A Great Victory of Strategic Significance

Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred. Hudson's name is well-known in the Orc Empire, and he has dominated the bounty list for days.

Even though he kept to himself and rarely went out, he still attracted several waves of assassins. Perhaps to attract more assassins, or perhaps due to an intelligence error, the Earth Bear was omitted from the list of names.

The result was that a bunch of clueless killers rushed in, and before they even understood what was going on, they were dragged out by the Young Bear and used as toys.

In fact, the success rate of assassinating enemy generals was always extremely low. Assassins never even had a chance to get close to cautious rulers like Hudson, who moved freely with large armies.

An assassination attempt can only succeed if the assassin infiltrates the commander's inner circle or launches a sneak attack when the commander is away alone.

The Alpha Kingdom had already learned its lesson with similar tactics. Lord Hudson now only has his own trusted guards by his side; there isn't even a single maidservant, let alone allowing Beastfolk to infiltrate.

"Your Highness, the human cavalry has arrived. It seems that bastard Hudson is leading them. Tell me to take the troops out and teach them a lesson!"

Gregg stepped forward and volunteered.

His bloodshot Behemoth eyes revealed a deep-seated hatred for Hudson.

"Alright, you'll lead the troops into battle from here on out. Pass down the order: open the camp gates and launch a full-scale attack!"

Prince Butzwig gave the order with a solemn expression.

The word "defense" does not exist in Behemoth's dictionary, especially in this kind of open-field encounter, where there is no reason to retreat.

Just by looking at their camp, you can tell it's not a suitable place to defend. The most crucial point is that the situation doesn't allow them to hold their ground. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only human cavalry outside now; their infantry might catch up soon too.

Once confined to their camp and losing the high mobility of cavalry, the annihilation of the entire army is only a matter of time.

As the distance between the two sides continues to close, the ultimate clash between these two powerhouses is about to begin in this wilderness.

"Archers, prepare yourselves! Find your targets and fire! Don't hold back with the Behemoths!"

Hudson gave the order in a very uncivil manner.

For this battle, he took all the miniature crossbows the Moxi people had. Especially the Magic Crossbow, which were powerful weapons capable of piercing the armor of Heavy Cavalry.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A whistling sound of arrows piercing the air rang out, nearly turning the leading Behemoth Cavalry into sieves. Commander Gregg, leading the charge with his beast, hadn't even grasped what was happening before he met his demise before the Beast God.

Upon witnessing this, Prince Butzwig's expression changed drastically. This was utterly disrespectful; a cavalry duel was being conducted using magic and technology.

What worries him even more is that these inconspicuous miniature Magic Crossbow, when put together, can actually unleash such power.

If human cavalrymen were to each carry Magic Crossbow, how would the Behemoth Cavalry survive on the continent?

Should we continue to thicken the armor to enhance the soldiers' defense?

Or perhaps we could replace ordinary armor with high-defense Magic Armor?

Both of these choices would be a disaster for the Behemoth Clan.

The continued thickening of the armor means that mobility will be further reduced.

Magic Armor great in every way, except that it is expensive to make and has a low production volume. It is all handmade by alchemy masters and cannot be mass-produced.

The arrow that flew past his forehead pulled Prince Butzwig back to reality. The fate of the Behemoth Clan could wait until later; the most important thing now was to get through this immediate crisis.

After suffering the loss of hundreds of cavalrymen, the two armies finally clashed, resulting in a spectacular scene of men and horses falling and beasts being thrown into chaos.

"The Human Knight Order!"

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Prince Butzwig abandoned the idea of defeating the cavalry in front of him.

There was no way to tell the difference between the Knight Order and the cavalry before the battle, as they were all enemies on horseback and their appearances were not very different.

Hudson's decision to send the Knight Order to the front was undoubtedly wise. In the brutal clashes on the battlefield, the Behemoth Cavalry only gained a slight advantage.

However, this advantage was not enough for them to make up for their numerical disadvantage. After a round of head-on confrontation, several hundred more Behemoth Cavalry appeared on the ground.

The number of human cavalrymen who died in battle was actually even greater, but it was not so noticeable due to the numerical advantage.

The army turned their horses around, and Hudson shouted "Kill!" The Knight Order charged again, with countless cavalrymen following closely behind.

A new round of clashes erupted, and the battle became increasingly bloody. In this clash between savagery and civilization, civilization had gained the upper hand.

After two rounds of intense battles, plus the hundreds who were taken away by the arrow rain, the Behemoth Cavalry has suffered losses exceeding a thousand.

Upon witnessing this scene, Prince Butzwig, hidden among the army, thought to himself, "Oh no!"

