Episode 6 : The Wilderness of the Barbarians - Part 2

 Two hours later, a messenger announced that all preparations had been made.

 At the same time, the huge bell at the top of the red tower of Alvon Castle rang ten times in a regular pattern. All the people in the castle emerge from their posts according to their roles and come out from the courtyard to the place overlooking it.

 Fort Arvon was almost equal in scale to the fallen castle of Staphorus, but it was much larger in numbers. It was a splendid sight to see the beautiful but rugged horsemen in armor and helmet lined up in front of the garrison that remained in the castle to defend it.

 A company of Gora consists of about 150 men. Three companies, each with five platoons, and two platoons with different equipment, the princess's SS, lined up beside them.

 Count Rickard, the lord of Alvon Castle, is the captain of the 5th Red Guard, so every one of the three companies of knights lined up there, holding the reins of the horse, wore austere red leather armour with a scarlet helmet, shin guards and basket hands. On the breast of the armour was the emblem of the Grand Duke of Mongol, a combination of the scorpion of Mongol and the lion of Gora. The headdresses of the three company commanders at the head of each line were decorated with crimson feather ornaments, and the headdresses of the fifteen platoon commanders behind them were decorated with the same ornaments, about half the size of the headdresses, to indicate their rank.

 The two platoons lined up to the right are the White Knights of Torus. They were the bannermen of Princess Amneris, and were the best of the best defending the Grand Duchy. Pure white armor and helmet, the same crest of Mongol. The feather ornaments of the headdresses worn by the two platoon leaders, Count Vron of Torus and Baron Lint of Torus, are similar to those of the captains of the Red Guards.

 When Amneris appeared on the balcony with his sword, which he had made especially slender, he gazed at the expedition of more than five hundred men with satisfaction. Nowhere did he see a look of fright, a look of hesitation, or a look of vulnerability. All five hundred faces looked up at the Lord standing alone on the balcony with tension and boundless admiration.

 It was a fine sight, indeed. Amneris has replaced his relaxed appearance with the armor of a warrior. A long white cloak flung over his shoulders. A jeweled dagger hung from her waist, her fine blond hair, still without a helmet, glistened in the bonfire, and her white face, surrounded by it, was as dignified as that of a young and glorious hero of myth. She nodded to her men and took the slender sword from the hand of the samurai.

"From now on, we, three squadrons of Red Knights and the White Knights of Vron and Lint, will march by night across the River Kes in the direction of Nosferus to capture the two orphans of Paro and their protectors that we lost earlier. Amneris himself, Lord of Mongol and General of the Right, will take command. Because of the night crossing and the march, great danger may be expected. All the companies will light fires and use them as torches to keep their surroundings illuminated and to keep their saddles close to each other while checking each other out. We have three days' rations, and we will return to the castle as soon as we have achieved our objective. Make sure that you do not act alone or delay in carrying out your orders."

"Long live Mongol!"

 A shout of joy shook the walls of Arvon.

"We're off!"

 Amneris holds the sword in his hand and holds it out to you.

 Under the watchful eyes of Ricard's troops, the dispatched troops jumped at once to their respective horses. Amneris, his white cloak fluttering, disappeared from the balcony for a moment, but he soon appeared in the courtyard, striding lightly on the back of a white horse pulled by a samurai.

 Count Vron, a huge, ugly man, and Baron Rindt, a small man by contrast, were flanked on either side by horse, a mage named Gayus, and a samurai child. The White Guard follows him. Finally, the Earl of Rickard and his guards leave the castle with the usual simple girdle.

 It's already well past dark. It's night on the frontier. If the lady hadn't stressed that not a minute could be wasted, no one would have wanted to join her in her quest to cross the Kes in the dark of night.

 But the elite of Mongol did not complain a single word. Solemnly and beautifully they followed the right general through the forest of Alvon, driving their horses with many feet. Five lines of knights on either side of them, each holding a torch in his hand, so that the darkness of their path was replaced by the smoky day, and as they went, from the darkness beneath the trees, from the shadows of the undergrowth, they fell asleep - or their lives were broken. In the shadows of the undergrowth and the darkness beneath the trees, we see the shadows of strange creatures who are fleeing in panic into the deeper night. The valiant knights paid no heed. But still they breathed a secret sigh of relief when at last they passed through the forest of Arvon and came to a place where they could see the river Kes, lit up by the pale moon of Iris.

 It was a dreamlike scene, something that made one's heart beat wildly.

 They stand still on a cliff overlooking the Kes. Behind them is the Black Forest of Arvon, and further up is the castle of Arvon, its outline illuminated by the bonfires of the troops on guard duty. In the background are the forests of Talos and Ruud, and beyond them, the burnt castle of Staphorus lies still under the same moon.

 It is the surface of a dark river, swaying gently in the darkness. Unaware of the myriad threats, horrible deaths and demons hidden therein, the face of the water making a quiet sound against the rocks is faintly glowing with a pale iris. And standing looking down on them are the silent troops of horsemen, half lit up by the gleam of the torch, the other half sinking into the darkness of night with a pensive look.

 Amneris's white armor, his blond hair flipping behind his helmet, stood out in the gloom with a dim glow like a star of light guiding them on their journey into darkness.

"More lights."

