Cavalry, Surprise

The elven archery squadron, fully assembled and ready, marched into the battlefield.

It crashed in like a wave.

Powerful spells swept overhead, crashing into the sturdy city walls. The two mage legions used the sky as their battlefield, with elemental ripples surging, sparks flying, and lightning crackling. Amidst the continuous explosions and flashes, the elven archers remained unfazed, advancing steadily.

The ragtag crowd on the city walls had barely managed to get ready.

Seeing this, fear spread rapidly—if the mages could withstand the terrible spells, who would defend against the impending rain of elven arrows?

"Raise your shields! Raise your shields!"

The veterans ran back and forth, their pressure only increasing. The morale of these militiamen had been completely shattered; a large-scale rout or even a mutiny might occur in moments. They could only repeat words they themselves didn't quite believe, "The city walls are the safest place! If you turn and run now, you'll be shot dead by arrows! You'll be killed by the supervising officers! Even your families will be implicated! So, you can't run!"

"Hold on! Hold on! Once reinforcements arrive, you can withdraw from the walls! You don't need to fight; just stay here, hold your shields, and don't get shot! Hold your shields tight!"

The roars of these soldiers echoed from the city walls.

Hong San was bandaging the wounds of the militiamen, one after another, and he looked at the faces of the corpses one by one, calling out their names. His condition was very strange.

Below the city, the elven army was attacking. Elven arrow formations would coordinate with the mage legions for a second round of ranged attacks, while the third wave of elven forces was undoubtedly on its way. An even more terrifying bloodbath was yet to come.

The people on the city walls were just a bunch of bewildered rabble.

Hong San, the only one I can trust, is now also in this erratic state.

Kang De stood on the city wall, feeling the wind rushing towards him. The wind carried the scent of blood and death. Dazzling magical light bursts continuously in the sky above the city, and beams of death intertwined in the air. He could also hear the low sobs of his own soldiers. This was war, where life withered away like grass.

Now, he is all alone.

Hong San suddenly jumped up like a madman, grabbed the scarred old soldier, pressed him against the wall, and roared in a low voice, like a wolf king who had lost many of his people.

"Where are the archers? Where are the projectile units in the city? Where are the city garrison? Why aren't they here!"

He asked the question with a ferocious expression.

The scarred veteran stared at him coldly, his tone icy as he said, "I don't know."

Hong San flew into a rage, raising his hand to strike, but the other man showed no fear, calmly saying, "You know better than I how many people will die from this strike."

Why did Kang De come to Hong San's side?

Hong San turned to look at him, his eyes bloodshot, and said sharply, "These are them..."

Before the words were finished, someone on the city wall shouted, "Raise your shields!"

A low hum came from below the city walls, the sound of hundreds of bows vibrating together. Kang De looked back and saw a dark cloud rising outside the city, rushing towards the city walls like a swarm of locusts!

He Hong San and led him behind the wall, raising his large shield for protection. The scarred old soldier also raised his shield and bent down to hide in another section. A sturdy shield was erected on the city wall, like fish scales pieced together. Everyone hid under the shield, some looking at each other, some sobbing softly, and most just waiting blankly.

A few breaths later, the rain began to fall like a waterfall.

Kang De felt his left hand, which was supporting the shield, suddenly sink. With a series of muffled thuds, a dense force of impact pressed down. He focused his mind on controlling the Element, outlining the pattern of an iron wall of protection. He felt the shield making a thumping sound, and the elven arrows seemed endless—damn it, they can even fire in segments!

Kang De looked towards the city wall, where screams were already ringing out.

The elven bows were powerful and the arrows were sharp. In this round, some people's shields were always knocked off course, and then they were hit by arrows. Some even had their shields shattered by the continuous rain of arrows, becoming sitting ducks. Feeling a sense of shared fate, the others huddled under their shields, trembling and not daring to move.

In war, the bow and arrow is actually a deterrent weapon.

Under this onslaught, everyone could only hold up their shields and endure the onslaught, not daring to move an inch. The constant impacts on their shields increased their psychological pressure and fear of the unknown.

But people could only passively take the beatings.

