Dom was stood under the temple, the waves of enemies from the hole having now stopped and the Warriors around him taking a quick breather before they were given fresh orders. The sound of fighting could still be heard from outside, but the pace of the battle seemed to be slowing, with more of Dom's Warriors voices now being heard than that of the Type 3's screeching.
"Tend to the wounded!" Gan Ning ordered to those around him, "Centurion Meng and Balius, take your men outside through the entrance we came in through and support General Tomoe. Centurions Chen Lu and Chen Ping, take your Tiger Cavalry out through the front and support General Tomoe's army, your Tigers will make a difference."
Everyone quickly reacted to their orders, leaving two of Tomoe's Centuries of Legionaries with them and a huge pile of Type 3 corpses. Gan Ning quickly took a breather whilst Dom cast his eyes around the room and took in the intricate carvings on the limestone walls on the large temple's main hall. They were currently stood on a raised platform, where many items were gathered on small tables, most likely offerings.
"Centurion Pullo, head in to the hole with me, we need to find out why they stopped and make it a permanent solution." Dom ordered, realising that if they could control that hole, the battle could be over shortly. He then turned to the other Centurion, an injured ex bandit who had joined the training at the Legionary Camp. "Centurion Su, tend to the wounded and make this temple a defendable position."
"I'll come with you." Gan Ning commented as they headed towards the hole, rolling his shoulders as he walked.
"You need to stay here." Dom ordered, knowing his own limited capabilities. "The battle is in full flow, Tomoe is fighting with her heart, your head is needed to bring some clarity to the battlefield. We don't know when Subutai will be back, and that second Arrow must have been from Tomyris and there is no sign of her yet."
"I'll head outside then, I'll keep Centurion Su here so that you have a place to retreat to." Gan Ning replied after thinking for a few seconds, before turning to Pullo. "Do not let Lord Lazarus on the front line, if something unexpected happens, drag him back if you need to."
"That sounds like a good order to receive." Pullo replied with a grin, having been Dom's training partner he was one of the only people in Riverside that was allowed to cause the Lord some form of pain. Dom had full trust in Pullo and was happy that he was the Centurion he had with him.
"Let's get going then!" Dom smiled as he headed towards the hole, with Pullo ordering some of his Legionaries to go ahead of them. Dom was surrounded by his four Batavi Guards led by Actumerus and his four normal Hoplite Guards of Gregorios, Trojan, Hector and Homer. None of his guards looked overly happy to be exploring the dark hole, especially when Dom was putting himself in danger again.
Dom soon climbed in, stepping over the multiple corpses of Type 3's that had been cut down. The hole was dark at first and led in to a tunnel that seemed to travel a long distance. In the distance Dom could see some light, that occasionally flickered out.
"Prepare weapons!" Pullo ordered, realising that the flickering must be due to something travelling past the light towards them, the men beginning to brace themselves for another wave.
Soon the sound of screeching hit them, as several Type 3's ran at them in the dark. Thankfully the heavy shields of the Legionaries blocked the path and they got to the bloody work of pushing their shields forwards and then following up with a stab, before marching forwards step by step. The Legionaries were four wide and Dom was in the fourth row, watching as the second and third rows supported those in the front.
"There are less than I was expecting." Pullo explained from beside Dom as they marched step by step towards the light in the distance, where more screeching enemies appeared from. Behind them the sound of clashing could be heard and Dom wondered what they were fighting against. Pullo seemed to have noticed something. "Push on men!"
The tunnel became difficult to travel down as the enemies seemed to be wedged in front of them and the ground beneath them now uneasy due to the bodies they were walking on. Dom was surprised by the lack of injuries in the tunnel as the deadly lethality of the Legionaries was shown in the tight space. Pullo seemed to rotate with his Legionaries so that he was further forwards and could get a better view.
"Did you miss me that much?" Pullo shouted from his location in the second row, towards the recognisable helmets in the distance.
"Not at all!" The voice of Octavian shouted back, a tone of relief in his voice. "If anything, I'd rather see more of these creatures."
"I can relate to that!" Dom shouted, causing the Legionaries all on sides to laugh, the final few Type 3's now wedged between the shields of Octavian's first Century and Pullo's second Century. Both units pushing with full force and causing the Type 3's between them to be caught and struggling to move.
"Welcome to Nakbe." Pullo teased, "A lovely place, full of beautiful sights and friendly residents."
"They don't seem that friendly." Octavian replied as the Legionaries made their way over the dead bodies for Octavian and Urien to meet with Dom and Pullo. "It's a relief to see you all here."
"And you." Pullo replied, grasping Octavian's arm.
"Where is Tomyris?" Dom asked, also grateful to see the never ending line of Legionaries in the now slightly lit tunnel of glow stones.
"She should be in Nakbe by now I would hope." Octavian explained seriously, "Centurion Urien here and his heavy feet accidently discovered this Tunnel that was coming from the west. General Guo Sheng has headed in the other direction to explore, whilst we came here to hopefully help at Nakbe."
