Translator, Editor and Proofread: theunfetteredsalmon
[3270 words]
The enemy’s brigades were distributed in an inverted triangle in reference to the Ejyptians’ positions. The Pharoah felt that he could not rely on the An-Ra legion to break through the Nanar brigade in the south. As long as the legion could form a strategic containment, Amon’s task would be considered complete. In this way, King Lucier’s Enlil brigade was the most suitable target for the Pharoah.
There were three main reasons for the Pharoah’s decision to directly attack the Enlil brigade. The first was related to the main purpose of this expedition – to establish strategic bases along the lakes with suitable water sources and pastures. If the Kingdom of Hittite were to move forward, the nail that is the Enlil brigade should be pulled out first. Secondly, the King of Hittite was right there. It was a game of capture-the-flag, except with world leaders; if Lucier was captured or killed, the Enlil brigade would break and the morale of Hittite would hit its trough. Another battle would not be necessary if this was the case.
Thirdly, it was due to a water source. According to the distribution of the three brigades of Hittite, all the water sources were blocked behind their frontlines. There was obviously no water in the desert, and any other freshwater would need to be transported from hundreds of miles away from the south. If they could not get their hands on that water, the transportation of any freshwater alone would prove to be a logistical nightmare to burden the Ejyptian army.
Attacking the positions, taking the lead in establishing camps where the water resources sat and the pastures along the lakeside would largely reverse the disadvantage of logistical supply. Now that the Enlil brigade was building a permanent base, it was the best strategic choice to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a raid.
The Pharoah analysed his own plan and even admired his wisdom. His subordinates could not refute his plan either. For the purpose of caution, the Horus legion sent a number of mages to fly out to scout on the enemy. Even the Commanding Priest Lykwid went personally to explore for the Pharoah.
If there was espionage, there would always be counter-espionage. In the northern desert sky, there were several unknown skirmishes between mages. Several of them fell with their flying artefacts while others successfully returned to their legions or brigades. Lykwid flew upwards to view the enemy’s camp and left safely and undetected. He figured out the battle arrangement of the Hittites, which was once again in line with the spies’ confessions.
At that time, the Horus legion was seven hundred miles away from the Enlil brigade, with the Syah desert between them. The Pharoah immediately ordered a full-speed assault. Behind him followed the Isis and the Seth legions. Attacking suddenly with the strength of two and a half elite legions, the Pharoah awaited victory to beckon to him.
Amon received three espionage reports in succession during his march. The first came from Rod Drick, requesting for him to cooperate with the Pharoah’s army to speed up his advance. The second was a formal
————————————————————————————————————————————–
order from the Pharoah’s legion, which was very detailed and telling Amon that he was required to order the logistics fleet to stay away and prevent the enemy’s navy from sneaking in and setting up camps along the shoreline.
When Amon received the reports, the An-Ra legion was less than two hundred miles away from the Nanar brigade. They were in a position to confront and hold the enemy. However, with the Pharoah’s Leader ordering Amon to avoid battle, he could do nothing but surveil the Nanar brigade. If the other side launches an attack, Amon’s legion would have to rely on the camp and take defensive positions. If they were instead found to be encroaching on the Pharoah’s army eastward, the An-Ra legion would instead take the opportunity to disrupt and harass the enemy logistics supply line to force the Nanar brigade to stay.
Once receiving the order, Amon ordered heavy landing to establish a base of operations without delay. A temporary wharf was set up on the back coast of the camp while a group of elite officers were sent to escort the fleet to ensure no harassment from the rear. With the current reserves of grain and fresh water, even without a logistical fleet, the An-Ra legion would be able to maintain its current situation for more than a month.
Amon sent scouts to monitor the movement of the Nanar brigade but he found that the entire brigade had not moved at all. The enemy, like him, established wharves and fortifications and built defensive structures on the border of the camp. It would be practically impossible for Amon to achieve victory should he attack since he was facing not only an entire brigade but also the city that stood behind it.
