111、Jump into the net

  The Pharaoh was enraged when he heard the news, and ordered the rear of the Horus legion to return and reinforce, while the Isis legion would encircle from behind, intending to surround and annihilate the enemy ambush in the desert. At this time, Hatti's army launched a voluntary attack from the north, King Rusha was not among them, and the commander was actually Golan! Moreover, there were not only the Enlil Legion but also the Anu Legion led by Golan!

  The ambush in the desert against Seti's troops was a masterpiece of Anu's specially trained raiding party. The Pharaoh made mistakes both in his command and intelligence judgment, thinking that he would be attacking one troop with two and a half troops, but when the battle actually started, he found himself facing two elite troops, while only Horus' troop could engage in combat first, and Isis' troop was still gathering the scattered Seti troops and sorting out the remaining supplies.

  The fighting strength of the Horus Legion was very strong, but they were long-distance raids across the desert, while the other two legions were waiting for labor. This great battle lasted for three days and three nights in the transition zone between the desert and the grassland. The Horus Legion launched a continuous charge without breaking through the opponent's defense line, and the counter-charge led by Ge Lei finally broke through the Horus Legion's array.

  The first battle ended in defeat for Pharaoh.

  The Horus Legion was forced to retreat and regroup, but Khalek would not give Pharaoh the opportunity. He commanded two legions to encircle from left and right, attempting to annihilate the Horus Legion completely. At this time, the situation had already reversed, and the Horus Legion was exhausted and unable to fight again. Fortunately, the Isisi Legion arrived in time as reinforcements and engaged in a skirmish with the Hittite army that was about to encircle them.

  It was a melee that lasted only one day and night, but the scene was extremely tragic. The casualties on both sides exceeded those of the previous battle, and from the scene, it seemed that the two armies were evenly matched. The army of Egu was slightly at a disadvantage, barely holding its ground. However, the rear logistics team of the Isis legion was defeated by the Hatti troops who had been ambushed.

  The Pharaoh's army was in trouble when the surprise attack failed and they entered into a pitched battle, having only gathered one or two exhausted legions. They faced two of Hittite's spirited elite legions, and the situation was dire. Continuing to advance would not defeat the Hittite army, while retreating would result in losing most of their baggage train, making it difficult for the main force to safely cross the Syrian desert.

  The Hittite army did not form a tight encirclement, but rather stood guard over the water sources outside the desert and repeatedly launched surprise attacks to consume the living forces of Pharaoh's great army. They seemed to be waiting for Pharaoh to withdraw, and once this exhausted army turned around and retreated into the desert, with low morale and lacking in food and water, the Hittite army would attack from behind, and the Egyptians would inevitably collapse or even be completely annihilated.

  The Egyptian army did not sit and wait to die, but launched a desperate attack without retreat, advancing forward to occupy a place with water sources and obtaining fresh water supplies. At that time, the Hittite army strategically opened up a gap, waiting for the Egyptian army to barely set up camp before launching a counterattack from three sides, forcing the Egyptian army back into one corner of the desert.

  After several rounds of tug-of-war, the Egu army suffered heavy losses and was greatly depleted, with no strength to launch a counterattack, only able to defend its camp and wait for reinforcements. The reinforcements could come from two directions, first from the Egu mainland organization's aid troops. After half of the Sett military team was defeated, Julian had already protected Rod Dick's retreat back to the Cape City-State, on the one hand gathering the remnants of the army, on the other hand organizing the remaining generals and emergency mobilized reserve troops, preparing to rescue and receive the main force.

  But distant water cannot solve the thirst of the near, and the situation of the army on a distant expedition is already very critical. The frontline command headquarters suggested that Pharaoh should break through alone under the protection of the gods' wizards. But this would be a complete defeat, and Pharaoh's glory would also suffer greatly. The army in the desert would face the result of total annihilation. Ramses II was not willing to accept it.

  The closest reinforcement to the main battlefield was the Anra Legion, which had not yet entered the battle and was still intact. The Pharaoh ordered the Anra Legion to advance eastward to reinforce, even if it was just to attract the enemy's forces to cover the retreat of the main army or gain time. It was not easy to send this order across more than 300 miles of desert, as the roads on the ground had been cut off by the Hittite army, and only divine messengers could be sent flying out.

