Chapter 261 - 30: Beastmen Surprise Troops
Chapter 261: Chapter 30: Beastmen Surprise Troops
"Wait, halt."
"What’s wrong?"
Earl Uman looked at Viscount Edwin.
Viscount Edwin scanned the surrounding valley, his brow furrowed.
"My lord, perhaps we should retreat for now?
"This place is gloomy and unsettling. It really doesn’t seem like a good place," Viscount Edwin advised.
Earl Uman frowned.
"Why are you just like Wulan? So timid and fearful. How can someone like that ever achieve anything great?" Earl Uman said bluntly.
"Earl, the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers rest on our shoulders. This matter..."
"Your plan is far too risky," Viscount Edwin replied.
Ever since their last decision, Earl Uman had resolved to launch a surprise attack through Wisley Path to strike the Beastmen’s rear, cutting their northern and southern forces in two.
To this end, Earl Uman had even positioned his main force in Wisley Path, leaving just over ten thousand men to hold the enemy’s main force at the front.
In fact, Earl Uman hadn’t even considered holding the enemy back; he just needed to ensure his own supply lines remained secure.
As for why he brought the main army on a surprise attack?
Earl Uman was putting on a show for the Beastmen. If they were sensible enough to realize they were outmatched and obediently retreated north of Bai Ma Ferry, he, Earl Uman, could score a huge political favor without losing a single soldier.
If they weren’t so sensible, then he, Uman, could still capture Bai Ma Ferry and trap them like turtles in a jar, adding another glorious entry to his record.
Earl Uman called this an overt scheme.
Hearing Viscount Edwin’s words, Earl Uman pointed directly at the long column of troops stretching out behind them.
Few people objected to Earl Uman’s orders. Firstly, he had promised significant rewards. Secondly, most of them were short-sighted Baron Knights.
The most soldiers any of them commanded was less than two thousand. Someone like Robson was a complete anomaly, only able to do so with the support of a major power behind him.
There were people within the Gauss Clan who knew military affairs, as the Gauss Clan was a proper northern family, after all.
But some of those people had died on the battlefield, and the rest had been purged by Earl Uman himself.
Upon hearing Viscount Edwin, Earl Uman raised his long whip and gestured toward the army behind them.
"What is there to worry about? It takes our army a full day just to move from inside the pass to outside it. If the Beastmen dare to show up, we’ll just wipe them out..."
Viscount Edwin inwardly scoffed. ’The only reason it takes a full day is because of Earl Uman’s terrible organizational skills.’
Just then, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the distance.
The sound yanked Earl Uman back to reality.
"They really came?" Earl Uman hadn’t expected to jinx it.
He looked toward the rear of the army, the source of the screams. It was pure chaos. From a distance, Earl Uman could only see a cloud of dust and feel the rumbling tremors in the ground.
"What’s happening? Where are the Rangers? How did the enemy suddenly attack?" Viscount Edwin’s expression was panicked. The Beastmen seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, catching the entire army completely off guard.
’That’s right, how *did* the enemy suddenly attack?’
Earl Uman’s heart sank. He remembered deploying dozens of Rangers earlier. Why hadn’t a single report come back?
"No, the soldiers’ equipment and the supplies! They’re attacking the supply train!
"Wulan, gather the Knight Order immediately and prepare to charge!" Earl Uman shouted to his younger brother behind him.
"Right."
"Damn it, their timing is impeccable.
"Earl, my family’s troops are still back there. I’ll go gather them and clear a path for you," Viscount Edwin said to Earl Uman, his gaze resolute.
Hearing Viscount Edwin’s words, Earl Uman had to admit, he was genuinely touched.
He admitted to himself that he had panicked for a moment.
"Good. I’m counting on you. A few pathetic Beastmen are nothing to be afraid of."
Wulan watched this exchange with a growing sense of unease.
.....
"For Prince Odoruo! Charge!
"His Highness has decreed that all spoils from this battle will be distributed afterward based on merit!" Castro roared to the Wolf Cavalry around him, his heart soaring with ambition.
’The Beast God protects! This is truly the Beast God’s protection!’
Castro had always been a wild and unruly sort, constantly looked down upon by Prince Odoruo’s old guard in the army.
But now, he, Castro, finally had his chance!
Gods knew how thrilled he had been when he saw the map of the humans’ marching route.
For this, Castro had directly mobilized all of his personal guards—a rare elite unit on the eastern front, a crack Centaur legion.
"For Prince Odoruo!"
At Castro’s words, the Beastmen all raised their arms and roared in unison.
Prince Odoruo held considerable prestige within the Beastman Army, not just for himself, but also for the officers under his command.
Their words were their bond, their actions decisive, and everything was governed by law. They were famous for this throughout the entire Beastman Corps.
Castro watched the Centaurs charging through the valley. He didn’t join them, instead beginning to survey the entire human army.
Soon, he spotted a chaotic cluster of Knights in the distance.
The Knights were off their horses, hastily trying to don their armor.
