Episode 11 : The Secret of Kal-Mor - Part 4

 is--

 As a matter of fact, it was not that the little ape-men tribe of Shem came out from under the sand all at once, so numerous that they could take in the 15,000 Mongol troops.

 They were taken by surprise, and to the drowsy eyes of the soldiers, who, not only of Asturias, but also of all those who were slumbering from the fatigue of the march, it appeared that there were twenty thousand of them, gushing out one after the other like a swarm of flies, and that they had completely plunged their minds into despair and panic. But if they would have calmed down and looked at them, they would have seen at once that they themselves were far superior to them in number and equipment.

 It was already light, and there were few rocks or trees to hide behind. This should have been a disadvantage to the side that had made the surprise attack.

 But - and that is why - all the conditions were in favor of the Mongols and against the Semites, and the Mongols were completely crushed by the unexpected attack. The Mongols were completely crushed by the unexpected attack.

 From the beginning, the commanders had feared and prepared for a surprise attack by the Semites. That is why they risked marching at night, and only when it was light enough to see that there was no longer any danger of a surprise attack did they order a brief pause. Even more than the danger of marching at night through the wilderness of Nosferus, they feared that the Semites might sneak up on them under the cover of darkness.

 But it was getting brighter and brighter, and the eyes of the sentry were looking in all directions, and the Mongol army must have overwhelmingly outnumbered all the Semitic tribes in numbers, equipment, and even in physique. What could be more improbable than that the Semites would make a daring surprise attack on the main body of the Mongol army in the light of this morning?

 There was a looseness of mind. They were taken completely by surprise.

 In addition to this, the Semites who attacked them adorned themselves with dazzling pigments and feathers, which, with the agility of rats, made them appear to be more numerous here and there than they really were. And in order to strengthen the impression of their numbers, they had placed them here and there at a little distance, and the ambushers were beating their drums and blowing their flutes with all the sound they could muster, and screeching and shouting, and at the same time they were throwing into the fire the leaves of the viper plant which they had prepared, At the same time, they threw into the fire some of the leaves of the wildflowers which they had prepared, and made them emit a cloud of yellow smoke.

 Immediately, the smoke poured into the camp of Mongols, blinding the bright, sunny morning with a yellow, noxious blinding. The Mongol soldiers coughed and coughed, and cowered and crawled about trying to get their swords, and exchanged blows and screamed.

 As soon as one of them fell, his foot caught in it, and two or three others fell down. In addition to this, the Semites rushed upon their horses with the soldiers at their heels, and pierced with the sharp points of their stone spears not only the buttocks but also the necks of those who were crouched with their knees broken, and those who were yowling in terror at the smoke and noise. They bit and kicked anything that came near them, or ran in all directions in a desperate attempt to escape from the scene.

 The smoke, the yells of the Semites, the bellowing of the horses, the wild beating of drums, the ranting of the soldiers, and the screams of the panicked captains added to the confusion.

"Be quiet, be quiet!"

"Semites, Semites, Semites!"

"Take the sword. Where are the crossbowmen? Pull the horse, pull the horse.

"Aie, aie, aie!"

 An incomprehensible scream mingled with the battle cry of the Semites.

 Already the enemy was getting into their own ranks too far for the crossbow. To fire the crossbow at them would be too great a risk of friendly fire. In spite of this, the stone bullets of the crossbow troops who tried to carry out the orders of their faithfully reluctant captain were far more numerous than those which struck the small-targeted Semites, and they rebounded against the armour of the Mongol soldiers, or broke the skins of their horses, causing them to run madly and overturn, and finally threw the Mongol army into uncontrollable confusion. They threw the Mongols into uncontrollable confusion.

"Don't shoot. Crossbows, don't fire crossbows. Swords, fight with swords!"

 Asturias, in the midst of the smoke and deafening screams, no longer knowing whether he was friend or foe, was ranting and raving at the top of his lungs as he frantically cut his way through the enemy, his red knight's armor turning red with the blood of the Shemites.

"Calm down. Put down the crossbow. Don't scatter, stay together and face the enemy. Ready-- ready!"

 Ranting and fighting, he was desperately trying to run, inch by inch, towards the Lady's tent. Amneris' safety was the only thing on his mind.

