Chapter 234: An Unexpected Surprise

After sending light cavalry to Greywood Town to bring back two carriages, this army, which had just rested, used linen body bags to wrap up the bodies of their comrades and send them onto the carriages. They all looked sad, as if memories of the past had been triggered. Men do not shed tears easily unless they are truly heartbroken. But warriors must never show weakness in public, especially in front of enemies who had become captives.

The living captives were all Humans; the other humanoid races and beasts were all finished off, regardless of the severity of their injuries. Of course, this was also related to the fact that those guys were Goblin creatures or inferior races like Kobolds. If there had been Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, or even Orcs or Half-Orcs among the enemies, they would not have received such treatment. Because their races had stable nations or regimes on the Western Continent.

From this point of view, the overall strength of a group was quite important even for the individual. If those Goblins or Kobolds could also establish their own kingdom. Oh no! If only they could establish a regime recognized by other intelligent races, then what awaited them would not be the fate of being finished off. George, as an overseas Chinese in his past life, understood this deeply; just think about when the Chinese Exclusion Act of the White Eagle was finally repealed.

Thus, they returned to Poitou covered in dust; the speed of the team along the way was not fast. This was, of course, to take care of the seriously wounded in the team; even with the help of the healing Staff, they still had a period of weakness.

At the same time, the Druids, whose heads were bleeding from the iron thorn crowns, had long lost their previous arrogance. With their hands and feet bound, they could not perform casting movements; their stuffed mouths prevented them from chanting spells, and the pain brought by the thorn crowns made it impossible for them to concentrate.

The Druids, subjected to such heavy torture, were like Sun Wukong with his collarbone pierced; they could not cause any trouble for a short time. The main combat power of low-level Druids was often their summoned creatures and animal companions! Of course, there were weirdos who used oak clubs for melee combat, but even those freaks could only obediently wait for judgment in the current situation.

A monument engraved with inscriptions, a black lacquered cast iron gate, two rows of green pines, a low horizon, and walls that made people feel serious and oppressed. A crescent moon had just risen, indicating that it was dusk. After today, more martyrs’ names would be added to that monument.

At this moment, on the other side, the sun had not completely set, but the moon had already risen pale. The evening breeze blew through the withered wilderness, and the surrounding air carried the smell of soil and evaporated withered grass unique to summer. Only the smell of blood in the mountain hollow could not disperse for a long time, even after a day of exposure to the scorching sun and hot monsoon winds.

Shortly after sunset, the western sky was still burning with a patch of orange-red sunset clouds. The sea was also dyed red by this glow, and the scenery was even more spectacular than the sky. The bright red seawater looked as if it were formed by the blood of the martyrs, stinging the eyes a little.

Not long after, the red light disappeared into the dimness, and stars flashed out from between the white clouds that looked like torn cotton. The night began from there.

After settling the wounded and the soldiers, Sir Bart immediately rushed to the City Hall. If it were normal times, the City Hall should have been empty by now.

But today, although the City Hall could not be said to be brightly lit, it still showed lights. Not only George, but also Viscount Bolerum, who had not appeared in the City Hall much these days, was waiting there for news of the extermination of the villains. With the participation of Sir Val, this was truly a case of no small matters in war!

After listening to Sir Bart’s battle report, the room was silent. Finally, Sir Val was the first to open the conversation: “It seems that this time, before getting close to those lurkers, you were discovered by those Druids beforehand. It can be said that you entered an ambush circle preset by the other side. In the dark, bats are the best eyes and ears for those Druids.”

“I am more concerned about why those Druids participated in this action against our Bolerum Territory?” Viscount Bolerum said worriedly.

“Father, regarding this aspect, we should not speculate wildly without any evidence. In three days at the fastest, we will be able to get general information! The number of captives caught this time is quite large; even if the high-level leaders died, we can piece together a rough picture.” George held his old father’s hand and comforted him.

Even if they could figure out what was going on later, the possibility of the enemy forces strengthening was like a shadow hanging over everyone’s heads. Tonight could really be said to be a sleepless night.

The Kingdom of Lucia in the East could be said to be vast. Although it had a large population compared to the Duchy of Nohan, compared to the land they owned, it was sparsely populated. The vast land made their sunrise much earlier than that of the Duchy of Nohan.

On the endless Weatherall Grassland, two armies were gathering. Facing the dark, oppressive ranks of the other side, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Lucia looked a bit at a loss.

“How did these Black Skins appear here? Was there no news at all before?” As the commander of this army, Klaus pointed at the enemies in the distance and cursed at his adjutant.

“The earliest news was that those guys appeared three days ago, so His Majesty hastily transferred us here. Hopefully, we can drive these guys back Underground as soon as possible. But now it is daytime, the strength of those Black Skins should be severely weakened.” The adjutant answered with a shrunk neck.