This applies to militia members, and also to experienced veterans.

The same applies to Kang De.

That's fucking amazing.

Kang De held up his shield, bracing against the attacks. His shield was enhanced by Element, making it far more sturdy than others', so the pressure wasn't too great, but he still had to crouch there and passively take the hits.

Having been bombarded with spells before, I could only crouch and defend myself. This time, with the rain of arrows suppressing me, I still have to raise my shield and get shot. My feeling about my first war is... frustrating.

Even though he had already experienced two massacres, fighting and war are two different things.

In this war, he was just a small individual. The elven forces launched surprise attacks, wave after wave, determined to take Valentan in one fell swoop and destroy all resistance in the city with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves—they didn't even know there was a man named Kang De in the city.

They didn't care.

But that's war.

Even if you're mentally prepared for it, you only truly understand what it's like when you actually face it.

The scarred old soldier roared, "You green-skinned parade spirit! Giving me a massage!"

It's about finding joy in hardship, but it can also stir up emotions.

The veterans burst into laughter, spewing profanities.

Kang De also cursed, "These pointy-eared bastards, remember this! This isn't over today, I'll make them pay! They'll have their turn to cry!"

He hardened his heart, thinking, "Damn it, if all else fails, I'll just go back to Earth and cause a big mess!"

Upon hearing this, the scarred veteran laughed heartily and said, "Yes, that's the right way to think. Right now, the elves are attacking us, but sooner or later, it will be our turn to attack them!"

Kang De snarled, "It won't be long! Damn it, even my mother never hit me like this!"

The scarred veteran laughed even harder, "Not far? Kid, you've got a big mouth. If you can really make the elves cry, I'd love to go with you and see for myself. You..."

The next moment, Kang De saw the old soldier who was talking and laughing with him while holding up his shield suddenly shudder. The shield exploded with intense flames, and then the shield shattered. A stream of fire swept across, and scorching metal fragments and sharp blades engulfed half of the scarred old soldier's body, throwing him away.

Someone shouted, "Captain!"

Kang De was stunned at first, then instinctively ran towards him. The scarred old soldier seemed to sense something, and with his last bit of strength, he turned his head to look at him, half of his face already a bloody mess.

He tried his best to say, "Don't... don't move..."

The next moment, several arrows flew down from the sky and struck his body.

Kang De's pupils contracted.

One of them froze the other's body, creating a layer of frost.

It's an enchanted arrow.

The Elven Archers used enchanted arrows—and these were randomly mixed in with the regular arrows!

Soon, the city wall defenders also discovered this. Their issued shields could block most of the elves' arrows, but many enchanted arrows were not! Fear increased several times over, because no one knew whether the next arrow would be a powerful enchanted one!

"Hold!"

Kang De grabbed Hong San and shouted, "This battle is unwinnable!"

Hong San turned his head and stared blankly at Kang De, seemingly not understanding what he meant.

"... Damn it, aren't you so afraid of dying?!" Meeting his gaze, Kang De felt embarrassed and furious. He muttered, "If we can't hold out, we'll run! As long as we're alive, we can always fight again. Let's run now, and then we'll slaughter the entire elf family later—you know, I'm good at that!"

Hong San stared at him intently, then suddenly said, "Sir, help me avenge myself too."

Kang De slapped him hard across the face. "You dare to challenge me?!"

He sputtered, "I'm not fucking trying to avenge you! Why am I the one talking to you about this? You're so good at talking, aren't you? If you don't run now, are you just waiting to die?"

Hong San took the slap, but neither dodged nor cried out in pain.

He glanced at the militiamen who were struggling and even wailing under their shields, and said softly, "Sir, during the Glittering Sand, did you ever abandon your comrades and flee for your life alone?"

Kang De said, "Of course not."

Hong San said, "I won't either... If they don't leave, I won't leave."

I think you've gone mad!

Kang De grabbed his collar and hissed, "These people are nothing like the knights! They only acknowledge you as their leader because they want you to protect them. If you can't, they'll disown you, just like this morning! Where the hell is your sense of responsibility and compassion? You have absolutely no obligation to protect them!"

