TI Vol 16 Chapter 23-2

The Uruk-hai stopped their advancement. An official looking Uruk-hai stepped onto a boulder. It roared and turned its head. Its voice echoed throughout the battlefield. Then a second Uruk-hai followed. Then a third, fourth… until the Uruk-hai’s roars reached every part of the battlefield. They thumped the ground with their pikes and weapons in rhythm. It felt as though the ground was trembling.

An older archer’s hands shook, letting go an arrow that was ready on the bow. It killed a pikeman Uruk-hai. The battlefield suddenly fell to a silence for a moment then the Uruk-hai roared with more insanity than ever. The blood instilled no fear but instead drove them to frenzy. The Uruk-hai charged at the wall.

“Ready! Fire!” Aragorn who was standing by the elves drew his sword. He swung the sword and pointed it at the Uruk-hai then shouted.

The elves lived up to their name of Nighthawks. Over fifty of them placed multiple arrows on the bow at once. Some elves enchanted their arrows with a green glow. The first wave of arrows fired. The multi-shots all slain multiple Uruk-hai, clearing an area of Uruk-hai. However, their armors were not made of paper after all. Many arrows were deflected and these Uruk-hai continued charging as though nothing hit them.

Heng stood next to Zheng. He cried with surprise upon seeing the elven technique. “Multishot? Amazing! Wish I can see what techniques they have yet to show. If someone can use the nine arrow shot…”

Zheng casually replied. “You can just wait here if you aren’t scared dying. And it will be better if you put your head out from the wall. I saw quite a few Uruk-hai with bows, and crossbows.”

Heng hushed but his eyes kept glancing back at the elves. Zheng gave a shout and unsheathed Tiger’s Soul. Heng finally began shooting at the Uruk-hai beneath the fortress.

The Uruk-hai finally reached the walls. Aragorn yelled. “Fire at will! Fire at will!”

All the elves and elderly standing on the wall began firing at will. The elves and enlisted villagers totaled to a thousand archers. Arrows poured down like rain. The cries of Uruk-hai and tingling noises took over the field. Only arrows shot by the elves and elite archers could pierce the armor of the Uruk-hai. The rest of the archers were too weak. The rain of arrows seemed crowded but merely half of them were effective.

As the Uruk-hai came close, they began to push ladders onto the wall. Some ladders managed to stay in place. At the cries of men and elves, several Uruk-hai climbed up the wall. Those didn’t pull into defense fast enough died to the Uruk-hai.

(City attacks are too straightforward at this age. Weapons, tactics, and army composition are all too simple. Accounts of wars from the Song Dynasty recorded boiling water, rolling boulders, ballista, catapults. There are none of these here. You charge at me and I defend.) Zheng contemplated these questions.

The Nightmare leaped. The light blade extended to its maximum range and slashed across. All the ladders within thirty meters of him were cut in two. The Uruk-hai on the ladder fell off the wall in terrible cries. It didn’t seem that they could survive the fall. Yet, there were too many Uruk-hai underneath. Zheng slashed dozens of ladders but replacements came in one after another. A single person’s power couldn’t turn the tide of a battle.

Dong! Zheng’s light blade barrier shattered. He quickly controlled the Nightmare to jump back down. He was staying on the wall using his barrier to defend against the numerous arrows. Then a few Explosive Shots shattered the barrier. The shots came from far away so that was all they accomplished. Though he Zheng stayed a little longer, the rest of the arrows would have turned him into a hive.

“Fuck! That was not over yet!” Those shots angered him. He formed a new light blade barrier over his body then replenished his Qi from the mithril ring. The Nightmare leaped off the wall. The movie characters shouted with bloodshot eyes. They had formed bonds with Zheng. The members of team China also shouted. Except for Xuan who pulled out his pistols calmly.

Pah! Zheng landed on the ground. The ten-meter fall didn’t harm him nor the Nightmare because he landed on the Uruk-hai and crushed them into meat paste. Without even a pause, Tiger’s Soul slashed across.

The Uruk-hai weren’t using their battle Qi since Zheng’s appearance was unexpected. The twenty-meter light blade cut through all the Uruk-hai in a twenty-meter radius. Hundreds or maybe nearly a thousand of Uruk-hai died in this attack. Zheng then charged into the army. Blood and flesh flew all over the area as Tiger’s Soul moved.

Gimli yelled. “You are the strongest, luckiest, and most foolish warrior… I will kill you for taking so light of your own live, you bastard!”

Though the movie characters had seen Zheng’s strength and were aware of the unique attribute of the Nightmare. They knew that once Zheng couldn’t hold out anymore, he would climb back up the wall. This was not the time to ponder more deeply. Aragorn yelled. “Archers back! Front row fighters ready for close range combat once the Uruk-hai climbs onto the wall!”

Zheng’s bravery stimulated the soldiers’ morale. However, the wall of the fortress was so wide that he had no way of defending every place. Ladders were placed some distance from him then the endless Uruk-hai climbed up. They might not have that many archers but all the Uruk-hai were powerful fighters. It took two men or one elf to defend against one Uruk-hai. Their numbers were building up on the wall. The only place devoid of them were at where Zheng was defending. All other places of the wall entered close range fights.

The contrast among their soldiers became apparent. The ones with battle Qi took one or more the Uruk-hai without fear. On the other hand, the enlisted villagers were victims of slaughters. They could aid with arrows but close range combat forced them back.

The fortress was well designed that despite many Uruk-hai climbed up the walls, the archers on the back could remain shooting arrows. That and the elite fighters in the front finally held the Uruk-hai from advancing.

Four members of team China entered the battle and the tides changed.

Heng had little impact despite having powerful shots. He was only as useful as an elven archer in this battle. ChengXiao’s martial art and YinKong’s assassination were much stronger than the Uruk-hai with battle Qi. They blocked off over a dozen Uruk-hai at once. However, the one that was most destructive to the Uruk-hai was Xuan.

Xuan stood in the middle of a pack with his dual pistols. The pistols danced around him. Each of his shots penetrated one or more Uruk-hai and even arrows that were shot at him. The Gauss pistols were powerful enough to stop their Explosive Shots. Xuan did not see with his eyes. His Gun-kata followed the trace of all possible incoming attacks.

He shook his hands. Two magazines dropped to the ground. The magazines were still smoking. A hundred Uruk-hai were lying around him. His cool and apathetic expression along with his actions made him seem captivating.

Zheng was fighting among the Uruk-hai but he was paying attention to the wall. He applauded upon seeing the might of Gun-kata. Just then, he saw an Uruk-hai that was holding a torch charged at the wall, the wall where Xuan was standing on.