Chapter 444: The Rain

Dom headed to the central Command Tower that had been erected just behind the centre of the Eruthros Wall. His Guards flanked him as he travelled with Xun You, the other Generals taking their horses and heading towards their parts of the wall in preparation. Dom expected that Huang Zhong and Pausanias would use the other Command Towers that were placed at half way points between the Central Tower and either the Fort or the Red Hare Valley, for their own view of the overall Battlefield.

Xun You climbed up the temporary staircase that circled the Tower, that had a clear view over the wall and the open plains beyond. Dom followed him up, with only Actumerus joining him from his guards as there was limited space at the top of the Tower, with some flag bearers and signallers already awaiting at the top. One of his other Guards stood at the bottom, along side the guards of Xun You, whilst the other two headed towards the Sabre Tooth Tigers so they could bring the five to the bottom of the Tower for when they were needed.

Actumerus held a shield today, unlike usual, to make sure that he could protect Dom if an enemy Arrow was somehow able to reach them as it had at Mount Mycale. The sky had become more grey than earlier, with the slightest drops of rain occasionally landed upon Dom's black armour. It was nothing more than a trickle, but Dom wasn't looking forward to standing still in a heavy downpour which was feasible from the colour of the sky.

"Lucius will be glad for the rain's." Xun You commented as he felt it on his own hand, his large silk headpiece protecting him from some of the rain drops, but not all.

"I expect he will." Dom agreed, as the two of them shared a brief smile before looking out to the approaching stick figures in the distance. Dom couldn't see an end to the dark mass that was approaching them, as it marched in a tight formation and neat ranks towards the Eruthros Wall. He hoped they wouldn't know what to expect, the enemy scouts having been constantly screened and cleared by Subutai's Horse Archers.

Whilst the enemy couldn't be seen clearly, the sound of them could be heard. The ground seemed to tremor slightly as they marched forwards, the sound of swords banging against shields and the march of thousands of men carried on the wind towards them. Dom looked down to the ranks of his men below, all waiting patiently for their orders, but the enemies had many layers of pre-arranged layers of defence to pass through first, before the swords of the Lazarus Kingdom could be blooded.

"Here he comes." Xun You stated with a small tinge of excitement in his voice. Xun You was quite a calm and expressionless person, who seemed to constantly be several steps ahead of everyone else in the way he thought. When he did speak, his words were normally thoughtful and meaningful. So for Xun You to show excitement, Dom knew something good was about to happen.

The first thing Dom noticed was a large dark cloud that seemed to appear out of nowhere, it raised from a small woods to the south of them, raising high in the sky, before falling towards the mass of enemies that were approaching them in the distance. It wasn't clearly obvious what had happened, however the enemies approach seemed to slow slightly and had thinned slightly on their eastern flank. As the first dark cloud descended on them, a second began to raise from the forest, following the same trajectory.

"And now they react." Xun You commented, as a large number of enemies, taller than the rest, seemed to speed towards the location the Arrows came from. Xun You paused before continuing. "They seem to have a higher number of Cavalry than scouted, but it's still not enough to cause issues with our plans."

The second cloud descended amongst the mass of enemies, as a third one was launched again. The enemy Cavalry charged towards the location where Subutai's forces were waiting for them, as they loosed a fourth cloud and were suddenly visible as they began retreating. Dom knew that they could keep launching arrows at the enemy Cavalry, but if they seemed the organised group that they were, the enemy would retreat and reduce the damage they could cause.

The enemies main force continued forwards, losing their flank protection but having no worries of any further flanking attacks as they marched towards the Wall they weren't expecting to be completed yet. Dom still couldn't see the faces of his enemies, but they were becoming more obvious to be humans.

"They will be within range of the Onagers in the next twenty seconds." One of Xun You's Aides announced, as Xun You nodded in response.

"Signal them to prepare, but we will not launch until they are well within the zone. I want the stones to fall within their ranks, not on their front lines." Xun You replied as he watched, seeing the lines himself and not needing the Aide to comment. Dom stood beside him, waiting patiently for Xun You's signal, as did the many men behind them that were stood by the towering weapons of war that had been built under Ptolemy's instruction.

"They are in range." The Aide stated after moments passed, with Dom's eyes being able to see the colour of the shields of the front rows of the enemies as they now approached.

"Patience." Xun You replied, as he closed his own eyes to feel the rain drops on his face and the slight breeze that was picking up from behind them. "Let them get to the second line before we launch."

"The second Line?" Dom asked him, not questioning his decision, but wanting to understand the logic behind the Heroes thoughts.

"When they wish to shield themselves from our Arrows, the stones shall fall amongst them. When they reach the first line, believing themselves free of the stones, we will launch the Ballistae. The power and range of the Ballistae are better than the Arrows, but it will mean that no where within their ranks will be safe." Xun You replied, with Dom imagining being amongst the enemy ranks as stones, bolts and arrows all seemed to attack them at once. Xun You waited for a few more moments, the sight of the enemy even more visible now that Dom could see the unhelmed faces of some of the front rows of the warm brown skinned infantry that approached. "Signal the Archers to prepare."

