Chapter 453: Flowing

"Excellent." Xun You commented to himself as Dom watched the Cavalry in the distance, their armour reflecting what little light was left beneath the thick grey clouds. In the distance, Dom could see some bright spots between the clouds where the sunlight was shining through. He wasn't sure how many hours had passed, but it was clear from the little light he could see in the distance that they must be in the late afternoon now.

"Huang Zhong recommended I take the Sabre Tooths Cavalry under Chen Lu and attack from the Fort down the line." Dom mentioned to him, whilst Ptolemy was quiet as he watched the chaos beneath them and beneath the wall. The enemy were pushed against the Eruthros wall, entering where they could. Those on the River Flank were being engaged by the Boats that had ended their naval engagement, with Arrows and Bolts raining down on the enemies exposed flank.

Every now and then Dom could see an enemy fall in to the River, pushed by the crush of their allies around them as they moved forwards, pushed on by their commanders to break through and make the losses so far worthwhile with a victory. Those that did fall weren't seen for long, as the long shapes of the Titanaconda within the River pulled them beneath the less than calm ripples of the water.

"They will need to push through or disengage." Xun You replied, not ignoring Dom, but sharing his thoughts out loud with Dom and Ptolemy. "They have been fighting since morning, whilst their main force hasn't been engaged the whole time, they will have tired legs and mental exhaustion."

"They can't see the death that awaits them when they enter." Ptolemy commented, as he turned to Dom. "Huang Zhong's idea is good, but mine is better. Take them to the South point and push them up towards the River instead. If you can create an opening beyond the wall, our Legionaries can engage."

"I agree, If we can crush them as they enter, and then push them north towards the waters edge, we can fully encircle them with the Cavalry now re-engaged. Their only routes will be death in the River or to escape to the north." Xun You agreed, as he turned to Dom. "Chen Lu can lead this charge himself, you do not need to join them."

"I know, but I will join them." Dom replied, seeing the importance of the task. If he could break free between Huang Zhong and Tomoe's location, they could secure an opening for the Legionaries to march out to engage the enemy. With their other forces engaging the enemy beyond the wall and the encirclement now happening with the Cavalry, they could slowly push the enemy back, especially with the day getting later and most ancient Tacticians choosing to fight from morning until late afternoon.

"As a young King should." Ptolemy agreed with a nod. "Whilst you are young, you should lead from the front and understand the glory of war. Then, when you are older, you can command from your throne with a better understanding of what is taking place."

"A King can just as well command from here than he can from the front, but I understand the excitement of youth." Xun You replied as he looked to the River and then shouted to one of his Aides. "Have a signal for the Fleet to move to the North Shore, I want them ready to destroy anyone that falls in the River. Have them concentrate on capturing any enemy commanders for information."

"What of the rest?" The Aide asked, as he prepared to send signals for the base information, whilst another would mount his horse and ride to the coast. Xun You turned to Ptolemy, to see if their thoughts matched.

"Normally I would say capture them, and then send them out against the enemy. But we do not know who we are fighting and our Kingdom is at a stage where bringing in a large amount of strangers who can not be watched, could destabilise. Even if you made them all farmers or miners." Ptolemy replied, "I would kill the majority of them."

"I would have to agree, normally they will fight for who ever feeds them and pays them." Xun You replied, "But, the Kingdom has just been founded and they dare to attack our lands. I agree, Capture Commanders, Kill the rest."

Dom looked at the two of them, seeing the seriousness in their faces as another Aide ran to pass messages to the different Generals of the Plan to push out from the South Gates and counter attack, whilst the Hoplite that were currently resting would be brought forwards to reinforce the current Legionaries on the front line.

More enemies came pushing through the gates and Dom could see the large holes in the enemy lines where their retreating elephants had been before they had either escaped through the lines or been cut down by their own men. The enemy had little Cavalry left and they were trying to engage Dom's own Cavalry who were now hitting the flank like a wave, as half of them broke off and began hitting near the enemies rear lines. Dom knew that a gap at the rear was being left on purpose to allow an escape route for the enemy. If the enemy had no escape route, they would fight to the death and the Lazarus Kingdom would take many more losses than it needed, whilst if they could escape, they could cut them down as they fled.

Dom headed down the stairs of the new Tower, men around him pushing forwards to support some of those that were rotating outwards of the front lines. The sounds of grunts and stabs could be heard amongst the rain, whilst echoes of screams of pain and anguish were the loudest of them all. Dom could see that the lines would need to move backwards again soon if they didn't act, the mud beneath the Legionaries feet become as dangerous as that of the first location. Thankfully, the enemy was struggling themselves, having to come through the land the Hoplite had been stood on originally to reach the Legionaries. Some men could be seen slipping before they approach, their bodies covered in wet mud that made them slow and sluggish as they reached the wall of Legionary Shields.

