Episode 18 : The Dawn Surprise - Part 4

 It was the morning of the third day, one day before the appointed day, when Guin had disappeared into the distance of Mt.

 Sem's main force moved from one position to another and now remained for a while in an oasis south of Gutoushan.

 The Semites know every oasis in the Nosferus Desert. With the help of the Karoi, the Semitic mixed army has grown to a force of more than seven thousand, and they must choose the largest oasis known to them as their home for the time being.

 Linda and Remus were with Suni in the army of Lothor and his men. Lak's women were with them.

 After Guin left them there to call for Ragon's reinforcements, the twins acted as if nothing had changed on the surface, but inside they were anxious and uncomfortable.

 After all, Guin was their strong guardian, and no matter how kind Suni and Lothor were to them, they were still barbarians who did not understand the language well.

 The day after Guin left for the east, Shem's army began to move toward the south, and near this oasis, it met up with the elated Karoi army after destroying the Mars Corps.

 There, to the delight of Linda and Remus, a surprise awaited them. For there, among the Karoi, led by Raku's troop, was the human form they knew so well.

"Istvaan!"

 As expected, the joy of seeing the same human form and speaking in the language of Nakahara made Linda and Remus forget their anger at this mischief-maker and they ran to him.

"You're alive, aren't you!"

"Of course."

 Istvan the Valakian, who had been wounded and had a herb in his right ear, was very healthy and not the least bit meek.

"Did you think this 'Red Mercenary' would fall to the blade of a trifling soldier before he became king? Oh, you poor thing, you've been worrying about me for a long time, haven't you, Queen?"

 And when he tried to kiss Linda, she snapped his hand away.

"Who says you're my queen?"

 Linda's face turned red with anger.

"You're too smart for your own good!"

"Yeah, that's embarrassing. You missed me, didn't you? Earlier, you seemed so happy to see me."

 And he burst out laughing.

 On the other side, Roto, Iracheli, Tubai, Curt, and other leading figures seemed relieved to receive this new and valiant ally.

 At the same time, however, the other chiefs, with the exception of Iracelli the Glo, were somewhat uneasy. This was because Karoi's bravery, as well as his unsuspecting ferocity and recklessness, were well known. His bravery was a powerful ally in bringing victory to Shem, but it was also a dangerous double-edged blade that could explode against his allies at any moment.

"Be that as it may--"

 When he was satisfied with his teasing of the angry Linda, Istvan began to look around and say.

"Where is he? You put a man in charge of all that trouble and you don't even show up to thank him? Hey, kids, what's he doing? The leopard-headed general."

"Guin is--"

 Linda was stunned. She didn't know where Istvan had gone to hide, what he had been up to, and she wasn't sure how much of Guin's thoughts she should share with him.

 Istvan was annoyed and asked again. Linda looked at her brother as if to ask for help, but when she received no advice, she hesitantly told him that Guin was no longer with them.

"What?"

 Istvan's reaction was unexpectedly violent. In a panic, he lunged at Linda, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Linda fell back in a panic.

"Where the hell did he go and leave you guys?"

"I don't think you should be here.

 An angry Linda replied.

"On the contrary, Guin is risking his life to help us. He has gone out to call for reinforcements, saying that if things continue as they are, Shem's army will be hunted down for Mongol's army in the not-too-distant future."

"Reinforcements!"

The look on the Red Mercenary's face was something to behold.

"Heck! Or maybe he finally got his memory back and remembered that there was a country nearby that was crawling with leopard-headed monsters just like him. Or did he finally come to his senses and remembered that there was a country nearby that was crawling with leopard-headed monsters just like him?"

"Well! Istvan, you're such a terrible person!"

 Linda was indignant, and as she did so, she felt a certain nostalgia - and, oddly enough, a certain relief - for the first time in her life that she had been offended by the sarcasm and teasing of this young rude man, without realizing it. After all, Istvan, though not as dependable as Guin, had already become their companion and companions.

"Guin is taking a gamble."

 Linda, realizing that there was no point in keeping things from her, told Istvan everything.

 The mercenary listened carefully, then looked as if he had bitten into a chunk of salt by mistake.

"Ragon? A phantom barbarian named Ragon? Then the prospect of reinforcements is just as likely as him bringing back a regiment of his own leopards! Well, thank you very much."

 Istvan's actual black eyes twinkled ironically.

"Moreover, you promised to find it and bring it back in four days, didn't you? I wonder if that leopard really understands that there are things in the world that he can't do."

"Not even you, Istvan of Valachia!"

 When Guin was criticized in this way, Linda lost her temper.

"You're the one who's always talking about dreamy things!"

"That's right. You could be a king, or you could find the Lady of Light."

 Remus joined in.

