"This is a wound that infuriates me," said the grand sorcerer.
"It is the work of the jealous Koshnili and the murderous Bhoolmakar,"
said I; "and dearly will they answer for it! I must return at once to Calnogor, and take charge of the body for honorable sepulture."
"I think it better for your excellency to remain at the head of the army," said the grand sorcerer, "and allow me to undertake the removal of the body of the queen to Egyplosis. By keeping her death a secret from the army you will be able to defeat Coltonobory, and bring the king and Koshnili to justice. I shall delay the obsequies of the queen until victory is assured."
I agreed to this proposition, being anxious to bring the king to justice, and thereupon relieved General Charka of his command of the 21,000 bockhockids, giving him a guard of 100 wayleals, and requested him to proceed at once to the fortress of Calnogor, and, demanding the body of Lyone, bear it to Egyplosis for honorable sepulture.
The grand sorcerer, who had anticipated the refusal of Lyone to accept liberty at the price demanded, but did not apprehend her sudden death, had, during my absence, assisted at completing the organization of the army. I gave his command of the right wing of the army to Sir John Forbes, Captain Adams accepting a subordinate command.
Supreme General Hushnoly had fully armed the various battalions with mitrailleuses and electric spears, and had furnished all with electric wings.
I instructed Hushnoly to mobilize the army at once and order an immediate advance on Calnogor. All Kioram was alive with warlike preparations. The various generals and captains, accompanied by their aides-de-camp, flew over the city, calling their troops to arms. Both wayleals and bockhockids, soaring into the air, formed themselves into immense living globes, and in the hollow centre of each flew the commanding general and his subordinate officers. In less than an hour the entire army lay marshalled in the air, and Supreme General Hushnoly called me to review our forces.
It was a magnificent sight. High over Kioram stretched a line of enormous spheres composed of wayleals and bockhockids arranged in the following order:
THE ARMY OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN LYONE.
HIS EXCELLENCY LEXINGTON WHITE, _Commander-in-Chief_.
GENERAL SIR JOHN FORBES, commanding the right wing of 21,000 bockhockids, as follows:
The Legion of Art, commanded by General Yermoul.
Phalanx of Poetry--Vice-Gen. Ahornus 2,000 Phalanx of Music " Arnondar 2,000 Phalanx of Painting " Rhemegron 2,000 Phalanx of Dancing " Osornon 2,000 Phalanx of Architecture " Vanablis 2,000 Phalanx of Drama " Clamavappy 2,000 Phalanx of Sculpture " Hitturkey 2,000 Phalanx of Decoration " Drapasius 2,000 The Kioram Legion--General Nototherboc 5,000
SUPREME GENERAL HUSHNOLY, commanding the centre of the army, comprising 175,000 wayleals.
The Phalanx of Egyplosis--General Gerolio 5,000 First Amazonian Phalanx--General Zooly-Soase 2,500 Second Amazonian Phalanx--General Thoubool 2,500 The Kioram Phalanx--General Pra 10,000 First Fletyeming Brigade--General Starbottle 10,000 Second " " " Flathootly 10,000 Third " " " Goldrock 10,000 First Volunteer Army--General Jolgos 25,000 Second " " " Akerbole 25,000 Third " " " Tarabesq 25,000 First Volunteer Legion--General Swilkar 10,000 Second " " " Garreoc 10,000 Third " " " Karramby 10,000 Fourth " " " Botarnic 10,000 Fifth " " " Heralion 5,000 Sixth " " " Nosofrassy 5,000
GENERAL LADALMIR, commanding the left wing of 21,000 bockhockids, as follows:
First Vol. Leg. Bockhockids--Vice-Gen. Adams 5,000 Second " " " Doroccy 2,000 Third " " " Madneaf 2,000 Fourth " " " Darjiltis 2,000 Fifth " " " Roumix 2,000 Sixth " " " Hieralto 2,000 Seventh " " " Dnublis 2,000 Eighth " " " Napasacco 2,000 Ninth " " " Dumargo 2,000
The army in all consisted of 182,000 men and 5,000 amazons. The amazons were dressed similar to the priests of Egyplosis--that is, in pale brown soft-leather tights, high boots emblazoned with scales of white metal, heavy spider-silk tunics, ornamented with beautiful embroidery and held close to the figure by a belt. The knapsack held the magnic cell, dynamo and wings, and also furnished the current for their spears.
