10th Mountain Division, one of three divisions in the entirety of the Canto Empire's military known as the Rangers, is an elite unit that chose selectively from their infantry. And it was the consensus that out of the three divisions of Rangers, 10th Mountain was the best; every single one of their soldiers was fearless.
And for a good reason: the Ranger motto was 'these things we do, so that others may live,' and every single one of their members took that seriously; in whatever major battle, they could be seen on the frontlines leading the charge.
This led to the infamous joke that a Ranger's life could be measured in minutes; the average squad had a 68% fatality rate in their first year.
An officer strode along the line of Rangers, his white square patch on his shoulder standing out on the black uniforms, identifying him as a captain. "Read! Ready!" the veins on the officer's neck stood up taut like whipcords as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Gyun's leg twitched in anticipation before he nodded to the captain; looking back at his squad; he tapped his helmet. "Check, check," pointing at the ropes attached to their waist; the ropes led to a nail that was driven into the ground.
"Check"
"Check"
"Check"
As all 9 of his squad members affirmed their equipment one last time, Gyun took a deep breath; feeling his sword, he took a step, peering down the cliff face i to the Aegean Fortress below; it couldn't have been less than a 200-meter drop straight down to the ground outside the wall.
Swallowing the fear in his throat, he stepped back, feeling his sword at his hip he gripped the handle tight. Glancing across the line of Ranger squadrons, the air was silent, and the sounds of nature permeated the silence, starkly contrasting to the captain's voice that had screamed at the top of his lungs just moments prior.
The captain stood at the ledge, the rope coiled at his feet as he looked over the cliff face, pulling his sword from its sheath; in one hand his sword reflected the noon sunlight; in the other hand was the flag of 10th Mountain, a Mountain with a skull at the top, it symbolized the identity of the 10th Mountain; all eyes were on the captain's back, including Gyun's.
"Helmets on!"
With the sound of the helmets being pushed down, the line of scared faces of the rangers disappeared, replaced by faceless steel helmets with slits to peer through; Gyun shoved the helmet down over his head. The hot steel helmet was hot and stuffy and narrowed his view but it felt comforting to Gyun on some level, even though the helmet offered little in terms of protection from any sort of Qi-enhanced attack.
"Ra! Ra! Ra! Ra!"
The chant started with the captain, but soon the rest of the rangers followed; the shouts would attract the attention of the fortress spotters, but it was meant to. They were tasked with distracting and, if possible, taking the Southern Wall and opening the defensive fortress for the rest of the 2nd legion to assault the walls.
"RAAANNNNNGGGEEERRRRSSS!!" The Captain screamed swinging the flag of the 10th Mountain.
"Ra! Ra! Ra! Ra! Ra!" The chants echoed from the top of the cliff,
A horn resounded from the fortress below, and shouts could be heard from below the cliff face as the fortress soldiers rushed to man defensive positions against the incoming attack.
"WHAT DO WE DO?!"
"WE WIN!!!"
Taking a sharp inhale the captain turned back to the fortress below, "ON MY ORDER!!!!"
"Ra! Ra! Ra!" The chants persisted; Gyun pounded his armored chest, chanting, taking deep breaths, trying not to show the cold sweat running down his back or the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.
"GO! GO! GO! GO!"
The captain desperately swung the flag, Gyun's legs stopped bouncing in nervousness
Swallowing his fear, he sprinted before jumping off the cliff face; the wind whipped past him, his vision blurring, time seemed to slow, and Gyun could hear the blood pumping through his body.
Drawing out his Qi as he neared the ground, he drew the sword,
"Kugh!" as the rope pulled taut, preventing Gyun from smashing into the ground, only a meter from the ground; all the air left his body, and he sliced the rope as he began to bounce up.
Landing on the ground roughly, he rolled with the momentum, jumping out of the way as the Rangers landed behind him. Scrambling up, he ran charging forward; artillery shots flew past and behind him, exploding the ground.
