Chapter 52 Hes II

　　—Without a knife, how can one kill a man? One may borrow a knife to do it.

　　Yuan Ao was the marshal of the garrison of Skull City. He was a trusted confidant of the present EagleGod King Hesai. Hesai had banished Hes to this northern cold region as city lord precisely so that Yuan Ao might keep watch over him and prevent him from making any rash moves.

　　One morning the long, drawnout sound of a horn rose above Skull City. Yuan Ao’s sweet dream was interrupted by a BullHead colonel. He opened his eyes blearily; the sight of the panicstricken bull’s head before him instantly ignited his temper. With a sharp slap he struck the junior officer across the face.

　　“Damn it—what is so urgent that you dare disturb this father’s good dream?”

　　“Reporting to the Grand Marshal: the assembly horn has sounded on the parade ground. This subordinate had no choice but to risk waking Your Excellency.”

　　“What? The assembly horn? Who blew it? Who ordered it blown? Motherfucker—without this father’s command, who dares sound the assembly?”

　　Cursing all the while, Yuan Ao rose, his clothing still disordered, and flew toward the parade ground.

　　The parade ground lay upon the open square near the gates of Skull City. At that moment every branch of the BullHead and EagleGod forces was hurrying toward it; the urgent thunder of hooves, flying sand and stones raised a cloud of dust that halfobscured the sky.

　　By the time Yuan Ao reached the air above the parade ground the various units had already drawn up in neat ranks, awaiting inspection.

　　Yuan Ao looked down from the air at the reviewing platform and saw a great banner painted with an eagle’s head fluttering in the wind. Beneath the banner, upon the grand master’s chair, sat an EagleGod fully armed and armored.

　　He was about to explode—“Who dares sit in this Grand Marshal’s seat?”—yet when he clearly recognized the face of that EagleGod he could not help starting in great astonishment.

　　Seated upon the grand master’s chair was none other than Prince Hes.

　　Although in private Yuan Ao had always held Hes in contempt and had secretly kept watch over him, sending petty reports to the capital, Hes was after all a prince of the EagleGod Clan; his status and position stood there for all to see, and he was now Yuan Ao’s immediate superior. Therefore whenever Yuan Ao met Hes he still appeared respectful and deferential on the surface.

　　Seeing that Prince Hes himself was presiding, Yuan Ao hastily put away his arrogant airs, flapped his wings, descended from the air, and knelt on one knee to pay his respects.

　　When Hes saw Yuan Ao his face darkened and he said sternly: “Yuan Ao, do you know your crime?”

　　“Your Highness the Prince—what do you mean?”

　　“What does the first article of the military code stipulate?”

　　“When the assembly horn sounds, one must arrive at the parade ground fully armed and armored within the time of one stick of incense; violators shall be beheaded.”

　　Hes pointed to the incense already burned to ash upon the table: “Yuan Ao, as Grand Marshal of the garrison of Skull City you yourself take the lead in disregarding military regulations. In order to set an example for others—come! Drag Yuan Ao out and behead him in public!”

　　The trusted household generals standing behind Hes at once stepped forward, bound Yuan Ao hand and foot, and prepared to push him out for execution.

　　At that moment the garrison officers of Skull City all knelt upon the ground to plead for Yuan Ao.

　　“What? The military code was created by the celestial gods. After one stick of incense Yuan Ao arrived at the parade ground with his clothing still disordered; by law he should be beheaded. Do you dare defy the will of the celestial gods?”

　　“Your Highness the Prince, how would we dare defy the celestial gods? Only, Skull City is at present in need of men; we hope the life of General Yuan Ao may be spared so that he may atone for his crime by meritorious service.” Several garrison officers repeatedly pleaded on Yuan Ao’s behalf.

　　“Mm—what the officers say is not without reason. Someone—bring Yuan Ao up.”

　　Hes fixed his gaze upon Yuan Ao, who knelt trembling upon the ground, and asked: “Yuan Ao, do you know your crime?”

　　“Your Highness the Prince, this guilty general knows his crime. This guilty general is willing to atone by meritorious service and thanks Your Highness the Prince for the grace of not killing him.” Having walked through the gates of hell, Yuan Ao was already ashenfaced with terror; he kowtowed continuously, thanking Hes for the grace of sparing his life.

　　“Humph—so long as you know your crime. What is the motto of our EagleGod Clan?”

　　“Halfgod glory, walking with the Lord.”

