Chapter 194 Chapter 193 Battle (1)
The great battle was about to unfold, yet the sky was bright and clear, showing no signs of impending war.
The army of Duke Kasong was filled with knights eager to swiftly eliminate the beastmen, almost ready to charge out en masse.
However, the beastmen’s army was gradually retreating, dispersing into the forest. Occasionally, they would emerge from the woods to regroup, trying to lure the Barto knights into battle in unfavorable terrain.
But Duke Kasong remained patient. This old knight, who had earned the title of Giant Slayer by slaying a Cyclops in his youth, carefully used his reputation to calm the eager knights below him.
As time passed, the knights grew increasingly dissatisfied, believing that Duke Kasong had missed several clear opportunities to strike the beastmen’s army.
Although there were always lost inferior horned beasts, their flesh and blood no longer satisfied the knights’ bloodlust.
Finally, on the morning of the seventh day after George returned to camp, the cursed, weary beastmen decided to confront the humans for a decisive battle.
After a few small skirmishes, the battlefield for the final confrontation took place in the northern part of the Duke of Kasong’s domain, near the border of the Duke of Atuwa, at the edge of the largest forest in Barto territory, the Ili Forest.
Thick woods formed a green wall, closing off the left flank of the knight’s army, while the right side had somewhat sparser trees growing on hilly terrain.
Ahead was a vast expanse of flat land, suitable for iron hooves to traverse.
A human village had once been located here, where industrious Barto farmers had made the surrounding fertile land even flatter. Now, the village lay in ruins, with the beastmen erecting a sinister totem from leftover bones, continuously radiating evil magic that corrupted the land.
George smashed the totem into pieces, riding his heavenly warhorse across the desolate field, where he found Duke Kasong on a small hill.
At this moment, Jima slowly descended from the sky, landing and taking a few quick steps in the field before halting. She shook the dew off her wings and said:
“The enemy army may number around ninety thousand, which is fewer than before.”
Duke Kasong, towering on his steed, quietly endured Jima’s rudeness—she had not used a respectful title to refer to him.
He asked, “What are the fewer ones?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s just some war hounds, centaurs, and horned beasts. But I don’t know exactly how many,” Jima replied, “They’re hiding in the forests on both sides.”
“You can divine. Do you know where the main concentrations are in the forest?”
“Of course.” Jima pointed to the left forest, where the knight’s army was almost half a kilometer away. “Mainly over there, the beastmen are most numerous in that forest. There are some on the right too, but I didn’t divine exactly what; it could be high-quality troops like bull-headed men.”
Despite Jima’s presence exposing the beastmen’s ambush plans, they had almost become public knowledge.
However, Duke Kasong felt that the information Jima provided was useless. As a cautious and seasoned old knight, he had already planned to fortify the left and right flanks.
Meanwhile, beside Jima, George sat silently on his heavenly warhorse. To Duke Kasong, this renowned dragon-slaying warrior was silently vouching for Jima, despite not knowing that George typically remained silent on matters he was not proficient in.
Suppressing his displeasure, he waved his hand and ordered:
“Send a valiant knight to the left flank to strengthen the defensive line and keep an eye on the forest—him.”
Duke Kasong finally pointed at the black knight.
Before long, the black knight and a squad of young chivalrous knights, along with nearly a thousand infantry, slowly moved toward the left flank, mainly to give George face.
Both armies unfolded on the flat wilderness, their battle lines stretching for several kilometers.
Jima, riding her chestnut mare, stood next to George, gazing at the beastmen’s formation just under two kilometers away.
It resembled a gigantic brown-yellow python lying on the horizon. In front were masses of inferior horned beasts; these emaciated beastmen had archers at the front and spearmen at the back, idly sprawled like sand scattered on the ground, extending nearly a mile.
Behind them were the tall and strong horned beasts, and further back, it was unclear, only the sight of four cyclopes could be seen, each bearing stones as large as a cart, their massive bodies standing firm among the throng of war beasts.
Even from a distance, they cast a shadow over many human hearts.
The foot soldiers feared the cyclopes’ appearance, while the commanders feared the stones they could throw over great distances.
The Barto side lacked the professional armies that the Empire had, with expertly crafted field artillery. Aside from their extraordinary abilities, the farthest-reaching weapon in the entire army was the longbow passed down through generations in the hands of Barto farmers.
Thus, the beastmen held the initiative, capable of using projectiles to force the Barto army into attacking.
A key point in this conflict hinged on how long these four cyclopes could survive.
Jima pondered as she surveyed the Barto army.
Similar to the beastmen, standing at the forefront were Barto farmers dressed in blue and red cotton clothing, their archery skills lacking; whenever they shot arrows, Eve Frostleaf would look away, but at least they were cheap enough to form a wide front.
Behind were infantry wielding axes and spears. Most of them wore only helmets to protect their heads, while the elite infantry consisted of attendants wielding knightly swords, protected by worn iron armor mostly discarded by their knightly masters.
Following them were the knights clad in shining armor, both on the ground and in the air.
Duke Kasong also clustered the skilled knights together to form a reserve force.
Both sides had unwittingly piled the cannon fodder at the front.
Jima thought.
At this moment, the tall and strong cyclopes shouldering amber stones slowly walked out of their formation.
Duke Kasong personally issued the command: “Order the entire army to advance!”
The hornblower beside him sounded a dark horn, which echoed throughout the army. After a brief delay, the army began to move slowly like a sluggish giant worm.
At the sound of the whip, the Barto farmers fearfully advanced toward the four cyclopes.
As the two armies drew closer, their extraordinary warriors separated from the ranks and charged toward the enemy’s front, attempting to use their extraordinary abilities to unleash various spells to strike the sluggish opponent.
Jima then saw a beastmen shaman three hundred meters away murmuring incantations. Suddenly, a swarm of killing crows swooped down from the sky toward the spearmen. The Barto infantry, who had not undergone any formation training, quickly became a disordered mass due to this spell, delaying their advance.
The overseer went up and whipped them soundly before the army gradually resumed its forward momentum.
The powerful knights surged forth, engaging the enemy’s extraordinary beings in a fierce battle, driving back the opposing extraordinary warriors with the help of flying mounted knights, achieving a slight victory.
The extraordinary clash at the frontline ended with a thundering boulder smashing into a group of axemen, causing bones to shatter, anguished cries to fill the air, and the surviving soldiers trembled, on the verge of fleeing. Nearly a hundred axemen were left standing, but only half remained.
Those extraordinary warriors engaged in battle began to retreat on their own.
George gripped the hilt of his sword.
As a diamond-level powerhouse, he should have been deployed now, with a chance to seriously wound a cyclops before the enemy’s extraordinary beings could respond.
Duke Kasong turned his head and said:
“Dragon slayer George, you must be wondering why I didn’t send you to engage in extraordinary combat.”
George replied, “I prefer to remain silent on matters I don’t understand. My lord Kasong, I will follow your orders.”
“Very well.” Duke Kasong praised, “I hope you will join that cavalry as a reserve to support either flank or even our rear. The key to this battle lies behind us.”
George accepted his orders: “Understood.”