Chapter 120: Just Because a Path Opens
Black Scale’s cavalry attacked and broke through the side of Danyum’s infantry.
Cockatoos were faster than horses, but horses actually made up the main force of Black Scale’s cavalry. Due to Cockatoos’ aggressive nature, taming them was difficult unless it was a Lizardman blessed by Night Sky, but apart from that, horses had high endurance, and above all, great strength. Unlike Cockatoos, which had trouble carrying heavy weight, horses could be heavily armed. And being able to run with heavier loads meant that the impact when they colliding with something would be that much greater.
Danyum’s spearmen urgently tried to form a phalanx, but they were in the middle of moving, and the formation was not tightly organized. Both wings, the back row, the third row, and sometimes the fourth row stood tightly together with spears raised to block the mounts and the riders of Black Scale’s calvary. However, if there was even a little gap in the formation, the phalanx would be broken up from the side, which would render the phalanx meaningless.
Crash!
Hit by a horse, a Satyr flew a few meters into the air before falling to the ground. And as one of Black Scale’s cavalry units got through the poorly organized phalanx, Danyum’s spearmen urgently turned their spears around, resulting in an even bigger gap.
The generals shouted at the soldiers to keep their spears in place and not move from each of their positions, but it was hard for the soldiers to ignore their instinctive fear toward the cavalry charging toward them.
Black Scale’s cavalry pierced through the holes in Danyum’s formation with swords and spears and began a slaughter. The inexperienced infantrymen swung their spears recklessly at Black Scale’s cavalry, only to get their spears tangled with each other and fail to attack. There were some who were properly trained and pulled out their swords, but they either fell under the hooves of the horses, got caught between a Cockatoo’s beak, or got killed by the riders’ swords.
Now cut off from the rear, Danyum’s front units contemplated whether they should turn around and attack Black Scale’s cavalry, or continue to charge at Black Scale’s infantry in front of them. In fact, the generals at the scene were unable to see the command unit with the rear of the army cut off, so each of them ended up giving different orders.
“Now is the time! Attack!”
As things went according to plan, Black Scale’s infantry surrounded the enemy’s front unit to trap them. While attacks were pouring toward Danyum’s infantry from all directions, Black Scale’s cavalry pierced through the enemy’s rear end and got to the other side without much trouble.
Yubaim Dolan yelled from far away. Half of the infantry hadn’t gotten out of the gorge yet.
“You fools! Make way for the cavalry! We need to save the front units, don’t we?”
A general said, “But Commander-in-Chief, there’s no point if only the cavalry go forward.”
Yubaim didn’t want to admit it, but the general was right. Danyum’s cavalry was moving forward, but it was likely already too late to break through the enemy’s thick infantry unit and save the front troops.
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
"Draw the enemy back into the canyon..."
Another general then spoke up.
"How foolish! The rear units have already started advancing. It would take a while to retreat, and in the meantime, we would be witnessing the front units being wiped out."
Yubaim clutched his head before raising it again. It seemed better to make any decision rather than staying still and doing nothing.
"Once we have decided to advance forward, we cannot stop. And we need to show consistency in our commands so that the soldiers can focus on the battle. Even if it means being a little slower, we’ll continue to advance while maintaining formation."
"What about the front troops surrounded by the enemy?"
With his eyebrows knitted, Yubaim reluctantly replied, "We give up on them."
"But Commander..."
"Shut up! We still have the numerical advantage."
While Danyum’s front troops were practically being completely wiped out, Black Scale moved the exhausted and injured troops to the back and sent the troops that hadn't participated in the previous battle ahead.
At that command, Su-Heon the adjutant said, "Commander, shouldn’t we save the troops who are in good condition so that we can prepare for the next battle? Even if we pull the injured soldiers back now, it would be difficult for them to recover by then."
Su-Heon’s opinion was the same as the other generals.
Since this was not a game but reality, unnecessary troop movements could create unnecessary losses. And without a clear explanation, the troops moving forward could find the command unreasonable.
"I have a different opinion."
"Can you please explain the reason?"
Vasen replied, "You’re right when you say that the exhausted soldiers may be able to recover soon, while the injured soldiers wouldn’t be able to. However, by not pushing the soldiers to fight until they can no longer continue, we’ll be giving the soldiers a feeling of relief.”
"It’s good for soldiers to be at peace during normal times, but does that help in times of war?”
"That's a thoughtless remark, Su-Heon."
Su-Heon thought for a moment, and when Su-Heon was unable to come up with a response, Vasen spoke again.
"That way, the soldiers will trust and follow me, won't they? If the soldiers survive, they will trust and follow me from then on."
"Oh."
"By the way, the Commander of Danyum seems not as educated."
After wiping out the front troops of Danyum, Vasen retreated to the same distance as before. He then reorganized the army’s formation and fired the cannons at the slowly approaching Danyum troops.
Boom!
The explosion of black gunpowder rang loud and reached even the back of the army. Only then did Yubaim realize that something was wrong.
"Damn it!"
It felt as if they were lost in a huge maze.
"The same situation is just going to repeat again!"
The enemy surrounded the gorge in a fan-shaped formation and fired the cannons, hitting Danyum’s infantry. If the infantry pulled back with their cannons, the enemy cavalry would exploit the opening of the broken formation and rush in to attack them. But if they quickly moved the infantry forward, the cavalry would cut off the rear of Danyum’s army, and the front troops would be wiped out by the enemy’s infantry. If the formation was maintained and the infantry continuously advanced forward, they would be under the attack of Black Scale’s cannons again.
