Free Web NovelChapter 63: Chapter 54: Battle of Tianyin: First Engagement! For Caladia
The three hundred Imperial Guard archers were equipped with bows, arrows, and Imperial Heavy Swords, and were clad in Scale Armor Skirt and Armor.
This gear was nearly on par with Henry’s own armor.
’Henry didn’t dare to imagine just how wealthy the Empire had become since the opening of the sea trade and desert trade routes!’
’The Empire is too rich. This isn’t the damn Middle Ages at all!’
Henry assembled his army and set off in a vast procession, leading the Imperial troops along with a large number of serfs and supplies.
They advanced along the road, the sound of horse hooves echoing through the valley. The crunch of heavy weight on white snow was strangely pleasant. Henry’s family banner flew alongside the Imperial royal banner in the wind.
After a day’s march, the army finally reached the designated location. It matched the quickly sketched map almost perfectly. ’The Legion’s reconnaissance Scouts are true professionals, just as you’d expect!’
The terrain here was flat, an ideal battlefield for a frontal engagement. Henry ordered them to make camp, and the soldiers quickly got to work.
The Imperial army divided the labor; some set up tents, some dug trenches, and others set traps. The Private Army followed their example, learning their methods.
Henry, meanwhile, took several dozen officers up a small nearby slope to observe the Half-Beastman army in the fading sunlight.
The enemy camp was vast and its numbers great, but it looked somewhat disorganized.
The night grew deep, and hundreds of bonfires burned brightly, illuminating the surrounding tents and the grim faces of the patrolling soldiers.
They were now a stone’s throw away from the Half-Beastmen, and it was even possible that a skirmish could break out during the night.
Henry and Fass stood by a bonfire, surrounded by several dozen officers sitting together, discussing tomorrow’s battle plan with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
Fass pointed to the small map he had gotten from Soslan and said, "We must find the enemy’s weak point and break through quickly. I think we can use the serfs and the wagons to lure these upright beasts, then have the Heavy Armor Soldiers encircle them from both flanks."
"My lord, I suggest we attack at dawn," an Elite Armored Cavalry officer proposed.
As soon as he finished speaking, an officer of the Heavy Axe Soldiers retorted, "At dawn? We’ve been marching all day. The Half-Beastmen may be tired, but aren’t our soldiers tired too?
We can dispatch the most elite Armored Cavalry as the vanguard to charge the enemy formation. The impact of your extra-long riding spears is enough to break the Half-Beastmen’s defensive line and create a breach for our Heavy Infantry."
Everyone nodded in agreement. The plan sounded quite feasible.
After a moment of thought, Henry adopted the suggestion and ordered preparations for an attack at seven o’clock the next morning. ’The main reason is that I didn’t train this cavalry myself, so I won’t feel the sting of any losses.’
The Elite Armored Cavalry officer wanted to object, but since everyone else had agreed to this plan, he could only accept it.
’He wasn’t afraid to fight; he just felt they could send the serfs in first. While less efficient, it would mean fewer losses for the Elite Armored Cavalry.’
A tense night slowly passed. When the sun rose, Henry’s army was ready.
The Elite Armored Cavalry stood in neat ranks at the forefront, clad in heavy armor and holding giant riding spears. Behind them, the Heavy Cavalry waited for the command.
Several thousand serfs were divided into four formations. Each was given a wooden spear or a long-handled scythe, a long wooden plank, and a kitchen knife.
They were the infantry who would charge right after the Shocking Cavalry, the first line that would engage the Half-Beastmen in close combat.
The four hundred Heavy Armor Soldiers were warming up, preparing for the follow-up charge. The private infantry of Henry, Fass, and Mace would enter the battlefield with them.
Over a thousand archers and crossbowmen in total were positioned even further forward than the cavalry. They needed to fire one to three volleys and then immediately retreat.
The Grassland Warriors patrolled the right flank from a distance, waiting for an opportunity to harass and shoot the lightly armored Half-Beastmen.
On the other side of this open ground, the Half-Beastman army had finished assembling. Their numbers were vast, a dark, chilling mass.
The Half-Beastmen held various weapons; some carried large choppers, some sharp longspears, and others heavy great-axes.
At the forefront of the Half-Beastman army stood a tall Tiger-man general, clad in a suit of blue-dyed armor, wearing a huge helmet, and holding a massive battle-axe. fгeewebnovёl.com
At Henry’s command, the entire formation moved forward, the sound of horns and war drums deafening.
The archers and crossbowmen ran forward, fired a quick ranging volley, and immediately followed with three rapid volleys. Accuracy wasn’t important; they just had to send their arrows into the mass of Half-Beastmen.
Several hundred Fox People and Rabbit People among the Half-Beastmen returned fire from a distance, but they caused no damage. The arrows that struck the Imperial Guard archers’ armor were as feeble as a little girl throwing a tantrum.
At this moment, the distance between the archers and crossbowmen and the Half-Beastman formation was less than two hundred meters. The Archer Officer ordered two more rapid volleys before commanding a swift retreat to the flanks.
As the archers and crossbowmen began to retreat, Henry, positioned within the main formation, watched the Half-Beastmen five hundred meters away. At his command, the Imperial royal banner began to fly!
Henry raised the Imperial royal banner high and shouted, "Warriors! We are about to face a great battle. These Half-Beastmen attempted to encircle and annihilate the Seventh and Eleventh Legions!
Although the Third Legion was defeated for various reasons, they have underestimated our strength and our courage! We have the strength to achieve certain victory!
Do not retreat! Do not fear! Let us write our own glory with our swords! Let the enemy tremble before us! We will be victorious!"
"Elite Armored Cavalry! Charge!"
The Armored Cavalry officer raised his five-meter-long giant riding spear and shouted, "Imperial Legions! Certain victory!"
"Victory to the King! Victory to the Legion!"
"Victory to the King! Victory to the Legion!"
BRAAAAA~
As the horns blew, the Elite Armored Cavalry spurred their warhorses, slowly picking up speed. Clouds of snow were kicked up by their hooves. Though merely a hundred men, they looked like ten thousand!
The distance between the two sides grew shorter and shorter. The Half-Beastman archers began to shoot, and a rain of arrows flew like locusts toward the Armored Cavalry.
However, the armor and shields of the Elite Armored Cavalry protected them, and the arrows were deflected or blocked.
When the two sides were less than a hundred paces apart, the Armored Cavalry instantly began their charge!
Their speed was ferocious. They were arranged in a V-formation, and their five-meter-long giant riding spears made the lightly armored Centaurs shy away from a direct charge.
Behind them were more than two hundred Heavy Cavalry arranged in a line. They followed closely behind the Armored Cavalry unit, ready to deliver the second wave of the charge.
Hundreds of Gnolls and thousands of Kobolds formed the first line of defense. The hundred-plus Heavy-Armored Tiger People and the Centaurs didn’t even dare to stand in their way.
’Just let the Kobolds take the hit. They’re dumb as bricks, anyway.’
The two sides drew closer, and closer...
The Armored Cavalry could now clearly see the terrified bestial faces of the Gnolls and Kobolds through the eye slits of their helmets. At that moment, it was as if all sound in the world had vanished.
CRACK!
"For Caladia!"
