock to him due to the pure power he possessed.

Flashback to Chang An....................

Ma Chao was informed of the allied 'gathering', by Xing Cai, and it made him laugh aloud. No doubt his nemesis was behind such maneuverings, but that was all the better for him. He could kill Wei Yan and Cao Cao with one mighty assault.

"Xing Cai, do not fear for me. It is I that fear for your safety, you should not have come but I seem to forget your prowess in combat. Curious, i am, to see this for myself but you must stay behind with the main army until necessary."

The leader would not allow her to fight on the frontlines and also she needed to be by his side. Therefore, her soldiers were ordered to form up with Mengq's elites to the rear of the army.

Yan Xing rode back toward Cai and Chao after speaking with the Qiang King who, needless to say, was anxious for war. The second in command was as glorious looking as his lord with gleaming armor, a fine weapon, and flowing golden plume with cape. If it was not Ma Chao killing every allied officer, one at a time, it would be Yan Xing.

"My lord, the army is prepared to move. All of the Glory forces along with the civilians have moved south to Qing Ni Pass" Xing said, looking at Xing Cai who seemed to be blushing. Had he interrupted something? It was amazing to him that a strong willed girl like Cai would cower before Ma Chao in such a way. However, he knew of his lord's overwhelming presence and it had a similar effect on most people throughout Xi Liang. Maybe that was why he was so feared and possibly hated. Underneath all the armor and ego though, was a man who needed the same as anyone else. It was clear that the two had feelings for one another and Cai's supposed cowardice in the presence of Ma Chao was actually more of respect, showing the king that he was truly in command.

Ma Chao looked to his loyal follower and ordered him to remove his cape. Yan Xing did so without question and handed it over to his lord followed by a slight bow.

"Here, you are now one of the Golden Horde. If only for this battle, you shall be adorned in the colors of my kingdom" Chao said, urging his steed over towards Cai's.

His powerful gaze pierced into her soul as he approached but she was not the only one mesmerized. The young girl was beautiful, worthy of a queen, and her figure was not only slender but powerful. It was due to her military training, no doubt, but either way she was hawt! Ma Chao could not take his eyes away and soon he was right beside her.

He reached out with his arm, signalling for her to lean in so he could afix the cape. She did so and for the first time the two touched, his hand to her arm. Yan Xing thought it time to take his leave, so he rode off with Mengqi's dragon cavalry to form up the army for an attack. By now, many of the Qiang soldiers were done pillaging the city, which Ma Chao was unaware of, and they were preparing to move.

Pulling the two corners of the cape, tightening it enough to not choke the girl, Chao finished putting it on her. She looked splendid in gold and maybe would consider abandoning Shu for the Golden Horde at one point. That was not an issue now though as battle loomed in the far distance.

"Come, ride with me into battle for it is the safest place on the field."


....................................


The Horde Alliance had arrived at Qing Ni Pass and the army almost stretched from one side to the other. Gold banners were intertwined with brown in a display of northwestern unification against Wei Yan and Glory. The cavalry presence was indomitable, but that was to be expected from the Qiang and Ma Chao.

At the head of the army were 3 trebuchet, 3 catapults, and 1 huge siege tower. It was the remaining tower from the Chang An assault and still had some damage along with burn marks. Behind it, pushing it on his own was.........Tiny!

"Wow, this thing is cruising! We need a couple more of those guys!" a soldier said, looking out from the tower to the north. There, the wall impeding their path could be seen and also some brave, or rather foolish, allied officers leading soldiers to their certain doom. The tower had around 100 or so archers in it with orders to make for the wall and not to engage any enemy units unless in volley range.

Behind the siege equipment was an enormous line of archers comprised of both ruffian and militia soldiers. Following the ranged units were ruffian swords and then the leader of the vanguard, Cheng Yi. Tiny to his right had one special duty and would act upon his own, though back up was provided by horsemen on the far wing if they were needed.

The Qiang Champion and Yan Xing were in the middle of the massive host of troops, leading a variety of infantry. To the rear of them were the feared Dragon Cavalry elites of Mengqi with the Qiang King and Xing Cai. Ma Chao himself was with them and to each flank of his elties were Qiang riders. Truly, the army was a horde but a magnificent one at that!

Ma Chao was already aware of an alliance against him as Xing Cai had told him so. He knew that scoundrel Cao Cao would be present, trying to seize upon the glory to be had should the allied forces actually defeat the Golden Horde. It was unlikely, but with so much talent gathered against them anything could happen.

Talent, sure. Intellingence, meh.

The brave groups of cavalry, which were now quite large, lead by Gongsun Zan, Eshmunbaal, and Sun Liao charged down the center of the battlefield heading for the frontlines of the Horde. As soon as they were spotted, in the distance, the entire force halted for orders from Ma Chao.

"Fools!" he said, urging his steed forward to get a glimpse of the glorious allied charge. He envied their bravery and was very close to leading a group out personally to engage, but that would not be best for his army. There was no doubt morale would raise and Mengqi would cut down a few allied officers, but there was always that stray arrow....that attack from behind.......shit happens.

The leader turned to face the Qiang King and Xing Cai, the latter who was hoping to keep the lion in check, before ordering his ally to send out riders to engage. The Qiang lord nodded and called off his veteran raiders along with ruffian skirmishers to move out. Also, Yan Xing could see the approach of the allies so he had both flanking cavalry groups, on the wings, prepare to move at any notice.

All of that would happen after though, as Cheng Yi would be the first to engage. His siege units went to work immediately, setting up boulder attacks against the vulnerable charging cavalry of the enemy. They were all alone, away from their allies, and left exposed to what should have been their worst fears; ranged units.

"Make ready!"

A massive line of archers, around 1000 strong across the frontline behind the siege, made ready to let loose should the enemy approach within their range. It would be raining metal in only a few moments and it was not the kind of storm one should look up to the sky for droplets in their mouth!

The allies would never make it to the frontlines faster than the Horde could see them and prepare. What they were not paying attention to just yet though, due to the charge, was the presence of a sneaky officer inside the forest. If Wei Yan thought that such a position would go entirely unnoticed and unchecked, he was not too bright. It would only take but a moment for an order to be issued and his position overwhelmed, but that would come soon enough.

"Now!" Cheng Yi yelled, ordering his siege weaponry to unleash an attack upon the allied charge. What were they doing? It was brave but a waste of soldiers if hit repeatedly and if they approached too close they would become pin cushions.

One by one the trebuchet and catapults let loose, sending 6 boulders soaring through the air towards Gongsun Zan, Eshmunbaal, and Sun Liao! To the right, the siege tower prepared a volley as the enemy came closer but they were not in range yet. Tiny peeked around the large siege structure to catch a glimpse of Sun Liao. That one looked easy to kill he thought, but Zan was old and weak. Tiny marked Zan's name on his fat arm with some blood from his wounds so that he would remember who to kill after Huang Zhong.

