Chapter 20

Azul's heart pounded as she rode back to camp, urgency driving her faster than ever before. She barely registered Sain's horse keeping pace beside her. They needed to get the message to General Varok immediately.

"General Varok! General Varok!" she screamed as she galloped into the camp, causing a stir among the soldiers who were not used to seeing her so frantic.

General Varok emerged from his tent, his face a mask of concern as he saw Azul's desperate expression. "Khatun, what is it?" he asked, stepping forward.

Azul dismounted swiftly, almost stumbling as she hit the ground. "There's a second army approaching from the north," she said breathlessly. "They have new weapons!"

Varok's face turned serious. "New weapons? What do you mean?"

Azul took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. "They are called guns. They can kill from a distance, much farther than our arrows."

Varok's eyes widened. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "We need to do something, if they ambush us we won't be able to survive!"

The general wasted no time. "Send the message to the other camp! Quickly! Khatun, please come with me!"

Azul nodded and followed quickly into the meeting tent.

"These weapons are called guns. They can fire projectiles at high speeds, capable of killing from a great distance. If we face them unprepared, we will suffer heavy losses." Azul explained to Varok, she picked up a quill and drew it from her vague memories.

[Your drawing is awful.]

'Shut up.'

General Thane frowned. "How do we defend against such weapons?"

Azul took a deep breath. "We can't fight them head-on; we need to find them before they find us."

Varok nodded. "I will send scouts to gather more information about their numbers and exact positions."

A plan began to take shape as they discussed strategies. Azul was anxious, fighting guns with swords is stupid, but it could be done. They just needed to be tactical.

Azul thought long and hard, the best outcome was to get those guns.

"Varok, I am going to my tent to think, call me when the spies are back." She said.

"Yes Khatun."

Back in Ragnar's tent she felt a bit calmer. She gave instructions to Sain to not disturb her under any circumstances and she slipped into her virtual training space.

'Assume they have 3000 men and we have 300.'

The space around her changed, she watched from above having a birds eye view.

3000 was a lot, but is a gross overestimate. She stared at the battle field for a long time.

[300 men cannot possibly fight against 3000 men.]

'That's common sense I fear.' she thought sarcastically.

The best way to win is to not fight.

The spies came back late that night, their faces grim as they approached General Varok's tent. Sain quickly called for Azul, who emerged from her tent looking weary but with that look in her eye that made him relax, she had a plan. She followed Sain to the meeting tent where General Varok awaited the news.

The lead scout stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Khatun, General, we've scouted the northern force. They are indeed equipped with these new weapons... guns. Their numbers are around two thousand, and they are making steady progress towards us."

"Two thousand..." she murmured, glancing at Varok.

Varok nodded, his expression serious. "What do you propose, Khatun?"

Azul took a deep breath, her mind racing. "We don't have much time, but I plan to poison them."

Varok's brow furrowed. "How do you plan to poison 2000 people?"

"Poison smoke, like dealing with cockroaches," she said, her tone unwavering. "The main issue is making sure everyone in the vicinity leaves this place in the next 24 hours. We will also snip them now if any survive."

Varok looked at her strangely. "Do you solve all your problems with poison?"

"Eh?" Azul blinked, taken aback by his question.

"It's nothing," Varok said, shaking his head slightly. "Is there no other way?"

Azul hesitated. "There is a better way. Early guns have a very big weakness—they're very explosive. You only need to aim for the guns with fire arrows, and they will explode."

Varok's eyes widened slightly. "I prefer this idea. We should be able to wipe out quite a few people, and it will discourage them from using their guns."

"Yes, but I also recommend the poison gas," Azul insisted, her eyes gleaming. "I think it'll be more fun."

Fun? 

Varok only laughed dryly, feeling a shiver run down his spine. She was a bit scary even for a big man like him.

"Very well," Varok said, recovering his composure. "We'll implement both strategies. I'll send out the order to prepare fire arrows and gather the materials for the poison smoke. We need to evacuate the area and set up a perimeter to ensure no one gets caught in the crossfire."

Azul nodded, satisfied with the plan. "I'll oversee the preparations for the poison gas. Make sure the archers are ready with the fire arrows."

As Varok began organizing the men, Azul turned to Sain. "Gather anyone who can help with the poison. We need to move quickly."

Sain nodded and hurried off to gather the necessary people. Azul watched him go, her mind already working on the logistics of creating the poison smoke. They didn't have much time, but she was confident they could pull it off.

