Trapped

My concentration has been disrupted! The ritual cannot be completed!

Zhi if he is even approached by an enemy unit while performing the ritual.

Trapped is the fourth scenario of the Tale of the Dragon campaign in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. The main objective is to defend Zhi long enough for him to summon Dilong, the Earth Dragon.

Summary
The heroes arrive at the last hole and decide to summon Dilong themselves. However, Danzhu has them cornered in the mountain pass. In order to finish the ritual, they must hold back Danzhu's forces.

Objective

 * Survive Danzhu's attacks long enough for Zhi to complete the ritual. Trying to attack Danzhu's strongholds is futile. Consider building towers and using the water to help defend Zhi. If Zhi is disrupted at all the mission is lost.

Players

 * Jiao-Long (Fu Xi) - Begins in the Classical Age with Jiao-Long, Shun, one Scout Cavalry, two Cataphracts, six Chu Ko Nu and nine Halberdiers, as well as five Peasants already gathering resources.

Neutral

 * Jiao-Long (Fu Xi) - consists of Zhi who is busy performing the ritual at the mysterious hole located in the back of the player's base. If any enemy units even approach him, the scenario is lost.
 * Mountain Clans (Nü Wa) - consists solely of a shipwreck found in the water but no resources can be salvaged from it.

Enemies

 * Danzhu's Forces (Shennong) - consists of two Castles located at the end of both paths to Jiao-Long's camp. The Castles' HP have been increased by over 7000 and they are walled off and guarded by Towers so attacking these is unrecommended.
 * Danzhu's Forces (Shennong) - has Peasants that gather the resources needed to fund the armies sent to attack the player. The soldiers and Myth Units will arrive from either the east or west paths.

Strategy
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.

Players must fend off Danzhu's forces for 25 minutes in order for Zhi to finish his ritual. Therefore, the entire mission will focus on a defensive strategy. The player already begins with a decent force so their priority should be to build houses as they have already exceeded the population cap. Houses can be built directly behind Zhi as a makeshift wall to cut him off from the battlefield. As resources permit, more Peasants will need to be trained and tasked to gather mainly Food and Wood in order to train more Peasants and construct buildings. A dock can be built at the nearby pond to gather from three fishing spots. Players should also consider building gardens to generate extra resources which are otherwise scarce at the starting location.

The first attack will arrive from the west about three and a half minutes in the scenario so the army should be stationed there with Jiao-Long and Shun in the lead. After fending off the first attack, the army should be moved to stand guard to the east where the next attack will arrive mere moments after. Players can use this opportunity to capture nearby yaks. The first two attacks will consist mainly of Halberdiers and Chu Ko Nu which should pose no problem. The army must constantly alternate from guarding the west and the east during the early stages of the mission. Qilins and Terracotta Warriors will arrive starting at the third attack. The Qilins should always be killed first as they blood will heal any enemy units that already sustained damage.

The player's soldiers will begin to die off as the Terracotta Warriors' dust deals damage upon death, so they should consider building War Academies to replenish their army. Before training more units, it is recommended to research Oracle Bone Script which will reduce the cost of War Academy units. Immortals should also be trained to assist in slaying myth units. As the scenario progresses, enemies may arrive from both sides simultaneously so the player will need to divide their forces. After Zhi is halfway finished the ritual, Danzhu will begin to include Scout Cavalry in his attacks in an attempt to raid the player's Peasants. When this fails, he will train Fire Lances, which are effective against archers and buildings. Alongside them he will send Yak Caravans, possibly as a means to distract the player's soldiers.

When the initial Jade Mine runs out, the player will have to seek out another one located to the east near a Settlement but it is guarded by pandas. Claiming the Settlement will help defend the east path. As the player begins to accumulate excessive amounts of resources, they can begin building other buildings, such as a Temple to train Myth Units and an Armory to upgrade the soldiers and advance to the Heroic Age. Either Minor God has their uses, though Dabo Gong's Imperial Examination god power will be more useful in this scenario. Upon advancing, players can train Cataphracts to take on both the Halberdiers and Fire Lances, as well as Monks to help maintain the health of their armies.

When only a few minutes remain, Danzhu will begin supplementing his attacks with Immortals and Cataphracts of his own, though the player can continue producing the aforementioned units to counter these. Once the ritual ends, a cinematic will begin where the Dilong will emerge from the hole. Realising Jiao-Long and the others are under attack, the dragon destroys Danzhu's Castles and kills most of his army, forcing the survivors to retreat. When Jiao-Long asks if the dragon knows the path to the underworld, it promises to guide them there. After the cinematic ends, the scenario is won.

Tips

 * Before resorting to farming, players should cast Year of the Goat to have a faster Food supply, as well as research Five Grains to lower the cost of farms.
 * If the player has insufficient resources to immediately replenish their soldiers, they can cast Call to Arms to gain additional units instantly.
 * On easier difficulties, the player begins with Towers for protections near both paths. In the harder difficulties, they will need to build their own.
 * There is a second Settlement and Jade Mine to the west of the starting position. The Settlement is located further away from the path Danzhu's forces will take so a Town Center built there will be unable to help defend the player's starting location.

Trivia

 * If Shun accidentally knocks an enemy soldiers towards Zhi, that will count as disrupting him and the mission will be lost.