Volume 4: War of the Gods 117, War and Peace

  Amun shook his head and said, "There's only one possibility for you to ask me to put down my weapons here, that is your guards killing me. However, before they do that, they will definitely mistakenly kill Your Majesty first! So in order to protect you, I cannot put down my weapons. Before you make a request, let me make one first - please invite the person outside in."

  Meadows walked in with a team of guards, standing behind Amun with his sword, looking like a loyal and dedicated captain. He seemed to be inspecting the army, but his eyes were fixed on the two beauties on the bed, looking at them again and again. He whispered to Amun, "My god, you're amazing! I knew you could catch the king, but I didn't expect you to bring such a beautiful view!"

  Then he waved his hand at the people around him and said, "You servants, how can you surround the king's jade body? It's simply without etiquette, and your faces are covered with shame. The king also needs to wear clothes, this place is not suitable for staying, give us a good tent, it's midnight, do you want the king to sleep naked in the open air?"

  Meadows said, having already switched places with Armon, hanging the long sword back at his waist and tapping the short blade lightly on the back of the king's chair. Armon put away the short blade, stretched out his hand and suddenly pulled out a branch from thin air, took two steps forward and pointed around: "I apologize, I was rude, how could I treat Your Majesty and the two princesses like this? Please bring the king's clothes, attend to the two princesses and let them leave here to rest well, and give us a comfortable tent."

  He lifted the branch, and the two bed boards on the table floated up lightly, as if they were being held by an invisible big hand in mid-air and fell into the courtyard outside. It wasn't until then that Celia saw clearly that the "branch" in Armon's hand was actually a magic wand, and this legion commander could also use divine magic, and his magical powers were quite exquisite.

  The king's attendants were highly efficient, and the palace staff quickly carried away the bed board with the two queens, replacing it with a magnificent animal hide tent. The king naturally had his own traveling tent and bedding ready for use on the road. Arin and Maidensso "escorted" Lucille, saying that the king was tired and shocked, and needed to rest, and they would talk about anything tomorrow, then closed the large tent.

  The guards surrounded the big tent, Ah Mon and Mei Danzuo were trapped, but no one outside dared to rush in because the king's life was in the hands of the assassins. It was unknown how the king and the assassins "rested", anyway, others in the camp couldn't sleep, they could only wait anxiously for dawn, guessing what kind of trick these two assassins were going to play.

  The highest commander in the camp temporarily became King's escorting great magician Silia, such a big thing she can't do it herself, immediately sent someone to send out secret reports to notify the commander of the Southern Narnian Legion and the High Priest, as well as the frontline command post. This news is currently only allowed to be known by the high-level personnel on the front line, otherwise, it must be strictly sealed and cannot be leaked, otherwise, it will shake the military's mind.

  Celia certainly had to question the great warrior Afy, who was guarding the entrance of the big tent, how he could let the assassin catch the king. Afy also had a belly full of grievances that he couldn't express. The commotion caused by Medanzo outside was very loud and finally attracted Celia's attention. When she went out to cast her magic spell to take down Medanzo, Amun sneaked into the camp from another direction.

  If Celia were still beside the king's large tent, even if Amun could enter the camp, it would be difficult to quietly approach the king's sleeping quarters. The king's large tent had three compartments in front and back, the front compartment was a place for ordinary meetings and banquets, Afie led the personal guards guarding the door of the front compartment. The middle compartment was the king's bedroom, behind which there was another compartment with palace maids serving the king on duty, outside the back compartment were two divine magicians and a group of guards.

  When Sylvia made her move, the intense battle outside the camp drew everyone's attention. Armon suddenly struck from the side of the king's tent, cutting it in half with one slash of his knife. The people inside were unharmed. It was difficult to describe the stunning effect of this single stroke. Armon had not used the short blade forged from the fangs of a strange snake, but rather the short knife that Dasiti Town Lord had given him when he left Duketown several years ago.