After the siege attack, the cavalry just waited for the order to charge. The Qiang King's horses were held by Yan Xing as to not be hit by any volleys, but they would move out shortly to meet and destroy the enemy.

"Send a small scout party into that forest, we can use the wood to create siege ladders if necessary."

Ma Chao ordered 100 militia axes, to cut the wood, and 50 militia spears to aid them in the forest. If anyone was present, they would most likely get killed, but the game would be up for whoever was there. They would be surrounded and annihilated without mercy!

****************************************

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::The Golden Horde::

Ma Chao
Yan Xing
Han Sui
Cheng Yi
Tiny
400 Elite Horse Bows
400 Elite Horse Spear/Shield
480 Militia Cavalry Lancers
500 Militia Horse Bows
500 Militia Sword/Shield
232 Militia Spear/Shield
192 Militia Spearmen
444 Militia Twin Axes
334 Militia Bowmen
700 Ruffian Bowmen
880 Ruffian Swords
1000 Ruffian Horse Swords
3 Trebuchet
1 Siege Towers

::Unauthorized aid from Shu::

Xing Cai
100 Spear and Shield Elites
300 Horsebow Veterans
1 Unit of Medics

::Qiang reinforcements::

Qiang King
Qiang Champion
500 Veteran Raiders (Shortbow and Sword) *new
1000 Militia Mace/Axe Troops (Short mace and Axe) *new
500 Ruffian Skirmisher Cavalry (Javelin and Sword) *new
1000 Ruffian Twin Swords
3 Catapults

[Aja Jex]

Aja was resting since seeing all generals relaxing until a report came from Lu Jex that Liu Shan troops were blocking the gate. Aja felt like this was a joke and a prank.

"What! You interrupt me because someone is blocking the gate and you can't ask yourself. You mock my name and my honor! I'll deal with this myself you lazy low class solider!"

Aja Jex got his steed and advanced on the gate where he saw the troops blocking the gate. It wasn't their fault since no one had talked to them or even told them they needed to go through.

The time was plenty but the news could come in showing them that Ma Chao had arrived. He looked behind him where the men of Mortiss was beside him. Another unit under Wu Sheng Tian, all these were brave men protecting the people. He hadn't met them but in the future he would love to see them.

Now, he had to see Liu Shan son of Liu Bei. He looked around to spot him but he couldn't since he never had seen him. He just went forward abit and shouted out to get there attention:

"Does anyone know who Liu Shan is or who is the General of this unit? You are blocking the way of men to enter the gates and defend against Ma Chao!"

He just needed the attention of Liu Shan so they could move there troops away. This was just needed to do and his own men couldn't do it. Wasting time, most units were stuck outside and already showing signs of not working together.

[Liu Shan]

As many attempted to squeeze past the unit under Liu Shan, there was only one to try and get the troops to move out of the way. Huang Hao was the one to hear the shouting of a single man, not to know the man he follows? Perhaps blocking the gate further was in order. However, the young Liu had heard and his face was something to break the winds into rain; so many errors he was making and all because these men believed themselves to be greater than each other. "Fools, the lot of them.. Soon they shall perish." Closening himself to Liu Shan, the Eunuch lowered his voice so that only he could hear; the tone taking on a role of Shan's visible conscience. "What are you doing here? You are useless here, too many errors; it will bring the allies destruction.. Leave, before we cause any damage."

The very words were cutting away at the young man's very spirit, the snake-like tongue spitting poisoin upon it's already weak prey. The Eunuch continued to question the abilities of Liu Shan, his mind could not comprehend what was going on or even why Huang Hao was saying it. "Do not try to be your father, you are not him. This is not your future, that very man you name 'father' did this to you... Smashing your mind to the floor.. Depriving you of what the Heavens gave you, taking it for himself." It was an opportunity that the Eunuch could not miss, slandering Liu Bei once again...though getting at Shan in an emotional state would make it sink faster than Hao had ever done before.

As Hao continued, the troops behind Shan becoming more aggrivated that he had not moved, the mace that the young Liu held tightly. The courage that Shan conjured, did anyone realise how hard it was for him? How much he was doing to be here?.. No.. Huang was right, too many trying to make themselves look big; while this man with the mind of a child attempts to help them. None realised, nor did most care; but what would that change? Liu Shan, the disposable son. "S-stop." His grip opened, the mace hit the ground with some force as Shan began to crumble to Hao's snake tongue. The men worked independantly, acknowledging the man's shouting they unblocked the Qing Ni gate so that no abuse was going to be hurled back at their lord. Huang Hao could see his plan was working and the sooner Liu Shan moved his men into a retreat the better.

Finally Hao stopped his tongue wagging and allowed every word to sink further and further in Shan; the courage dying by every second that his simple mind tried to take in all of what the Eunuch said. Before his own men Shan had been driven into a corner and transformed back into the helpless young child that everyone knew him to be; all through the words of Hao. The men from his personal army became angry at the Eunuch while concered for Shan, the last time this happened to the young Liu he burst out through frustration... Meaning, if it would happen, Shan would charge forward; directly into the enemy.

"My Lord, we must keep the morale going and fight against the Lord Ma.."

"Do not head Lord Huang's words, make formation and help the others"

Futile. Shan wanted to get out of here. His hands become tight around the reigns of the white gelding, an officer helpfully strapped the mace back onto the saddle and Huang Hao waited for the inevitable order to retreat. "I-I c-can't!" The child broke, Hao was right.. Too many errors. Shan's entire unit was about to make their retreat into the pass before Huang Hao noticed the large army of Ma Chao coming straight for them. Looking across the Eunuch gazed upon three banners, one of Ma the other of Qiang and one last one.. "Shu?!" The very name sparked Shan's ears to attention and the problems of before were wiped clean, his eyes looked into the distance and there there they were. Shu was heading right for them on the side of the enemy, did they know Shan was here? "See my Lord, your family are nothing than traitors to both their friends and family." The young Liu's head began to shake frantically, not wanting to believe anything that blurted from the Eunuch's lips. "P-put our banners up... H-higher." The banners were held a little higher than usual, they carried the colours of Shu but were of the symbols of 'Liu Shan, son of Shu'. It was quite a well thought plan by the young Liu, for him anyway; if they saw his banner they may consider retreating. "No! We have to leave, how can you let your own destory you again?!" Hao was furious, his plan for retreat was being foiled all because of Shu being here.. When would this stop? The constant desire to yield to a family that didn't want him. "The banners of Shu mean that Liu is here, your own father is trying to destory you.. Perhaps retreat and cut his own force from the foundations, we have enough." As the son of Shu reached for his weapon the Eunuch ripped the mace from it's strapping in order to thwart the plan of joining the battle; though the mace was not his choice. "W-we must stay... F-father will leave if he sees my b-banners" The jian was put into the air, Shan's hand shaking franticly as he forced every piece of courage to his heart and, of course, to his mouth. "You're a fool! We must leave! If we are quick we can bring the destruction of your father and teach him he can not stand on this earth for what he has done to you! Remember, he was the one to throw your innocent body to the ground!" Huang was not going to give up, Shan would break; he needed more time, hoping the units infront of him would make that happen.

