Chapter 821: The Great Battle of Mountain Beasts (4)
The center trolls, though seasoned and disciplined, were forced into a full retreat under the brutal onslaught. They staggered backward, barely able to hold their formation as the orcs drove deeper into their ranks. Blood sprayed across the battlefield, mixing with the dirt as orc blades struck with lethal precision. Trolls grunted and bellowed as they were cut down, their massive forms crumpling to the ground in heaps of armor and blood.
Yet, this retreat was not disorganized. The troll commander watched from his position, grim but unfazed. The center was designed to give way, to stretch the orc forces thin as they advanced too far forward. But the orcs were not playing into the troll’s hand as expected. The orc commander had no intention of falling for the envelopment. He wasn’t allowing his forces to be swallowed—he intended to rip the belly of the troll army apart before they could close the trap.
As the orc wedge drove deeper, splitting the trolls’ center wide open, the orc commander executed the second phase of his plan: the Hammer & Anvil. The orc center would continue to punch through the troll lines, but now the orc cavalry and reserves, waiting in the rear, would flank the trolls and smash into their back lines. This move was meant to cripple the troll army’s ability to reinforce their weakening center and destroy any chance of closing the double envelopment.
The orc cavalry, comprised of massive war boars ridden by hulking orc warriors, thundered around the battlefield’s flanks. Armed with long spears and heavy maces, they galloped in perfect formation, their tusked mounts snorting and snarling as they charged. Their objective was simple: to hit the trolls’ exposed flanks before the encirclement could fully take shape, turning the trap into chaos.
The troll commander, sensing the shift, signaled for his flanks to press in harder, but it was already too late. The orc cavalry slammed into the troll’s flank, their long spears piercing through troll armor and flesh. The trolls roared in surprise as the orc cavalry tore into their ranks, disrupting their carefully orchestrated plan. War boars rammed into troll warriors, knocking them to the ground as their riders swung maces, shattering troll bones and crushing skulls.
Simultaneously, the orc reserves, held in the back to maintain their flexibility, surged forward to join the fray. These orcs, fresh and eager for blood, fanned out behind the trolls, cutting off their retreat. The Hammer & Anvil tactic was in full effect now: the orc center wedge smashed through the trolls’ front lines while the cavalry and reserves hit the flanks and rear, trapping the trolls in their own encirclement.
The battlefield became a chaotic maelstrom of violence. The troll flanks, now split between trying to close their envelopment and defending against the orc cavalry, struggled to maintain their formation. Trolls and orcs clashed in brutal hand-to-hand combat, each side delivering devastating blows. The trolls, massive and heavily armored, fought back with heavy hammers and axes, crushing orcs where they stood, but the sheer speed and aggression of the orcs was overwhelming.
The trolls’ Cannae Double Envelopment was beginning to unravel under the orc onslaught. The orc wedge had not only broken through the center but had also succeeded in driving a wedge so deep that the trolls could no longer close their flanks. The orcs continued to press their advantage, their Hammer & Anvil tactic squeezing the life out of the trolls caught in between.
Still, the trolls were not broken. The troll commander, seeing his flanks struggling, roared for reinforcements from the rear. The troll reserves, still holding steady, surged forward to counter the orc cavalry, clashing against them in a desperate attempt to stabilize the battlefield. The trolls, though battered, fought with a ferocity that matched the orcs, their massive forms towering over the battlefield, swinging their weapons with brutal efficiency.
As the battle raged on, the troll commander saw his moment. The center had been pierced by the orc wedge, just as he had planned, but now it was time to close the jaws of the trap. With a bellowing war cry, he signaled for his flanks to press inward, tightening the grip on the orc forces that had pushed too far forward.
The trolls’ flanks began to move with a disciplined fury. On the right, heavily armored trolls, wielding enormous shields and great axes, surged forward in a phalanx-like formation. Their shields locked together in an unyielding wall of metal and bone, forcing the orc forces caught in the wedge formation to contend with an impenetrable defense. Behind the shield-bearers, troll berserkers armed with war hammers and spiked maces swung their weapons with devastating force, smashing through orc armor and sending bodies flying.
