The Sea King's army moved slowly through the mountain gorges. The frivolous, cheerful greenery - thickets of tamarisk, spreading olives, laurel
— gradually gave way to gloomy, hard juniper. The grottoes and rocky walls were overgrown with ivy, which was becoming dry and brown before our eyes. It seemed to Khani that these changes were happening precisely when the silent, orderly ranks of the Ice Ones, rhythmically beating out their steps, passed by. The sun itself somehow dimmed over the cold snake of the army, writhing along the bizarrely winding road. Flowers and plants drooped and withered, scorched by the cold, creeping away from the gloomy column.
The Sea King himself looked around slightly frightened, trying to understand what was going on. It seemed that this was not quite what he wanted. There were constant skirmishes between the Ice Captain General and the Pearl Guard commander. The King was unable to put them out, and he did not even try, moving to the middle of his guard formation just in case.
The Misty Mountains were getting closer, a long, dim arc to the east, gradually melting into a haze of dust and mist. The army passed the gentle hills of the foothills, covered with coniferous trees - pines, firs, cedars. The king's anxiety was growing. He constantly seemed to hear strange rustlings and knocks. Khani watched with glee as the king twitched and jumped up, hearing the flapping of a bird's wings. However, the army did not turn, it went straight to the Rainbow Gorge. Earlier, Khani intended to lead the King there, but Frozen himself, without any orders, headed in that direction.
The king looked down warily and shook his head.
- I don't like this place. I really don't like it!
The narrow road, paved with slabs cracked by antiquity, ended as if cut off, resting against a large granite boulder with incomprehensible signs carved into it. A narrow path wound down to the bottom of the gorge. Khani smiled, noticing the familiar glimmer of multi-colored lights on the gray rocks that squeezed the gorge. Only one thing worried him - the gradually strengthening wind from the west carried with it a heap of disheveled clouds, which at times obscured the sun, and then the lights went out...
The king shivered:
— It's a bit cold.
Turning around, he almost bumped into Frozen who had approached and staggered to the side.
"It's you again... Then it's clear," and he wrapped his robe tighter around himself, which had become completely frayed during the journey.
"Do you order us to move out?" The captain-general's voice was, as always, muffled, as if Frozen had never left a deep, damp cellar.
The King looked at his thin, pale face, expressionless, at the dark hollows of his eyes, and beckoned to Tennen, the commander of the Pearls, to him.
- I'm afraid.
- What?
- Ambushes. This place is too convenient.
"That's right," Tennen confirmed. "If I were in Diamond's place, I wouldn't hesitate to attack when the army came down."
Frozen looked at them with disdain and grinned. Khani thought he heard the sound of ice breaking in his smile.
- Nonsense. My soldiers will defeat any enemy. Besides, the time has finally come to settle accounts with the Rainbows. I have waited for this day for a long, long time, and I will not retreat when the goal is so close.
"Are you so sure of success?" Tennen asked doubtfully.
- Of course! After all, fortunately, we have more than just your panties.
Tennen growled in anger and pulled out his sword from its sheath, the long curved blade whistling.
- But-but... Stop, - the King intervened. - We don't need quarrels in the face of the enemy. We must be united, like our opponents.
"United?" Frozen said sarcastically.
"Yes," the King snapped.
The captain general shrugged.
- I received an order to obey you. Order. But only reasonably.
Now the King choked, but remained silent.
"Bring this brat," Tennen ordered, putting away his sword. "We'll clear this all up now. Maybe our arguments are in vain, and although I would also prefer to bypass this ravine, we'll still have to go through it."
The two Pearls pulled Khani closer.
"Listen, you... So you're saying that this is the only way to Acanton?" Tennen asked menacingly. "Think carefully, don't make a mistake. Otherwise, you'll have a very bad time."
Khani licked his dry lips.
— Yes.
"Is there no other?" the King asked hopefully.
— We were heading to the Hidden Harbor right here.
The king thoughtfully shook the blue pearl hanging on his chest and chewed his lips.
