Arrival of the Horde - Battle Thread

[Sun Liao]

Nothing too great

The sky grows dark, arrows unleashed, Sun can only look down and raise his shield as arrows come pelting down, his forces feel less of the impact being spread out, but still men fall to the volley. But the charge cannot be stopped and they charge into the enemy forces. The riders have survived the charge, they have survived the impact, this is what they were waiting for. The cries of pain, the merciless slaughter of one another. Men tear riders from their horses. Riders trample men. This carnage is unmatched, a cavalry charge matched with Wei Yan's sneak attack. But, where are the other generals? Why do they wait at the walls when battle is before them. What plans did they have, allow the enemy to meet them at the gate and then what, where would they fall back to if it were lost? A ground battle is at hand and assistance is needed, where are the allied banners?

Sun atop his horse slashes at Swordsmen after swordsmen. Men losing their limbs if they stray too closely to his horse. Sun raises his sword and swings it downwards ending another mans life.

"Stand strong men! We do not falter!"

Sun slices down another man with another swift stroke as men begin to become more numerous. They rush Sun and his horse and though two are struck down, they manage to pull him off his horse. Sun landing on his back rolls up and slices another soldier down as another charges and quickly falls to his blade.

"Men of Ma Chao, I challenge any brave and mighty enough to stand before me and fight me!"

Sun yells and again starts slashing the foolhardy ruffians who think Sun is talking to them. Sun continues fighting when a cry is heard

"My lord! They move to close our escape, they're trying to flank us!"

Sun smacks a swordsman in the face with his shield and finishes with a swift slice to the neck. And then turns and blocks another attack.

"Damn. We must begin falling back, I will not be responsible for this bloodshed. I must move to tell Wei Yan. Men Fall back!"

The elites continue fighting the enemy swordsmen as men come to flank Sun and Zan's men on there left side. The fighting becomes more fierce as the obviously better trained men become more and more overwhelmed by numbers. They now begin to fight and move backwards.

------------------------------

Meanwhile, near the hills Zhang Ce awaits with the rest of Sun's force, watching the bloodshed unfold.

"That fool! I can't believe he charged like that!"

Zhang turns behind him and looks to the allied officers, standing, waiting. For what, Zhang no longer knows, battle is ahead of them, but Zhang cannot sit and watch it any longer.

"Men, Sun Liao needs our assistance! Archers stay here, Pikemen, form up! We move to assist their retreat."

All the pikemen but 50 elites move out to assist Sun and the cavalry retreat by moving towards the flanking enemies. Damnit Sun, I'm not losing you here, not like this.

---------------------------------------

Sun has his men begin to fall back and Sun mounts his horse and moves northwest to meet with Wei Yan's unit, fighting his way there when he must but riding with haste. Sun finally makes it to Wei Yan's unit, fighting tooth and nail. Wei Yan seems nearly crazed at his grief that the Qiang man has incited,

"Wei Yan, I have come to inform you we must retreat! The margin for victory here is slim and our allies await us at the gate."

Sun sees there is no hope for the warrior to retreat, now engaging with the Qiang Champion. Sun will not abandon Wei Yan, in no way will he dishonor this man by leaving. Sun will fight until he can either get Yan out of here, Yan is dead, or Sun is dead. Sun moves to make sure that Yan's duel is not disturbed, slashing soldier after soldier.

Is this the glory Sun wanted, is this the honor and heroism that Sun intended to receive... yes... The very thought of it made Sun fight even harder, disgusted by what he is becoming. Honor on the battlefield brings only death, and that is where Sun is seemingly headed. At one point in his life wishing for a family and peace, now war seems to be the only thing Sun craves. War, honor, the people need not politicians, but strong warriors to always guide them. Sun is becoming somewhat crazed with his ideals, going as far to sacrifice himself and his men as a symbol to the allies. No more, NO MORE.I must rediscover my motives for battle. I am quickly becoming corrupted by the ideals I wish to portray across the land, honor, justice. Yet my ultimate goal is lost, peace. I fear my father was right, I am now simply another pawn to this chess match, a warrior, unable to live a peaceful life, my path is adorned in blood, my tools are only implements of war. But if I am cursed to be a warrior then let me be a warrior of a just cause, and when I at last fall, let it be with honor. The battle continue to rage around Sun and Yan's men. Soldiers of both banners falling with every passing moment. There were only two options for the allied generals currently fighting, retreat, or a glorious death.

