Beastfolk Tongues Everywhere
Bathed in the autumn wind, under Hudson's command, the expeditionary force formed ranks on the main road, awaiting the arrival of the Beastfolk army.
This isn't the only route the Beastfolk rescue transport teams take, but it's the easiest one to travel. Taking a detour would add thirty miles to the journey, and the road would be even more winding and circuitous.
The central infantry numbered 10,000, the two flanks each had 5,000 infantry, and there were also 4,000 cavalry patrolling outside the flanks, for a total of 24,000 men.
The army, clad in armor and with red turbans tied around their heads, resembled a fiery red maple forest in autumn, bathed in sunlight.
A loud and urgent horn sounded, Beastfolk army appeared on the horizon, a vast expanse of black like a pine forest, but its formation appeared far more chaotic.
Judging by their formation alone, they don't look like elite troops.
However, the bear-men army in the center of the army still caught Hudson's attention. Although their steps were a little disordered, the big men wearing armor were clearly not to be trifled with.
Compared to the bear-men soldiers who were generally 2.3 or 2.4 meters tall and weighed 400 pounds, the expeditionary soldiers, whose average height was less than 1.7 meters, were truly a contrast between wild beasts and...
It's confirmed: this is the number one Heavy Infantry on the continent. With this physique and weight, if it's not the number one on the continent, then we'd have to replace it with giants.
However, the Giants have long since withdrawn from the continental stage, and the number of giants remaining is extremely limited, so they can only live in a small corner of the world.
Two vastly different armies met on the plains. Suddenly, drums and horns sounded, and banners fluttered in the wind.
"Attack!"
At Hudson's command, the cavalrymen who were patrolling outside were the first to move out and head towards the Beastfolk cannon fodder legion.
The infantrymen marched forward in orderly steps, advancing like a mountain wall, shouting "Kill!" every three steps, advancing calmly and unhurriedly.
Upon seeing this, Commander Bruno's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
The bear-people's physique dictates that they are natural-born infantrymen. As for cavalry, it's best not to put them through that difficult a task.
With their size and armored stomachs, they could easily weigh over 500 pounds, which their fragile warhorses could not withstand.
Perhaps elephants are more suitable for them. In the era when Beastfolk dominated the continent, the bear-men had a renowned elephant army.
Unfortunately, with the decline of the Beastfolk hegemony, the bear-men's Elephant Cavalry also disappeared, and even their domesticated elephant herds were wiped out by the humans.
From then on, cavalry became a weakness for the Bearmen, who could only focus on developing infantry.
As Bruno's army knew, the Imperial Court had secretly formed a new cavalry corps, but it was not yet large enough to be deployed in the war.
"All troops, attack!"
Ignoring the enemy cavalry was Bruno's final choice.
In the history of the Bear-people, their army was only broken through once by the Behemoth Cavalry, so the human cavalry was clearly not up to the task.
As for the two cannon fodder legions, if they could hold off the human race's elite cavalry, then they had fulfilled their respective missions.
The mournful sound of bull horns shook the earth. The expeditionary cavalry, rushing towards the orc army, suddenly turned and abandoned their main force as they approached the Beastfolk army's camp, heading straight for the rear of the Beastfolk army.
A pincer attack?
Bruno immediately realized something was wrong. The human cavalry did not attack them; instead, they galloped towards the imperial camp.
"Oops!"
Realizing this, Bruno's face immediately darkened. What use would it be to defeat this elite human force if they lost the Imperial Court camp?
"Send the order out to the eaglemen to scout and see if the human army in the nearby fortresses has already mobilized!"
In the blink of an eye, the two armies collided like a tidal wave, as if thunder had echoed through the valley, or as a vast expanse of raging waves had crashed against the mountains.
Longswords and scimitars clashed and danced, spears and javelins whistled and flew, and a dense rain of arrows swept across the land like locusts, the dull shouts of battle and short roars made the mountains and rivers tremble.
Two elite armies engaged in a fierce battle on the plains.
When iron men clashed, death was swift and deadly. Ferocious faces, bloodstained swords, low howls, and billowing dust enveloped the entire plain, shrouding it in the brutal atmosphere of this primal battle...
Seeing his troops suffer losses in this bloody clash, Hudson immediately ordered, "Everyone, shout with me: Charge straight for the Bearman Imperial Court and capture the Bearman Emperor alive!"
"Straight to the Bearman Imperial Court and capture the Bearman Emperor alive!"
"Straight to the Bearman Imperial Court and capture the Bearman Emperor alive!"