- Well, look... If you're deceiving me... You'll regret being born!
"You'll regret it!" Tennen confirmed.
"You asked me to show you the shortest route to the city, I showed you. What else do you want from me?" Khani said, puzzled.
"I'll rip off your skin," Tennen promised, as if he hadn't heard.
Khani remained silent.
"Okay," the King decided. "Frozen!" The Captain-General stood at attention. "Order your army to advance. I will move behind with the guard, protecting the rear."
Frozen nodded.
"I'll remember that too," he muttered, turning around.
A wave of the hand - and the trumpets roared hoarsely. Khani could not help but admire the coherence and precision with which the large army was being reorganized. The first detachment of men-at-arms, stretched out in a column of two, began to descend the path.
Khani watched the passing troops with concern. Men-at-arms, spearmen, archers, slingers… It seemed there was no end to them. The faintly shining points of their spears bristled; the sun, in those moments when it peeked out from behind the clouds, sparkled and shimmered on the polished steel of their armor and helmets. Above each unit, a stiff blue flag with a white four-pointed Ice Star floated, swaying slightly. And as if reflected in countless mirrors, the same star glittered on the helmets of the warriors, on the armor of the squad captains.
Approaching the descent, the troops stretched out into a long column, and the warriors began to carefully, pressing themselves against the rock, descend, disappearing over the edge of the cliff. The sun rose higher and higher, and before his eyes, countless swords, pikes, and crossbows continued to flash. The earth hummed and groaned dully from the coordinated step of thousands of forged boots, there were many, many of them. And above, the guard troops in strange figured helmets and plate armor stood motionless. The dark, motionless faces of the Pearls expressed nothing, but when one of the Ice Ones glanced at the King, fear flashed in his eyes. And Khani began to understand that not everything was as simple as it seemed at first. That perhaps the Sea King was not the master here.
But when will this march end? Khani closed his eyes.
Noticing this, the King grunted contentedly.
- That's right! We are strong, we are invincible! Be afraid! - However, there was uncertainty in his voice, as if the King wanted to convince himself, to cheer himself up, to drive away his doubts. - But I am an old and kind man, I do not like blood, so if you want to be with us, it is not too late. If you have some meanness in mind, say so right away. I will understand correctly and forgive you. Otherwise, you will not have time.
"Are we going down soon?" Frozen interrupted him as he approached.
The king looked into the gorge and refused:
- I'll wait for now. And you go, the army needs a commander.
Frozen looked up at him with empty eye sockets, and the King shuddered and retreated closer to Tennen.
- No, no... You know that I don't like this.
"As you wish," the captain-general replied in a strange tone. "I'm going down. A detachment of spearmen will remain with you."
"No, it's not necessary," the King interrupted hastily. "The guard is enough for me."
- No, not enough.
"But…" the King started, but, crushed by the heavy gaze, he became confused. "Okay, let them stay too."
Khani chuckled again. Frozen looked at him intently, motioned for his guards to come over, and disappeared over the cliff.
The king chuckled.
- We'll wait. Caution is no hindrance.
"Correctly so," Tennant confirmed.
The King approached the very edge and, shielding his eyes from the sun, which had finally broken through the clouds, looked down. The even rectangles of the Ice detachments were slowly crawling along the bottom of the gorge, heading towards the grassy slope down which our three travelers had once rolled into the gorge.
No one interfered with the Ice Ones. Here was another glittering chain, running off the path, freezing for a minute, huddled into a shapeless lump, then straightening out - and a new square of men-at-arms crawled after those who had gone forward. The King rubbed his hands contentedly.
- Excellent! It seems the Rainbows won't dare to show up. Too bad, we would have to settle accounts with them. - He winked at Khani. - Where are your friends? Not coming? Ha-ha. I'd like to see these brave men, but it's not working out. Okay, time for us to move.
