One thing was to disembark normally, taking your time to jump from the boat and only move out after safely landing on the sandy beach. And another one was to be forced to jump without even taking the time to look where you will land, not to mention being pushed by the people behind you.
In a normal situation, this would at the worst make you fall, maybe get you a bit wet or gain a pair of bruises, but this was by far not a normal situation for the cultivators, previously criminals imprisoned in the 'Inverted Tower' and they were discovering it in the worst, as well as unavoidable manner. And the arrows, javelins, and other projectiles complemented by a pair of techniques sent by the opposing party cultivators, or city guards as they were identified, only added to the overall chaos, as well as making even a small misstep potentially deadly.
The Eagle Kingdom troops that 'liberated' them, had offered them to either submit or be executed on the spot. Surprisingly, not a small amount of prisoners went with the latter option, refusing to serve what they considered invaders. As for the rest, they were given weapons, most of which were captured from the storehouses and armories of the different cities, powers, and even the prison itself that had fallen to the Kingdom until now and 'offered', or better said ordered to go and fight the local forces.
For the ones that had agreed to submit, this more-or-less meant the chance to take vengeance on the people who wrongly, or rightfully if one was honest, had imprisoned them.
But regretfully for the so-called new allies of the Kingdom, the latter forgot to explain that they would be loaded in small boats and then forced to row an entire night to reach the Wildlands after starting from the Port District of Coastal Hill City. And either because they did not know, or simply felt no need to inform them, the Kingdom forces did not mention that the now freed inmates would need to make a crash landing on an extremely small island and enter combat with a far more prepared enemy right away.
***
"Groups Yi, Er, Jiu and Shi, push them back! The rest shoot towards the medium!" Lord Xiao, standing tall amongst the defenders commanded for four of the ten-man groups he had divided his men from the edges to enter melee. Until now each of his guards, as well as the others had been throwing, shooting, and using whatever means they could to inflict damage on the quickly approaching boats.
But now, the first row of the boats had crashed against the sand, and the raggedly looking, equipped with a varied array of mismatched weaponry and armors cultivators inside began to land. With the second and third row of the boats not stopping, directly crashing into the ones in front, Lord Xiao calculated that his four teams would meet at least twice their number of men.
But guards, and especially the one trained under him were specialists in fighting as a unit, and all of their equipment and techniques were uniform. This was an enormous disadvantage in single combat, making it easy for the opponent to counter, but in a messy fight between groups? It was the opposite. Not to mention that the men that were landing had not fought or trained for months, even years, and even the ones that did not lose their skills had no cohesion with the others around them.
***
Wu Guang observed how forty men from the sides of the first defense line pincered the landing men, and moving in unison, spears braced and hitting as a single attack, began pushing them back. Right into the mass of people that were just arriving, or had not even landed yet.
Fights between low-level cultivators, at least before the Soul realm, were not far from being one that of mortals. Even if both sides had an array of techniques, and their strength was far superior to a mortal, the opponents had the same means. In such a case, it all would be solved by the individual combatant skill and experience, at least in the case of a duel, while in the case of a group, or army battle, victory would always lean to the side with the best training and discipline.
Lord Xiao's guards were mostly trained in the use of the spear, with only a few of them being swordsmen or using some uncommon weapon. Normally the latter being disciples of the Sect that had nowhere to go. In any case, the main core was trained by the City, and even though their cultivation method was common and required an enormous effort to reach the peak of the Spirit Realm, it was also geared for their work. In this case, the guards had a far better qi recovery temp, and they spent slightly less than others, even if using the same technique. Speaking of techniques, until now Wu Guang had only glimpsed two, with one being 'Flash Trhrust', a quick qi infused attack that required practically no preparation, and 'Shieldwall', which was a link, between users standing close to each other, that reinforced one's natural qi cover, strengthening one's defense and making guards able to shrug off at least some of the counterattacks they received.
It was a bare minimum of techniques, but they were very well trained in them. Managing to advance with no losses until now while pushing the opposition back, as well as slowly whittling down their numbers.
Wu Guang sensed an approaching aura and quickly adjusted his eyes to see how three people had jumped from the 5th row of boats and jumping over, using qi to glide on the water, and even pushing others away were rushing towards the beach.
He was sure that Lord Xiao would have sensed them by now as well, and would probably deal with them, but... Even though Wu Guang could not move from the spot that served as his position and the main bait for the enemy elites, the distance was just slightly over a half-mile, so why not at least attempt to help?
Senior Rui had informed them that the Eagle Kingdom had been using something to interfere with runes, and Wu Guang assumed it was a treasure called 'Rune Canceller'. In any case, the plan had allowed that such treasure would be present here, and so some bows, projectiles, supplies, signals, etc. were being carried by the guards. But as there was no sign of the 'Rune Canceller' being present, Wu Guang had stored the Siege bow he had used before, as well as two quivers inside his Storage ring before his first retreat.