Although they wanted to take Hudson's head, reason ultimately prevailed. After the second round of fighting, they didn't turn their beast heads around again, but directly ordered their soldiers, "Follow me!"

As he spoke, he turned and led his troops away without looking back. By the time Hudson turned his horse around, the distance between the two sides had increased to several hundred meters.

Watching the fleeing Behemoth Cavalry, Hudson felt a sense of unreality. This time, he didn't need any special abilities; Beldens had been sleeping soundly on his shoulder the entire time.

"Chase!"

Hudson immediately gave the order.

With the Behemoth Cavalry withdrawing, the outcome of the battle was essentially decided beforehand. Such a rare opportunity to strike a fallen foe was naturally not to be missed.

Killing one is better than none; for a race as small as the Mongols, slaughter is the best strategy.

A bizarre scene of pursuit and flight unfolded on the plains. Theoretically speaking, chasing the Behemoth Cavalry was now futile.

However, this was not the vast grassland. The road was only a few meters wide and could not accommodate too many cavalrymen. The fleeing Behemoth Cavalry inevitably trampled the farmland on both sides of the road.

However, there were still a few potholes in the farmland along the way. It was inevitable that some animals would occasionally stumble and fall.

The real purpose of this pursuit was to kill these unlucky souls who had encountered unexpected events. Of course, it's also possible that the Behemoth officer was simply unlucky and led his troops into a dead end.

The plains are only generally flat; they do not mean that all the land is on the same horizon and without any obstacles.

Occasionally, a few small mounds may appear, revealing a narrow road, or a canyon or river may emerge.

Looking at the eagle-men circling in the distant sky, Hudson cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"

With these guys pointing the way from the sky, expecting the enemy to lead the army into a "dead end" is basically hopeless.

An opportunity to annihilate the Behemoth Cavalry legion slipped through his fingers, but the pursuit must continue.

Thirty li, fifty li, one hundred li... In the frantic pursuit and battle, they actually reached the border of the Moxi Duchy.

"Cease the pursuit!"

Hudson waved his hand, stopping the pursuing team.

We can't continue this pursuit. Even with the bloodline of a magical beast, the warhorse's stamina is ultimately limited.

Many warhorses had died from exhaustion during the previous pursuit. Now even Hudson's own horse was panting heavily, and continuing the chase might result in another fatality.

Despite paying such a heavy price, the results were considerable. The Behemoth Cavalry had fled in panic, was now severely damaged.

I estimate that about half of them managed to escape into the Duchy of Orton, which would be considered quite lucky. The rest either got separated during the pursuit or were already sent to meet the Beast God.

"A bunch of defeated soldiers, I reckon the Duchy of Orton should be able to handle them, right?"

Hudson muttered to himself, somewhat uncertainly.

It wasn't that he wanted to harm the Duchy of Orton; it was just that the enemy was single-mindedly heading that way, and he couldn't stop them even if he wanted to.

If the Behemoth Cavalry been a little more naive and gone to join the reinforcements, Hudson was sure that even if he couldn't annihilate them all, he could at least cripple their organization.

Fleeing to other countries would likely lead to the same fate. If a neighboring country's army were to offer even the slightest resistance, these Behemoths would be finished.

The Duchy of Orton was the only exception. It had already been severely damaged by the Beastfolk expeditionary force in the previous battles and was now in a state of having a country but no defense.

Protecting Royal Capital would be a tremendous effort. Border defenses should be put on hold for now!

After resting for two days, Hudson finally ordered the army to return. This extended rest was both to allow the soldiers to relax and to prevent the Behemoth Cavalry from returning.

As it turned out, he was simply overthinking things. The Behemoth Cavalry legion that fled into the Duchy of Orton only rested for one night before continuing their escape.

Judging from their marching route, they are either consolidating some of the Duchy of Orton or preparing to enter the Warhammer Kingdom.

In either case, it seems like they've let their teammates down. Let the Moxi people handle this; after all, the battle has been won.

Although several thousand cavalrymen were lost and tens of thousands of warhorses were ruined, none of that mattered compared to the devastating defeat of the Behemoth Cavalry legion.

While the number of enemies killed may seem small, it can be described in another way: 1.5 percent of the Behemoth Clan was wiped out, and all of them were young and strong.

Hudson had already decided on the nature of the war: a major victory of great "strategic significance." It was more than enough to brag about.

Compared to their swift arrival, the cavalry turned into infantry on the return journey, slowly making their way back at a pace of fifty li per day.

They were forced into this situation; when chasing the Behemoth Cavalry, they were galloping at full speed. Naturally, the old horses they used for transportation were abandoned behind them.