Khani looked at the rocks with longing. No, everything was calm. Maybe the Woodpecker hadn't flown all the way, hadn't passed anything on to them? Then resistance was really useless. The multi-colored rainbow glare was still fluttering above the rocks, but no bright rays were rising. Only red, blue, and green dots were sparkling slightly. The Pearls' hard hands roughly grabbed Khani, the rope that bound him painfully dug into his body, and a short groan involuntarily escaped his lips. The Sea King grinned maliciously.
It was noticeably cooler at the bottom of the gorge - this side was in the shade. The king turned his head curiously, looking around. He plucked a leaf from a roadside blackberry bush, rubbed it in his palms and was touched:
- Lovely! Almost like seaweed, just as green! - And then he added in a businesslike manner, addressing Khani's guards: - Look, when he leaves, I'll dry him in the slow sun.
The sun rose higher, to its zenith. The army of Icemen was so great that the descent took the whole morning. Now the hot rays penetrated the entire gorge. And suddenly Khani cried out joyfully.
A blinding flash of lightning struck the eyes. Somewhere ahead, hundreds of sparkling multi-colored fountains began to beat, the gloomy gray rocks seemed to tremble and waver - red, blue, green shadows began to dart across them. Shrill cries rang out, the slender rectangles of the Ice began to dart, crumple, and crumble. The tall figure of Frozen flashed in the dust, the general-captain waved his arms, opened his mouth, ordering something, but his voice was not heard in the frightened hubbub. His white cloak fluttered behind his shoulders like the wings of a huge bat. And the trembling rainbow glow grew stronger and stronger, it seemed as if a multitude of colored suns were pulsating in the gorge.
When Khani managed to open his teary eyes, he saw what he had been waiting for a long time with growing impatience. An army of Rainbows deployed across the gorge. In the center, the phalanx of Rubies sparkled and shimmered in all shades of red, pink, crimson. Heavy rectangular shields as tall as a man, closed in an impenetrable wall, seemed like the armor of some unknown beast. Hundreds of spears swung in a single, coordinated movement, the crests of helmets trembled, and the phalanx bristled with large, palm-wide, sarissa blades. Another silent command - and the spears of the second row fell on the shoulders of the warriors of the first, then the spears of the third row appeared in exactly the same way, the fourth ... And in front of the confused Ice Ones, an impenetrable forest of glittering reddish blades grew, on which, ready to break off, dazzling rainbow rays shimmered.
To the right and left of the phalanx stood frozen rows of blue-armored horsemen - the Sapphire knights. The huge, heavy horses, also dressed in armor, impatiently dug the ground with their hooves, but, restrained by the riders, remained in place. Lush plumes fluttered, a multitude of tiny rabbits scattered from the glittering heavy two-handed swords.
In front of the formation, groups of warriors in green chainmail were visible. Having deployed in a line, the Emeralds were slowly approaching.
And behind them all, like an unprecedented sparkling white fire, glittered the armor of the Diamond squad under the command of Diamond himself. But next to the Rainbow banner, Khani made out a standard decorated with three tongues of flame. It worked! He almost cried out with joy, but held back. And it also seemed to him that he saw a familiar figure in red armor, there, under the banner.
The horns blared long and shrilly, the Emeralds raised their bows in unison, and hundreds of arrows whistled through the air.
However, it was not so easy to confuse the Ice Ones. The trumpets roared hoarsely again, and the warriors who had been huddled together began to quickly scatter, covering themselves with shields from the arrow-rays. The vanguard, who had almost run into the Rainbow Ones' army, closed ranks and began to slowly retreat. Only a few minutes passed - and the crowd, which had been running around in panic, turned into an even line, which also blocked the gorge from edge to edge. Frozen flashed again, his howling voice reached us, and with a wave of his hand, a large banner of blue velvet with an Ice Star embroidered in silver rose in the center of the Ice Ones' line.
The King, who was taken aback at first, quickly calmed down, but still tried to stay close to Tennen. At his command, the Pearl Guard closed in around him. Turning to Khani, he hissed angrily:
- Pup! Did you count on this? You missed! Look, I have more soldiers! And besides, you forgot that the Ice Ones are invulnerable.
