[ToM] The Second Battle

ingyi froze when she spotted him, his body covered in crimson blood. He was a stark cry from the man she had met in the past- a force of raw power that seemed as if he couldn't be harmed. Even with the men in heaps around him, it was abundantly apparent that her friend was close to death's doorstep. The sight and the revelation that she would be forced to fight him made Jingyi's heart ache.

"Long time no see, buddy," Jingyi stated, her smile dimmed by the circumstances held before them. She continued to walk further into the room, Dullahan quick on her heels as she steadily approached the wounded Fanalis.

"It's sad to see you hurt like this. I hope you know that if this were any other situation, I would offer you a hand. Though, I suspect that we both know that it's going to happen today." She said, stopping once she had reached halfway across the room. The pause gave her the moment to double over her options, realizing once more that Endolf would either fight her -in which he most likely could bleed out if her sword did not pierce him-, he would escape and find treatment, or the unlikeliest of the options- he would lay his weapon down and surrendered. She couldn't afford to give him mercy and allow him to leave- her men would look down upon her for doing so. Nor could Jingyi allow him to escape, he was an intruder she was to deal with.

With a hand as steady as death, Jingyi drew Yu Chang, the hilt heavy in her palm as if the blade was aware of her plans. "Endolf! Honor yourself and die fighting me! It would be an honor if I were to be your last opponent," the woman challenged, her sword rising to point at the man in question.

Whilst Jingyi was talking, Dullahan had continued to advance without her. At her heightened tone, the Ferrum Carpa took off, dashing at A-tier speeds to flank Endolf from the side to cut him off from the hatches. If he were to exceed, Dullahan would station himself in front of the hatches, cutting off any means of escape.

eeing the smirk the other wore, Jingyi's own smile turned into the angry smile of a predator. "Then come and fight me already," she shot back with a snarl, the expression baring fang-like teeth. Her blade raised up, the tip aiming towards Endolf as she prepared her attack upon the wounded man. However, she paused in cold realization when he raised his foot. As his heel met the tiled flooring, Jingyi dashed forwards in an attempt to stop him before he escaped.

But, he dropped through the hole without a problem. The last thing the general saw of him before he disappeared was the insulting wave, a mockery that set her blood ablaze. "Come back here, you yellow-bellied coward!" Jingyi roared as she reached the hole, watching as the red blur dashed off to meet his comrades. Frustratedly, she ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at the locks as Jingyi glanced about the empty room.

Her gaze dropped to a small, unassuming package which she quickly fished off the floor. As she was sheathing her blade, Jingyi's eye was caught by the bandages wrapped around her hand. She picked at it, peeling it off before glancing at Dullahan. With a click of her finger, the goat used his Healing Tongue on the cut. The saliva tingled on her skin, but Jingyi ignored the sensation as she wrapped the bandages around the now smaller wound.


"C'mon, Dulla. We better check up on the boys downstairs," Jingyi muttered to him, giving her beast an affectionate pat on the head. Afterwards, Jingyi rushed downstairs to the bulk of her forces with A-tier speeds.

aking her way downstairs, Jingyi was pleased to see that Yoshirou's forces had yet to breach to the interior of the gatehouse. However, her own troops seemed to itch for combat to relieve them; their bodies were tense and they moved with a fervor that accompanied men in the moments of inaction. The woman played with the idea of surprising the attackers on the other side of the gate with a pre-emptive attack, but it would seem that they had other ideas.

As Jingyi mounted Dullahan, the cries of men could be heard as those aligned beneath Yoshirou attacked the final barrier. The grate didn't last long upon their intrusion and the attackers began to file endlessly into their box.

"Hold steadfast! Show these cowards the true might behind Gao's soldiers!" Jingyi bellowed to her men, watching with satisfaction as her men quickly took formation. Within moments, a shield wall blocked the opposing soldiers from advancing any further. The archers took aim, letting loose their arrows. The soared in an arc, dropping onto the unsuspecting men trapped within the walls of stone and shield.

One of Jingyi's Magicians took to the air himself, observing few men that remained from the onslaught. He quickly dropped back down to the General's side, proudly informing her of the small number that remained. When the words reached Jingyi's ear, a look of consideration passed her face.

"Shields, fall back! Infantry, ranks! It's time our own steel fell these men!" She harshly ordered. The men baring shields promptly separated into two, funneling Yoshirou's remaining forces to the waiting maw of Jingyi's soldiers.