’A perfect opportunity!’
Castro’s heart clenched.
"Fido, you continue to lead the soldiers and press the attack according to the original plan.
"Everyone else, charge with me!" Castro ordered a Gnoll before him.
This was the leader of the Jackal Wolfman Legion that Prince Odoruo had assigned to him earlier.
Fido gazed at the scene, his own heart pounding with excitement. He nodded in agreement, knowing he was likely about to achieve great merit.
Castro said no more. On the battlefield, time was precious; not a single second could be wasted.
....
"Faster! What’s going on? Why are you still putting on armor?"
Watching the Centaur legion thundering toward them, Earl Uman admitted he was getting anxious, especially after seeing the great fires erupting from the supply train in the distance.
That train held all the food and supplies needed to sustain the army’s push forward.
Hearing this, the Knights of the Gauss Clan turned to glare at Earl Uman with resentful eyes. Wulan also turned his head.
"Brother, weren’t you the one who sent the Knight’s Attendants to the rear?"
"My lord! My lord!"
"The enemy is charging! They’re almost on us!"
Just then, a few dust-covered nobles rode up to Earl Uman.
These were the nobles Earl Uman had previously lured to his side with various promises, the ones who had followed him to the very front of the line.
"Where’s the infantry? Why aren’t they doing anything? Stop them!"
Staring at the approaching wave of Centaurs, Earl Uman was now truly panicking.
"We have no armor! We only have our weapons!" a voice, thick with fury, shouted from somewhere in the crowd.
"Where is the armor?" Earl Uman, his own anger flaring, tried to find the source of the voice.
"It’s in the supply train back there. Brother, the enemy is about to break through. What do we do?" Wulan raised his Long Sword, his face a mask of confusion as he looked ahead.
"The soldiers! Have the soldiers raise their pikes! That should do something..."
"He wants us to go die!
"Brothers, run! The Beastmen are coming! This guy wants us to get killed!"
"I said it before, this guy is unreliable! He’s probably the one who got the old Patriarch killed! He’s the one who got Officer Du Wei killed, and now he wants to kill us too!"
Earl Uman had thought his words might rally some of the troops, but instead, the surrounding soldiers erupted into a clamor.
’Du Wei!’ Uman was shocked. Du Wei had been one of his brother’s adjutants, but he’d refused to hand over power and Uman had had him eliminated.
’These guys still remember Du Wei? Didn’t I clean house properly?’
"Brothers, run!"
Everyone watched in stunned silence. No one could have imagined that the first troops to break and flee would be from Earl Uman’s own Gauss Clan!
Earl Uman stared blankly at his army, his mind still reeling from the mention of Du Wei. He clearly remembered having eliminated all dissidents.
Wulan looked at his brother’s vacant expression. It was the first time he had ever seen such a look on his brother’s face. ’Is this really the same calculating, strategic brother I’ve always known?’
"What are you running for? The clan hasn’t been defeated yet!" Wulan glared at the few men who had started to flee. Without hesitation, he drew his bow and shot them down, turning them into corpses. The restless army finally fell silent.
"Wait, wait... where’s Edwin? Didn’t he go to rally the troops?" Earl Uman snapped back to his senses and began searching for any sign of Edwin. Seeing nothing, he looked to the distance, where an assembled Human Corps was indeed charging, a dazzling sight amidst the chaotic battle lines.
However, contrary to what Earl Uman expected, Edwin was charging back down the road they had come from.
"Edwin is running away!" a nameless Little Knight cried out in alarm.
The assembled nobles looked into the distance and began to mutter amongst themselves, the group becoming unsteady in their saddles.
Watching this, Uman’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. ’How did it come to this?’
’Edwin... how dare he? Disobey a direct order?’
’It’s over. I’ve made a mistake!’ Earl Uman finally, belatedly, realized it. He had screwed up completely.
At that moment, the Centaur army was less than a mile away.
Wulan stepped forward and cut down the Little Knight.
"Nonsense! Viscount Edwin has gone to find reinforcements!
"This was all arranged by my brother beforehand! How dare you try to shake the army’s morale!"
Everyone looked at Wulan Knight, and their hearts settled somewhat.
Although they all knew this was most likely a lie, human beings are strange creatures. They are unwilling to believe the actual truth, especially when that truth is unpleasant.
"Everyone! Find cover behind the rocks and brace for arrows!
"All Knights of the Gauss Clan, dismount! Drive the horses toward the enemy! Drive the horses toward the enemy!"
Knowing his brother was most likely useless at this point, Wulan had no choice but to take command himself.
Although Wulan himself held no official title, he knew that the most dangerous thing for men to be is idle, especially in a life-or-death situation.
Wulan knew that if he didn’t step up now, these soldiers would find something else to do.
And what would that ’something else’ be? It would be to follow the example of the men Wulan had just shot. In a crisis, people will not remain idle; it’s a basic survival instinct.
Upon hearing his orders, the soldiers finally had a backbone to rally around, and they began to move.