Slowly getting up from the ground, the after blast of the falling pillars to the ground still rang in Mandla's ears. He stood up slowly, shaking his head and trying to clear his ears as he saw thick dust floating in the air around him. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but everything around him seemed to be moving in slow motion. Although the soldiers' screams and the sound of flying debris were right in front of him, they seemed to come from far away. Mandla felt his body shaking violently and turned to his right, only to find Kianga screaming at him.
Kianga shouted, "Mandla! Mandla! Get up!" She turned to the fallen soldiers. "Retreat!" She waved her right her arm. "Retreat!"
Mandla stared at Kianga, his eyes falling on Kianga's dark skin covered with sweat and blood. Her beautiful and plump lips opened, a sonorous and powerful voice sounded, and her white teeth stood out like fangs. The power of her voice can be seen in the veins rising from her neck beneath her beautiful shiny dark skin.
Mandla coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. Looking down, he found an arrow piercing deeply beneath his collarbone. "Kianga..." he groaned, trying to stand up, but he couldn't. Only then did he realize that the arrow wound on his chest was not his only injury. He felt pain all over his body.
"Hold on, my love," Kianga said, grabbing Mandla's arm and the couple rushed toward the city gate. "Mandla, run faster. We are almost at the gate."
As soon as Mandla and Kianga ran in, the gate was closed. Kianga leans Mandla against the city gate.
"Oheneba, leave prince Mandla to me," said Femi.
Kianga gently stroked Mandla's head and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "You must live, my love," she said, turning to look at Femi. "I will leave him in your care."
Mandla coughed lightly and groaned, "Kianga..."
With a heavy heart, Kianga stood up, grabbed her spear, and rushed up the stairs with the remaining uninjured soldiers to the top of the city wall.
Mandla muttered, "Kianga..."
Femi said, "Oheneba, stay with me. Do not close your eyes. Don't fall asleep yet."
On top of the city wall, Hibo saw that the enemy troops had completely surrounded the city. "Oheneba... we are surrounded from all sides," Hibo said when saw Kianga walking towards her.
Kianga clutched the spear tightly and said, "I saw that captain." She sighed. "Gather all the soldiers and wait for reinforcements." She turned to look at Hibo. "How far are the reinforcements?"
Hibo said, "Their last location is still ten days away."
Kianga said, "Release the tigers and prepare for a new round of enemy sneak attacks."
Hibo looked at Kianga and said, "Oheneba, go and treat the wound. I can take it here. If anything happens, I will send you a message immediately."
When the enemy had arrived on her doorstep, Kianga didn't want to leave her post, but she knew her wounds needed treatment, and she worried deeply about Mandla. She knew that if she could not ensure that Mandla was okay, her judgment would be clouded by worry, so with a heavy heart, she decided to leave her post to check on Mandla. She signed and said, "I'll leave this matter to you for now."
Hibo bowed and said, "Yes, Oheneba."
A distance away from Hosha City gate, Reza and his men stood on a small hill staring at the mountain-high city wall of Hosha City, watching the Usama soldiers flee back inside Hosha City. Reza was convinced that in his invasion his soldiers would capture the second largest city of Usama Kingdom.
"Captain," one of the soldiers said. "It seems that the barbarians have released their tigers."
Reza smiled and said, "They have nothing left to defend against our attack except relying on the animals and waiting for reinforcements that will not come. Shoot down the animals. We need extra leather for the winter."
Kianga pushed aside the long leather cloth and entered the room. She found that Mandle had sat up and all the wounds had been bandaged by Femi. She looked to her left and saw Femi preparing medicine for Mandla.
Mandla asked, "What's the situation outside?"
Kianga said, "We are surrounded, reinforcements will not arrive until the tenth day." She took the leather map from her belt and placed it in front of Mandla. "Zhongqiu Kingdom has a good relationship with us, and we have sent out an urgent plead request for reinforcements."
Mandla said, "Kianga, they will not send us soldiers. The best they could do is send us grain. They will not want to intervene in the exchange of fire between us and the Razaasia people. They fear that if they offend the Razaasia people, Jianping will lead the Tanggolia army to invade their small kingdom."
Kianga said, "While food is important to us, soldiers are more important now. There is no news of reinforcements from Zuberi. I don't know if they are also experiencing difficulties."
Mandla said, "We only got one option left. We must seek help from Hmagol. If General Mönkhbat lends us his soldiers, we may well survive this senseless invasion."
Kianga said, "How could they lend us soldiers. Now, the Tanggolia are securing tide with Hmagol through marriage."
Mandla said, "King Batukhan is a reasonable man. Moreover, we have no choice, now our best hope is Hmagol." He sighed. "I'm going to Hmagol to seek help from King Batukhan."
Kianga said worriedly, "But you are injured."
