Romance of the Four Kingdoms

Chapter 92

Under Mitsuko's command the preparations were made by nightfall. Archers proper equipped with ammunition lined up on the wall along with a unit of Mitsuko's top soldiers along with Mitsuko herself and LingQi stationed over the gatehouse. Pang Tong was also stationed on the wall, wanting to get a good overview of the battlefield. He was guarded with his spectral warriors he christened as the shadow guard. Diamondback and Gyuki was stationed behind the gate along with a large portion of the troops. There was some concern for most of Mitsuko's soldiers don't seem to be well, suffering from fevers. As a result the bandit queens forces stayed behind them, having distance between them. Some were stationed in the forest along with Lu Zheng. The forest hid their forces well. Her oil traps were also spread out across the front field in front of the wall covered with a lot of fallen leaves. Everyone was eager to engage the enemy and so they waited in anticipation for their arrival. The only things that could be heard was the occasional shift of position or more commonly the breathing of their colleagues next to them. The moon shone brightly along with various stars under the night sky. Everyone was on edge before suddenly they started to hear distant footsteps.

They were heavy and at first there was only one heavy set before more could be heard. And more. Before suddenly they saw the amalgamation with its quadruped hind legs holding a mighty double-bladed trident with one hand while the other holds something like a ball of some kind. Each step it took shook the ground as the thuds got closer and closer. Behind this behemoth was soldiers, armed like an actual army thanks to Zhang yans connections with Han warlords. Wave upon wave of troops flying Zhang Yans banner came into view for those stationed on the walls. Some began to get nervous at the numbers seeming being endless. They marched upon the though the first line stopped just before the oil traps unbeknownst to them. One line after another they stopped in front of the wall. The amalgamation stops at the centre, a clear charge to the gate is formed. Troops mainly equipped with many swords and spears though Mitsuko noticed a lack of siege weapons aside from ladders which are carried on the flanks. Even if there is a giant on their side, they would prefer to at least something else as a backup right? Mitsuko darted her eyes from the seemingly endless waves of troops to find only a few of them stood out from the crowd. The commander that is the only one mounted on a horse while she only saw about 3 teal coloured uniforms. She expected far more mystics than that. Though she supposed the amalgamation can be enough for some she guessed.

The horse stops just behind the front lines and looked like he was examining the wall. He then leant down to a more veteran soldier and whispered something to him. He walked up past the front line and stopped. Mitsuko motioned one of the archers by having her right serpent arm hiss at him and slither their way down the line of archers. He understood and started to burn the tips of the arrows one by one as he grabbed a torch next to him attached to the wall and walked along it. All apart from LingQi's who also is equipped with a bow and arrow though her normal polearms were on the ground next to her in preparations for when hand to hand combat would start. The archers didn't draw their bows but did prepare them as they lowered their weapons below the wall so they could not see the flickering embers. Suddenly the speaker cleared his throat and started to speak.

'Defenders of the bandit queen. By the order of Yu Du, supreme commander of the forces of Zhang Yan demands your surrender. If you surrender your lives will be spared. Zhang Yan does not wish to harm you and will spare your lives if you pledge your loyalty to him. He only asks this of the bandit queen herself.' The speaker in question began to list the conditions of the surrender. Mitsuko was already bored of his speech as she leant through the embrasures of the castle walls and glances to her side to see LingQi readying an arrow.

'So...how accurate are you with that thing?' She questioned with a mischievous grin on her face. LingQi gave her a confident smirk in response as she pulled the arrow back.