From Below

From Below is the third scenario of the Tale of the Dragon campaign in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. The main objective is to reach the mysterious monk.

Summary
Soldiers have reported a total of seven mysterious holes in the area, similar to the one that caused the explosion in To the West. Shun notices a mysterious monk who is performing the rituals and decides that it is best to stop him before he finishes all seven rituals.

Objective

 * 1) Stop the monk before he reaches all seven holes.

Players

 * Jiao-Long (Nü Wa) - Begins in the Archaic Age with Jiao-Long, Shun, four Peasants and six Halberdiers. The Peasants are already in process of constructing a Town Center which will grant four additional Peasants when completed.

Neutral

 * Mysterious Clans (Shennong) - Consists solely of Zhi (referred to as the mysterious monk) who will move from one hole to the next. If he completes all seven rituals, the scenario is lost.

Enemies

 * Mysterious Clans (Shennong) - This player has defensive structures and units standing guard throughout the map, especially near the holes. They will also periodically attack the player.

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

It is useless to rush towards the Monk right away as he is heavily guarded by Towers, Chu Ko Nu and Pixius. Players should instead have their army stand guard to protect their Peasants while they work. Once the Town Center is finished, additional Peasants should be trained and tasked to gather resources. The resources in the immediate area are scarce so building Gardens will be necessary, but player's should prioritise on building a Temple to advance to the Classical Age. Either Classical Age minor god has its uses. Chang'e provides the Jade Rabbit technology which will improve soldier and hero speed, allowing them to better outmaneuver arrows and reach the mysterious monk faster. Huang Di on the other hand provides the Call to Arms God Power and his Five Grains technology also lowers the cost of Farms, which will be the main source of Food on this map once the Berry Bushes and Chickens run out.

Shortly after the opening cinematic ends, the mysterious monk will have already finished the ritual of the first hole and moved onto second one. The ritual will last longer at each hole so players will have ample amounts of time to get ready. After advancing, players should stock up on their resources and build an Armory to advance further to the Heroic Age as soon as possible. Dabo Gong is the preferred choice, solely for the House Altars technology which increases the rate at which Gardens generate resources. Once the Heroic Age is reached, the player cannot advance further so they can begin constructing two Stables to train Cataphracts. Imperial Examination should be cast to speed up their training times while at the same time increase the construction speed of a Castle that should be built to train Fire Lances.

Once their army is large enough and well upgraded, players can cast Call to Arms (if they chose Huang Di) to increase their numbers and send them forward. Heroes should fight any myth units standing guard, the Fire Lances can target the Watch Towers, wall gates and other buildings while the Cataphracts can take care of all the Halberdiers and Chu Ko Nu encountered. Once both Shun and Jiao-Long have reached the mysterious monk, players will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * There is a narrow path that leads through the bamboo forest to the east. Hidden in the fog of war is an additional Settlement surrounded by several Jade Mines.
 * Just beyond the Temple located at the first hole is a shortcut that will enable the units to by-pass the enemy walls. It will be guarded by a Monkey King and War Salamander.
 * While preparing for the attack, players should keep all their units as close to their Town Center as possible as its arrows will help defeat any raiding units.

Closing Cinematic
The heroes corner the monk and demand an explanation for the rituals. The monk, who reveals himself as Zhi, defends himself by declaring that he was ordered to perform these rituals by Danzhu who wishes to control the Earth Dragon, Dilong. Realizing that they have found the monk they were searching for, Shun and Jiao-Long offer Zhi protection from Danzhu in return for his assistance.

Trivia

 * The player can attack the Mysterious Holes but that won't stop the rituals.
 * Players may occasionally encounter a bug where the closing cinematic may never play and the scenario will not end.