It almost seemed like they didn't exist because the arrows went right through the soldiers,
You could try attacking the soldiers to see if they take damage and are real.
our food didn't go down
Again, sounds like peaceful mode. Maybe it glitched out somehow and it shows as not being peaceful but it actually is? I would try creating a new world ensuring that it is not set to peaceful. If you still have the same issue, then I would just start over and redownload forge and this mod.