On the left, the troll spearmen moved in precision, their long, jagged spears thrusting forward in coordinated strikes, impaling orcs who dared venture too close. The orcs, though fierce and relentless, were now caught between the crushing might of the trolls on both sides. The trolls pushed hard, their weapons finding their mark with every swing, and the orcs’ flanks began to buckle under the weight of the assault.
From above, the battlefield looked like a massive beast slowly closing its jaws around the orc forces. The orc wedge, though successful in breaking through the trolls’ center, now found itself isolated. The trolls’ Cannae Double Envelopment was in full motion. The orc flanks were exposed, vulnerable to the crushing might of the troll right and left wings, which curled inward with brutal precision.
The orc commander, seeing the trap closing, barked orders to his lieutenants, urging his troops to break through the troll flanks before they could be fully enveloped. He ordered the orc berserkers, those blood-crazed warriors who thrived on chaos, to abandon their wedge formation and fan out, hoping to force a breach in the trolls’ advancing lines. With savage cries, the berserkers charged, swinging their axes and cleavers in wide, deadly arcs, cutting down trolls in their path.
But the trolls’ defenses held. The berserkers, though ferocious, were met by troll warriors who had been waiting for this moment. Troll shield-bearers braced themselves against the onslaught, their shields absorbing the berserkers’ strikes, while the trolls behind them launched counter-attacks with brutal efficiency. Axes and maces swung down, crashing into the orc berserkers with bone-shattering force. Blood splattered across the battlefield as orcs fell beneath the relentless blows of the trolls.
At the same time, the troll center, though weakened by the initial orc breakthrough, had reformed its lines and began to push back. Troll reinforcements surged forward from the rear, filling the gaps in the center and shoring up their defenses. These trolls, fresh and unbloodied, pushed into the orcs with renewed strength, their enormous weapons cleaving through orc ranks.
The orc wedge, once so powerful and focused, was now being crushed from all sides. The orcs at the front, still pressing into the troll center, found themselves isolated as their rear lines were hammered by the closing troll flanks. The orcs in the middle, trapped between the hammering blows of the trolls, tried to fight their way free but were met with overwhelming force. The trolls on the right continued to press inward, their axes and maces crashing down with unrelenting brutality, while the trolls on the left thrust their spears forward with deadly precision, pinning the orcs in place.
The orc commander, seeing his forces surrounded, ordered a desperate breakout maneuver. He signaled for the orc cavalry—those who had been held in reserve—to charge into the rear of the troll forces, hoping to break their lines and create an escape route. The orc cavalry, mounted on war boars, thundered across the battlefield, their riders wielding long spears and maces as they crashed into the troll rear. But the troll reserves were ready. They turned to meet the orc cavalry head-on, their shields raised, and their spears bristling in defense. The orc boars slammed into the troll lines, but the trolls held firm, pushing back with sheer brute strength.
Now fully enveloped, the orc forces were in complete disarray. The troll flanks, having successfully closed the trap, continued their advance, squeezing the orcs tighter and tighter into a confined space. The orc wedge was no longer an organized formation but a mass of orc bodies, desperate to break free. The trolls exploited this confusion, cutting down the orcs with systematic, ruthless efficiency.
The troll commander stood tall on a nearby rise, watching as his plan came to fruition. His forces, though battered and bloodied, had executed the Cannae Double Envelopment to perfection. The orcs, caught between the crushing flanks and the reformed center, were now trapped, with nowhere to run and no chance of escape. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of orcs and trolls alike, but the trolls’ discipline and strategy had won the day.
The trolls, now in full control of the battlefield, began to mop up the remaining orc forces. Orc war cries turned to panicked shouts as the last pockets of resistance were systematically destroyed. The trolls, relentless in their pursuit of victory, showed no mercy, cutting down every orc in their path until the battlefield was silent save for the groans of the dying.