A voice screamed out on the battlefield, "Arrows!!!!" Gyun looked up, and a massive wave of arrows rose up in the sky from the fortress.
Reaching onto his back, gripping the leather strap to his shield, he pulled it off his hold; holding it up, he shouted to his squadron just as the arrows neared. "Charge through it!!"
He could feel the thuds in his shield as the arrows hit his shield, churning his legs as he charged through the barrage. A stray arrow pierced his shield, grazing his arm, but stopping an inch from his metal helmet, screams erupted from all around him.
-I must reach the wall, or I will die-
"Keep Going! Don't Stop!"
Gyun felt his hot breath bouncing back into his face from inside his helmet; his boots dug into the loose gravel as he used Qi to run forward with his shield protecting him.
Voices could be heard from all around; Gyun peered around his shield as he ran, and he noticed there were no Rangers in front of him. His head whipped back, and he saw that the 200 Rangers that they had started with were dropping like sandbags; at least 30 had been wounded or killed before even reaching the walls, and he was at the vanguard.
Nearing the wall, he saw in his peripheral vision that a ballista on the wall was turning to aim at him; just as the ballista fired, Gyun tilted his shield, redirecting the ballista bolt. His shield's hardwood crunched as it bounced from his shield.
Gyun gasped in pain, dropping to the ground. His shoulder felt numb, but he rolled desperately, scrambling again to run.
He was close enough to the walls to hear the foreign language of commands; recomposing himself, he grabbed his shield.
Stopping for a moment and hurling the shield as hard as he could, it sliced through the air making a piercing whistle through the air, cutting through the sounds of the battlefield.
Sticking out of the wall, the shield was lodged at head height for Gyun, channeling Qi throughout his legs; he jumped onto the shield, leaping up onto the walls.
Gyun came face-to-face with a guardsman; the man's eyes widened before he was decapitated.
A series of yells erupted from the walls as the Rangers reached the walls, jumping into a sea of Aegean soldiers; blood was splattered everywhere, and steel was slicing flesh and bone.
Recognizing a voice, Gyun heard it, "Aegean Knights!!" cocking his head, he could see through the number of bodies a distinct trio of knights in silver armor cutting down rangers and trying to reinforce the Aegean lines.
Gyun jostled and cut his way through the Aegeans, blood splattering onto his uniform, and stepping over the dead bodies of Rangers and Aegeans he stalked his prey.
Gyun yelled out, enforcing his voice with Qi, "Rangers! Kill everyone! Leave no man alive!"
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Swinging his sword repeatedly, cleaving into men indiscriminately, sweat dripping from within his helmet down his face as he slowly made his way through the crowded walls. With the help of Qi, his blade cut through men like butter; the stench of blood was suffocating, and it drenched Gyun's entire body.
The Aegeans were rallying to hold the walls and Southern gate desperately, but the Rangers had yet to die off; on the contrary, they were beginning to overwhelm the Aegean footsoldiers.
"On me! On me! Rally to the Gate!" Gyun screamed out, waving his sword, blood dripping off the sword, splattering the litter of bodies on the ground and on to him.
His rally cry was interrupted as a sharp shock of pain shot through Gyun's body, and a warm object slid between the gaps of his armor in his side.
Turning he swung his sword desperately trying to find who had stabbed him; in his helmet, the thin slit for a vision made it hard to see what was going on and hard to breathe, but as his other hand slid down he felt a narrow hilt of a dagger, the blade had been slid between his ribs, lodged two to three inches in his body.
Gyun yelled as he swung his sword, trying to back up into the line of rangers behind him, one hand cradling the knife lodged in his side. Too scared to pull it out Gyun left it in as he fell backward onto his butt, as the pain became too much for him, landing on a dead Rangers body, crawling over the litter of dead bodies, the blood-stained stone walls, the mass of organs spilling out of both living and dead soldiers he crawled over all of it.
