Chapter 7 We Wait

• It had been 5 days since Prince Ragon and Prince Ranork had been confined in their room so they wouldn’t run away to join the great general. During those days that Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were confined, Princess Aris had been visiting them to piss them off with her annoying words and they threatened to kill her.
• On the 6th day, King Hartley ordered the royal head guard to bring Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon. King Hartley and Queen Rebeca were at the palace pavilion talking to each other when Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were brought to the pavilion. Upon seeing the two princes, King Hartley and Queen Rebeca face the two princes and see their facial expressions telling that they are very angry.
• King Hartley asked the two princes “how are you both?”.
• Prince Ragon responded that he was fine but Prince Ranork gave no response. Seeing there was no response from Prince Ranork, King Hartley said to the two princes “I know you both have been anticipating to fight the Arkians ever since you were old enough to pick up a sword but that is not how it works. I know you both might be angry because you thought you had missed the chance to prove to everyone how strong you both are but that is not the case. Yeah, you are both very skillful and brave because Ben made sure of that but that is not the case when it comes to battle which is why Ben wanted you both to sit this one out”.
• Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon were confused by King Hartley's words where he mentioned the great general’s name and then Prince Ranork asked his father “what do you mean by uncle wanted us to sit this one out?”.
• “I know you think I was the one that didn’t make you both join the battle but it wasn’t me. Ben told me not to let you both join the battle with him no matter what” said King Hartley to the two princes.
• The two princes couldn’t believe what King Hartley said so Prince Ragon said to King Hartley “that is not possible. My father could not have stopped us from joining the battle. Why would he do that?”.
• “Just like I have said being skillful and brave is not enough when battling against the Arkians. You also need experience. Ben knew you both don’t have any experience when it comes to fighting the Arkians so he decided it is better if you both stayed home” said King Hartley to the two princes.
• The two princes were annoyed upon hearing King Hartley, and Prince Ranork said with annoyance “how can you expect us to have experience if you don’t allow us to fight the Arkians? Even most of the warriors that are included in the armies have never fight the Arkians”.
• “That is a completely different case. Even though we had always won the battles against the Arkians, the battles against the Arkians were always bloody and ruthless and we always ended up with losses. The warriors may not have experience against the Arkians but they are ready to lay down their lives in the battle, that is why they are warriors and heroes. But Ben can never let that be the case for you both. He will always protect you both until he thinks you are both ready to be a man. You both are heir” said King Hartley to the two princes.
• “You too have no experience and for that reason, you will only become liabilities to Ben and Suci which is why Ben wants you both to stay home and help his royal majesty” said Queen Rebeca to the two princes.
• Hearing the head King and the head Queen, the two princes realize why they were truly left out of the battle and King Hartley says to the two princes “Ben also said not to be unhappy and you both to wait for your chances to come. Ben had also kept both of you in charge of the remaining warriors in Arcadian, and you are to train and guide the recruits yourself also”.
• The two princes couldn’t believe their ears upon hearing King Hartley so Prince Ragon asked King Hartley “did my father make us generals?”.
• “No. You both are royal so you don’t need to be general or a leader. Ben believes in your skills and thinks you both will do a fine job on the recruits” said King Hartley to the two princes.
• The two princes were so glad to hear that they had been given such a task, and they both said with a smile in union to King Hartley “we promise to do a great job and not fail, your royal majesty”.
• King Hartley and Queen Rebeca smiled and Prince Ragon asked King Hartley “can we start right away?”.
• “During the war against the Arkians, we always have many recruits to reinforce the army so you can get on with it. And remember, a good job” said King Hartley to the two princes.
• Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon left the pavilion with smiles on their faces to begin their first task given to them while Queen Rebeca and King Harley continued with their conversation.
• Head General Ben and assistant General Suci camped with the armies at Sucho as they awaited the Kynite kingdom army which was yet to join them while the other kingdoms' army were already present.
