Confrontation

From high above, the two massive armies sprawled across the earth like ancient beasts awakening and slowly stretching their bodies.

Drem, born among the Kurdish tribesmen, was now a genuine Imperial Knight. Mounted on a fine horse, he led a band of Kurdish light cavalry galloping across the open wilderness.

He now served as commander of the Third Scout Cavalry Banner, responsible for scouting the layout of the enemy formation before battle.

The space between the two enormous formations had become a slaughterhouse where scouts fought and killed one another. As the armies slowly drew closer, the gap between them narrowed, and clashes between scouts grew ever more frequent.

"Boss, the Saracens' falcon is here."

"Juno, shoot that beast down."

"Yes!"

Drem shouted, and a cavalryman immediately answered. He rode to the front of the group and took down a longbow nearly as tall as a man, made from branches and vines of the Tree of Life, hanging from his saddle.

He drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the eagle in the sky. With a sharp twang of the string, the circling falcon was shot from the air.

A burst of cheers immediately rose from the group.

Drem praised him as well. "What an eagle hunter! You're no worse than those steppe riders in the trial!"

The trial he meant was the Battle of Mingyuan.

"Boss, knowing the Saracens' style, now that we've killed their falcon, they'll probably send those dark-skinned cavalrymen to surround us soon."

At the mention of the Nubian cavalry, the Kurdish riders could not help feeling lingering fear. It was not that these elite men, who had followed Abdullah in raising the banner of rebellion in Syria, were cowards. The truth was that quite a few Nubians knew wicked sorcery.

Previously, a scout