They ran.

Up the sliding mud, under the night sky, they ran. Water splashed to the rhythm of their sprint. The adamant soil kept engulfing their feet. Every time they made a step, their feet sank into the muddy grip. And every time they needed to double their effort to move forward.

Unlike their cadet time, now they had their armors to carry. They had their swords and shields to take care of.

Unlike their cadet time, now they had a wave of arrows flooding their route ahead. Immediately they dodged and lay face down onto the mud, completely embracing, but ignoring its smell and taste. Heechul had never before been so far away from staying neat and clean. And those were now the very last things he worried about.

They lay very still, covering themselves with their shields. The heart-paralyzing sound of arrows piercing through air buzzed above their heads. The sound of countless arrows darting into the soil ahead rang loudly in Heechul’s ears. That’s not all. Occasionally Heechul heard, amidst the buzz, clanks when their shields bounced off some arrows. All sounded like a fierce hailstorm. It’s so close. Very close. They were already in the shooting range of their enemy. Very soon they had to get up and fight. The next instant Heechul realized his hands were shaking. If he were now to get up and fight, he would not be able to hold his sword properly.

Calm down! His frightened heart shrilled helplessly in his ribcage. Over and over again Heechul screamed in his head. Calm down! Calm down!

“Now! Move!” While Heechul was still wrestling with his all-jolted heart, Hangeng, realizing the rain of arrows had stopped, urged everyone to move forward.

An order was an order. Heechul’s body reacted immediately. He dropped his shield nevertheless. Panicked, Heechul turned around to pick it up. A hand gripped his elbow firmly. Another hand shoved his shield into his hands.

“Keep calm. We will fight together. Do not worry.” Hangeng’s assuring voice did a better job than his own to soothe Heechul’s heart. Exchanging a glance, together they sprinted forward.

“Halt and get ready!”

The moment their captain Hangeng shouted the order, within split second they took their positions and readied themselves. One third of them stood firm and fixed their shields in front. One third of them lit their torches. One third of them had their bows and arrows ready.

“And now, FIRE!”

Kissing the torches with the tip of their arrows, the archers inserted the arrows through the slits between the shields, pulled the bowstrings and shot.

Heechul held his shield with all his might, wordlessly protecting his fellow archers, loyally supporting his unit. He could not see what was happening behind the wall of shields. But soon he saw firelight cast into the night sky. It had to be that the opponent’s camp was on fire. Relief touched his face and he wholeheartedly cheered.

Smile on Heechul’s face melted before it materialized. War cries loud enough to shake the ground descended upon them. It was no joke. The ground beneath his feet was trembling. Raising his head he saw panic in the eyes of the fellow archer in front of him.

There had to be a mistake somewhere. Was the size of the rival troop underestimated? Was there another rival troop nearby? Was this an ambush? What was happening? What was he supposed to do?

Too many questions. But none could be asked. And none would be answered.

His basic instinct screamed. RUN!! His inner voice hysterically shrieked. RUN!! NOW RUN!!

And then came the order. “HOLD YOUR POSITION! FIRE!!”

It sounded so wrong to Heechul’s ears. He could tell by the way the ground shook that the rival troop, fierce and vast in number, was dashing towards them, all too willing to shatter their wall of shields and trample them alive.

All Heechul could feel was his sweaty palms, shivering hands and galloping heartbeat.

As if he heard Heechul’s fear, captain Hangeng shouted his order again.

“HOLD YOUR POSITION!”

RUN!!!

“HOLD YOUR POSITION!”

RUN!!!

“HOLD YOUR POSITION!”

Heechul took a secret glance at Hangeng. Simple words could not describe the captain’s expression. Wavering firelight cast onto his face. Intertwined on that face were worries, sorrow, reluctance, determination… When Hangeng blinked his eyes, amidst the flickering firelight, Heechul thought he saw tears glisten in them…

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A/N: So the battle starts. It's the first time I write battle scenes. Hope it's not too bad.

A/N2: Thanks a lot for everyone who read, commented, subscribed and liked my page! I do need your support! Love you~~~

A/N3: Would you be so kind to like my page Joni0717? More likes I collect the better chance I can get my novels published. Please please please~~