BOOK II OF III: The Reign of the Sultan (10 page)

Humonus explained, “What I have just
performed is a defensive technique that automatically turns into an
offensive technique…

“It matters not your strength, but only the
speed and skill to know how to throw around the weight of your
opponent! Now try it on your opponent and vice-versa…you have one
minute to practice.”

After everyone, except for he and Baltor, had
attempted the maneuver for the next minute, only a few hundred
succeeding in the process, Humonus soothed, “Don’t worry if you
failed just now…you will get a five minute-long practice in just a
minute. But listen up and closely for now, this same exact
technique can be used even if your opponent should happen to
possess a dagger or sword…that is, if you can get close enough and
grab the wrist just before the moment of strike! Very, very
important combat technique, just remember that…”

At this point, Humonus took an elongated
pause in order to take in a deep breath, release it, and suck in
another deep breath. While breathing out, he concluded, “One last
thing—during your practice sessions, we will allow you to ask each
other questions and-or share information, but only about the
specific technique we’re covering. Do you understand, Forces of the
Sharia Empire?”

“Yes, sir!” was the highly motivated cry from
the troops.

“Practice.”

For the next five minutes, they practiced,
but only about five hundred people could get it right by the end of
that five-minute period.

Finally, after having picked up a wood
training sword near the small stack of other training weapons,
Humonus yelled out through the megaphone, “Attention!”

The trumpeters blew out a two-toned
sound.

Except for the troops already standing on
their feet, the rest joined in. They immediately clicked their
heels together, put their hands at his or her side and silenced
up.

“At ease,” Humonus called out.

The troops clasped their hands behind their
backs, spread their legs out a bit until they were comfortable, but
still, they did not talk.

Humonus turned back to Baltor, set down the
megaphone, picked up the wood sword and handed it over to Baltor,
and asked loudly, “My Sultan, will you follow the same path as your
previous punch, but…take a very, very slow swing at me?”

Baltor nodded, drew back his sword, and took
a very slow swing at Humonus.

This time, as Humonus just-as-slowly
demonstrated this disarming technique, he also explained how to
make it work as loud as he possibly could.

By the end of this particular demonstration,
which took a little more than two minutes, Baltor was disarmed of
weapon and once again twisted up like a pretzel, slapping the
ground with hand.

After both men were facing the troops,
Humonus picked up the megaphone, put it to his mouth, and ordered,
“For the next five minutes, practice this technique with a
completely different partner.”

The troops called out, “Yes sir!” They then
found another partner to practice with.

The two men watched from on top of the
platform for the next five minutes. Once that time was up, Humonus
yelled through the megaphone, “Attention!”

The trumpeters blew out the two-tone sound,
and the troops went back to the position of attention.

Humonus continued, “The next maneuver we will
learn is…”

It wasn’t until four in the morning that the
exhausted troops were finally dismissed and allowed to get
rest—after having been taught a dozen techniques—and most being so
exhausted that they couldn’t even remember a single one!

The next night, Baltor and Humonus had yet
another training session with the troops, but this time it began at
eleven.

This night, just like the night before, they
trained exceedingly hard (stretching exercises, workout exercises,
obstacle-course exercises and reiterating the combat-technique
exercises they had learned the night before) with the utterly
exhausted troops until six in the morning, when they were dismissed
to eat and sleep ... they were also given that night off.

As had already become a custom for many
years, they—Baltor, Brishava, Chelsea and Humonus—all shared dinner
together that night.

It was during the course of this particular
dinner that Brishava and Chelsea both volunteered their services in
assisting with the training of the troops during the daylight hours
whenever Baltor was asleep—after all, they too had mastered the
martial arts fighting style back in Chao-chu-sha-maen.

So, for the next five weeks, training
occurred at all different hours and with varying lengths of
sessions—sometimes as short as three hours, and sometimes as long
as twelve.

During these five weeks, the four grew
exceedingly proud at the rapid advancements that their seventy-nine
thousand and three troops made, and the troops quickly grew just as
proud of all their leaders!

