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Akashi Records
Chapter 22 - Breakdown

Chapter 22 - Breakdown

Scouts reported Mong Rau's flag flying from all the earthen forts, including those that had been abandoned previously. The broken gates were blocked with debris and packed dirt rather than repaired, showing they had no intention of sallying out. His twenty thousand troops could never hope to hold eleven forts against proper sieges, but it was impossible to tell which ones were fully occupied and which were mere decoys. All of this was to stall for time until their reinforcements arrived.

The coalition was forced to assault all of them at once. Their limited siege weapons were held in reserve until they could determine which forts had proper garrisons. Meanwhile, the captured slaves were made to dig for the enemy tunnels day and night without pause. They did not know how deep they were or if they even went in a straight line between the forts, so it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Viyal and her friends were allowed to stay in the siege camp rather than having to make the journey from the coalition camp every day. She witnessed the enemy beating back every assault with increasing anxiety. They did not know when the empire's next army would arrive and how big it would be. Everything could come crashing down if they lost here, and the steppe people would be put on the back foot in the fight against the invasion of their homeland.

After seven days of ladder assaults, five of the outer forts were determined to have only a skeleton garrison when they abandoned their posts and fled into the tunnels the moment a wall section fell. One of their units was unable to escape as the slaves finally dug up one of the underground pathways, allowing the coalition to trap them inside. Still, it was only a few hundred enemy soldiers who were captured or killed in the process, not nearly enough to make a significant dent in Mong Rau's fighting capabilities.

Throughout it all, they could never determine where the enemy general hid among the remaining six forts, all of which fought tooth and nail to stop the assaults. To them, it was a matter of sheer survival, while the steppe warriors likely did not understand nearly as well as Viyal how much this would determine the future of their people.

Another six days later, four more forts were abandoned, and the Gadat consolidated in the final two remaining refuges. Soon after, the slaves dug up another tunnel, and some Bavadi warriors were sent inside to infiltrate one of the forts at night, using their superior dark vision to remain hidden. Their goal was not to fight but to discover where Mong Rau was.

However, they did not return, and the enemy collapsed the tunnel on their own accord. Without knowledge of the Baagai general's whereabouts, the coalition leadership decided to throw their all into taking down the last two forts simultaneously. As expected, now that they were driven into a corner, the defenders fought more fiercely ever than before. Even as the entire town inside was engulfed in flames from constant catapult fire, the soldiers on the walls continued to struggle to the death.

Mong Rau was a defensive general like no other, not at all a beast like his epithet suggested. He was methodical and stalwart, commanding his troops with unwavering confidence. Thus, on the thirty-sixth day since the siege began, a cheer rang out from within the two forts, battered but unbroken. Their reinforcements finally appeared over the horizon.

They numbered roughly forty thousand soldiers, including hundreds of fire-ready ballistae on carts. After their losses during the repeated assaults on the forts, the steppe warriors barely surpassed that number. If they abandoned the siege and met the enemy in the field, they could perhaps squeeze out a victory. But Mong Rau's troops would sally out and hit them in the rear. At that time, they would be pincered and outnumbered.

Viyal could not think of any way to win now. The steppe people were never meant to fight in a direct confrontation since their greatest weapons were mobility and individual physical abilities. Mong Rau had so naturally dragged them into a slugfest when they should have used hit-and-run tactics that nobody had realized the mistake until it was too late.

When the chiefs gathered quickly to decide the next course of action, a rider arrived from the coalition camp. She reported that they were under attack by the Ishtemur. They had formed an alliance with the other Selemur tribes and mustered twenty thousand warriors to stab the coalition in the back. This was the greatest betrayal in the steppe people's history. Their timing with the approach of the Gadat army showed they worked with them for whatever short-sighted benefit they gained from this.

All their families were in the camp, guarded only by a few thousand warriors. Most steppe people's civilians were stronger than Samagshin and would have been able to hold their own against an army of their kind, at least for a while. However, Selemur came second in physical prowess only after the Mosyvvi; the civilians would be slaughtered with little resistance.

