CH6 No Victory Without Risk

After reaching the walled city in the dead of the night, Baron looked to the sky. The moon covered a cloudy sky, and little moonlight made its way to the ground.

Perfect for a night operation. The men had received orders to cover any of their skin not covered up by their armour with mud so as to make it harder for their enemies to see them at night.

Baron turned to his men, and addressed them in hushed tones.

"Alright, boys. This is what we are going to do." Baron said as he grabbed a torch from the nearby officer. "Everyone is going to grab a length of firecrackers, spread out around the walled city, and light them up once every hour until the sun rises. If any of you encounter enemies, don't hesitate to throw away your torch and retreat to the rendezvous point. After you've thrown off your pursuers, of course.

"Our goal here is not to fight the enemy, but to annoy and confuse the enemy soldiers. Once the first crack of sunlight appears you are to immediately retreat back to camp." He and the officer, Phillips, handed out the firecrackers to their men. They'd prepared them beforehand and had hidden stashes close to the city walls, camouflaged by underbrush and trees.

Officer Phillips spoke up following Baron's instructions. "Alright everyone, you have your assignments. Good luck." He grabbed a couple of firecrackers for himself and turned to leave with the rest of the men.

"Hold on Phillips, I need to talk with you before you leave."

What is it, boss?"

"I just wanted to remind you to care for your own safety above all else — you're a capable officer, and I absolutely need you by my side to win this battle." Baron warned Phillips.

"Of course, sir. I'll do my best." Phillips replied before setting out to his position.

A few moments later the first of the firecrackers could be heard exploding along the city wall. The first to light their firecrackers, naturally, were the ones assigned to locations closest to the starting point. As the first lit up their firecrackers, the ones assigned farther away picked up their speed, and quickly lit their own firecrackers.

These firecrackers quickly woke the entire city, including the soldiers within, who milled about, wondering if they were under attack.

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"Sir, there seem to be firecracker noises sounding from outside the city, and these noises have woken up many of the soldiers." Lieutenant En quickly briefed Yue Fei.

"Why haven't I heard anything?" Yue Fei asked while standing up.

"We're at the center of the city here, and it seems these firecrackers are just quiet enough so as the noise doesn't travel this far."

As potential items to be used, firecrackers had been provided to both sides, along with many other things.

Yue Fei thought to himself before giving his orders. "They're just doing this to annoy us and create confusion among the ranks. Double the guards on the walls just in case, but give the order for the rest of the men to continue resting."

"Yes, sir. Are we going to do anything about the troublemakers outside, then?"

Yue Fei looked into the sky. "No. There isn't much moonlight tonight, so it would be dangerous to search for them in the dark. They could have ambushes set just a few hundred feet from our walls, and we wouldn't be able to see them. It's better to stay within the city until the sun rises."

"Understood, sir." En left the room to relay Yue Fei's earlier orders.

Yue Fei sighed.

Baron Magellan, I did not think you would employ such tactics on the very first day of battle. You are quite the surprising opponent, but I will not fall for your ploys.

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Come morning, the two hundred soldiers arrived back at camp, just as the rest of the army woke from their night's sleep. Baron had returned to the camp a few hours prior, but hearing the commotion, he stepped out of his tent to see the two hundred soldiers talking with the newly woken soldiers. An idea formed in his mind, and he quickly called for an army briefing.

Baron addressed his gathered troops. "Everyone, please give me your attention. These brave men have spent the night fulfilling their objectives in extremely dangerous situations — not only did they accomplish their mission flawlessly, but all have returned, safe and sound. Please give these heroes of the night a round of applause!"

Following Baron's words, the camp exploded into a cacophony of applause and supportive shouts. Seeing this, Baron smiled in satisfaction — this quick meeting had greatly raised his soldiers' morale. Suddenly, their camp exploded into a frenzy of applause and supportive shouts. Baron smiled in satisfaction at the surge of morale in his army.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

"Kill 'em!"

"Let's go!"

Some of the honored soldiers stared around dumbly, too tired from working through the night. Others, though, grinned from ear to ear. It felt great to be honored in such a way, even if it was for a relatively simple task.

Baron's speech had greatly raised his army's morale. As for Yue Fei, his army was now greatly fatigued. Despite his soldiers' best efforts to rest through the night, few could with their nerves on tenterhooks, loud firecrackers going off in the distance.

Baron pulled the attention back to himself with a quick gesture.

"Alright everyone, eat your breakfast and prepare for battle. By the efforts of our nighttime heroes, the enemy should be tired, unready for combat. I will also be joining you in taking the wall, and I don't want to see anyone slacking off! Have I made myself clear?!" Baron shouted.

"YES, SIR!" The entire camp roared in response.

Baron turned towards the troops who had toiled through the night. "All of you, go back and rest. Your services may be called upon again, tonight. Rest well."

Officer Phillips responded for his men. "Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, sir!" The two hundred echoed Officer Phillips' words and dispersed into their shared tents, chatting away at all the buzz they had created just moments ago.

The second day of battle unfolded in a decidedly different manner from the first. With the defending soldiers fatigued, and the attacking soldiers surging with morale, the clear progress was made atop the city walls.

Baron himself led the charge up, glaive in hand.

His main goal wasn't to take to the field to thin out the enemy ranks with his incredible stat advantages over them, but rather to draw Yue Fei out for a General's duel. However, no matter how low his health dropped, Yue Fei refused to show up.

"Where are you, Yue Fei? I know that you know I'm here, so why aren't you showing yourself?" Baron yelled out toward the enemy ranks.

In this manner, the second day of battle slowly came to a close. However, the differences between the two sides could be easily seen. With Baron leading the charge, and the difference in morale for the two sides, there was a clear difference in the fighting strength. At the end of the day, Baron's army stood roughly forty-two hundred strong, to Yue Fei's eighty-seven hundred.

Most of these deaths, for both sides, were infantrymen.

Unfortunately, although Baron's army had managed to momentarily gain footholds on the wall at several points throughout the day, they were ultimately pushed back each time. This didn't dishearten them, though, as they had seen their General's heroic exploits.

Actually, in Baron's army, he was the only one dissatisfied with the current situation. He'd expected Yue Fei to show up at some point, at least when he'd fallen to less than a quarter of his health. But still, Yue Fei hadn't. This troubled Baron, as if Yue Fei continued to refuse to show himself on the front lines, Baron would have to change his strategy.

Sighing, Baron made his way over to Officer Phillips as the sun was about to set.

"Phillips, make sure your men don't get cocky from success. I would also note, judging by the clouds in the sky, there may be some rain tonight. If rain does indeed fall, have your men retreat to camp immediately."

"You got it, boss."