Chapter 111: Pressure
Gate 62 of the thirteenth Heavenly Games. The objective was to protect the land of Lagash against the King of Umma and his forces. The nobles of the city were afraid. They were outnumbered, the king was marching on their doors, and they did not have the manpower necessary to oppose the siege.
Roland Blackwood, then a Commander of the Templar Order, orchestrated a staged withdrawal from key positions, leaving minimal forces visibly guarding Lagash while secretly reinforcing strategic locations from the rear and sides. Furthermore, sensing King Lugal-zage-si’s confidence after previous victories, the Commander feigned disarray and internal strife within Lagash, deliberately spreading false rumors of dissent among Lagash’s ranks to lure the Umma forces into a false sense of superiority.
The Umma forces marched on, thinking with their hearts rather than their heads. They did not anticipate strife or a siege—they anticipated a merciless sack where they would take control of every facet of the city.
They were wrong.
Relaxed and on-route, they were blessed with the picture-perfect location to stop. That was when it happened: an ambush. The players coordinated attacks from concealed positions, encircling and trapping the Umma army within the cunningly devised location, cutting off escape routes.
That day, the Umma side lost half their forces.
The Commander wasn’t done either.
In the span of three days, he twisted a hopeless situation into overwhelming victory. He turned the fear into courage. The enemy forces arrived at the open city doors and came in with caution. Spies were sent. Hours later, the spies returned.
King Lugal-zage-si would ask what happened, only to be slit across the throat.
The king did not recognize his own spies due to his own arrogance; therefore, he never anticipated betrayal. With his death, the special objective was complete. All that remained was the main objective: the defeat of the Umma forces.
The Commander conducted a one-sided slaughter and killed so many soldiers that he personally received the hidden objective—or so they say.