War

Kit took a deep breath. His heart was racing, but his mind was surprisingly clear. Maybe he just couldn't hear himself think against the blaring noise of the sirens of Yani city warning them all of what was coming, a constant reminder of the impending doom in Kit's ears. 

His uniform was new, or it may have been Kit had never seen actual battle, which did little to inspire his men's faith in him. He led a band of mercenaries that had been hired by the elders of the city about ten years earlier for this very purpose. It was less a band and more like a small army and for ten years they had known the horde was coming. They had talked about this day, trained for it, and waited for it for ten years. Now the day had arrived and the city expected to get its money's worth. 

It was obvious that the past ten years had been all talk for most of the mercenaries belonging to the avenging shield mercenary group. They wore light black leather uniform. Kit, their commander, wore the same but highly decorated with shields on either of his shoulders. On his torso was a large tree with branches that reached his shoulders and sprawling roots all the way to his waist. His element was wood and his affinity to it was almost perfect.  A thin black and silver cape hung around him and was flowing slightly with the night winds.

"Archer's ready!" He shouted from the top of the wall to the archer's who lined every inch of it. Immediately each of the men standing before him, looking out at the idyllic Yani city outer perimeter that would soon become a battlefield conjured bows out of thin air. This was a martial technique Kit had personally trained them to use and he didn't doubt that it would not fail them.

Kit was somewhere in his early thirties. He had short black hair and a stern, solid face. His second in command, Meera, was also standing right beside him. She was much younger and kept her fiery red hair a bit longer than his but still rather short. Their uniform was almost similar except Kit's had silver accents.

Suddenly the horns from the city went silent. For the past couple of hours while residents and other civilians had gone into hiding deep within the city where it was safest the horn had been blown again and again. It had been hard to ignore and only one of the many noises that resulted to an entire C class city preparing for war. 

He looked at Meera, and she looked at him. She was his second in command and only real friend.  They had spent nearly their entire lives together and now, as they stood on the walls of Yani city it dawned on him that they might actually die that day.

He could see the uncertainty in her large, brown eyes. Kit realised this same uncertainty was in the rest of his men as well.

"Meera, I need you to stay here and command the archers, I need to be down on the battlefield holding the front lines." He said, finally breaking the deathly silence that had loomed over them after the horn had ceased.

Meera nodded, ready for whatever was to come. Kit began to set off when suddenly she grabbed his hand. They gave each other one last look, as if they might not see each other in this life again, and Kit left her side with astonishing speed.

The wall surrounding Yani city a few kilometres high, yet he scaled down its side like it was nothing. Kit had been preparing for this day through combat training and cultivation. From the moment he had gotten the job he had managed to break through and become an upper teacher. He only hoped that Tyson Cole would play his part, otherwise their chances were looking rather slim.

As he reached the bottom he found his men waiting for him, already in formation. He expected it of them, they were well trained and highly disciplined. Kit knew each one of them would fight to their last, yet that same look of uncertainty was plain all over their faces. They had been anticipating this for so long they had stopped believing it would actually happen, yet here they were.

Kit knew what he had to do.

His cavalry men were in front, seated on their horses. Kit's mount, a large hyena the size of a horse was saddled and waiting for him up ahead. It was a variation of the eastern island hyena daemons that was more docile, but would only allow itself to be ridden by a cultivator more powerful than itself. As Kit had only just entered the foundation realm his mount, which he had named Valo, was not ranked at all as a demon. Over time however it would become a one star daemon but by then the bond between them would have cemented. Otherwise Valo would turn on her master the second her cultivation exceeded his, and daemons cultivate astonishingly fast. He mounted the great hyena and held out his hand. One of the infantry men approached and handed him a spear. Of course this was no ordinary spear, this one had been enchanted by mages and had been a gift to him from the council of elders of Yani city. It had been crafted to act as a conduit for large amounts of wood qi. Since Kit had broken into the foundation realm the spear would work even better. 

The infantry man returned to his place and Kit was left in front of all his men. He turned his mount around and said, very calmly, "Onwards."

Valo moved forward. The large gates that served as the entrance into Yani city stood wide open. They knew the  horde had surrounded the entire city, so their forces were spread thin all the way around. Their objective was simple; to hold them off and if possible take down the horde leader. Kit had looked into horde's as part of their preparation. He had learnt to his horror that they attack in waves. This meant that Kit and his men would have to prepare themselves for the battle of their lives.