"Ready when you are." Centurion Chen Lu said to Dom a few minutes later, an Aide had been sent to collect the hundred Sabre Tooth Tigers that were with him, some others had been used in ambush sites or were with other forces in the Lazarus Kingdom, but this elite unit of Forbidden Guard was one of their best hidden weapons.

"Then let's go." Dom replied, with Actumerus on one side of him and Chen Lu on the other. One of the Guards held a Lazarus Kingdom flag aloft, so the men could see that Dom was about to join the Battle. Dom looked at his Cavalry, giant Tigers with wet fur and dangerous sabre like teeth, with heavily armoured men riding them with spears and swords. It was a sight that would intimidate any veteran and he hoped them arriving on the Battlefield would cause some disruption regardless.

They soon passed by Arimnestos and Huang Zhong, both who were sending some of their Legionary reserves to support Dom in his flanking attack. Huang Zhong wished him luck as Dom soon approached the most southern opening where enemies were still pushing through but Huang Zhong had already had his men reclaim the first position and created a semi circle to Tomoe's position.

Dom had his Cavalry placed behind the Legionaries in the front row that were currently fighting against the enemies that tried to push their way through, his beasts partially hidden from the enemies sight. He looked towards Chen Lu and nodded, the two of them ready to push forwards. He was about to signal the Carnyx holder to signal for the Legionaries to part, allowing him them to charge through the centre, when something from the side of his eye caught his attention.

Tomoe appeared, riding on a Red Hare Horse with several riders behind her, the riders were mainly Zhao Yun's White Horse Riders, but there was also some of the Batavi Cavalry amongst them. He couldn't see her face, as she still wore her Demon Menpo mask, but her blades were both sheaved by her side and her Naginata was held loosely as she rode. She came to a Halt as she reached Dom's position, whilst she shouted to the others.

"Get him to the temporary Clinic in Eruthros and have demand that Hua Tuo looks over him immediately!" She ordered, her voice loud and commanding. "Have the other information sent to Xun You!"

The group split, with six horsemen charging East towards Eruthros, a Warrior that Dom couldn't see properly being held between them, his legs and hands loose as they rode. Whilst the Batavi and a couple of the White Horse Cavalry headed towards the new Command Tower where Xun You was currently. Tomoe stayed behind, with her own honour guard mounted with her. She was still covered in blood and the Sabre Tooth Tigers looked at her with a tinge of excitement and also fear from the aura they understood as a leader.

"What has happened?" Dom asked, wanting to know why she was here and had left her position.

"My men have the Forest under control, Megabyzus has taken temporary command and we have enough Elites there to keep it secure." She began, removing her Demon mask to show a look of concern on her face. "Gan Ning returned from his attack, he collected plenty of documents, maps and the enemies flags. We should be able to work out who we are fighting and maybe even why from what he has gathered."

"That is great news! Has he joined up with Zhao Yun?" Dom asked, having not seen his General amongst those that had returned. Gan Ning was one of his most trusted Generals and someone that he had created a genuine connection with, if you could with a character in a game. He felt he had with quite a few of them at this point, but Gan Ning had a special place in his heart amongst his Heroes.

"Dom." She stated, coming towards him and putting her grieved hand on his shoulder, her voice reassuring but with a tone of worry in it. Actumerus didn't react, knowing that she meant no harm and that there was little he could do to stop her even if she did. Dom however was more confused by the fact Tomoe had called him Dom. The only people who had called him that in the game so far were Andrew and Kai, and all of the game Characters knew him as Lazarus, Lord Lazarus or King Lazarus. For a moment, it felt like the game world had blurred with reality and Dom could not differentiate the two. "Gan Ning has been injured, badly. He is unconscious and has lost a lot of blood. He has travelled in this weather on the back of horses and men. I , I do not know if he will make it."

For some reason, Dom closed his eyes. He had played games before, where important characters to the main character who had been with you for a long time, were killed in Battle or by the Bad Guy. There was one game where the Main Character had to be a distraction to the main party could survive, and another where the Love Interest had been killed by the Bad Guy out of his reach. Dom had normally felt a tinge of pain at it, as if he had lost a connection he had built, but World Conquest Online was something else. The connections felt a lot more real, and Dom hadn't felt the rage burning in him right now since the news his mother had passed all those years ago.

"Chen Lu, signal the men, we are charging!" Dom ordered, anger and rage flowing in his tone that even Imperator could feel. The mighty Sabre Tooth Tiger below him bellowed a loud roar. The roar was pained, as if feeling Dom's pain, as it echoed across the battlefield, through the rain so that all of the Battle around them paused for a moment to hear it. The other Tigers followed, bellowing their own roar's from the depths of their stomachs, the terrifying noise being heard for miles around. Dom looked at Tomoe, who nodded and put on her Demon Menpo Mask again and placed her Red Hare between himself and Chen Lu. Dom roared along with Imperator, raising his Zhan Lu Blade high as the Carnyx behind echoed, the Legionaries parting as Dom pointed his blade forward. "Forwards!"