Chapter 281 - 49: Attack on the Mountain
Chapter 281: Chapter 49: Attack on the Mountain
Tec’s hesitation didn’t last long. From behind, the earth-shaking war cries of the human cavalry sounded once again.
"They’re here again!" Tec truly felt like crying. He’d never seen anything like this. They didn’t even give him a chance to catch his breath. ’How can this Human Knight Order be so damn energetic?’
In truth, Tec knew it was because of their mounts, but he didn’t have the time to dwell on it now.
"What are you standing there for? Run!" Tec roared at Eira, who was still frozen beside him.
...
"My lord! My lord! This is bad!"
Just as Dosa was enjoying his breakfast, a Personal Guard suddenly burst through the door.
The interruption startled Dosa.
"What’s going on? What’s with all the shouting?" Dosa wiped his mouth and questioned the Personal Guard who had rushed in.
Though he was a Personal Guard, he had only been recruited in the last two months.
There was no helping it. Dosa himself had been one of Castro’s personal soldiers, so he had no established retinue of his own.
"My lord! Outside the camp, there are enemies! A lot... a whole lot of human cavalry have appeared!" the Personal Guard said.
"’A whole lot?’" Hearing his subordinate’s choice of words, Dosa frowned.
Logically, someone of Dosa’s rank should have some high-quality talent under him. Unfortunately, such things weren’t entirely dependent on status, but on accumulated influence.
For someone like Dosa, who had no family background to speak of, no one truly talented was willing to serve him.
"My lord, what should we do now?" the Personal Guard asked anxiously.
"What should we do?" The news left Dosa momentarily dazed and disoriented.
’What to do? How would I know what to do?’ Dosa had no experience leading a large army. Before being promoted by Castro, the highest position he had ever held was squad leader under him.
"Let’s go take a look first and see what’s happening," Dosa said.
Led by his Personal Guard, Dosa went to a spot halfway up Wayne Mountain. Looking down, he saw just over a hundred enemies chasing a few Dwarves and a Centaur.
"This is ’a lot’?!" Dosa almost burst out laughing. ’A mere hundred men dare to attack my mountain?’
’Still, where did these humans come from?’
"Quick, muster the troops! I’m going to kill these conceited humans. This will be the perfect way to repay the general for his patronage," Dosa laughed heartily.
The Personal Guard left to carry out the order. Dosa looked down the mountain. The several miles of plains in front of Wayne Mountain meant the fleeing Beastmen were now completely surrounded by the Human Knight Order.
Dosa didn’t pay them much mind. These so-called scouts and Rangers were mostly individuals who had been pushed out during Chief Castro’s internal purges.
As the saying goes, a new lord brings new followers. Eira wasn’t the only one affected by the change.
...
"For the Kingdom! Charge!"
"For Fengman...!"
Hearing the distant war cries, Robson let out a long breath. They had rushed with all their might, and finally, they had made it.
The road to Wayne Mountain was not like the main thoroughfare. This path could only accommodate two carriages side-by-side, and since Robson’s army used oversized models, it was effectively a single-lane road for them.
At that moment, the members of the Fengman Knight Order up ahead were locked in a heated battle with a group of Beastmen before Wayne Mountain.
"Your Lordship," Knight Commander Elon asked, looking at Robson, "should we charge in now?"
"No... look. What’s that on the mountain?" Robson asked, pointing toward the Beastman Camp on Wayne Mountain.
"It’s Beastmen... Those guys actually ran out of their own camp!" Robson said in surprise.
’In my original plan, the Beastmen on Wayne Mountain might not have been able to hold their position even if they had stayed put. And now they dare to charge out?’
Knight Commander Elon followed Robson’s gaze. Nearly a thousand Centaur Warriors were charging down the mountain, each clad in the standard-issue leather armor of the Beastman Empire and wielding stone axes.
"So many of them... Can our men hold out?" Knight Commander Elon looked into the distance, his voice tight with tension.
Although the group that went ahead were Knights from the Fengman Knight Order, they had been riding all night. Their condition was surely far from optimal.
Besides, these enemies didn’t look like they’d be easy to deal with.
"Sound the horn. Have them pull back immediately."
"Order the soldiers to halt their advance and await further commands on the spot," Robson said.
Robson’s current position was at a bend in the mountain pass. If they advanced any further, the enemy would see them.
"As you command." Ais turned and departed.
Before long, the sound of a horn echoed across the entire battlefield.
...
"Captain! The horn from behind us!"
"The Viscount and his men are here!"
If his Bronze Knights could hear it, how could Baron Laurie, a Silver Knight, not notice?
He glanced back but saw nothing.