As each wayleal required ample space for the movement of his or her wings, it will be seen that each living globe was of immense size, and the entire army became of enormous proportions as it lay stretched upon the air. I assumed supreme command as commander-in-chief, with Flathootly as special aide-de-camp, and gave orders for each globe to double up its wayleals, so that in each case there would be two globes, the outer or fighting force and the interior or reserve force.
In the centre of each living shell was placed the commissariat department and the medical, musical and commanding staffs.
The death of Lyone had been kept a secret. The bands of each army began to play the "March of Lyone," and at the word of command the vast-flying mass of armed men moved grandly forward to Calnogor.
CHAPTER LII.
THE BATTLE OF CALNOGOR.
Long ere we reached Calnogor we discovered the royal army already marshalled to meet us. It lay above the city in globes of wayleals and bockhockids still more prodigious than ours. It was composed of three armies, ranged one above the other, and each army being equal in numbers to our own. Thus, forming a solid parallelogram of amazing magnificence, the royal army awaited our onset. Its bockhockids, formed in ten globes of ten thousand in each, and led by Grasnagallipas, the lord of invention, were the flower of the army, and occupied a central position, where possibly they would do the greatest damage to us. High overhead in a chair of state, supported by twenty wayleals, sat Coltonobory, commander-in-chief of those immense legions that were ready to do battle for the defeat of the cause of their late goddess and the honor of their king.
The sight of two such armies of winged gladiators sweeping toward each other in revolving globes was one of breathless interest. The approaching fight was a question of life or death to both combatants.
Defeat to Aldemegry Bhoolmakar meant possibly the loss of crown and kingdom, and our defeat meant the annihilation of the party of reform and the cause of Lyone. We were eager to begin the fight without delay.
To obtain greater freedom of action, I led the army up into the region where there was no gravity. The movement was followed by a similar movement on the part of the royal armies, who rose like a swarm of locusts to meet us. The noise of so many wings in motion was like that of a roaring storm, and formed an inspiring accompaniment to the music that rang upon the sunlit air.
Here, fifty miles above the white city beneath, both armies closed upon each other. There was a fearful yell of "Bhoolmakar!" answered by as loud a shout of "Lyone!"
Our army was literally buried in the centre of the enemy. The impetuous priests of Egyplosis and the no less eager priestesses performed prodigies of valor.
Our mitrailleuses were a complete surprise to the enemy. Thousands of their wayleals were killed ere they could deliver a blow with their spears.
There was considerable slaughter on both sides, but the enemy depended largely on their magnic spears and shields, while we handled our guns with terrible effect.
The volunteer army under Hushnoly suffered greatly by the demoralization caused by the enemy's bockhockids under Grasnagallipas.
The terrible legs of those machines destroyed the military formation of our wayleals, producing a continuous panic, and permitting the enemy's wayleals to work a ghastly slaughter in their broken ranks. In revenge our bockhockids with their more deadly weapons literally tore their globes to pieces. Notwithstanding our superior arms, the greater numbers of the enemy made them a match for us.
The rushing of wings, the explosions of the machine guns, the clashing of spears and the yells of the combatants made a scene of infernal horror. As the focus of battle swayed hither and thither, it left behind a trail of blood, dead and wounded bodies, broken wings, spears and revolvers. The _debris_ of the battle simply floated out on the air, veritable clouds of disaster. Irregular masses of dead and wounded wayleals and broken bockhockids floated in heaps amid pools of blood.
The enemy could only succeed by stabbing, whereas our wayleals were scorpions whose guns were fatal. With the points of their spears they made great havoc in our battalions. But as long as our ammunition lasted their formations were immediately shrivelled up.
