Chapter 313 - 71: Catching the Tail
Chapter 313: Chapter 71: Catching the Tail
"Are we clear?"
"There shouldn’t be any more enemies. The beast in the sky must be tired, too. We haven’t seen it in a long while."
Prince Odoruo looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.
’These past few hours have been more intense than my entire life before this.’
Of course, the price for that intensity was the entirety of his military influence, built over decades, being wiped out in one fell swoop today.
"If Your Highness’s legion hadn’t been reassigned, we never would have suffered such a pathetic defeat!" Tec grumbled indignantly.
"Don’t lose heart, Your Highness! Next time..." Castro was still beside him, rattling on about his future battle plans.
Unfortunately, when Castro finished, few voiced their agreement.
Aside from Castro, the ones still with Prince Odoruo were old retainers who had long ago lost the ambition of their youth. All they wanted now was to leave this land of sorrow and live out their remaining days in peace.
"Next time... Ah, Castro, there won’t be a next time." Prince Odoruo gave a soft, bitter laugh.
"Alright, have everyone get a drink. We need to keep moving. The enemy is far from being..."
As if to prove him right, before Prince Odoruo could even finish his sentence, the thundering of hooves echoed from the distance.
"Riders! There are riders over there!"
"The Fengman Knight Order..."
Prince Odoruo’s expression soured. ’Is this ever going to end?’
"Your Highness, forget the water! We have to go, now!" Tec urged.
As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, Tec had lost count of how many times he’d advised a retreat today.
.....
"Earl, it’s just ahead! Wayne Mountain is only a few miles away!" Viscount Max pointed to the majestic peak before them. At Viscount Max’s insistence, Count Sriphine had pushed his men hard, finally catching up to the very end of the war.
"Max, it’s already afternoon. It’ll be dark soon...
Do we really have to get there tonight? What if Viscount Robertson over at Wayne Mountain is at a disadvantage? Our whole army is exhausted. If we charge in now, we could be surrounded by the enemy." Count Sriphine looked back at his grand army.
After this long, forced march, Count Sriphine was beginning to truly appreciate what it meant for Robertson to have broken through three passes in a single night.
Even on a wide, open road, and with a seasoned veteran like Count Sriphine leading his decorated troops, they were still losing nearly a third of their men as stragglers while marching twenty-five miles a day.
The army behind Count Sriphine was now completely without formation, a scattered mess. If the Beastmen were to charge them now, they would undoubtedly inflict heavy casualties.
Long, forced marches were incredibly demanding on both the army and its general.
Viscount Max looked at Count Sriphine in shock. He felt he’d made himself perfectly clear earlier; he couldn’t believe the Count was still hesitating at such a critical moment.
"Earl, this isn’t about military tactics. You understand this. Forget everything else—this time, Earl Uman’s unauthorized campaign has led to a complete disaster.
If Viscount Robertson, flush with the power of his great victory, uses this as a pretext to deal with Earl Uman, where will that leave you?
We of the military bloc are already unpopular with the central government. If they’re given this excuse, they certainly won’t pull their punches!"
"We’ve come this far! We’re at the final step! If you won’t go, I’ll take my own Clan Knights and go myself. I have to make sure our faction is present on that battlefield!"
Viscount Max’s words were heavy with conviction.
Viscount Max wasn’t bluffing. He meant every word.
At the very least, if he was present on the battlefield, he could negotiate with Robertson’s camp on a personal level.
"I was just thinking aloud... I’ll give the order now... Wait, what is that over there?!" Count Sriphine stared toward the horizon.
A black dot had appeared on the edge of the sky, growing larger as it drew closer.
"It’s a griffin, flying from the direction of Wayne Mountain... Could Viscount Robertson be in some kind of trouble?" Count Sriphine frowned.
Though they were rivals out here beyond the pass, as a traditional Frankish Noble, Count Sriphine held a deep and honest respect for Robertson’s courage and wisdom.
The Franks respect a strong man who can win a war.
Viscount Max felt much the same way.
Fortunately, the griffin did not keep them waiting. It circled once in the sky, apparently unable to find a suitable landing spot, and after dropping a basket, it flew off into the distance.
"Quick! Bring that thing over here!" Count Sriphine ordered.
A Clan Knight acknowledged the order and galloped off, returning not long after with the basket before Count Sriphine.
"What is it?" Viscount Max asked curiously.
Count Sriphine opened the basket. Inside, to his surprise, was a Magic Letter.
"He won?!"
"He won!?"
Max hastily snatched the letter from Count Sriphine’s hand and read it carefully.
"This is bad! This is very bad!"
"Earl, we must assemble the army at once! If we don’t move out now, it’ll be too late!"
...
"The Beastman Prince is over there!"
"Quick! Capture the Beastman Prince alive!"
"Capture the Beastman Prince alive!"
....
"Your Highness, our camp is just ahead!" Castro said.
Looking at the fluttering banners ahead, Prince Odoruo felt a warmth akin to a homecoming, even though it had only been a few hours.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Just as Prince Odoruo was about to reach the camp, Tanaros had already come forward with his personal guards to greet him.
"Tanaros? How did it go? What’s the situation on your end?" Prince Odoruo looked at Tanaros, a strange sense of kinship stirring deep within him.
Tanaros shook his head.
"These humans are too strong. They nearly shot me in the head from four hundred paces away! It’s terrifying!
We all drank the Potions, but they didn’t even blink when facing our army! We couldn’t break through..." Tanaros said, the words tumbling out.
The other generals listened to Tanaros’s account, their expressions all showing that they understood completely.
It was obvious. This time, Robertson had single-handedly beaten every Beastman General of any renown on the eastern front into submission.
"We need to retreat... If we wait for those humans to catch up, we’re finished... I just don’t know if my mentor will survive." Prince Odoruo glanced at the horse behind him. During their retreat, they had encountered Beastman Soldiers who were escaping with Elder Linton.
At this moment, Elder Linton was unconscious, his hair and beard completely white.
"My Lords! It’s an emergency! My Lords!"
Just as the Beastman Generals were in discussion, a Wolf Cavalryman suddenly charged over from the distance.
"Your... Your Highness, bad news! The south! Humans are charging from the south!"
Hearing the Wolf Cavalryman’s report, the generals looked at each other, speechless. They had almost become numb to it all.
"Sigh... let’s just run."