The consequences of overuse of horses have been emerging one after another in the last two days.

Fortunately, this is a world with extraordinary powers, and specially made magical potions saved the lives of many warhorses; otherwise, these cavalrymen might have truly become infantry.

There's no rush now, so it's best to conserve energy. Hudson's intuition tells him that these potent magical potions are no good.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that the Aslant Continent had gone astray in its technological development. All healing magic came at the cost of consuming the life force of the wounded.

The situation with medications wasn't much better either; any medication that could produce immediate results always came at a price.

In the Beacon camp of the Duchy of Orton, Prince Butzwig, having received news of Hudson's withdrawal, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Before he could even feel happy, the casualty figures reported by his subordinates shattered his good mood.

Looking at the officers in the camp, whose numbers had halved, Prince Butzwig said in a low voice, "The failure of this battle was mainly due to our underestimation of the strength of the human race. The continental hegemon is not so easy to shake!"

As you've probably noticed, while the human Knight Order are slightly weaker than us, they've largely made up for that gap thanks to their superior weaponry and equipment.

Even the human cavalry, led by the Knight Order, were able to inflict considerable casualties on us.

I will take responsibility for explaining to the Imperial Court and will not hold you accountable for your defeat. However, I hope everyone will learn from this and curb their arrogant and self-important attitude.

We must always remember that our enemy is not the weak slimes, but the overlord who dominates the Aslant Continent.

"Though the enemy is powerful, the valiant Behemoth..."

Prince Butzwig is really going all out, both reprimanding his generals and boosting morale.

Don't be fooled by how easily he talks; he'll handle things with the Imperial Court. But the Orc Empire is ruthless, Behemoth Clan is just as fierce.

Having suffered such a crushing defeat, his competitors, eager to find fault with him, will certainly not hold back.

If the army weren't currently isolated in the outside world, they might have been relieved of their command.

Reason told him that if he didn't perform well in the future, he would be in serious trouble when he got back.

"Your Highness, judging from the current situation, it seems unlikely that this operation against the Moxi Duchy will achieve its initial objectives."

"Why not send someone to contact the various reinforcements and invite them to come south and join us? Then we can all attack Warhammer Kingdom together."

Clark suggested.

As an advisor, his fate was inextricably linked to that of Prince Butzwig. If his boss ran into trouble, he, the younger brother, would also suffer.

Given the Beastfolk royal family's prejudice against their vassal races, it was truly rare to find a leader like Prince Butzwig who was willing to listen to advice. Even if they wanted to switch sides, it was simply not feasible.

"It's too late. If the army's strength hasn't been damaged yet, inviting reinforcements from all sides to join the invasion of the Warhammer Kingdom would indeed be a good strategy."

Even if we could unite our forces at this point, we wouldn't have much say in the situation.

Even a resounding victory in the Warhammer Kingdom would hardly be enough to undo the damage of this defeat. We are left with only one path: to march south and wreak havoc in the human heartland.

The human race is not very strong in the northern continent. Apart from the Alpha Kingdom, the Warhammer Kingdom, and the Moxi Duchy, the rest are a group of small countries.

With the forces at our disposal, we could easily instigate a major upheaval. Duke Daniel has already set an example for us; all we need to do now is follow suit.

The order was issued: all human villages and towns encountered should be destroyed, and all serfs and commoners on these lands should be driven out.

We need a wave of refugees, a massive wave that can shake humanity's dominance in the north!

Prince Butzwig said coldly.

To turn the tide, he needs an unconventional strategy. Following the normal course of action, no matter how he performs afterward, it will be difficult to gain enough merit to cover up his previous crushing defeat.

"Your Highness, it is not difficult to stir up a refugee crisis and disrupt the nations of the human race, but relying solely on this may not be enough to explain to the Imperial Court."

Unless we can spread the chaos all the way to the central part of the continent, effectively weakening humanity's war potential. But...

Before the middle-aged general could finish speaking, Prince Butzwig waved him off. Spreading chaos to the central continent was no simple matter.

The human kingdoms in the central region aren't fools. They'll probably send their armies to attack before the humans even get close.

Having just suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of human cavalry, no Behemoth dared to guarantee that this crippled legion could withstand a military attack from a kingdom.

"The refugee crisis doesn't necessarily have to enter the central part of the continent; driving refugees into the Alpha Kingdom is the same!"

Of course, if the refugee crisis is large enough to cause trouble for the countries in the central regions of the world, that would be even better!

Thank you, ethereal guild leader! I owe you one more update, I'll try to make it up soon. Love you, Haiyue, muah!