Dom looked down at the Archers below him, the Forbidden Guard had been placed behind his Praetorians, whilst the Slingers and Han Archers were positioned up and down the wall. They all grabbed their arrows, placing them in their bows as they prepared themselves to aim over the wall in front of them.

"Signal Xanthippus to prepare." Xun You then ordered, as one of the Aide's waved a flag towards the tower of Pausanias, whose tower repeated the signal towards the Fort. "On my count, unleash."

There was a pause, as the ground continued to shake and the chants and war cries of the enemies in front of them gained momentum. Dom wasn't sure how much the enemy knew of his own forces, but he hoped they would have unfounded confidence in their approach.

"Unleash!" Xun You ordered, as the Aide's waved their flags, the other towers repeating as the the giant machines released their stones. There was a loud crack, followed by silence and then a loud thump as the arm of the giant slings released it's heavy stone. Dom could hear the sound of the stones as they flew through the air, a whip followed by a whooshing noise as they flew over his head and towards the enemies beyond. "Archers to loose on my mark!"

The Stones landed amongst the compact ranks of the enemies forces, the sounds of loud thumps and then the screams that followed as the enemy continued marching on, some tension visible on the faces that Dom could see.

"Loose!" Xun You followed, as the first batch of Arrows flew in to the air, landing amongst the enemy ranks as the sound of cranks could be heard behind them as the Stone Throwers were prepared for their next attack. The enemies raised their shields in an attempt to protect themselves, but the improved Bows of Riverside could easily pierce the light shields of the enemies forward ranks. Dom's worry was the heavier forces that were further in, but were currently being hit by the stones as a second more broken volley appeared amongst their ranks.

The enemy continued to march on though, which made Dom feel that the enemies Commander had the trust of his men, as hundreds dropped from the Arrows or the Stones that landed amongst them. Dom could hear the whipping sound of the Slingers as they loosened their own stones, tiny pebbles in comparison to the size of the giant rocks from the Stone Throwers.

"Prepare Ballistae!" Xun You ordered, the flag waving again as the Ballistae on the Walls were suddenly made visible, the screen in front of them that had been prepared, dropping to show the powerful machines, with a small wooden palisade to protect their crews. The fleet of Xanthippus could also be seen moving forwards on the Calm River, their own Ballistae and Archers preparing to be involved now the enemy had made their way closer to the forward line.

Dom could still see the front line of the enemies faces, seemingly untouched from the Arrows and Stones which landed amongst the ranks behind them, aware of what was happening to their fellow units, but the confidence in their approach not dropping. Dom could see the sight of some ladders being carried amongst them, remembering their own assault on the walls in the Wu Family Quest.

"Loose at will!" Xun You ordered, as the powerful Ballista responded to his order, the powerful bolts having no need to aim amongst the thick ranks of enemy forces that approached them. Dom watched as the first bolt punctured through the enemy front line, skewering the Warrior to those behind him as they fell to the side dead. Many other followed as the Fleet unleashed their own volley, the enemies exposed to the River Attack falling in to the River itself as the forces tried to move itself southwards away from the River's edge. There was some disorganisation in the enemy lines, with signs of worry on the faces that Dom could see. He wondered if they would break and retreat, but their Commanders seemed to be pushing them on.

Dom could see enemy ships in the distance, transport ships mainly from his understanding. His own fleet seemed to notice them first though, as the Trireme in the fleet powered forwards to meet the oncoming foe as the Louchuan and Mengchong's continued to use their Ballista, Crossbow and Bow's to rain arrows and bolts amongst the enemy flank.

"They will be at the wall soon." Xun You commented, having the signal to prepare to defend the wall sent up and down through the signals. The Legionaries and Hoplite preparing themselves, as the Legionaries ready their Pilum to throw when the enemy reached them. Dom looked at Xun You, whose eyes seemed to be scanning the slaughter before him, the enemy numbers thinning every moment that they approached the wall. He could see the satisfaction in his eyes as Xun You spoke. "Do not relax, continue to loose!"

Dom continued to watch as the Bolts, Stones and Arrows fell amongst the enemy ranks. The enemy thinned in large areas, but seemed that it's tide of Warriors continued to fill the gaps as they progressed. Dom could even see from his vantage point the heavier armourer Warriors who were pushing through the lines to keep the Warriors moving, one taking an arrow to the throat as they approached and falling like a rag within the ranks, trampled on by those that marched behind him. Those in the front rows started to waver as the Bolts ripped through their ranks, faces that Dom had seen earlier now having disappeared. Dom could also hear the slight drops of rain as they fell amongst his armour, faster and heavier than earlier, the sky beginning to open more as the morning passed to afternoon.