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One expects the wise commander to press an advantage, allowing his foe no respite. Whereas the forces at the disposal of Lord Temmu were small compared to those which had maintained the siege in the north, the variables involved in the equations of war had changed dramatically. The thousands of Lord Yamada were disorganized and routed, in chaotic retreat, unnerved by panic and superstition, having no stomach for standing against an enemy on whose behalf had flown the iron dragon. Who would choose to hold ground or counterattack under a sky in which might suddenly appear the stern, beating wings of fate's implement, a gigantic dragon sprung alive from legend and myth, capable of palpable arson and destruction, appearing in a world where the canvas over one's head might burst into flame, where trenches could be flooded with fire as with water, and where the very stones of one's path might glow and melt before one's eyes? I was not clear, of course, whether Lord Temmu would pursue his advantage or not. He tended to be a cautious and defensively minded commander. In Daichi's absence, who now would read the bones and shells for him? Lord Nishida, I was sure, would urge pursuit; Lord Okimoto, I suspected, would advise restraint, until intelligence, and more intelligence, and more intelligence, might be gathered. Lords Nishida and Okimoto had at their disposal, from the continent, something like three hundred and fifty Pani warriors, and some eleven hundred barbarian mercenaries and mariners. - (Rebels of Gor, Chapter )