　　“Very good. Yuan Ao, I now give you an opportunity to display the halfgod glory of our EagleGod Clan. Higher authority has ordered Skull City to lead troops to campaign against the escaped Cyclops Wei Hao. The assembly was sounded this morning precisely in preparation for capturing Wei Hao. Yuan Ao, are you willing to serve as vanguard and go to capture Wei Hao?”

　　“This guilty general is willing.”

　　“Very well. Someone—let Yuan Ao write a military pledge. If this time you capture Wei Hao, well and good; if not, the several crimes will be punished together.”

　　Hes ordered Yuan Ao to lead twenty EagleGod subordinates and two hundred BullHead soldiers as the vanguard force, setting out first to capture Wei Yuanhao deep in the desert. Hes himself would lead the main force behind to press the formation.

　　Wei Hao had originally been the chieftain of the OneEyed Giant Clan.

　　The Giant Clan was a special existence upon the continent of Mu. Their numbers were not large; they served the Green Clan celestial gods directly and were the most loyal servants of the Green Clan celestial gods.

　　The Giant Clan was the first race created by the Green Clan celestial gods; their long history upon the continent of Mu even surpassed that of the EagleGod Clan.

　　The earliest Giants stood more than five meters tall, possessed two eyes, took Lei as their surname, and were called the Leiclan Giants.

　　Thereafter the Giant Clan was improved by the celestial gods and the OneEyed Giant Clan appeared. These Giants were shorter, about four meters in height; upon the center of the forehead there was only a single vertical eye. They took Wei as their surname and were called the OneEyed Weiclan Giants.

　　In both intelligence and ability the OneEyed Weiclan Giants surpassed the earlier Leiclan Giants; therefore after their creation they were greatly favored by the Green Clan celestial gods, responsible for the daily life and bodyguard duties of the Green Clan celestial gods, and became the trusted confidants of the Green Clan celestial gods.

　　The earlier Leiclan Giants mainly served as conveyances and ceremonial escorts. In ancient times the Green Clan celestial gods, holding the celestial scepter, sat in a fourbearer sedan chair carried by Leiclan Giants, with OneEyed Weiclan Giants holding doublefaced giant axes clearing the way in front and the EagleGod Clan providing aerial escort and vigilance, proceeding in grand procession to inspect the four quarters of their domain, their majesty aweinspiring the world.

　　After the War of the Gods, for reasons unknown, the OneEyed Weiclan Giants suddenly fell from favor. Their chieftain Wei Hao was even banished to Skull City to serve hard labor on the charge of great disrespect toward the Green Clan celestial gods.

　　Inside StoneForest City near Skull City, Wei Hao labored hard every day as a convict. A fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken; Yuan Ao had always been sharptongued and harsh and had repeatedly made difficulties for Wei Hao.

　　In the end Wei Hao could bear it no longer. On a pitchblack night he led two OneEyed Giant subordinates who were also serving hard labor, escaped from StoneForest City, and settled in the Valley of Death to the north.

　　The plan Tuohong had given Hes was precisely to make use of the accumulated resentment between Yuan Ao and Wei Hao and, borrowing Wei Hao’s hand, to eliminate Yuan Ao.

　　Yuan Ao and his deputy Ba Long, mounted on camelhorses, led their subordinates out of the city gates toward the depths of the desert to capture Wei Hao.

　　The EagleGod Clan themselves possessed wings and could fly through the sky; yet the twenty EagleGods led by Yuan Ao, together with the two hundred BullHead soldiers, advanced on camelhorses.

　　Yuan Ao’s chief purpose in doing so was to delay time so that he might find a way to extricate himself from the present crisis.

　　On Wei Hao’s side there were not only three Cyclops but also, it was said, mysterious powers; with the strength of the force Yuan Ao led it would be extremely difficult to match them—this situation Yuan Ao understood perfectly clearly.

　　No sooner had they left the city gates than Deputy Ba Long, still mounted, frowned tightly: “Grand Marshal, why neither earlier nor later, but precisely this morning suddenly sound the assembly horn to capture Wei Hao—what play is this?”

　　“Humph—this morning’s assembly horn itself is a conspiracy. Since Hes came to Skull City he has spent every day drinking and making merry, living in a drunken stupor—when has he ever reviewed the troops? This morning he suddenly pulls this trick and I have fallen into the trap. I see that his goal is not to capture Wei Hao but to deal with me.”

　　“What are we to do now?”

　　“What can we do? I have already signed the military pledge; he leads the main army behind to press the formation—actually he is the supervising officer afraid I will flee. Now there is a vicious wolf ahead and a fierce tiger behind; I can only take one step at a time.”