Due to living Underground for a long time, Dark Elves developed the habit of wearing dark colors, especially black clothes. The Lizard Cavalry put black spider silk robes over their armor, and paired with the black iron armor equipped on their mounts, the combination of rider and mount looked like a patch of fast-moving thin mist. Even the strangely shaped spears equipped by the cavalry were painted black to absorb light.

Viewed from the sky, the Dark Elves’ phalanx was divided into two parts. The Dark Elves holding heavy crossbows and carrying Scimitars at their waists were located at the rear of the phalanx. Their mounts were carnivorous lizards common in the Underdark.

This kind of carnivorous lizard was a mount found only in the Underdark. Its appearance was quite similar to the largest lizard in the real world—the Komodo dragon. It was 15 feet long, with a shoulder height of a full 4 feet. Its mouth was full of sword-like teeth, its tail was long and powerful, its limbs were short and strong, its claws were sharp, and the sticky pads on its feet allowed it to walk flexibly on walls even while carrying a load of 300 pounds.

They were originally improved from Giant Geckos. Giant Geckos were about 8 feet long from nose tip to tail and generally weighed 120 pounds. Their body color could vary greatly, but most were green.

Originally, most of those lizards were docile and would avoid aggressive creatures larger than cats or dogs. Although they were shy, they were ultimately curious creatures. They would sometimes approach larger creatures for simple investigation. Of course, Giant Geckos had enough ability to protect themselves; when they could not escape, the reaction of these lizards was to frantically bite the enemy.

Some humanoid creatures tried to domesticate them as guards. Smaller humanoids, especially Goblins, would use these creatures as mounts, using their superior climbing skills to attack from blind spots.

But after years of Magic and alchemical potions, the Dark Elves, who improved the breed, obtained the results they wanted. These lizards ran as fast as horses at full speed. Even though they were tamed as mounts from childhood, they were essentially extremely fierce carnivorous beasts.

And now, the Lizard Cavalry deployed on the front line by Sogor, although also all riding black mounts and equipped with excellent armor protection, looked like the elite of the elite at a glance. But if one observed carefully, one would find that their mounts were different from their kind behind them. Those were specially trained Blood Lizards.

This kind of lizard generally had a lifespan of only about fifteen years. From zero to five years old, the Swift Lizard was in its youth, and its scales were grass-green. Only after the Swift Lizard passed five years old and shed its scales once would it turn into its all-black adult form. Moreover, the purer and brighter the black of the scales, the stronger the Swift Lizard was.

Due to their ferocious and combative nature, the number of Swift Lizards that could live to adulthood and experience the scale change from green to black was not large, making it difficult to fully meet the needs of the cavalry unit. Of course, this was not the key reason for the scarcity of this kind of cavalry, because in the Underground world, this kind of fierce mount was not as versatile as ordinary carnivorous lizards. They seemed to be prepared specifically for ground combat; being able to have such a large scale showed that the Dark Elves’ action this time had been premeditated for a long time.

Of course, due to the essential physiological differences of the mounts, the combat methods of Human cavalry and Dungeon cavalry were also different.

Human cavalry mainly relied on huge speed and impact force to kill enemies; if they could not charge up, their power would be greatly reduced. The Dungeon’s Lizard Cavalry, on the other hand, could rely on their weapons to kill enemies, and their mounts could also attack enemies with their sharp teeth. Therefore, although the impact force of Lizard Cavalry was not as good as Human Knights, when they lost their momentum and entered positional warfare, they could still exert their strength as usual.

In contrast to the Lizard Cavalry, the Human Knights had bright and shiny armor, which was so shiny under the morning sun. It could even be said to be a bit dazzling. Of course, this blinding light was like a flashbang to the Dark Elves who had evolved infrared vision.

Unfortunately, the Dark Elves were prepared for this; those spider silk robes were special Magic products. They could well isolate the damage caused by Surface light to the Drow.

Now, under the blue sky, the Dark Elves Lizard Cavalry cluster, looking like a large piece of black veil, and the Human cavalry cluster, looking like white silk, were rapidly shortening the distance between each other.

The earth seemed to feel the huge momentum of more than 2,000 cavalry charging at each other, trembling and moaning… Both sides were moving towards each other at extremely fast speeds, and the buffer zone between the two armies was rapidly shrinking.

When they were 100 meters apart, the Human cavalry commander Klaus shouted: “Level your lances, accelerate!”

The one hundred cavalrymen located at the very front of the formation, with the best combat skills and horsemanship, immediately leveled their originally raised lances upon receiving the order. The cold-light-flashing spear tips steadily aimed at the Dark Elves cavalry not far ahead. Even on the bumpy horsebacks, their strong arms were as steady as steel, and the hands holding the lances did not shake at all. Then they steadily controlled the speed and direction of the horses, waiting for the lances to pierce the enemies’ bodies with the help of huge kinetic energy.

Generally speaking, Heavy Cavalry would start charging—leveling their lances and accelerating their mounts to the maximum—when approaching 150 feet from the enemy formation when charging against a stationary infantry position.