*Summary*
- Sun has his men begin to fall back to the gate
- Sun makes his way toward Wei Yan to inform him of the retreat
- Sun also calls out anyone brave enough to fight him
- Zhang Ce marches Sun's pikemen minus 50 elites to assist in the retreat to the gate.

[Yu Xueman]

Operation Brave Leap!
A Speech on the Go, and a Daring Risk

The Prevailing Theme

Xueman watched as the Qiang archers approached, as the expected horrible results of the initial charge were taking a worse toll than she had anticipated. She had thought they'd be turning back around when they hit the front lines, and they'd strengthen their forces with unity! Of course, yet again she had thought wrong and she was forced to change her tactics entirely. It seemed that that happened a lot, but it wasn't a feeling she was very interested in getting used to. Even so, she still had time, The Qiang archers weren't within range, and she was quick witted enough to perform as she needed to. She would have to do these necessary things as best she could before she made her best efforts. Her men could handle themselves, and should she notice any real threat beginning to take place she would return to them. Besides they were not facing an entire army head on, and even further they had the terrain advantage on the hills.

Those with shields! Move among the archers! Raise your shields at the threat of enemy arrows! I want only twenty five archers retaliating at the enemies focusing our unit! The remainder continue to focus your efforts in covering our allies to the best of your ability! Remember this! We are not facing the brunt of this army alone, like our brave brothers! Let them now that they are not alone now! I leave you now, knowing that you are all in safe hands and I shall return should danger even seems as if it is to befall you." Her eyes quickly scanned her pikemen, the most competent of her bunch, and quickly she picked out one, a seasoned, though still fairly young warrior, she had talked with briefly before the battle. She made a quick arm motion, and he moved to her as the first volley of arrows from the Qiang archers was launched. "The job I'm assigning you is simple, but important. Lead these men, for only a brief period of time while I am gone." With that she leaned down kissing the man softly on the cheek and riding away with an impish grin while he stood there somewhat awestruck. "A kiss on the cheek is all you're getting!" She shouted back over her shoulder. "Don't think you're getting anything more!"[/b]

She breathed nervous, quick, panicky breaths. Alone on a wide open battlefield with an army of mythical proportions right in front of her, and she was moving to help her allied generals for what? For glory? She held a deep mental sigh, and smiled dryly to herself as she charged onward. "Yes... For glory."[/color] She mused, scanning the lines. She had taken a wide curve north out of the path of the enemy archers. Who would need help? The officer on the south end was getting flanked but that would mean curving back and wasting precious time on a cause that he seemed capable to respond to. The officer in the center of the force apparently had a decent grip on things... That left the officer on the north. A man, whom as she caught sight of him raged and roared with ferocity she couldn't dare dream of. His men however seemed all but abandoned. The Mourning Snow made her decision, moving to the aid of Wei Yan's men.

~*~*~*

Summary:[/u]

-Yu Xueman has left her troops in the charge of an Elite Pikemen. (The NMC I have in the works? Maybe..., was this the wisest of choices? Probably not.)
-Yu Xueman is rushing across the battlefield to the aid of Wei Yan's abandoned cavalry unit.

[Mortiss V3]

*The allies had struck the hoard of the golden one. Indeed it would seem that bravery and stupidity were intertwined in this battle. They would claim later of course that it was an epic charge, one that would go down in history and myth, a few against many. Mortiss watched angrily at his so called allies attacking with such a puny force that they would all soon get surrounded and squashed like the annoying insects they were.*

*The berserker began to twitch, his whole body shaking, his eyes were constantly changing colour. One moment they were black, the next white, then red and then back to black again. Those mind altering drugs he had taken sometime before were beginning to kick in, this was bad news for the allies. With nobody to fight Mortiss was bound to lose his mind in a frenzied orgy of impatience. Mortiss' men seemed concerned, they had fought with their master before and knew how devastating he was, but they had not yet fought a battle where he had nobody to fight. The barbarian breathed heavily, his muscles began to flex, he twirled his twin blades with his wrists, he crunched his teeth. Finally he released a deafening scream that pulsated around the entire battlefield, all the little peons close by could not help but wince and cover their ears blotting out the sound of the psychotic killer.*

"CHAO!!!!!!!!!! GET YOUR FUCKING SELF OVER HERE NOW!!!!!!! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!! YOUR WASTING MY TIME!!!!!!!! KILL THOSE WORMS BEFORE I DO IT FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!"

