The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

assault wagon. "Wouldn't it be best to move that and set up a defensive position?"
    "Sure," said Koshou and Kantai, and then noticed that the man was shaking so bad his teeth were chattering. At this late stage, neither Koshou nor Kantai had seen anybody in their squads trembling this badly.
    Koshou grinned and gave the man a whack on the shoulders. "Right you are. Thanks for the advice!"

    As soon as they'd set up a defensive line outside the gate, they heard the sound of approaching horses.
    "They're coming."
    Koshou readied himself. In a peevish voice he exclaimed, "Dammit! We didn't have time to let the civilians escape!"
    The red light from the city shone on his face. Youko peered up at the guard towers. Is this light a blessing? Or does the smoke cause more harm than good? It'd be hard to shoot at the enemy without any light to see by. But with the thick smoke filling the streets, it was getting hard to see anything even with the light.
    "What do you say, Koshou? Should we shut the gates and return to the city center?"
    "No other choice but to."
    "There's an assault wagon," she heard Kantai say.
    The hand gripping the hilt of her sword shook slightly, as did the ground beneath her feet. On unbroken ground, an assault wagon was the equal of ten mounted knights. The heavy rolling sound of the armored wagon echoed through the smoke.
    The few civilians who had girded up their loins to join them retreated back down and sought the refuge at the castle. Only the battle-tested massed at the Rooster Gate. Even so, Youko and her fellow defenders were at an overwhelming disadvantage. The provincial guard would not only strike at the Rooster Gate. They'd have no choice but to divide their strength among the other gates at well.
    They had about five hundred fighters gathered at the Rooster Gate. The provincial guard typically maintained reserves of 7500 cavalry in three regiments of 2500 soldiers each. Two regiments had been dispatched from Meikaku to Takuhou. With one regiment pushing on ahead, that meant another 2500 would be bringing up the rear. They could deploy at least four hundred to each of the twelve gates.
    The rebels had broken the siege at the Rooster Gate, but simple math said that a good 4500 cavalry still surrounded Takuhou.
    "Shut the gate!" ordered Koshou, and turned on his heels.
    The sound of the assault wagon pressed nearer. Faint shapes and shadows could be seen through the smoke. Youko's eyes widened. It wasn't an assault wagon. It was more like a wedge out of the Great Wall itself moving slowly toward them.
    "A siege tower," Kantai said in a low voice. "They came with siege towers."
    "Siege towers?" queried Koshou.
    "The forward portions are lined with armor, and behind them sandbags, giving cover to the soldiers. The big ones are called cloud bridges. That one's a thunder bridge. It's drawn by a bunch of siege wagons, each pulled by teams of horses. Ordinary mounts won't do, though. They'd tire too quickly."
    "You're not so normal yourself."
    "No less normal than Youshi. That thing there's for attacking the castle. If we don't stop it now, even if we shut the gates, it'll just break through the walls."
    "What's the best way to attack it, then?" Youko asked.
    Kantai raised his head in response to her question. "Koshou--" he said.
    "What?" Koshou asked, looking back at him.
    Kantai gestured with his lance. "Prepare fire arrows. As best you can, man the wall walks and fire down on the teams pushing the siege tower forward. You can use this. You hold it at the base and brandish it about. If it's too much for one person, make it a two-man operation. At any rate, if you can stop the siege tower coming in from the north and check the progress of the cavalry, head back to the city."
    Koshou took the lance and grimaced. "We'll see what we can do. What are we going to do about the one coming from the south?"
    "Leave it to me."
    Youko peered up at Kantai. "With your bare hands?"
    Kantai laughed. "My bare hands will do. You can cover me."
    Youko furrowed her brow. The siege tower moved ever closer. They didn't have time to debate the subject.
    "You going or not? Hey, you up there!" Koshou barked out. "Cover them!" The fighters before the gate suddenly stormed northward. Kantai launched himself southward.
    He's fast. Youko followed after him, matching his unusually rapid gait. She drew her sword. Only because she had ordered the shirei to eliminate the archers could she proceed without fear of arrows.
    At the