Free Web NovelChapter 82: Chapter 81: Fleeing Daimon
But it wasn’t as if he could retreat just by wishing it.
The Centaurs, having lost their support, were completely wiped out by Robson’s Tier Five Infantry.
These Frank Elite Infantry formed up quickly, so naturally, they dispersed just as fast.
More than twenty human Extraordinary Knights, followed by the hundreds of cavalrymen led by Claude, charged out from the wide-open city gates.
Unfortunately, the corpses at the city gates slowed the cavalry’s speed, but this did not hinder the enthusiastic nobles of Qimo Fortress.
This time, everyone wanted to be the one to claim the greatest honor. The commander of so many elite Centaurs had to be an important figure.
If they captured him, they would all have more clout when speaking to their lord in the future.
"For His Majesty! Charge!"
"The one with the silver axe! He’s their leader!"
"The one to the east! The one to the east!"
Over twenty fully-armored Extraordinary Knights charged out, fiercely pursuing the fleeing Daimon.
Daimon heard the shouts, and when he looked back, he was instantly filled with terror.
’More than twenty Extraordinary individuals chasing me at once. Judging by the color of their auras, there are quite a few at the Silver rank among them. They’re giving me far too much credit.’
He had originally intended to rally his remaining forces, but in this situation, Daimon didn’t dare linger for a second. He dropped his axe, wishing he could sprout two more legs.
Daimon’s subordinates saw their leader was in peril and charged forward to rescue him. But without a unified command, their individual attempts were nothing more than suicide.
As for the ordinary Centaurs? What did Daimon’s life or death have to do with them?
An entire unit of Extraordinary Knights—no one dared to go looking for trouble with them.
Besides, the human cavalry, though momentarily delayed by the Centaur corpses, were now beginning to reveal their formidable might. Instead of fighting them, it was better to think about how to save their own lives.
"He’s running west! The one in the iron armor!"
"The one in the iron armor! That’s their leader!"
At this moment, Daimon wanted to cry but had no tears. He couldn’t take off his iron armor either, so he could only flee with all his might. As for rallying his troops, he had no time for that now.
’The worst that can happen is I’ll get a serious scolding when I get back. I’ll just be a rich second-generation kid from now on and never go to war again.’
Just as the nobles were pursuing Daimon, Claude also led his cavalry charging out of the city gates.
Under Robson’s arrangement, the front of the Knight Team was usually formed by those few dozen veteran Tier Five Cavalry, with the remaining soldiers following in order.
As soon as they were out of the gates, the entire unit formed a standard wedge formation and charged fiercely towards the chaotic Centaur army.
The already panicked Centaur army now lacked their commander, and there wasn’t even anyone who could command respect and take charge.
Daimon had originally arranged for a sequential rearguard action, but now that their commander was gone, who would actually follow his orders and go to their deaths?
Now was the time for the Centaurs to compete with their racial talents.
Who was faster, a horse or a Centaur?
That was a real question.
....
Robson stood by the Magic Crystal Cannon, watching the Centaurs outside, and let out a long inward sigh of relief.
’It wasn’t that I’m truly eager for quick success and willing to take risks.’
’To be honest, this victory felt like a fluke. If I don’t seize this chance to cripple the Centaur force, I’ll be finished once they regroup with the tens of thousands of other enemies.’
’After all, by then I’ll have no advantage in Extraordinary fighters, nor in army size.’
’In a situation like today’s, if the enemy had had enough cannon fodder or enough Extraordinary fighters to clear a path, it would have been very difficult for me to win.’
’At that point, my only option would have been to ask Valentino for help. Of course, I have to ask for help now, too.’
’In this battle, I, Lord Robson, have suffered heavy losses.’
’Although my soldiers didn’t have many fatalities, there were countless minor injuries. Both the reserves and the front-line troops were more or less lightly wounded and need a sufficient supply of Divine Water.’
’The most severe losses were in consumables like arrows. The reason I was able to kill so many Centaurs was, of course, because I, Lord Robson, adopted a "live or die with the fortress" mentality and wasn’t stingy with my arrows in the slightest.’
