The full light of the morning sun finally broke across the horizon, sending its clear, cold light flooding the battlefield. The remaining mist was gone, leaving the view of the ongoing conflict in brutal, high-definition focus. The tiger-beasts continued to swoop through the Razaasia camp, a terrifying, mobile hunting force, while the main forces below prepared for impact.
The Razaasia cavalry force, witnessing the Musian descent, broke immediately into two groups. The larger force veered left to meet Hibo and her thousands of charging Musian warriors head-on. The smaller group continued straight, aiming for Chinua and the remaining Ginmiao soldiers.
But before they could close the distance, the Salran Hill Bandits—the true cavalry—arrived. They split into two groups, the larger one, led by Azad, rushing straight toward Chinua and Konn. Their bows were already drawn, and they took their position, releasing their arrows not at the Razaasia riders, but at their horses. Every arrow found its target in the side or legs of the warhorses, a ruthless tactic designed to take down as many front-line mounts as possible before they reached the core Ginmiao force.
Then came the collision. The sound of the frontline—the Ginmiao, the Musian, the Razaasia, and the Salran Hill Bandits—slamming together was like a collapsing mountainside. Metal weapons hitting steel sounded like a thousand blacksmiths working in furious tempo, and the shouts of battle and screams of agony were like thunder in the ears of the soldiers still on the city wall ramparts.
As the Razaasia soldiers were forced to pull back, retreating toward their main camp to regroup, the combined Ginmiao, Musian, and Salran Hill Bandits stood firm, forming a solid, defiant line behind Chinua and Xue.
Konn quickly jumped off the back of Chinua's horse, taking the reins of a spare mount. He rode to take his position, standing next to General Xue and the Ginmiao soldiers who had just ridden out of the city to back up the main assault.
His eyes were still staring at the soldier whose name was unknown to him, and in that moment, he realized that the person he had thought was merely an unknown soldier—an exceptionally good archer—might not be as ordinary as they seemed.
"Father," he asked Xue, turning his gaze from Chinua to the General. "Who is that soldier?"
Xue turned to look at Chinua, who was now deeply engaged in consultation with her friends, Hibo and Azad. He shook his head. "I have no idea, Konn. But Hye said those reinforcements are here for her, not for us. These new arrivals are neither our friends nor our enemies; they are that soldier's."
Facing the enemy, Chinua looked over at Azad, who stood flank to her right, leading the Salran Hill Bandits.
"Azad, you know this ground better than any of us. We need to cut the main Razaasia infantry column in half, right at its waist, and then let them bleed out."
Then she realized that Azad was not part of her plan, she turned to him in confusion. "How did you get here!" Chinua demanded, her voice tight with both fury and relief. "Are you and your brothers supposed to be guarding my brother in the Eastern Military Camp?"
Azad shrugged his shoulder, then tossed Chinua her spare spear. He watched her catch the weapon gracefully. "My father said he will not let the prince be in danger," Azad said with a soft, knowing smile. "My father also said, if you want to blame someone, you blame Hye."
"Yea..." Chinua muttered to herself. Although she knew she was due an explanation from Hye, she herself had some explaining to do. She had thought she put a solid contingency plan in place, but Hye had completely outmaneuvered her, ensuring her survival by deploying the forces meant to protect her brother. She sighed with happiness, knowing that she had placed herself in danger, but she would do it all over again if it meant saving the life of the most important person in her life.
Chinua saw they had the upper hand for now, but they were still severely lacking in numbers. If they were to win this battle once and for all, they had to attack nonstop. She quickly formed a plan: they needed to cut the large, remaining Razaasia force in half and fight them using guerrilla tactics instead of attempting a conventional battle against such large numbers.
Chinua knew that while this specific battlefield belonged to the Ginmiao generals, a stalemated victory—a simple retreat by the Razaasia—would solve nothing. Without a total, devastating tactical defeat orchestrated by her, the Razaasia army would simply return, and the long, senseless war would drag on.
