Chapter 65

In the foothills of the mountain that had become a battlefield, the voices of thousands singing in chorus echoed.

"Advance, advance, brave warriors of Holmea! Move forward! Stand shoulder to shoulder with your comrades and move forward! Clear the way for your comrades who follow behind! Come, comrades! Advance with me!!"

This was the song sung by the heavy spear infantry of the Holmea army when they advanced in dense formation.

The purpose of not only the drumbeat but also the chorus was not just to maintain a steady march, but also to dispel the soldiers' fear by making them raise their voices.

The heavy spear infantry regiments, with their spears aligned, advanced, their drum and fife corps playing and the soldiers raising their voices in song. The scene was so intense that it was almost surreal.

Cangma and his companions were not just watching this advancing heavy spear infantry regiment.

First, the elf archers led by Eladia launched a preemptive attack.

"Draw!"

Eladia, while also fitting an arrow to her bowstring, shouted. In response, the elf women fitted their arrows to their bows all at once.

"Pull back!"

The sound of the bows bending echoed in unison.

"Release!"

The arrows, released with a whoosh, rained down on the dense formation.

However, the heavy spear infantry regiment, with their shields held close together above their heads, deflected the arrows. Some soldiers were injured by arrows that slipped through the gaps between the shields, but the formation was quickly filled by soldiers from the rear, and the formation did not break.

Eladia's beautiful face showed signs of frustration.

She had been told in advance, but she had thought that with their archery skills, they could inflict more damage. However, the defense of the dense formation was even stronger than expected, and no matter how many arrows they shot, they would not achieve significant results.

Moreover, due to the long period without handling bows, she already felt a numbing fatigue in her arms. She began to doubt whether it was wise to continue shooting arrows in vain.

At that moment, a voice rose from the west side of the camp.

"Enemy soldiers are attacking from the west!"

Responding to the heavy spear infantry regiment, the unit that attacked the camp from the west was a unit that had been positioned away from the main regiment.

"Sure enough, they came!"

Cangma, who had run to the western fence, confirmed the enemy unit.

The dense formation of the heavy spear infantry regiment maintained a neat rectangular shape as it advanced. In contrast, the unit attacking from the west advanced while avoiding rocks and other obstacles on the ground, so its formation was irregular and, from a distance, resembled an amoeba searching for food.

If they were attacked from the west, the plan was to allocate about a third of the troops to deal with it. However, since the elf archers were stronger than expected and the heavy spear infantry regiment's defense against arrows was solid, Cangma decided to change the plan.

"Change the plan! All the elves, including Eladia, move to the west! Do everything you can to prevent the enemy unit from approaching!"

"Understood!"

Eladia, with a graceful flip of her skirt, led her sisters to the west side of the camp.

"Everyone else, prepare for the main enemy force coming from the south!"

Cangma, having given this order, looked for someone. The person he was looking for had already taken action before receiving Cangma's instructions.

"Dovarin!"

"Aye! I know what to do!"

Dovarin and the dwarves behind him carried bundles of brushwood and dried grass. They skillfully piled them up in front of the fence. When the pile was complete, Dovarin lit it with a torch. The brushwood and dried grass, which contained green wood, produced a thick white smoke that drifted toward the heavy spear infantry regiment on the north wind from the mountains behind.

After confirming this, Cangma gave further instructions.

"Garam and the others, fall back! Dovarin, Jahangir!"

Cangma pulled back the Zoan who were throwing stones in front of the fence. In their place, the dwarves and Dinosaurians lined up inside the fence in a horizontal formation. Their sturdy bodies formed a wall of flesh.

"Come on! Put your heart into it! Raise your spirits!"

With Dovarin's encouragement, the dwarves and Dinosaurians struck the butts of their long weapons on the ground and raised their voices.

"Roar!"

The roar reached the ears of Cadmus, the commander of the heavy spear infantry regiment, who was leading his troops through the white smoke.

The enemy camp was now within shouting distance.

Normally, at this distance, where the attacks with arrows and stones would intensify, a sudden charge would be the standard tactic. The soldiers were trained to run at full speed while maintaining a dense formation at this distance.

Of course, the rebels would counterattack with arrows and stones, but during the time it took to reach the enemy camp, they could shoot only one or two arrows and throw only about three stones. This level of attack would not cause significant damage.

After driving their spears through the fence to keep the enemy at bay, they would use their shields to ram the embankment and knock down the fence, thus deciding the battle.

However, white smoke began to rise from the enemy camp.

It was hard to believe that they would launch a fire attack in such an open area. Moreover, it was strange that only white smoke was rising, without any sign of fire.

The only plausible explanation was that it was a smokescreen to obscure their vision or to slow down their advance.

Cadmus calmly observed the situation from the heavy spear infantry regiment to the enemy camp. The north wind was strong, so the smoke dissipated before reaching them, affecting only the visibility of the enemy camp and its immediate surroundings.

If there were ropes or pits to trip them up in that area, it would be troublesome.

Cadmus called a messenger.

"Tell Judius, who leads the left regiment, to slow down the march and be wary of traps in front of the enemy camp!"

The messenger, repeating Cadmus's words, turned his horse and galloped to Judius, the commander of the left regiment.

After confirming this, Cadmus ordered the drum and fife corps to slow down the march. The speed of the dense formation's advance also slowed.

"Front line! Tap the ground with your spears to confirm it's safe before advancing!"

At Cadmus's command, the sound of the front-line soldiers tapping the ground with their spears was added to the drumbeat. This would allow them to detect any ropes or pits in advance.

He also called for vigilance against unexpected stones thrown from the other side of the white smoke.

"Maintain the shield wall! You never know from where arrows or stones might come!"