By the time Sain returned with a group of volunteers, Azul had already begun outlining the process. "We need to create a large amount of smoke, so we'll use greenwood to create thick, heavy smoke. We'll mix the aconitum with the smoke, creating a deadly fog that will spread through their camp."

The volunteers nodded, their faces grim but determined. 

"Is the messenger we sent to the other camp still not back?" Azul asked later on, Varok shook his head, his expression unsettled. She hoped their camp was at peace, if they were only being ambushed, it would be a disaster.

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

In the stillness of the enemy camp, a few soldiers stood guard, their breaths visible in the cool night air. They exchanged casual banter to pass the time, their voices low but steady.

"Did you hear the one about the Khan and the merchant's daughter?" one soldier whispered, grinning.

His companion chuckled softly, shaking his head. "How do you always know what's happening? You need to give me your sources."

As they continued their quiet conversation, a faint, sickly sweet scent began to waft through the air. The guards paused, sniffing curiously.

"What's that smell?" one of them asked, his nose wrinkling.

"I don't know..." the other soldier replied, yawning. His eyelids grew heavy, and he struggled to stay awake.

One by one, the guards started to succumb to the mysterious incense, their eyes drooping and their heads nodding. The camp grew eerily silent as the soldiers fell into a deep, unnatural sleep.

From the tall grass at the edge of the camp, a figure slowly rose, her movements silent and precise. Azul's eyes gleamed in the moonlight as she observed the sleeping camp. She had worked hard to prepare the poison smoke, and now it was time to act.

Raising her hand, the soldiers moved under the blanket of darkness, carrying straw bags and jars of oil. They searched the camp quietly, finding the guns. Once they did, they took half of the stock before leaving the rest; they needed enough gunpowder to make a beautiful explosion, according to Azul's words. They dropped the straw bag of herbs with it.

On leaving, they made sure to connect the tents with an oil trail. The cooks were not happy that their entire stock was taken but what could be done?

A camp of 2000 men was huge, they needed to put them to one section at a time and find all the weapons tents.

Azul watched coldly, the beautiful night sky giving her the courage to kill 2000 men.

'I'll get a reward for this, right? This should be some kind of new record for tutorial missions,' she said to her white snake.

[Points will be calculated after the mission, so just wait for a while.]

[Thanks to you, the war will be over faster than expected.]

Thanks to her being poison crazy.

It took two hours before the soldiers returned with loot. She did not ask why it took so long and she did not care to know, their war crimes would be buried with the corpses.

"Would you do us the honour?" General Varok asked. She grinned maniacally.

"Sain," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her young bodyguard was by her side, lighting a torch. He nodded, understanding what needed to be done.

Azul nocked an arrow, her hands steady despite the tension. Sain carefully brought the torch to the arrowhead, setting it ablaze. The flames danced, casting flickering shadows on Azul's grinning face.

She drew back the bowstring, aiming carefully at the first marked tent—the tent where they stored their guns. The soft creak of the bowstring was the only sound in the silent night.

Taking a deep breath, Azul released the arrow. It soared through the air, a streak of fire against the dark sky, and struck the first tent with a satisfying thud. The flames quickly spread, licking at the canvas and catching on to the highly flammable gunpowder inside.

For a moment, there was only the crackling of the fire. Then, with a deafening roar, the tent exploded, sending a shock wave through the camp. The ground shook, and flames leapt into the sky, illuminating the terrified faces of the waking soldiers.

Then there was a second explosion, and another, and another.

The explosions caused chaos among the enemy ranks. Disoriented and confused, they stumbled around, trying to make sense of the attack. Some tried to douse the flames, others were covered in the mangled body parts of their comrades, while others grabbed weapons, looking for an enemy they couldn't see.

Azul watched from the tall grass, her heart pounding. The plan was working. The enemy was in disarray; their guns were destroyed or rendered useless; they were being cooked alive under the heat; and had lost most of their army to the explosions. 

Screams and shouts filled the night; it was music to her ears. If she had been a step too late they would have stressed her dear husband out. 

"Aim," she commanded.

The 300 men behind her drew their arrows, preparing for the next phase of the assault. They had a few minutes before the Bloodvine and Thornberry smog engulfed the camp.

"Fire."

Arrows pierced through the fire, pinning down unfortunate souls who managed to live through the flames and the explosion.

"It is a beautiful night tonight," Azul remarked, her voice cold and detached.

General Varok felt his body chill. 

How terrifying.