"S-shut up!!" The men were stunned, for the very first time Liu Shan had stood up for himself and against Huang Hao! "W-we must stand, i-if Shu retreat... T-then so shall w-we. Hao, you are m-my protector, s-so stand by me!" Smiling the men formed behind Shan and smiled proud of the fact that they witnessed this; the demeaning of the Eunuch, no one could create this entertainment. Astonished and outraged Huang Hao took his place beside Liu Shan, Liu Bei would pay for spawning this kind of behaviour!


- Liu Shan has highered his banners in the direction of Shu (Xing Cai) in hopes they would see them and retreat!
- Liu Shan moved out of the way of the gate and formed to the back of all other units outside, taking on a defensive stance!

Troops:
100 Elites (Mace & Shield)
200 Veterans (Axe & Shield)
100 Militia (Sword & Shield)
200 Militia (Spear & Shield)

[Wei Yan]

Check My Shiznit!

Trembling. There was a trembling that course through Wei Yan's body he was failing to control. The Golden Horde had bashed down their doorstep and was thundering through thier yard, and all the warrior could do was wear a sick sadicious smile. One of his "Guardians" walked up and patted his shoulder lightly.

"You have to let go of all anger, My lord. Let go of all rage. Let it consume you. Make this lordling regret... Regret everything he's ever done. Before the day is out, I will see that vengeance is yours." spoke the spearman, pausing for a moment to let that sink in, "Now though. Golden Horde axemen are making their way to our position, and you no doubt have seen the seige weapons launching. What are we to do, My Lord?"

"Rai, take--" came the instinctual words of the warrior, but he cut himself off. The trembling returned. For a moment, once again he was a child with a chip on his shoulder. Shaking his head, a single tear leaping from his eye and landing flatly on the spearman's cheek, the warrior snarled lowly. "Bash the shields. Stomp the feet. Whinny the horses. Do this now. Make them think we are thousands."

The spearman did the the punch into an open palm bow before walking away, and again Wei Yan was taking back to his friend. Shaking his head word was spread of the order. All the men lined up and soon the noise overcame all of the warrior's thoughts.

Shields slammed, continously. Feet stomped and even the horsemen dismounted and stomped their feet while horses reared back and let out their own cries for battle. Then the warrior entered into the fun. His spear rammed into the ground and his feet stomped, then another order. "Glory!! War Cry!"

It wasn't a roar. It wasn't even a war cry. It was a tidal wave that ushered from those woods. Rolling from withing the woods, even the branches swayed with the sound, for it only multiplied off all the shields who pressed the sound out harder. They sounded as hundreds, thousands, even thousands upon thousands! "For Glory!!" , but another voice rang out above the others and it wouldn't be doubted he roared it, "For Rai!!"

Then the fight was on! There was no verbal order to charge, just a group understanding when Wei Yan was seen rushing forward. Pointing back to the horses, the warrior pointed back towards the seige equipment. The men were mounted, ready, and charging the lines of Seige. The warrior then pointed towards the Vanguard and the rest of his men knew their jobs.

"None escape! None survive! Guardians! These barbarians of Liang and Qiang are nothing for our spear and shields!" roared Wei Yan, as he shoulder rushed over a group of militia axemen. Shields were used as weapons, just to move the axemen from the warriors path. The twin axes just used their extra agile weight and swayed in and out following shields.

The warrior's eyes were searching, needing to find the lordling, but instead they found a officer of the child's, Cheng Yi. A snarl, it was like an animal on the field, rippled out from the warrior and the challenge was ushered. "Cheng Yi! Move aside or die with your lord!"

It was like tunnel vision, on a helpful level. The warrior was overcame with his rage, his hate, his love for his friend. All he saw was the face of Ma Chao, and his movements ushered around that. Things he killed, were nothing. They were merely feathers being pushed by the breeze. Wei Yan's spear was finding home in guts, collars, armpits, biceps, thighs, groins, everything! It didn't matter to the warrior.

The march of Sun Yuan Ci to Lu Bu had been rumored as epic in all meanings of the word. The march of Wei Yan through the Golden Horde would be no less than it's equal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wei Yan and his men do an astounding rally, hoping to lower enemy morale with a slight bit of sound trickery.

Then they charge the lines of the Golden Horde from within the trees. Mounted Swords go for Seige while the rest of the unit began tearing into the vanguard. Anyone within arms reaching wearing gold... Dead!

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Commanded Army:

400 Spear and Shield Elites
200 Mounted Sword and Shield Veterans
200 Twin Axe Milita

[Yu Xueman]

In Battle Post

[/u]

Xueman swallowed hard as Ma Chao's hordes came into site and saw the siege tower. "Troublesome..." she mused to herself. Circling back around to face her men, she threw her arm northward. She didn't want her group to be in the path of that tower, and whatever was aiding it in it's unusually fast movement. "To the center of the Pass! Maintain formation!"[/color] She shouted, and her men nodded, agreeing with the wise choice in repositioning. None of them wanted to be in the way of that massive thing either.


At a brisk trot on her horse, the men were following at slightly above jogging pace in her wake, making good time as they traveled across the plains in front of the hills. It was only a few minutes before they had reached the center of the pass when she heard a rumbling, slightly softer than that of Ma Chao's hordes. Xueman looked at the now charging Allied forces, just hitting the edge of the hills and held the biggest mental sigh she could recall throughout her lifetime. Did everything have to be so chaotic, even before the battle actually began. Such a small cavalry against the full brunt of Ma Chao's frontlines... The leader of this mission was either the most courageous or foolish officer on this battlefield. "Break to allow the charge past unhindered! We will cover them in their endeavors! Archers, Pikemen follow me!"

Before the charge had even hit the plain she was having her much slower moving force head forward to a good distance that she could cover the charge with what little ranged units she had available. Three hundred archers weren't much but hopefully they could do enough. The charge was quickly nearing behind them...

~*~*~*

Summary:
-Yu Xueman has repositioned her unit at the center of the pass!
-Yu Xueman is moving to a cover position for the main charge with her archers and pikemen!

[Sun Liao]

Whats an epic battle without Lord of The Rings Music?

Things are slow all around Sun. Sun charges into the setting sun, horsemen by his side. This charge will indeed claim his life, and Sun has come to accept that. The men are on the brink of morale, a charge like this is needed, one of honor and bravery, not of a sick desire to kill. This charge was not for the bloodshed, it was for the honor that war does bring. And this is why Sun isn't afraid to die. He has grown to enjoy battle, he has grown to enjoy the glory it brings. A man of pure heart is quickly fading to the wars and death that surround him. He has grown too cocky and foolhardy on the battlefield, and he knows it. Either he will go in the history books for bravery, and maybe his hunger for honor satiated or maybe this was just another stepping stone for more honor, or a quick and swift death.

