And so--
Again, Shem and the others left, taking nothing with them.
The sun had already set, and from beyond the rocky mountains came a series of howling wolves that were both piercing and chilling.
It was dark underfoot, and even Shem, who had good eyesight at night, could not be said to be safe. But of course, we could not turn on the light. If the Mongols caught up with them here and now, the Semites would be annihilated, regardless of whether they were Rak or Karoi.
They called to each other in a low voice, and with the wisdom they had acquired in their long life in the desert, they went forward, with long sticks on either side of them, pounding the earth incessantly. In this way, the frightened desert monsters would never approach them.
Angel-hairs suddenly appear out of the darkness on the wind, softly clinging to their faces and bodies, but their number gradually decreases as they move towards the rocks.
Looking back, they saw many torches moving across the dark desert, as if they were a fire beyond the sea. It seems that Mongol's army is proud of its victory at the oasis, and that Sem's army no longer has the power to dare Mongol's army, and that it is putting more effort into finding Sem's remaining soldiers quickly than being careful of being noticed.
The way the torches flickered and flickered like stars on earth, gradually unfolding to the left and right, was the most dreamlike and beautiful thing of all. But for Shem and the others, it was nothing less than the fires of hell that meant death and destruction.
"If Liard were here..."
Sheba mumbled.
"If Leard had been here, he would have ordered us to approach that fire and take it by surprise."
"And then you'll be wiped out."
Hearing this, Gauro taunted in a loud voice.
"I'm sure this Liard monster would love to annihilate Shem. But Kalloi would not want to eat the makings of a Rak."
"Then why don't you go your separate way and follow Rak?"
Shiva said back, annoyed. Gauro shook his shoulder.
"This is crazy . I thought it was Raku who wanted you to be there for him. Kaloy's not the least bit afraid of Om."
"You're afraid of the Rak."
Shiva almost screamed in anger, but..,
"Don't open your mouth. Don't distract him. We'll be entering Mount Gutou soon. Until then, don't let Om see you."
Roto said softly, so I kept my mouth shut.
Suni was walking beside Roto. Her wounds were bruised and she was in a lot of pain, but she held it together and didn't show any sign of weakness.
Shiva gazed at the small figure with a pang in his heart, and looked up at the mountain that stretched out before him, where wolves and all sorts of creatures even more ferocious than the monsters of the desert must be hiding.
They have already entered a broad, rocky plain. But the mountain itself is still some distance off, so that the canine-like form of the strange crag is clearly seen by them in silhouette.
Looking up at it, Shiva, who was constantly wondering what kind of threat he would face if he entered it, suddenly realized.
"The Liard must have gone towards this Gudu Mountain."
I mutter a little.
"We're a lot closer to Leard than we would have been if he had just gone along."
And also Mongol's army. It is not clear whether Mongol army has already found Shem and his men or not, but it is certain that they intend to extend their search all the way to the east.
There was a voice which said that it would be better to change the direction and pretend the Mongol army completely. The lights of the Mongol army were quite far away, and it was impossible to determine whether they had noticed Shem and his men and were gradually closing the distance, or whether they were merely coincidental and were sending scouts to investigate this direction.
But even Gauro did not force them to change direction to the north or south. If they headed that way, there would be few rocks, mountains or hills to hide behind for the time being. It was natural for a warrior on the brink of death to seek something to cling to, something to shelter him.
"Miss Suni--"
Shiva was concerned and called out to her. Suni, who is hurt and young, is often late.
"Miss Suni, does it hurt?"
"I'm fine!"
The chief's granddaughter said. Shiva was a little relieved, even if it was only an empty gesture. If Suni dropped out, Gauro would probably insist that it would be wiser to leave the lame man there, or even kill him out of the way.
She was surprised to see white tears in Soon-hee's eyes when she looked into her eyes, wondering if she would be able to hold on.
"Miss Suni-- Miss Suni, how are you?"
"..."