  The Pharaoh sent out a total of five flying arrows, the first four of which were all decoys to attract the enemy's intercepting firepower. The arrow led by the great wizard Seshan and the great warrior Weiga was the real main force that broke through. These two people did not disappoint the Pharaoh's trust, and finally broke through the layers of interception, bringing the order to the Anla army.

  The great warrior Vega woke up and finished telling the story, Amun and George comforted him to take care of his injuries and rest, and promised that the An-Ra army would do its best to rescue Pharaoh from danger. Vega fell asleep again, not only because of his serious injury, but also because George quietly cast a spell to make him fall into a coma again. As for Seth's physical condition, it was obviously not as strong as the great warrior, and he still hasn't woken up yet.

  Coming out of the tent, Ammon and George came to a secluded place for a secret discussion. Ammon said: "It's not suitable to delay, if you want to fly to explore the camp, I suggest taking action at night to clarify the enemy situation before making a decision."

  George shook his head and said, "Look at the starry sky, the vigilant great mages can actually detect more clearly, and their vigilance at night will be higher, making it easier to expose the target. The army's action is not something that can be done by just saying so, now order to make preparations for the advance, waiting half a day won't be late. When the scorching sun is in the sky during the day, the sunlight on the desert is dazzling, which will interfere with reconnaissance and divine detection, making it more suitable for flying exploration, and if there are low clouds, it would be even better."

  Amun asked again: "How many flying artifacts were distributed in the legion?"

  George sighed and said, "The Wind Chaser is a standard flying artifact on the mainland, with extremely high speed and relatively mature manufacturing methods. However, the cost of making one is too great. The An-Ra Army has five of them, which are property of the Empire rather than personal artifacts of the gods."

  Ammon thought for a moment and then said: "Actually, we now have seven flying arrows. Seshan, the great wizard, brought one, and I shot down another during the day."

  George smiled wryly, "Of course, the flying arrow that Cezanne shot will have to be returned to him eventually, but we can temporarily requisition it. As for the one you shot down, it's a war trophy of the Legion Commander himself, and you're perfectly entitled to keep it without violating any imperial regulations. In fact, even if we were equipped with more, there are only five of us, including me, who can pilot flying arrows. The number of experts is far from comparable to those in the Horus or Isis Legions."

  George had not counted two more people, Amun and Medanzo could both control the Windrider. However, no one else knew about it. Amun shot down two people with an arrow during the day, but they were not killed by the arrow, rather they fell to their deaths from high altitude. At that time, a divine spellcaster from the enemy side was chasing after Se Shan with a warrior controlling the Windrider, and was shot onto the Windrider by Amun's arrow.

  The opponent's warrior didn't even block it, and the manipulator was a sixth-level divine technique master who tried to defend against the spatial power of the flying arrow with his magical powers. But that one arrow had an extremely powerful impact, and it also carried continuous explosive energy like a tidal wave, one wave after another, and the strange shockwave was even stronger than the direct shooting force of the arrow.

  That sorcerer was caught off guard and couldn't control the flying dart, so he ended up falling from the sky along with the warrior. Their staffs and weapons, as well as the flying dart, naturally became Amun's spoils of war. The flying dart had a bit of minor damage, but it was easily repaired in Amun's hands, which was simpler than collecting materials to remake one, and could be considered an unexpected gain.

  Ammon didn't elaborate on that. He thought for a moment and said to George, "Can I have another flying dart temporarily? It might come in handy for any unexpected situation."

  A great warrior, even after undergoing a second awakening of power, would find it difficult to master the most profound flying techniques in high-level spatial magic and elemental magic, let alone use them simultaneously. Manipulating the Wind Riding Dart was almost impossible. But George didn't ask any questions and casually handed Amun a Wind Riding Dart.

  Amun returned to his own commander's tent with two flying arrows, and Maidan Zuo was still guarding outside the tent with his personal guards. Amun asked, "My cat, is he back?"