The battle in the desert should have started by then. Near the main battlefield, scouts and spies no longer had any room for free movement. Communication had been reduced to channels only mages could access, such as flight and message magic. Occasionally, the enemy brigades could also be detected with the help of artefacts operated by the supreme mages. However, it was difficult to ascertain the exact details of the dynamics of the enemy army. Amon felt that he was sidelined, being unable to do anything but wait.
Although there was no formal combat yet, the atmosphere between the troops and barracks of the An-Ra legion was confident. The warriors and mages were on duty day and night in a tense state of alert. About ten days later, there was finally a development. Amon was playing chess with Metatro. However, his eyebrows furrowed as he felt a fluctuation of force approaching from the distance and rushed out.
The supreme mage Idu also felt it. He rushed and began flying, staff in hand. The ranks of mages halted practice while soldiers began mounting a semi-circular defensive wall consisting of chariots. The archers nocked arrows and prepared to launch volleys while the throwers began preparing their ranged weapons.
A black spot appeared in the distant, eastern sky and was approaching rapidly. Amon had a good eye and saw that it was a flying artefact that controlled the wind. The two men that laid on the shuttle artefact were clearly exhausted. The man in front waved his staff continuously. He had seen Amon’s legion, at last, so he used the last of his energy to speed up the shuttle while the man in the back continued lying bloodstained, arrow in his back.
Idu received a message from the man on the shuttle. It said, “This is Cezane, a priest in the Horus legion and a supreme mage! We have a pursuer behind us.” The mages began chanting while they raised their staves. Smoke began rising in the desert while sand rolled into the sky and formed a curtain that hummed deeply, almost buzzing like a bee.
The magic shuttle passed through the curtain of sand harmlessly. Several more black spots appeared on the horizon. It was their pursuers. In theory, only eighth-level supreme mages could fly freely without the aid of any artefacts, but such artefacts allow even sixth-level mages to fly. In short, the pursuers were certainly no amateurs.
Cezane’s shuttle fell out of control over the barracks and it ploughed deep into the sand, creating what looked like a trench. As soon as Cezane regained a little bit of his magic power, he retrieved the artefact, shrinking it into the palm of his hand. The mage and the warrior in the back stumbled out of the ditch and suddenly fell unconscious. Soldiers rushed up and carried the two to safety for treatment.
Cezane had finally entered the safe zone. The curtain of sand that protected the military camp swayed with the wind. Shockwaves were appearing all over the curtain, which was impact spots of arrows that were getting disintegrated into bursts of yellow smoke. The sand curtain blocked the pursuing troops that were flying in the distance. The mages were ready to fight while soldiers raised their bows, waiting for the enemy to enter their range.
Suddenly, the sound of a bowstring going loose could be heard. A silver gleam from an arrowhead flew through the sky, striking another magic flying shuttle against the wind. The sound of an explosion reached the ears of the troops while a twisted light swelled and opened. The device quickly went out of control and shrunk into the size of a palm, just like Cezane’s. Two men fell from the sky and crashed into the sand dunes outside the barracks.
Amon, the Head of the legion, was standing atop a chariot, holding the bow made of the fangs and tendon strings of the two-headed serpent. He did not use his poisonous arrows made of scorpion tails. Instead, he used heavy arrows that were forged of Damasc iron, plated with silver and engraved with magic patterns. This kind of arrow was prepared specially for the supreme warriors who had been through two rituals for awakening their power. No ordinary warrior could shoot it.
Amon coordinated his physical strength with his magic power to shoot the arrow, which was far more powerful and far-reaching than arrows of ordinary warriors. He was actually better at magic than he was body arts. The magic contained in the arrow reached the ultimate bearing capacity of its magical engravements while the bow in Amon’s hand was more magical than the strongest bow available to the Ejyptian army.
