Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 107

Chapter 107

One of the kungas bolted from its stall and charged toward Agadis.

Medeus did not miss the moment when Agadis twisted his body to dodge —

his swiftly passing blade cut across Agadis’s thigh.

“Urk!”

Limping from the strike, Agadis staggered just as the kunga disappeared outside.

From beyond the stable came the pounding hooves of the frenzied beasts, shaking the ground.

At this rate, the soldiers would storm in any moment.

They had planned to send the signal only after confirming Luhal-Zagesi’s location —

but now, they had no choice but to move the plan forward.

“Medeus!”

With no more than a glance, Medeus understood Nataek’s intent and agreed.

“Teresi! Release all the war mounts!”

Nataek immediately touched an arrow to the embers of an outdoor brazier and shot it onto the stable roof.

Flames shot up, and the startled kungas burst out of the stables en masse.

High into the sky, red smoke began to billow —

the signal to the Kish soldiers waiting at the city gate.

Medeus was just turning back toward Nataek when—

“Medeus!”

Agadis called out hoarsely, still limping.

“Why… why betray Uruk… why betray you, Medeus?!”

“Agadis. Order the soldiers to evacuate the freemen outside the middle gate first.”

“Answer me!”

“From the moment Luhal-Zagesi killed Kushanna¹, Uruk no longer had a ruler. Uruk isn’t falling because of what’s happening now. Nor is it falling because you failed to defend its walls.”

“…”

“To keep a rotten city standing, Luhal-Zagesi will exploit the people more than ever before. And your family will be no exception. He will not protect the freemen — you know that, don’t you?”

Agadis’s hand, bracing a sword against the ground, trembled.

“It is my duty to protect Uruk…”

“Your duty is to protect the people of Uruk. I’ll do my utmost to make sure their safety is guaranteed. Now go — get them out.”

Samuagon² didn’t simply want to expand Kish’s territory.

He wanted to make his name resound as emperor over a unified city-state.

That meant he would choose to gain prestige and reign over others, rather than trampling them.

“Medeus, we must hurry.”

At Nataek’s call, Medeus quickly slipped out of the stables.

The sun-like city Medeus had guarded was setting.

Toward the rising red flames, the Kish army began their charge.

The thundering of their feet shook the ground — and pounded in the chest of a crumbling Agadis.

Almost at the same instant they set the fire, Nataek and Medeus reached the temple.

Releasing the war mounts and leaving the gate open had bought them only a slight delay in the news reaching the temple — at best, a fleeting moment.

The temple doors opened, and a junior priest, still bleary-eyed from sleep, stepped out.

“What is this commotion?!”

The guards at the gate hurried to explain.

“It seems the stables have caught fire. They’ve gone to inspect, so please wait a moment.”

“Slow-witted fools. Go find out now!”

The impatient priest was snapping at them when a soldier came running, panting.

“The enemy is attacking! The Kish forces have opened the East Gate!”

His words drained the color from the priest’s face — and from the guards’ as well.

“K–Kish forces…?! We must inform the Ensi³ at—”

Fwhip—!

The priest never finished his sentence.

An arrow from Medeus pierced his throat cleanly.

The startled guards reacted too late — two fell to Nataek’s arrows, and four more to Medeus’s sword.

Once the gate defenders fell silent, Medeus gestured.

Nataek moved quickly to follow him inside the temple.

Thud—!

They shoved the temple’s great doors shut and Nataek slid the locking bar into place.

In his vision, a message flashed:

[Temple Infiltration] quest completed.

The two quickly hid themselves in a shadowed corner.

The temple of Uruk stood far from the East Gate.

The soldiers they had just cut down were likely the first messengers sent with news of the chaos.

Having intercepted them, they could be certain the word had not yet reached Luhal-Zagesi —

meaning the man was still inside.

“We need to find him before he hides.”

Nataek nodded — perfectly in agreement —

and as if reading his resolve, the system lit up brightly:

[Luhal-Zagesi’s Whereabouts] quest begins.

Invasion was one step in the process of subjugation.

In Sununki, victory always came with a proclamation —

most often in the form of the conquered city’s leader meeting a humiliating end.

Beheading and displaying the head, or parading their shame before the crowd.

If that wasn’t possible, the victors made slaves of the city’s populace as a show of triumph.

Therefore, capturing Luhal-Zagesi was essential.

But there was one problem:

…So, I’m supposed to find him on my own?

There was no guiding marker from the system.