Mandla said, "My wounds can be healed, but the lives of our people cannot be revived. Don't worry about me Kianga, I will take Femi with me. A wounded man traveling with an older woman will not arouse the suspicion of our enemies."
Kianga said worriedly, "What if they refuse."
Mandla took Kianga's hands and said, "I will come back to fight with you against our enemies."
In Pojin Village, the easternmost part of Hmagol, a mixture of sheep braying and copper bells could be heard in the distance. A group of soldiers sat under a tree to rest and eat breakfast.
"Keep those arms up!" Naksh shouted to the young woman practicing target shooting. He walked up to Siqi and hit Siqi's hand with a stick. Siqi's right arm began to tremble in pain. "What's wrong? Huh? If your hands are shaking like this, how can you save the person in front of you. Man up!"
Muunokhoi yelled, Hey Naksh, don't be too harsh on the child! His father wants you to teach him, not hitting him."
Naksh turned around and saw Muunokhoi sitting under the shade of a tree with other soldiers. He pointed his stick at Muunokhoi and shouted, "You, shut up. Don't tell me how to teach my team."
Jeet grabbed Yingzi and held her arm up. "Aim for the target," Jeet said. "You must have a steady hand when pulling the bowstring. If your hands are shaking, the bowstring will miss when you release it." He lowered his head to the little girl's shoulder. "Be careful, or your ears will go with the arrow."
Chaghatai said, "Those two brothers are quite cruel as teachers."
Och said, "Sometimes it is good to make others feel afraid, so that they can learn faster. Am I right Muunokhoi?"
"Shut up," Muunokhoi said, picking up a branch from the ground and throwing it at Och.
Od said, "To be honest, I don't know why Chinua is training these women."
Erden said, "Out of pity, they have nowhere to go, why are you so mean? I would rather see a beautiful woman holding a bow and arrow than you holding a bow and arrow."
Terbish said, "Erden, you'd better watch what you say. You know the rules."
Erden said, "I understand, don't fool around with female soldiers. I recited this rule every night before going to bed."
Sitting on the top of the hill, Chinua felt the warm afternoon breeze blowing past her. Since Chinua and her men were stationed in the easternmost part of Hmagol; due to the mountainous terrain, Pojin was known as the wasteland of Hmagol. Much of the land here is uninhabited, and the summers are longer than the winters. Chinua has found that her cold tolerance has decreased significantly, but on the bright side, she can tolerate the heat. She found that she no longer sweated as much as when she first arrived, and her tanned skin became darker from sun exposure.
"You know," Hye said. "It's that time of year again to train at White Fang Peak."
Chinua said, "Honestly, we should stay on White Fang Peak for four full months this year."
Hye asked, "Why?"
Chinua teased, "Two years of practicing in the sun have made my skin tan." She laughed.
Hye said, "I thought Chinua didn't care much about beauty."
Chinua smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, I'm still a woman. Of course I care about beauty." She began chuckling and stood up off the ground.
Hye chuckled and looked down the mountain, only to see five horses approaching the military camp. "They're back," he said, turning to look at Chinua. "Hopefully they bring us good news."
Chinua gritted her teeth and said, "If this stubborn old man does not reach a peace agreement according to the terms I proposed, I will cut his hill in half." She held the hilt of the sword and began to walk back.
Hye smiled and shook his head, slowly following Chinua. When he looked at Chinua's back, he found that the girl from yesterday had been completely devoured by the strong woman walking in front. Over the years he spent with Chinua, he taught her everything he could, and although he never mentioned it to Chinua, Chinua was his proudest achievement in his life.
Five horses stopped in front of Chinua and Hye. Chinua looked up at Haitao and asked, "What did the old man say?"
Haitao said, "Chief Behrouz refused to accept Chinua's proposal. He said that if Chinua wanted to talk to him, Chinua should not send her minions."
Khunbish said, "Behrouz, make an appointment. He will meet Chinua at the foot of Salran Hill in two days."
Timicin said, "He hopes Chinua comes alone, otherwise he will attack our military camp with full force."
Chinua said with a wry smile, "This old fool really wants to launch a war against me. Has he forgotten that he is on Hmagol land."
Haitao said, "Chinua, although Chief Behrouz is a bandit in name, he has not harmed any villagers in these years. On the contrary, he and his men are the reason why the Kosian dare not attack the eastern part of Hmagol."
Chinua said, "That's why I proposed a peace agreement to him, otherwise I would have attacked him long ago."
Hye looked at the people standing around him and said with a smile, "Maybe we should bring a little fear to the table. Sometimes when you go with a peaceful attitude, the other side will think you are a weakling, but if we give him a way in and a way out. He is likely to accept the conditions Chinua offers him."
Chinua sighed and said, "Let's go find the old man and play a game of conquering land with the old fool."