*He dropped to his knees still screaming, he began ripping out his dreads with his hands, then clenching his fists he began punching the ground. His eyes were now a deep blood shocked red. Everyone took one step back not knowing what his next move would be. One thing was for certain however, Mortiss would not wait for much longer, his rage was on the brink of destruction. If he did not get a fight soon he would find one, though no guarantees could be made that he would fight Ma Chao in his current state.*

[Huang Zhong]

Huang Zhong looked gravely at the retreat of his ally and fellow officer, Sun Liao. Of the other three officers out there, he was being the wisest in pulling back. Nonetheless, he would surely have enemies on his trail. He could not let Sun Liao lose too many solders here; the allies needed as many troops as they could muster. It was then that Huang Zhong spotted a small group of footmen running towards Sun Liao....from the direction of the gate! Someone had sent a unit to assist in Sun Liao's retreat! The old archer knew not who it was, but he liked the idea.

"Pikemen! I want half of you to go out and assist General Sun Liao in his retreat to the gate! Form up with the others! Swordsmen, get this shields ready; there is going to be a hail of arrows soon!"

Drawing the arrow nocked in his bow taught, Huang Zhong took aim at the ever approaching siege tower, firing an incredible shot that whistled past the slits of the tower into the inside, killing one man with an arrow in his chest. It was no wonder Huang Zhong's archery was legendary; it was said he could pierce a willow leaf with an arrow from one hundred paces.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. The one pushing the siege tower might just be stopped. All it took were a couple of words to distract him, and perhaps Tiny would abandon the siege tower altogether in an eager blood lust. It meant risking his life, but what was a warrior without the risk of death? The old man shouted his challenge past the wall, his voice carrying further then one of his age.


"I am Huang Zhong of T'se! Is there no man who would challenge me! No one shall get past these walls so long as Huang Zhong stands here to defend them! Not even large, stupid brutes!!"
"

[Cao Cao]

Armies clashed under the golden sunlight of the day, few clouds marred the perfect vision of the Gods witnessing the battlefield, and the endless whistle of arrows acted as the tune to dance to as men twirled their blades towards a common foe. This day however soon turned to night, and awakened the flames of passion in the hearts of men to act as their guide. Magnificent siege engines had been set up, incredible devices that launched huge boulders of stone towards a fearful enemy, and daunting, impeccable towers that could rain a hell of wood and metal down upon the helpless ants below. The army of the Golden Horde had come here well prepared, and would take far more than the ambitious and virtuous efforts of the brave few, who dared charge ahead into the oncoming tide.

The heroes had begun forming their defences, and all were eager to fight. The wild creature Mortiss stood at the frontline of the defences, screaming and roaring for the Horde to dare try and test his strength. Green banners too found themselves in this mass of men, the army of the somewhat inept Liu Shan now being chased by the brash yet powerful Zhang Fei. In the distance, Sun Liao of T’se could be seen retreating back to the gate; had the man realised the futility of his attack, or was his mission of harassment complete? Time would soon tell, but as it continued to drift on, more units came to bolster the allied defence, in the form of the now infamous mercenaries Zhang Ren and Liu Pi, who’s combined efforts against Dong Zhuo aided in bringing down the tyrant. Why were they here now? Would they require payment for such services? Or did they, like many a soldier today, throw aside notions of money and ideology, and instead, let raw survival take over?

Watching the carnage high above the ground below, Cao Mengde smirked as he could see the suicidal charges of his fellow allies. The lord revelled in being proved right, in knowing that his decision to stay close to the pass, and let the enemy come to him, would’ve been the most efficient. The lives lost on the battlefield would not mar this feeling of self righteousness in the Wei lord, who smugly laughed, before quickly masking this delight with a visage of concentration and focus. The cries of the archery master Huang Zhong soon caught his ever keen senses, and the sly smirk quickly returned to his face, now ready to begin the battle.