The coalition hastily aborted the siege and beat a full retreat to their camp. But Mong Rau saw the opportunity and sallied forth from both forts, hitting the departing infantry in the rear. Not one of the chiefs even considered staying behind with their troops to form an orderly rear guard. Their families were more important than their brothers-in-arms; without the women and children, their tribes would face destruction all the same.

Viyal separated from Altuna, who departed with her mother and sisters, and rode beside Amiro. His tense expression hid the worry for his tribe and especially his wife. It would take them over an hour to get back if they drove their Shinoona to exhaustion. Who knew how much destruction the Selemur could wreak by then?

"Mother will be fine, right?" Yunil asked with a nervous look. Viyal could not even muster a word of reassurance to her sister and curled her eyebrows in worry.

The reckless ride back felt like an eternity due to the overwhelming feeling of certain tragedy. Pillars of smoke rising over the horizon had them mentally preparing for the worst. When the massive camp finally came into view, their fears turned into reality. Civilians ran around screaming as the Selemur slaughtered them between burning tents. The saber-toothed beasts were unfeeling in their actions, killing women and children with ruthless efficiency.

The coalition troops, reduced to a few thousand of the fastest riders since they had left the slower ones behind, drove their mounts onward with wrathful roars. Viyal spotted the Zakhira camp area aflame and felt rage rise within her. For the first time, she truly understood the urge to kill as she saw the Selemur among the tents retreating now that the warriors were here.

She followed her father, uncle, and two brothers' lead and rode alongside a hundred other Zakhira warriors as they poured into the camp. The riders began to split up among the tents and cut down every enemy too slow to escape. She followed in Amiro's wake as he shot arrows at the fleeing enemies, but a Selemur suddenly leaped out of cover and spooked her Shinoon.

Unable to control it in time, it carried her down another path between the tents. But instead of panicking, she drove her mount onward to regroup with her family on the other side. However, she saw a Selemur raider emerging from a tent with a bloody Gadat halberd, carrying a stack of furs under his arm.

Viyal found herself naturally drawing her bow and unleashing an arrow into the back of his neck. She had shot it with pinpoint accuracy that surprised even herself. The beast did not fall and looked over his shoulder with a hateful glare. But Viyal was not deterred and drew another arrow. The Selemur raider dropped his loot and turned around to fight, knowing he could not escape from a mounted archer.

Yunil suddenly rode past Viyal with her spear couched and pointed at the enemy. He leveled his halberd's sharp end at her, but the young Mosyv shot another arrow and hit him in the eye. Even that was not enough to kill him, but it threw off his aim. The Nokkoy dodged the halberd and stabbed her spear into the Selemur's throat so hard that its tip exited through its thick neck, and the shaft shattered from the impact.

The raider stumbled and fell onto his backside but scrambled back up to his feet despite the grievous wound. He swung his halberd at Yunil with desperate strength, but she caught it and yanked it out of his faltering grip. She spun it around and split the saber-toothed beast's skull with his own weapon, finally ending his life.

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Viyal stared at the twitching corpse and suppressed the urge to vomit. She had seen death aplenty since being reborn into this world, but this was the first time she had been involved in it. In the heat of the moment, her lacking archery skills finally blossomed, and she helped take a life. But instead of remorse, she felt only trepidation. If all Selemur were this hard to kill, how could they ever defeat twenty thousand of them?

Yunil looked at the Gadat weapon in her hands and noted how well it suited her recently overflowing strength despite being too large for her hands still. It would be a while before she could wield it to its full effect. She then peered back at Viyal, who seemed lost in thought. "Sister, let's go!"

"Yes, sorry." She shook her head and drove her Shinoon onward to follow Yunil. But she looked back where they came from and wondered where Tashi went. He had not kept up with them, so perhaps he headed for the Chotul tribe's section within the Zakhira camp. Viyal hoped they were unharmed, knowing that they could not defend themselves, unlike the other steppe people.