The bulk of Gao's men charged forward with a piercing cry, their swords crossing against those of Yoshirou's soldiers. The sounds of combat intensified at the meeting as man fought man in a desperate bid to defeat the other. It was a cruel sight, one that temporarily forced Jingyi's stomach to drop. Her gaze flickered, watching as more bodies -men of both armies- hit the floor. A lump formed the woman's throat, a tiny voice telling her that they were dead because of her - and that more laid dead outside from the very defenses she orchestrated.

Her red eyes squeezed closed, her head shaking furiously. No! They were dead because this was a war- combat. Fighting. It was the way the tree fell from the axe's blow. There wasn't anything she could do more for them. They made the choice to participate in the combat, not her. With a deep breath, Jingyi forced open her eyes. With one swift motion, she unsheathed  Yu Chang. The blade felt lanky in her hand; too heavy for her palm. But with a nudge to Dullahan's side, the woman raced forwards anyways.

Dullahan charged the first for she met, knocking the man down and running over him with all of his strength. His yell of anguish landed on deaf ears. She couldn't afford to feel pity or show weakness now. Turning Dullahan around, Jingyi lashed out with her sword at the nearest foe, striking him down. Her eyes lingered on his form, and her body froze. The pesky voice hissed in her ear whilst the grip on her sword loosened. But then Dullahan jerked, and Jingyi was forced to tear her eyes away from the sight.

During the fight, Jingyi kept her eyes averted from her blade. The crimson hue would've distracted her - sickened her - if she looked at it. Instead, she shoved all words of protest down and focused on the job ahead of her. Yes. She had a duty to her nation. She had to fight. They were all doing a job, and she had to be efficient in doing it.

Disembarking Dullahan, Jingyi tried to jump into battle. While Dullahan bucked a foe with his intense strength, Jingyi attacked another with a shaky stab of her sword. Dullahan savagely continued his onslaught, trampling down another man before sending another flying with a well-placed charge.

Unlike her partner, Jingyi found herself at a loss. Her newfound tail led to the woman stumbling, her body still wholly unused to the new limb. The strikes of her sword were clumsier, and it was obvious to anyone who cared to watch Jingyi that she was struggling.

Jingyi jumped at a man with a downwards swing, only for her steel to hit the earth in a complete miss. The soldier jumped away after the fact, his own weapon raising as he snarled an insult that was lost to the din of combat. Jingyi's eyes stared at Yu Chang blankly before a fury filled those eyes. In a moment of bravado melting into viciousness, Jingyi left her blade to lunge at the man. Her claws raked across his exposed neck, the blow knocking him back.

The attack left Jingyi breathing shallowly, her gaze dropping to the now stained hand. In her moment of distraction, a soldier -enraged at seeing the general cut down his fellow man- attacked her. He grabbed Jingyi by her braid, yanking her back harshly. The action sent a terrified jolt down the woman's spine, her eyes widening in surprise. Her hand flew to the other blade she carried, unsheathing it before Jingyi pulled herself away. Both hands wrapped around Chun Yu's handle, her heels digging into the cold ground of the gatehouse. In the moment of freedom that Jingyi had from her attacker, she spun. Her blade arched out, hitting both the man and 2 other nearby soldiers in Mamushi: Spinning Tassel. Despite the simplicity of the technique, Jingyi's sword struck down all three giving her ample breathing room to recover her other blade.

Jingyi spent the rest of the battle cutting down whatever soldier of Yoshirou's she encountered. She sliced her blade through one man's stomach while another was clawed in the face. Her next foe didn't fare better, his armor penetrated by a stab with Yu Chang. Another attempted to sneak up on the furious woman only to be cut down by her blade.

The fighting between the two armies continued, with Yoshirou's forces quickly being succumbed by Jingyi's men. The moment came when mercy was offered - give up their weapons in order to not be immediately killed. Whether they were executed later for their support to Yoshirou or merely imprisoned would be up to another to decide.

Once everything was over, Jingyi simply stood there. The grip she held over her weapons slackened, her gaze dropping to look at her bloodstained weapons. With a quick motion, the woman sheathed her weapons before whistling for Dullahan to come over. With an order to her men to "punish the prisoners if needed, but try not to kill them", Jingyi temporarily left.

