Chapter 67

The heavy-armed pikemen regiment, which had received a Zoan's charge on the side of their dense formation, fell into confusion.

Originally, the dense formation was specialized for frontal attacks, but in Holmea, they had even longer spears and a leather strap that hung from the shoulder to support the spear, allowing it to be handled with one hand. These innovations, which would have been highly effective in a clash between two dense formations, became a significant drawback when the enemy was allowed to get close.

As the Zoans attacked from the flank, the soldiers often accidentally hit their allies with the butts of their spears or collided with each other's spears. In the already overcrowded dense formation, trying to change direction without the commander's orders was bound to lead to such results.

Of course, the soldiers had swords as secondary weapons, but very few could maintain the composure to discard their spears and switch to swords in the face of the attacking enemy. Most of the soldiers tried to use the spears they held, colliding with each other's bodies and spears. Losing their composure, the soldiers tried to swing their spears forcefully, leading to even more chaos as they fought over entangled spears and pushed each other down with their spears.

The Zoans, who charged into this chaos, cut through the dense formation like a hot knife through cheese.

In an instant, the bodies of the heavy-armed pikemen piled up, and blood and screams of agony filled the air. The panic spread among the front-line heavy-armed pikemen.

This panic disrupted the orderly arrangement of spear tips and created cracks in the wall of shields.

"NOW!"

Cangma, seeing this as an opportunity, shouted.

At his command, the dwarves threw their spears all at once. The thrown spears flew into the large gaps between the shields, causing many casualties. The situation was further exacerbated by the stone-throwing by the Dinosaurians and the simultaneous shooting by the elves, causing the heavy-armed pikemen to fall one after another from the front line.

As the soldiers in the rear watched their comrades in the front line being impaled by spears, hit by stones, and struck by arrows, they were terrified and tried to retreat to get away from the enemy. However, in the already overcrowded dense formation, such actions inevitably led to collisions with their allies.

Moreover, the dense formation, which was being attacked from the sides, experienced a concentration of forces trying to retreat from the front and sides, leading to a tragic situation where soldiers were crushed to death by their retreating comrades in the center.

Marius, witnessing this scene, spoke almost in a daze.

"Such nonsense! Is this even possible?!"

Shouting in front of the respected General Darius, which he would never do under normal circumstances, was a grave mistake.

However, it was not without reason.

"Why is this happening?! Why is our larger force being surrounded by the smaller force of rebels?!"

The formation, attacked from the front by dwarves and Dinosaurians and from the sides by Zoans, was indeed being surrounded.

However, normally, it is the larger force that surrounds the smaller one.

But here, the larger force of heavy-armed pikemen was being surrounded by the smaller force of rebels.

"I have never seen or heard of such a thing! No military manual or history book has ever mentioned such a thing! Sir?!"

The battle unfolding before Marius's eyes, from the perspective of the military strategy he had learned, was an impossible and reckless tactic, almost a suicidal act. Yet, the heavy-armed pikemen regiment was being completely overwhelmed. Marius felt as if the ground beneath his feet was crumbling.

"Marius, messenger! I did not ask for your opinion! Know your place!"

No matter how close they were, on the battlefield, he was just a messenger to a general. His outburst was a grave overstep. Ashamed, Marius's face lost its color as he bowed his head. Darius, somewhat softening his tone, said:

"Unexpected events on the battlefield are inevitable. But a general must not panic in front of his troops."

Darius, who had reprimanded the flustered Marius, was also shocked by the battlefield's appearance, which mocked the experience and knowledge he had gained from actual battles and books.

It is easy to say that the conventional way of warfare is being overturned. However, the conventional way is built on the accumulated experience of countless battles and is not easily overturned.

However, the rebels, with a resolve and determination to die, were now overturning the conventional way.

"What is Cadmus doing...!"

Darius muttered the name of the trusted officer to whom he had entrusted the heavy-armed pikemen regiment.

If it were the Cadmus he knew, he would have immediately recognized that the rebels' encirclement was as thin as a sheet of paper and could be easily broken. He would have concentrated his forces at a weak point to break the encirclement, divide the enemy, and then encircle and annihilate them.

However, the fact that this had not been done revealed to Darius that Cadmus was dead.

Darius clenched his fist, filled with anger and frustration.

But that would not change the course of the battle. Swallowing his disappointment and anger over the loss of a trusted officer, Darius tried to regain control of the battle.

"Prepare the messenger and the drum!"

There, Darius hesitated.

He was unsure what to instruct the heavy-armed pikemen regiment. If Cadmus were alive, he wouldn't need to say anything.

If he had to give an order, it would be "Attack." Cadmus would read the situation and take the best course of action.

However, with Cadmus gone, the current commander of the heavy-armed pikemen regiment was Judius.

While not lacking in the qualities of a regiment commander, from Darius's perspective, he was still inexperienced.