The two girls rode past burning tents and countless dead bodies, only few of which were Selemur. The sheer amount of death and destruction made it clear that the coalition was done for. After this, they would have to leave the Sunrise Lowlands and recuperate, perhaps for years to come. During that time, the Omagala Empire's hold over these lands would strengthen.

Finally, they reached the opening around the largest tent in the center of the Zakhira camp. Amiro and Gavro arrived only moments later, now on foot and covered in blood. They had encountered enemies along the way and ripped them apart in righteous fury. In the end, Mosyvvi were the apex predators of the steppe, and even Selemur in full Gadat armor were no match for their physical might.

"Daughter!" Amiro called out to Viyal with an expression of relief. Before he could walk toward her, Gavro knocked him aside as he rushed forward. She watched her uncle almost stumble over his own feet as he ran up the small elevation to the chief's tent. Then, she saw it.

"Zalavi!" Gavro screamed as he fell to his knees beside his lifeless wife lying in front of the family tent. She had several visible wounds on her torso, and her shoulder was ripped open. Her hand still clutched a broken spear, its tip drenched in Selemur blood.

Amiro ran past him into the tent and was greeted with an arrow to the shoulder. Inside stood Mamai with her fangs bared, clutching a dagger with both hands, covering Nayavi. When they realized it was the chief, Mamai stepped aside, and Nayavi lowered her bow and collapsed to the floor from the tension leaving her body. Amiro stepped over the Selemur corpse lying on the floor with two arrows in his throat and embraced his wife. Huddling behind her were Lavaro and Layavi, scared but unharmed.

Viyal walked up to Gavro hugging Zalavi's body and stared at her aunt's empty eyes. Her vision spun as the words 'chosen one' echoed over and over in her mind. She was the Omen Child, destined to rule the world - or die before her thirteenth birthday. Now, death had found one in her family, and her tribe was in pieces. Had she fallen from the right path? Would she spiral toward her demise from now on?

"Brother, your children are safe!" Amiro emerged from the tent to announce, shaking her from her mental freefall. Gavro looked up at his brother with his mouth open. He placed down Zalavi and caressed her cheek one last time before standing up and wiping his tears. His children would not get to see their father showing weakness. He had to be a pillar of support for them.

As Gavro walked past him to see Lavaro and Layavi, Amiro ordered his warriors to secure the camp and drive out the remaining Selemur. He looked back where they came from and saw the coalition army's riders still crossing the hill in the distance and coming toward them. They needed to consolidate quickly and prepare to fight.

"Go see your mother," Amiro said and placed a hand on Viyal's head. She only now noticed the tears streaming down her face as she continued to stare at her aunt's body. Wiping it with her sleeve, she turned away and entered the tent after Gavro, closely followed by Yunil.

"My child!" Nayavi cried out, embracing Viyal the moment she saw her. She waved Yunil over to do the same when she found her standing at the entrance awkwardly.

"Aunt Zalavi is dead," Viyal muttered into her mother's chest.

"I know," Nayavi responded, causing her daughter to look up in surprise. She wore a strained expression, pressing her lips together to stop her emotions from overflowing. It was clear she would have burst into tears if she did not have to stay strong in front of her children. But that only caused sadness to overcome Viyal once again.

"We need to move. The enemy is coming," Amiro peeked into the tent and announced. They were not even given time to mourn. If they did not pack up the little they could afford to carry on their Shinoona and departed, they would be pincered between the Selemur alliance and the Gadat army chasing after their stragglers coming in from the sieges.

When Viyal exited the tent with her family, Noro and Saro arrived with their wives. They were in tears, and Zagaro was nowhere to be seen, making it clear what had happened. Even though Savira and Vayari had yet to have children and were still physically strong, they were no match for Selemur warriors. Their father had given his life to protect them until the end so that his bloodline could continue in them.