Struggling to breathe as he gritted his teeth, he sensed danger, turning to his side just as a fresh-faced looking Aegean guardsman kicked him in the helmet, nearly knocking him out; blood dripped from his mouth in his helmet sliding down before dripping off his helmet onto the bloody fortress walls
Gyun rolled, the dagger in his side lodging deeper into his body as he rolled over it; screaming in pain, he managed to rip it out of his side; blood coated the blade all the way to the hilt as the Aegean Guardsman lept forward with an attack.
Roaring, he rolled again as the Guardsman swung his heavy sword down onto where Gyun used to be, slicing the man's ankle as he tackled the man. After a brief struggle, Gyun managed to get on top of the man; the Guardsman grabbed Gyun's throat, trying to strangle him from the bottom, their armor clattered and clanked as they struggled.
A guttural yell erupted from the desperate Ranger as he plunged the dagger into the man's body over and over; the young fresh-faced Guardsman's squeeze on his throat became lighter and lighter until his hands fell from his throat.
Breathing heavily, Gyun panted for a moment before tearing off his helmet and raising his hand up.
"Medic! Medic!'
Cradling the wound on his side as he scooted to get his back to the wall, he noticed that the screams were beginning to lessen.
A moment later, a Ranger with a white-painted helmet ran over to him, "Where are you hurt!?"
Gyun raised his hand, showing the stab wound, before quickly putting his hand back over the stab wound and pushing down on it.
The medic's voice was surprisingly calm; he reached into his pack on his chest, pulling out a small vial, "Drink this!"
Gyun took the small vial downing it; he knew what it was; he had taken it before; it was a fast-acting pain suppressant and adrenaline booster; it was known for eliminating a man's fear of death, and it was one of the most potent mass-produced drugs from the Tang clan. It was meant to be a temporary solution for Rangers as they were small in number; there was no time for a medic to spend much time on one man; it wasn't meant to save you. It was meant to buy you time.
The medic nodded to Gyun, "Get to the medical tent immediately after this! Here!" tossing him a roll of gauze to bandage his wound.
"Yes sir",
The medic handed Gyun his helmet back, glancing around at the almost clear walls, "The gatehouse is the last stand for those fuckers! You ready, Ranger?!" he yelled, extending his hand to him.
Sliding the helmet over his head, he could already feel the drug taking effect. He still felt the pain, but the fear was subsiding. Taking a deep breath, he took the man's hand, "Yes sir"
Pulling Gyun up, amongst the bloody battle they were standing in, there was an exchange of respect between them.
But the frantic yelling of the battlefield and screams of the dying quickly pulled them back, and the small slits in the helmet seemed even smaller; Gyun's body felt unbearable pain, yet it wasn't affecting him. He was bleeding out onto the fortress's stone walls, and yet he felt no fear.
A yell rang out over the battlefield "THE AEGEANS ARE RUNNING! THE GATES ARE OURS!"
A smile cracked the pained face of Gyun under his helmet; pounding his chest as cries of celebration erupted, he trudged forward toward the gatehouse; there was a limp in his step as he wrapped gauze over the wound tightly; he had lost his sword somewhere in the chaos.
His blood-covered gloved hand fumbled as it reached onto his belt; grabbing a small metal tube,
Panting, gritting his teeth through the pain, he held the tube up and pointed to the sky, pulling the small string.
*BOOM!*
A flare shot out of the tube, screaming and whistling through the sunny noon skys; the flare exploded after being a few hundred meters in the sky into a brilliant green. Not long after, other flares shot up from around the fortress; the brilliant green explosions lit up the sky, and dozens of the flares were being shot.
The ranger captain, his uniform now bloody, was screaming orders to open the gates for the rest of the army, that was marching towards them now on the horizon.
"Get these fucking doors open now! Where is our fucking perimeter? Get it done now! Squadrons 2 and 5 watch our backs in case those godless heathens try to take back their gate!"
