The morning sun had finally climbed high enough on the horizon to send its clear, cold light flooding the battlefield. The last vestiges of the morning mist dissipated, and the ongoing chaos of the flank attack snapped into brutal, terrifying focus. The tiger-beasts did not simply charge; they swept around the enemy camp, a living wave of muscle and fury, hunting down their unprepared foes with chilling, predatory precision.
Many Razaasia soldiers, caught completely off guard, scrambled frantically for any weapon or shield within reach. The moment they saw the massive, striped forms, they knew immediately that their attackers were their long-time enemies, the Musians, yet the dizzying confusion of how the Musians had traveled across three kingdoms unnoticed paralyzed them.
While their comrades were being slaughtered outside, a few officers had managed to wake, don their armor, and step out to fight the war-beasts, but many were still deep in sleep, believing the chaotic screams were merely the sound of the victory they had been promised.
The sudden, brutal chorus of screams, grunts, and the deep, ripping snarls of the tigers tore Koorush from his sleep. He threw back his blanket and bent down to pull on his shoes when his blood froze. Outside his tent cloth, he saw a dark, striped shadow circling, letting out a series of low, guttural growls.
He knew that any quick movement would trigger the beast. As slowly as he could manage, he reached for his dagger. Just as his right hand closed around the hilt, the immense feline stopped outside the door cloth. In the next breath, the three-hundred-pound tiger-beast launched itself through the entrance, tearing the cloth off the doorway. It was a blur of gold, black, and muscle that surged straight at Koorush, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed.
Koorush, though half-dressed and sitting, was no slower than the beast. As the tiger launched itself, he simultaneously pulled his dagger from its scabbard, bracing the initial impact with his left arm while his right hand, clutching the dagger, plunged into the tiger's left side. Using the beast's own momentum, he rolled violently, breaking away from the pounce.
The torn doorway cloth momentarily covered the tiger's face. Koorush seized the sliver of opportunity, vaulting onto the tiger's back and stabbing repeatedly. The cloth immediately smeared red with the tiger's blood. He then quickly disengaged and snatched his sword just as the injured beast managed to pull itself free, blood dripping heavily from multiple wounds.
Koorush, a commander who had battled these fearsome war-beasts many times, stared fiercely at the tiger, tightly gripping the sword hilt. His animal instinct kicked in, and the corner of his left mouth curved into a chilling smile. He knew this was the moment to determine the will of the alpha, and he, the walking human alpha, would not yield.
He let out a deep, challenging growl. "Come, little kitten, if you dare," he said with a steady tone, even letting out a small, confident chuckle.
The tiger responded with a deep snarl and lunged. Koorush quickly stepped back, intending to get a better swing with his sword, but the retreat put his back against the tent wall. Instead of swinging, he stabbed his sword deep into the ground, grabbed a bow and arrow hanging from the wall, and shot the beast directly in the left eye. The crippling pain instantly stopped the tiger's savage advance.
Koorush wrenched his sword from the earth and rushed forward, slashing the blade across the side of the tiger's neck, sending the staggering beast crashing toward the bed. The tiger desperately tried to stand, but its injuries and heavy blood loss were too severe, and it dropped heavily to its legs.
In that moment, Koorush became a cold executioner. He began releasing arrow after arrow, emptying half the quiver into the defeated beast. After a tense silence, he waited, ensuring the war-beast was dead before stepping forward and kicking the massive, lifeless body several times.
With the dead tiger at his feet, Koorush quickly strapped on his armor, grabbed his sword, and rushed toward the tent where Payam was quartered. When he stormed inside, he found it empty. Worried, he burst back outside and saw that many of the tiger-beasts had already begun to retreat, circling back toward the main cavalry line in the center of the battlefield.
"General!" one of his captains yelled, rushing toward him through the carnage. "We are being attacked by the Musians!"
Koorush's voice was a harsh rasp. "Who is leading?"
"I am not positive, but if I have to guess, it's Hibo," the captain said, citing the most feared name in the northern territories.
"Find Payam," Koorush commanded.
"Sir Payam has already joined the battle in the frontline with the others."
