Chapter 603: Graveyard

Chapter 603: Chapter 603: Graveyard

Jianchuan, Fish Stone Military Station.

The originally gray-white stone walls are now blackened and scarred from smoke, with many sections collapsed; one can only roughly estimate that the wall once stood nearly four zhang high.

Though called a military station, it is in fact a large-scale fortification made of stone, resembling a castle.

Based on Wu Kai’s years of experience in Beach Stone and Hai Xia Garrison, constructing such a work typically takes half a year, demanding a vast labor force and sufficient high-quality stone. Clearly, Fish Stone Military Station lacked the basic resources to build something of this scale, yet it was completed, thanks to the aid of magic.

Though he hadn’t seen it firsthand, Wu Kai was certain that the rapid construction of Fish Stone Military Station must have involved cultivators with deep cultivation, skilled in Five Elements Earth Technique—perhaps several such experts.

But now, Fish Stone Military Station was certainly due for heavy repairs.

Wu Kai had arrived at the military station yesterday. The previous engagement had been the day before. After Assistant General Li’s forces had encircled and eradicated the barbarian troop caught in the encounter, Wu Kai followed orders to regroup onsite. From there, he witnessed from a distance the attack and counter-assault at Fish Stone Military Station.

Only at dawn did the battlefield enter the formal cleanup phase: burial and clearing.

Wu Kai had left eight prisoners alive; after handing them over to Assistant General Li, he spent the rest of the time handling casualty aftermath with the deputy, as well as recording and reporting everyone’s merits in the camp.

The earlier rhombus array was a tight, integrated offensive-defensive formation. Its advantage lay in point-and-surface contact replacing overall chaotic melee. As a result, soldiers in different positions during the same battle array experienced vastly different intensity.

For instance, the innermost crossbowmen. They loosed their bows only three times; not only were they in no danger, they only saw the barbarians when clearing the battlefield. The rear ranks—lancers and sword-shield soldiers—were similar, perhaps even less engaged than the long-reach crossbowmen.

But the front-row lancers felt the full ferocity of war. They were truly fighting with their lives. Casualties were almost entirely among the first three or four rows.

This meant differences when calculating merit. Those who died in battle were, by regulation, granted two rounds of merit, added to their prior merit records, later converted for their families. The rest had merit calculated by enemies slain—one round per enemy killed. Others who failed to slay foes only received collective merit for the whole battalion, usually a cash reward rather than merit.

Thus, when it came to killing enemies, any frontline soldier with some cultivation could rapidly accumulate merit. First, because their strength far outstripped ordinary soldiers; second, because they usually played the "blade edge" at critical positions, coming into frequent contact with the enemy.

But theory is just theory. In practice, soldiers with cultivation suffered far higher casualty rates than ordinary troops. Those who earned enough merit and survived intact were always the minority.

In the end, reward and risk are proportional. This holds true in the military as well.

After Wu Kai finished all follow-up tasks, he waited until yesterday afternoon to receive the order allowing him to enter the military station to regroup. The rest of Assistant General Li’s unit had entered the station ahead of him.

This was not because Assistant General Li was intentionally distancing himself from Wu Kai. Rather, the battle for Fish Stone Military Station had been so fierce that the station lacked room and resources to take in new soldiers. Assistant General Li’s other men had participated in the defense and thus entered earlier to help with post-battle cleanup.

Looking back on not being able to fully participate in the Fish Stone Military Station defense, Wu Kai couldn’t help but feel some regret. The encounter he’d experienced was only a small part of this campaign.

This morning, when Wu Kai attended the briefing at Assistant General Li’s headquarters, he listened to a summary of the campaign.

The attackers were a detachment of barbarians who had breached the frontline defenses of Jianchuan, numbering nearly seven thousand. At the time, Fish Stone Military Station had less than two thousand soldiers garrisoned, half of whom were auxiliary soldiers handling cargo loading and transport. The remainder had just withdrawn from the frontline and were wounded. Along with a dozen cultivators from Jingying Prefecture, newly arrived to reinforce the frontline.

Minus those wounded too badly to move, only about fourteen hundred able-bodied defenders remained at Fish Stone Military Station, facing an enemy seven times their number.

Wu Kai was nearly incredulous when he first heard the Station’s defending strength at the time of the attack. Yesterday and today, as he toured the station, just seeing the broken ramparts, the omnipresent bloodstains, and even uncleared limbs, all evidenced how brutal the fighting had been here.

It was hard to imagine such carnage was left by a group of auxiliary soldiers and wounded together. They faced barbarians! And they were vastly outnumbered. Even their only source of protection, the rampart, was badly damaged.... This... Wu Kai clenched his fist, understanding why, upon entering the station, he saw so few auxiliary soldiers or wounded.

In Assistant General Li’s words: "The garrison clung to the enemy, fighting to the last moment, even igniting the outer houses and soaking the ground in flame oil—prepared to burn themselves with the enemy. Fortunately, our forces arrived just in time to save a few."

As for the dozen cultivators from Jingying Prefecture, Wu Kai had yet to see even one. Later, out of curiosity, he asked the familiar expert from Jingying Prefecture who stood beside him, now not yet reassigned. The reply was three words: All dead.

"The new order is for us to stay at Fish Stone Military Station temporarily, in charge of basic reconstruction—mainly clearing and organizing. In three days, auxiliary soldiers will relieve us. The main force will then move east, replacing a reorganized army from the frontline to rest.

Wu Kai."

"Present!"

"Your conduct in the encounter before Fish Stone Military Station was outstanding. The Marshal is very satisfied with you. As the remaining route is mostly rocky shore and unsuitable for riding, your unit will continue to lead as the advance left flank. Also, you will get a hundred reinforcements, fifty of them cultivators. Remember—don’t slip up."

Wu Kai cupped his hands in salute, a fire burning in his chest. The opportunity he’d waited for so long had finally arrived, and it seemed he’d caught hold of its tail; as long as he kept climbing, he might one day have his own "Marshal" banner. That, of course, is Wu Kai’s ambition and aspiration.

"I will not dishonor you, sir!"

For the next three days, Wu Kai followed orders, helping clean up Fish Stone Military Station. Barbarian corpses were all burned completely. Their own—if the bodies could be pieced together, they were; if not, a mass pit for burial. Jingjiu Dynasty soldiers must be buried for peace in the earth.

The burial ground was large, a sizable area, just beside the station’s access road, visible to everyone entering or leaving Fish Stone Military Station.

Before leaving, Wu Kai came once more to pay his respects, accompanied by the deputy and the now-familiar Jingying Prefecture expert. Wu Kai now knew his name: Ding Mountain.

It was said that among the dozen Jingying Prefecture cultivators killed at Fish Stone Military Station, Ding Mountain’s junior apprentice was one—and now lay in this grave.