She also knew the real reason the Razaasia were here was not for the people behind the wall, but for her head. She was not about to let them come and go as they pleased. She intended to send a clear message to every enemy and every potential rival that no one would stand a chance against her and her army, anytime, anywhere.
Instead of waiting for General Xue to take charge, Chinua pulled her horse forward. She turned to face the combined, tense ranks of soldiers from three different nations: the cautious Ginmiao, the fierce Musian, and the wild Salran Bandits. Her voice was sharp, clear, and precise as she spoke, resonating with sheer determination.
"Listen, men!" Chinua shouted, her eyes fiercely scanning the thousands of faces standing before her. "Today, you are not just soldiers; you are warriors of those you swore to protect. A true warrior fights to protect those he loves. Therefore, if you fail to hold this line and protect the city, you will lose everything and everyone behind that wall." She paused, letting the heavy weight of her words settle on the Ginmiao soldiers.
"Brothers of Gimsong, whether your war is over or not, today is the day to determine it. Look around you. Standing before you are friends of different backgrounds, and yet, we can put down our differences and become allies in times of desperate need."
She took a step further, positioning herself as a bridge between the warring nations. "I am standing here to show my sincerity that the long grudge created by our ancestors should come to an end. Lives on both sides have been lost for a senseless war over a piece of land that is not big enough to bury our fallen brothers. Let us rewrite history, not with words, but with the blood we are to shed today—a promise, a commitment to show the world that if we put down our differences and each take a step back, we can rebuild a world filled with smiles that are free of hunger, separation, and death."
She paused once more, her gaze meeting theirs. "So, ask yourselves: Do you want to live knowing the enemy is still at your border, or do you wish to go home at the end of the day and sleep with a peace of mind? I ask you to fight with me for a chance to make history, not as your long-time enemy, but as your new allies. The choice is yours."
She turned her horse sharply, now facing the fully reinforced Razaasia soldiers, who were beginning to organize against the flank attack.
"Men of Hmagol Eastern Military Camp!" Her voice roared, piercing the morning air. "Scorpion formation!"
The Salran Hill Bandits of four thousand riders quickly lined up after Chinua, their ranks filled with the most skilled and heavily armed warriors, led by Azad. Their spears were held tightly in their right hands, their long shields locked on their left. Their primary function was to be the penetrating tip—to shock and break the enemy's front line.
The four thousand bandits fanned out into eight lines, four on each side, with five hundred soldiers in each line, widening the gap and preventing the Razaasia from closing the breach once the central attack was underway. The middle section was the largest part of the formation, composed of the bulk cavalry of the Musian forces.
Chinua knew this formation was a monumental gamble. The Head of the Scorpion was designed to break the enemy's front. The Body (the Musians) and the eight legs (the Bandits) were to attack and separate the large Razaasia force, protecting the main body as it spread to attack the enemy's heart. Chinua had explicitly left the tail—the rear flank—open, counting entirely on the Ginmiao soldiers to fill the void.
If the Ginmiao refused to act as the flank, Chinua risked being attacked on all sides. But if the Ginmiao soldiers and commanders agreed to her peace offering, she would not only gain lifelong allies, but also complete Hye's wish to establish Nue-Li City as a neutral territory belonging entirely to the people.
From behind, Konn had never witnessed such a breathtaking maneuver, nor the sight of people with totally different skin colors, cultures, and beliefs joining in such a massive, synchronized fighting formation against a single shared enemy. If Konn wanted to be part of history, this was the moment he could not miss.
He looked at his father. "Father, are we really going to let them fight our war for us?" Konn had decided that if his father refused to help, he would march ahead and join Chinua and her army alone.
Xue sighed, looking at the complex, living war machine forming before them. He replied, quoting an ancient military axiom, "A true scorpion will not be missing its tail."
With that, General Xue and Konn marched forward, leading their Ginmiao forces to join the Musians and the Bandits. They completed the Scorpion formation, and the peace treaty of Nue-Li City was signed, not in ink, but in the shared shed of blood on the battlefield they were walking toward.