CHAPTER 169: THE RESISTANCE

Noor heard the shouts of the Franks soldiers, turned his gaze back to them, and saw something strange. He saw, emerging from among the villages, men of Ghlizan riding the golden, thick-haired gazelles, carrying Franks rifles and firing them at the soldiers. They were advancing in large numbers, pouring out from the villages. Noor looked to the horizon and saw many more of them approaching.

The Franks soldiers fired their cannons, knocking a number of them off the gazelles, but the rest continued to advance and struck down several Franks soldiers with their rifles. The soldiers began to shout and retreat. The artillery machines started to withdraw, and the soldiers ran, waving their hands to General Hugo. General Hugo watched the resistance ruin his beautiful victory painting. His features tightened in anger, and he clenched his fist. He ordered a few soldiers near him to carry his painting supplies, then hurried to a vehicle with four robotic legs and mounted it. The vehicle began to move, running away, while the Franks soldiers mounted similar vehicles or fled with the artillery machines. But the resistance killed some of them and seized a few artillery machines.

Noor raised an eyebrow. "Are these the Prince’s forces you mentioned?"

Tulkas nodded. "You got it."

"Why are the Franks fleeing from them? Shouldn’t they be able to eliminate them?"

"True. But they are strong and fierce, and they appear suddenly from the forests to reap the heads of the Franks. Their sudden appearance usually panics the Franks soldiers because they didn’t expect them and weren’t prepared to face them. So, they usually withdraw, then return later with larger forces and greater equipment to confront them."

"But they’re riding those strange creatures and don’t have heavy, powerful weapons like the Franks."

Tulkas gestured to the horizon. "But they know every terrain feature of their planet. They know when to attack and where to hide. They move fast, strike fast, and then disappear. This is what’s called guerrilla warfare. It’s the kind of war that any strong, regular army, like the Franks army, hates the most. If they were fighting an organized army like themselves, it would be simple. They could determine that army’s size, its weapons, equipment, and soldiers. Then they could start making plans to defeat it decisively with military tactics, striking its positions, bombing its camps, or destroying its equipment and cutting off its supply lines. But..."

Tulkas watched the resistance fighters chasing the Franks on the horizon, tirelessly, until they were far from the village.

"But these fighters don’t follow the rules of an organized army. The Franks don’t know their numbers. They don’t know their bases to bomb them. They can’t cut their supply lines because they don’t know where they’re coming from. They can’t destroy their equipment because they don’t know where they’re quartered. These fighters are like ghosts. They appear, spread terror in their hearts, reap heads, and then disappear, having inflicted heavy losses on the Franks."

Noor nodded and looked at the burning, destroyed village, and its people fleeing on the horizon, pulling carts and animals loaded with their belongings, trying to reach the next village to take refuge.

"Let’s enter this village to find food and water," Noor said sorrowfully. "My strength is failing."

Tulkas shook his head. "The Prince’s men could return at any moment. We must go to the crystal’s location quickly, without delay."

Noor’s stomach rumbled. "I can’t go on like this. Even if I am genetically modified to endure hunger, cold, fatigue, and lack of sleep for long hours, I still need to rest and eat from time to time."

Tulkas looked at him for a long time from behind his mask. "You are a cunning boy. You will eat, and then we go to the crystal. Otherwise, I will kill you and resume the mission alone."

Noor swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.

Noor was at a loss, not knowing how to get rid of this dangerous monster. The Enix were a great power, capable of shattering his planet and toppling Gaia, one of the emperors of the universe, who had once possessed the Crystal of Life before Noor and his companions took it and fled with it from planet Atlantis, only for it to be dropped on this planet. It was a true predicament. The Enix knew so much and were characterized by cunning, deceit, and great power. And although he was smart and adept at using his own cunning, he was no match for one of the Enix. He decided to form a careful plan to escape. It would either succeed, or he would die.

They both descended the hill to the village, which was ablaze. They entered it and saw the destroyed homes, the rubble, the mutilated livestock, and the scattered corpses. Noor felt a pang in his heart, and it ached with pain. Even if they didn’t look like him, he grieved for them as if they were human, like him.

They walked into the main village square until Noor heard the sound of crying coming from a burning house. It was the crying of children. Noor ran quickly. Tulkas partially drew his sword. "Stay where you are. Are you trying to flee?"

"No. There are children inside that house."

"And why do you care? Let them perish. Our mission is more important than this nonsense."

Noor looked back, sparks flying from his eyes. "This is what separates me from you. I am human. And I cannot let children perish for the sake of my own interests."

Tulkas sheathed his sword again and sat on a nearby rock, fidgeting. "Did Lord Gladious really have to send me after these fools? He should have sent Margoth, or maybe Valar. But he left the fun of confronting Gaia to them and left me with the mission of tracking a handful of teenagers. What a shame! I wonder what is Margoth doing now? Maybe he is killing people as usual and praying for their dead souls that will never see the new world!"