“Let us hope my mighty trebuchets can even muster a tenth of your accuracy, great archer!” Cao rushed to the back of the ramparts, screamed down vague coordinates to the workmen controlling the trebuchets, and two semi-large stone boulders were instantly loaded into the mighty machines. Mengde’s gaze continually shifted from them, to the battlefield on the opposite side, grinning as the siege tower get closer, and effectively, became easier to hit. Swinging his sword high up into the air, and bringing it down with the same lightning pace, Cao signalled for the attack to begin.

“Bring it down!” In one fell swoop, the twin trebuchets acted in unison, and launched their jagged ammunition high up over the walls of Qing Ni, and directly towards the enemy siege tower. Their attack was one carried by hope as much as it was the momentum of the siege engines, their blind attacks acting more of a warning than anything else. Backing this assault up, Cao Cao realised he had another potential secret weapon on the battlefield. The lord rushed back to the front of the ramparts, scanned the fields, and called out the name of his finest, if not most insane warrior.

“MORTISS! Tear that tower apart!” Cao Cao’s booming voice flew over the battlefield, guided by his swinging arm, acting as more of an attention grabber to the carnal beast. The lord soon fell back from the ramparts, and would watch his boulders in their flight, gripping tightly at the hilt of his sword, and awaiting for the battle to continue.

*Cao Cao has launched 2 boulders towards the approaching Siege Tower!*
*He has called upon Mortiss to aid in bringing it down!*

[Sun Liao]

*In-Battle Post*
The battlefield grows darker with every moment. The sun is setting, this battle quickly becoming a night battle. Retreat will be easier for them now, but first he must convince Yan to leave. Was this charge even worth it? What good has it procured? For starters it has saved the life of Yan who had already hidden in the forest before the charge was even set up. We have taken out the enemy front layer, and yes, the men have fought up to the very siege weapons that were meant to destroy the very walls they're supposed to defend. That was it, finally victory can be achieved through this charge. Sun peels off from the unit in the dark and makes his way towards the siege weapons closer to the cavalry.

Coming up to a trebuchet he begins to hack at the side, hoping to weaken it enough for it to break within a few uses, if hopefully only one. Just then a rustling is heard from up ahead. Having no torch Sun looks out unknowing of what lays out there. Out jump a few hordesmen, Sun is tackled to the ground but just then a mounted rider comes and strikes down one of them. The other two stand quickly and turn to face the rider but he cuts down another. And the last one begins to flee but Sun trips him and finishes him swiftly.

"Who are you rider?"

"I am a soldier from your unit, I could not leave you here!"

Sun bows to the man,

"Then for that I am thankful."

Sun moves towards the man,

"I need you to tell Gongsun Zan something, I was so foolish I didn't realize it before. To take victory out of this charge we must destroy the siege weapons. Tell him to dismantle them and sabotage them before the retreat!"

The rider nods and moves to tell Gongsun Zan. Sun continues hacking at the leg of the trebuchet.

[Dark Narrator]

:::Casualties:::

Wei Yan

- 130 Militia Twin Axe
- 30 Spear/Shield Elites
- 100 Veteran Horse


Sun Liao

- 40 Elite Lance
- 40 Elite Sword/Shield Horse


Yu Xueman

- 30 Bows


Gongsun Zan

- 100 Militia Horse (wiped out)
- 30 Spear/Shield Elites
- 40 Veteran Lance


Eshmunbaal

- 30 Horsebow


Cheng Yi

- 280 Ruffian Swords
- 80 Ruffian Bows


Yan Xing

- 60 Militia Twin Axe
- 80 Ruffian Sword Horse
- 20 Horsebow

[Wei Yan]

Just Lose It

In-Battle Post

Solder after soldier rushed around the primal warrior and not one truly mattered but this barbarian that'd cut through every heartstring the warrior had. But there is always that voice in the darkness. The voice that calls for reason and rings out above the chaos. Lu Rai... do not mock my pain like this, thought the warrior as the words caught his ears. The voice was calling for a retreat, a retreat from this battle of all battles! Though, when the warrior saw who spoke the voice he realized he wasn't going crazy... completely. Again Sun Liao was there to aid the fallen lord, and it was him who was calling for reason and retreat. This man had done so much for the warrior, and it seemed as of late it had all been for not. Wei Yan thought a sigh escaped his lips, but he was wrong, a roar ushered that wrapped into a snarl. Then the warrior's gaze was back to his barbarian enemy.