Sun rides, the battlefield slowing around him. He looks to his right, next to him sits a lancer, head down, riding swiftly towards the gigantic enemy lines. This charge is foolhardy, but there was no turning back now. Foolish as it was to turn back would to be a coward, and to give in to the menace that is all the Golden Horde stands for, fear, intimidation, they will not bully the people of China! Not while Sun Liao was able to stop that.

The men begin to look reluctant as archers come to the front near the siege weapons, and the trebuchets are loaded. Sun can already see the death ahead of him. If this is how it must be then so be it, I will meet them head on and I shall challenge my own legend! Sun rides harder now, approaching his oncoming death.

"Men spread the line! They fire projectiles! Stand strong! Move away from the tower's range! They have hardly any spears, we will most likely meet them with cavalry if they are smart enough to move there archers. DO NOT FALTER! Hold the Line!"

The cavalry begins to spread apart and a front line is made, Sun rides in the front, ranging back the men spread out further back, staying out of the range of the passing tower, that was for the others to handle.

"Eshmunbaal, as soon as you can have your archers fire at their lines! Men prepare for impact! We do not falter!"

The battle moves slow yet again, the horses hooves banging against the ground. A Cavalry charge against one of the largest and strongest arrangements of men seen for many centuries. 1000 horses against an army of nearly 10,000 men. A charge to be remembered for both it stupidity and its bravery.

As the catapults begin to hurl their stones and archers await firing the charging men come closer, unphased, undaunted, this charge will forever be remembered when the brave and the foolhardy alike met the tyrant fearlessly! Sun rides at the head of his men, waving his sword in the air, the enemy draws closer, they enter into the range of the enemy archers now. Stones come crashing down onto the horses.

Some men fly at the impact but nothing to bad. Sun's horse maneuvers around a large stone that had hit the earth and ended the life of a rider, another holding his arm, obviously broken. Sun reaches out and the man tosses him his shield from his horse. The men draw closer and flashes go through Sun's head. What about his lord, his city that he has sworn to protect. What of the life he has back at Jin Yang, will he be remembered as a hero, or as a fool? Does it matter? Will anyone care? Who can say, no matter who cares, this is going to happen. And maybe if he makes it through this alive, he will be remembered, no not remembered, but appreciated...

That's all Sun really wants. A man born to serve higher men, and that is what he has done, all he really wants is someone to recognize him for the loyalty and the bravery he portrays for a better world. The ground begins to tremble as more stones fall, more men falling to the stones, others dodging them just in time. Sun rides looking to his left and right, men riding strong, fear in their eyes, but resolution as well. This charge will claim the lives of many, Sun looks up, the sun is blotted out by a large object, an object quickly falling towards him. Despite this, one cry can be heard above all the others.

"FOR T'SE!!!"

He rides faster, his men seeing him follow, the stone crashes behind him and they all continue forward. The enemy archers now prepare their bows and raise them to the skies. This is it. Sun lifts his shield up high and sword straight ahead, he shall meet these archers head on. To the death he will fight if need be. Maybe then, the people of China will appreciate what he has done, and maybe then Sun can live with himself in peace, and save his heart that is quickly fading to glory on the battlefield. Or maybe he can rest well knowing he laid his life out for the people he cares about, and die.....honorably

*Summary*
- Sun continues on, preparing the men and himself for the worst.
- They move out of range of the tower, no need to get casualties from them too.
-The cavalry charges straight for the enemy despite Mortiss' wish and threat to get all those who go before him (Sorry should have been faster)
- And hopefully none of the other generals decide to flee during the charge, seeing I only brought 200 horsies....

[Huang Zhong]

Huang heard the enemy almost before he spotted it. The ground shook with their march. It was as if the land itself was trembling before the might of Ma Chao's massive army. Elite soldiers and barbarians alike made up this fearsome force. And yet, for all their might, might that could shake the earth itself, Huang Zhong's resolve did not so much as flicker in the face of this adversity. His men glanced over at his unchanging demeanor and took heart, glad to have such a calm, organized leader to lead them into the jaws of the enemy.

The old veteran hid his disbelief as a couple of generals, including Sun Liao, charged ahead with several men. It was reckless and foolish, even if it was brave. There was no doubt in Huang's mind, however, that Ma Chao would simply laugh at such a charge and shrug it off as one swats flies away from their face, a minor annoyance to his great army. Nevertheless, they would do some damage before they were destroyed. He cringed somewhat as he saw the enemy trebuchets launch stones into the oncoming cavalry. This would take a good chunk of morale off the men. But Huang had other matters to deal with.

As the calvary charged, Huang Zhong could see a siege tower approaching. He had seen the same tower at Chang An, slightly burned and charred, but nonetheless usable. One hundred enemy archers sat atop the tower, ready to make it hail arrows upon the defenders of the wall. And pushing the tower was none other then Tiny, the massive man he had shot at Chang An. The old veteran smiled as he slowly drew his bow and nocked an arrow. His chance to fight the giant would come. For now, the defense of the walls was of utmost importance. He could shoot the archers in the towers with crossbows, but he preferred not to if he didn't have to. Instead, he had a better idea.

"Lord Cao Cao! Enemy siege tower approaching! Do you think your trebuchet can bring it down?!"

As he spoke, Huang Zhong took aim at the small slits in the tower. He wasn't going to take any chances. His Miltia Crossbows also took aim, awaiting the order to fire.

[Eshmunbaal]

Eshmunbaal, while being a part of the "charge" did not believe the others their willingness to die for honor either. Eshmunbaal had planned to move out and harass the enemy, and seeing allies heading out to charge was enough a reason to do it right now and try and keep their cassualties as low as possible.

On the other side, Ma Chao started hurling giant rocks at the cavalry force. Eshmunbaal could only laugh at this. In the offbeat chance that one of these rocks did in fact land close to any of the horsemen, they would have moved out of the way of it before it hit the ground. Ma Chao would just have to learn by experience that trebuchets were devices meant to bring down walls. They'd have a hard time hitting a large force of infantry, let alone a fast moving cavalry unit.

Eshmunbaal's main focus was harassment, not charging. Harassment was aimed at a specific unit in general to take away an advantage the enemy had, or was aimed at pretty much everyone to bring down enemy morale. For all Carthaginian armies, harassment was half the battle, as would be shown now. In some way, Eshmunbaal and his men weren't really a part of the charge at all. Instead of charging blindly, they relied heavily on mobility, changing their approach and speed at certain intervals to make it harder on the enemy to predict where and when they would come into range. They regularly split of into several smaller groups, only to join up again after both had moved around in an irregular pattern. To Eshmunbaal and his men, this was all basic knowledge and was instinctively performed. Harassment is an art, Hannibal would have said.

As Eshmunbaal and his Balaeric mercenaries got closer to the enemy, swerving out of the way to dodge the occasional catapult or trebuchet fire, they'd eventually find themselves close enough to seriously consider attacking the enemy. Ma Chao and his horde would find them to their left, close to the forest Wei Yan called his own. Eshmunbaal shouted but two words, which signalled the first ever Carthaginian tactic used in chinese lands. "Cantabrian circle!" he shouted in Punic, and before anyone had time to think what that meant, his 200 Balaeric mercenaries broke of into four groups of fifty (give or take one or two), each moving around in single file circular fashion.