When the pursuers saw Cezane reach the barracks of the legion camp, they realised they could not fight an entire legion. Faced with the counter-attack of magic, they had already flown to much higher altitudes to evade any incoming attacks and to turn back to their own camp. Amon shot down a magic shuttle that was being controlled by a sixth-level mage, who was already flying very high and very far from the range of the long-range weapons of the An-Ra legion. He thought he was safe and sound. Right as the mage turned, he caught a glimpse of Amon’s arrow. Next thing he knew, he was falling through the air.
No one expected that in such a short encounter, the army would shoot such a forceful and accurate arrow. Even Idu was amazed. The soldiers of the An-Ra legion gave a thunderous cheer while the pursuers slowly faded into the horizon. It seemed like they were frightened by Amon’s arrow and dropped all other plans they had to move at maximum speed. The enemy’s identities were unknown, so Idu decided not to send a mage to pursue them.
Up to now, only one arrow had been fired in actual battle. That arrow was enough to establish Amon’s position in the legion. The people who watched him shoot the arrow were caught with admiration for their Head.
Despite its effects, Amon himself was not satisfied with the arrow. He thought of the earth-shaking arrow that was fired by the mysterious assassin during the Hapisidis festival. He had used his best bow to shoot the best magic arrow. Unfortunately, the strength of the arrow was still weaker than that of the assassin’s, even though he was a supreme warrior and sorcerer.
Still, Amon found himself satisfied with his troops. Although it was a tiny skirmish of five or six enemies it was the first time the army had faced a real threat. No one panicked. Even the archers kept their cool and patient and did not fire any arrows. The ranks of mages and soldiers assembled in the shortest time possible. Such discipline would allow them to withstand attacks even if they faced a large enemy army.
It seemed that after much training and kneading, this ‘miscellaneous’ legion had transformed into a battle force to be reckoned with. Although it may be overshadowed by the strength of the more elite legions, it was certainly not as vulnerable as its reputation claimed it was.
With the pursuers gone, attention was turned to the two men who sought asylum in the legion. They were unconscious. Idu recognised the warrior. He was the captain of a regiment in the Pharoah’s guard, the seventh-level warrior Vikar. The Horus legion was certainly much better staffed than the An-Ra legion. A seventh-level warrior like Vikar was but a captain while the seventh-level supreme mage Cezane was a mere priest under the command of Lord Lykwid.
The two men apparently came from the main battlefield, a long way away. What happened to them? Did the Pharoah send them to deliver an urgent order to the An-Ra legion? Metatro found a volume of papers on the unconscious Cezane. The contents of the paper shocked both Amon and Idu.
Ejypt’s main army was engaged in a disadvantageous battle on the northern edge of the desert, or rather, had suffered a devastating defeat. The Seth legion led by Rod Drick had disbanded while the Isis legion was now divided into two parts. One half joined with the Pharoah’s Horus legion while the other half had been routed or killed.
At present, the Pharoah’s army was besieged by the Hittites on the edge of the desert. The situation was extremely dangerous. He urgently ordered the An-Ra army to leave the coastline and move eastward for reinforcement to cover the breakthrough of the Pharoah’s army. The other also emphasised that sufficient supplies should be brought.
After reading the order, Amon and Idu looked at each other silently and contemplatively. They did not express their opinions. Instead, they turned to Hardedef and asked for his thoughts. The straight-tempered Leader hammered the table and shouted, “What kind of war is this?! We adapted to the marching plan as they mentioned. We were left to the coastline and ignored for more than three months. When they need someone to replace the dead ghosts, they think of us?”
Idu quietly advised, “Leader Hardedef, this is not the time to vent your personal grievances. Whatever your discontent may be, we must focus on the current situation. In your opinion, how can we fulfil the Pharoah’s orders?”
The question was tricky. How could they do such a task? Usually, any orders could be executed directly and swiftly. But the Pharoah ordered the entire legion to pull out of their camp and move eastward, leaving the coastline and the supply fleet behind. In theory, troops could be stationed on the shore, unloading supplies and goods at the temporary wharves and organising logistical transport with the fleet, but such a move could easily be cut off by the threatening Nanar brigade, causing the An-Ra legion to be isolated and solitary deep in the desert with no supply route.
