With all their cards laid out, everyone was ready to move!

The many legions, auxiliaries and Basic warriors all got ready to make a move, with many already positioning themselves below deck by the horses, waiting for the signal to leave the ships.

​​

But that wasn't all. It appears that each unit had some sort of priest with them that was said to have special powers.

That's right.

From what they knew, these priests could pray so hard that they could weaken the enemy or even convert the enemy's minds, making them kill their fellow contacts at will.

Again, these priests were also healers too, since they came onto the battlefield with herbs and needles and all sorts of medicinal items to help the injured.

Of course, they all had different coloured staff in their hands.

And the brighter the staff colour, the more powerful in rank they were.

Typically, their staff colours ranged from the weakest to the strongest as; Black, Dark Green, Purple, Red, Blue, Yellow (golden) and Silver (crystal-like).

Without a doubt, almost all teams wished to have a silver-staff priest in their midst since that for them was a surer way to make certain their victory.

Not to mention that the higher the levels of these priests, the more they could manifest Adonis' powers, confuse the enemies or even have higher ranking healing techniques.

These Holy Priests, called Thamans, wore their robes, which were similar in colour to their staff colours, and headed out in the different units they were assigned to.

Of course, if these Thamans were lower-ranked, they would have 2 or 3 of them in one unit.

The vice versa could be said for higher ranking Thamans.

For them, just they alone could stay within one unit without the aid of others.

Yes. These Adonis enemies were all ready for battle, with over 100 different units prepared for destruction.

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Each Holy General could control 10 or more units, allowing their direct subordinates to lead the units while observing at a distance.

Because just as they say, a general was supposed to oversee everything and everyone under their command while making counter plans just in case something did go wrong.

A general could sit within his tent with the battle heated up crazily, but how did they know everything?

Well, that was because they had another special unit that wouldn't take part in the battle whatsoever.

The people in these units were just scouts who would strategically position themselves on the routes or areas that the general's teams had planned to go.

They would stay in groups of 3 or 6 that stayed in hiding for as long as the war would go in, observing the entire battle scene.

And when there was something to report, 1 or 2 of them would head towards the next hiding scouts and pass the word on fast.

This would continue until the general in question got the word and speedy thought of the counterattack for what was going on.

And he had to think this fast! Because time waited for no one.

So his brain had to work like a fueled engine, coming up with a plan while looking at the map.

Of course, if the report said everything was going according to plan, then the general could just relax with a broad smile on his face.

There was so much going on in regular battle that it seemed like everyone was just focused on their tasks and hopping around like grasshoppers.

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~Swah! Swah!~

The waters gushed against the boats, as everyone looked on with a stern expression on their faces, the closer they got to the shores.

And right off the bat, Kardinal Ratum noticed something bizarre.

What were those?

Everyone's mind stirred deeply.

Firstly, when one left the shores, they would have to climb up a not too steep slope to get to the city's main center.

Cities, towns or villages close to the waters were always made in this way.

People would build their homes further from the shorelines and also created man-made slopes too.

All this was formed ages ago when their ancestors first decided to live in these territories.

But more importantly, all this was done because of one primary reason... Flooding.

That's right.

Because of their long well throughout plans, when the waters rose, they never seemed to penetrate the city.

It was almost as if the city was sitting on a man-made hill.

Additionally, most regions were made like this to prepare for enemy attacks too.

And prepared they did.

Because right now, at an elevated point, all Siege weapons were placed in formation, ready to take action against those below.

But to surprise the enemy, they placed large red clothes at the front of the siege weapons.

For the Ballistas, even though their fronts had been covered with cloth, a hole had been carved around the clothes to allow the massive arrows shoot through.

And For the Catapults, they still covered the lower parts of it with cloth but painted the spoon-like tops too, as if they were mere decorations.

Of course, to better sell their act, down below closer to the docks, they painted images of the cloaked siege weapons, saying that these were some new ancestral monuments of the town that should be treated with respect.

This way, the enemy wouldn't feel like it was a setup or something.

At the same time, they couldn't let the place be completely empty.

So midway between the hill and the docks, they allowed some volunteer women and men to play around and act as natural as possible.

But this was just the half of it.

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One should know that all this time, they had also dug the ground along the tree lines even deeper, creating a vast valley-like trench.

So one would have to first go down the valleys before running into the woods.

Yes! And just as one would expect, they also placed several Ballistas there too and camouflaged them with show or foliage while holding there ready to make their shits too.

In fact, the enemy didn't know it, but once they landed and moved midway up, a rain of gigantic arrows and stones would be thrown at them.

And sometimes, these items would be covered in fire too.

Of course, they would also get thrown hot tar and even barrels of black powder too.

They had to take down at least half of them no matter what!

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But Kardinal Ratum and the rest who saw the red clothes after docking were at first a little worried, that is until they saw the wooden signboards stating that these items were ancestral.

And looking at the women, men and children playing merrily a little up the hill, they sneered and shook the uneasiness off their minds.

Heh. There was no way that these people would've known of their arrival before time.

And even if they did, those who were smart would flee.

So their current situation stated how more or less prepared they were.

Thinking like this, Ratum paid no heed to the city's state and gave his Holy command!

"All Legions assemble in formation now!"

"Yes!"

"With that, the ships docked in rows and rows, moving out the chariots and horses first, saddling them up and lining them neatly, sectioning them in groups/units.

Following that, the more advanced spearmen, militiamen, archers and what not joined these units.

That's right!

Each Legion was a mix of all these overly advanced forces.

So they couldn't start moving until they were all assembled.

And at the same time, while waiting for the chariots to get properly straddled to the horses, the next waves of ships docked, dropping off the Auxiliary teams with the cavalry who were already saddled in their horses, infantry, Archers and so on.

Needless to say, they too arranged themselves neatly, ensuring that their Thamans were there with them too.

But while the last batch of ships were docking to release the basic Troops, the people playing around soon turned anxious and ran into the city in terror.

Following that, it didn't take too long for them to hear a loud ringing sound from within the city that seemed like warning bells!

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~Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.~~

The bells rang, and the place became very rowdy as they heard muffled sounds of panic from afar.

These Adonis followers didn't truly care about this all because to them, where the enemy knew or not, their victory was still a done deal.

Firstly, the enemy would be rushing in without a plan and might even take time for some to be able to rush all the way here now.

Do you know how big the city was?

Heh.

Without a doubt, their Adonis team should've already infiltrated the city by then.

Additionally, even after the warning bell got wrong, some cowards should also think of fleeing for their lives rather than fighting.

Yes. This will again dwindle down the enemy number too.

Looking at all this, why would they rush?

They were more skilled and already had a well-detailed plan for action, so it was impossible for these barbarians to win.

Moreover, no matter how they saw it, it was vital for them to go out in large intimidating numbers, clearing down the path and creating almost zero chances for casualties.

Think about it.

If they sent the first batch of units bit by bit while unloading was going on, then it would be disastrous.

After all, even though they were skilled, they had to admit that if all these enemies farther one unit, then some people in that unit might get injured.

So they divided to first regroup themselves before heading out like a mighty storm, killing everything at sight.

This was their sure way of victory.

And no one would be able to handle them once they moved!