Kianga, guarding the last line of defense in Hosa City with the few remaining soldiers around her, listened to the painful screams of the captured Musians and tigers being tortured by Razaasia soldiers. Every two or three hours, the Razaasia soldiers would burn alive a captured Musian or tiger. The agonizing screams of the Musian soldiers who were burned alive echoed in the night.
Kianga and her soldiers could only watch as their comrades were tortured and killed in front of their eyes because they had no way to help the captured soldiers. At this time, Kianga had given up hope that anyone would come to rescue them, because she had received news that the reinforcements encountered difficulties and had to retreat.
Kianga knew why the Razaasia were trying to lower the morale of her and her soldiers, and over the past few days she had found that whatever methods the Razaasia used were effective as she found that the fighting spirit of the soldiers was no longer there.
"Oheneba," Hibo said. "They are waiting for us to surrender. They surrounded us because they want us to starve and surrender on our own."
Kianga said, "They should know by now that we will not surrender without a fight. Their main goal is to starve us, weaken our morale, and then come to catch us when we are weak and hungry." She sighed. "Captain, I believe they will come for the final showdown. They were just waiting for the right moment to attack."
Hibo asked, "How soon do you think they will come for us?"
Kianga said, "If my guess is correct, then they must know by now that our food is about to run out. They are most likely to attack us within two days." She turned to look at Hibo. "How is our food and weapons situation?"
Hibo said, "We have half a day of food supply left. If it is really stretched, it will only be one day. As for weapons." She looked up at Kianga. "What we have is, is what we are holding now." She looked at Kianga sadly. "It seems that tomorrow, these walls will fall."
"If the city wall falls, let it fall. As long as we fight with the last bit of our strength, we will not be ashamed to face our ancestors," Kianga said, staring into the night and sighed. "My love, may the gods in heaven bless you and keep you safe."
On the other side of Hosha City wall, Reza stood in the night, looking at the still-standing Hosha city wall. He walked into the tent and sat down. A soldier walked in.
"Captain, General Bijan reports," the soldier said, handing Reza a wooden scroll.
Reza finished reading the scroll, stood up, walked to the firepit, and threw it into the fire. He looked at the soldier and said, "Tell the soldiers to get ready, we attack the enemy in two days. Now they probably have no food, and their strength has dropped to seventy percent. It is no longer difficult to capture Hosha City."
The soldier asked, "What to do with the captured Musians?"
Reza turned to the soldier with a smirk on his face, and said, "They are useless, let's put on a grand show for their friends standing on the wall."
One soldier smiled and said, "Yes, captain."
After the soldiers left, Reza walked out of the tent into an open area. He stared at the captured Musians, whose hands and feet were tied to wooden posts. He watched as the Razaasia soldiers began to pour oil on the badly tortured Musians. He stared at the tall broken wall that stood a hundred yards away and he smiled. He snatched the torch from one of the soldiers and walked to the nearest Musian on his left side.
Reza looked at the Musian and said, "If you want to blame anyone, then blame your own king. Your king should not have established his little kingdom between us and Hmagol. It was your own king who brought death to you." He smiled triumphantly and set fire to the Musian.
After Reza set fire to the first Musian, After Reza set fire to the first Musian, the remaining soldiers began to set fire to the others. The Musian captives screamed in pain as the fire broke out, the fire roasting their flesh. The agonized screams of the captive Musians echoed in the night.
In the dead of the night, Kianga and the Musian soldiers standing on the wall watched as the one hundred captured Musian soldiers being burned alive. Kianga's skin blended into the night, but the tears rolling down the corners of her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She watched her soldiers being burned to death in front of her, but she was helpless. At first, the tears flowing from her eyes were of love and pity, but as the sound of the burning Musians slowly subsided, they turned to anger and hatred.
Kianga stood there all night. Before dawn, she saw the Razaasia soldiers lining up facing the city wall. She looked to the other side of the horizon and saw no sign of reinforcements. She knew in her heart that this would be her last battle.
Hibo walked up to Kianga and said, "Oheneba, we are already."
Kianga looked down from the wall and saw everyone, young and old, wounded and uninjured, gathered behind the wall. She nodded to the gathered people, turned to her soldiers, and said encouragingly, "They will come for us at dawn! They will fight us with all their might! They will risk their lives! This is our last battle; we stare fearlessly at the enemy! "We will fight and stand like arrows and swords, piercing their flesh! We will leave a legacy to tell the world that no Musian is afraid of any kingdoms!" She turned to look at the marching Razaasia soldiers, and then at her own soldiers standing on the wall. "Live! We fight as one! Death! We fall as one!"