"Sun Liao, my friend. My men are without leader, and my revenge is without an end. This champion bares the fruits of murder, and will be brought to my justice. Take the men, retreat to Qi Ning Pass and I will meet you there." called the warrior, and for a moment during the words he wasn't a beast, but just another warrior giving his concerns. For a trembling moment, but then it ended and the roars were back.

It seemed that's all Yan did as of late, speak in roars and curses. Even on the battlefield the Beast, The Ravager of Courage, could find no solice for his pain. His people knew him as indestructable. His friends knew him as probably the bravest or most foolish man alive, but none of those were the types of Wei Yan that mattered. Lu Rai had known him as strong, kind, matter-of-fact man of odd words and grand actions. That's the one that mattered, but it wasn't the one the warrior was embracing. With a grim glare his hand went up and ordered the Guardian retreat.

"My friend I have lost command of the rest of my mind. May the heaven's forgive them for my moment of weakness..." again the words were soft. There was something about this Sun Liao and how he always showed up in the right places that reminded the warrior of Lu Rai. Never could the warrior find a real reason to roar into the heart of Rai, and now he couldn't find one to bark into the heart of Liao.

There was a resounding denial of the retreat, but the Guardians did as they were told and began to fall back. Wei Yan himself just glared down the barbarian champion and shook his head with a snarl. No retreat was going to save this Champion from the mistake he'd made. If it costed Yan his very life, so be it, but none would stop the warrior from slaying the man who taunted him with his dead friend's head.

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

Wei Yan has given control of his men to Sun Liao and given his final order of Retreat.

Wei Yan is staying to finish his duel with the Qiang Champion.

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

Commanded Army (Now Under Sun Liao):

370 Shield and Spear Elites
100 Mounted Sword and Shield Veterans
70 Twin Axe Militia

[The Mysterious Stranger]

Theme

While the battle raged down below, there was silent movement above. Quite a bit of silent movement, actually. Qing Ni Pass was excellently situated to repel an attack; the hilly terrain surrounding the gate frustrated siege weaponry, while the large mountain ranges flanking the location made catching the gate in a pincer a logistical nightmare, if not outright impossible. Protected from the front, rear, and flanks, one could go as far as to label the structure night-impregnable. However, like all structures, this one had a weakness. Ironically, its position between the mountains made it vulnerable to an attack from above.

“Everything’s ready. The men are in position and the boulders are ready to roll.” whispered a voice.

“Perfect. No one’s spotted us, right? replied another.

“It’s black as ink up here, and they’re all focused on the fighting below. No one has any idea what we’re up to.” answered the first voice. After a moment, it piped up again. “I don’t get it. Why are you in charge here? I’ve done more of this crap than anyone.”

“Like hell. Not only have I done more, but no one’s ever heard of it. Shows you how good at it I am.” The first voice grumbled to itself at this, but made no reply.

The plan was proceeding perfectly. The strike force had advanced upon into the mountains from the south, and were now overlooking the southern end of the gate. Down below them, allied units under the command of Huang Zhong prepared to face Tiny’s onslaught. Like the first voice had said, their presence in the mountains went completely undetected, the darkness masking their approach and the battle masking what little noise they had made during said approach.

Yellow Arrow: Golden Horde’s advance
Red Arrow: Covert force’s advance

Upon arriving at this position, half the force positioned a large number of boulders at the edge of the mountains and readied them to roll. Meanwhile, the other half drew crossbows from their backs and primed them.

“Wait for my signal…” exhorted the second voice while the first voice whispered to the archers.

“Get ready to light up, boys…” the archers nodded, readying the unlit torched in their off-hands.

“Now!” whispered the second voice to the men with the boulders. With a shout, the men heaved and sent the boulders crashing down the mountain, right toward the walls of Qing Ni. The men ran over to the archers, and drew flint and steel from their satchels.

“Alright, light ‘em up and fire away!” enjoined one of the voices. The sparks from the flint ignited the oil-soaked rags in the tips of the arrows, and the archers wasted no time sending off their volley. While boulders and flaming arrows rained down on the gates, the men let up a roar, then began packing.