  Amun slipped in silently, but when he struck, there was no concealment. A hunter's knife used for walking in the mountains had a dazzling light like a rainbow crossing the night sky. With a swing of his arm from afar, he cut through the beast skin tent that was over ten feet wide, along with its frame, into two halves, and produced a sharp whistling sound as it broke through the air. The separated tents were rolled to both sides by an unseen force, burying everyone in front of and behind the tent under them.

  As a great warrior, Afy naturally wouldn't be entangled by the fallen tent, and when Amun swung his sword, he reacted in time. He drew his sword to lift open the large tent and rushed inside, appearing beside the king in the first moment. He was even closer, although delayed for a moment, but rushed into the middle of the tent faster than Amun.

  But just as he rushed in, Ahmon, who was also rushing over, raised the staff in his hand and the king's bed board split into two halves, with two naked queens lying on top of it, throwing themselves at Afy. Afy's duty was to guard the safety of the king and queen, his sword had already been raised, but his subconscious reaction did not chop out, instead using the tip of the sword to lift the two bed boards from his side, smoothly falling onto the table in front of the tent, the two terrified queens were unharmed.

  When he raised his sword to strike again, Armon also rushed over, swinging his staff with a whistling sound and striking straight on. This was the power that only a great warrior could unleash. The long sword and iron staff collided, producing a deafening crash like thunder, and Aphie flew out.

  If Afy had held onto the staff with all his might, he might not have been blown away so far, but the king was lying between them. It's also Lucille's bad luck today, having a great time playing during the day and drinking some wine at night, hugging two princesses on the bed, just as they were having fun, suddenly a sharp whistling sound pierced the air, and he found himself naked under the stars.

  The king and the beauty were in a fierce battle, so no one else dared to disturb them, so their positions weren't too close to the central tent. Amun unfolded his spatial magic accurately splitting the bed board, throwing two queen consorts towards the great warrior Afy, but Luciel fell from between the split bed boards onto the ground, and then saw a sword and staff clashing above his body.

  Two great warriors' powers clashing head-on would be enough to kill several people in the surrounding area with just the residual shockwaves of their swords. So Afy couldn't take it head-on and was knocked flying, by the time he crashed into the large iron stove in the courtyard and got back up, everyone else had already jumped out from under the canopy, Xilia and Aruka also arrived, but the king had already fallen into Amun's hands.

  The legion commander of the Southern Narnia Legion, Aurebain, and the chief priest Vivian were shocked to hear that the assassin was actually Amun, the legion commander of the Anra Legion, and his personal guard Medanzo. They suddenly realized that these two had crossed the defense line and entered the rear two days ago during that inexplicable battle.

  Gale had long warned that Arum was the most familiar with the terrain of this area. But Aurebene never dreamed that Arum, as a legion commander, would quietly infiltrate the enemy's defense line with only one attendant, avoiding all sentries and scouts, and accurately reached the king's camp, and successfully took the king hostage!

  If the king were to suffer any harm here, not only would the Imperial Guards who accompanied him be unable to escape blame, but also Aureoborn and Vivian would not be able to get away with it. Even if they had won a great victory on the battlefield, it would not make up for such a mistake, let alone that the Narnal Legion did not win at all.

  After receiving the secret report, Orebain immediately ordered the whole army to defend the camp and defensive line without making a move. He and Vivian took the elite flying horse guards to rush to the king's camp. To deal with two assassins, in fact, the imperial guards around the king were enough, and more people would not be useful, but Orebain had to do so, he had to show his loyalty to the king.

  On the side of An-Ra Legion, Chief Officer George was anxiously waiting for news. Amun and Medanzo's lives were uncertain, and they would decide the fate of the entire battle. Amun had said that even if he couldn't capture the King of Hatti, he could still disrupt the enemy's formation, causing chaos in the rear and making it difficult for the Nanal Legion to cope with both front and back, giving An-Ra Legion a chance to execute Pharaoh's orders to rescue the main battlefield.