 When Istvan angrily replied, he unexpectedly closed one eye and smiled.

"I may look like this, but I'm a realist."

 He said.

"My patron goddess is Eris, the Goddess of Doubt, and the blood that flows in my body is as salty as the waters of Corsair, and I cannot accept the drug of daydreams. I only say things I know I can do and I never promise to do things I don't think I can. And I'm not going to go out into the desert to do it."

"Last time I saw him, Ilana was his guardian angel."

 Linda was being sarcastic.

"The gods, the gods, they all seem to be your guardians, Ishtvan."

"Yeah, well, goddesses. I've always had a thing for older women."

 Istvan said, without hesitation.

"But Guin's patron god is apparently Hel, god of blindness and stubbornness. And I suppose yours is Drax the Fool in duck form. Why did you send Guin out on his own again... you and Guin could have easily escaped instead of searching for those phantom people. We have no obligation to share the fate of Shem."

"Shem helped us."

 Linda said you must be.

"Besides, the Irachellis weren't convinced - they said, 'How do we know that Guin isn't going to call for reinforcements and leave Shem in the lurch?

 Remus explained. As he listened, the Red Mercenary's eyes narrowed and his expression became languid and uncompromising. He licked his lips with his tongue, slowly, saying, "Hmm.

"Well, that's what my instincts were telling me, that something was wrong, something was wrong."

 He pondered sullenly, pinching his lower lip with his finger.

"I thought it was strange that Guin would leave you alone and disappear... when he can't even speak the language. Is that so?"

"What? What do you want me to say?"

 Linda exclaimed, feeling uneasy. It was not that she and Istvan were on the same page, but at least she had to admit that Istvan was smart for his age and had no laxity.

"Hey, how many Rak warriors are there now?"

"What--why?"

 Linda was too confused to say anything,

"I think we're down to a thousand two or three hundred."

 Remus said. Linda looked at her brother with some surprise. She had always thought of her brother as a dullard and a weakling, so she was surprised that he had such a good grasp of things that she had never thought of.

"A thousand--"

 The mercenary tugged at his lower lip.

"And Lhasa?"

"It's about half of that."

"Umm."

"Hey, what is it? What are you thinking about?"

 Unable to take it anymore, Linda screamed.

"Tell me. Don't rush me."

"Well, let me tell you something, princess, since you don't seem to have the slightest idea what's going on."

 Sarcastically, Istvan said.

"Listen. You heard your smart brother say that Iratelli didn't approve of you going with Guin. Iratelli is the black-haired Glo chief. So that means you two and now me, we three are left as hostages. Do you know what this means?

"..."

"In other words, not all of Shem's army trusts Guin and the Liard. This means that - although it seems to be all right for now because we are pushing the war forward, when we face Mongol army head-on and we are outnumbered but still outnumbered and have an advantage over the monkeys, we will be Then, in some cases, we may be pushed back. Then, depending on the situation, the Semitic army might do what it should not do in such a situation, that is, they might start a quarrel. Even with Guin at the helm, obeying or not obeying-- and oh, over Iris' pale forehead, Guin's gone. You told him to wait four days? I don't think we can last four days, let alone a day. They're gonna start freaking out tonight. I'm sure Loto and that old monkey will cover for us. I don't know why, but he feels ridiculously indebted to you for saving his granddaughter. I'm sure those lousy Lhasa will go along with Loto. It's the black macaques that are the problem-- and Karoi, hey, those are some serious warriors. And they're very bloodthirsty. I've been traveling with Kaloy for half a day and it's killing me. It's harder to stop 'em than it is to get a sandhill. I bet Glo's right up their alley-- hey, hey."

"..."

"I'm beginning to understand what a horrible Yarn conspiracy it was that brought me back here. There are more karois and gros than rak and rasa combined. Even if Tubai were to join us, the black monkeys would still be the better warriors. I wonder why I didn't escape from that valley and ride off into the desert with the horse. If Karolyi and Glo should grow weary and believe that their chief knows how to fight and should do so better than Liard, the god of war, who is not even here, ..."

 Istvan spread his hands wide and pretended to leave the rest to the imagination.

 Linda was still not entirely convinced by this grim view of her new allies.

"But they've been winning all this time because of Guin. If it weren't for Guin's machinations, they would have gone toe to toe and would have been annihilated from Nosferus in less than a day."

 Incredulous, she moved her limp hands.

"Not only Roto, but Tubai, Iracheli, you know it well. And that's why Guin told us to wait four days. ..."

 Istvan moved his shoulders suspiciously, but made no reply.

 Instead, Remus said something I never thought I'd hear.

"But, Linda. Not even Guin has succeeded in gaining the trust of all the Shem tribes enough to get them to do his bidding without being there."

"Well!"