 He looked fiercely at the tent as he cut down the Semites to the left and right. Just as the Mongols could not use their crossbows, so the Semites could not use their most effective weapon, the poisoned blowgun, because they were already deep in enemy territory. Instead, they raise the stone battle-axes at their waists, and with a high-pitched squeal, they aim to split the heads and break the knees of the soldiers.

 But of course, it was only a swift and desperate attack, so Astorias felt little danger for himself. However, as long as he was careful not to get caught unawares by the enemy, and as long as the blade of the stone axe did not break off his beloved sword, it was relatively easy to ward off the barbarian's attack, partly because the opponent was small.

 Asturias, who had cut the hairy face of the barbarian, which was marked with a strange red color, in half with the sword which he had struck from behind, and who had sprung at him to smash his head with a cry of "Gee! I'll be back.

 I rubbed the smoke out of my eyes and squinted. --the tent was quiet.

 It is not as if the noise outside had not been heard, but the lady's tent is as if it were in a peaceful sleep, and there is no sign of any dismay or uproar within it.

 And, as expected, the brave men of Mongol were taken by surprise, but they did not stay in the confusion forever.

 The infantry, the crossbowmen, and some of the cavalry, who were situated on the outer periphery of the camp, were immediately overwhelmed by the Semites, and without time to adjust their stance or to restrain the rushing horses, they fought back with drawn swords, shouting desperately for each other's safety. But those inside, having managed to emerge from the chaos for the time being, immediately obeyed their captain's orders and hurriedly set up multiple lines of defence around the tent of Amneris, the commander-in-chief.

 By that time, the captains of Mongol had finally seen the full extent of the situation.

"Calm down. Take down your helmeted cheeks."

"They're a small army. Stay calm and watch your enemy!"

"Mongol! Mongol!"

 One by one, the orders were passed from mouth to mouth, and the well-trained knights were finally regaining their original elite character. As they did so, it became apparent that they were only really striking the enemy in a very small area around the outermost perimeter of the camp, and that few Semites were penetrating further in.

"We have few enemies. Don't let the smoke and noise fool you."

"The enemy army is small."

 A messenger is sent around to inform the captains of the orders from the headquarters.

 If you had been looking down at it from the air, it would have looked like a beautiful dream-like scene of four colored flowers gently opening their petals.

"Regan's men, forward!

"Ilm, get to the rear!

"Tangaard, escort the left flank."

"Marsupials, split up and reinforce the right flank!

"All White Knights, defend the command banner!"

 The blue petals open slowly, the red ones spread out, the black ones begin to move, and the white ones converge like a brilliant flower core. The white converges like a brilliant flower core.

 It was a terrifyingly large, blinding flower that suddenly bloomed in the wilderness.

 The Shemites were flitting about like winged insects on a huge flower. But by now the horses had been driven back, the knights were men on their horses, and the smoke that had burned the violets was beginning to clear. Most of the advantage they had secured by surprise was now lost.

"Irms, circle around in front of the infantry."

"First squadron of Mars squadron, go around the desert and sweep the enemy soldiers who are smoking blind."

"Feldrick, Lint, and Vron, line up in front of the tent to await word."

 Like spider silk being spun out one after another, the messenger ran to each unit.

 But the battle seemed to have passed its climax. The Semites were split up and cut down one by one by the knights who had regained their positions. The Semites, who were originally small and inferior in weaponry, would not be able to compete with the elite of Mongol unless they were outnumbered several times over.

"Sir! Are you hurt!"

 Asturias, who had been at the front of the line cutting down the barbarians left and right, drew his sword and took his turn with the others, brushing off the drops of blood from his sword as he returned to his place in the ranks.

 His unit was relatively inside the city and suffered little damage from the surprise attack.

"I hope you're okay. I was worried about you."

 Pollack, the XO, came up to me and said... He's smiling, showing his teeth.

"Fools, we can't afford to fall behind those monkeys."

 Asturias held out his sword and wiped it on his son as he spoke.

"Not a scratch on him. Have any of my men been injured?"

"No, sir."

 Pollack laughed again.

"Since the enemy cannot reach us, they are all rubbing their arms and complaining. No, only one, Tonma."

"Who is it?"

"Lilo tried to get on the horse in his sleep and sprained his left hand. Everyone else is fine."

"What an idiot."

"We were most worried about you, Captain."

 Pollack, his right-hand man since Torus, said he had no reservations about it.