• Inside head General Ben's tent was head General Ben seated on a small chair which was closer to a small table where a map head General Ben was staring at was placed. Head General Ben was still staring at the map when assistant General Suci walked into the tent and that diverted the attention of head General Ben away from the map. Upon standing close to head General Ben, assistant General Suci bowed and said to him “the generals and army of the Kynite kingdom have arrived”
• “Okay. Make sure they settled down first before calling a meeting with all the generals” said head General Ben to assistant General Suci.
• “Yes, your excellency” said assistant General Suci.
• “What about the scouts? Anything from them?” head General Ben asked assistant General Suci.
• “Not yet sir” said assistant General Suci.
• “Okay” said head General Ben, and then assistant General Suci left the tent.
• A few hours later, all the generals of each kingdom, assistant General Suci and head General Ben gathered inside a big tent. They all sat down on chairs surrounding a big table where a map was placed to discuss strategies. Head General Ben was the first to talk and he asked “has there been any news from the scouts?”.
• “Yes, they have. The scouts have reported that the Arkians had begun marching toward us slowly which is unusual of them” said General Baci, who is the leading general of the Navaner army.
• “What about the size of the Arkians?” head General Ben asked.
• “According to the scouts, they come in their normal size but their number this time is larger. Approximately, I think their number is up to a million or more than that” said General Jay, who is the leading general of the Bravmus army.
• “What other things have we learned about the Arkians?” asked head General Ben.
• “There is something strange about the Arkians. According to the scouts, their description of the Arkians that they saw marching out of the portal is different from the Arkians that attacked Vraklin” said General Dre, who is the leading general of the Vraklin army.
• “I knew it. The Arkians that attacked Vraklin had arrived three days earlier before the other Arkians that arrived yesterday. We have to be careful about the Arkians because we don’t know if it was all the Arkians that arrived earlier that attacked Vraklin. There might be some others hiding elsewhere. I want a group of soldiers sent to scout around places closer to the kingdoms to check if Arkians are lurking around” said head General Ben.
• “Yes, your excellency” said all the generals in a union.
• “Where are the Arkians currently?” head General Ben asked.
• “According to the scouts, they are currently here and will soon get here” said General Heron, who is the leading general of the Ophum army, as he touched places in the map on the table.
• “Approximately, how many warriors do we have?” head General Ben asked.
• “Combining the army from all the kingdoms, we have a million. We have 200, 000 archers and 800, 000 soldiers” said assistant General Suci.
• “That is good. Tell the scouts that I want good details involving descriptions of the Arkians that just came out of the portal. We will have to wait until the Arkians get to Barrow road before we attack them” said head General Ben, as he touched a place in the map.
• “Yes, your excellency” said all the generals.
• “Why do we have to wait until the Arkians get to Barrow before we attack them?” asked General Faruk, who is the leading general of the Kynite army.
• “During the last open battle against the Arkians, I realize that we lost many of the soldiers because we fought openly on a plain land against the Arkians but this time it will be different. The Barrow road is a place known to have cliffs on the left and right sides of the road. The road is also not a smooth land. The road is a road filled with a lot of medium-sized rocks. To fight the Arkians openly is dangerous and risky because of their speed and strength but we can use the rocks on the road and cliffs at the sides of the road to our advantage” said head General Ben.
• “In what way, your excellency?” asked General Smith, who is the leading general of the Warc army.
• “All the archers are to station on the cliffs at the right and left side of the road and their job will be to provide an assist for the soldiers that will be fighting the Arkians on the ground with their arrows. With the presence of the rocks on the road, it will be impossible for the Arkians to fight the way they always fight because of their size and their body shape. It will be uncomfortable for the Arkians with the presence of the rocks because of their shape to freely fight us and we are just humans. That will give us an advantage against them since we also have the archers”.
