Epic Unearthed

by Thomas Turner

  Chapter XXVII

  A Younger Brother Takes Charge

  Outside the Great West Wall, Persephone, Laptos, and Quentoris do not want to believe what the bells are relaying about Aten’s death. Their Eastern defense has been taken, and the Western wall is being heavily assaulted. Nextear is closing in on Laptos’ army and will intercept them within eight hours. The Atlanteans who fought at Bardia are almost surrounded, having nowhere to run. Laptos has no choice but to attack his enemy, which is trying to take the Western wall.

  At a distance, near Akco, the Atlantean scouts witness the fighting against their homeland. Tulless and Laptos’ generals rush into a military tent and discuss how to best help the Atlantean warriors stationed at their border. They all feel God gave them the opportunity to live for a reason. However, the warriors who fought at Bardia are fatigued. The captains are exhausted and cannot lead as they did days before.

  Laptos grows angry about the negative energy; he leads the generals to a map on a table and says in a stern voice, “We have four additional divisions with us here today. We must break through toward the walls of Atlantis. We are resupplied, and we have artillery.”

  Persephone replies, “I agree. We will take our enemy by surprise.”

  Tulless says, “I have to disagree. We have a small window of opportunity to escape. We must use the sea to enter Atlantis. We can march to the seaport of Cerberus and evacuate by ship, then we can help reinforce the Great West Wall.”

  Laptos replies, “Time is our enemy; extraction by sea will take days. There is not enough time. We must fight and hit our enemy, which are attacking our Western border. If we defeat our enemy here, Daygun will only have one front to deal with. If we attack and succeed, our enemy will have to reevaluate their battle plans. The bottleneck at our Eastern border will slow the enemy’s advancement; their supplies and men will take days to regroup for an assault on our fatherland.”

  Quentoris says, “If we fight toward the Western gate, our archers there will be able to assist us.”

  Laptos replies, “This isn’t the survival of Atlantis, but the word of God. God’s name will be extinguished from mankind’s memory forever without our immediate action.”

  Quentoris says, “I agree. Aten’s name will also die in vain. The Emperor gave his life at the Eastern wall. We will do the same here.”

  Laptos and the generals leave the tent, giving orders to their men. The Atlantean generals have given themselves a reason to fight, and go in every direction to prepare their armies for battle. Atlanteans and Valteareans once again meld their armies into one. Laptos knows that they only have one chance at this. His troops stand at attention in formation with discipline and honor.

  Mounted on his giant elk, Laptos yells toward his men, “This is a battle for God. Except for us, no one on this side of the wall believes in Him. Our enemy wants to destroy our way of life. That will not happen under my command. Life is not given to us. It is earned. Fight for God, and fight for me.”

  Laptos’ men cheer for their commander. The horns blow to begin the march toward their objective. An hour later, the Atlanteans stationed at the Great West Wall see their fellow warriors coming over the hill and, so does the enemy.

  Most of the enemy’s scouts have already been killed by Atlantean patrols, and the Sabatheans and Ladoneans attacking the Western wall underestimate the number of Atlantean warriors that survived Bardia. Laptos orders his men to stop, allowing their artillery to catch up.

  Outside the Atlantean Western Wall, the enemy generals see Laptos’ army approaching. All of the Continental Alliance’s light and heavy cavalry are at the Atlantean Great East Wall. The Atlantean army charge as a force never witnessed before, determined to return to their homeland.

  The Atlantean cavalry stampede and create havoc, opening a hole for Quentoris’ infantry. Even though the Atlanteans’ cavalry is small in numbers, they are like a brick hitting glass, shattering the formations of their enemy. Immediately behind the Atlantean heavy cavalry, Quentoris’ warriors are enlarging a gap toward the entrance into Atlantis. His elite division pushes back their enemy’s reinforcements with ease.

  After forty minutes, Atlantean infantry drives the Continental Alliance toward the Alber Mountains, taking control the battlefield. However, Nextear’s massive army is three miles from the Great West Wall. The Atlanteans are about to get pinched.

