The Shi-Lao

The Shi-Lao was a military formation under the rule of Edamura Nonokoji, the Sengoku or Ujinao ruler from 1832 to 1872. This was after the Shi-Boa and before the Li-Ki. The Shi-Lao were feared and respected by people who had never even seen them. They, like the other Ujinao formations, had their own distinct weapons, strategies, and cybernetic and magic tactics.

The Shi-Lao had about 6000 men. 3000 of them were basic, on-foot infantry-men. 1500 were on the backs of armored horses. 1000 would wear sort of crude, mechanical exoskeletons and war-mechs. Of the remaining 500, there were 200 medics, 100 battlefield coordinators and strategists, 100 men ready to fill any position, 50 Generals to lead charges, and 50 specially trained Zoics.

The Infantry-men would wield katanas, shortswords, and crossbows. They also had tri-layered metal shields, which were actually pretty burdensome.

Those on horseback would wield a lighter shield and a musket, a sushimo, or both. A sushimo is a weapon similar to a fruit picker. It had a heavy, blunt bell and sharp, metal prongs and a blade going up the back of the wooden shaft. It was modeled after a fruit picker and made to be brutal, ripping at the enemies flesh or knocking their head off.

The metal war-mech were equipped with whirring blades, blunt jackhammers, motion sensing firecrackers, and air-conditioning. .

The medics had herbal plants, traditional teas, stitching and needles, scripture passages, and a tanto to...um...put wounded soldiers out of their misery.

The battlefield coordinators didn't have much weapon wise, but had necessary cartography tools , safe tents to work in, maps of the battle terrain, and systems in place to communicate with the fighting soldiers.

The 100 men would just kind of...show up. They were in a tent next to the strategists and had taken almost 3x the training as the rest of the soldiers, making them ready to substitute any soldier.

There were 50 Generals, tall, extremely-armored men leading the charge. They were often on the backs of horses as well. They held sushimos and had large banners hanging from their chestplates. The banner, along with the fur and feathers on their helms, served as a beacon for the soldiers.

The Zoics, a specifically trained sect of warriors, in the Shi-Lao were the first recorded Zoics in the history of Runetek. Zoics are rare, intensely-trained arcane individuals who have learned how to use their emotions, soul, and surroundings to summon extraplanar, immensely powerful beings called Wraiths. The Shi-Lao Zoics were describes by legions who fought against them as "terrifying", "unreal...they can't be real", and "warlocks of a strange, dark art. They stay completely calm as enemy men charge at them and humanoid, alligator monsters emerge from behind them."

The Shi-Lao utilized a tactic that they called Ying. They would have a couple rows of infantrymen standing at the front, then some horseback soldiers. They would repeat this, with medics, generals, and Zoics in the middle. When a green firework went off, a signal by the strategists, the army would rush forward. The opposing army would likely be aiming forward, ready to fight the oncoming footsoldiers. They would be unprepared and unaware of the horseback soldiers stomping faster than the others, mowing through the crowd with their sushimos.