When the army awoke and marched out, they found a mass of mats and smothered campfires. While the villagers were still there, the warriors had fled. The villagers looked like they were prepared for a massacre, but nothing happened. The Pryhan soldiers just gathered food, water, and other supplies, and then the march was ordered again. The village was a speck on the horizon as they made camp for the night.

The army had a strict schedule for its movements. They awoke shortly before sunrise, which was a pain as they used trumpets to do it. They would then disassemble the camp they had made, eat a quick breakfast, and then proceed to march on starting at about ten if the portable sundial she was given was any indication. They would then proceed to march like ants for, roughly, the next seven hours. They would then stop, dig trenches and set up premade palisades, and then perform drills and eat until sundown. It was truly a sight to behold, especially from above.

As magnificent as such a sight was, she often didn't get to see it. The Caesar often sent her ahead of the army on scouting operations or mini-raids. This was mostly the scouting part, looking for zebra ambushes or warbands, as well as a decent place for a camp to be made. The raids were similar to that first one after the battle at Savarnai. Assassinate enemy officers, torch enemy supplies, and generally get them whipped up into a terror. And it worked.

Finally, after about a month of marching from the army, a city came into view. It was actually a pretty large one, considering she had mostly seen smaller villages and groups of fleeing nomads. It was mostly made of what appeared to be mud-brick structures, with the occasional stone and wooden building poking its head out from the sea of buildings. A series of stone palisades had been set up along the edge of the city, and trenches dug outside it. Warriors manned them constantly, and even she didn't have enough of a gap to slip inside the city. She had learned from the Caesar that the city was called Timbucktu, and while it wasn't the capital of the Zebrican Confederacy, it was one of their largest cities.

The Empire forces had began do dig in, waiting for additional forces to arrive. Day by day, the companies would assemble on the fields around the city, just outside of range of zebra artillery, ready to advance. Then, when no signal to advance was given, they would just stand there, all day, in the sweltering heat. As the sun went down, the battle lines would disband, and the army would retreat back into the castrum. And the same scenario would repeat, over and over, for at least ten days.

Rainbow was ordered to spend most of that time performing recon on the city, spying where the zebrican warriors slept, where they stored their food and various other bits of useful intelligence. However, it took a rather small amount of time, so she was left with a massive amount of the day with nothing to do. So, she spent most of the time with nothing to do. This mostly was spent on a small hill a short ways behind the Pryhan lines. There, she spent much of the time reading some books she had brought in her sarcina. A few other activities were carving bits of sticks or watching the zebras. She had to admit it was a bit creepy, but it wasn't like she had better do in the hundred-degree heat!

Finally, after about ten days, additional troops arrived, and the Caesar called a meeting of her close officers; including her. They discussed the plan of attack, however, it mostly came down to how they would use her. Some said as a line-breaker of sorts, others said as her role at Savarnai: flanking the enemy from above and performing hit and run attacks on the enemy. It was decided to go with the latter.

The next day, the assault began. The long-dormant artillery blazed to life, sending streaking bolts or balls of fire across the early morning sky. The defenses set up were shattered, and soon after the barrage ended, the assembled troops received the signal to advance.

They did so at once, swarming over the lines like a tidal wave. Like a tidal wave, they crushed anything in their path. As they crested the artificial hills on the city perimeter, they broke ranks and swarmed in like ants, flooding the city streets. Nothing stood in their path.

In the few places that resistance was substantial, she would intervene. Swoop in, kill one or two, then pull out. She was too fast for any of them to hit, and her mere presence often sent at least half of a given group into a rout. Those that didn't flee or were killed by her were cut down by the Pryhan soldiers. The battle was over in a matter of hours.

The next day, what would've been Timbucktus relief force, led by the high chief of one of the zebrican tribes, arrived. They stopped, staring in shock at the burning city. As the army came around, a zebrican runner came out to the line. He had a message. The zebricans weren't here to fight; they had come to surrender.

The high chief met with the Caesar in her tent, and the chief soon left. The army was to maintain its position, and so it stood encamped by the smoldering remains of the city for the next ten days. Again, Rainbow had little to do. Again, she spent her time reading, sleeping, or fighting with random soldiers she picked out from the companies present.

Finally, the chief came back, with a fully signed treaty. A signature from the Caesar, and the eight year-long war between the Zebrican Confederacy and the Pryhan Empire was over. She didn't know the details, and wouldn't for some time. All she knew was she was going back to her son, who had gone with Castus to the Pryhan capital city: Pryha, the Eternal City.

Next Chapter: 46~The Eternal City Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 7 Minutes