Soon-hee shook her head, sprinkled with herbs, and looked at Shiva as if she were hanging on to him.
"Shiva."
Say it in a quiet voice.
"I want to help Linda. I need you to help Linda."
"Miss Suni--"
Sheba was at a loss.
He was a loyal and brave warrior of Shem. And a great admirer of Leard. If it's Leard's precious twin, of course, I have no objection to going to rescue him.
But his chief was Roto, and Roto doesn't seem to be daring to return at the moment. Anyway, he probably intends to settle down for a while, persuade Gauro and the others, and then go back. And Gauro and the others don't care what happens to the two prisoners.
Shiva shook his head helplessly. Suni stuffed her hand into her mouth as if she wanted to cry out.
And on a rocky mountain somewhere, a desert wolf howls, a sad, terrible, chilling voice that makes the hairs on Shem's back stand on end.
"Our losses are 362 dead, 1,500 wounded, and dozens of horses."
The monotonous voice of the messenger echoes through the night desert.
"Most of the dead were infantrymen, and the most common injuries were to the head from a stone axe and to the eyes from a blowgun."
"You're more wounded than I thought."
Amneris sat on a stool in front of the tent, arrogantly playing with the whip he had placed on his knee.
"But the Semitic army's strength is far greater than ours."
The oasis had turned to blood, and the smell of blood made it almost impossible to breathe. Shem's severed head was pieced together to form a ghastly pyramid, and the headless corpses lay stacked on top of each other.
The moans, sobs and screams of the victims had ceased. For Mongol's army had divided into two halves, half pursuing the remnants of Shem and the other half going around the oasis to finish off the enemy.
When they saw that there was no longer any use for them here, half of them quickly regrouped, sent out messages to communicate with each other, and set off in pursuit. From the troops who had gone in pursuit, messages came incessantly to inform them of the situation in Shem.
"The remnants of Shem's army have apparently fled to the eastern rocks and are attempting to gain a foothold."
"It seems that Shem's goal is the rocky area in front of Mount Gutou."
"Don't show too much interest."
Amneris listened attentively to the report and gave his orders crisply.
"If we are scattered across the desert in pieces, we will not be able to clean up what we can clean up. Let them deliberately slow their pursuit a little, pretend that the Semites have given up on them, and give the Semites time to regroup. Let them consolidate and strike again. This time, not a single man will escape alive. Gayus.
"Is--"
In a dull voice, Gayus replied, watching Amneris' good mood from under his hood.
"But, Your Highness... it would be troublesome for you to enter the rocky mountain."
Vron will speak. With the twins in his hand and victory at hand, Amneris, normally an angry man, was not angry at all.
"Of course I've thought of that. Take the proper precautions. I won't let you enter the mountain. We'll make them think they can escape there... and we'll hide our men at the entrance. A straight road with no way out is not only bad for us, it's potentially deadly for them. No. Gayus.
"Thank you for--"
"But so as not to be noticed, the main force of our army will light torches and move slowly to catch up with the Semites. In the meantime, the ambushers will take the lead. It's a diversionary tactic. Asturias will lead the ambushers. He captured the Paro twins and took credit for it. The Ilm has lost quite a few of the Semitic chieftains."
Amneris was even becoming somewhat talkative.
"What a puzzling thing. Even though we had carefully arranged in advance to block the way, many of them leaked like water from a hand that was trying to scoop them up. Ilm, too, let your beard weep."
Feldrick shrugs. However, a message was immediately sent to Astorias.
"We're going to set up a diversion at night, so until then, keep Semmes close, out of sight and out of mind. If we should lose sight of them, they will be beheaded."
"Ha!"
"Well, it took me longer than I thought it would, but..."
Amneris looks back at Gayus,
"But that should be taken care of now, apparently. After that, we'll encamp the garrison and return to the banks of the Kes to rest and replenish our stores before we search for the valley of the miasma that Kal-Mor told us about. Let Gayus tell you when it is a good day to return home."