Finally, the evening came when Baltor awoke
to see Humonus standing near his bed with “a distant look,” his
eyes gazing deeply into the pool in the middle of the room—he sat
up in bed and looked over.

Humonus heard the sound, and so he looked
over and reported, “My Sultan, late this afternoon, our scouts
reported that Emperor Vaspan’s army has begun to set up camp about
three miles away from the city!”

After a nod, Baltor replied, “Excellent…then
that means they will be expecting to get some rest tonight after a
long day of traveling, which they will not get, for we attack
tonight. Line up the troops in formation immediately outside the
city, Ruling-General Humonus.”

“Yes, my Sultan!”

After Humonus had left the room, Baltor got
out of bed, took a five-minute bath in the pool, dried off with a
towel, put on his drawers, walked over to the large mirror, and
called out, “Assistants.”

Only a second later, the assistants entered,
once again pushing a closet-on-wheels. After arriving and bowing,
they opened the closet doors, revealing a prototype battle-armored
suit neatly hanging on hangers—the very first ever completed but a
week ago.

This suit had two different layers, actually.
The inner layer consisted of a quarter-inch thick padded hat,
shirt, pants and socks that allowed him one hundred percent
flexibility, and even better, it was one hundred percent
impenetrable from the sun’s rays when he pulled the hat all the way
down below his neck!

The outer layer consisted of a thin
spandex-like suit that covered over the inner layer and contained
loosened latches, which latches were attached to
pre-molded/waterproofed steel plates that were a half-inch thick.
There were plates for the inside and the outside of the forearms,
the outside of the upper arms, chest, shoulders, back, thighs, and
even the kneecaps.

The secret to this armor was that when the
latches were tightened around the bodily joints, the plates would
simultaneously secure themselves tightly around Baltor’s powerful
muscular contours.

Making this armor all that much more valuable
were the gold-swirl designs molded into each plate, especially the
chest plate had an solid-gold plate imbedded on top, bearing the
shape of a shield—etched into the gold was the new symbol of the
Sharia Empire—Baltor’s swords crossed underneath his platinum
crown.

Based off all his week-long tests with the
suit, he thankfully had ninety-five percent flexibility, yet only
actual combat would prove this armor’s comfort and protection that
Jamar claimed to be almost as good as a full set of plate mail.
Three more suits were under construction for Humonus, Brishava, and
Chelsea.

As this time-consuming process took place in
getting the armor secured to his body, which time took about ten
minutes on the average, Baltor considered the distinct possibility
that tens of thousands of lives would be minimally lost before this
war was over no matter who won!

Perhaps this great amount of deaths might
even happen tonight?
he grimly thought.

Once the armor was completely strapped on,
only seven minutes this time, two assistants began to attach both
sheaths upon his back, which sheaths held Baltor’s swords.

Two of the assistants had just retrieved the
armor-plated boots from the closet, so they could place them onto
their Sultan’s feet once the sword sheaths were securely latched,
which they then did.

By the time that the boots were on, one
assistant was already holding the crowned-helmet that had been
specially molded and padded to fit perfectly, and comfortably, upon
the Sultan’s head. This assistant placed it on before securing the
chinstrap.

It was then that Baltor’s eyes saw—through
the mirror—that Brishava had just entered the room and was walking
his direction. Now she donned her own set of chainmail battle
armor, as well a spiked flail that was attached to her belt—her
weapon of choice.

Because the assistants were done, they bowed,
closed the doors to the closet, and rolled it toward the walk-in
closet.

As Brishava began to near, she said with
soothing tones, “My husband and my Sultan, even though you look
both awesome and powerful in that new armor of yours, I can clearly
see the strains of nervousness and worry upon your face, especially
in your eyes. Yes, I do understand that it is not just your life,
but the fate of the Sharia Empire that rests within your
hands…”

Halfway through her spiel, she had arrived
next to his position, lightly wrapping one of her arms around
Baltor’s waist. Only then did she whisper in his ear, “But now, the
opportunity has finally come to prove to the world that you are
really the Sultan you were destined to be—all you have to do is see
things this way, and you will succeed!”