“Alright, you know our orders! Let’s get a move on.”

“Dammit, I wanna fight!”

“Our orders are to return home after completing the mission. The mission’s done, so we’re returning. Maybe if you obeyed your orders from time to time you’d get to lead once in a while.”

Amid the curses that made up the other voice’s reply, the men in the mountains quickly withdrew, leaving those in the battle to their fates.

A surprise attack has been launched from the mountains flanking the gate! Amidst the ensuing chaos from the rockslide and volley of fire arrows, the 100 assailants withdraw.

[Eshmunbaal]

Nothing was going right today for Eshmunbaal. How could he have any hope of pulling of a successful harassment when the enemy was tangled up in a fight with these idiots. They didn't know the first thing of strategy and were going to lose all their men. Ah forget it, Eshmunbaal thought, he wasn't going to get the enemy's morale down or even get them out of formation if they were busy doing anything else that was more important.

Eshmunbaal shouted several words in Punic, and only moments later the four cantabrian circles broke off to ride away from the enemy towards the gate, once again all together in one unit. Eshmunbaal would give it one more shot tough, as instinctively he and his men readied their bows and did a Parthian shot at the enemies advancing towards Wei Yan's position, which were most likely the most densely packed of all advancing enemy forces.

The 170 veterans obviously didn't strategically blanket the area, but fired rather blindly as was always the case with any Parthian shot, firing in the general direction of the enemy, only making sure it'd reach their lines, not aiming for anything specific.

As Eshmunbaal retreated towards the rest of his men at the gate, something happened at the gate. From his position, Eshmunbaal saw there was a lot of movement coming from the mountain. It was too dark to clearly see what was going on, but those weren't people jumping down. A rockslide? Eshmunbaal hadn't seen any of those being used as a strategy before. At the same times he saw fire arrows being fired from up in the hills. They weren't trying to make cassualties, that's for sure. This whole thing got on Eshmunbaal's nerves.

"We need a morale boost, right now!", he told his men and ordered them to follow him personally. Eshmunbaal changed his course, and started heading for the siege tower that was approaching the wall's south section. The thing pushing it forward would soon fall at the hands of the Carthaginians...

[Cao Pi]

160 Lance Horse Veterans
70 Spear Shield and Horse Elites
((Ouch, kinda harsh isn't it? Especially when the entire idea wasn't to fight the enemy at all.))

Unfortunately for the enemy, Guan Shao and his men were already gone off of the frontline, the men quickly retreating after their first attack. As a group, Shao and his men retreated, towards the gate, and into it. They worried not about their fallen comrades, all knowing that the charge they hit slaughtered a good deal of the enemy.

Either way, Shao was proud of his attack. Arriving back inside the gate soon after, he returned control of the army to Zan.

"We performed... well, m'lord."

"Where are the militia?"

"Dead to a man."

"Damn..."

[Yu Xueman]

[100 Fire arrows aimed at the Gate (If that gate is made of wood that's real trouble guys), and 30 or so boulders, each big/heavy enough that it takes three-man teams to lever them. Is that specific enough?]

Results of a Mad Dash!
Assisting the Beast!

Xueman heard the intense crash in the background, but could not take the time to turn and see what had happened now, she was too busy focusing on what needed to be done right now. She watched as the charging parties began to turn back, her troops still covering them with dedication. They would leave this battlefield gloriously. Honor in their hearts, and strength in their bodies. They were the excellent soldiers of the Mourning Snow and she would think of them as no other way. Xueman thought as she charged further, an exchange between Sun Liao and Wei Yan catching her eyes. She could not tell what they had said to each other, but the way that either officer moved after the exchange made it obvious. Wei Yan had handed over his troops to Sun Liao, and was now going to fight the Qiang champion with single-minded ambition. What reasoning could he have for such a death march? She was not likely to discover such things any time soon.

It was only in a few more moments before she reached what tatters of Wei Yan's troop remained, and she grimaced. She would provide ample distraction for these men to make good their getaway. "Escape and survive!"[/color] She roared to the remnants of Wei Yan's remnants as she road past them, her horse making a wild leap to crash into the enemy front lines, scattering a wide array of enemy infantry down and backward. Ripping her Guan Dao from her back, she detached the kama with chain from it's end and swung it wildly through the enemy frontline. It was her intention to kick up enough dust that Sun Liao and Wei Yan's men would be able to escape with relatively little injury.