Hong San brushed Kang De's hand away and said softly, "It's the same thing."

He was about to say something when he suddenly heard a dull thud across the sky. Looking up, he saw heavy boulders flying out of the city and hurtling towards the elven army.

A glint flashed in the eyes of the Cathayan: "The war sorcerers have begun to retaliate!"

Huge projectiles flew from the city walls and throughout the city, raining down on the elven arrow barrage.

Some projectiles scattered large, fist-sized stone spheres, while others were mixed with magical light. All kinds of ammunition seemed to have an end. Elven archers outside the city opened fire, and the mage legion also joined in the interception. However, the offensive of the war machines still disrupted the rhythm of the elven arrow formation's attack, turning the tide somewhat.

Hong San raised his shield and looked outside, speaking rapidly, "The elves launched a surprise attack, with mages accompanying cavalry in a lightly armed assault, deploying spellcasting arrays and unleashing magical attacks. Then, the army's archers arrived quickly on supply wagons for a second wave of attacks. The infantry should arrive in a third wave, so the elves' war machines should be far behind, at least not today..."

Kang De asked, "So?"

Hong San replied, "So it depends on how much preparation Mayor Nick has made for this war. The key to defending the city today lies in the war machines within the city; this is our only advantage, especially after the arrival of the elven infantry... War machines pose the greatest threat to infantry formations!"

Kang De said thoughtfully, "So the elves probably want to test the strength and number of war machines in the city this round. In that case, the enemy's mage legion will have to change its target."

As expected, the elven archers maintained their arrow suppression on the city walls, but the bombardment spells gradually ceased. Experienced spellcasters determined the approximate location of the war machines within the city by observing the trajectory of the projectiles. Immediately, a dazzling light flashed, and a deadly stream of magical light streaked across the sky.

The city's mage corps also responded immediately, repelling the elves' attack.

But that's all they can do.

The spellcasters were outnumbered and outmatched by the enemy, leaving them with no initiative and only the option of passive interception and defense. Since they were already exhausted from defending against the enemy's attacks, how could they possibly launch a counterattack?

--But the firepower removal and interception defense surrounding the war machines were a fierce confrontation where mages exhausted all means, and had nothing to do with the vast majority of people, who could only stare blankly at the fireworks.

The western wall suffered the worst; they couldn't even watch the fireworks and could only shiver under the rain of arrows. Kang De and Hong San were the bravest, shielding themselves from arrows while observing the battle.

Hong San glanced outside a few times and sighed, "The enemy's projectile forces have entered the battlefield first, while the infantry are probably rushing behind. The elves actually dared to deploy their archer units directly outside the city to launch an attack. Logically speaking, this is the most foolish tactic. A single cavalry unit could easily crush these archers if they charged out of the city... But the elves are just too strong, to the point that conventional tactics are meaningless."

"The mage legion still has spare capacity, and the cavalry protecting the mages is ready to go, not to mention these archers, the elite Dragonfang Army archer regiment. With the third-rate cavalry cobbled together from the city, even if they launch a surprise attack, half of them will probably be shot down halfway by the elven archers, and then the other half will be cut down with two-handed swords..."

"Elves... are just too powerful."

His tone betrayed a sense of despair. "This battle... there is no hope."

Kang De said, "So keep going... There will be hope in the future, believe me."

Hong San calmly said, "Of course I believe you, but for someone like me, whether I flee or not makes no difference. It's you who shouldn't have gotten involved in this war; you got in far too early..."

Then he heard Kang De say, "Wait a minute, this..."

Hong San continued, "I know you're going to scold me, but... but I don't know why... it's just... sigh, I don't know how to say it."

Kang De said, "... Wait a moment."

Hong San sighed, "You don't need to persuade me anymore. I'm hopeless, I..."

"Hello!"

Kang De's punch snapped him out of his self-pity. Pointing outside the city, he asked Hong San, "I just wanted to say, while the elves are indeed very strong, isn't this a bit excessive?"

Hong San peered out and saw dust rising everywhere. A portion of the cavalry guarding the mage had already spurred their reins and were galloping wildly toward the city wall.