Because horses had limited physical strength, Knights could not keep their horses running at maximum speed from beginning to end. Reasonably allocating the physical strength of one’s mount was also a required course for a Heavy Cavalryman. Of course, special mounts had another choice and judgment in this regard.

But the situation Klaus faced now was two cavalry forces charging at high speed, so he had to let his Knights launch the charge in advance; otherwise, the acceleration distance left for him would probably be insufficient.

Under Klaus’s order, even though one thousand Knights had already started the craziest high-speed charge, the entire cavalry formation hardly showed any chaos or disconnection. This extremely remarkable achievement was mainly attributed to the one hundred elite cavalrymen at the very front of the team. With these skilled riders as reference objects, the cavalry behind could also maintain their formation without chaos.

This “Iron Wall Charge” tactic of attacking in a dense formation had huge power, but the requirements were also extremely high. As individual cavalrymen, they must have undergone long and hard training on horseback and possessed superb horsemanship.

As a whole, a cavalry unit needed a long time of training to maintain a dense formation unchanged during high-speed movement. That the Knights temporarily pieced together from the military region under Klaus’s command could achieve this was quite remarkable. It could be seen that they were also well-trained in normal times.

Compared with the dense and neat charging formation of Human Knights, the charging formation of Dark Elves Lizard Cavalry was much more scattered. Or it could be said that they had no set formation at all; they just rushed out in batches after receiving the commander’s order, like waves by the seaside. However, even this tactic sneered at by Human cavalry commanders had its unique advantages and value. The concept of layered defense and stepped impact had its specific value.

After Klaus gave the charge order, almost at the same time, continuous sharp whistles also sounded among the Lizard Cavalry. Humans used horns to launch attacks, while Dark Elves preferred to use whistles for the same function.

The Lizard Cavalrymen who received the order immediately leveled the Spears in their hands. The eyes of these Dark Elves stared dead at the Human counterparts rushing towards them, emitting excited and bloodthirsty light.

Their mounts seemed to be affected by their masters’ emotions as well; their eyes widened, making excited calls eager to bite and eat, and their two thick hind legs stomped the mud more forcefully, wanting to rush up quickly.

Originally, there was only the rumbling sound of mounts trampling the earth. The monotonous battlefield suddenly burst into huge and noisy sounds like boiling water reaching a critical point.

That was the sound of shouting and killing made by Humans and Dark Elves. That was the roar of Swift Lizards, and the neighing of warhorses. That was the sound of weapons piercing into bodies, and armor hitting armor.

These various sounds gathered together, marking the official start of this battle between cavalries.

The Human Knights, who were good at charging operations, immediately gained the upper hand upon contact. Compared with these lizards, Human warhorses were larger in size, superior in weight, and faster in running speed. Therefore, in terms of the kinetic energy produced by the charge, Humans occupied an absolute advantage.

At the same time, the advantage of the formation was undoubtedly revealed at this time. When to use piercing, when to use collision, this was the place to test the level of the commander.

What’s more, the lances used by Human Knights were not only longer than the Spears used by Lizard Cavalry but also more suitable for charging operations.

However, the Spears of the Lizard Cavalry had long and wide blades and sharp sawteeth all over the blade. Although this kind of weapon could also be used for charging, it was more suitable for slashing enemies in melee combat. If a creature without heavy armor protection was slashed by this kind of Spear, a large piece of skin and flesh would probably be torn off, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

Due to these reasons, Human Knights occupied an absolute advantage in the head-on collision of the two cavalries. The elite cavalrymen in the front row formed a wave of steel, violently slapping into the Lizard Cavalry cluster that was like loose sand.

The black iron Chainmail equipped by the Dark Elves cavalry was by no means an inferior product. Compared with the iron Chainmail forged by Humans, it had better protection and was lighter in weight. But these excellent protective equipment were as fragile as butter meeting a hot iron when facing the lance tips of Human Knights. In fact, at this time, a thick Breastplate was much more effective than this kind of light Chainmail, but even after so long, these Black Skins just never learned their lesson.

Even though Sogor placed his most elite Lizard Cavalry on the front line, it was still difficult to resist the Human charge. One had to know that fully charged Human Heavy Cavalry, even existences as strong as Dragons, would not dare to shake their edge lightly.

But as long as there was a sufficient numerical advantage, as long as the thickness of the front line was sufficient, then it was possible to withstand the first wave, which was also the most terrible wave of the Human cavalry’s offensive. After that, they could drag them into the quagmire of positional warfare that they were least good at, and then the Dark Elves could squeeze the blood of these hateful Humans and chew their bones and flesh.

The Dark Elves commander Sogor achieved his goal. The Lizard Cavalry finally succeeded in slowing down the charge speed of the Human Knights and did not pierce through the entire front line. Then, the Lizard Cavalry began to quickly outflank from the two wings. At the same time, the reinforcements of both sides also launched their charges.

The real battle was now about to begin.