If Unas had surrendered, future battle reports would have stated. "On such and such a day, under the leadership of Sir Thomas Thompson, the Monastery achieved a victory over the Rot Hide Gnolls," even if the main force of the battle consisted entirely of Unas's men.
Would Unas yield? The answer is definitely no. Thomas may have a higher rank, but using such crude methods to steal credit is incredibly disrespectful. If Unas tolerated this, how could he ever hold his head high again?
He interrupted the other party's incessant chatter, "Sir Thomas, don't rush to formulate a battle plan. You've come all the way from the Monastery; you must be exhausted. Why don't you rest for a while?"
"What do you mean by this, Lieutenant Unas?" Thomas emphasized the word "lieutenant." "The situation is urgent, there's no time for rest! Quickly move your troops according to my orders!"
"You've only just arrived here, so you're probably not familiar with the enemy's formation yet. How about I show you around first?"
"The enemy's formation is clear at a glance..."
Unas ignored his answer and shouted, "Miss Mati, please take us for a spin in the air!"
"No problem, Knight Unas."
The Blue Dragon was resting not far from the two, but because it was lying prone on the ground and surrounded by giants, it was not discovered by the newcomers. Its sudden appearance at this time was a huge shock to the unsuspecting. Thomas and his soldiers exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
Unas walked over and jumped onto the dragon's back, beckoning to Thomas, who was still in a daze, "My lord, come on up quickly, we can see the enemy's formation much better from the air."
"Dragonflight! This giant dragon is...?" Thomas's tone was filled with disbelief.
"My friend has come especially to help us," Unas boasted, urging, "My lord, please come up quickly, the battle is urgent!"
Thomas hesitated, his feet rooted to the spot. He could sense the young man's deep malice and regretted his impulsive greed for power and credit. This young man had surprised him far too much. If the appearance of giants and Dwarves was normal, then the dragon was truly unacceptable.
"Does the adult have a fear of heights? Or perhaps 'dinosaur phobia'?"
This blatant mockery instantly ignited Thomas's anger, but he didn't want to lose face in front of so many people. He thought to himself, "Fine! I don't believe you can really do anything to me!" He strode forward and climbed onto the dragon's back in a few quick movements.
"Hold on tight, sir," Unas said immediately, glancing at the bald, burly man clinging to him. "Miss Mati, let's take off!"
The dragon's back had many upright scales that served as handles, so it wasn't difficult to steady himself. Thomas quickly overcame his fear, secretly marveling at the immense power of the behemoth beneath him, while looking down at the enemy army on the ground—the view from the air was indeed exceptionally clear.
Unas couldn't really do anything to Thomas, but he could certainly give him a hard time. After circling over Balnir Farmstead a few times, he secretly instructed the Blue Dragon to swoop down into a dense forest next to the farm.
Thomas immediately sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's the dragon doing there?"
"That dense forest is a good place to hide a surprise attack; we should check it carefully," Unas casually remarked.
As the Blue Dragon descended, almost brushing against the treetops, Unas felt the time was right. He immediately signaled the Blue Dragon to turn to the side, and at the same time, he kicked Thomas hard in the shoulder armor.
The bald Paladin never expected the young man to actually attack him. He was thrown off balance by the Blue Dragon that suddenly flew to the side, and then took a heavy kick to the shoulder. His hands slipped and he was sent flying.
He immediately activated his Wings of Vengeance, somersaulted in the air, steadied himself, and flapped his wings to chase after the dragon's back.
Unas hadn't expected his opponent to use the Light Wings spell, and quickly told the Blue Dragon, "Don't let him fly back!"
Without asking why she was treating her comrade this way, Mati'gosa immediately raised her long tail and with a loud "smack," the tip of her tail struck the bullseye. Thomas screamed in pain as he was whipped and fell straight down, crashing into the dense forest and disappearing from sight.
Is he an enemy?
"Not a real enemy, but still a nuisance. Let's go back and deal with the real enemy forces."
Since Thomas knows the Wings of Vengeance, he must be a relatively high-level Paladin. He's tough and resilient, so this injury shouldn't be fatal. Let him calm down in the forest.
The man and the dragon quickly returned to the front of the army, where Thomas's men immediately came forward to question them, "What happened? Where is Lord Thomas?"
The dense forest was far away, and the events unfolded so quickly that they only saw a flash of golden light and faintly heard a sound; they had no idea what had happened.
Unas fabricated a story. "There are traces of enemies in the dense forest. Lord Thomas has gone to pursue them. You'd better go and take a look; perhaps you can help him."
The other party snorted coldly, clearly not believing the flawed lie, but knowing that further words were useless, he turned and hurriedly led Thomas's troops towards the dense forest without looking back.
After getting rid of these annoying guys, Unas immediately launched a general offensive. He did not adopt Thomas's encirclement tactic, which was only used when the military strength far exceeded the enemy and the goal was to annihilate them. He felt that was not safe enough, so he decided to concentrate all his forces to attack from one direction and confront them head-on in a conventional manner.
Molten Giants were at the forefront; they were the best tanks, and the Rot Hide Gnolls had no way to deal with them.
Next came the Iron Golems, who served as mid-to-close range damage dealers and secondary tanks. Then came the combined forces of humans and Dwarves, the true main force for killing the enemy. Giants and golems, after all, were fewer in number and slower. They were fine for positional warfare, but once the enemy changed tactics and engaged in hit-and-run tactics, they were no match for the giants.
Forced into a life-or-death situation, Thule also issued a do-or-die order to hold out. As long as they could hold out for a while and wait for the enemy's morale to collapse, either a defensive counterattack or a conservative retreat would be a good option.
With a deafening roar, the battle began. The Molten Giant easily swept away the rudimentary defenses built by the Undead, and led by Bael'Gar, it surged forward like a burning fortress, quickly creating a breach in the Gnolls ' lines.
The Rot Hide Gnolls are like mice before an elephant when facing the Molten Giant; even ten times their numbers cannot make up for it—this is an absolute difference in individual strength.
However, the Undead, devoid of fear, still bravely threw themselves into the giants' fists and feet, delaying and restraining them at the cost of being shattered to the bone, thus minimizing the giants' advance.
This couldn't go on. Too many ants can kill an elephant. Unas immediately led the dwarf alliance around the giants and golems in front and fiercely attacked the enemy's left flank, thus beginning a great melee.