  "Sir Xue Ding'an has just returned and gone straight into his tent," replied Mei Dangzuo.

  Amun brought a cat with him on the march, and this cat's food and drink were served by the commander himself every day. It rested in Amun's tent. Xue Dingye was spoiled to an extreme degree, showing how much Amun doted on it. The guards jokingly called the cat "Lord Xue Dingye", which was also a form of flattery. Over time, the joke became a habit, and even Mei Dansuo called it that way.

  When something unexpected happened during the day, Xue Dingyuan slipped away and disappeared. Ah Meng had an urgent matter to attend to and didn't have time to care about it. It wasn't until he learned that Xue Dingyuan was back that he felt at ease. He walked into the camp, saw Xue Dingyuan squatting in the commander's seat in the middle of the big tent, smiled slightly, and then magically took out a utensil to make a pot of fragrant meat soup for Xue Dingyuan, who hadn't eaten anything from day till now.

  Xue Dingyuan sat in the commander's position, eating with gusto, and then stretched out his paws to scratch the table twice. He meowed a few times at Ah Meng. Ah Meng had been with Xue Dingyuan for many years, so even if he couldn't speak, he could roughly guess what he wanted to do from his expression and actions. Immediately, he brought over a large plate of fine sand, placed it in front of Xue Dingyuan, and said: "You went out on a trip, did you discover something, is there something you want to tell me?"

  The cat's sharp claws are usually retracted into the meat pad, and only come out when catching mice. But Xue Dingyuan's paws are very interesting, they can retract several branches and only stretch out one claw tip, just like a person stretching out one finger to draw on the sand.

  First, a semicircular circle was drawn along the edge of the sandbox, with five dots inside. Then, on the other side, a line was drawn and the words "Nan'nal Legion" were written. Another line was drawn in the distance, with the word "Ambush" written on it. Amun had already understood that this was a diagram of the deployment of various forces on the battlefield. Xue Dingyan was clearly reminding him that the Hatti army had long anticipated that the Anra legion would go to reinforce Pharaoh, and had set up an ambush in the desert waiting for them to pass by.

  As long as the Anra Legion advances deep into the desert, carrying heavy loads and marching in fatigue, they will encounter an ambush by the Enlil Legion and the Anu Legion in the most unfavorable terrain. The Nannar Legion will also take advantage of the situation to cut off their supply lines from behind, without needing to fight a hard battle, just starving them to death would be enough.

  Xue Dingyuan's paw hadn't stopped yet, and in the rear of the South Nal military line, near the southern part of the Black Fire Swamp, he drew a frame and wrote inside - "King of Hatti".

  Xue Dingyuan, what are you saying? Is the King of Hatti in this position?!

  Xue Dingyuan nodded like a cat, then stretched out his claws and swept away all the marks on the sand plate. This information was so important that it made Ahmon reconsider adjusting the overall battle plan. The Pharaoh had been deceived, thinking that King Hatti was stationed with the Enlil army corps on the south shore of Lake Inland, but in fact, the Enlil army corps was indeed there, but King Lusili himself was in the rear, and Gelei had also quietly assembled the main force of the Anu army corps there.

  How did Gale manage to deceive Egu's reconnaissance and complete all this? Apart from sending out different spies to spread false information and blocking the border to prevent scouts from discovering, there should be other means. For example, soldiers can be disguised as servants or civilians, mixed into the logistics team that transports supplies or builds strongholds, and slowly transported over, and then assemble again. As long as Egu's main marching route is determined, the battlefield has already been decided, and Hati's army on the surface did not change its military deployment, even deceiving the great wizard's aerial reconnaissance.

  Seeing the map drawn by Xue Dingyuan, especially the location of the Hatti king, a plan gradually emerged in Amon's mind. Because this plan was too adventurous and bold, he also wanted to carefully consider all the details, and tomorrow he would also go to investigate personally.

  The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the sunlight on the desert was already very strong, and the shallow white sand reflected a dazzling whiteness that was piercing to the eyes. Amun ordered Medanzo and John to strengthen their vigilance, and quietly left the main camp with George, the chief priest. Behind a distant hidden dune, after confirming that there were no people nearby, George took out an artifact and said: "Commander of the Legion, let us depart."