Even tough they were moving in a circle, they were still very agile, and in this manner moved closer to the enemy untill they got within range. The cantabrian circle had many advantages. One was ofcourse the continuous stream of arrows fired at the enemy. Because of their continuous movement they were especially hard to target by both infantry and archers, and because they do not require to make a perfect circle, they could easily keep their distance from the enemy should they send out a charge to get them.

Four seperate of these circles were waving from right to left, closer and further away from the enemy army, trying to make themselves as hard a target as possible by both this movement and anticipating what area the enemy would be firing towards. Still, the main focus of this tactic was to harass and taunt the enemy, disrupt close formations and in this case particularly, lower enemy morale. Their arrows were aimed towards the archers covering the approach to the horde's left flank.

[Zhang Fei]

Emerald Banners flew on the horizon as the unit of General Zhang Fei of Shu arrived on the battlefield,east of The Golden Horde's Position.General Zhang himself sat atop his horse with his son,Zhang Bao.The Unit was moving at a moderate speed with no war banners.

"Grrr! I can't believe Cai came out here! In the middle of this battle between Ma Chao and Cao Cao! Is she insane!? Oh,she's going to get a clobbering for this!"

Zhang Fei's deep voice rung out amongst his soldiers as the Burly Warrior ranted on about his daughter.Bao cringed as he listened to his father speak about Cai.Fei could be a cruel man to his underlings,even crueler to those who cross him.

"Father,i heard that Young Liu Shan,our lord's son,is also here.Apparantly he is assisting the allies!"

Bao said with distress as he failed his arms from atop his horse.Fei turned back and looked at Bao with wide eyes.

"WHAT!? FINE! I'LL DRAG HIM BACK TOO!"

Fei spurred his horse into a gallop as he sped towards the Shu Banners mixed in with Ma Chao's Horde.

Zhang Fei has arrived! He intends to collect Xing Cai and Liu Shan without fighting The Golden Horde or the Allies! He is currently heading towards Xing Cai!

Troops ~

100 Elite Spearmen(2H Spears)
200 Swordsmen(Swords & Shields)
100 Militia Archers(Bows)
200 Lancers(Lances)

[Cao Pi]

Guan Shao gulped down a large amount of fear. He wasn't meant for this kind of fighting. No, he was meant for verbal fighting. Maybe he could give Ma Chao a stern talking to and send him on his way?

No, no that went out the window almost immediately.

Guan Shao watched as the foreign general, whom he was ordered to try and befriend, followed him. He was going to give him an offer from Zan to help with Baima, but the general sped off to try and fight the Horde.

Guan Shao swallowed hard once again.

With a push into the sides of his beast, his men and he began to gallop forwards, Shao's semi muscular nature showing that he was indeed an adept rider, but not as good as some of his cohort Elites, or even Zan himself.

However, that would not matter.

The enemy launched a volley into the air... What were they doing? Are they idiots? Ma Chao did not know how to command his men it seemed, as rocks and pointy sticks landed behind the charge, ranged attacks against cavalry while being volleyed a horrendously stupid idea.

Shao's frontline crashed into the enemy archers soon thereafter. The Elites were the first to hit, and they peeled off backwards, as soon as the archers were hit, hitting multiple men with their horses and a few with their spears. As soon as they hit, they retreated.

This tactic was called flowing water. The horses would hit, and then retreat immediately, two columns pouring off perfectly, the weakest cavalry to the rear so that they wouldn't muck up the important part of the formation, which was the initial hits, the sword and Shield horsemen only there to mop up whatever was left.

The Damage was relatively light, but they would receive fewer casualties this way as well. Guan Shao killed two men, one with his horse and another with his spear, before peeling off himself. They looked to be in a retreat, and they were careful of incoming volleys, however, their losses would be few. Shao was preparing another surprise for when they came near the mountains...

[Ayden (Retired)]

Flashback to Chang An[/u][/size]

Theme = Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim

Was it fear that made Xing Cai seemingly unable to lock eye contact with Menqi? She often asked herself the same question. No, it was something much deeper, it was a strange understanding, but her own mind tried to take it apart and replay it back to herself. If she looked into his eyes, she would see his true self, and that true self was a lonely and broken warrior who longed for someone to take pride in him. With his father and brothers dead, he had no one to tell him that they were proud of him. There was nothing wrong in this, but for some reason, Xing Cai pictured it to be disrespectful, and she didn't want Menqi to know she saw that side of him.

With the order to remain behind the min unit, Xing Cai sighed but bowed once in loyalty to both her commander and lover. She held in the need to argue and make a strong stand against it, but she knew M a Chao would not hear it. He was a solid man with cemented decisions, nothing could move him. What surprised her however was the fact that he ordered Yan Xing to remove his cape; she knew what ws coming next. She nodded in awe and her steed moved with a slow trot towards his own white stallion. He reached out, and then the dream began.

His hardened hand, the one that so often clung on to the proud spear, reached out, grazing her arm. She almost shivered, this was their first proper touch. Their steeds seemed to react to each other, both stallions keeping a eye lock. One that was almost in agreement, as if they were literally speaking in a language through the eyes. She looked up, and in a almost Last Samurai fashion, their eyes met for the dreaded few seconds. She felt warm inside, the cliche description that is so true though. The golden robe slid around her smooth and textured neck as he tightened it to almost perfection. The next feeling was strange, her eyes looked out across the field, and everything seemed to shine more, like gold. Was being here where she was destined to be? It felt much like it. Her steed turned and she made eye contact with Menqi once more. This time, she held it.

With a faint smile, she nodded. "There is no other place I want to be." With that, they rode off towards Qi Ning Pass.

Current Time[/u][/size]

Theme Song is still the same

She found herself near a barbarian king. The Qiang leader, she looked upon him in curiosity. He looked like a caged demon. There was something about him, that made Xing Cai feel uncomfortable, like he could explode in any moment and unleash absolute hell upon any who stand in the way. Ma Chao was different, the lion inside him held honour and decency, justice among all else. That was what Xing Cai was so attracted to...and what she found most hot about him...aside from his ripped body of course!

"Is that?" Xing Cai looked ahead, she could see Shu banners in the charge. Her horse reacted when Xing Cai's eyes met the symbol upon the flying banner..."Liu Shan?!" Something inside her made her want to almost vomit...no, it wasn't Liu Shan's banner, another Shu banner appeared. This one she knew better than any form of writing in the world. It was her father's, and it was heading straight towards the main unit.

"Ma Chao!...I mean...My Lord! Don't attack the Shu banner coming this way." She called out to menqi, in hopes that the lion hadn't fully taken over yet. He still maintained the logical thinking and human restrictions of emotion. She pointed towards the Shu banner coming towards the unit. It was clear it was Zhang Fei.

