Behind the vanguard, Chouhi, Shoukatsuryou and Houtou were waiting a few yards back. Chouhi herself was standing just behind Shoukatsuryou and Houtou, who were using telescopes to keep an eye on the entire battlefield. The vanguard where Ragna, Kan'u, and Chou'un were was slowly thinning out, but at a snail's pace that only got slower as time went on. As expected, the open field at their back encouraged the Turbans to stay and slug it out instead of running away.
"It's almost time, Shuri," Houtou said. "If it goes on much longer, the vanguard will make the Turbans pull back. Sound the retreat."
Shoukatsuryou nodded, lowered her telescope, and turned to the head of Chouhi's personal guard, a stocky bald man about forty years old that was standing a few feet in front of her and off to the side. "Captain Tou. The horns, please."
Tou snapped off a salute as he looked down at Shoukatsuryou."You got it." He then faced forward again and bellowed, "Blow the horns, boys! Time to bring those bandits back in!"
Chouhi chuckled and rubbed her hands together, then picked up her Viper Spear from the ground. "All right, Shou, Hou! Stay with me, OK? Real close-like. As long as I'm here, you two are absolutely safe."
"Thank you, Lady Chouhi," Shoukatsuryou replied, bowing. "Though, if it's all right, could you please call me by my true name? We're working together now, right? So I don't want you to feel like you have to be super polite with me."
Chouhi puffed her cheeks out in thought, then nodded. "Shuri, right? I can do that."
Houtou lowered her telescope too, and looked in Chouhi's direction. Chouhi noticed the blush on Houtou's face, and grinned. "You too?"
Houtou nodded with a small sound. "Please."
"Then call me Rinrin," Chouhi said, bouncing the Viper Spear on her shoulder. "Now, come on! We gotta go smash the bad guys up, up, up."
Moments later, the air shook with the sound of the war horns, and the vanguard of the Zhuo army began to pull back. Ragna punched down a Turban right as the signal hit his ears, and he immediately turned on his heel and began to sprint back to the camp. The horde of Turbans followed him without pausing, and after a few moments, he found himself alongside Kan'u and Chou'un.
"I saw what you were doing to those Turbans, Chou'un," Ragna said, staring forward as his eyes jumped around to find his unit. "Consider me impressed."
"Thank you, Lord Ragna," Chou'un replied. Though she knew Ragna couldn't see it, she smiled. "Sadly, I didn't get a chance to see much of your swordplay. However, what I did see was rather… interesting. You will have to tell me some stories about your training sometime."
Ragna let out a bark of hard laughter, then shifted to the right as his unit's flag came into view. "This is my stop. Keep up the good work, you two."
With that, he broke away from Kan'u and Chou'un, and the two women immediately turned to the left, toward Kan'u's unit. As they approached, they slowed their pace, and Kan'u spoke up, barely winded from her exertion. "Your skill is truly impressive, Chou'un. I mistook you for a trifling woman, but I see I was mistaken."
"You're very good yourself, Kan'u," Chou'un replied. "I actually admit that I'm looking forward to this part of the plan most. Before, I could only observe you from a distance, but now I'll be able to see up close and personal just how skilled the 'Green Dragon Blade of Youzhou' really is."
"Lady Kan'u!" one of the soldiers said. "We're all unhurt and accounted for! The men are ready to move as you command!"
"We wait for the next horn before we move around to their rear!" Kan'u replied. "Chou'un and I will lead the charge, so follow our lead! We cannot lose to the likes of them, nor will we!"
Chouhi's unit, arranged itself in a reverse arrowhead formation, moved forward with slow, ordered steps, with Chouhi herself in the middle and guarding Shoukatsuryou and Houtou. Ragna, Kan'u, and Chou'un were no longer between the Turbans and Chouhi's unit, while Ragna's unit and Kan'u's unit had both fallen to the sides to allow the Turbans straight through to Chouhi's unit.
As the mob of Turbans drew closer, Chouhi drummed her fingers on the shaft of the Viper Spear, staring forward with unusual intensity. "This is the really important part, right, Shuri?"
"Yes," Shuri replied, resisting the urge to bite at her lip. "With the way the formation is now, you'll have to create a pocket that will let the Turbans run to the camp. The way the troops are staggered will make that easier, but then Lord Ragna and Lady Kan'u will need to gradually cut off their rear escape before they realize what's happening and try to bull-rush through."
Chouhi nodded. "Just leave it to us. We've got it."
The clash of weapons at the front line ended their conversation, and Shoukatsuryou quickly pulled out her telescope again. As planned, the Turbans began to make their way forward, stupidly allowing Chouhi's unit to surround them; the moment that they were nearly completely enclosed, Shoukatsuryou shouted, "Rinrin! The horns! Start to keep them pinned down while Lord Ragna and Lady Kan'u circle around!"
"You heard her!" Chouhi roared. "Horns! Now! Then charge in! When you hear them again, move to the side and get them back toward the camp! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Ragna sucked a tooth as the horns sounded over the battlefield again. "Looks like it's about that time." He raised his left hand and his voice. "Start moving in behind the Turbans! Make sure that there are no gaps to let them head back west! It's the home stretch now. All we have to do is make one more push! When we've cut them off, sound the horns!"
The men roared, and followed him forward. As they moved, Ragna turned his gaze to the Turbans, still engaging Chouhi's unit, and grimaced. Just a little longer, Rinrin. Just a little more!