Amneris laughed in a low voice. Seeing the noblewoman's unusual good mood, Feldric, Vron, Lint, and the rest of her cronies followed suit, laughing as well.
If the old Count Mars, who had died in battle, had been here, he might have rebuked the young general's indiscretion and even chastised him.
Princess, the time has not yet come for you to relax your mind! How dare you ask me to predict the day of our return before we've even begun the sweep of Shem. Thinking about the future is all right... it's the duty of a general. But to think that this will happen easily, and then, when it has not yet happened, to loosen one's grip on the sword as if it were already finished--that is carelessness. (Do you not remember that in Alexander's Book of War, a war is not over until the last man has fallen?
But Mars was no more, and the white knights under Feldrick were only an entourage, eager to meet Amneris's frown with a smile.
Amneris looked around thoughtfully, twisting his fingers through his long, glorious golden curls. The day was dying into the desert, and the darkness was softly enveloping the oasis of blood and death.
"We leave at sundown. Light the torches when I give the signal. To avoid being detected as having sent ambushers, spread out horizontally and follow Shem's escape route while making it look as if you have as many men as possible. Asturias' troops will now immediately move separately, and make sure that Shem's head men do not escape this time."
Amneris ordered. Then he added with a wan smile.
"You may take this message as an order to execute the Semites."
"Yes, sir!"
No Semite below the rank of Lothor could know that.
The journey to Guto Mountain was long and arduous. If we had a light, we could light our feet and protect ourselves from dangerous monsters like the warthog.
But they were fallen men who feared their pursuers. Behind them flickered the flickering, mocking light of Mongol, frightening Shem and urging him onward. The fear of the desert wolf was nothing compared to the craggy rocks that pressed hard against the underside of their flat feet, suitable for pawing the sand.
Although Mt. Gutou appears to be right in front of us, the road to it is rocky and undulating all the way.
The cult said we should take a break,
"If you want to take a break, you can just take a rasa all you want."
Gauro's cold words easily put her to rest. After that, even Suni didn't show a single sign of weakness.
It was the howling of the wolves that troubled them most. The desert wolf is too much for the Shem of today. In front of them was a rocky mountain inhabited by wolves, and behind them the ruthless pursuers of Mongol. Such was the situation in which they were driven. It was not unreasonable for them to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent, to be silent.
How long did this monotonous and frightening march last?
"Gaulo."
Roto's low but piercing voice stopped Shem and the others in their tracks.
"What, you're too tired to walk anymore? Then I'll leave you."
Gauro sneers. Roto raises his hand and turns his experienced gray-haired face away from him.
"Don't you think it's funny, gaulo?"
"What?"
Gauro seemed horrified.
"No--"
Roto said he didn't know what to say, but he didn't want to,
"If you haven't noticed, the wolves have been howling for some time now, and I can barely hear them."
"That's not--"
Gauro moves his shoulders irritably.
"The wolves must have gone to the other side of the mountain."
"No, no. The Baltic birds have stopped singing. There's been a terrible hush around here. Something's wrong."
"But--"
Gauro turned his head and saw that the flickering lights of Mongol's army below him were not getting any closer.
"The Orms are chasing us from behind. We're already so close to Mount Gutou. If they could have caught up with us, they would have done it by now."
He mocked Roto and told him to go away.
"Before you worry about the howling of wolves, you should hurry ahead and enter the mountains as soon as possible. Once you are inside the mountain, you will be safe and you will have food and water. The entrance to the mountain is almost there. Let's hurry."
Gauro hadn't finished his sentence yet.
"O--"
And the screams of the rathas at the front pierced their ears!
"Ohm, ahhh!"
"Ohm has been waiting for you!"
"YEAH!"
"Gaulo! Sheba!"
Roto's reaction was quicker than anyone else's.
"It's a trap. We have to fight it. We have to fight our way out."