• “Wouldn’t the Arkains try to get out of the road if they find it uncomfortable? You said it yourself that the Arkians have gotten smart which means they will know the rocks in the road are inconveniencing their attack and will want a way out. If the Arkians also spot the the archers on the cliff, they will want to attack the archers too” said head General Suci.
• “You are right. Since the Arkians can climb walls, they will also go after the archers, and there are only two ways for the Arkians to get out of the road which is through the cliffs and the road that will be blocked by the soldiers. The archers had to do their job very well making sure none of the Arakians made it through the road or to the cliffs. They have to be fast with their bows and arrows because of the speed of the Arkains, and we will also have to make sure no Arkains leave Barrow road alive” said Head General Ben.
• “But getting the Arkains in one place is kind of impossible” said General Jay.
• “It is not. I have spent years learning about all the Arkains that have ever attacked the Kingdoms and learning about places in our world with the help of the scouts, and this has been very helpful. I find Barrow road a good place for battle against the Arkains, and it can help us defeat them. To get to the kingdoms, the Arkains always pass through the Barrow road and sometimes rest or camp on the road. The Barrow road is a very large and long road which is why the rocks find themselves a spot there. The Arkains also always move in one group until they get to the place where they separate themselves to attack the kingdoms at once. The Arkians are going to move in one group through the Barrow road, and it is our job to wait till all the Arkains are on the road before we attack them. It has to be an all-out battle against the Arkians. We have to use everything we have got against them and defeat them with just a battle” said head General Ben.
• “Yes, your excellency” said all the generals.
• “It is going to take how many days for the Arkians to get to Barrow road?” asked the head General.
• “We don’t know, your excellency. We suddenly don’t know why the Arkains are slow with their movement this time around” said General Heron.
• “Tell the scouts to closely continue to watch the Arkains and if there is anything strange or information concerning them, they should report right away” said head General Ben.
• “Yes, your excellency” said all the generals.
• “I am also putting you in charge of the archers, General Baci. You had been with me in an open battle against the Arkains so am sure you know all there is to know, and you are also a great archer. You are to train the archers until the battle day” said head General Ben to General Baci.
• “Yes, your excellency. It will be an honor” said General Baci to head General Ben.
• “While we wait for the Arkians to get to Barrow road, I want the consistent training of the army and also request more arrows from all the kingdoms” said head General Ben.
• “Yes, your excellency” said all the generals, and the meeting was dismissed.
• In the Arcadian Kingdom, Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon began training the recruits and they found their job amazing, doing it with passion. Princess Aris wanted to join the recruits but Prince Ranork and Prince Ragon made jest of her and didn’t allow her before sending her away. Princess Aris even went all the way to plead with her father to let her join the army recruits but King Hartley disagreed saying her mother would not agree to that. Since no one wants her to join the army, Princess Aris continues to train on her own privately while studying the training of the recruits.
• FIVE DAYS LATER
• Head General Ben, assistant General Suci, the other generals, and the armies had already moved their camp closer to Barrow road while they still awaited the Arkians to arrive at the road.
• Head General Ben was in his tent seated and studying the map when assistant General Suci walked into the tent and that diverted the attention of head General Ben as he raised his head to look at assistant General Suci. Assistant General Suci bowed his head upon stopping close to head General Ben and then he said to him “the group of soldiers that went to check places closer to the kingdoms for the Arkians are back”.
• “What do they say?” head General Ben asked assistant General Suci.
• “That it is clear. No Arkians are hiding anywhere close to the kingdoms” said assistant General Suci.
• “That is good. Now we have only the Arkians approaching us to deal with” said head General Ben.
• Just then, General Dre entered hurriedly the tent and bowed to head General Ben and assistant General Suci upon getting close to them. Head General Ben asked General Dre “what happened?”.
• “The soldiers hidden at Barrow road had just sent a message that the Arkains have arrived at Barrow road” said General Dre.
• Hearing that, head General Ben got up on his feet and said to the two Generals “gather the army right now. We go to battle”.