No blinking lights, no faint glow leaking from under a door.

Nothing.

Nataek could only conclude — the difficulty had indeed been raised from the Delam mission.

Still, he snorted.

Well — this is nothing compared to almost getting swallowed whole in Delam.

Finding him might not be smooth, but at least there would be no catastrophe-scale disasters.

And the fact that Uruk was originally a tutorial city eased Nataek’s mind.

Neither of them was familiar enough with the temple to know its layout perfectly.

Nataek fixed his gaze on Medeus.

In times like this, he had to use his guide.

Go, my guide.

“Which way should we go?”

Above them, the upper floor was starting to grow noisy.

Medeus thought for a moment, then pointed.

“Upstairs.”

Nataek, letting Medeus lead like a diviner with his rod, moved forward —

both of them muffling their footsteps as they climbed the stairs.

“Fire! The stables are on fire!”

A servant came running down toward them from above.

“Wake the priests! Where is the High Priest— Urk!”

Before he could finish, Medeus’s quick hand struck him in the face.

But before they could take advantage of stopping him, the doors downstairs began to boom under pounding fists.

Thanks to the locked bar, they wouldn’t open.

“The Kish forces are attacking! Evacuate at once!”

The shouts, blocked by the door, echoed through the temple.

Medeus kept his hand over the servant’s mouth, hauling him quickly up the stairs.

Nataek followed at a run.

They ducked into a dark corridor just off the stairwell.

“Make a sound and you lose your head,” Medeus warned.

The servant nodded desperately.

“Where is Luhal-Zagesi?”

Thump—thump—!

The pounding on the locked doors below grew more intense.

Nataek drew his bow and aimed at the servant in front of Medeus.

“Speak quickly.”

The servant was not loyal enough to withstand the threat of two armed men.

The moment his eyes showed surrender, Medeus removed his hand.

“Upstairs… the first room on the right is the Ensi’s chambers.”

For the price of not shouting, his life was spared.

Medeus promptly chopped the side of his neck, knocking him unconscious.

Nataek urged him forward, and together they raced toward the next staircase.

The path upward was anything but smooth —

they had to fight through temple guards, and shove aside obstructing priests and servants.

At last, they reached the top of the stairs —

only to see two soldiers cautiously emerging from the first door on the right.

What the… Why are they moving so sluggishly for soldiers?

It seemed they were in a hurry, yet their movements suggested they’d never run properly in armor.

One of them locked eyes with Nataek.

“Medeus!”

[Luhal-Zagesi’s Whereabouts] quest completed.

Through the glare of the system’s light, Nataek pointed at the man —

the one in uniform was none other than Luhal-Zagesi, alongside his attendant, Tartarzi.

At Nataek’s shout, the two bolted with all their strength into the next room.

You think you’re getting away?!

Nataek and Medeus sprinted after them, but the door slammed in their faces.

Then came the sound of a bolt sliding into place.

Exactly as they expected — Luhal-Zagesi was ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Disguising himself in a soldier’s uniform to blend in — such cowardice.

“Teresi. Over here.”

Medeus grabbed an ornamental vase from a nearby stand, smashed it, and wedged a shard into the door gap.

He thrust his sword into the space, levering it again and again.

Finally, something solid clattered loose inside.

As if on cue, they each kicked a side of the door.

Bang—!

You miserable bastard. Got you at last—

But when the door swung open, a rush of cold air struck their faces.

What… is this?

They had expected a room — instead, before Nataek’s eyes stretched the smoke-filled sky over Uruk.

Where the room should have been, a long staircase descended beside a safety-rail-like barrier.

Judging by Medeus’s surprised expression, this was a hidden passage Luhal-Zagesi had created — either secretly, or after banishing Medeus.

At the staircase’s bottom was a door, just now swinging shut in haste.

“There!”

They shouted almost as they moved, racing down the steps.

The fugitives had been in such a rush, they hadn’t locked the wooden door.

Throwing it open, they saw a stone floor patterned like a chessboard —

and, in the distance, the flutter of a white cloth vanishing from sight.

There was no time to hesitate.

The instant they both stepped forward—

“Uagh!”

notes:

1. Kushanna — In-universe character who appears to have been a ruler or key figure in Uruk before being killed by Luhal-Zagesi.

2. Samuagon — In-universe name for a ruler of Kish; likely fictional, though inspired by Mesopotamian kings.

3. Ensi — A historical Sumerian term meaning governor or city ruler.