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Even as the your warriors strike at the outer circle of Cerulean Guards, you know that a straightforward battle against the Ziggurat is hopeless. You have only one goal: to reach the sun lens.

But first you need to get past the spearmen who are racing to organize themselves into a defensive phalanx.

Seeing your signal, the warriors slip past the outer defenses and advance on the Ziggurat, moving fast to outpace the cannonfire. Cannonballs fly over their heads and splash into the muddy water, showering them with muck, but they don't slow down, and they're close enough to hear you.

The phalanx is ready. Shields come up, spears come down, and the Cerulean Guards march forward to crush you, exactly as they've drilled since Stralchus first organized them. It's incredible how much they look like a Bronze Age infantry formation.

They react to being flanked about as well as your history teacher described, too.

Your force is small, barely a skirmisher company, but you've divided them up, sending them across multiple raised roads that all lead to the Ziggurat. They converge on the phalanx, hitting them from both sides with javelins and darts, then axes and spears. Each villager faces five or six Cerulean Guards, but the heavy infantry is too slow, totally unable to react. All at once, the Cerulean Guards throw down their shields and flee in every direction. There aren't enough villagers to pursue them, but Stralchus's heavy infantry is finished. But you don't waste time watching Stralchus lose this particular battle; you run for the gate. It's only lightly defended–no one expected you to hit this fast! Therko charges ahead, stumbling as the snipers hit him, but then he's inside, easily routing the handful of guards, and you're in the Ziggurat.

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