The overwhelming shouts were actually spoken in the Bear Tribe's language. Although the pronunciation wasn't perfect, it was enough for all the Bear Clan soldiers to understand.
The earth-shattering shouts sent a shiver down the spines of the bear-men soldiers engaged in battle.
The human cavalry has vanished!
The shock in his heart was reflected on the battlefield, and his steps inevitably slowed down.
On the battlefield, it's all about that burst of fighting spirit; once that spirit is gone, it's hard to get it back up.
While a complete rout was not inevitable, the opportunity to defeat the expeditionary force in one fell swoop was lost.
The two sides clashed fiercely, but Bruno, as the commander-in-chief, was suffering greatly in his heart.
With the battlefield on one side and the imperial court on the other, it was truly a difficult choice.
At this moment, the two legion commanders had arrived in front of Bruno, Nonandes took the initiative to bring up the topic:
"General Bruno, the enemy deliberately lured us out; they are clearly after the Imperial Court."
They are trying to keep us here and launch a surprise attack while the imperial court is vulnerable.
Perhaps by now, the human army in the vicinity has already emerged from the fortress and launched an attack on the imperial court!
"Commander Nonandes, I have sent out eaglemen to scout ahead, and news will be back soon."
Despite saying that, deep down, Bruno didn't believe that the humans would give up this good opportunity.
There was an ordinary legion stationed in the imperial court, along with many experts. He wasn't too worried about the garrisons in the nearby human fortresses.
But now, with the addition of four thousand elite cavalry, everything has changed. It's clear this was a deliberate move by the humans.
Since they had prepared in advance, gathering a group of human experts to take advantage of the situation and attack the Bearman Emperor, it's not surprising.
Having deduced the human race's conspiracy, Bruno became increasingly troubled.
The two sides are now locked in a fierce battle, unable to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, and it is clear that no victor can be determined in the short term.
Once the order to retreat is given, the human army will inevitably follow closely behind. If not handled carefully, the retreat could turn into a major rout.
"General Bruno, the safety of the Imperial Court is of utmost importance. While there is still time, you must quickly lead your troops back to the Imperial Court's aid!"
As for this enemy force in front of us, we can handle them. Even if we can't defeat them, we can at least hold them off.
Commander Bogus volunteered to cover the rear.
Although he was the commander of a ragtag army, he was also of bear-man race origin. In times of crisis, his first consideration was still the interests of the bear-man race.
The fall of the imperial court resulted not only in the loss of the 10,000 garrison troops in the main camp, but also in the loss of a number of high-ranking members of the royal family within the camp.
Even if all the high-ranking officials escape successfully, the political catastrophe will still severely damage the Bearman race.
This is far more serious than losing a main force legion before.
"Report!"
Before Bruno could make a decision, the Eagleman who had gone out brought news.
"During our reconnaissance, we discovered a large human army in the southeast direction, moving towards the Royal Court."
Judging from the size of the marching troops, there were no fewer than 20,000 men.
It is currently unknown which specific unit it is.
Just as Bruno was about to speak, another eagle-man soldier descended from the sky.
"Report!"
"The garrison of Landry Fortress has emerged, and their target appears to be our imperial court; the long line stretches for several miles..."
The final straw broke the camel's back, and Bruno, without further delay, immediately gave the order:
"The order has been given: sound the retreat! The Bearman Legion, follow me back to rescue the Imperial Court!"
Commander Bogus and Commander Nonandes, you are in charge of leading your men to block the enemy.
"No matter what, we must hold the enemy off for at least two hours and prevent them from joining the siege of the Imperial Court!"
As the bugle sounded to signal the end of the battle, the bear-men soldiers, who were engaged in fierce fighting, abandoned their opponents and attempted to leave the battlefield.
Having finally found an opportunity, Hudson was not about to hesitate. He immediately ordered, "The Beastfolk have been defeated; we can't let them escape!"
Whether anyone believed it or not, the guards around him started shouting, and then all the soldiers joined in.
This time it wasn't the language of the Bearmen, but the most widely spoken common language in the Orc Empire.
Hudson didn't know how many people would understand him. Anyway, there was no harm in shouting a few times; with so many Beastfolk, there were bound to be a few fools, and he'd take it one chance at a time.
He spent almost half a month promoting these few words in the army before all the soldiers remembered them.
As it turns out, there are quite a few fools these days.
Hearing the shouts and seeing the bear-men soldiers retreating, the two Orc Legion originally responsible for covering the rear were thrown into chaos first.