If Judius could identify the weak points in the encirclement and concentrate his forces there, it would be fine. But if he failed to do so and tried to break the encirclement blindly, it could lead to even greater casualties.

Attack or defend?

Darius was torn.

"Sir! What should I instruct them to do?!"

Pressed, Darius spoke with a strained voice.

"Signal 'Defend' with the drum. Tell them to hold out until I arrive...!"

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"Stay calm and line up your shields! Maintain the formation!"

Hearing the drum beats signaling "Defend" in the distance, Judius, the regiment commander, continued to shout hoarsely from his horse.

He reprimanded soldiers who tried to disrupt the formation and worked hard to maintain it.

"Stay calm! The flank units, abandon your spears, draw your swords, and engage the Zoans! The center units, maintain the dense formation!"

However, as Darius had said, Judius was inexperienced.

While he had the necessary qualities, he lacked the experience to put them to use.

If the deceased Cadmus were here, he wouldn't just shout about engaging the Zoans or maintaining the dense formation.

Cadmus would have given the soldiers the hope they craved.

He would have mixed facts with hopeful predictions to boost their morale, such as the enemy being few and about to collapse or General Darius's reinforcements being just around the corner.

However, Judius could only reprimand the soldiers who were about to flee.

But it was too harsh to blame only Judius.

"You there! Hold the reins of your units firmly!"

The officers Judius reprimanded were young nobles, all of whom were experiencing their first battle. They were so inexperienced that they couldn't even control their units, and some were even abandoning command to flee.

The sight of their flustered commanders only increased the soldiers' anxiety, leading to a vicious cycle of further disarray and being pushed back by the rebels.

With the unexpected death of Cadmus, Judius had to take command of the heavy-armed pikemen regiment, and he was also burdened with the responsibility of managing the inexperienced young nobles. He was so preoccupied with dealing with the immediate problems that he had no time to consider the soldiers' morale.

Even as he found a unit on the verge of collapse and shouted orders, Judius's figure was clearly visible to the Zoans. The soldiers, unable to put up much resistance, were pushed back. Kicking the soldiers' backs, Judius bitterly spat out:

"Compared to the fierce determination of the Zoans, why are our soldiers so hesitant and weak!"

The main reason the expeditionary force was being pushed back was the difference in determination between the combatants.

For the expeditionary force, this battle was one they were expected to win.

After all, with such a significant numerical advantage and being led by General Darius, the greatest general of Holmea, it was hard to see how they could lose.

Therefore, many soldiers were already thinking about how to spend their reward money or the welcome they would receive from the liberated town of Bornis before the battle even began.

On the other hand, the rebels knew that if they lost this battle, there would be no tomorrow. Every participant was fighting with a resolve to die.

This difference was clearly evident in the actual battle, as Judius also felt.

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However, Cangma was beginning to feel anxious.

Cangma was well aware that the encirclement of the heavy-armed pikemen regiment was a precarious balance, almost a miracle.

Despite this, the heavy-armed pikemen regiment was more resilient than expected and had not yet collapsed. The Zoans, who were currently overwhelming them, would eventually reach their limits of morale and stamina.

Worse, Darius's forces would return. If that happened, the Zoans encircling the heavy-armed pikemen regiment would be attacked from the outside, and they would be caught in a pincer attack from both inside and outside.

To prevent this, they needed to delay Darius's forces, even if only slightly.

However, as Cangma thought about how to delay Darius, he suddenly remembered. There were people in their camp who could do it.

Cangma galloped to the rear of the camp and shouted towards the trees on the mountain slope.

"Pipi! Change of plans. Please obstruct the rear units!"

"Understood!"

A high-pitched female voice responded from the treetops, and something leaped down from the branches, scattering leaves.

It was eight young girls with childlike faces.

However, they were not human. Their two arms were large bird wings that flapped in the wind, and their legs from the knees down were bird legs with talons. The hem of their unique ethnic clothing, which had bold slits from the sides to the thighs, revealed large bird feathers.

They were Harpyans, one of the seven races inhabiting the Seldias continent.

These eight Harpyans had come to Cangma shortly after the "Iron Declaration."

"I am Pipi Tot Gigi! I was deeply moved by your words! Please, allow us Harpyans to join your cause!"

Speaking clearly, the representative said, and the Harpyans knelt, lowering their large wings to the ground and bowing their heads.

However, Cangma was taken aback.

The eight Harpyans kneeling before him were all younger than he was.

The girl at the front, representing the Harpyans, looked like a middle school student, or perhaps even a primary school student.

Her cobalt-blue wings, which could span over four meters when spread, reached only about Cangma's chest when she stood upright.

Her face, with large eyes, looked very young. Her strong gaze, which should have been intimidating, came across as cute.

Moreover, her hair was the same cobalt-blue as her wings and had strange, antenna-like curls.

"Anime hair and idiotic fringes?! Where did you come