’When Valentino had me take over, she never said things would be this troublesome. I clearly got the short end of the stick, so it’s perfectly reasonable for me to squeeze some compensation out of this now.’
’For the sake of future security, I have to ask for more military supplies.’
’Never mind anything else, but at the very least, I need to get some backup equipment for my men.’
’For the Kingdom, for His Majesty, I, Lord Robson, have no other choice.’
’Besides, seeing the Beastmen attacks getting fiercer each time, I don’t know how long my current military supplies will last. Perhaps one day I’ll have to start another "victorious advance" to the rear again.’
’According to precedent, the Beastmen will start getting serious on their third offensive. By then, many places will be at their limit, and news of fortresses being breached will gradually start to trickle in.’
"Viscount Fuman, I’ll trouble you to tally the spoils of war. Remember to store the Centaur corpses properly. When Luke arrives in a couple of days, this will be a considerable source of income," Robson said.
Robson naturally wouldn’t forget about collecting the corpses.
In fact, the commander of any fortress would be enthusiastic about this matter. Worrying about disease was secondary; the most important thing was making money.
The origins of the Beastmen were a matter of debate, but according to the research of Druids and Mages, in some respects, Beastmen could be compared to rare beasts—or even far surpass them.
This was also an important source of revenue for the Frank Kingdom. After all, the Frank Kingdom’s system could be considered one of universal military service; it was just a matter of when one was called up.
There was even a joke circulating in the Southern Kingdom: there are two types of people in this world who least want the Beastmen to come south—the Franks, and Hunters.
Besides the Beastmen themselves, the leather armor on their bodies was generally made of high-quality cowhide. These items were sometimes even more valuable than the axes in their hands.
After all, this was about the only decent equipment the Beastman Empire had. Naturally, they would give it all to their own soldiers.
And since Centaurs were much larger than humans, their leather armor could be reprocessed in the rear to make high-quality human armor.
’As long as I handle this correctly and haggle down the price with Viscount Luke, my, Lord Robson’s, new recruits will be able to use some truly good equipment.’
Of course, aside from these tangible spoils, the gains on his Mount & Blade panel were even more substantial.
Since the battle began, the notification sounds in Robson’s ears hadn’t stopped. The entire panel was flooded with green text, with only an occasional friendly casualty popping up. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
’Needless to say about that first wave of Gnolls, but the later Centaurs were the main source of experience for me, Lord Robson.’
’The Mount & Blade panel’s calculation method was that the higher the enemy’s level, the more experience you gain from killing them.’
’These Centaurs were equivalent to at least human Tier Two Soldiers, which is already a considerable level.’
Robson’s archers had feasted on experience. After this one battle, his number of Tier Five Archers was approaching two hundred, and Tier Four had broken the three hundred mark. Unfortunately, this created a bit of a gap in Tier Three Soldiers.
’In fact, it wasn’t just the archers; I myself also gorged on experience. Although I only fired a single shot, it’s not my fault the enemy was so densely packed!’
’One hell of a shot. Even my personal level experience, which is difficult to increase, jumped by two hundred points. Now, I’m only 2,500 experience points away from the Gold rank. This training speed is terrifying.’ fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
’Reaching Silver rank is something everyone can understand. The battlefield is a place where flesh and blood fly, and such an environment is most conducive to tempering one’s aura.’
’But Gold rank... that isn’t something you can reach through battle alone. Besides years of accumulation, talent is also an absolute necessity.’
’It probably won’t be long before my reputation as a Genius Knight spreads far and wide.’
’I’ve now thoroughly experienced the charm of the Magic Crystal Cannon. If this trend continues, my, Lord Robson’s, path to Gold rank will unfold amidst the roar of cannons.’
’Once I have the strength of a Gold rank, there will be so much more that I, Lord Robson, can pursue—for example, the position of Defense Zone Leader, forming a small-scale Knight Order, or even the title of Viscount, perhaps even Count.’
’The future is bright indeed.’