  Persephone, in charge of artillery, studies the battlefield. She orders the Mammoth commanders to pull the giant crossbows and catapults closer to the engagement. She waits for the last possible moment, then orders, “Fire!”

  The Atlantean artillery’s bombardment is like a giant wave crashing into shore. The firing solution is so constant that the enemy begins to retreat, but cannot. Laptos’ army can sense the projectiles going overhead, feeling the explosions one-hundred yards from where they are fighting. The trapped Ladoneans and Sabatheans between the Atlantean army and exploding ordnance have nowhere to run. The enemy generals at the Great West Wall watch while one-forth of their men fall to the Atlanteans.

  Nextear’s army arrives over the hill, forming ranks to attack the Atlanteans. Persephone fires her last projectile and rides to the main engagement.

  All of Laptos’ army fight toward their fatherland, and are only three-hundred yards from the main entrance. The Atlantean General in command of the Great West Wall is ordered to open the gate. Laptos’ army fights back into their empire and his archers scale the walls to reinforce their comrades.

  Persephone and the others climb to the walkway inside their fortification. The Atlantean generals and Tulless run on top of the main tower and look over the battlefield. They all rest for a couple of minutes and say little of what just happened. For now, the West Wall stands. Laptos orders the Atlantean generals to meet him in the military chamber in twenty minutes.

  Shortly, the chamber room is silent. Pacing back and fourth, Laptos says to Persephone, “God was with us. The enemy will regroup with Nextear’s reinforcements. There are still millions of men to fight against us here. How many divisions do we have?”

  Persephone replies, “We have the Atlantean youth archers and five other divisions.”

  Laptos says, “This gives us almost nine divisions with Tulless’ army, but we have very few munitions. Send a message to the city of Masaba, telling them to send us more projectiles. The enemy will attack with greater strength within hours. We need weapons to keep them at bay. If we hold back our enemy here, my brother will only have to face one front at Halotropolis. At least six divisions are needed to stand here. I will leave Persephone and Quentoris to take command. Our Western defense has enough ammunition to withstand the enemy for three days. With the extra archers, the wall will stand two more. It will take two days to get the munitions from Masaba. On the sixth day, retreat to Atlantis. I will reinforce Masaba. Fight until you can’t, then get out of here.”

  Quentoris says, “Thank you, Sir. We will hold this position.”

  Laptos replies, “I want a full division to go to the City of God; my brother is increasing our defenses there. Halotropolis needs to know that we stand behind them. I will go to Masaba and await orders from my brother. I need to be close to Atlantis and Halotropolis. I will take two divisions with me.”

  The bells sound from the Atlantean Western defense, and Daygun is alerted of his brother’s plan. The new Atlantean Emperor then gathers his generals at the Atlantean Military Hall and says, “I am proud of my brother, depleting our enemy in Valtear and Mantineia. I was going to reinforce our Western defense, but my brother has already done so. Six divisions are there, holding back the enemy. If the Great West Wall stands, the enemy will have to attack Halotropolis first. Our main forces should be there. Our foe has hatred toward our people and our God. We will use that to our advantage. Three more divisions from Atlantis will march to the City of God, which will give us thirteen divisions to protect the walls of Halotropolis. This is our land, not our enemy’s. We will not forfeit our bel
iefs to people who do not believe in God. If Halotropolis falters, the Great West Wall divisions will retreat to Atlantis. Yes, our enemy won a victory at our Eastern walls, but at what cost? We have destroyed three-million enemy warriors at little cost to ourselves. We will fight to the last Atlantean. If we die as men and fight for God, He will honor our memory.”

  Laptos rides to Masaba and regroups with those Atlantean divisions; he is certain that his enemy will try to take the City of God. The new Atlantean Emperor might need him to out-flank their aggressors. Laptos also knows that Masaba is the key to the war.

  The Atlanteans thought the Great West Wall was weaker, but the Alber Mountains actually made it stronger than the East. The mountain valleys are too small for large artillery like the Ladonean tightuses. The Atlanteans hold the upper ground and use their artillery to destroy any small enemy artillery that comes nears their gate.