Wu Guang quickly took the siege bow out, prepped an arrow, and aimed at the spot where the nearest Soul cultivator would land next
"Silent Arrow" His mastery over the technique had been improving quickly now that he had begun to use it. With not a small amount of increase being simply of his present cultivation. And now, he was sure that he was close to reaching the upper level of mastery, which would allow him to send three arrows as one. But even though he had not done so yet, he did set not one, but two arrows lose this time.
Without pausing to observe the results, Wu Guang immediately shot again, and again, and again...
In the end, Wu Guang finished an entire quiver of 20 arrows in less than the time the Soul realm cultivators had used to advance the three hundred feet separating them from the beach.
***
Two arrows impacted and killed the foremost Soul realm. Another one lodged it deep inside the shoulder of the second one, and at least a pair of arrows grazed the third.
And even while most of the arrows did not hit the intended targets because of the lack of aiming, none of them were shot in vain.
Currently, the entire gorge which looked like an inverted arrowhead was filled up with boats. And except the first two rows of them, the enemies were heavily grouped, making even a missed arrow hit or graze, injure or kill someone.
________________________________________________________________________
Time flowed as it always did, but for the men embroiled in combat, and for the commanders on whose orders the men fought, the time seemed to crawl at a snail pace.
It was the same and to Wang Ling. Even though he did not consider anyone except his close kin important, and the entire forces he had led here were disposable... It still did not mean he could simply have them killed and not attain anything. Granted, there was no way to speak about moving out and attacking the rear of the allied forces near the pass, simply because his numbers would not allow him to present any threat to them. But there were always other ways to complete his objective, which was to distract and disperse the biggest amount of the defenders.
Thus, he formulated the best plan he could and turned towards a man that was concealing both his identity and cultivation, standing silently behind Wang Ling since the latter boarded the ship and assumed command.
"Vice-General, it seems that we will not be able to complete our initial operation"
*Rustle* The man did not respond, but the hood of his cloak moved, indicating a nod.
"But the dispersal of the clansmen and others near the border is still a task that I intend to complete"
*Rustle* *Rustle* This time the movement was far more pronounced, almost as if he was indicating for Wang Ling to explain further.
"I think the best way would be to use our entire forces to break through the encirclement and then allow the elites to rush towards three targets. The first one would be the Snake Clan, their town is just thirty miles from here, and considering the quick arrival of the guards here, it seems that the town was protected by the same men we see"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Mmm, and the other two targets?"
"Towards the closest camp of refugees and the Assembly"
"Hostages and attempt at negotiation?"
"Yes to the former, but for the latter I would better engage whatever forces are left there"
"Oh?"
"Having in our hands the lives of clansmen, refugees from the cities, and creating an incident in the Assembly will make us the target of all the forces that comprise the alliance. They will not risk attacking us directly, fearing for what we may do if cornered, but forces will have to be dispatched to at least keep an eye on us. Considering that I intend to do so only with elites, this should pull equivalent cultivators from the pass"
"Good, but what do you intend to do with the rest?"
"Leave them here under the command of a few people from my family. Some of the guards are bound to follow us, and while we break through the lines, we should also disperse their defense, allowing an engagement on open ground, where the numerical advantage will be far more impactful"
"And then?"
"If they can force the guards into single bouts, the ones remaining should be able to deal with them. These defenders called for reinforcements several times already, which means that they will soon arrive, and most probably leave either the refugees or the assembly far less guarded. The reinforcements will rush to engage our forces, dispersing the overall strength of the Wildlands even more. And then, if this... men can win, then a good part of our enemies will be done for. And if they all die trying... It's not a big loss for the Kingdom, it is?"
"It is not if the objective is achieved" The man coldly answered.
"It will be" Wang Ling had used the soundest reasoning and spoke with what respect he could muster. Now, it was just a matter if that was enough to convince this man, someone who was promoted by General Ou to vice-general and assigned as Wang Ling's overseer.
"...Do it"
"Yes" Wang Ling briefly and inwardly celebrated his small victory before turning towards his aides, now lacking one, and commanding
"Bring up the elites from the five reserve boats" As a man rushed to signal this, he continued
"Oars to water. The command ship will crash into the beach"
"It will be done, Lord"
"Good, and signal the entire forces to quicken their pace. I don't care how much of them will fall, drown, or be eaten by beasts. I don't care how much boats will crash into the rocks. Either they reach the beach, or they are passed over by us" Wang Ling followed up with a savage order. And however savage and cruel it was, there was also a reason for him to push the landing forward. He sensed that the last boats, especially the ones that were full of the lying, stealing, killing, and raping dogs from the 'Inverted Tower' were slowing down. It wasn't by much, but his senses glimpsed at the hesitation and fear that was irradiated by the crews. Not that his men were better, but at least they would not try to escape, knowing for sure what expected them if he found out.