"I can't!"
The cult made a screeching sound.
"Shem can no longer fight. Run.
He turned to look behind him and let out a low, despairing voice. The lights of Mongol were rapidly approaching with increasing speed.
"Oh--that!"
Sheba points ahead, near the entrance to Mt.
There, too, suddenly, a number of lights, which until a moment ago had neither shadow nor form, emerged like sinister human spirits.
It waved a strange line in the darkness. Undoubtedly, it was a signal to the main army on the other side that Mongol's ambush had trapped Shem and his men, and that they were now hunted down.
"You--"
Gauro cursed him.
But they had no time to be stupefied. As soon as they saw it, as if it had come out of the earth, a band of Mongols appeared and spread out, and then they completely blocked the way between Shem and Mount Gutou.
And from behind, the main body of the Mongols, holding torches like waves of luminous insects, is rapidly closing in on us.
"Lotto."
Sheba clung to him and cried out for the Great Chief.
"Take it easy. Always be ready to duck under a rock as soon as the attack begins."
Roto says slowly. There is something in his tone of voice that makes Shem and the others, who have become cornered rats, feel strange and calm.
All at once, Shem and his men set their poisoned arrows in their blowguns and pulled out their stone machetes to hold them. They put Roto, Suni, and the wounded inside, and held them facing in a circle, ready for the first attack. The only sound in the darkness is the ragged breathing of someone whispering, "Alfetu! is all that can be heard.
"Take it!"
Suddenly--
Captain Mongol's youthful voice pecked at the darkness!
A horse is useless on rocky ground. All the Mongol knights abandoned their horses and rushed forward on foot. The sound of clashing armor told Shem and his men where the enemy was.
"Aiyah!"
From the mouths of Gauro, Curt, and Sheba, too, come wild commands.
Every once in a while a fight to the death began in the darkness.
"Aaah! Aye, ayah!"
"Alfetu! Alfetu!"
"Mongol--Mongol--Mongol!"
The moon has disappeared in the clouds and the stars have also disappeared.
The stone machetes and armor, the stone machetes and swords clashing against each other in the darkness where Ayame does not even know, scatter pale sparks for a moment, and illuminate the bared teeth of the ape-man, the death-crazed form of the man, and the raised swords of the knights for a moment.
"Don't let him get away--don't let him get away!"
"Kill them all!"
The sword is unsheathed, and with a splash of blood in the darkness, Shem's head flies through the air in resentment, slams into the rock, and crumples into a heap.
There are no more chiefs, no more Karoi, no more Rak, no more Rasa - not even the Mongols and Semites are distinguishable.
The soldiers stretched out their hands and groped, and when their hands touched the cold, hard armor, they drew back, and when they touched the warm, bristly hair, they immediately brought down the swords in their other hands. Screams, screeches, and groans of desperation were all that made him guess the outcome.
Sheba grabbed Suni's body and put him in a hole in the rock. He returned to the fight. Suni shrank down and curled up as if he wanted to crawl into the rock.
There was a crash, and a Mongol soldier who had apparently been caught on a rock fell to the ground. His bloodthirsty eyes grew red, and he saw a small, hairy creature with glowing eyes.
"Here's another one!"
He shouted in a loud voice and tried to thrust his sword into the air.
"Heee!"
Suni was about to scream when suddenly there was a faint moan and the man fell down with a thud. This time, he was not knocked off his feet.
Suni's arms were roughly grabbed and dragged out, her eyes rolled up in her head. Her black eyes, familiar to the darkness, were shining.
"Come. We have to help Linda and the others."
Istvan whispered and ran from rock to rock, pulling Suni's hand.
The rocky ground was illuminated by the approaching torchlight, which was approaching solemnly from behind. One by one, the despairing Shemites were surrounded and stabbed to death by the light. Moaning and the smell of blood filled the rocky place as if it had flowed from an oasis.
It's only a matter of time before the Semites are all cut down.