Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 794 794 70 Time_2

?Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 “They won’t hold out.”

“They can hold on, I know their limit,”
“Then send in the cavalry!” Anglu gripped his knife handle tightly, “I’ll lead a charge from the side.”

“It’s not the time yet.”

Anglu wanted to argue more, but Bard gestured for him to be silent.

Bard narrowed his eyes, listening attentively. Soon, Anglu heard it too.

The dull sound of hooves grew louder and closer.

Anglu’s pupils dilated suddenly—The sound of hooves wasn’t coming from the opposite bank of the river, but from behind them!

Was it reinforcements? Or…

“Beat the drums!” Bard shouted, “Reserves! Get into chariot formation!”

There were no reinforcements tonight, only enemies.

From the southeast direction, on the road leading to Shizhen, groups of cavalry were cresting the hill, charging straight towards the ford.

Spears glinted with cold light, the sound of hooves was like sudden, fierce rain.

In the Herde language, “to battle” and “to rob” are the same word, meaning that war is actually an economic activity.

Therefore, Herders dislike direct confrontation in battle, as even victory would be a losing deal. Flanking, encircling, pulling away, leveraging the advantage of four legs to annihilate the enemy in motion—that’s the true skill of the Herders.

If Herders choose to face the enemy head-on, there must be a compelling reason—for instance, a “surprise troop” that had secretly crossed the river upstream.

The one leading this cavalry was none other than the centurion “Corpse Chewer,” who had just confronted Bard.

Corpse Chewer’s previous mission wasn’t actually to capture the ford, but to scout for intelligence. Attacking the ford with a hundred cavalry was Corpse Chewer’s own initiative.

A victory would naturally be a great achievement. If they lost, well… then they would have to atone for their failure with their achievements.

Having been repelled last time, Corpse Chewer had left behind over thirty corpses. This time, while crossing the heavily wooded upstream, many of his men were swept away by the river.

Without having obtained any spoils of war, about half of his hundred or so men had already perished. Without a substantial profit, it was hard to say what awaited Corpse Chewer.

It was with this strong motive that Corpse Chewer plunged headfirst into a pitfall.

Those following Corpse Chewer, the Terdun riders, hurriedly pulled their horses to a stop, but some were too slow to react and heavily trampled Corpse Chewer and his warhorse into the pit.

It was when his chest vertebrae were crushed by his men’s warhorses that Corpse Chewer finally realized—the bipeds had also set up defenses behind them.

With Kota’s life or death uncertain, the other Terdun riders panicked for a moment.

A red-plumed rider gritted his teeth and roared, “[Herde Language] Corpse Chewer is dead! I am Kota! Quick, go kill the bipeds! Kill!”

Leading by example, the red-plumed rider stepped over Corpse Chewer’s body and warhorse, crossing the pit and attacking the ford from behind. The other Terdun people subconsciously followed the one daring enough to command.

“Smaller scale than I expected,” Bard watched as the Terdun cavalry clashed with the chariot formation again, “Anglu!”

“Yes!” Anglu was invigorated.

“Take the hidden path out, and give me a stab at the Terdun people’s flank!”

“Yes!” Anglu’s spirits soared, and he quickly drew his cavalry saber and rushed back to his men.

Including Anglu, there were only thirty riders in the cavalry unit, each with their saddles prepared, just waiting for the signal to charge.

“Pantalevich!” a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, waving his father’s handed-down Dusack cavalry saber, excitedly asked Anglu, “Is it our turn?”

“You, stand at the very back.” Anglu kept a straight face, unusually serious for once and adopting the air of a commander, “Keep close to the formation, and don’t piss your pants in fear later.”

The cavalry unit under Bard was a mixed bag, including the underage Dusacks, well-off farmers who knew how to ride, and even sons from manor owners who volunteered to join.

Anglu was not eloquent; he didn’t know how to stir morale with words, nor was there time for it.

He drew his cavalry saber, looked at the faces before him—some weather-worn, some still youthful—sniffed, and said, “Follow me, I’ll be at the very front. If I die, keep charging forward.”

Finished, he gently tapped his red-maned mount with his boot heel and without looking back, plunged into the woodland along the riverbank.

The fight around the chevaux-de-frise and barriers had reached a critical moment; Terdun people, Paratu people… they were all human, and facing imminent death, they all wanted to turn and flee.

Both sides were hanging on by a thread, and whoever showed sign of defeat first would trigger a domino effect of collapse, because no one dared to retreat even a step.

The men gritted their teeth, their eyes wide, breathing heavily, enduring pain and torment as they desperately tried to kill one another.

The Terdun people heard the sound of battle coming from behind their camp and knew that the encircling surprise flanking soldiers had arrived, boosting their morale.

A burly Terdun man known as “The Bear” bellowed as he rushed towards the barrier, confronting the swinging billhooks and flails.

The militia of Iron Peak County only saw a figure encased in iron armor, two shields strapped to his shoulders, a bear-like beast embracing the barrier and, with a roar like a bear uprooting a tree, he violently pulled up a wooden stake from the ground.

The militiamen swung their flails in terror at this humanoid beast, but the enemy, seemingly impervious to pain and without a weapon, simply lifted the wooden stake and roared into the barrier’s defenses.

“The Bear,” relying solely on his brutish strength, swung the over three-meter-long log in his hands. The Iron Peak County militiamen who couldn’t dodge in time had their chests collapsed, and no one could get near “The Bear.”

“[Herde Language] Break the formation! Break the formation!” Other Terdun people were incited until their eyes reddened, howling as they squeezed towards the small breach, “[Herde Language] The gods above!”