 Linda was horrified, and her brother, whom she had always regarded as her protégé, made Remus' sensitive face blush as he wondered what had happened.

"Since when did you become so respectable!"

"No, the prince has a very strange way of looking at things."

 Istvan seemed to be pondering over something and said something rather softly.

"Anyway, as long as Guin returns a day or half a day early, there won't be any problem, but if he misses the deadline even by a little bit, we'll have to fight like hell to stay alive. In addition, it would be a blessing in disguise for the Mongol army if Shem started an internal quarrel. ... Besides, there are plenty of hungry monsters in the desert. Sandhills, idols, bloodsucking mosses, and giant anteaters--these are the things you're looking for when no one knows where to look. Or maybe he does. Because he does. Maybe he does. But maybe he doesn't. That's not a good sign. ..."

"Oh, God, please don't. Please."

 Linda shouted, shaking her body as if she wanted to cover her ears.

"Don't tell me about Sandhill and Ido. If-- if Guin doesn't make it back, we're gonna die out here, and you know it."

"Linda!"

 Remus clung to his sister tightly, and they hugged each other tightly as if they were trying to share their uncontrollable anxiety.

 Istvan looked at the twins with a strange look in his eyes. In those dark, mischievous eyes, he saw the germ of some indescribable idea.

"Of course, you don't have to tell me that, I know that - I don't know any more than you do."

 He murmured in a strange tone of voice, such as the twins had never heard before. Or perhaps he was thinking of the old gray-haired warrior and the two thousand knights who had died in the fire, mocked by him, crying out his name - albeit a false and inexplicable name - and crying that they would never forget him. He may have been thinking of the 2,000 knights and the white-haired old warrior who had died crying out his name - though it was a temporary name - and that he would never forget.

 He noticed that the twins were staring at him curiously. He mumbled something in his mouth, not like him, and then walked off stealthily to the other side of the oasis. The twins watched him go in silence.

 But in spite of their fears and suspicions, nothing happened that day. There was no sign of Guin's return, no enemy attack, and no order to go into battle. It was a strangely calm day, one that did not feel like a battlefield.

 When the sun was high in the sky, it was very hot, as if the sandstorm had swept away all the movement of the air. The wind did not blow softly, and the Shemites were languidly dipping their hands and feet in the water of the oasis. The children and the elderly had already been evacuated to the north, so there were no Semitic children running about. Linda and Remus spent the whole day with Suni, resting under the shade of the trees and trying to protect themselves from the blazing heat. Everyone was relieved when, at last, the sun went down and the cool air peculiar to the desert came in, making the heat seem a mirage. However, the cool air was soon replaced by a somewhat excessive cold air. This is the unique climate of Nosferus.

 The chiefs went to and fro with their elders and chief warriors, or, as the Karoi did, they huddled together at a little distance so as not to mingle with the other tribes. In fact, these newcomers were not friendly. They had a fierce look about them, and even Loto did not dare to approach them.

 At length the night came on. The Shemites ate their meagre food, and, as they were a mixed army, without the custom of council, and now without a firm leader, they huddled together in their tribes, and, not wishing to take the trouble of setting up a sentry, slept soundly. The absence of Guin, and the fact that there had been no movement all day, seemed to have relaxed them completely.

 They did not know that there was a party approaching solemnly in the direction of this oasis, and that as soon as they saw a gleam of water which seemed to them to be the oasis, they ceased to advance, and that at length two or three small points separated themselves from it and approached noiselessly.

 The little dot approached the oasis with the utmost care, as close as possible to being unnoticed, and then turned back towards the main body, which was sucked into the black mass. A tense conversation was exchanged in low tones, and then, again, with even the sound of footsteps, the party began to return in the direction from which they had come - a moment later, when they had reached the point where they were no longer likely to be noticed, they made a mad dash for the position of the main body of the Mongols, which they had forsaken They had foreseen.

 The report of the scouts was just what the Mongol army had been waiting for. Quickly, all the troops split in two and passed this one who had taken the credit. Already the report had come, so Amneris stepped out of his tent and waited. She had long since dressed herself, and with her white gloves at her belt and her white cloak flung up behind her, she was already in full battle dress. Her lips were pursed, and she listened to the report without a single expression of joy on her face.

"Very well-- Feldrick, dispatch."

"Let's go, sir!"

 Feldric runs off. Amneris looks sternly at the captain of the scouts and is about to say something, but then he thinks back and his voice becomes gentle.

"Well done, sir. --Astrius!"

"Ha!"

 Asturias shuddered with emotion. But when he raised his eyes, the princess was already leaving.

"All troops, depart! Our destination is an oasis about 30 klicks southeast of Shem's main army!"

 I can hear Feldrick's voice.

"My army will surprise Shem's main army before sunrise--!"