After her initial crash into the enemy and a few swipes with her Guan Dao, she turned back, whipped around again, and attacked another point on their front line, never staying in one place more than a few seconds mixing evasive maneuvering with ferocious offensive tactics. Only a few times did she take the time to bend her focus, glancing up to Wei Yan and wondering what he was doing, and why.

Meanwhile...

The Nameless Pikeman who had been left in command had been doing marvelously for never having performed the duties of an officer before in his life. He was a soldier through and through, so what could he hope to accomplish as a tactician? Only a small portion of their soldiers had been slain so far. Looking out for Lady Xueman, he spotted her in her wild rampage for the benefit of another unit! Without hesitation he shouted to the men. "Lady Xueman engages the enemy singlehandedly! Recognize that her strength and bravery are our own!"

With that an echoing roar surged from the ranks of her army, and Gan Ci smiled to himself. This wasn't as hard as it had at first seemed. A few inspiring words, and that's all that it took. "The Charge is beginning their retreat! This is when we are most we are most vital! This is where we prove our worth! Fall back slowly, and ensure that our retreating allies have sufficient cover!"

~*~*~*

Summary:[/u]
-Yu Xueman has reached Wei Yan's troops and has encouraged their retreat!
-Yu Xueman is darting back and forth the enemy lines Wei Yan had previously engaged, creating a temporary diversion for the Remnant's of Wei Yan's Unit's retreat.

-Gan Ci, the nameless Pikeman, is rallying Yu Xueman's soldiers to dull the loss of a small portion of their archers.
-Gan Ci is moving Yu Xueman's soldiers slowly backwards through the hills while maintaining a sufficient cover position.


Troops:[/u]
100 E/Pikemen
200 V/Sword & Shield
200 V/Bowmen
70 M/Bowmen

[Zhang Fei]

Zhang Fei and Zhang Bao bounded their horses up to Xing Cai in a purposly heavy fasion.The hooves their horses made deep thumps as they tore into the grass and uprooted the dirt.They finally slowed as they reached her,each warrior taking a mighty bounce with his horse's finally step.

Of course,Zhang Fei was the first to speak in his usual fasion....

"Xing Elizabeth Cai! How dare you leave Shu without me or your uncle's permission! Look at your brother! He don't run away to join some pretty boy with a mad bloodlust! I raised you better then this Cai! Brother Bei even sent Ma Chao a letter asking if he needed our help,but Ma Chao refused! And what have i told you about that Qiang Boy!"

Zhang Bao,Xing Cai's Brother,looked as stern as their father as he sat atop his horse next to Fei.He himself was a bit angry at Xing Cai for running off.Bao respected his father and his uncles,he was even seen as a respectful heir to Fei in their eyes.

As soon as Fei finished his tongue lashing,the rest of Fei's Unit joined Fei and Bao,for they had been left behind when the two warriors barreled straight for Xing Cai.

Zhang Fei and Zhang Bao have confronted Xing Cai! Fei's Booming Voice can be heard at the Golden Horde's Positions!

[Sun Liao]

Sun looks, Zan's men begin a full retreat, leaving quite quickly at that, so much for crippling the siege weapons. Sun only managed to get one trebuchet. This whole charge now deemed practically pointless, a waste of life. Unassisted from the allies camp, ignored on the battlefield. This is a sad moment. Yan calls out giving Sun control of his men.

"Yan! You must retreat, think of the people of Chang An! Do not let this battle take their ruler from raw passion! You will have your chance to avenge Lu Rai! Not here, back at the gate you shall reap your glory."

Sun mounts his horse and rides to the rear of Yan's men. Waving his sword,

"Fall back! Fall back! We will fight them at the gate! We will take cover from arrows in the forest, and from there flee back to the gate."

As the men begin to start moving back a woman rides at the enemy swinging a foreign weapon at them. A distraction. The men continue to move back, Wei Yan losing his chance to leave as each second passes by.

"Wei Yan, you must retreat!"

Sun continues to yell but it seems fruitless.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile as Zan's men begin to totally break without any regard of pursuit or missiles they pass by the pikemen coming to assist in their retreat. Sun's cavalry also begins to fall back now turning there horses and riding.

