Chapter 272 Chapter272-A Decisive Victory
The battlefield, resounding with deafening battle cries, resembled a realm of Asura.
Howard, observing the enemy soldiers charging in despair, issued another ruthless command for a cavalry charge.
Pulling the reins and gesturing with his hand, he, clad in a billowing white cloak, mounted his warhorse once again.
Executing a successful cavalry charge, Howard's great sword sliced through the neck of an enemy soldier in passing.
He continued his charge as if nothing had happened, leading his troops back to the middle of the valley to prepare for the next assault.
In such a narrow and constricted valley, a well-trained cavalry unit stood like an unbreakable barrier, impervious to all attacks.
Portia's troops, under intense assault from Howard's left army and further pressured by Resarite's reserve cavalry, faced overwhelming odds.
Portia's heavy infantry were annihilated, and the light infantry, witnessing the situation, could no longer maintain their composure and began to flee.
The act of fleeing spread like a plague; as the last heavy infantryman fell, his comrades in the same rank dropped their axes and shields, turning to escape.
The second rank of light infantry and the city's pikemen, seeing this, slowed their advance.
Their weapons dropped unnoticed to the ground as they too started to run.
The third rank, the fourth rank...
the entire formation of Portia's army collapsed.
Soldiers, in their desperation to flee faster, were even ready to discard their armor.
In a swift turn of events, Bosiden cornered Portia, pressing his sword against Portia's neck.
Portia surrendered, saying, "I surrender, but I ask you to honor an agreement befitting a noble."
Bosiden's strength lay in his ability to assess situations astutely.
Sensing a moment of leaderless disarray within Howard's left army, he swiftly maneuvered his horse towards the left flank of the battlefield.
When confronted with Portia's noble status, which presented a challenge in handling, Bosiden leveraged his own knightly nobility to capture the opposing noble, Portia.
This act not only added to Bosiden's merits but also mitigated unnecessary strife.
Among the nobility, there's often a reluctance to be captured by commoners, viewing such an event as a dishonor.
Conversely, common soldiers are hesitant to kill nobles, anticipating significant rewards and recognition after the battle.
These dynamics can lead to a peculiar situation where soldiers surround a noble without killing them, even if the noble is unarmed.
This is because the noble doesn't want to be branded a coward and attempts to fight off the surrounding soldiers, sometimes leading to unnecessary casualties among the common troops.
In these instances, another noble is needed to take over, proving that the captive is held by someone of their own class.
Meanwhile, the captured noble agrees not to engage in combat until the end of the battle, and the capturing noble ensures that the prisoner's basic rights as a noble are respected.
Bosiden successfully executed this delicate task.
Portia, disarmed, had his weapons held by Bosiden to be ransomed back after the battle.
Portia adhered to the agreement, and Bosiden stood sword in hand beside him.
As for the situation on the left flank, it had completely unraveled.
Upon seeing Portia, the leading advocate for battle, captured, Portwan's army quickly descended into disarray, returning to their initial demoralized state at the onset of the battle.
The collapse was immediate and total.
Under Resarite's command, the center army pressed forward, and Anna's right army achieved remarkable results.
The archers, who had climbed to the top of the mountain, did not get an opportunity to showcase their skills, but their efforts were not wasted in the eyes of the battle commanders.
Their orders were to provide support if Portia's troops did not collapse after the cavalry's push.
The archers, positioned on the high ground, were ready to shift the tide of battle with their volleys.
Archers as a unit are not adept at melee combat or close support in chaotic battles.
Not every conscripted archer is a marksman, and mass arrow fire cannot guarantee hitting specific targets with precision.
Once these archers on the mountain started shooting, it would result in indiscriminate firing, potentially causing significant casualties among friendly troops.
Thus, Resarite had no intention of ordering the archers to fire unless absolutely necessary.
In this sense, their inaction was actually a positive outcome.
As the battle neared its end, Howard's army began the task of clearing the battlefield.
Portwan, seizing an opportunity, fled swiftly on horseback, showing an unexpectedly high level of equestrian skill in his escape.
Karlondo, who had fainted earlier, woke up amidst the battle but was startled into unconsciousness again by the surrounding noise, and was now captured.
Madam Agate, realizing the dire situation and not being a noble, had no obligation to fight to the bitter end.
Hence, she chose to surrender in the latter half of the battle.
This battle resulted in Howard capturing the noble Portia and two significant figures from the commercial sector, Karlondo and Madam Agate.
The flag of the Earl of Fernsouth was planted on the hillside, symbolizing Howard's comprehensive victory.
With a loss of just over a hundred men, his forces had routed an enemy army of 1500, a remarkable achievement.
Clearing the battlefield required attention to several important aspects, including the treatment of the "bodies" lying on the field and the handling of dropped weapons and other spoils of war.
Firstly, concerning the "bodies," it's undeniable that there are many brave souls in this world.
However, even in combat, there are those who choose cowardice.
Some cowards attempt to flee the battlefield, but this often leads to detection by the vigilant enemy cavalry.
As foot soldiers cannot outrun mounted troops, these fleeing cowards typically meet their end at the hands of the opposing cavalry, pierced by a lance.
Therefore, many cowards choose to feign death on the battlefield.
They pretend to be injured, lying down or deliberately falling near actual corpses to disguise themselves as dead.
Their hope is to stand up and return home once the battle concludes and the field is deserted.
It's a beautiful thought, but the reality is harsh.
Nobles and lords have developed their own methods to counteract this.
During the post-battle cleanup, not only are weapons and spoils collected, but every "body" is also given a final strike.
Whether you are dead or not, this last blow ensures your demise.
This brutal practice effectively deters the number of deserters.
Resarite approached Howard to discuss options for clearing the battlefield.
Howard, while wiping his armor with a white cloth, said, "Resarite, as the commander, you're usually the one to decide.
But in this case, since the battle is over and these deserters contributed to our easy victory, I see no need to kill them.
I think it's better not to bother with those who pretend to be dead.
If they want to play dead, let them.
As for where they go after we leave the battlefield, it's not our concern."
Resarite nodded in understanding.
"I see, my lord. You possess a noble knightly spirit. I believe the Church would appreciate someone like you."
Howard smiled and replied, "Is that so? Well, I just think as long as they don't create obstacles for me, I'm happy."
Following Howard's directive, Resarite ordered that the soldiers should not strike the fallen bodies, whether dead or feigning death.
The troops were instructed to only collect spoils from the battlefield, without adding unnecessary slaughter to their task.
Howard felt pleased hearing Resarite relay the instructions.
Clearing the battlefield, or rather scavenging for spoils of war, was an important aspect of post-battle activity.
Soldiers often enlisted in the army for two main reasons: to enjoy a better status during peacetime, receiving admiration and respect from villagers or residents, and to gain wealth by scavenging the battlefield after a victorious war.
The enemy's short swords, long swords, pikes, bows, lances, horses, armor, and other equipment became the prime targets for the soldiers' eager plundering.
In this world, warfare might appear as a collective endeavor, but when it comes to individual equipment, it often becomes a personal affair.
For instance, when a baron summons knights, it's not expected that the knights will be provided with equipment.
A knight's horse is their own responsibility, as are their weapons and armor.
These expectations are embedded within the noble rules, where rights and duties are reciprocal.
Similarly, when barons are summoned by an earl, they must bring their own equipment to the battlefield without compensation – a duty incumbent upon nobility.
While nobles, at least, have the means to afford this, commoners do not have such luxury.
This disparity is most evident in a cavalry unit, which typically comprises both knights and cavalry soldiers.
Although they might be organized together and commanded as one on the battlefield, the difference in the equipment of these two groups is stark.
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