The Last Dahlia

047

The battle drums rang out at the break of dawn, but everyone in the Gi army camp had already been awake for hours. Worried faces cowered beneath dented helmets, nervously twitching hands clutching on to spears, swords and bows. A suffocating air of fear and despair hung over the camp.

Riding at the front of his army, Baixun looked like a god of war in his golden armour, unwavering and confident, shining under the rays of the rising sun.

Like a true king, Yuehwa thought.

"I don't like that look on your face," Shoya remarked.

"What look?"

"The admiration."

She laughed. "You have to admit that not any man is able to stand before an army of corpses and not look the least bit apprehensive about it," she said.

The two of them had not stayed on the battle plains with the Gi army. Instead, they had ridden up the mountainside in the wee hours of the morning with what remained of Yuehwa's Firebrands and were now camping beneath shade of the forest's foliage. Waiting.

"What if we fail?" she asked, a shadow falling upon her face.

This was their final stand. Even though Baixun's army was armed with their lead-tipped weapons, they had little doubt that the only thing that would do was to buy them a little more time. If they were unable to weed out Lady Kang, they would lose this war.

"We will not fail," Shoya replied.

And if we succeed—what will the cost be? Yuehwa didn't dare face that answer. She reached for her waistband and ran her fingers over the red silk fabric of the fortune talisman that Xin'ai had pushed into her hand before they left the camp. She had spent the better part of the night thinking about her interaction with the girl and the vague lines she had been left with, but this morning she was still none the wiser.

"For kingdom! For family! For honour!" they heard Baixun holler. He raised his sword in the air, and his soldiers followed suit, echoing their proud, solemn battle cry.

Yuehwa pushed the doubts out her head and focused her attention on the battlefield instead. The Dahai army had begun its charge, and the Gi army was ready to face the onslaught. Like a wave of poisoned sludge, the enemy surged forward, bodies clambering one over the other with their twisted limbs.

Even from this distance, Yuehwa could smell the pungent decay that was emanating from the corpses.

"I don't see any sign of her," she remarked, carefully surveying the sea of Dahai soldiers.

The first wave of arrows from Gi went flying into the air, striking down dozens of the undead. Sheng Yun had been correct about the effects of lead, as the zombies who had been pierced by the lead-tipped arrows screamed in pain, then began to disintegrate into piles of ashes.

But it wasn't enough.

Swords clashed. Spears flew. The deluge from Dahai continued, and still they saw no end to the onslaught. There were even dead animals in the mix—horses, bears, wolves—whose carcasses were likely raised from the depths of the Jilin forests.

Shoya had his arms folded across his chest, clutching the scabbard of his crystal sword in one hand. He was also observing the battle intently with a frown hanging upon his brows.

An hour passed. Then two.

Time seemed to crawl, and Yuehwa grew impatient with waiting. Already the Gi army was faltering and beginning to fall back. If they did not do something soon, then it would be too late to turn the tide. It was almost impossible for the Gi army to hold on until reinforcements from Feng and Hwa arrived.