Chapter Thirteen: Defects

Bao Ling did not deploy all his barbarian berserkers and half-orc heavy infantry into battle. A prolonged struggle like this was clearly insufficient to annihilate the enemy; only a true ambush could solve the problem.
Three thousand barbarian berserkers and three thousand half-orc heavy infantry had already followed orders to separate from the main force and quietly maneuver to the rear. While everyone’s attention was drawn to the intense fighting on the battlefield, no one paid much attention to the fact that the Caucasus forces had not committed all their troops to the battle. In fact, under such circumstances, it was impossible to detect anything—only chaos and bloodshed everywhere: heads rolling, screams, fighting, struggles, pain, despair, excitement, and fury—all emotions and reactions playing out here.
The frenzied barbarians were completely consumed by madness; they could ignore threats around them and focus solely on achieving their goals. Often, the barbarian berserkers were covered in wounds yet continued fighting until their last breath. The half-orcs performed no less bravely than their barbarian counterparts; their fierce courage amazed even the barbarians. Facing the charging Attic cavalry, they dared to confront them head-on, refusing to back down even when trampled by horses. Such tenacious spirit also filled the Attic cavalry with fear.
Yele painfully realized that the grave mistake he had made was almost irreparable. Light cavalry were simply not suited for fighting in such an environment. Although the terrain was not overly rugged—flat slopes and gentle lowlands—hateful bushes were scattered everywhere in a chaotic manner, severely limiting the light cavalry’s momentum and mobility. They could only anxiously circle around on their horses, clumsily and passively resisting the enemy’s attacks. Such an asymmetric war could not continue!
Yet Yele also knew well how high the cost of retreating at this moment would be. Those barbarians and half-orcs would never give up their hard-won advantage easily. They would do everything in their power to hold back his army, forcing each step back to come at a tremendous cost. They also understood that once they left these complex slopes, they would bid farewell to their favorable position and have to face the counterattack of their own light cavalry.

No matter the cost, Yeler had no choice but to retreat. Even a fool like Gray could see that continuing such a battle would only bring devastating losses. The enemy wanted this war to go on, and he quickly ignored the protests of the knight leaders and agreed to Yeler’s decision to withdraw.

The Attic light cavalry, receiving orders to withdraw on their own, felt relieved. At this point, they could no longer focus on coordination; anything would do as long as they could get away from those mad barbarians and half-orcs. Like a dam breached by the tide, they scattered in a rush, fleeing along whatever paths they could find.

Bao Ling watched the signals from behind the Attic forces through the Thousand-Mile Mirror coldly. The black flag had been waved three times in a row—six thousand troops in ambush had taken their positions. It was time to launch a counterattack. Now it depended on whether those six thousand troops could withstand the assault of three thousand heavily armored cavalrymen who hadn’t been deployed yet. He had to admit his judgment had been flawed somewhat—the appearance of those three thousand armored cavalrymen, yet their failure to engage in battle, posed a huge threat. Meanwhile, the tenacity of the Attic forces was also surprisingly strong. After such fierce fighting, they still hadn’t collapsed. Though they were retreating, they retained some ability to fight back, especially once they left the lowlands, where they could quickly regain their strength.

At least they needed to defend this line of victory until their comrades caught up with the retreating light cavalry.

Yeler immediately realized the severity of the situation. It was pointless to try and figure out when those six thousand barbarian soldiers had set up the ambush. The only thing to do now was to break through the defense line behind them. Only by tearing through it could they give the exhausted light cavalry a chance to retreat; otherwise, everyone would be trapped there, slowly suffocating in the quagmire.

Almost naked barbarians and half-orcs joined forces to form a semi-circular encirclement. To reduce weight and speed up their march, almost all soldiers discarded any unnecessary gear, even their heavy armor. With nothing but their essential weapons, they faced these fully armed Attic heavy cavalrymen, their upper bodies bare.

“Warriors, form up! Crouch, raise spears, hold shields!”
“Half-orcs, form up! Prepare javelins!”

Faced with the heavily armored cavalry already charging at full speed, both the barbarian commander and the half-orc commander remained extremely calm. Though they knew such a clash would be utterly brutal, this was their mission—their fate hinged on this moment. To prove themselves, they needed a war like this to write their legacy.

At this time, Baoling was equally anxious. The enemy was retreating rapidly, turning around and fleeing without hesitation, while their heavily armored cavalry had already launched an attack. After traveling dozens of miles, they had abandoned many of their heavy armors. Six thousand troops against three thousand well-prepared heavily armored cavalry had virtually no chance of winning. If they resisted forcefully, it might only result in greater losses.

“Order them to spare the heavily armored cavalry and block off the lightly armored ones!”

“My lord?! We half-orcs fear no sacrifice. Please proceed as planned!”

“My lord, trust in the courage and bravery of us mountain folk. We will never retreat!”

“There’s no need. I don’t need to sacrifice more warriors for some so-called perfect outcome. This battle has already demonstrated the courage of us mountain folk and half-orc warriors. There’s no need for further unnecessary sacrifices. Alright, carry out the orders. After this battle, it’s time for us to reap the rewards. Three thousand heavily armored cavalry can’t change their fate. Katin will belong to us, and Nicosia will be unified!”

Baoling firmly rejected his subordinates’ requests.