 For a moment, Amneris looked at the river Kes, as if he feared the danger it held, but his hesitation was short-lived. A clear voice commanded, and all the knights took one of the torches on their backs and lit it from their comrades. The crossbow was strapped to the side of the saddle crucible. Soon a little daylight is born.

 Amneris raised his white-gloved hand to indicate, and once again the troops began to descend, this time in single file down a narrow path.

 The road wound its way down to the riverbank of Kes. The riverbank was extremely narrow and rocky, and there was no place for five hundred men to go down at once. Two platoons of Red Knights, who had been ordered to take the lead, went down from the horse, took their sandals and went down to the water's edge.

 The Earl of Rickard's engineers have already made their preparations. A raft with a railing, the same as the one carried by the fugitives from Staphorus Castle earlier, but with more iron and more care for protection, is being slid across the water.

 Once the horse has been left behind, the knights in the front line tie their torches to the raft. They drew their swords, took full precautions, and waited in rafts of ten men each. The three rafts were pushed out of the water by the craft behind them, and the pole at their command successfully propelled them to the surface.

 Unlike Guin and his party, who were able to go downstream and follow the current, the Mongols had to plunge straight through the river and had to take great pains. The ten poles on each side of the raft entered the water at once, and they felt as if they were paddling the raft by pushing off the bottom of the river. The lights of the torches wavered anxiously as the raft swayed, and the knights paid such close attention that they had no time to worry about the other two rafts that had left the shore at the same time.

 Suddenly, there was a scream from one of the ships and a tremendous sound of water, which made the people jump and grab their swords.

"Whoa!"

"The Great Bitsu Gumaguchius!"

 The spray of water extinguished some of the torches attached to the raft, and a fierce struggle continued there for a while.

"First team up! Report, damage!

 The Earl of Rickard, advancing to the water's edge, cried out loudly. For a few moments they were talking to each other on the raft and checking that there was no sign of an attack, when a loud voice came over the water,

"Two men were killed. One was snatched by the Big Bitsu Gumaguchius and one was thrown off the raft by it. The others are safe. Shall we return the raft and search for those who fell into the water?"

"Unnecessary! Go ahead. I'll send a team after you to find him."

 Rickard shouts back.

 In the meantime, the first raft had apparently reached the opposite shore safely. Breathing a sigh of relief, the ten riders jumped onto the shore one after another and stepped onto the safe ground. In fact, it was the border between Nosferus and the frontier region, so it was difficult to say that they had finally reached safe ground.

 They brought the raft in and firmly fastened its ends to the rocks on the shore with chains and nets. The next two boats arrived at the shore and began the same work.

 When the three rafts were fixed to the shore side by side, the knights began to manipulate the chains attached to the bottom of the rafts by hand. Pulleys had been inserted for this purpose. At the end of the chain were three rafts that had been put out into the water for the next crossing.

 The hardest part was the first time. From then on, the combination of the pole and the force of the chains from the shore made the work much easier. The second party, without fear of the big mouth or any other monster, reached the opposite shore, and fastened their rafts to the rafts of the first party by means of the iron locks which were attached to each of them.

 In the meantime, the advance party was at work reinforcing the iron plates alongside their rafts. There was nothing to be said except what was necessary. By torchlight, the knights crossed the river one after another, thirty to a dozen at a time, and as they did so, the bridge that had been their raft grew little by little from the opposite bank to this.

 When the same work had been repeated nearly ten times, a floating bridge had been built, albeit a dangerous one, by covering the wooden raft with iron. At the end, an iron dedication was firmly placed to reinforce the bridge. The next group, still on the horses, formed three lines and were able to cross the swaying bridge.

 From then on, the progress was swift. The knights went on and on, and the horse riders who had crossed on the raft with Norite arrived at Norite's side.

"Very well. Phase one is complete."

 Amneris says with satisfaction.

"Gayus, time."

"It will be about three Xangs before sunrise."

"There's still time."

 All the Red Knights had crossed to the other side of the river and only two platoons of White Knights were left. Amneris looked back at Rickard and gave him an order.

"Send a platoon of men here tonight as a precaution and withdraw to the castle. Tomorrow morning at sunrise I will send out a company of men to cross the river and, as I said before, build there a simple but sufficient barrier for a temporary defence. In the meantime, the task force will make sure that this temporary bridge is completely extended and reinforced. Messages will be sent out to each other twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, and other communications will be made by smoke signals. Let the reinforcements from the Two Leads cross the river after they have had a good rest and protect the defensive line. Good."

"Yes, Your Highness. Your Highness, please be careful."

 Rickard looked worried.

"Nosferus is Nosferus, the devil's own version of himself... if anything should happen to His Highness, it would be my fault if the Golden Scorpion Palace were to suffer."

"As soon as you have caught them, return to the wall. If, in the meantime, the river rises and the bridge falls away, bridge it again as soon as you can. As often as you can, you understand."

"I'm sorry."

"Be mindful of the situation in Staphorus. For all we know, Shem may be coming for you again."

"I am mindful of that, sir."

 Amneris was satisfied. He nodded to Count Rickard, and holding his white helmet back in his hands, he pulled it on tightly and lowered his face. Not a strand of her lustrous hair was visible. He flings back his cloak,

"Come on, let's go!"