"Let me go talk to him. He has come only to find me, he doesn't want to fight you." Turning back, signaling towards her men, she began to ride off. Stopping however, she turned back to Menqi. "I promise I will return. You may have my medics. Shu won't stop me from being with you in this battle." With that said, she rode off towards Zhang Fei's unit with her men. Her banner was clear in the air, so the allies could see it, however, what also was clear was that her Golden Horde robe was in view.

Summary

[/u]

- Xing Cai, wearing Golden Horde colours, has accompanied Ma Chao's forces to Qi Ning Pass
- After a emotional moment back at Chang An, she is now fueled by her love and loyalty towards Ma Chao
- Seeing the Shu banners of both Liu Shan and Zhang Fei, however, has caused some discomfort. She intends on not abandoning Ma Chao
- She has ridden out towards her father, Zhang Fei, along with her troops to tell him what she plans to do

[Wei Yan]

We like it fast and heavy

In-Battle Post

War raged on all sides of the primal thing that now stood in place of Wei Yan. The theme of a ladder appeared in his head. Each rung had a named inscribed on it, the first was Cheng Yi, the last was Ma Chao. This was a ladder of Vengeance, a ladder of destruction, and the warrior was roaring his way to the top.

Men came to the primal warrior's spear. They came crying for it, hating it, fighting it, and above all, dying by it. They all came, every type of man the vanguard held, and a few strays, not one mattered. Swords died before they got within range. Shields were full on punched by the warrior, sending them to their backs, to their deaths. In the end, it didn't matter what kind of man faced the warrior, they weren't worthy of him. No, not in this state of rage. The most beautiful thing though, for the warrior, was the fact that Cheng Yi was coming into range.

"Choose now, lamb! Run home or face the slaughter!" roared the primal beast. Even his voice was different. It was horrid. It was rough. It hardly was understandable. In the end, it was like a bear, a bear bellowing for all the world to hear.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The seige equipment was another sight. Mounted swordsmen adorned with shields rode through the ranks of the Golden Horde stealing lives and sealing fates. It wasn't until they got to the seige equipment that they saw the allies charging the center as well. It was a grand sight, but a morbid one followed quickly. Hundreds upon Hundreds of archers lined up to rain down "justice" against these men. A brave rider echoed the command.

"Half of you! Break off! The rest of you! On me! Lay those archers to rest! Ransack their trebuchets! Make them fear our horses more then their own!" bellowed the rider, taking the life of a man helping with a trebuchet. The sound of dislodging hooves followed the call. A hundred horses broke off, hell bent on taking the life of every archer they came within range of. What would Ma Chao the Splendid do with so much carnage rampaging through his ranks? Wei Yan had only one single hope: Come for me.

[Ma Chao]

Boulders soared through the air at the incoming allied charge by Gongsun Zan, Sun Liao, and Eshmunbaal. A few of them ripped into the lines of Zan as well as Liao but for minimal casualties, the effect would be felt by their morale instead. Unfortunately, for them, if they were already faltering then the next event would really test their courage.

The sky darkened, blacker than the night that was approaching, as almost 1000 arrows were let loose at the charging cavalry group. Though the majority were ruffian in status, around 300 or so were militia. Even the lowly soldiers were still taught how to use a bow and many were hunters by trade. They were quite capable of realizing that the enemy was moving toward them and they aimed slightly ahead of the charge.

Arrow rain poured down into the ranks of the enemy like steely death from above. Sun Liao had ordered his men to spread out so it helped against the volley, but Gongsun Zan's men were closer together. The Carthaginian was also present in the attack, but he steered right and moved to engage from a distance. Still, a few of his men were hit by the huge missile attack and boulders.

The siege operators started to panic now as the enemy was certainly not going to die from one attack. They were exposed and the archers with them were not going to provide much close quarter support. It was at that moment that the situation would turn from bad to really bad.

"What the?" Cheng Yi said, mumbling as he looked to his left. The siege attack and volley had done some damage but the enemy was still standing. If they did not break through the frontlines of the Golden Horde, they would at least stalled the massive army enough for Wei Yan.

The battlefield berserker would have been better off to just rush from the trees, but instead he opted for the larger army fake out maneuver. It was effective and many of the ruffians on the Horde left flank were wondering just what the hell was going on in there. Lions? Tigers? Bears? Oh my.

Although the soldiers were slightly alerted to the enemy presence, they were still not expecting an epic charge from the forest! Wei Yan himself, the Mauler of Luo Yang, the defender of Chang An, and the Hero of the People raced forward with almost 1000 men to flank his much larger enemy!

Cheng Yi almost shit himself as enemies were charging from the left and center, but he was still an able general. He knew how to react and would also have the support of Yan Xing as well as the Qiang Champion. Tiny would not be of any use as he was currently rumbling toward the wall to meet his nemesis. Also with the big man though, was a group of archers who were going to pick people off if they came near.

"Archers move back! Swords! Charge!"

The siege operators were already running back from their positions, abandoning the equipment on the right and getting attacked by Wei Yan on the left. The archers were getting cut down as well, but they were a good distance from the enemy and had a head start. The unit that would take the biggest ass kicking was the unit of nearly 900 ruffian swords. They charged seeing the line of archers break for it and moved in for an all out attack.

Cavalry under Gongsun Zan and Sun Liao crushed into their ranks sending bodies flying everywhere. Swords sliced at horse legs though and soldiers ganged up on individual riders if they stood still to pull them off. The initial charge was brutal, but there would be a few surprises for the allied heroes which would make them question the initial decision to charge.

Yan Xing had made the right decision to hold back the cavalry units and it would pay off as Wei Yan's over ambitious charge gave him the perfect opportunity to strike. Not only that, but the allied assault in the center was going to turn into a blood bath. Ruffians were already laying upon the ground by the dozens, but there were fallen allies as well. Many more would add to that count, especially as Wei Yan was raging on the Horde left flank. He had to be stopped.

Ruffian sword cavalry and militia lancers were ordered to ride out around the Horde right flank to pincer Gongsun Zan's army. The enemy would be waste deep in slaughter, even if flowing like a water fountain, so if they tried to flee many would be caught or killed. The elites would put up a most fierce battle, but even the bravest man surrounded began to question victory.

The Qiang took their turn in the epic battle as well when Yan Xing gave them orders to attack. On the Horde left was the unit of skirmishers, who had a javelin with sword, and they were sent to harrass Wei Yan's army; sending deadly spears hurling into his tightly packed army. Not only that, but the ruffian sword cavalry on that side waited for Yan to fully engage Cheng Yi's front line before they flanked his army to take away the sting of his elite spears.

Militia axes, raising their weapons to the sky as battle erupted, were unleashed and they raced to the left toward Yan's ambush to reinforce the faltering line of ruffian swords. To the axe unit's right, their brethren watched with joy as they ran forth to the slaughter. They too were ready and almost 500 spears were sent forward to engage the enemies under Sun Liao as well as Gongsun Zan.