"I look around and see that the captain is the only one who isn't here."

"Sometimes I just want to go for a little walk."

 Asturias retorted with a pout. Around him, the red knights of his squadron grinned.

"Because of that, only the captain-dono had to fight in our unit."

"With an enemy like that, it's more like a game than a fight--but poor Marel."

 Asturias's brow furrowed as he thought of the frontier guards who had tears in their eyes at the sound of the whistle.

"Now that you've learned your lesson, I suggest you take an escort with you when you go for a walk."

 Pollack still persists in teasing the younger captain.

 Asturias was about to retort, when a messenger, with a long white diadem fluttering from his shoulders, came riding round.

"The captains of the various units are requested to inquire into the casualties, deaths, umas, and other losses of their respective units, and to report as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

 Pollack saluted on Astorias' behalf.

"Sir. Looks like we're done with this, the first round of disturbances."

"Yeah. We have one wounded man, and-- how's horse?"

"Margot's horse seems to have hurt her leg a bit, but this should be fine. There's nothing else."

"Did the Semites pull up? Looks like it. It wouldn't have taken much to wipe them out."

 Asturias raised his head and looked out at the perimeter of the camp.

 Already there all the fighting had ceased. The Shemites drew back as swiftly and fearlessly as they had come. All that remained were the corpses of the Semites and the remains of the unfortunate Mongol dead, who had been struck by poisoned arrows or had had their faces split open by stone axes. The wounded were taken to the first aid station in the inner sanctum for treatment.

"That's funny."

 Asturias heard Pollack murmuring to him as he looked around.

"What's so funny, Polack?"

"This is a surprise attack, sir. It's too reckless, don't you think?"

"That's true. But I don't know what a monkey like that is capable of thinking."

"It is, sir. But--"

"They're not thinking about anything. They just come at us like sandworms, screaming because we're there. After all, barbarians are barbarians."

"That's true. But it's strange, somehow."

 Pollack was certainly looking somewhat dubious.

 Asturias, looking at him as if he were puzzled, asked what was so strange, but he did not wait to hear the answer.

 At that moment, the curtain was raised with a crisp sound on both sides, and Lady Amneris finally appeared.

 The tent of the High Priestess was set up in the center of the camp at a slightly elevated position, so that the appearance of the Commander-in-Chief could be seen clearly from all directions.

 And it was such a conspicuous and wonderful figure. As soon as he saw it, the color of the blood rose on Asturias's cheeks, and he gazed at the figure of his goddess with rapture and adoration.

 Amneris was all dressed up. As usual, she wore white armor, boots, and a white fur cloak, on top of which her golden hair, like a gleaming waterfall of light, gleamed.

 His white, noble face was exposed under the sun of Nosferus, and the way he stood with his left hand glaringly and lightly held in front of his forehead was just as it was, and his eyes looked like a vague masterpiece.

"I can't be like this. I've got to go tell him."

 Asturias said in a somewhat throaty voice, and walked toward him, as if he were being drawn. Pollack watches him stare off.

 In front of the tent, the commanders of the various units were already assembled.

"Ilm unit, dead, eight knights, thirty-four infantry, wounded, two knights, eight infantry, over."

"Regan's men, no casualties. No casualties."

 The voices of the captains are echoing as they report quickly.

 The loss of the Mongol army was very small in spite of the great confusion caused by the surprise attack. Behind Amneris, who was listening to the report with his hands on his hips, a scribe hurriedly wrote it down on a scroll.

"Asturias, no casualties. One man slightly wounded, sir."

 After making his declaration, Asturias stepped back a bit and continued to stare at Amneris stealthily.

 In the meantime, reports were made one after another, the bodies of the Semites were counted, and the two platoons of Count Mars and his men who had gone in pursuit of the Semites were returning. They had been warned not to pursue them too far.

"We think there are about three hundred Semites left alive."

 A squadron leader of the Blue Knights wearing the crest of the Tweed Castle reported...

"The total number of dead Semites is about one hundred and fifty."

"It was a surprise force of about five hundred, including the number of ambushers, who were taking in the smoke and noise of the trap."

 Amneris murmured. A look of incredulity appeared on his face.

"Five hundred men attacked my army of 15,000 by surprise?"

"Your Highness."

 Count Mars walked slowly towards the lady.

"What is it, Mars?