Baltor silently nodded his head, perhaps
six-or-seven times.

Only then did Brishava throw a sweet smile,
kiss him on the cheek, step to Baltor’s side, and ask, “Are you
ready?”

Baltor pivoted his whole body around until he
faced his wife. After kissing her on the lips, he confidently
answered, “Yes I am, my Sultaness… Let’s go.”

With a company-sized element of cavalry
soldiers as their escort, the two left the confines of the palace
and the city on their horses. Of course Baltor rode his prize
warhorse, Grasha.

Nearly an hour later, only seconds after they
exited the city walls, they saw that their army spanned from
horizon to horizon, fully equipped with armor and weapons—sitting
on their horses in front of all the ranks were Humonus and
Chelsea.

Humonus, who was now wearing his own brand
new set of chain mail armor and helmet, as well carrying the
megaphone, saw them approach, put the megaphone to his mouth, and
called out, “Attention!”

The two trumpeters blew out their two-toned
tune: The army instantly snapped to the position of attention.

Perhaps ten seconds later, Baltor and
Brishava stopped their horses next to Humonus and Chelsea’s
position. Humonus handed the megaphone to Baltor.

Once Baltor had put it up to his mouth, he
declared, “Forces of the Sharia Empire, the time has come for war.
Most likely, many of us will not be coming back, so remember this
if you’re the one who faces death: Life is what you make of it, so
make it the absolute most you can until your very last breath!
After you’re dead, then you’ll have plenty of time to relax.”

After handing the megaphone back to Humonus,
Baltor unsheathed both of his swords in one quick movement. While
raising them up into the air and crossing them over his head, he
yelled out at the top of his lungs, “For the Sharia Empire!”

The army first smacked the end of their
weapon hard into their armored chest, which caused a single, loud,
clanging noise to erupt that was heard miles away as it was all
done in unison. They then roared back, “
For the Sharia
Empire!!
”

“Ruling General Humonus,” Baltor commanded,
“execute the battle plan!”

Humonus replied, “Yes, my Sultan!”

He immediately looked at his commanding
generals, nodded his head once, and ordered, “Generals, make it
so.”

Guided by their commanding general, twenty
thousand and two of the forces marched back into the city to their
stationed posts—half of them were the archers that would take
positions on top of six-hundred-foot tall walls. This general’s
secondary mission, besides protecting the city and harbor, was to
alert Admiral Bryce that half of the naval fleet was to position
their ships defensively around Pavelus. The other half of the fleet
was to assemble a half- mile away, wait for the enemy navy to
attack Pavelus, then to outflank and attack.

At the same time as everything else was going
on, the two cavalry divisions, each consisting of five thousand
troops either riding horseback or upon chariots, each led by a
major general going their separate directions. The first cavalry
division rode to the coliseum with the orders to hide inside—that
is, until the order came to outflank and attack. The second cavalry
division rode to the northeast behind the sand dunes with the very
same orders. Outflank and attack.

Finally yet just as importantly, the members
of Baltor’s Shadow Forces made their way back for the underground
tunnels, which tunnels spread out as far as three times the city
limits. Their mission was to utilize the very few caves that
existed on the far side of Vaspan’s forces and launch a surprise
attack from that side when the order was given by Baltor to do
so.

Led by Baltor, Humonus, Brishava, Chelsea and
the flag bearer, thirty thousand troops marched behind, and ten
more thousand troops rode on horses or chariots in the very rear of
the formation, as they all made their way directly for Vaspan’s
encampment.

Nearly an hour later, nearing ten p.m., they
observed tens of thousands of glowing lights from campfires or
torches far off in the distance. Upon drawing nearer, they could
make out at least two times the number of tents spread throughout,
and enemy soldiers scattered everywhere.