"That is great news that she should be here, her forces are needed, there were a lot more enemies than expected." Dom replied honestly, "I worry that General Guo Sheng may be in a dire situation as we suspect that they were coming from this tunnel."
"Then if you will allow it Lord, I would like to head back in that direction with my men and support." Octavian expressed.
"I think that would be for the best. Centurion Urien, continue down this path, in a couple of minutes you'll find the exit in to Nakbe, Centurion Su is there and can direct you. Your Legionaries look a bit cramped in this tunnel." Dom ordered, looking at the crouched Legionaries of Urien's Century that were taller than the rest. Dom's Batavi guards were even more cramped and Dom would have ordered them back as well if they would have listened. "Centurion Pullo and I will join you, hopefully General Guo Sheng is fine."
"He has Centurion Marius with him, so I'd hope they could have held out this long." Octavian replied.
"Centurion Urien, find General Gan Ning and request he send a squad of Tiger Cavalry down the tunnel, they may need to dismount, but once we get to the end of this tunnel we may need their senses." Dom ordered as the group began to split.
.....
After walking for over an hour away from Nakbe they were finally reaching an end point. Most of the journey had consisted of stepping over hundreds of corpses of Type 3's that seemed to be much weaker than those that fought at Tongpai Town. The tunnel was hot with little air flowing. Half way through the journey they passed the hole where Urien and his Century had fallen through, some Legionaries were still gathered here and it was being used as a forward medical base for those fighting alongside Guo Sheng or Tomyris.
Dom was relieved to see that none of those here were seriously wounded, but there was varying levels of recovery time, with wounds ranging from slashes of weapons and bite marks, to broken bones. Dom was grateful that the Medical care within Riverside was a much higher level than what these Warriors would have received in their actual historical time period.
The sight had changed slightly as they had gotten closer to the end of the tunnel, the ground thick once again with enemy bodies, and the occasional discarded snapped pilum that would have been used as a spear or pieces of torn armour that had gotten damaged during the fights. Dom also came across a couple of discarded shields and hoped that the Legionaries that wielded them were fine.
When they did come across the exhausted Century and half of Marius, they discovered a unit that were currently sat taking a sip of drinks from their water skins. Guo Sheng was stood at the front of them with Centurion Marius, looking beyond the tunnel at the sight before him. Some of the Legionaries were glad to see the arrival of their Centurion Octavian, where as the rest were happy to see some reinforcements that could take over from them.
Dom, Pullo and Octavian passed between the Legionaries who were seated, a clear pathway clear of bodies before them. Marius turned at the sound of them, nodding his head in greeting before whispering something to Guo Sheng, who quickly turned and smiled.
"I am glad to see you Lord Lazarus, how is the battle of Nakbe?" Guo Sheng asked, his face pale from the fighting and the heat from the tunnel.
"Tomoe and Gan Ning have control of it." Dom replied openly, "I believe Tomyris should have also arrived by now. Subutai had to divert to support Sun Ce as it seemed that the enemy had dispatched a large force in that direction."
"We stemmed the flow of reinforcements here, so they should be ok now." Guo Sheng replied with a serious and exhausted voice, with Dom agreeing, they had passed hundreds of bodies, a huge amount for the small detachment to have dealt with. "I think you should look here."
Dom headed forwards, standing beside Guo Sheng as he looked at the huge space in front of them. The Tunnel seemed to come to an abrupt end and entered a huge giant cavern within Mount Calm River, where an underground City had been built and then repurposed by the Type 3's. There seemed to be a small Palace, around four streets with Barracks, Stables and other buildings. The architecture seemed to be Oriental. From the giant open space within the mountain, stone staircases were cut around the inner walls of the mountain side, leading to more tunnels that seemed to disappear in to the distance.
Amongst the buildings and in the open space around them, were hundreds of similar prison like cells similar to those found around Nakbe, many of them filled with more humans. From the distance, large parts seemed full of dead husks, however Dom hoped some of the humans would still be moving.
What surprised Dom was the absence of the Type 3's. Other than those in the cages, there seemed to be no movement or life within the underground City. No sounds seemed to travel from those below, and the air was fresher here than it was in the tunnel or even the Ancient Underground City that Dom had discovered previously.
"Where are the Type 3's?" Octavian asked, as the other Centurions stood beside their General and Lord.
"I think, behind us." Guo Sheng replied in a tone that didn't show any enjoyment. Dom had ignored the bodies that they had travelled past before they arrived at the Legionaries, having seen hundreds on their way forwards and more excited about seeing his Warriors alive and well.
"The further we travelled, the weaker they became." Marius explained, "The Warriors at the front, followed by thinner aging ones, and then weak smaller younger ones. We killed the males, the females, the old and the young."
"We need to explore inside and free those from the cages, but I think we have exterminated them." Guo Sheng added, his tone unsure. Dom put his arm on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.
"You have done well Guo Sheng." Dom replied, before turning to the exhausted Legionaries. "You have all done very well."