(Guiying POV)
The battle started without much fanfare.
Their main force was still stuck behind our main barricade so they had sent only the left wing of their army at us first.
It seems like they would dedicate more manpower in dismantling our first barricades and traps first while this regiment deals with us.
But because they were forced to fight within the streets of the town, only a set number of soldiers could engage us at a time.
The commanders gave their respective orders and our archers pulled their bowstrings taut, firing after the appropriate order was given.
The Dongs were most definitely still under the assumption that we were a sort of militia since the rain of arrows caught them by surprise, most of them not even having the time to lift their shields before the rain of death fell on them.
Their commanders were quick to react and called them into formation, interlocking their shields to block the next wave of arrows before their own Practitioners could erect a proper shield.
The surprise attack must have enraged them as a few of their Practitioners floated up into the air, looking down at our barricade with scorn.
They lifted their palms and shot out balls of fire at us, intending to burn down our barricades and the soldiers hiding behind them.
Our own Practitioners got to work as well, stopping the fireballs by detonating them in the air harmlessly.
The Dong Practitioners were about to try again when a giant bolt of golden lightning shot out from below, engulfing at least three of the Practitioners and instantly disintegrating them.
The surviving Practitioners immediately scattered away, just in time too, since another golden lightning was shot from below to strike down another of their Practitioners.
The Dong's archers loosed their own volley of arrows, all of them easily repelled by the shield our Practitioners erected above our heads.
Without the need to hide our capabilities anymore, our side's Practitioners let loose their own Techniques with our next volley of arrows.
Those projectiles, alongside a few of the arrows that were specifically enhanced, pierced through the shield the Dong Practitioners had erected.
Though the arrows still bounced off the shields that the Dong soldiers held, a number of Techniques managed to pierce through those defenses and create an opening in their formation.
The gaps in the shield wall allowed the next volley of projectiles to find their mark before they could close the formation in time.
That was the last shot we could get in before they charged into our barricade.
To train a group of peasants into professional soldiers in just a few days was impossible, there was no way that our current army could stand up to the Dong's army in open battle even if our numbers were even.
But we did not need our army to fight them in open battle in the first place, they just needed to do one thing and just one thing properly only.
"Spears, THRUST!" The officer ordered.
The soldiers reacted almost on instinct, all of their spears thrusting out through the gaps in the barricade to impale the Dongs on the other side.
"PULL!"
The soldiers retracted their spears without delay, letting the dying soldiers drop to the ground.
"THRUST!"
The soldiers repeated the action again, impaling the second line of soldiers that tried to step over their comrades.
"PULL! AND BRACE!"
The soldiers obeyed, the first line bracing against the barricade while their brethren behind them did the same against their backs.
The barricade heaved from the soldiers smashing into it, the wood creaking and cracking but refusing to break.
Our soldiers pushed back, just as a volley of arrows and Techniques rained down towards them.
Our Practitioners did their best to intercept them since a number of them were enhanced to penetrate shields, but a few of it still got through our defenses, causing the first few casualties we would suffer in this war.
"Medic! Get the wounded out of here!" The officer ordered, prompting the few orderlies stationed nearby to rush forward, pulling the groaning soldiers out from the formation.
They will be carried to the field hospital that senior brother Brendan had been put in charge of, thanks to his display of genius alchemical knowledge in healing pills.
If the wounded were deemed fit enough to fight after senior brother Brendan had healed them, they would immediately return to the fight.
Somehow, our troops managed to halt their advance with the aid of the barricades for now.
While they were holding the wall, our Practitioners leapt over it fearlessly into the throng of enemy soldiers behind it, letting loose their own Techniques and cutting down a portion of them closest to the wall.
Before they could react to the sudden attack, they had once more leapt over the wall and back towards safety.
At the same time, archers and more Practitioners had appeared on the rooftops of the buildings on either side, raining down arrows and Techniques on them with pinpoint accuracy.
The Dongs started to panic as they fumbled to get their shields back up, but that proved to be their undoing as the spears from behind the wall were thrusted out again, impaling the ones closest to the barricade.
Just when the battle looked like it might actually be going in our favour, a messenger had rushed up towards us.
"Prin… My Queen! They've brought heavy cavalry! They've sent a detachment to flank us from the Southern side!"
Damn.
We had hoped that since they needed to move through the tunnels, they would not bring many horses with them on their first engagement. Perhaps a small detachment of light cavalry and nothing more.
I guess that had been too optimistic of a thought.
I bit my thumb, at this moment we risk a total wipeout from their attack.
If their calvary manages to break through our defenses and encircle us from behind, they will be able to collapse our centre which would also result in a collapse of the front as well.
We would be trapped in this corner without a means of fighting back.
Not to mention the fact that the field hospital was there too, if we lose it, we'll lose even more men.
The other generals were panicking as well, there was no way we could defend against this with the current troops at our disposal.
The spear wall tactic would have worked against light cavalry where both man and horse would have been lightly armoured. But against a heavily armoured horse and rider, the wall would crumble easily.
I turned towards the only two youkais near us, "Could I count on you two?"
Both Manami and Kiyomi smiled.
"Ara, ara~ Princess, you need to have more faith in us. Worry not, they shall not pass."
Saying those words, Manami spun and left with her white haired sister in tow.
To have such reliable senior sisters, it is definitely fate that allowed us to meet. I believe with them aiding me, we could actually get through this day.
Steeling myself, I turned my head back to watch the battle unfold, trying my best to ignore the screams of men dying in agony.
I really want to mount that enemy General's balls on a pike...
