Indra did not just vanish into the smoke. Before the fire consumed the pass, he stepped over the cooling body of Mo Fan. With a single, clean stroke of his black spear's edge, he severed the General's head. He tied the trophy to his belt by the hair, the blood staining his bronze greaves.
"Tell your Emperor," Indra shouted into the wall of Gamma soldiers frozen in the treeline, "that the 'Revenant' is no longer hiding. I am coming for his throne."
The retreat was tactical and silent. Indra used the Vyuha (military formation) principles of ancient Indian warfare, specifically the Suchimukha Vyuha (Needle formation). He placed himself at the sharp tip, piercing through the weakest point of the surrounding Gamma infantry, while his remaining twelve men followed in a tight line behind him. They didn't fight to kill everyone; they fought to exit, moving like a needle through silk.
The Panic in Gamma
When the news reached the capital, the severed head of Mo Fan followed shortly after, delivered by a terrified messenger. Emperor Hikumbus, usually a man of stone, felt his hands shake. One-sixth of his military might had been snuffed out by a teenager and a handful of shadows.
Hikumbus retreated to his war room. The loss of Mo Fan wasn't just a loss of a man; it was a loss of morale. The Weeling Province was now in open terror. The Emperor knew he could no longer rely on sheer numbers. Indra was practicing a form of Kuta-Yuddha (unscrupulous, hidden warfare) that ignored the traditional codes of honor.
"He is not a king," Hikumbus spat, looking at the maps. "He is a plague."
The Emperor decided to adopt the Sama, Dana, Bheda, Danda strategy—the four means of dealing with an enemy:
Sama (Conciliation): He knew this would fail with Indra.
Dana (Bribery): He sent secret envoys to Supreme General Veda in Ohm, offering gold to betray Indra.
Bheda (Sowing Dissension): He spread rumors that Indra was a cursed child who would bring bad luck to Ohm.
Danda (Force): He realized his own force was not enough.
The Desperate Alliance
Hikumbus took a step that went against 200 years of history. He sent a secret messenger to the Theta Empire.
"The boy from Ohm is a threat to the world," the message read. "If he swallows Gamma, Theta will be next. Let us forget our border wars. We must form a Mandala—a circle of kings—to trap the tiger."
He proposed a joint campaign. He knew the Theta Empire possessed the Poisoned Mountain archers and terrain experts who could counter Indra's speed. While Hikumbus prepared for a massive frontal assault to draw Indra out, he wanted Theta to strike from the rear, using a pincer move known as the Chakra Vyuha (the Wheel formation) to ensure Indra could never retreat again.
The Emperor was stressed, his health failing, but his mind was sharpened by hatred. He was no longer fighting for land; he was fighting for the survival of his bloodline.
Meanwhile, Indra stood on a ridge, looking at Mo Fan's head. He felt nothing for the dead man, but he felt the weight of the war shifting. He knew the alliance was coming. He knew the betrayal from Veda was coming. And he welcomed it.