If they were stuck in the desert and they run out of water, let alone grain and less important resources, the Nanar brigade could defeat the An-Ra legion with little effort. Furthermore, the combat effectiveness of the An-Ra legion was not as good as that of the Nanar brigade. The Pharoah’s orders were the equivalent of letting the legion go to its death. It was apparent that the An-Ra legion was going to be used to attract the forces of the Hittite army so as to cover the main army’s escape.
Metatro, who was standing beside Amon, frowned. “The Pharoah also ordered us to bring all our supplies. Since Rod Drick’s logistical legion was scattered in the desert, they must have consumed almost all of their supplies and arrows. If we do this, our marching speed will be very slow, which will make us easy to surround in the desert. To rescue the Pharoah’s army would likely only require a light raid, but we can at most bring six days’ worth of water with us at once, which is certainly not in line with the Pharoah’s request.”
Idu stroked the bracelet on his wrist and added bitterly, “With my spatial artefact, if I try my best to carry the goods, I could pack at most a day’s worth of resources for the legion’s combat forces.”
Amon asked, “You mentioned the artefact, but you just reminded me that there must be more than one supreme mage in the Pharoah’s army. Besides Cezane, there should be six other supreme mages. They must have sophisticated spatial artefacts with them as well. How much could everyone carry in total?”
Idu shook his head and replied, “The Seth legion and the Isis legion have been broken up. Even if all the supreme mages are safe and rejoined the Pharoah and their spatial artefacts are filled with military supplies, I am afraid it would only be enough for ten and a half days. Furthermore, the spatial artefacts belonging to other supreme mages could be for other uses. It would be impossible to carry all the grain and water. This is why logistical supplies are mainly delivered and carried by convoys.”
Hardedef rubbed the back of his head and commented, “Forgive my impunity, do the two lords insist on executing the Pharoah’s orders?”
Idu glared at him. “How can we not? But we did not officially receive the orders. It was found on the unconscious mage Cezane. It still requires confirmation, so at the very least, we will have to wait until he wakes.”
After a long silence, Amon finally raised his head and said, “The Pharoah, through the orders, hopes that the legion of An-Ra will assist the main force out of danger. As long as we are able to try to accomplish this task, we would have carried out the order. There are now two urgent matters at hand. Lord Idu must heal the messengers with healing magic. In addition, no matter how the legion conducts its operations, it is imperative we investigate the distribution and layout of our enemies, which will also require the help of Lord Idu to bring me to see the battlefield.”
Hardedef and Metatro said in unison, “Are the two lords considering flying into the battlefield to inspect our enemies in person? That’s too risky!”
Amon grinned bitterly. “Risky? Who else in the legion could carry out this task and have just as much of a chance as us to return safely? At the very least, Lord Idu and I have many means of escaping should we come across an accident. If our army was to move into action instead, we certainly will not be able to flee.”
After the emergency treatment on the two injured guests, they were finally stable. At midnight, the supreme warrior Vikar woke up and struggled to tell what had happened in the desert.
The Pharoah-led Horus legion swooped forward without any hindrance and successfully crossed the seven hundred mile desert land. It was about to launch a sudden attack on the Enlil brigade, but the logistical legion of Seth at the rear was ambushed.
The ambushers were trained to hide under the sand in their cloaks. They did not encounter the Horus legion, but at night, they emerged from the sand dunes on both flanks and caught Rod Drick by surprise.
The ambushers did not engage in direct battle. Instead, they used primarily fire-based weapons to ignite carts of grain and other resources. They also used a special kind of sharp arrow with strong penetrating power to destroy the water the Seth legion was carrying. Rod Drick led the army to retaliate. Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the battle. The Seth legion lost most of the supplies it was carrying.