Free Web NovelChapter 67: Chapter 58: The Decisive Battle of Tianyin Begins, Commanding the Main Force of the Left Wing
Inspired by Henry’s words, the soldiers raised their cups and cheered in unison, their morale soaring.
The thunderous cheers from Henry’s camp stunned the surrounding noble encampments, even startling Soslan and Mirene.
’What a terrifying young man. As the King’s student and a Pioneer Noble with such ability, he’s destined to become the most powerful Independent Count on the border.’
As time passed, the campfires gradually died down, and the soldiers returned to their tents to rest, preparing for tomorrow’s battle.
Henry, his face slightly flushed, stood silently at the edge of the camp. Bain and Philip stood quietly by his side, gazing at the beautiful starry sky with him.
The next day, before the sun had even risen, the two great Legions had already begun their preparations for battle.
Henry and his soldiers were also ready. They checked their armor and weapons, arranged their formations, and prepared for the decisive battle to come.
With the sounding of horns and the rumble of war drums, unit after unit set out for the designated battlefield.
At this moment, under Henry’s command were Legion soldiers consisting of ninety-three Elite Armored Cavalry, one hundred eighty-seven Heavy Cavalry, eight hundred thirty-three Heavy Armor Infantry, three hundred Imperial Guard Archers, and two thousand seven hundred serfs and Auxiliary Soldiers.
Henry’s own Private Army, which had been through war and had its equipment updated, consisted of three Skilled Infantry Teams of one hundred twelve men each, thirty-seven Senior Infantry, sixty-one Grassland Warriors, thirteen Heavy Cavalry, three teams of eighty Imperial Archers who had taken no casualties, and nine hundred serfs.
Including the troops from Fass and Mace, Henry now commanded an army of over seven thousand five hundred men! And the proportion of elite soldiers was not small.
’Without these elite soldiers, it wouldn’t matter if I added another five points to my ’Strength’ and ’Endurance’.’ ’I couldn’t possibly kill ten thousand Half-Beastmen by myself, could I?’
At eleven in the morning, on a battlefield so vast its edges could not be seen with the naked eye, an imperial army of over one hundred thousand stood ready, divided into nine positions to confront the Half-Beastman army.
The Legion’s royal banners snapped in the cold wind. The soldiers stood clad in armor, holding their sharp weapons.
Henry was on the far left flank of the battlefield. Here, there were five battalions of the Professional Army, over nine thousand serfs, and more than forty private armies of various nobles.
Facing the imperial army was a Half-Beastman force of over ninety thousand, which also projected a powerful presence. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
They were tall and muscular. Almost none were unarmored; at the very least, they wore a thick layer of leather armor. They held various deadly weapons and shields. These were the true elites of the Half-Beastmen.
In that moment, time seemed to freeze. The sound of the biting wind that blew intermittently and the breathing of the soldiers echoed in the air.
As the vanguard archers and crossbowmen advanced on the main front, the tension on the battlefield reached its peak.
Mounted on his warhorse, Henry gazed at the dense black specks in the distance, his eyes fixed on the Half-Beastman army opposite him.
WHOOOOOM—
"Ready!" the commander of the vanguard on the main front ordered loudly.
Shielded Crossbowmen and the Imperial Guard Archers quickly took their positions, aiming their bows and crossbows at the distant enemy.
Within the Half-Beastman army, armored Fox People, Rabbit People, and Cat-eared People also began to adjust their aim, preparing for the first volley of ranged attacks.
"Fire!" At the commander’s order, thousands of arrows cut through the sky like a torrential downpour, flying toward the Half-Beastman army.
Simultaneously, the Half-Beastman archers also loosed their arrows, sending a massive volley flying toward the imperial army.
The sky above the battlefield was filled with the whistling of arrows, and the shouts and screams of soldiers. freёwebnoѵel.com
In the first exchange, both sides demonstrated powerful firepower and precise marksmanship.
As the battle progressed, the cavalry on both sides began to prepare for a charge.
Thousands of Elite Armored Cavalry, Armored Cavalry, and Heavy Cavalry from the two Legions engaged the Half-Beastmen’s heavy-armored Centaurs in a brutal clash away from the main front. The Heavy Armor Infantry phalanxes on both sides also began to press forward, preparing to fully engage.
After receiving Henry’s order, the Legion officer on the left flank began to command the advance. The private armies of the other minor nobles also moved forward.
"Advance! Attack!" Henry turned, brandished the sword in his hand, and gave the order to attack.
On this section of the battlefield, the imperial forces, including serfs, numbered over fourteen thousand, and half of them were under his command.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! The Half-Beastmen on the other side let out a war cry, preparing to charge.
The Cavalry units wheeled out to the flanks, looking for opportunities to break through or to guard against the light-armored Centaurs.
They could not charge directly into the enemy formations on a battlefield like this; it would be suicide, even if both men and horses were fully armored.
Large numbers of serfs and Kobolds were positioned at the forefront of both lines. The distance between them closed from five hundred meters to two hundred, then to sixty...
The Kobolds threw a volley of short javelins, and the serfs also hurled their weapons haphazardly. The distance between the two forces shrank until they crashed violently into each other.
In an instant, the clash between the serfs and the Kobolds raised a sky-high mist of blood. The sound of weapons hitting flesh, agonized wails, and furious roars was deafening.
The officers of the Imperial Legion led from the front, charging at the very fore to display the Legion’s valor.
Henry himself observed from the rear. ’The fighting is too fierce.’ He couldn’t join the slaughter himself right now; at this moment, he needed to command his army.
As the battle continued, the main forces of both sides also began to engage.
The light-armored soldiers acted as the Supervision Team, preventing the serfs from retreating. Henry swept his gaze across this part of the battlefield; the number of combatants on both sides definitely exceeded thirty thousand!
This was a head-on collision of strength against strength, a contest of courage against savagery!
Although the Skilled Infantry’s armor was not as heavy as that of the Heavy Armor Infantry, their flexibility and combat skills made them a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
They had two layers of armor for defense and sufficient mobility, making them the backbone of the imperial army.
Meanwhile, the armored Gnolls, with their natural agility and the extra protection from their armor, proved to be a difficult enemy to deal with.
The Skilled Spearmen held their long spears and shields, forming a semicircular defensive line. Their shields were locked tightly together, and their spears pointed diagonally forward, ready to receive the Gnolls’ charge.
The Skilled Scouts, equipped with javelins, stood in the center of the formation, calmly observing the enemy’s movements, ready to throw their javelins at any moment.
The armored Gnolls let out sharp howls and began to charge the Skilled Infantry’s line.
The Skilled Spearmen accurately thrust their spears at the Gnolls’ weak points and were also able to flexibly change formations.
Whenever the Gnolls were about to break through a gap in the line, the surrounding infantry would quickly adjust their positions, forming a new defensive line with their shields and spears.
Although the Gnolls were difficult to deal with, their attacks, while managing to kill a number of soldiers, could not break through the tight defense of the Skilled Infantry’s semicircular formations.