With Dullahan following behind her, the general walked through the battlefield. Her feet led her outside of the gatehouse. The Red Box's gas has long since disappeared, and her eyes fell upon the abandoned fields. Mu Zan had done an amazing job of giving her own soldiers some breathing room and once she was done, her next goal would be to thank the man.

However, Jingyi needed to finish what she came outside to do. While inside, Jingyi didn't see hide nor hair of Endolf, and the last time she had seen the Fanalis he was in extremely bad shapes. A pit at the stomach of her gut warned her of the worst, but her conscience demanded that she at least checked. Approaching the main camp where Yoshirou's forces once parked themselves at, Jingyi discovered him.

Her breath escaped her in a single sigh, her gaze averting from his body. Perhaps it was a blessing after all that he fled. Her hand wouldn't have been able to cut him down if the man did decide to fight her. With Dullahan watching, Jingyi began to collect different wooden materials that Yoshirou's army had left behind in their retreat. After breaking the larger ones into manageable pieces, the woman arranged it into a pyre.

Now came the hard part. Looking at Endolf, a ball quickly formed in her throat. Forcing it down, Jingyi pulled him onto the pyre and arranged him - arms by his side with his weapon with him. However, those marked with a Magic Circle were pocketed - she would find a better use for them than the dead. Finally, it came for the money. Pulling open his palms, Jingyi left coins in them and curled the cold fingers around them. While she was unsure if it was true in Reim, but in Kou, it was believed that the dead passed with money as to pay the ferry. Once she was done, the woman took what was remaining of Endolf's money before stepping back.

She glanced towards Dullahan before raising her hand and signaling towards the wood. Understanding her order, the beast would lit it aflame with his electricity. The spark caught, and flames quickly engulfed the makeshift pyre. While it wasn't the best burial, Jingyi figured that it was better than the vultures who had already begun to circle.

With a heavy heart, Jingyi climbed on top of Dullahan. With a final glance to the growing fire, the general kicked the beast into motion. She still had her duties to oversee back at the fort, after all.

ingyi, as the "general" of the fort, decided that it would be best for her to check in with their prisoners of war before speaking to Zu-Man. They were still her duty and perhaps she could glean something from them. Riding past the bodies still littered from the destruction brought upon them by her defenses, Jingyi found the gatehouse to be populated by her men, their captured soldiers, and the bodies who layed lifelessly.

The weapons of the defeated were still being collected as a madman started to rant. Disembarking Dullahan, the woman stood by her beast and watched. They had already stolen so much from Yoshirou's forces, the least she could do was allow him to speak, Jingyi reasoned. His words were certainly passionate and spoken from the heart but it was tainted by the bitterness of rage. But the worse part was how they struck clear and true - countless toiled away beneath Gao's policies that endorsed slavery. The greatest end for a hero is to die in glorious battle - to be stabbed in the front as a hero rather than the back as a coward.

Unfortunately for the unnamed man, none moved in his audience. They shifted and exchanged glances but not one of the captured soldiers moved to wrestle away any weapon to still die honorably. It was a pitiful sight, really, one that burdened Jingyi's already weighed heart. Dedication and loyalty the man had garnered him nothing but death's waiting hand. He lacked the power to keep him going - the only thing that had kept her, herself, separate from his fate.

While Jingyi didn't move to stop him from lifting his nearby sword -who was she to rob him even further?- the general hadn't expected to be addressed. Her ruby eyes met his, her face blank of emotions. What was she supposed to say? Her throat dried and her tongue seemed too large for her mouth as the soldier spoke of who she was meant to face. Not a finger twitched, not even her finger, when he impaled himself upon his blade. A moment later, his body was as lively as the corpses that surrounded him.

She would end up standing there for a moment longer before gesturing for Dullahan to follow her. It took the pair a while to locate Zu-Man in the massive fort, but eventually, she found the man in question. She walked up to the ranger and cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Zu-Man... I wanted to commemorate you on the work you did today during the battle. You really helped us out with your archers and I think you showed a lot of great skill," Jingyi told him, her characteristic smile spreading tiredly across her face, "I would love to fight with someone like you at my back, so... As an official order, join my band and continue to fight alongside me, Zu-man!"

Regardless of what Zu-man's answer to the woman's... interesting proposition, Jingyi would nevertheless retire from the battlefield. Whether or not she left the fort itself depended on the orders of the officers above her requested. But, for the day, the woman regarded herself as officially finished with the seige. It was time for her to clean up and take care of whatever duties that layed before her.