Chapter 8: Fighters

Yeller let out a soft sigh. It was a pity that his superiors and the knight leaders didn’t see it that way—they believed those roughians from the remote lands of the Caucasus were merely more physically fit, not comparable to the true orc warriors of the northern wastelands. Once war broke out, those undisciplined and poorly trained barbarians would reveal their weak nature. Perhaps his own army would only need one or two proper battles to end the war altogether.
If things were really that simple, that would be truly strange. How could Komer have risen out of nowhere in Nicomedia without any real strength? Zelin, Philip, and even the Romanov family—all fell silently into his hands. Could it be that the people of Nicomedia were all incompetent and foolish fools? Of course not. It’s just that no one believes the truth.
Yeller’s gaze shifted backward. Following behind the heavy cavalry were six thousand light cavalrymen, his main assault force. In terms of speed and endurance, the Mondel warhorses ridden by these light cavalrymen were among the finest breeds in the entire Land of Azure. Though not as strong as the Ramon giants in carrying weight, their speed and endurance made them the ideal horses for the Attica Duchy’s light cavalry.
Compared to the heavy cavalry, the light infantry differed significantly in both armor and weapons. There were no full sets of iron plate armor; at most, one or two iron plates were embedded in the leather armor over vital areas. There were no charge spears either—instead, there were sharp and heavy knives designed for slashing, along with round shields mounted on the horses’ flanks. This was the standard equipment for light cavalry.
If the heavy cavalry were like a giant axe used to cleave through obstacles, then the light cavalry were like two gleaming daggers in his hands, capable of delivering fatal blows from any direction at any angle.
Looking at these two armies under his control, Yeller felt a sense of calm. With these two forces ready for battle at any time, he believed no one could easily defeat him.
The distance between the knight group and his army grew ever greater. Yeller knew these knights didn’t like him at all, just as he had never liked those conceited knights. In their eyes, he was nothing but a crude officer who had risen through luck. But now, the two sides had no choice but to work together.
A rider on a fast horse rushed toward him. From the way the rider controlled the horse, Yeller knew it was a knight.

“General Yeller, Sir Gray asks you to come over. He has important matters to discuss with you.”
“Oh?” A sense of foreboding settled over Yeller’s heart. As the commander of this war, Gray actually didn’t know the true situation in Nicosia and largely relied on the opinions of those knight leaders. Asking him to come now was clearly no good sign.
His goatee under his chin looked rather unpleasant. Sir Gray was rarely seen in full armor, with a magnificent sword hanging from his waist. His fish-like eyes were dull and lifeless, his mouth protruded like a goldfish’s, and he had a large onion-shaped nose. It was hard to associate him with the powerful elite of the Principality of Attica. Meanwhile, the several knight leaders beside him looked excited, whispering to each other, which added to Yeller’s concerns.
“Sir Gray, did you call for me?”
“Hmm, General Yeller, the vanguard of Viscount Basman’s knight regiment has already clashed with the people of Nicosia ten miles ahead. It should be the Homer Knight Regiment. We’ve achieved a preliminary victory, but we haven’t managed to wipe them out completely. We’d like to hear your opinion.” Gray seemed distracted.
Hear my opinion? Yeller’s heart sank. These guys must have some terrible plan for him to carry out; otherwise, they wouldn’t act so hypocritically polite.
“Uh, I’m not quite familiar with the situation yet. Are you sure it’s the Homer Knight Regiment? What about their barbarian and half-orc troops? Have they been spotted?”
“General Yeller, our scouts have confirmed it’s their Homer Knight Regiment, about 1,500 strong, with very strong combat capabilities. But in the face of our brave knights, they still fled in disarray. As for their barbarian and half-orc troops, they’re probably still dozens of miles behind. It seems their knight regiment is also leading the charge. They don’t want to end up like us in Attica, with so many cavalry troops. Nicosia doesn’t produce high-quality warhorses.”
One of the knight leaders spoke up. Yeller knew this was Viscount Eng, one of the deputy leaders of the knight regiment—a self-important man who lived in his own world. If not for his wife being the niece of the grand duchess, he would still be hiding in some rural fiefdom.
“The Homer Knight Regiment was defeated? That’s good news. What do we still need them for? It’s best if we advance steadily. We have the upper hand in combat strength. Once both sides’ main forces get closer, we can devise better strategies to deal with them.”

Yeller wanted to seal things off first, to prevent these guys from constantly fantasizing about achieving fame through reckless actions. These naive knights, who as soon as they entered the field hoped for a world-famous battle, were exactly what Yeller was most worried about. And Sir Gray was precisely the kind of person who lacked independence and fawned over those in power—he certainly didn’t want to offend these dreamers whose families had significant influence in the country.
“No, no, General Yeller. Although they were defeated, they managed to escape our attacks and have taken refuge twenty miles away to rest. Our scouts have already confirmed this. Um, what we mean is that we want your light cavalry to work together with our knights to deliver a fatal blow to the Homer Knights and eliminate them completely,” another knight leader quickly interjected.
Yeller remained silent. He was sure things weren’t that simple. Although Bathman hadn’t spoken, these two leaders had already made their positions clear, and Sir Gray seemed to have been persuaded by them. Opposing them might not succeed, so it was better to take control of the situation himself.
“Hmm, if it truly is such a good opportunity, then of course we can’t miss it. But we can’t be careless. I need to verify whether the intelligence is accurate first.”
“You…” Eng clearly felt resentful about Yeller’s distrust, but Viscount Bathman stopped him. “Of course, General Yeller. Please verify the intelligence as soon as possible. The opportunity is fleeting—time waits for no one.”
“I understand, Viscount Bathman.”