However, Khani could see the carefully hidden fear in the very depths of his eyes. And Tennen's face, who had taken off his helmet and was nervously wiping his head, did not express confidence either. Moreover, he looked at the King strangely, appraisingly, calculating something, but when the King turned to him, he quickly lowered his eyes.
Meanwhile, the Emeralds' arrows bounced helplessly off the Ice Ones' coldly shining armor. The King cheered up. With a wave of his hand, he called the warrior over and ordered:
- Cut off this...'s head.
Tennen perked up when he heard the order and made an incomprehensible movement, but the King stopped the guard who had already drawn his sword.
- No, let's wait. Let's wait a little while, until our valiant soldiers destroy these impudent fellows who dared to block our path. And then we'll chop off not one head, but several, I suppose. You're not going anywhere, are you, my dear? - He patted Khani's cheek with his bony hand. - There's still time. But for now, let's wait.
The front rank of the Ice Knights parted and Frozen stepped forward. He shouted something, waving a huge sword that looked a bit like the Black Sword, but again only fragments of his voice reached Khani. Frozen raised his shield at arm's length, shook it, and shouted again. "Cowards... Scoundrels..." came the few words. And then the red phalanx parted and a knight in a dazzlingly glittering diamond-trimmed armor appeared before the Captain-General; judging by his enormous height, it was Diamond himself. Frozen backed up slightly, his cloak fluttering faintly, he glanced back for a second, flinched at something that Khani could not see, and with a sharp movement pulled down the visor of his helmet. Then he raised his sword and rushed at Diamond with a roar.
He met him without moving. A matte stripe shot up to meet Frozen's sword, which was glittering in the sun, and it was as if a dark cloud had flashed over the gorge, extinguishing the day. Or was it just his imagination? This time, Khani could not contain himself and cried out in joy. The Black Sword! The Sword of Hatred! Even Frozen would hardly be able to stand before it. The swords crossed, and as if a new sun had sparkled in the gorge, blinding white sparks flew, and a loud crack was heard, like a lightning strike. However, the Ice Sword was stronger than Khani thought, it held up.
Frozen, howling in joy, threw aside his shield and, grabbing the hilt of his sword with both hands, rained down blows on Diamond. The Ice Sword, spinning rapidly, turned into a glowing circle, throwing out fountains of sparks with a loud howl in those moments when it hit Diamond's armor. However, it did not cause any damage to them.
Frozen's voice grew stronger and louder, the howl of the northern snowstorm and the whistle of the drifting snow, the cracking of the ice rolled through the gorge... Frozen advanced, blows rained down on Diamond from the right and left, and Diamond could not withstand it, he began to retreat. He parried more blows, but it was noticeable that he was weakening.
The king croaked maliciously:
- What did I tell you! They are invincible! - His eyes blazed, his shoulders straightened.
Suddenly a sigh rolled through the Rainbow ranks. Diamond slipped, fell to one knee, and dropped his sword. With a roar that echoed through the ravine, Frozen swung his sword at his head. At that moment, a strong gust of wind threw a blanket of clouds over the sun, and it seemed to Khani that the Rainbow ranks wavered, dimmed, and began to thin.
The king cried out joyfully:
- Kill him!
He jumped up and down, waving his arms, looking like a twitching, dirty doll. Khani bit his lip, watching to see what would happen next.
Diamond managed to raise his shield and cover his head, but a monstrous blow split the steel circle into pieces, broke the handrail and wounded Diamond. However, Frozen did not have time to deliver a second blow - Diamond, grabbing the sword, threw himself to the side with a huge jump. Whistling through the air, the Iceman's sword crashed into the ground in vain.
As Frozen drew his sword, Diamond grabbed the Black Sword with both hands and swung it. The sword hummed slightly, and a streak of shadow ran from it. Khani thought she saw two piercing red beams erupting from the eyes of the golden dragon on the hilt. But Frozen, blinded by his success, noticed nothing. He raised the sword above his head again and rushed at Diamond. For a moment, the shadow covering Rainbow Gorge grew thicker - a flash of black light from the Sword of Hatred, and with a glassy ringing, Ice's sword shattered. Frozen stared in shock at the worthless fragment left in his hands, but the Black Sword whistled again, and with a terrible blow, Ice broke in two.