’It sounds like it’s coming from behind the mountain. Why aren’t the Viscount’s forces charging directly?’
Baron Laurie stared at the empty space behind them. Only the echo of the horn lingered in the air, proof that Robson’s main army had indeed arrived on the battlefield.
Baron Laurie began to understand. He turned his head toward the great mountain before him. Although he was only a Silver Fourth Tier, the billowing dust cloud rising from Wayne Mountain ahead told him everything he needed to know.
"It’s the enemy! More enemies are charging!" Baron Laurie shouted.
"Fall back first! That was the signal to retreat. The Viscount must have a plan!"
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"
Baron Laurie yelled the command to the Fengman Knights scattered around him.
As one of the kingdom’s Advanced Knight Orders, obedience was ingrained in the Fengman Knights.
Upon hearing Baron Laurie’s order, the Fengman Knights on the field began to pull back like a receding tide.
Tec and Eira, who had been preparing for a fight to the death, were now frozen in place.
"What’s happening? Why are they retreating?" Eira asked, confused.
A terrible suspicion flashed through Tec’s mind. He whipped his head around to look at Wayne Mountain.
Sure enough, a cloud of dust was rolling down the mountain, carrying with it an awesome, intimidating momentum, like a landslide.
"This is bad! Why did they come out?!" Tec’s eyes filled with terror as he cried out.
Tec didn’t know the strength of the troops under Castro.
But he was very clear about the strength of his own soldiers—they were elites, handpicked by Prince Odoruo himself!
And since he knew the caliber of his own men, he had a good measure of the human forces opposing them.
Although the enemy had the element of surprise, they had been consistently overwhelming his forces even in a direct confrontation.
Furthermore, the fact they could appear so quickly and quietly proved they were a highly disciplined force.
He could now be certain that the humans were a formidable, disciplined lion of an army. If these Centaurs couldn’t even defend their camp, what chance did they have charging out to fight?
"They came out? What do we do now?" Eira’s expression turned to panic as she watched the charging Centaur legion.
"Quick, we have to stop them!"
Without another word, Tec rushed forward, trying to get in front of the Centaur army.
"It’s me, Tec! Stop! Stop right now...!"
Unfortunately, Dosa, charging at the head of the main force, completely ignored Tec shouting from the side of the path.
Seeing the Centaur legion about to run him over, Tec had no choice but to fall back.
"Sir, what do we do now?" his adjutant asked again.
"What do we do? We run!" Tec said through gritted teeth.
At this point, the Centaur legion had already charged past. It would be incredibly difficult to save them now.
"Go! Head north! We’ll find Castro!"
Tec was truly kicking himself now. If he had known this would happen, he would have broken through the enemy’s blockade and headed for Bai Ma Ferry to the east, no matter how difficult it was.
Even if they went north now and found Castro, what good would it do?
Tec could already foresee the future. He and Castro would be trapped in a desperate situation, forced to wait for reinforcements from Prince Odoruo.
...
"A head for a lamb! Everyone, charge!"
Dosa was at the very front of the charge, leading a large army for the first time, a huge iron axe waving in his hand.
Dosa had no experience and didn’t know what to say to boost the army’s morale, so he just shouted something that was better than nothing.
Although the response from the troops was lackluster, Dosa himself was incredibly excited.
’As long as I can capture that group of human Knights ahead, who will dare say I only got my position through connections?’
Dosa was already planning out the rest of his life.
’If I can achieve a solid military victory, Chief Castro will surely promote me to Vice Commander of the entire army.’
’By then, I, Dosa, will have truly leaped up the social ladder!’
As he thought this, Dosa, who was already excited, felt his heart pound even faster.
’Hm? Why have they stopped?’
Dosa was puzzled to see the fleeing human Knights suddenly halt, turn around, and face him.
Then, Dosa witnessed the most unforgettable scene of his life.
From the previously empty woods, over a thousand men suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
What shocked Dosa the most was that many of them were wearing full sets of iron armor.
In the woods, many human Soldiers held a Sword and Shield, while even more held a strangely shaped object that Dosa’s knowledge couldn’t identify.
’How are there so many humans?!’
Dosa’s initial thought was identical to Tec’s: he couldn’t understand how such a large group of people could appear so suddenly.
’Didn’t the Chieftain say the only enemies nearby were to the north? How could an enemy force of this scale hide under our noses for so long?’
’Oh no, I’ve walked into an ambush!’ Dosa was terrified.
Looking around, he saw that none of the other Centaurs had noticed yet. Dosa had only seen it thanks to his Silver Fourth Tier physique.
"My lord! Up ahead... I think there are enemy troops!"