Outside Hosha City, Reza stood in front of his soldiers and walked slowly past each row. He said inspiringly, "Hosha City blocks our progress towards our target. Destroying Hosha City is our first step into the southeastern part of Hmagol. We will not let these Musians stand between us and our target. From the moment we occupy this city, we have taken the first step into Hmagol." He pulled out his long sword from the scabbard hanging at his side and raised it high into the sky. "Attack them with lightning speed. Spare! No one!" He pushed his sword forward, and the soldiers marched to their positions. "Bring Hosha City to her knees!"
On top of Hosha City wall, Kianga watched as the Razaasia cavalry charged towards them with their bows drawn. Her heart began to beat rapidly, and adrenaline rushed through her body. "They are coming!" she shouted, holding the bow tightly in her hand and looking down at the twenty arrows in the quiver. "Make every shot count!" She drew the first arrow from her quiver, sat on the ground, and nocked it.
Outside Hosha City, the Razaasia archers shot hundreds of arrows into the sky directly at Hosha City wall. Walking behind the cavalry were soldiers pushing the battering ram slowly toward the gate of Hosha City.
"Battering ram!" Shouted a Musian soldier. He quickly stood up and fired the first arrow at the soldiers who were pushing the battering ram toward the city gate.
However, the sturdy battering ram's structure protected the Razaasia soldiers pushing it toward the gate. It had a roof and walls, shielding them within. His arrow only hit its side.
Kianga looked over the wall and saw the battering ram twenty yards away. She moved quickly to be directly above it. She aimed at the small gap between the planks and fired an arrow. It hit a Razaasia soldier in the neck, knocking him to the ground. But as soon as he fell, another soldier quickly moved forward and took his place. The battering ram continued to advance.
The Razaasia soldiers had already advanced to the city wall. Bamboo ladders began to lean against it, and the Razaasia soldiers began to climb. The Musian soldiers who ran out of arrows began to grab small stones and empty barrels and throw them at the Razaasia soldiers climbing the bamboo ladders. Meanwhile, other Musian soldiers stood up and pushed the bamboo ladders back, risking being shot.
Seeing two bamboo ladders slowly rolling towards Hosha City wall, Hibo quickly grabbed one and pushed back. "Shoot them down!" Hibo shouted.
Hibo reached to grab more arrows only to find that she had run out of arrows. She looked to her right and saw a dead female soldier lying on the ground with two quivers. She quickly grabbed the quiver with the most arrows left, ran to where the two escalades were, and started shooting the soldiers who were pushing the escalades towards the city wall. Although each arrow she fired killed a Razaasia soldier, her success was fleeting. As the dead soldier fell to the ground, another quickly took his place. By the time she realized it, she was out of arrows again.
The first escalade reached the city wall, and its ladder was connected to the wall. Many Musian soldiers grabbed hold of the attached ladder and tried to push it away, but they could not. They then began throwing anything they could find onto the ladder, even dead Musian soldiers, in an attempt to prevent the Razaasia from successfully climbing up. But their success was short-lived as Razaasia soldiers began shooting them with arrows.
Kianga saw her soldiers being slaughtered and the city being breached by the first escalade. Not only that, but the city gate would also be breached soon. She knew very well that this was her last battle, but if this was the day she died, she would take as many Razaasia soldiers with her as possible.
"Hibo!" Kianga shouted. "Don't let those Razaasia soldiers climb up our city wall!" She grabbed the two swords on the ground, jumped over the city wall, and went straight to the top of the battering ramp.
Hibo looked back and saw that Kiagna had jumped over the wall. She quickly turned back and shouted, "Hold your position!"
Kianga plunged through the roof of the battering ram. She landed on the battering ram structure. With both swords in hand, she began to thrust them into the sides of the Razaasia soldiers' abdomens. The Razaasia soldiers stopped steering and began to fight Kianga.
Seeing that the battering ram was blocked, Reza was disheartened and ordered angrily, "Kill that savage, and I want that gate open!"
A group of Razaasia soldiers ran towards the city gate, and Kianga was plunged through the wood panels. She rolled on the ground, and as soon as she stood up, she was hit by an arrow in her left shoulder. Due to the pain, she dropped the sword in her left hand. She looked down at the arrow wound, watching her blood slowly flow down her dark shiny skin smeared with her own sweat and the blood of her enemies. Kianga looked up and saw a group of Razaasia soldiers rushing towards her with swords.
Kianga slowly squatted down and picked up the fallen sword with her left hand. She clenched the two swords in her hands, stared at the rushing Razaasia soldiers, and said through gritted teeth, "Come at me... I fear no Razaasia..."