However, he did not feel the current situation was dangerous.

The shields carried by the heavy spear infantry were made of wooden boards reinforced with metal on the surface and lined with leather on the inside. While they could stop arrows, they could not withstand heavy stones multiple times. The white smoke made it difficult to see the stones coming, but it also prevented the enemy from concentrating their attacks. This was actually advantageous as the distance closed and the power of the stones increased.

All that remained was to overrun the enemy camp!

While Cadmus was thinking this, Darius, who was observing from a distance, also saw the white smoke rising from the enemy camp.

"...What is that?"

Darius squinted, trying to read the enemy's intentions.

"Sir, is it a fire attack by the enemy?"

The officers who had heard that Cangma had burned 800 Holmea soldiers to death with a fire attack thought they might be launching another one.

Darius also considered this possibility but quickly dismissed it.

"It's unlikely. A fire attack in such an open area would be meaningless. Besides, there's only smoke and no sign of fire."

As Darius said, only white smoke was visible, with no sign of flames. Darius, like Cadmus, thought the purpose was to slow them down or obscure their vision.

While he was thinking this, the march of the heavy spear infantry regiment slowed as the drum and fife corps played a slower tune.

Darius smiled slightly at Cadmus's solid judgment and command. He decided that the enemy camp was not a problem with Cadmus in charge and turned his attention to the expected surprise attack.

"Do not neglect the surrounding vigilance! The enemy may launch an attack at any moment!"

While giving this order, Darius also scanned the battlefield.

His posture was that of a fierce old lion searching for hidden prey.

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In a thicket a short distance from the foothills of the mountain that had become a battlefield, Banuka and his ambush unit were hiding.

For the Zoan, who hunted on the plains, hiding in the thicket and waiting for prey was familiar. After the extermination force arrived, they had been hiding in this place without moving, which was not a great hardship for them.

However, this was only true if they were just waiting.

Banuka and his companions, who were at a distance, could see the entire battlefield and clearly see the difference in numbers between the extermination force and their own. Knowing that their comrades were in danger there, they could not help but feel anxious.

Moreover, the one they revered as the son of the beast god, Shemul, was there.

Banuka gnashed his teeth at his own helplessness, unable to do anything but wait.

"Sir, please calm down. Impatience is a no-no."

Reprimanded by a companion, Banuka realized he had unconsciously risen from his crouch.

If he lost his composure and was discovered by the enemy, it would be all for nothing. Banuka took a deep breath to calm himself.

Then, the moment they had been waiting for finally arrived.

"Sir! Smoke is rising from the camp!"

This was the signal they had been waiting for.

Banuka turned around and called to his clan.

"Everyone, let's go!"

After confirming that everyone nodded in agreement, Banuka tried to run on all fours.

Just as he was about to run, he felt a heavy weight pulling at his waist. However, he was only momentarily confused by the unfamiliar sensation.

"My lord, I, Banuka, am coming!"

With these words in his heart, Banuka, along with his companions, kicked up dust and ran.

◆◇◆◇◆

The dust kicked up by Banuka and his companions was quickly spotted by the soldiers on guard, and the report was swiftly relayed to Darius.

"Sir! Dust is rising from the plain!"

Upon hearing this, Darius involuntarily struck the armrest of his chair.

"Sure enough, they've come!"

Looking in the direction the soldier pointed, he could indeed see a large cloud of dust rising. Darius estimated the type and size of the unit based on the size and manner of the dust.

Dust rising high and straight indicated high-speed movement, such as by cavalry or chariots. The only ones who could be raising such dust in this situation were the Zoan. From the scale of the dust, he estimated their number to be about 200 to 300.

This was undoubtedly the Zoan surprise attack unit they had been waiting for.

Darius, confirming this, stood up from his chariot seat and raised his arm.

"I command my direct subordinate unit! Turn to face the enemy surprise attack unit! Form a horizontal line with the heavy infantry in the front! If the enemy charges, line up the shields to stop them!"

At this command, Darius's unit began to move.

Darius's direct subordinate unit, consisting of about 500 men, including Darius's private soldiers, the elite troops of the Holmea army, and two companies of regular soldiers led by Borgus, had been thoroughly drilled in what to do when the Zoan surprise attack unit appeared. They smoothly reformed their formation to face the surprise attack unit.

The front line was lined with heavy infantry with large shields, followed by spear infantry with spears, and then archers in the rear.

This formation was designed to have the archers shoot arrows, the heavy infantry with shields stop the Zoan if they charged, and the spear infantry finish them off with spears.

Standing on the chariot as it slowly turned, Darius, who had been watching the unit reorganize, turned his head to look behind him, concerned about the enemy camp.

The infantry regiment was attacking from the west, and the heavy spear infantry regiment was about to reach the enemy camp from the south. It was only a matter of time before the enemy camp was breached from the west and south. No matter how much the rebels resisted, their fate was sealed.

Darius, confident of victory, sat back down in his chariot.

At that moment, something black flashed in the corner of his vision.

For some reason, it caught his attention. Darius turned his body to look at the enemy camp, squinting his eyes.

Then, after confirming the identity of the black shadow, he muttered to himself.

"...A bird."

The camp, which was being attacked by the infantry regiment from the west and the heavy spear infantry regiment in dense formation from the south, seemed to be on the verge of falling to anyone's eyes.

At that moment, Cangma's plan finally began to unfold!

Next chapter: "Decisive Battle 5 - The Path"

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Darius's dust judgment is based on Sun Tzu. Dust rising straight and high indicates chariots, while dust that hangs low indicates infantry. Since the Zoan running on all fours is closer to chariots, I chose that.