The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) - R.F. Kuang Page 0,28
with Leiyang’s resistance leadership before you move in. Right now you don’t have the numbers.”
“Numbers?” Rin repeated. “I can—”
“You can burn a whole squadron down yourself, Speerly, I’m well aware. But you’re only useful in your radius, and your radius by definition can’t be too close to civilians. You need people to run interference. Keep the Mugenese off the very people you’re trying to save. Right now you don’t have the numbers for that, which is why I suspect you keep wincing every time you glance at your maps.”
Souji, Rin realized reluctantly, was extraordinarily astute.
“And you’ve got a magic fix for that?” she asked.
“It’s not magic. I’ve been to those villages. They’ve got underground resistance bands. Strong men, willing to fight. They just need someone to push them over the edge.”
“You’re talking a handful of peasants with pitchforks,” Kitay said.
“I’m talking an extra hundred men wherever we go.”
“Bullshit,” Rin said.
“I’m from this region,” Souji said. “I have contacts. I can win Leiyang for you, if you’ll both just trust me. Can you manage that?”
He extended his hand toward her.
Rin and Kitay exchanged a doubtful glance.
“This isn’t a trap,” Souji said, exasperated. “Come on, you two. I’m just as eager to go home as you are.”
Rin paused, then reached out to grasp his hand.
The tent flap swung open the moment their palms touched. A sentry stepped inside. “Mugenese patrol,” he said breathlessly. “Two miles out.”
“Everyone hide,” Souji said. “There’s tree cover for half a mile on both sides, have the men pack up and go.”
“No—what?” Rin scrambled to her feet, fumbling to gather up the maps. “I’m the one giving orders here—”
He shot her an exasperated look. “So order them to hide.”
“Fuck that,” she said. “We fight.”
The Mugenese had a single patrol group. They had an army. How was this a debate?
But before she could shout the order, Souji stuck his head out the tent flap, jammed two fingers in his mouth, and whistled thrice in succession so loudly Rin felt like knives had been driven through her ears.
The response astonished her. At once, the Iron Wolves got up and began packing their gear. In under two minutes they had rolled up their tents, bagged up their equipment, and disappeared completely from the campsite into the forest. They left no trace behind—their campfires were leveled, their litter cleaned. They’d even filled in the holes their tent pegs made in the dirt. No casual observer would ever guess this had once been a campsite.
Rin didn’t know if she was furious or impressed.
“Still going to fight?” Souji inquired.
“You little shit.”
“Better come with.”
“Please, I’ve got a god—”
“And all it takes is one arrow to shut you up, Princess. No one’s covering for you now. I’d follow along.”
Cheeks flaming, Rin ordered Zhuden’s men to clear their campsites and retreat into the trees.
They ran, pushing through branches that left thousands of tiny cuts in their exposed skin, before they stopped and hoisted themselves up into the trees. Rin had never felt so humiliated as she crouched, perched beside Souji, peeking through the leaves to track the incoming patrol.
Was Souji’s plan to just wait the Mugenese out? He couldn’t possibly intend to attack—it’d be suicide. This didn’t check any of the prerequisites for an ambush they’d been hardwired for in Strategy class—they didn’t have fixed artillery stations, they didn’t have clear lines of communication or signal visibility between the ranks. By retreating into the forest they’d only scattered and disorganized their numbers, while Rin was now trapped in a fighting zone where her flames would easily grow out of control.
Several minutes later Rin saw the Mugenese patrol moving down the main road.
“We could have taken them in the clearing,” she hissed at Souji. “Why—”
He clamped a hand over her mouth. “Look.”
The patrol came thundering into clear view. Rin counted about twenty of them. They rode on sleek warhorses, no doubt fed with grain stolen from starving villagers, moving slowly as they examined the abandoned campsite.
“Come on,” Souji muttered. “Move along.”
No way, Rin thought. Her men were efficient, but not that efficient. Ten minutes wasn’t enough to evacuate a campsite without leaving a single trace behind.
Sure enough, it took only a minute before the Mugenese captain shouted something and pointed at the ground. Rin didn’t know what he’d seen—a footprint, a peg hole, a discarded belt—but it didn’t matter. They’d been made.
“Now watch.” Souji stuck his fingers into his mouth again and whistled, this time twice in succession.
The Iron Wolves loosed a round of arrows into the clearing.