To the West

To the West is the second scenario of the Tale of the Dragon campaign in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. The main objective is to destroy the enemy Town Center guarding Zhi's Temple.

Summary
Along their journey, Shun and Jiao-Long arrive in an area filled with hostile clans. Without wasting time, they begin advancing further, hoping to capture their buildings in order to siege the mountain fortress blocking their path.

Objectives
OPTIONAL: Find the relic and return it to the monk.
 * 1) Conquer enemy military bases by defeating the troops guarding them.
 * 2) Destroy the mountain fortress.

Players
Jiao-Long (Nü Wa) - Starts in the Heroic Age without any means of advancing. Controls Jiao-Long, Shun, four Chu Ko Nu and three tents as well as a mere 175 Food and 100 Gold. Players will gain additional resources as they capture the Peasants' buildings.

Neutral
Peasants (Shennong) - consists of the buildings the player must capture. Also includes the Monk and his Shrine.

Enemies
Mountain Clans (Shennong) - A secondary hostile clan that's guarding the military bases with various groups consisting of different Chinese human units.

Mountain Clans (Shennong) - The primary hostile clan that occupies the mountain fortress. Once the player has reached the second objective, they will begin periodically attacking the player.

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

Capturing Enemy Buildings
The first military base consists of a War Academy and two Houses guarded by several Medium Halberdier. The two heroes should be sent first to attack the soldiers, with the Chu Ko Nu following them afterwards to provide support. Once the War Academy is captured, the player will be granted an additional 50 Food and Gold which they can use to train some Halberdier. The second military base consists of a Stable guarded by Medium Scout Cavalry. Once the two heroes have fully regenerated, the player can once more send them in the lead, followed by the newly trained Halberdier. The Chu Ko No may also assist but are less effective against these fast moving units. The player will be granted additional resources once the Stable is captured which they may use to train their own Scout Cavalry to attack the Medium Chu Ko Nu guarding the third military base, but their currently available units should be more than enough to defeat them. It is actually recommended to train a handful of Halberdiers from both War Academies as the fourth military base is guarded by Medium Mounted Archers which will devastate Scout Cavalry.

Once the fourth military base's Stable has been captured, the player will notice that they have been granted a Wood supply. They'll need it to train their own Mounted Archers as they will be effective against the Medium Cataphracts guarding the fifth military base, which consists of another Stable and two Houses. Once these have been captured, the sixth military base will be revealed, consisting of a Town Center guarded by four Immortals and several Halberdier. The player should have ample amounts of Food and Gold to their own Cataphracts and can once more attack the Mountain Clan units. Shun should be micromanaged to attack the Halberdiers rather than the Immortals who are immune to his special attack. Once the Town Center is captured, the player will be able to train Immortals, which can accompany Shun and Jiao-Long in a battle against the Terracotta Warriors guarding a nearby Temple. Defeating them will of course enable to player to train Terracotta Warriors but also Pixiu. There is an additional Temple further northeast, this one guarded by Monks. Only the heroes should attack these as Shennong's Monks can convert both human soldiers and Myth Units. With that Temple captured, players will now be able to train their own Monks.

With the mountain clans' military bases captured, the player's army can now proceed beyond the Temples where another Town Center surrounded by buildings and five Peasants. By merely approaching them they will convert to the player's colors.

Sieging the Mountain Fortress
Players can now begin working on their economy by training additional Peasants from both Town Centers. As technologies from both Huang Di and Dabo Gong are available, farming should be the primary means of gathering Food while Gardens should be built to grant the player with additional resources. The Mountain Fortress will take no time in sending its first raid, consisting of Halberdiers, Mounted Archers and Chu Ko Nu targeting the buildings the player has captured. Players can counter these with Cataphracts and Mounted Archers but should also research the unit line upgrades from the Stable to strengthen them. Pixiu also have high pierce armor and will generate Gold for the player in battle.

As the player is unable to advance to the Mythic Age, they will need to rely on Fire Lances to destroy the hostile clan's buildings. Some Castles should be built to train them as well as an Armory to strengthen them. The enemy base will be guarded by numerous Mounted Cavalry, which the Fire Lance deal bonus damage towards, but also Halberdiers that can take advantage of the Fire Lance's minimum range. Players should consider training Chu Ko Nu to help protect the Fire Lance from melee attacks. But rather than planning a mass massacre, players should note that they have access to Dabo Gong's Burials technology which speeds up the conversion rate of Monks. It is advised to mass train Monks and have them convert enemy soldiers to turn them against the mountain clan. Players must make sure to have built all Houses and Gardens as well as research Fortified Town Center to reach the maximum population cap. Monks cannot convert if the player reached the population limit so a considerable gap must remain available.

Once the player is satisfied with their army, they can task it to take out a wall of their choice, as well as the Towers guarding it. Once it is down, they should task Peasants to build additional Castles near the destroyed walls while the army stands guard. One the Castles are completed and the army's fully healed by the Monks, the player can proceed with attacking the enemy base. If the player's army starts to lose their numbers, they can start mass producing additional soldiers from the Castle and other buildings and cast Imperial Examination to drastically increase their training speed, thus overwhelming the enemy. They can also cast Call to Arms to duplicate some of their units. Once the enemy Castle and Town Center have been destroyed, players will be rewarded with victory.

Shortcut
Players can send one of their units to scout northwest of their second Town Center. They will encounter a peculiar shrine guarded by a Monk who promises the player an alternate route through the mountains if they can bring back a sacred relic. That relic is located just northwest of the player's tents and can be grabbed by either an Immortal or campaign hero. If garrisoned in the Monks' shrine, the Monk will reveal that the nearby Boulder is merely an illusion and the player's units will phase right through them. This will enable the player to use a hidden path that leads behind the mountain clan's base only blocked by a wall, making it easier for them to invade.

Tips

 * Players should build walls and towers around the tents granted to them at the beginning to protect them. Sending units to protect them is inefficient as they are located across the map from the second Town Center.
 * The mountain clans occupying the fortress will not train any Myth Units so after reaching the second objective, the Immortals can be deleted to make room for other units or at least used as meat shields to protect valuable buildings from raids until the player's army arrives to defend.

Closing Cinematic
The heroes rejoice as the mountain clan has fallen, but their victory is interrupted by a dark aura descending from the heavens and crashing into the nearby hills. Following a minor explosion, they find that Zhi's Temple has been destroyed, leaving a strange hole in its place. Jiao-Long advises that they should continue searching for Zhi himself, hoping he has survived.

Trivia

 * This scenario partially acts as a tutorial, teaching which units the Chinese soldiers are effective against.
 * Shun will demonstrate how strong he is in this scenario by knocking away Mounted Archers, horses included, with his special attack.
 * The Monk's Shrine is actually an Egyptian Shrine as the Chinese lack a model of their own.