Eshmunbaal would live, for now, as he chose to stay away. He was either scared of the powerful Chinese warriors or maybe just smart. Only time would tell. Though as time did pass his moving rings of death would add up a nice kill list. That is, until his allies were crushed and then he was run over and trampled.

On the Horde right, another group of Qiang were beginning to move but their route would be different. They moved out behind Tiny's wake of destruction, crushing the ground as his big feet smashed down, and then steered left heading to cut off the allied retreat. Not only that, they began to let loose volleys into Yu Xueman's soldiers.

Ma Chao, sitting upon his white war steed, watched with a smirk upon his face as the allies broke across the front of his mammoth army. He had more men in reserve than the entire attacking force, it was pitiful. However, each warrior who charged wrecklessly but bravely toward their doom had all increased their level of respect with the horse lord. He too would have been doing the same had he not been a powerful ruler leading the army that could change history against the gathered allies at Qing Ni. If they were defeated, it would be difficult to muster another large force to break the Horde for good.

To his right was Xing Cai, the beautiful Golden Lady of the Horde. To his left was the Qiang King, a man who looked like a menace upon the battlefield even now in his elder years. Stories had spread that in his youth he was as powerful if not more so than some of the gathered officers on the field. His knowledge of cavalry tactics and aura of strength would give the Horde what it needed for that extra support.

Han Sui was also present, near Ma Chao, and he was growing concerned that his nephew may get too excited as he had seen in the past. He wanted to make sure that Xing Cai was not clouding his thoughts. Ma Chao would ride out and cut off the head of Sun Liao just to bring it back to Xing Cai as a show of his strength.

"Mengqi, i ask that you let our men fight it out and push back the enemy. Yan Xing, Tiny, and Cheng Yi are more than capable and can handle these weaklings."

Ma Chao was not even listening to his uncle as word reached the rear that Wei Yan was the one who had ambushed from the forest. It caused the young leader's eyes to shoot open and he pulled on the reins of his steed. The horse neighed aloud and his face turned from its currently calm state to one of fury. He wanted the berserker dead at Chang An, but instead he escaped only to become a larger thorn in Ma Chao's side. Oh, he would be plucked but not just yet.

"You bastard, Wei Yan!" Mengqi exclaimed, trotting on his horse toward the left flank. He was about to charge out and end the feud between them, but the voice of Xing Cai had snapped the beast from its rage. It seemed Zhang Fei, of Shu, had arrived on the field. Foolish, it was, of him to bring soldiers toward the Golden Horde army. However, if Cai said that there would be no trouble then she would be held responsible. Should her drunkard of a father cause trouble for the Horde, she would face a serious beating. Preferably as she was tied up, with a whip, and some chocalate sauce...... ah.....whoa.

The Qiang King noticed that Ma Chao was about to kill something so he moved to the left to meet with his officer. Both men nodded to one another before exchanging a certain item which was taken from Chang An. Shortly after, the King moved back toward the elite units at the rear to find Xing Cai gone and only Han Sui present.

In the center, the left, and the right battle was raging. Wei Yan's army, though comprised of solid men, would soon be overwhelmed by the Horde. Javelins were pelting his men if they were not getting stabbed by swords and hacked at by axes. Infantry and cavalry worked in unison to keep the left flank under firm control of the Horde. Once Yan was broken, if possible, they would move after the Carthaginian who was just out of reach. Gongsun Zan and Sun Liao were in the thick of it, cutting down ruffians swords like blades of grass but the Horde still had the advantage. Soon they would be surrounded or pincered and their journey would end.

The allied officers watching the battle from the walls would start to have trouble seeing the fighting as night approached. Torches would have to be lit at some point to continue, but there was an hour or so to fight without them. What they could see though, was a large object approaching on their left flank.

It was the big man, Tiny! The siege tower was moving the whole time the skirmish was underway and the unit was making good ground! It was like a V8 engine was created by Zhuge Liang and installed in the tower. However, it was just the pure mass and muscle of Tiny. What was driving him to move so fast? Perhaps there was a years supply of Twinkies on the other side of the wall, no one could be sure..... but Huang Zhong.

Zhang Fei's arrival did not sit well with Ma Chao and he was halfway between the moving Xing Cai and her father. The young lord was unsure whether to move out and tell Yide to go screw or let Cai leave to avoid any conflict. He had heard many things about the drunkard and he always laughed when the one of him being worth 10000 men popped up. If that behemoth was worth 10000, then Mengqi was worth 50000!

"Oh no" Han Sui thought to himself, seeing Ma Chao moving anxiously in his saddle. He would not ride out and attempt to challenge Zhang Fei....to a night duel perhaps? >.> RTK Novel, anyone? Ha ha.

Wei Yan would most likely get angered to hear that his nemesis was dueling someone else, so that may or may not happen. However, what would happen would be Yan going from crazed to absolutely insane after the next event.

He was tearing through the Horde lines like a battering ram through a porcelain shop, but Cheng Yi was not about to face him. No, Yi had hundreds of soldiers between him and the enemy maniac. Who would move out to engage though, was the Champion of the Qiang. His armor could be seen gleaming as he rode forward from the rear of the Horde army. Calling out to Wei Yan, amongst the crowd, he raised up an item of interest to the former lord of Chang An.

Some of the soldiers in the thick of combat stopped just to see what the hell was going on. Though, here and there a cheap bastard would cut someone's head off as they looked to the officers conversing.

"You, Wei Yan is it? I have a gift for you from my King, i believe this belongs to you!" the Champion barked, exuding arrogance and power. Upon his back were twin broad swords, ready to trim the heads of Yan's men and the leader himself if he got close.

In the Champion's grasp was a bag and from it a severed head was pulled.

It was the head of Lu Rai!!

******************************************

Updates............

The epic charge has turned into a disaster though the allies have done major damage to the Horde frontlines!

Sun Liao and Gonsun Zan are in the center wreaking havoc, but are vulnerable to being overwhelmed shortly as they are getting pincered as well as cut off!

Yu Xueman comes under attack by Qiang Raiders after she moved away from Tiny, scared that the monster would eat her!

Wei Yan is raping the Horde left flank but has been attacked by multiple units consisting of Qiang Skirmishers, Ruffian Swords, Militia Axes, and Ruffian Sword Cavalry!

Cheng Yi craps himself as Wei Yan approaches and does not accept his challenge!

Zhang Fei has arrived on the field to stir things up! Ma Chao is pissed and Xing Cai's aid is threatened as well as Liu Chan's involvement with the allies!

The Qiang King and Champion want to offer Wei Yan a present to join him on his journey to the afterlife!

Tiny is plowing toward the allied walls intent on killing people....lots of people! Twinkies are his main objective, but Huang Zhong's head will do just as well!

Han Sui just sits around and does nothing but worry!

Yan Xing takes command like the elite officer he is and orchestrates the allied demise as Ma Chao rages at the rear of the army!

