From Tarsus to Hades.
Along the way, there were often armed forces from local Iqta nobles and Crusader troops joining the army. Originally a force of sixty thousand, it swelled by five thousand as they were about to reach Hades.
Riding on a robust horse from the river, Ali Atabeg and several dozen personal guards gazed distantly at the endless procession of troops behind him.
Thirty massive war elephants led the front of the formation. These beasts, fed with magic potions, had reached an unprecedented height of six meters, and with the huge iron tower on their backs, their total height reached eight meters.
These behemoths were purchased as young calves from South Asia following Saladin's defeat, fearing the threat of the Franks. Bahram VI personally dispatched people to acquire them, and with the meticulous care of Casters, they grew into such terrifying beasts in just three years.