One of the generals then said, "Oh, no. Commander-in-Chief, our infantry may be slow, but they are steadily advancing toward the enemy."
"You fool! By the time they reach the enemy, there would be so many holes in their formation that they would only get wiped out by the cavalry."
The general couldn’t deny that, but it wasn’t like there was any other way.
"...Are you saying that this is the best we can do?"
In Vasen’s opinion, that wasn’t the best course of action Danyum’s army could take. He believed they had already made the wrong choice when they settled down in the gorge in the first place, so the best they could do now was to retreat. Unfortunately, it was already too late to even do that.
"They have lost too many infantry units already. Of course, it would still be better to retreat considering the losses they will continue to suffer...but it seems that their commander is unnecessarily stubborn."
Danyum’s army steadily advanced forward and made it out along the cliff on the right side of the gorge, all the while continuing to suffer losses. To adapt to their now smaller number, the wedge formation had morphed into an infantry square. There was no concern of being cut off at the back now, so it didn't seem like a bad counter to the cavalry.
"With that formation, it would be difficult for the cavalry to cut them off, but..."
Vasen's response was simple. The fact that the enemy had gotten into a square formation meant that they now covered a greater area.
Vasen commanded Black Scale’s infantry to advance. Along with Black Scale’s Cockatoo cavalry, their Lizardmen infantry were also strong. The warrior culture originated from Lakrak and Yur’s time had given birth to Martial arts, and thus emerged a highly-lauded school of martial arts that incorporated the use of weapons. The commander-in-chief of Danyum, Yubaim, also knew of this fact.
"But barely 20% of the enemy is Lizardmen. And among them, some belong to the cavalry, so they only have enough to block the north. In terms of infantry, we Satyrs are also confident."
Satyrs were known for their infantry, who could wear heavy armor and wield heavy weapons. Heavy armory would slow down cavalry, while heavily-armed infantry was excellent for braving through pouring arrows and attacking other infantry.
From behind the spearmen of Danyum’s army, the medium Satyr infantry got into formation and gradually began to push Black Scale’s infantry back. After suffering more casualties than expected, the situation that Yubaim and the generals of Danyum had been waiting for was finally coming.
"Maintain the eastern side while opening the western side with the medium infantry!"
And just as Yubaim had wanted, the western side began to open up. Once they pushed the enemy back and cleared a path, they could send all the soldiers who had been unable to advance in the gorge out into the plain, thus surrounding the entire enemy army with their numerical superiority.
"The Black Scale army’s west wing has started to pull back!"
"That’s it!" Yubaim shouted. "We need to maintain our formation like this! Move the medium infantry to the west!"
As a path began to open on the western side, the medium Satyr infantry moved forward to fill the gaps in the formation.
Vasen concisely assessed the situation.
"They lack caution."
The medium Satyr infantry charging toward the open path were greeted with cannons that had been steadily moved forward from the back. When they saw the cannons, they momentarily froze in the moment of danger, and the Black Scale’s cannoneers fired at them.
The expensive armor crafted by skilled artisans with decades of experience in metalwork were dented by the propelled rocks. The infantrymen continued to rush forward, but fell again when the second row of cannons fired.
As Yubaim was getting briefed on the damage they were undergoing, he also received what he considered good news.
"...Damn it, just give up on the west side! The east! Now a path is opening up in the east!"
However, an open path worked both ways.
As the Black Scale’s army retreated in the east, a well-rested and renewed cavalry unit appeared.
Yubaim quietly muttered.
"Oh god.”
***
While Sung-Woon supported Lakrak’s battle on one side, he had also been keeping an eye on the battle that Vasen was leading.
"It’s the hammer and anvil tactic.”
If the tactical guideline for battle was to attack fewer enemy troops with greater numbers, the hammer and anvil tactic could be considered a corresponding tactic. And among the variations, what Vasen used was the most common form of the tactic.
The frontline consisted of infantry, the sturdy anvil-like Lizardmen infantry in particular, and held the enemy in place. Meanwhile, their cavalry and the powerful hammer-like cannons that could shatter the armor of the medium Satyr infantry wipe out Danyum’s infantry from both sides.
As Lakrak’s fight was also coming to an end, the outcome of the battle was almost decided.
"But it's too early to let my guard down."
From far away, Sung-Woon saw Crampus urgently controlling the system window high above Danyum’s army,
***
"You think we’re gonna lose?"
It was Wisdom who asked the question through the video chat window.
Crampus said anxiously, "Yes, I’m gonna need your help."
"...How did it come to this? Weren't you supporting them?"
"Well...I was focused on capturing Lakrak."
Instead of him trying to capture Lakrak, it would be more accurate to say that Crampus had been focusing on preventing his creations from getting killed.
If they couldn’t capture Lakrak, they would just be set up to fail. But if they could capture him, they believed they could win the war.
The Lost World required multitasking, but multitasking wasn’t easy for everyone.
"It all happened in a short period of time.”
"Have you reached a complete defeat?"
"...Not yet."
Around four thousand out of the thirty thousand troops had been destroyed. Considering the continuous losses the army would suffer while retreating back into the narrow gorge, though, not even half of them would survive; and among the surviving half, there would surely be deserters. There was no doubt that would happen despite Satyr’s fanatic nature.
"Anyway, it’ll be manageable if we have a little backup. What do you think?"
Wisdom was silent for a moment.
"...Wisdom?"
Wisdom replied, "Sorry, Crampus. I can't help you."
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