Learning that Payam was safe and already engaged with the enemy, Koorush felt a surge of relief. He looked around his command camp and saw the slaughter the tigers had inflicted. He said with gritted teeth, "Kill those kittens."
A soldier immediately handed Koorush the reins of his warhorse. Koorush mounted, and at that moment, he saw the full strategic picture unfold: The Musians were heading straight to intercept their main cavalry force, backed by the remnant of the Ginmiao soldiers. Simultaneously, a group of Ginmiao soldiers, led by one of the two generals from Zoaging, was riding hard to his right, avoiding the direct conflict.
Koorush knew instantly that the group rushing toward the right flank was aiming to block their exit route toward the Golden Triangle.
"Captains," he commanded, his voice loud and clear. "You lead two thousand soldiers and head back to make sure that Payam will escape the frontline trap. Gather all remaining forces and protect our exit!"
Koorush turned his horse around. He and his remaining four thousand soldiers marched, not toward the Musian flank, but straight toward General Chong and his smaller blocking force.
Koorush and his four thousand riders, moving with speed and desperation, reached their lifeline road toward the Golden Triangle before Chong and his smaller force could arrive to cut them off. He immediately began fortifying the position, turning the vital road into a kill zone.
He quickly ordered five hundred cavalries to serve as the immediate roadblock, with five hundred archers positioned directly in front of the riders to provide suppressive fire. In front of the archers, he commanded one thousand soldiers to hold the main defensive line.
Koorush reined in his horse, his voice hard and absolute. "No matter what happens, this line cannot be broken. Until our target's presence is confirmed—until Chinua is present in the battle—and Payam has arrived, only then will we retreat across the Golden Triangle. Is my order clear!"
"Clear!" the single, unison voices of his soldiers roared back.
Koorush marched his horse forward, raising his sword high into the air, signaling the advance. The Razaasia archers riding with him immediately grabbed their bows and arrows and unleashed a focused, punishing volley of arrows straight in the direction of Chong and his rushing Ginmiao men.
Seeing the incoming arrows heading straight at them, a dark cloud momentarily blocking the sun, Chong and the Ginmiao soldiers quickly raised their shields. Buried beneath the small iron sheets and trusting the metal to hold, the sound of the volley of arrows hitting their shields was like crushing rock in their ears.
In that moment, the soldiers finally understood that they were charging into a death ground. If they wanted to survive, they had to fight with every ounce of strength in their bodies. Their will to live had to suppress any instinct to flee, because here, retreating was no longer an option. Here, only death and survival remained.
From underneath the loud thumping sound of the arrows, Xao shouted, "General, we can only hold this position so long! Soon our shields will give out, and the enemy arrows will find our head. We must do something!"
Chong yelled back, his voice strained but resolute. "The enemy must guess our plan! The only thing we can do now is to hold the line for as long as possible." He looked back at the riders behind him, his expression grim. "Because if we don't hold this line, everyone dies, and Zaoging falls."
Hearing the loud galloping of their own horses and the enemy's, the three hundred Ginmiao soldiers, acting on General Chong's desperate command, dropped their shields to the ground. They drew their swords and raised their spears, closing the distance in a final, suicidal surge that collided violently with Koorush's main defense line.
The rushing, high-speed impact caused riders on both sides to fall instantly, horses screaming as they tangled. Soldiers of both armies were thrown into such close-quarters chaos that they no longer knew who was who. All they knew was that anyone who didn't wear the same armor as they did was an enemy and must be killed.
Afar from the danger of the battlefield, standing on the top of the city wall of Zaoging, Long was left in utter disbelief at the sight of General Chong's charge. He turned to look at Hye, his eyes blazing with fury.
"You knew it, didn't you?" he demanded. "Did you!" He pointed down at the chaotic melee at the exit road.
"Yes," Hye simply said, his voice level and devoid of emotion.
"You knew that exit point is a death ground, and yet you still sent them to their death!" Long shouted, a sharp, genuine pain in his chest for his comrades.
Hye sighed and turned to face the angry captain directly. "He knows it too. General Chong is taking his men to their death, and he is willing to do so to give these people inside a chance to live."