***Casualties to come tomorrow..............****

****************************************

***************************************

::The Golden Horde::

Ma Chao
Yan Xing
Han Sui
Cheng Yi
Tiny
400 Elite Horse Bows
400 Elite Horse Spear/Shield
480 Militia Cavalry Lancers
500 Militia Horse Bows
500 Militia Sword/Shield
232 Militia Spear/Shield
192 Militia Spearmen
444 Militia Twin Axes
334 Militia Bowmen
700 Ruffian Bowmen
880 Ruffian Swords
1000 Ruffian Horse Swords
3 Trebuchet
1 Siege Towers

::Aid from Shu::

Xing Cai
100 Spear and Shield Elites
300 Horsebow Veterans
1 Unit of Medics

::Qiang reinforcements::

Qiang King
Qiang Champion
500 Veteran Raiders (Shortbow and Sword) *new
1000 Militia Mace/Axe Troops (Short mace and Axe) *new
500 Ruffian Skirmisher Cavalry (Javelin and Sword) *new
1000 Ruffian Twin Swords
3 Catapults

[Wei Yan]

Survival Against All Odds

"Yan, when the world comes crashing down around you. Remember, you'll always have my shield. Roar, it will always find you."

Lu Rai's words still found ways to etch their way into the rampaging warrior's mind as brought an attacking Horseman to the ground. Wait... Horsemen? In the Van? Grand!!, thought the warrior, giving a roar to his new discovery. The roar alone scared a man from his saddle. Cowardly Golden Horde horses...

"Guardians! Show 'em the barricade!" roared the primal being. There was no time between Yan's words and the reaction of the spearmen. It was instant. Perfectly the elite spearmen fell into a hard wedge, shields were up, spears were out and men were crashing up them like water against rock. Yes, over time the water could wear the stone, but the tiny drops of rain never lived long enough to do any real damage.

For a moment, the warrior caught sight of the twin axes he'd brought, and how they were just randomly ripping into units. A thought hit him that made his lose his breath at his own stupidity: Rai, why don't you command them? And again a cold chill coursed up the warriors body. This time though, it wasn't replaced by sorrow, oh no, the rage was all he felt now. His heart was callused over and over-flowing with a hate for this Golden Horde and it's leader.

"On the battlefield, Yan, only your adrenaline is your true ally. Never turn your back on it."

This voice had a sick way of haunting Wei Yan, but he wasn't about to try and stop it. The past memories were far better than the newest ones, especially now. A bellow echoed across the shields of his men and came to the warrior's ears. Someone was calling him out!? This was a sight that the heaven's meant to bless him with. For a moment the warrior let himself believe it was Ma Chao, coming to try and slay the Beast of Chang An.

"It's a child's game to dream, Yan. We are men. We take action and face our advesaries."

There was the voice again. Why was it that this voice continued to spur in Yan's mind? That all would change soon. The mighty warrior turned to meet his challenger, and his heart stopped. It was the Qiang's fabled Champion, just another barbarian, but he held a prize that no man should bring before Wei Yan.

"Rai..." A whisper crept from the warrior's strained lips, and it was evident that the head had done it's intial purpose. Wei Yan, the raging berserker looked to be like a child. His spear.. it held loose in his hands. His heart, it fluttered like a trapped moth ever searching for the flame. Even his eyes cascaded with wetness that was becoming more and more known to the warrior. For a moment, the battlefield was without a Lord of Chang An. All it had was this naive, vulnerable, boy. Then the warrior blinked, and it was without a doubt the final mistake that Barbaric Champion would ever make. The spear of Yan, Horizon, pierced the flesh of an enemy's forehead, cleaning leaving the back side of his head and the body was sent sailing randomly over the enemy.

"Guardians! War Cry!" boomed the warrior, thriving off the morale of his men. The roar was without words for once. The elite spearmen of Glory were far too focused on the task at hand. The reply was a resounding clanging of metal. Shields and spears met, and as one slew the enemy for a single strike. That was the war cry.

The unmounted Wei Yan turned from raging murderer to unstoppable juggernaut in one fell swoop. The warrior broke his battle with the vanguard and charged, no horse in his use, the mounted Qiang Barbarian. When momentum was good, the warrior sent his spear flying! It was sure, for the adrenaline had made him far too focused. It was strong, for that was all the warrior was. It was just, for the Champion had taken the wrong tactic against this warrior. The warrior didn't aim for the Champion, oh no, he would be far too hard to hit, instead he aimed for the charging horse. It would be a much easier target. With that, the battle-axe was out, and it was made apparent that Wei Yan meant to destory every bit of life this barbarian ever had.

"Fear the Boar's Gore!" roared the warrior and the challenge was accepted, but there was something else astonishing in the air. The head of Lu Rai had done something far different then the Champion could have hoped. Seeing their dead brother-in-arms, their friend, their second-in-command, the Guardians of Glory went to a whole new level of soldier. There were ruffians, militia, veterans, even elites, but now there would forever be rememberd as the Supreme Spearmen of the era!

All the while, mounted swordsmen still wreaked havoc in and out of the seige weapons and artillery. It didn't matter the circumstances, they moved and struck in and out of combat, making sure to kill as many as possible as quickly as possible. They were skirmishing inside of an army!? Yes. Militia recieved orders once and would follow it. Sadly, that meant most of them would die, but not without taking a few Hordesmen with them. Yes, the battle of Qi Ning Pass would forever be remembered by all of China.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wei Yan has taken the challenge of the Qiang Champion.

The Guardians of Glory have formed a wedge and been inspired by the sight of their dead leader, Lu Rai's head, to fight bravely in his name.

The horses attempt a skirmish inside the army due to poor leadership. /fail for Wei Yan right now.

[Mr ~Traptz~]

Arrows Are Raining From The Sky As Brothers Fight, Side By Side...

The new arrivals made their way quickly to the Qi Ling Pass Gate. They were few, but from the banners and armies with them, it seemed no one else had committed too many to the cause either. However, if enough came then surely their combined might could defeat Ma Chao.

The new arrivals charged out the allied gate, joining dozens others apparently. Seemed no one was willing to do the smart thing, and hide behind the gates. Why be any different? So the small army ran out the gates, rushing past the men holding the pass.

After that the commander of this squad was at a loss as to where to go next. After waiting for a few minutes, he called his second in command over to him.

"Liu Pi, hold the army here, stay out of bowshit from that tower. Remember to take into account the added height of possible archers inside it. I will take the bowmen, and the militia, and try and take out whatever is pushing that tower. If possible I may try and tip the tower. It might just work too." He looked at his friend with a sudden grim look. "Take over if this fails Pi."

"What could happen to you Ren?" Liu Pi patted his friend on the shoulder. "You've made the impossible happen before." Ren just looked at him. He issued fast orders, his troops spreading out. His bowmen at the front, with the spearmen mixing in about the middle of the bowmen. The began to run, racing toward the the siege tower, hoping to delay it as long as possible if nothing else.

Troops

200 Elite Sword and Shield
100 Elite Bowmen
200 Veteran Spearmen
100 Militia Spear and Swordsmen