  An adventure for two is safer than a massacre of twenty thousand, Amun gave the order as legion commander and didn't bring a single priest. High Priest George had the duty to supervise, but finally nodded reluctantly without stopping Amun's action.

  Aurelion and Vivian suddenly left the main camp with their elite guards, rushing to the edge of the Blackfire Swamp in the northeast. Naturally, this did not escape George's scouts. The great wizard couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement in his heart, it seemed that Armon's plan had succeeded. At the same time, he was also worried, and didn't know what situation Armon and Medanzo were in, thinking that escaping was almost impossible.

  The only help George could offer was to put pressure on the battlefield, and the Anra Legion had long been ready to strike. George and John immediately led the main force of the legion to charge north, going to attack the large camp of the South Nal Legion. If it were a few days ago, the Anra Legion would never have taken such military action, but now the situation has changed.

  In the last pursuit and siege, the Narn army was too aggressive and suffered a setback, which hurt their morale. They haven't recovered yet, let alone their commander is not around, and they only received orders to hold their ground. On the other hand, the Anra army has won three battles in a row, their morale is high, and the soldiers who had never fought before have gained confidence, daring to take on any enemy, especially when attacking a defeated force.

  The elite of the An-Ra Legion launched a fierce attack on the Southern Narl Legion, this time it was like tying someone to a tree and beating them. George did not rush forward, but instead set up his battle formation, chose a main direction of attack, and advanced steadily step by step. Since the opponent did not take the initiative to attack, this intense war scene looked like a siege drill, John calmly coordinated the various troops, launching wave after wave of attacks.

  Aurelian had just marched halfway when he heard that the great camp was under attack, and he was in a dilemma, so he gritted his teeth and continued to advance towards the king's camp, sending someone to pass on the message that they must rely on the fortifications to hold out. George's purpose was not to occupy the great camp, but to use strategic advantages to severely damage the enemy's living forces, so he did not launch a strong attack on the fortress and solid fortifications, but chose to launch an impact battle at the weak links in the defense line, and the Narnian army suffered heavy casualties in order to hold the gap in the defense line.

  The battle raged on for a day, with the An-Lar legion also suffering hundreds of casualties, but they managed to break into one corner of the Nanal legion's camp, achieving brilliant results. They burned down many tents and destroyed a large amount of military supplies, before withdrawing back to their own camp with a huge haul of spoils, just as reinforcements from Aurebien and Suya arrived.

  After this battle, on this flank battlefield, the combat effectiveness, morale and initiative of defense between the two legions have been reversed. The South Nal legion, which had suffered two heavy losses, was no longer able to launch an active counterattack against the Anla legion, and could only take a defensive stance passively.

  Another rumor that made the Hittite soldiers tremble with fear was that the Anra army shouted slogans during the attack: "The King of Hatti has been captured alive by our great General Amun, the Great Army of Hatti is about to collapse, your generals have all gone to surrender to the king, why don't you surrender quickly!"

  Such rumors are unbelievable, yet they can't help but suspect that the legion commander and the high priest hastily left only to order a desperate defense. The battle is so intense, and they haven't seen them return to take charge of the situation. Something big must have happened! Could it be that the king was really captured? If the king was caught by the enemy, then the Hatti main force must have been defeated!

  The next day, Orlebeke returned and immediately ordered severe punishment for those who spread rumors in the army. However, the panicked mood still lingered in the hearts of many soldiers like an indelible shadow, they just didn't dare to speak out openly.

  How did Aurelien come back? He was ordered by the Imperial Chancellor and Minister of Military Affairs, Zha Wuri, as well as the Frontline Commander-in-Chief, Ge Lie. Half a day after his arrival at the King's camp, Ge Lie personally drove the Flying Arrow with Lord Zha Wuri also rushing over.

  Gale received the news of the king's abduction very suddenly, before that, he was discussing the frontline war with Prince Asel, who represented the king in the frontline, Zhuguli, the prime minister of the kingdom, Zhanbie, the chief priest of Enriel Legion, and Huaileite, the chief priest of Anu Legion.