Kang De wondered, "It's one thing for their archers to be able to take down third-rate cavalry—but could their cavalry really jump right onto the city walls?"

Hong San's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

He shouted, "Oh no! The third wave of attack isn't infantry... it's cavalry!"

Kang De wanted to ask more questions, but the next moment, he understood. As the elven cavalry approached with a roar, the elven mage group immediately stopped bombarding the war machines in the city. They cast spells in unison, and a yellowish-brown light rose from the formation, falling like a rain of light onto the open space in front of the city wall!

The mages of Valentan also demonstrated their decisiveness and responsiveness, quickly unleashing intercept and dispel spells, but the elven mage force was stronger than the humans!

Many orbs of light broke through the blockade and fell into the earth. Then, the ground churned, turned, and reshaped itself. Mounds of earth rose up from the ground and extended towards the city wall, flat and thick enough for cavalry to drive through!

The mages in the city frantically unleashed dispelling spells, breaking the momentum of the spreading earthen ramps. But the next moment, the elven mages launched a massive attack, showering powerful spells upon the city wall defenders, war machines, and even the city's buildings, throwing the defending mage army into chaos!

In a section of the city wall that the monks had no time to attend to, an earthen slope extended up and onto the city wall.

The elven cavalry charged swiftly up the earthen slope.

War is primarily a magical contest. The side with the stronger mage force can suppress the other, while for the army of the weaker side, the gap in spellcasting power must be bridged with the lives of its soldiers.

The tall war deer leaped up nimbly and charged up the earthen slope.

The highly skilled cavalrymen followed closely behind.

The veterans shouted themselves hoarse, urging the soldiers to raise their spears, but the elves' surprise attacks always caught them off guard. How could the rabble, whose morale had been completely shattered by two rounds of ranged attacks, possibly face a stronger and more intimidating cavalry? Fear had spread.

The veterans roared and cursed, finally kicking the militiamen aside. They then gathered together, shouting and standing shoulder to shoulder, gripping their rifles, their eyes blazing with madness, ready for battle.

But they already knew their fate.

The elves, about to charge forward, also witnessed the outcome.

Because half of the archer soldiers had already thrown away their bows and quivers, drawn their two-handed greatswords, and were charging wildly toward the earthen mound, once the cavalry charged onto the city wall, crushing the defenders and gaining a foothold, the archer soldiers following behind could take the opportunity to expand their victory, and even the mages would have to come up.

Once the elven spellcasters climbed onto the wall... it was all over.

The veterans roared and screamed.

The lead elven cavalryman, spear in hand, wore a cruel smile; he was about to charge over the wall and achieve the greatest feat in this siege.

But the next moment, he saw a human appear on the city wall, facing him.

Humans are small and foolish, yet sometimes courageous... but pure courage is meaningless.

He raised his spear, intending to pierce the other's body in one fell swoop, but saw a chilling golden light gleaming in the black-haired human's left eye.

The man reached out and pressed down on the earthen slope that had risen and extended from the magic.

The next moment, the cavalryman suddenly felt a sinking sensation beneath him, and his mount lost its footing, plummeting towards the city walls.

In an instant, the short earthen slope collapsed into nothingness, and the cavalrymen on it fell one after another, tumbling, kneeling, their cries and screams echoing through the air. They collided with the cavalrymen behind them who were unable to stop in time, and a huge traffic accident occurred.

Hong San carried a large box out of the tower. Kang De opened it, pulled out two gas cylinders, and hurled them at the cavalry below. Then he drew his two pistols from his waist.

Mages launched surprise attacks, arrow corps swarmed, cavalry charged, the strength of enemy resistance was assessed, the combat power of enemy spellcasters was determined, and the number of war machines was ascertained. Taking advantage of the situation, employing tactical deception, and advancing layer by layer, everything that happened in this siege was within the elves' calculations and deductions, without the slightest surprise.

Even now.

Kang De pulled the trigger.

Explosion, flames, impact, blood and flesh flying everywhere.

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PS1: Two chapters combined into one, 5,000 words. Goodnight.