"Is this our way of luring them out?"

"Beat them with 500 men, send them running back immediately, and then we'll chase after them and the main army will come after us? I can see that."

"But--"

 Irm interrupted.

"However, even with all the tribes of Shem combined, it would be difficult to gather a larger number than this fully armed 15,000."

"Hmm. We still don't know exactly how many tens of thousands of Semites there are in Nosferus, but it's unlikely to be more than 20,000."

"And on top of that, the Semites don't get along well with each other, and I'm sure there's a lot of fierce fighting going on between the clans. We've been in Nosferus for only three days, so it's unlikely that all the Semites will be ready for war so quickly."

"First, even if that were the case, what is the meaning of these five hundred surprise attacks - it's as if he had jumped to his death ...."

 The captains suddenly looked at each other in bewilderment.

 If it had been at least two thousand, they would have been satisfied with Shem's strategy of fighting to their advantage by surprise. But five hundred...

 It was far less than they had expected when they first realized that the enemy was surprisingly small in number. They were perplexed, for they did not know what it meant, whether it had some hidden significance or not. They were dazzled by too few people.

 The square in front of the tent became noisy with the business of the troop leaders.

 Each of them raised his voice to express his thought. Some claimed that it was simply a force of savages, incapable of thinking, who, seeing them as the enemy, immediately attacked them, and, seeing that they were much more numerous than they had expected, rushed away.

 Others believe that it was a decoy death squad, and that the main body was still hidden a little way ahead. As proof of this, the Semites were so careful to create maximum confusion with minimum numbers, and so distracted by sound and smoke, that at first the Mongols almost believed they had the same number of men. As soon as it became known that there were not so many of them, they ran away easily. In other words, it seems to have been agreed in advance that the damage would be minimized.

"-- funny_..."

 Asturias, who was nearby, overheard Count Mars murmuring to himself.

"What is it, Count?"

 He said the same thing as Pollack, and suddenly felt funny, so he asked him. The old count noticed Asturias. Count Mars is a good friend of Count Marcus Astorias, Astorias' father and the city's security chief.

"Oh, little Asturias."

 He said, a look of concern on his thoughtful face.

"I'm not convinced. I have fought many battles with barbarians in my life, but never before have they behaved in such an incomprehensible manner. The reason it seems so strange to me is because it's unlike any pattern of behavior I've ever seen from Semites. I'm worried. I can't tell you what or why, but I have a feeling that these Semites are somehow different from any Semites I've ever known. I feel like I don't know what they're up to. Moreover, until now I had never thought that the Semites, while capable of a simple surprise attack or ambush, had the brains to devise anything more ambitious or advanced.

 We got something. This is something. We can't be too careful. We're never gonna be too careful. ..."

"Why don't you tell that to His Highness, Amneris, old man?"

 Astorias said, looking over.

 Count Mars turned his attention to her. But she had just finished some sort of discussion with Gayus and was about to give him a signal to stop in all directions.

"Listen, brave men of Mongol."

 When a loud voice announced this, the captains stopped talking and fell silent.

"The Shemites are gone. But now we've entered the enemy's stronghold. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and to the left and to the right and never let your guard down. From now on, do not let go of the reins of your horses, do not loosen the hilt of your swords so they can be drawn at a moment's notice and do not take off your armor or your helmet.

 We'll resume our march in ten talents from now. That is all."

 The captains hurriedly dispersed into their ranks. Asturias looked back at Count Mars, and saw his servants folding up their tents, and the duchess standing in front of Gayus and the mage Kal-Mor, both in black cloaks, with a map spread out in front of them, discussing something. But they hurriedly returned to their own ranks. He must prepare to resume the march.

 At that time, a small disturbance was occurring in the Blue Knight Corps led by Count Mars.

"Hey, don't you know my helmet, Gul'lan?"

"Come on, I've got mine right here, Tug."

"That's weird . I wonder where he went."

"Shut up. What's all the fuss about?"

"Ah, Platoon Leader. --Tagg's helmet."

"No helmet? He must've been knocked off his horse in the commotion. I'll get the dead man's later. Just get on the horse. We're back on the march.

 The knight who had lost his helmet nodded his head and mumbled anxiously, but his platoon leader and allies soon forgot all about it. No one paid any attention to it.

 And the army of Mongol started to move loosely again.