A mournful, sorrowful howl rolled through the ranks of the Sea King's army. The Black Sword's magic proved stronger than the Master of the Mist's magic - Frozen did not rise again, turning into a pile of rapidly melting ice. However, the Icemen only closed their shields tighter and with a slow, measured step that shook the earth, moved towards the Rainbowmen.
- Yes, this is already against expectations, - the King squeezed out, chewing his dry lips, stopping his thrashing. - The Black Sword is too much. However, let's wait, my good man. The battle has not even begun yet. One sword, even if it is Black, is just one sword. And as long as the West Wind blows, we are not afraid of anything.
Suddenly, a distant rumble was heard, and the cliffs began to shake. Rocks from above began to fall among the Icemen, disrupting their ranks. The neat line of shields twisted and writhed until they finally crumbled.
"Who is it?!" the King groaned menacingly.
And then, before his eyes, the path along which the army was descending into the gorge began to waver. Whole sections of it suddenly began to collapse downwards, raising columns of dust.
"You scoundrel!" the King howled. "Stop it! I'll kill you!" He shook his fists in rage.
Khani looked up. And saw a small, familiar winged figure. And nearby on the boulders he was scurrying, then he fell…
- Scoundrel! - raged the King. - Scoundrel! Well, Griffin, wait! See you later!
And Khani understood. The griffin, as always, had found the most suitable and quiet place. He desperately flapped his wings, trying to stay on the swaying boulders. Then, with a shrill meow that could be heard even below, in the gorge, he rolled head over heels, carried away by the stones. Apparently, he had carelessly landed right on the rock slide, and as a result, a good avalanche occurred.
"And you don't feel sorry for him?" Khani asked the King.
"No," the King muttered. "What do you mean?! How dare you interfere? Yes, I regret not finishing him off back there in the palace." Then he turned to Tennen and added calmly: "We won't have time to escape, so we'll have to fight."
The commander of the guards looked closely at the King... and nodded in agreement.
However, the King calmed down quite quickly.
- As long as there is no sun, we have nothing to fear. Forward!
The trumpets roared again, the missing banner with the Ice Star rose again, and the army began to straighten its ranks. And then, behind the Rainbow ranks, a pillar of fire rose into the sky. It roared and howled, stretching upward, right up to the clouds. The King, his face twisted with horror, watched as the flame gradually turned crimson. Seeing that the fire could not reach the clouds, the King began to calm down, but, as it turned out, too early. The pillar of fire, resembling a small volcano, began to thin out, filling with a golden color, and soon, instead of a volcanic flame, a fiery whip rested against the clouds. With a piercing whistle, it cut through the air, and the clouds twitched, as if burned. Swing. Another... The clouds began to writhe and dance, and then, slowly at first, but accelerating and accelerating their pace, they crawled to the west, against the wind. They thinned and melted right before our eyes. Now, through the gaps in the clouds, individual rays appeared, merging into a continuous stream of light.
The King turned green as he watched the Rainbows' armor begin to shine again, as more and more of them appeared. He turned to Khani and hissed,
"If we don't manage to escape from here, I can't predict what they'll do to you."
Khani, remembering Tennen's strange looks, replied calmly:
— I don't dare to predict it either.
And then something unexpected happened. When the Ice army approached the Rainbow ranks, they raised their shields in a single movement, and, reflected from the polished surfaces, hundreds and thousands of multi-colored rays lashed out at the grayish-blue ranks of the Ice. Now these were rays of the Sun, caught by the Rainbow ranks. Like the blades of huge swords, red, blue, green, they pierced the eyes of the Ice soldiers, and they cracked and fell into piles of dark, porous ice. The Ice tried to cover themselves with shields, to run, but they could find no salvation from the deadly sun rays, beating straight into the dark holes of their eyes. The Sea King's army was trapped. Another minute, another... And it was all over.