Amiro quickly drummed up the tribe's warriors and had them gather the civilians so that they could depart. At one point, Tashi returned to Viyal's side, his clothes covered in blood. His expression told volumes about what had happened, so she did not ask when he joined them silently.

Rowen soon arrived with the slowest riders of the tribe, who barely escaped the pursuing Gadat army. He saw Zalavi's body in front of the tent, hastily covered with burial talismans since they could not afford to bring her body along. His gray beard parted and revealed an open mouth rounded in regret. The old knight quickly dismounted and took a knee before Gavro, lowering his head in apology. "I should have remained here to guard your tent instead of uselessly joining the siege camp."

"No, I wanted you by my side as my champion. It was my mistake that I could not utilize your strengths where they were needed, old friend," Amiro declared with a pained expression. But Gavro only shook his head and helped Rowen back to his feet.

"Nobody could have known the Ishtemur would stab us in the back. It is nobody's fault but theirs," he argued with a hateful glare in the direction of the Selemur alliance outside the camp. Lavaro and Layavi pulled on the hem of his shirt anxiously, and he looked at them with a forced smile before picking them up into his arms and placing them onto the saddle of a fresh Shinoon.

A Gadat horn reached their ears, answered by many more. The cavalry among the empire's reinforcements had caught up to them, led by none other than Fau Tu. Mong Rau had given him orders to drive the barbarians into the fangs of the Selemur army to the north and keep their own losses to a minimum. They could not rely on the collaborators to not attack them, so this pincer maneuver could not turn into a full encirclement.

Amiro saw through that fact when he noticed the Gadat army's eastern and western wings not moving in step with the central main army as they approached. He led the Zakhira tribe to the west, traveling under the cover of the burning camp. The fight was over; this was the only path to survival.

Viyal originally thought the coalition army could stand united against the Selemur alliance and defeat them with their superior numbers. But she realized that the warriors had lost their will to fight now that most of their families had been slaughtered. An army with low morale was doomed to defeat. Thus, they had to sacrifice the other tribes who were too slow to escape so that their people could get out of this situation alive.

She looked back at the burning camp, wondering where Altuna was. The Selemur and Shuva were mortal enemies, so they would likely target them above all the other steppe people. Who knew how many they slaughtered in the Shaankhor camp if the Zakhira were already in pieces like this? She could only pray that Altuna and her family made it out alive.

They were finally out of the coalition camp and on the open plains. With no fire and smoke to hide them, the Selemur and Gadat could see them making a break for the wide gap between their wings. Both sides sent a detachment of a few hundred to chase after them, but the saber-toothed beasts soon gave up. They were like the Nokkoy, capable of running as fast as Shinoona carrying riders. However, they recognized that it would tire them out too much to fight after they caught up, so they turned back and left it to the Gadat.

The Samagshin riders soon caught up to the Zakhira tribe's rear and unleashed crossbows into their backs. They were slower than usual because they had civilians who were not especially skilled at riding among them. Rowen broke away from them and led a small detachment to hold them back to ensure the tribe's escape. It was his way of atoning for what he perceived to have been his failure.

However, the Gadat did not let themselves get entangled more than necessary. They left behind equal numbers to keep Rowen's unit occupied while the majority split off to continue the pursuit. Thus, harried by crossbow fire, the Zakhira tribe's remnants continued their hasty escape.

Amiro looked back repeatedly, staring past the pursuers as he drove his Shinoon onward. Finally, he decided that they had come far enough and let out a roar, raising his spear high. The entire tribe came to a stop and made their stand. The sudden shift surprised the Samagshin, and they were too slow to change directions. A volley of arrows felled dozens of them, and the Zakhira warriors rode forth to clash with them.

Viyal looked past the battle and found Rowen's detachment coming over a hill. They soon hit the enemy soldiers in the rear, inducing a rout. Within minutes, the Gadat scattered in every direction, and the Zakhira were safe. Of course, that was not true in the grand scheme of things. They had to continue running as far as they could to leave the Selemur alliance or the empire's reach.

A long and arduous ride to safety lay ahead of them.

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