After several days of siege, the Imperial forces led by Gaileo had yet to make any progress on their assault on the city. In frustration, Gaileo had ordered his artillery to bombard the city.
Unfortunately, the boulders that flew over the walls were met by sand walls that formed to meet every attack. By the time the Gaileo army had run out of water, they hadn't been able to find any way through or around the walls of the city.
"The situation is already reaching its breaking point. We might have to consider a tactical retreat." Ma Ten suggested.
"That's unacceptable! We would be the laughingstock of the Imperial court if we come back after being stopped by a pile of sand!!" Gaileo said after symbolically kicking over a pile of sand.
"I agree, this isn't a task we can afford to abandon now at this point. It's not very beautiful, but our only option now is to push forward and hope for the best." Shion said.
"I'd like to say the same, but how are we even going to get into the city? Not to mention that our water situation is starting to become dire." Ma Ten responded.
"Why don't we dig?" Benji asked.
"Dig under the walls? That is quite an unbeautiful solution. It suits you." Shion said. "However, even if we could tunnel under the walls we would have no way of knowing where we would end up. We have no knowledge of the city's interior. Worst case scenario we end up burying ourselves or emerging somewhere surrounded by enemies."
"That's true, but perhaps digging wouldn't be a waste of time." Ma Ten said. "We might be able to dig deep enough to find some ground water."
"That's a good idea. Tell the men to start digging immediately." Gaileo ordered.
The men of the Gaileo Army kept their siege maintained as they now made efforts to dig for water. After a few days of digging they finally found the water that they were so desperate for. It couldn't have come at a better time as their water supply had just run out. This discovery of the ground water would be a major turning point in the battle.
"My lady, it seems that the invaders have discovered the ground water beneath the city." An officer told the Prime Minister.
"I see. So everything seems to be going exactly to my plan." She replied.
The Imperial Army had no way of knowing, but she had ordered that the ground water be poisoned. She had suspected that they would eventually be so desperate for water that they would dig for ground water.
"Just when they think that they finally found a glimmer of hope, I will take that hope from them and they will feel the deepest depths of despair. They will despair so deeply that they will never dare to invade our nation again." She thought.
As the Imperial troops were extracting the ground water, Gaileo gave orders on how he wanted to distribute it.
"Give this water the veteran soldiers only. The new recruits are not allowed to drink this at all." Gaileo ordered.
"What? Why not? There's enough to give water to all the men. There's no reason to ration it in such a way." Shion said. Many of the new soldiers voiced their displeasure in the order.
"I gave my orders. I don't need to give you a reason. Any man who disobeys my orders will be flogged for insubordination."
"Hmm, and what will you do when your men start dropping dead from dehydration?" Shion asked.
"Do I need to flog you to make you understand?" Gaileo threatened.
Shion and Gaileo had a heated face off. "No thank you. I don't think having scars would be very beautiful." Shion said as he left the tent.
"Is everything going to be ok?" Elara asked.
"Yeah, even those two butt heads from time to time. Shion is Gai's closest and most loyal friend. Trust me, everything is fine with those two." Benji assured her.
That night, Shion left the camp without a trace. Over the next few days many men deserted or were dropped by the dehydration. As the numbers of men dwindled, the situation was looking dire for the Gaileo Army.