Imperia Online International

The horizon was once again blackened by nomad soldiers, but there was something different this time.
"They are less!", the Imperian Captain thought.
Obviously the imperian archers under his command thought the same. The officer felt the general relief, but that only made him feel more uneasy.
The past bloody battles had already made him never to underestimate the barbarians. Never.
'Arrows on the bows and do not drop those fiends out of your sight', he mutedly bawled.
The Steppe army was deployed out of the archers' reach, which meant it would shoot the stronghold with siege machinery.
"I wonder how many are the catapults this time?"
A lone horseman emerged in front of the enemy lines and headed the Fortress in light thrust.
A woman.
These was a big white flag, hanging on her long spear - a sign of peace.
'The Amazon', muted exclamations were heard. One hundred elite archers, stationed on the Northern tower, immediately stretched their two yard bows. They would shatter her into pieces.
The Captain raised his hand and ordered:
'No!'
He had earned his position as a Fortress Defense Commander being fair and honorable soldier.
"Not like this. Not this way."
Jane stopped fifty yards from the main fortress gate. Ten thousand arrows pointed and ready to pierce her any moment. The Nomadess lifted her head baldly. She looked mighty. The wind was waving her long, deep black hair, tight with a thin string on her forehead. Her muscles, outlined under her light dark skin, were bulging. Her lightly prolonged eyes gave the feeling of a wild cat. They were poison green and full of death.
'Who is in charge', she yelled.
The Imperian Officer came closer to the wall and replied:
'It is I! What can we do for the nomad bitch in this sunny day?'
Jane tossed her head backwards and laughed.
'I like you, Captain! And because I like you, I will tell you just one thing', the Daughter of the Steppe lifted her war pike sky high, 'Surrender the Fortress peacefully and you shall be all spared! Fight... and you shall be all butchered, and the survivors' ears and noses will be cut off and they will walk the whole way back to the camp tied up behind our horses!'
It was the Captain's turn to laugh.
'Too little steppe worms have you brought today, Jane! Go back to your commanders, before i tore you up to pieces and', the officer made a wide gesture, 'You are welcome to my Stronghold at sunset! I am sure all my soldiers will enjoy your company very much!'
The rude gesture made the defenders laugh.
The Nomadesss was not laughing anymore. Her face darkened and she only said:
'By sunset... you will all be in hell already!'
She turned her horse and headed back to her troops.
And later on... the Imperian Captain realized what she meant.
Giant wagons, with a size of village houses, pulled by four  buffaloes, were deployed along the whole nomad battle line.
The soldiers made haste and started to pull out mechanisms, joints, ropes and so on from them.
Two hours later... One hundred and twenty Trebuchets, as well as one hundred catapults started to devastate the Fortress wall.
And the hell broke loose.

Twentieth wave results

Imperian Fortresses destroyed: 842
Defenders' victories: 162

Nomads killed: 12691963
Imperian soldiers killed: 4157524

"So this is the sound of the immortal glory! The unbearable roar of millions of sons of steppe who want you to lead them to death", Jane was thinking as she was listening to the Horde's appraisal.
The first woman ever to be Marshalled in the Horde's history was looking way too serious, according to her Chieftains.
'She did really well', Xaoc stated, looking at the proud Nomadess.
'We hit the lands of Imperia bad. We brought many mighty Strongholds. The Trebuchets did their job', Mony replied.
'We are at the half of the way', his brother nodded, 'Now... the second... much harder half is ahead.'
They both fell silent.
The lands of Imperia were in their hard grip. And they were not intending to loosen it up.
The free rulers needed time to rebuild their Fortresses.
"A time we will not give them!"
'The Beardless Marshall', Mony raised his eyebrows in question.
'He yearns to die young and beautiful anyway', Xaoc replied and smiled.