Both sides were doing their utmost to tear down each other's buildings. However, thanks to the Chinese unique technology "Great Wall," all of Tess's walls were exceptionally difficult to destroy.
By the time the gate was finally smashed open, the Teutonic Knights had already suffered heavy casualties. They surged through, beginning their assault on the castle. Meanwhile, Verdan's Longbowmen and Rainier's Mangudai fired a few volleys at the walls, only to find that their ranged attacks dealt negligible damage—it was like scratching an itch. Forced to abandon their plan for a three-way pincer attack, they diverted their path toward the breach, hoping to flood into Tess's camp.
Two castles sat on either side of the gate, squeezing the space behind the entrance into a narrow corridor. These castles continued to churn out Cho-Ko-Nu, with two more joining the fray every 16 seconds. The Teutonic Knights were packed into this passage, shouting as they swung their weapons at the foundations of the castles. Despite the hail of arrows, their formidable health and armor allowed them to stand like iron men, keeping the frontline from collapsing.
Just as the battle reached a tipping point, a strange phenomenon occurred. Among the mass of green Teutonic Knights, two suddenly turned red—joining Tess's faction! They immediately turned around and started hacking at their former comrades.
"Wololo!"
"Hey! Look at that!"
"What's going on?!"
"I've been hearing a sound like an incantation for a while now. Did you hear it?"
"I heard it too, but I had no idea what it was!"
"Look! Behind the Cho-Ko-Nu, there are several bald men waving staves. The sound is coming from them!"
"Those are Monks. I checked earlier; they're supposed to heal other units."
McBride observed, "This effect seems permanent. It's not a temporary charm like mental control."
After one of the castles was finally destroyed, Arator chose to retreat!
He made this choice because, on the other end of the map, the small force he had left at home had been decimated by Tess's multi-dimensional offensive. His two castles meant for producing Teutonic Knights were now ruins under the combined assault of Battering Rams and Heavy Knights.
His base was now an open plain with no defenses left—only a Town Center, a few scattered wounded soldiers, three buildings frantically trying to produce units, and over forty villagers farming, mining, and logging.
Furthermore, Arator realized that the ranged units of his two allies couldn't withstand the combined fire of the castles and Cho-Ko-Nu, nor did they have any siege capability. His Teutonic Knights had been the core of both their offense and defense.
The math was simple: if he didn't retreat, his knights and Tess's defenders would eventually wipe each other out, leaving his own home in ashes. He would essentially be handing the victory to Verdan and Rainier on a silver platter. There was no room for such selfless sacrifice on the battlefield. Retreating now meant preserving a spark of strength for post-war recovery.
Another issue for beginners in Real-Time Strategy games is weak multi-tasking. Although the game was controlled by mental intent, the chaos of battle made them forget that besides commanding troops and producing reinforcements, they also had to manage villagers and research technologies.
Since Teutonic Knights required food and gold, while the unique units of the other three civilizations required wood and gold, Wayne checked their resource bars.
The Teutons were sitting on thousands of wood, while the Britons and Mongols had thousands of food—all going to waste. In contrast, under Wayne's guidance, Tess was constantly using her resources to upgrade technologies in the "University."
Imperial Age!
Upon reaching the final age, the first thing Tess did was research another unique technology, "Rocketry," which added +2 attack to Cho-Ko-Nu. She also upgraded them to "Elite Cho-Ko-Nu," increasing their burst from 3 arrows to 5 per shot.
Once Arator's Teutonic Knights retreated, the Longbowmen and Mangudai couldn't stand against the synchronized volleys from the castles and the hidden Cho-Ko-Nu. A single volley was enough to mow down a whole squad. They were forced to retreat as well.
The situation shifted. Now, the two allies had to help Arator save his home to prevent a "lips and teeth" scenario—if Arator was eliminated, they would be even more vulnerable. On the other side, Tess's heavy cavalry was slaughtering villagers like they were cutting grass, and her four Battering Rams—which even castles couldn't stop—smashed through the Town Center in just a few rounds.
McBride commented, "This siege engine is primitive, but the more I look at it, the more it resembles your Dwarf Steam Tanks."
Just as he spoke, Rainier's Mangudai closed in. As the fastest unique unit among the three, they were the first to rush back to slow down Tess's destruction. Tess pivoted her formation. The four Battering Rams remained at the front; after smashing the Town Center, the accompanying villagers had rushed in to repair them, restoring the rams to full health.
The rams lumbered slowly toward the Mangudai, followed by the Cho-Ko-Nu, with heavy and light cavalry still guarding the flanks. Wayne told Tess that because the Chinese in the game couldn't upgrade their Heavy Knights to "Paladins" (the strongest unit in the game), and because the three allies would surely start producing siege equipment after this failed assault, it would be extremely difficult to stop them later. Therefore, she had to take them out now while their unit compositions were limited and their morale was low.
"Charge!"
Though a mental command was sufficient, shouting it out had the same effect. At Rainier's order, the powerful Mongol cavalry held their composite bows and charged forward in a line.
"Why is this allowed?!"