Gyun groaned as he reached down, grabbing a dead Rangers sword. He raised it, shouting out, "Squadron 5, form up on me!" as he jumped down the wall onto the fortress gate courtyard; rolling as he stood up, he clutched his side.
Not long after, surviving squad members gathered around him, 5 out of the starting 9, "Squad leader, they fucked you up, good, eh?" the voice was one of Gyun's older squad members, Vin Jin
Tossing the gauze to Vin, Gyun raised his arms, "Wrap me up before I bleed out."
"Tch! So serious? You see this Li?"
Gyun grunted in pain as Vin wrapped the gauze tightly around his stomach, with his hands on his head as the other squad members formed a line. Li, the sole female squad member, reached into her hip pack, grabbing a small vial that the medic had given Gyun earlier.
She placed it into his hand, "My advice as squad medic is don't overdose, any more than this vial will kill you...understand?"
Gyun nodded from under his helmet. His eyes darted around; the first vial had been enough; his heart was pounding; he was soaked in sweat and tired, yet he craved something more.
After a final tug of the bandages, Vin stepped back, "Done, it will last for a few hours...don't die o-"
Vin was interrupted by a cry from the lookouts on the edge of the perimeter, "AEGEANS!!! THEY'RE COUNTERATTACKING!"
Twirling his sword, he felt like the skin was tearing around the wound with every slight movement; the black uniform and cloth were dyed red, and the blood was seeping into the bandages.
-Fuck it-
Popping off the second vial's cap he downed it in one go, the bitter taste burned all the way down his throat almost immediately.
"FORM UP ON ME!"
Twirling his sword faster and faster, pain exploded throughout his side; his breathing quickened, and he could hear the marching.
Glancing back at the gates, the small group of around two dozen Rangers who were still alive were working on the gate desperately, two dozen out of two hundred.
The Aegeans appeared at the end of the courtyard; Gyun was basically hyperventilating at his point; the second vial was now taking effect at this point. His chest hurt as his heart pounded away; his entire body felt hot.
"READY! READY!"
Beating his chest as the Aegeans approached, Gyun took a deep breath, smelling the bloody stench of the wall and courtyard; a single silver knight was leading the Aegean counterattack, pointing his sword at the knight.
"WE MEET THESE GODLESS COWARDS! IN THE CENTER!! SHOW THEM THE HONOR OF THE RANGERS!"
Focusing his Qi into his sword, it quivered and trembled in his hand, glowing a light red. He charged forward, kicking the ground, and the stone tiles shattered as he flew forward, his eyes holding vaguely restrained lunacy.
His slash came from the side as he twisted, getting as much momentum for the strike; it was a strike not meant to attack but to kill; the sharp blade was aimed at the neck of the Silver Knight.
The Knight's eyes widened in surprise as he raised his sword to block it, but with light footwork almost like a dancer, Gyun spun past him, slicing into the Infantry soldiers behind him.
The eyes of horror as the screams erupted from the infantrymen, blood sprayed everywhere as half a dozen soldiers were bisected, their upper torsos falling off, their eyes still open in shock. The ones who lived had some sort of limb cut off as Gyun continued on his rampage. His glowing red blade was soaked in the blood of the men who had placed their faith in a knight.
A cacophony of screams erupted as soldiers became corpses; the Knight tried to stop him but was stopped by the rest of the Ranger's squad.
Grabbing a man's head, he used a surge of Qi; there was a short scream before the man's head exploded, making a disgusting popping noise, and brains and blood splattered Gyun's already-soaked uniform, the blood that was constantly welling up in Gyun's mouth from biting his tongue after getting kicked forced him to breathe through his nose inhaling the smells of blood and guts, a nauseating smell of death permeated his body. It was like a whirlwind of violence; he needed all of these godless heathens dead, and he needed them dead now, and he wanted it bloody, as bloody as he could make it.