　　Skull City stood upon an oasis of the StoneSea Gobi; the ReedGrass River flowed northsouth through the city. In addition underground rivers flowed upon the surface within the city; ancient trees formed shade, branches and leaves luxuriant, so that even in early summer cool breezes still blew inside Skull City and the climate was pleasant.

　　Outside Skull City the scene was entirely different: a barren Gobi upon which almost no vegetation could be seen; what little there was consisted of thorny shrubs.

　　The sunlight was like a sword of light, scorching and merciless, stabbing down upon the Gobi; the dry heat made one feel one could scarcely breathe. The small animals of the Gobi had long since fled without a trace, hiding underground and eking out a miserable existence.

　　The camelhorse beneath Yuan Ao advanced with heavy steps, walking slowly forward. This vanguard force, pierced by the merciless sword of light from the sun, felt wave after wave of heat surging over them; their spirits grew ever more listless, with not the least fighting spirit remaining.

　　Ahead they passed another castle upon the StoneSea Gobi—StoneForest City. StoneForest City stood upon a height of land, subordinate to Skull City and far smaller in area.

　　Standing outside StoneForest City and looking in, one saw everywhere inside the city stone pillars of every size and height, uneven and innumerable, forming a forest of stone; therefore this stone forest was called the Chaotic Stone Forest.

　　Dormitories had been built inside StoneForest City for the laborers and convicts. Every day before dawn the laborers and convicts began quarrying stone inside the Chaotic Stone Forest; the continuous clanging of stoneworking could be heard from far away.

　　The difference in temperature between day and night upon the StoneSea Gobi was great; even in the blazing heat of summer the temperature dropped sharply at night, and water poured upon the ground would freeze.

　　The laborers and convicts made use of the freezing of the ground to drag the huge stones to the bank of the ReedGrass River beside the Chaotic Stone Forest and load them onto boats.

　　The boatmen followed the gentle current of the ReedGrass River, sailed the boats into the upper reaches of the Bola River, and then transported the huge stones to the capital.

　　Along the way several canals connected with the Bola River; according to need the huge stones could also be transported to the various cities of the empire for the construction of castles and the strengthening of defenses.

　　Those laboring inside the Chaotic Stone Forest were mainly humans; one could also see small numbers of Centaurs, Dwarves, LeopardMen and BullHeads, and even Giants and EagleGods.

　　The Giant Clan and the EagleGod Clan were the higher races of the continent of Mu; yet once they committed crimes and were abandoned by the celestial gods their fate was miserable: EagleGods would have their wings severed, Giants would have shackles placed upon their feet, and both would be sent to Skull City to labor hard under the scorching sun day after day.

　　Outside the city Yuan Ao absentmindedly greeted the EagleGod officers upon the wall, his mood gloomy as he circled past StoneForest City.

　　He calculated in his heart: if this expedition to capture Wei Hao failed, in the worst case his little life would not be preserved; in the lighter case his wings would still be severed and thereafter he would labor in the Chaotic Stone Forest without seeing the light of day. At the thought he felt an impulse to commit suicide.

　　The walls of StoneForest City were built upon the flat ground at the foot of the mountain; beyond the walls one could see the laborers and convicts upon the mountain toiling hard.

　　When Yuan Ao passed beneath Stone City he deliberately gazed toward the mountain; seeing those EagleGods whose wings had been severed, reduced to skin and bone, he could not help feeling the sorrow of the fox when the rabbit dies, and his spirit grew still more dejected.

　　Had Yuan Ao ever imagined that in the beginning Wei Hao too had suffered a hard fate, fallen from the altar of the gods and come to Skull City to serve hard labor? Yuan Ao had added insult to injury, repeatedly making difficulties for Wei Hao, until at last Wei Hao rebelled out of Skull City and took to the wilds as a bandit.

　　Without Yuan Ao, Wei Hao would not have rebelled. Now Yuan Ao was tasting the bitter fruit of Wei Hao’s rebellion—truly lifting a stone only to drop it upon his own feet. Cause and effect cycle; retribution is never wrong. Such is the way of the world.

　　At noon Yuan Ao and his men leaned against the sparse poplar trees and ate a little dry rations.

　　At that moment an EagleGod scout under his command reported that the main army led by Prince Hes was about a dozen li behind them.

　　“This is urging me to my death.” At the thought Yuan Ao’s heart filled with a wave of anxiety; he ordered: “Transmit my command—accelerate the advance. Before nightfall we must find Wei Hao’s hiding place.”