  Ammon's eyes widened slightly as he lowered his voice and said, "A Crystal Flying Dart? Lord George actually has something this good!"

  George replied with a hint of nostalgia, "Lord Amun indeed has good eyesight, able to recognize the Crystal Flying Shuttle at a glance. I suppose you're also familiar with various divine artifacts? This was taught to me by an old friend many years ago, but unfortunately, I didn't have the skills or financial resources back then. Later, I became the Honorary High Priest of the Isis Temple and eventually the official High Priest, which gave me enough wealth and energy to create this artifact. It's my treasured private collection and a memento of past times."

  The object in George's hand was like a semi-transparent small plate, with a Wind Dancer fusion in the center and three Azure Water Hearts symmetrically fused on the edges. The divine stone and artifact looked as if they were naturally connected, and it was unknown what kind of magical technique was used to create them. Such an item was already priceless just by its materials, let alone how many times it had to be destroyed before succeeding, and its preciousness could be imagined.

  George manipulated the crystal dart, and Amun quietly rose into the sky. At close range, the space transformed by the dart was like a hazy, semi-transparent light refraction. Against the sunlight and the reflection on the sand, it was impossible to detect any trace from a distance. When flying high in the air and merging with the background of the sky, the crystal dart became completely invisible. When encountering cloud layers, it could also reveal itself, like a gray or white mass of fog, as if a cloud drifted across the sky.

  After flying to high altitudes, the Crystal Flying Dart transformed into a thin misty cloud shape, which was more economical in terms of magic power compared to its semi-transparent light shadow state. George said to Amun again: "The Crystal Flying Dart also has a stealth effect, allowing it to evade detection by divination spells. If we maintain a safe distance, even great mages won't be able to detect us. If I didn't have this item in hand, I wouldn't dare bring Lord Amun on an adventure to explore the camp."

  Amun nodded and said, "I've heard of this flying device, but it's too difficult to make. This is the first time I've seen someone successfully create one. Although its stealth effect is good, people on board can't easily use magic to launch attacks outside, or else they'll lose the meaning of being covert. It also has a weakness - its speed is much slower than the Wind Chaser Arrow."

  George held the staff in one hand and took out a Wind Chaser dart with the other, saying: "It's okay, we're just scouting from high altitude, try not to be discovered. If we are discovered, no matter how capable we two are, it's impossible to fight against a large army, so let's put away the Crystal Dart and use the Wind Chaser dart to escape. At that time, don't forget to cover us with divine arrows, Ah Meng the Great Warrior."

  Two people chatted as they headed east, the Crystal Flying Dart's speed was not comparable to the Wind Riding Flying Dart, but as a flying magic tool, it was naturally not slow either. By noon, they had already flown over the desert and approached the main battlefield, seeing the two armies' large camps from afar. The Pharaoh's army was stationed at the edge of the desert, only a dozen or so miles away from the nearest water source. Evidently, there had been more than one battle between the camp and the water source, as scattered broken weapons could still be seen on the ground, reflecting tiny glints under the sun.

  The Hittite army's banner was neatly arranged, forming a three-sided encirclement, and on both sides of the desert where Pharaoh might retreat in the south, they set up reconnaissance teams along the way. What Xue Dingyuan said is true, right on the path to meet the Anluo legion, there is a heavily fortified defense line, waiting for Amun to fall into their trap.

  The Pharaoh's army is now powerless to attack and can only passively defend, the Hittite army can calmly deploy its elite troops to counterattack the Anra legion. The high altitude is too far away to see all the details, it's possible that there are other ambushes on both sides of the desert, Roddick has suffered from this before.

  There was a master like Song Lie in the enemy's main camp, and even with the crystal flying arrow that could hide their tracks, they didn't dare to get too close. After getting a general idea of the layout, Armon asked George to take him back. However, the return route did not head straight for the Anra army's main camp. Armon made a somewhat adventurous decision and flew north in a circle, drifting to the rear of the Nanar army facing the Anra army, hovering above the hills south of the Blackfire Swamp.

  （）