________________________________________________________________________
At least 300 enemies had landed since the fighting had started, and half of them were already dead. Lord Xiao had managed to keep the rest at bay, and even push them back slightly every time they attempted to attack, but the situation was getting worse with every new cultivator reaching the beach.
He had suffered losses, and even though he kept rotating the men in front, everyone's fatigue kept accumulating.
But the main reason for his current worry was that the boats had stopped even trying to reach the beach. Now they just crashed into the previous rows, and their occupants used them as a floating bridge. The speed with which they approached was akin to crawling and they suffered losses from the now sparse projectiles and from falling in the water or being crushed between the constantly moving boats, but...
Now they gathered in and then arrived as big groups, different from the odd tens and single cultivators until now. This meant that with every group arriving, his men had to step back from their positions, lest they ended with five or more enemies at the same time.
"Haa... Everyone, fallback! Form lines in front of the commander!" Lord Xiao made the desicion. He commanded and while staying behind the retreating men, covering their retreat, threw a glyph towards Wu Guang, requesting that he signaled for the next wave.
***
"Xiao Kang, green flare" Wu Guang instructed even before he received the glyph. He already considered that it was time to call for help, simply because Lord Xiao's guards were now at a severe numerical disadvantage. They were also unable to circle the enemies anymore. Thus, as soon as he saw that the decision had been made, he acted.
"Done!"
"There will be an extremely small window of time, but signal the relief teams. Let them quickly sweep from behind and take whatever wounded Lord Xiao managed to carry out"
"Yes!" Xiao Kang immediately signaled and one of the men lighted a yellow flare, before bowing to both superiors and rushing towards the direction from where the relief teams would appear.
"And I know that it's not my call, but send a glyph to the men of the reserve. Tell them to move closer to us"
"Why?" With him being the commander of the reserve, he asked directly.
"I fear that the enemy is about to launch a full-strength attack"
"Commander?" Xiao Kang had been also observing the gorge and did not feel anything to be different.
"Look at how they are using the boat bridge to rush towards the beach. That means they were ordered to abandon the boats. That can mean only two things. Either the commander on that side decided to get a quick numerical advantage without caring for the possible losses, or..."
"Or?" As a pause ensued, Xiao Kang decided to ask
"Or they are planning to land the elites, the commander, and then use their entire force to break through the defense. No, I am sure they will do so!"
"What?!"
"Senses will not pick it up yet, but just observe the ship" Wu Guang pointed towards the now visible ship, just two and a half miles from the beach.
"...It's moving?"
"Yes, and it's approaching faster than before, they are using oars"
"But... They will crush all the boats!"
"Indeed, and anyone who is in them. At least if they don't run towards the beach, effectively landing in their entirety"
"..."
"Send a glyph to Lord Wei, make them prepare for joining the fray on the next red flare"
"Understood" Xiao Kang did not truly understand how the commander guessed, found out, or simply sensed what would happen next, but somehow he did not doubt that it will happen.
***
After receiving Wu Guang's response, as well the latter's observations, Lord Xiao was forced to admit that they may be, no, they were true. The enemies were massing near the water edge, but even after his men opened the distance, none of the enemies tried to rush and engage as previously. No, they were gathering up and waiting for the other ones to land.
In such a situation the best would be to immediately attack, but Lord Xiao knew that his remaining odd hundred of men would not be enough to impede this massing. And even after the second wave joined him in a few moments, they simply could not push back twice the amount of enemies.
Not forgetting that guards were not meant for offensives, he wryly smiled before beginning to organize his men. He decided to take the center, with a front of forty men and the rest as backline. As soon as the 'reinforcements' arrived, he would assign them to the flanks, effectively creating a two-man deep line of 90.
"Now the most important thing will be to maintain the line whatever happens... As soon as we are dispersed, most of the men will be easy prey" Lord Xiao had to acknowledge that albeit the enemies they had fought today were far from being the strongest, they were still experienced enough to best most of his guards in one on one. At least half of his losses came from such situations when a team of his could not maintain the 'Shieldwall' and was picked individually.
***
"Wang Ling, it seems that I will have to finish what you started" Wu Guang muttered. He did not truly hate the Wangs, but they had attempted at his life. Provoked or not, trying to assassinate a young disciple simply because he bested their genius?
Before sitting down in meditation, intending to reach an optimal fighting condition, Wu Guang allowed himself a brief moment to check on his friends, at least the ones that had fought.
Thankfully everyone was still alive, albeit the presence of Kuang Jing was fairly weakened. He had been wounded, but seemingly refused to leave combat as now he was assigned to the rear line, just 300 feet from the mound that Wu Guang occupied.
"Let's hope Lang Juan or his sister forces him to take a recovery pill or one of my potions" Wu Guang thought while hoping that the pills, potions, and medicines he had given out to the relief team from his stash and loot, as well the ones sent to them by the Clans would last enough...