Even if they had not needed support a moment ago, they would need it now. Just as Gene was about to jump down, the sound of a horn reached him from somewhere.
Bwooooo…
Everyone hesitated, not knowing where the sound came from or what it meant. Then the flow of Jandana stopped, and the massed force began to pull back. Was it a call to retreat? At a time like this? Gene stared at the watchtower on the far side of the square, where the outer wall and the two squares met. The sound had come from there. Since he was high up, he could make it out. Soon a Jandana warrior appeared at the top of the tower. Dense white patterns covered his entire body, three layers of tooth necklaces hung from his neck, and a lion skin lay over his shoulders, giving him a majesty like a king’s. When the man opened his mouth, Gene’s eyes widened. Because it was the language of Epherium, and because the words were unimaginable.
“Come out, prince of Epherium!”
The subordinate on the roof looked at Gene in astonishment. How had they found out? Something even the people of Saemgeuneul did not know?
“You who received an oracle! I wish to know whether you are a warrior! Come out and fight! We will do nothing cowardly!”
Gene knew about the oracle too. Long ago, before he was even conceived, he had received an oracle from Reed Temple, famous for prophecy. Like everyone else, Gene visited various temples and respected the priests, but he had never truly believed in oracles. The gods had never granted his wishes even once. There was only one name of a god Gene believed had power. The black avenger, Adalnus, whom his mother had called upon day and night when they had been hunted.
But how did the Jandana know about such an oracle?
“Prince, come out! Come out and fight!”
Then, when the man shouted in the Jandana tongue, all the Jandana began shouting with one voice. Their cries echoed across the square and rang into the keep. The soldiers all froze. Most did not understand the situation, and those who knew the truth hesitated, not knowing whether they could say it aloud.
In the meantime, the Jandana withdrew beyond the small square and formed a broad crescent. When the Jandana warrior who had climbed the watchtower came down, everyone made way. Gene could not tell whether he was a king, a war commander, or merely a respected warrior. Despite all the fighting over the years, no one had yet seen the Jandana king. Nor had he heard of anyone seeing a Jandana who spoke the language of Epherium.
Amid all this, he remembered his joke with Pallasos. Whenever a prince came of age, the Jandana rose up to perform his coming-of-age ceremony for him. Now, that story no longer sounded like a joke. Only then did Gene sense the shadow of someone colluding with the enemy. A shadow stretching all the way from the capital to Saemgeuneul Castle.
The man who had walked before the crescent formation threw off his lion skin. In his hand, he held a greatsword. It looked more like the swords of Epherium’s fighters than a Jandana weapon. Soldiers did not use swords like that, but they could often be seen in the arena. Once, Gene had learned to fight from an old gladiator in the capital. The gladiator had said that the larger the weapon, the more a master of martial skill would gain an advantage, twice, four times, eight times over. In that case, the man had chosen his weapon well. Even so, how had he come to choose his enemy’s sword as his own weapon?
As he thought this, a premonition suddenly came over him. Gene sprang up and ran down to the first floor. As he descended the spiral stairs, the man’s voice rang out, growing louder and softer.
“Come out! Come out and fight!”
When he reached the first floor, all the soldiers looked at Gene. The murmurs leaking out stopped abruptly. Gene looked for Hanbun. The moment their eyes met, Hanbun ran over and tried to speak.
“Adjutant, this is…”
“Hanbun, where did you tie the horses?”
Hanbun swallowed what he had been about to say and answered immediately.
“Between the keep’s rear wall and the retaining wall.”
“Can you get down behind the wall from the retaining wall?”
Hanbun’s eyes widened a little. To cross the retaining wall, he first had to go up to the third floor and climb down the wall from a window there. Beneath the retaining wall lay a deep ravine, and the remaining height was five times the third floor’s height. Above all, if the enemy noticed, he would die for nothing. But Hanbun soon answered.
“I can.”
“Good. Take a rope. You must descend in one go. I will have my horse escape through a gap in the outer wall. If the Jandana kill him, go to the castle where Belkun was sent and borrow a horse. If they will not lend one, buy one with the ring I gave you.”
“Understood. Shall I go now?”
“No.”
Gene looked toward the entrance. A little earlier, the Jandana had begun stamping their feet, and the trembling seemed to fill every direction. Gene gripped his sword hilt once, then let go and patted Hanbun’s back.
“When I go out and draw their attention.”
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