  Zhanbie is a senior of the Hati God Technique Academy, the chief god technique master of the palace, and also a 9th-level great god technique master. Two of the three 9th-level great god technique masters in the Hati Kingdom have come to the front line of the main battlefield this time, which can be described as elite.

  "His Majesty the King's latest order is to urge us to launch a main attack as soon as possible, to annihilate the main force of the Egyptian army, and if possible, capture Ramses II alive, achieving an unprecedented feat in Hittite history. General Kadesh, as the commander-in-chief on the front line, you have been hesitant to take action, His Majesty is getting anxious."

  Gale laughed bitterly and said, "I naturally understand the king's feelings. Who doesn't want to win the final victory as soon as possible? But if we launch a general attack now, the enemy army will fight with desperation, and their fighting strength in despair should not be underestimated. Although we can win, the cost will also be great. If we just besiege for another half month, Hatti will win without a fight. They have no power to counterattack, nor can they retreat through the desert again."

  Prince Arslan nodded and said, "General Gieve's command of this war is truly divine. The enemy army has been led by the nose, and the development of the battle situation so far has fully met our expectations. His Majesty the King did indeed have a bit too much anxiety; he waited many years for this great victory, and naturally wants to capture Lusis II. If Pharaoh Akhen becomes a prisoner of the Hittite king, it will wash away the shame of the past hundred years. I will send an envoy to explain the specific situation on the battlefield to His Majesty, and you gentlemen should continue with the plan."

  Ge Lie added with a smile: "I suggest that Your Highness add another explanation, if you want to capture Fa Lao alive. If he launches a general attack now, he will definitely escape. Although the masters around him cannot lead the army to retreat, they can protect one person from escaping back to Ai Ju. The reason why Fa Lao has not left yet is that the main force of the army is trapped in the desert, and he is waiting for the arrival of reinforcements."

  Zhu Gu Li also analyzed: "I would rather hope that Pharaoh escapes early, which means giving up on the war. The army surrounded by us will collapse without a fight, and the outcome of winning the war will come earlier. Pharaoh staying in the army is a symbol, and the Egyptian army will continue to send reinforcements here. Reinforcements may come from two directions: one is the rear support corps that sets out from Haicheng City-State and crosses the desert, and the other is the Anla Corps on the coast."

  Prince Yasheng nodded and said: "Eju's national strength is strong, in order to fully reverse the situation, it can also be done to invest two more legions."

  Wu Lai Te said cautiously: "In my opinion, the longer Pharaoh doesn't escape and the war drags on, the more beneficial it is for Hatti. If Pharaoh escapes, we eliminate the Horus Legion and the Isis Legion, although we can temporarily gain a great victory by severely damaging Egypt, but we won't shake the foundation of Egypt's national strength. With Ramses II's temperament, he will definitely reorganize his troops and come back, even if not for the sake of competing for the thousand-mile fertile land, but also for the dignity of the Egyptian Empire and his own face."

  In that case, the war will not end. Whether we win or lose in the future, we will have to pay a heavy price. If we surround but do not attack now and lure the subsequent reinforcements of the Egyptian Empire into unfavorable conditions for battle, trap Pharaoh's main force and only fight his reinforcements, annihilating them all in the desert, this can make the Egyptian Empire suffer internal injuries and be unable to launch expeditions for a long time, and peace will truly come.

  Ge Lie nodded and said, "This is exactly what I was thinking. Since the Egu army is besieged and waiting for reinforcements, let them barely survive here, gasping their last breath. First, eliminate the Anla army that is advancing to rescue them, and then concentrate our main force to defeat the Egu reinforcement army that has crossed the desert. We don't even need to fight a battle of annihilation. The logistics supplies in the desert have been destroyed, and the scattered troops cannot obtain supplies locally, basically it's a dead end. This is a war of attrition where we have all the advantages, let's see how long Egu can hold on?"