"Where is Sun at?"

A rider whizzes by,

"Where is he?"

Another rider whizzes by, the riders move to rally outside the gate, to await the arrival of Sun. Zhang knowing he cannot go further without risk of being pursued turns to the men.

"Fall back men, we have done what we can. Back to the gate, it appears we shall face the Horde there."

(Edit, sorry forgot the Summary)

*Summary*
- In a nutshell, all of Sun's men begin to fall back to the gate

[Mr Wu Sheng]

Wu Tian was sat amiss the dangers of the world - his head perched between two twigs that offered little comfort in the midst of the battlefield - still, it was the only time he could relax, and truly reflect on the screams he heard in front of him.

"Argh!"

"That's an ally." he stated joyfully, now plucking the petals from a dead rose.

"huaah"

"And that's an enemy."

He turned to his 2nd in command, a bold man who had served his time well beneath him, first as a servant and then as a loyal guardian - these days though he spent most of his time in the local taverns, impressing some girl no doubt before battle called out to him. It was always like this for warriors, they never stayed in one place for to long, so they just enjoyed their youth - before they even became to scarred to be appealing to women or until battle took away their very souls. To some this way of life was scary, the idea that nothing was set, no definite idea if one would live another second. But to others it was simply joyous - for the thrill of battle brought upon emotions that would normally remain dormant within ones mind.

Wu was one of those men though that needed both, he needed the thrill of battle for the motivation to continue - but without his family - and the longing dream to one day search for his mother, life to him seemed just doomed, and he would fall quickly within battle. So he used both to gain strength - and so it came, strength - strength that would win him this battle, if nothing else.

"I guess it's time to--"

But he was cut short mid sentence, the sound of a scorching thud echoing upon the plains before the earth beneath them shook horrendously.

"Well i guess that isn't good." He smirked at the comment, and turned his attention to the left flank of the pass, where the noise had originated from.

"I don't trust this - and those noises could mean only one thing ... a rock-slide."

His soldiers knew right away what this could mean, and the shield and sword/spearmen gathered their belongings and moved swiftly into position, their eyes peeled onto the southern most corner of the wall, waiting for something to approach - to greet them. But it was all in vain, the sound of arrows rained in next, but again the only arrows that reached him thudded hard into their shields, before the flames were doused out in the mud that surrounded them all.

"Why would they use fire? they are illuminating their position - even for a ruse fire has little impact on this sort of terrain." Wu gazed his surroundings quickly, but again nothing seemed to spark, "Who ordered this - a fucking MORON."

The sounds of the rocks crashed into the walls, and screams again repelled the air as he watched his allies scream, "Men - move!"

His soldiers headed the opposite way, moving further up the wall and then branching off into the hills in front of the Pass, the boulders were now smashing into the landscapes behind them, and they turned and gasped as a rock smashed only a few inches from one of his soldiers, "Man - that was too close."

But after that nothing was heard from these attackers, only the screams left behind as the darkness began to shroud them within a thick blanket. "Send 5 men south, find out whats going on and if anyone important is injured, don't stop to watch the others though, men don't win wars alone - so concentrate on the living, and only the living, got it?"

"Yes sir."

His 2nd in command rushed out, with 4 others who were well trained to avoid any unneeded attention. Wu Tian took this moment to gaze west - towards the enemies rampage, "War is upon us men, and i fear there are things to take place here that we are sooo not prepared for. Make sure you all fall in line, i will not be disturbed by these imbeciles a second time!"

---

Little Statement : Okay - 100 men are attacking via the ambush as stated earlier, the poster also mentioned that half were dealing with the boulders whilst the other half were dealing with shooting. He also mentioned specifically that he was attacking the southern most section of the gate/wall, so since I'm on the right flank aka the northern most section of the wall - i find it very hard for me to get any causalities as such from this, simply because none of it was targeted at me. Also - 30 boulders hitting the southern most section will NOT go on a full sweep and continue to go all the way down, most will hit the hills, others will bounce off of each other, but the general majority will lose momentum and stop after crushing a bunch of the people at the southern section. Don't forget how large Qing Ni pass is, it's massive So yeah.

p.s. .. obviously..if i am given casualties i WILL NOT be complaining..just thinking out loud i guess.