Atlantis 8

          Far from the ensuing chaos, the four leaders of the outer realms met at Akula’s palace. Kano was shaking like a leaf after what had happened in his kingdom. Liu Tzu and Klamath did not understand why the Atlanteans had attacked and feared that it was only a matter of time before their respective kingdoms would be next. Only Akula remained calm. He watched with great pleasure at how his colleagues were arguing.
          “What have they done!”  Kano trembled. “My entire kingdom is near collapse!”   
          “None of this would have happened if you all had listened to me in the first place,”  Akula interrupted sternly. “Had we attacked Atlantis like I said we should, many men, women and children would still be alive. Your reluctance to take action has cost us dearly. But all is not lost, we must regroup our combined forces and launch a counterattack as soon as possible.”
          While his fellow rulers went back to their own kingdoms to amass their respective armies, Akula sat on his throne. He was overjoyed at his accomplishment. He had taken full advantage of the lack of thrust and communication between Atlantis and the leaders of the other three outer realms and succeeded in combining the armies of the outer realms against Atlantis for the very first time.
          “What would I do without you,” Akula said to Hokum who had just entered the room. “Thanks to your brilliant and convincing deception, you were able to fool those stupid Atlanteans in launching their attack. Did those morons really think you were going to betray me, the one called Akula?”
          “I only executed a plan that you yourself had so brilliantly masterminded,”  Hokum responded.
          “With the now unified armies under my masterful leadership, we will surely defeat the Atlanteans in battle,”  Akula said. “And when we have beaten them, my kingdom will finally be the most powerful in the world. “Do you now understand the reason for my slogan?”  Akula said to Hokum. “By way of deception, thou shall I do war!”
          Akula was known for many things. One of them was his reputation as a brilliant military leader. The numerous wars he had fought had given him valuable experience and deep insight into strategy and tactics. That is why Kano, Klamath and Liu Tzu had given Akula command of their respective armies. They all agreed that he was the most qualified to lead the attack. But in contrast to their expectations, Akula did not go on the attack. Instead he ordered his forces to retreat and avoid all contact with the invaders. When Kano, Klamath and Liu Tzu heard of this, they all strongly disagreed with Akula. In their opinion they should go on the offensive as soon as possible before the Atlanteans were able to conquer any more territory. Kano was especially against retreating since it was his territory that was given up. All three wanted to know why Akula would order his, and their own armies, to retreat.
          “Why are we retreating?”  Kano asked impatiently. “I thought we had agreed we should launch an attack as soon as possible.”
          “That is right, Akula,”  Liu Tzu said. “You were the one who wanted to attack the Atlanteans so badly in the first place, and now that you have the chance, you are retreating. I strongly suggest you reconsider and order the troops to attack.”
          But Akula would not change his decision. His only response to them was: “Do not worry, I know what I am doing. You will soon find out what my plan is.”

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 Click on Part 9 for what happens next in this series.