Coltonobory began to mass his army in the form of an immense outspreading hemisphere of the form of an open umbrella. His intention was to enclose us on all sides, and so if possible devour us. I at once ordered the army to take the form of a cone, each legion being a segment thereof, whose apex was formed of bockhockids, and whose base was wide circles of wayleals. With a blast of the trumpet I drove the entire army like an enormous javelin right through the heart of the foe, tearing a yawning chasm, half a mile in diameter, in his ranks!
We lost fully two thousand men in this movement, and the foe over ten thousand in killed and wounded.
The enemy, paralyzed by the onset, became consolidated into three or four immense globes. In front of these they placed their bockhockids, whose monstrous limbs alone could keep our spears at a safe distance.
It was the intention of Coltonobory to ram us with the cohorts led by Grasnagallipas and his bockhockids.
Hastily re-forming our broken ranks as before, I ordered a flank movement, rapid and decisive. Our bockhockids plunged into a tremendous mass of wayleals. Into the chasm thus made in the ranks of the enemy General Zooly-Soase threw her amazons, protected on either side by the legion of priests of Egyplosis under Gerolio. The priestesses, whose spears were particularly long and powerful, did terrible execution. The enemy was for a time panic-stricken as the glorious girls made their successful onset. Their dramatic beauty and the flash of their spears made a scene of imposing grandeur.
Coltonobory, recovering from his surprise, ordered his bockhockids to the centre of the fight. To prevent the sacrifice of the priestesses by overwhelming odds I sent the bockhockids of art to their assistance. These swept to the rescue like a flight of eagles, and the empyrean echoed to the roar of the combat.
The fighting now became general. The sunlit heavens seemed filled with the ferocity of war. The discharge of guns, the yells of wayleals, the trumpet signals of the commanders, the crash of swords and spears, the ceaseless motion of wings, and the long trail of dead and wounded combatants that followed the fight like the _debris_ of a comet, was a sight but rarely beheld by human eyes.
Each army seemed so equally balanced--the king's army had the advantage in numbers and our own the advantage in weapons--that neither party could yet claim a victory. Further fighting seemed useless until some new tactics were employed; therefore I gave orders for a cessation of the battle, and caused flags of truce to be hoisted.
Both armies indeed required food and repose, and the wounded required immediate attention. The enemy was no less anxious for a truce than ourselves, consequently all fighting ceased and both armies withdrew.
Several miles apart sentinels were placed on guard on outposts in the atmosphere, and our wayleals threw themselves upon the air in various attitudes of repose.
In company with Generals Hushnoly, Ladalmir, Gerolio, Zooly-Soase, Thoubool, Charka, Yermoul, Starbottle and Goldrock, I visited the scene of the battle.
How ghastly the realities of war! There floated irregular piles of dead and wounded bodies, from which poured many a trickling stream of ruddy life, which formed immense cloud-pools of blood surrounding each ghastly pile. The heaped-up masses of the dead would vibrate, as some poor suffocating wretch struggled in his last agonies. Dr. Merryferry and his assistants hastily took possession of the wounded, and ministered to their necessities. Water was supplied them from the leathern bags of water that formed part of the commissariat supplies.
I ordered a detachment of wayleals to separate the living from the dead, and bear the wounded to Kioram for immediate attention.
The saddest sight of all was a cluster of fifty beautiful priestesses, embracing one another in the long caress of death. They had been slain with the magnic spears, so happily there were no gaping wounds from which the life-blood flowed. Ardsolus and Merga lay dead where the fight was hottest, both slain at once.
The dead and wounded twin-souls were sent to Egyplosis as quickly as possible, and the process of clearing the air of the havoc of war was carried out both by the enemy and ourselves with the greatest despatch.
The losses of the enemy were four times greater than ours, owing to the tremendous execution done by our gigantic pistols. The royal troops presented in ghastly groups every possible posture of the human body that could be created by rage, pain, fear or madness.