"Go back now! The humans are lying to you, you bunch of fools!"
"The Supervision Team will be killed; anyone who retreats without authorization will be executed immediately!"
The two legion commanders responsible for covering the rear shouted enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, the Supervision Team was able to kill a few deserters, but they couldn't stop the army from falling into chaos.
The Bearman Legion was the first to be affected, as its allies scattered in disarray, with many breaking into their ranks.
The original rear guard, which was then converted into the vanguard, retreated in an orderly manner, but was thrown into complete chaos by the attack from their allies.
Although the bear-men soldiers were well-trained, not all of them were bright. They were fine when moving with the main army, but once chaos ensued, they all became clueless.
Upon seeing this, Bruno, as the team's captain, was furious.
Unfortunately, the chaotic army, like headless flies, began to run around aimlessly.
Officers couldn't find soldiers, and soldiers couldn't find their direct officers; everyone was acting on instinct.
A bad teammate is someone you really can't carry.
The retreat turned into a rout. Had he known this would happen, he wouldn't have let those two cannon fodder legions participate in the battle.
It's all due to experience. In the past, the Bearman Legion was the core, with the Cannon Fodder Legion acting as its wings. Once the enemy's formation was broken, a massacre could be launched immediately.
That was indeed the case during the early stages of the battle. The two legions moved together with the bear-man army, holding back the human armies on both flanks.
The only difference was that they failed to break through the expeditionary force's formation immediately, thus preventing the war from reaching a stalemate.
When the commander-in-chief ordered a retreat, the teammates' talent for sabotaging each other reached its peak without any instruction.
The Bear Tribe Legion, the continent's premier Heavy Infantry, was not defeated by the enemy; instead, they were worn down by their own teammates.
After the Bearman Legion broke free from their entanglement with the humans, Bruno was furious to see that only a little over six thousand men remained.
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In the midst of the chaos, rescuing one's own elite troops is not only a matter of whether the human soldiers would agree, but more importantly, there is no time to spare!
The intelligence we received indicated that tens of thousands of human troops were heading straight for the imperial court, and the number of undetected enemies was still unknown.
If we linger here for too long, what will happen to our hometown?
Bruno glanced at the chaotic battlefield, gritted his teeth, and resolutely ordered, "Go!"
With chaotic armies everywhere, even if he were to bring the Bearman Legion into the battle again, it would be difficult to reverse the dire situation.
Staying behind to fight to the death will only result in mutual destruction at best.
Seeing that the bear-man had fallen for the trick, Hudson secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This war is a gamble on the judgment of the opposing commander. If the opposing general stays behind to fight to the death regardless of the consequences, it will be the expeditionary force that runs away.
To stage this grand spectacle, he mobilized all the human garrison troops in the vicinity.
The army's movement towards the Beastfolk Royal Court is indeed true. However, besieging the Beastfolk Royal Court is not part of the agreement.
It wasn't that Hudson's plan was flawed; it was simply that no one expected it to go so smoothly.
Originally, he thought that by mobilizing the main force of the bearmen to return to reinforce and taking the opportunity to wipe out some of the Beastfolk grunts, he could add a brilliant achievement of defeating the Bearman Legion to his resume and show off.
Unexpectedly, the enemy was so arrogant, believing they had a 100% chance of winning from the start. In order to reduce the losses of their main force, they even sent out cannon fodder troops.
Even more unexpectedly, the two Beastfolk cannon fodder legions were so helpful, directly maxing out their skills to sabotage their teammates at the crucial moment when the Bearman Legion was retreating.
The fake stats he wanted to show off suddenly became real, leaving Hudson's head buzzing.
Looking at the Bearman Legion, which had suffered heavy losses and left the battlefield, Hudson suddenly realized that he seemed to have gone too far.
A new idea suddenly popped into his mind: should he press his advantage and annihilate the Bearman Imperial Court?
Once a thought arises, it can never be shaken off.
The fighter jets did indeed appear, and the main force closest to the Bearman Imperial Court was already severely weakened.
It was only thanks to the blessing of the Beast God that these two cannon fodder legions were able to evacuate a third of their soldiers on the battlefield.
At this moment, the number of troops remaining at the Bearman Imperial Court Royal Court is definitely no more than two cannon fodder legions. Judging from the tense appearance of the enemy commander, the number of troops left behind might be even smaller.
If the human armies from all four directions were to unite and launch a joint siege, it might not be impossible to take down the Bearman Imperial Court before the reinforcements from the four royal courts arrive.