Chapter 14: The onslaught

Yeller could finally take a breath of relief—the heavy cavalry had managed to break through the enemy’s encirclement, seemingly proving that the defensive line composed of half-orcs and barbarians wasn’t impregnable. Yet Yeller felt an overwhelming bitterness in his mouth. To be precise, the enemy hadn’t put up a proper defense against his heavy cavalry. Apart from wave after wave of spear attacks, they had even deliberately created a narrow gap for them to pass through.

It seemed the enemy had retreated out of fear of the heavy cavalry’s strength, but the gap they left was not wide. The heavy cavalry, moving through it in large numbers, suffered casualties many times higher than usual—almost one casualty per spear strike. Such a brutal cost was beyond Yeller’s acceptance.

What hurt Yeller even more was that all his light cavalry were surrounded and annihilated after the heavy cavalry broke through. Not a single rider could break free from the encirclement. It was a typical case of bullying the weak: the enemy spared their own heavy cavalry while wiping out the already exhausted light cavalry, using the lowest forms of tactics to the extreme.

But Yeller could only do so much. Sir Gray had managed to retreat safely. That old man’s speed in escaping was no less than that of the agile young men. Even Yeller secretly admired him—had he still retained such quick reflexes at his age, it would have been great.

The fate of the knights was already sealed, dragging down his six thousand light cavalry with them. Yeller was furious at his own cowardice. Why hadn’t he simply refused? Even being dismissed would have been better than fleeing in such a disastrous state.

Yeller glanced at Sir Gray, who seemed years older now. This time, both of them would likely end up in a pitiful fate upon returning. But it no longer mattered. The loss of six thousand light cavalry meant the entire mobile force of the Duchy of Attica in the northern Katin region was gone, leaving only heavy cavalry with far inferior mobility. With thousands of infantry still stationed in Katin, they would not be able to obtain any supporting cavalry forces in the short term. This could turn this expedition to Katin into a utterly humiliating fiasco.

The complete destruction of the knightly order would also plunge the country into severe turmoil. The consequences of their losses would be even worse than those caused by six thousand light cavalrymen. It wasn’t so much their combat strength, but rather the influence they wielded behind the scenes that could shape the outcome of this military campaign. The country’s nobles would never tolerate their own people being captured by those barbarians in the Caucasus without any chance to resist. And the Nicocians certainly wouldn’t give up so easily; they might even retaliate with even greater force, leaving the Attic forces no chance to breathe.

Yeller’s guess was correct. Just as he managed to retreat a hundred miles back to Katin City in one go, scouts spotted the Nicocian vanguard—the Gothen Knight Order—thirty miles away. Though the barbarians and half-orcs hadn’t yet appeared, since the Gothen Knight Order had shown up, it was likely they wouldn’t hide much longer. For the Attic forces stationed in Katin City, this posed a dilemma with no easy way out.

The situation on the southern front was equally disheartening. Yeller’s ominous predictions had been almost all accurate, further darkening his mood.

Despite having strong cavalry forces as auxiliary attackers, the Atticians still couldn’t find a way to counter the shrewd and cunning Franks. Relying on their powerful infantry, the Nicocians pressed forward relentlessly, forcing the Attic forces in the south to engage in two battles under unfavorable conditions.

The Nicocians’ formidable mage forces and their exceptional Earth Dragon units dealt a heavy blow to the Attic cavalry. In particular, the magic metal puppets created by those damned puppet mages acted like unstoppable killing machines on the battlefield. Even the mighty heavy cavalry were slaughtered like vegetables before these metal puppets, leaving corpses everywhere. The fire magic arrays conjured by the Nicocian mages also cost the Attic infantry an unimaginable amount. The balance of power in the war had undoubtedly tipped in favor of the Nicocians.

This war no longer had any value or necessity in continuing. Continuing it would only result in more bloodshed for the Atticians. So far, the Cnossians in the south were still locked in a fierce struggle with a detachment of the Nicocians in Livonia and had even suffered heavy losses. Yeller couldn’t imagine how those incompetent Cnossians could be held back by just a detachment—it sounded more like a fantasy.

Fortunately, Sir Gray seemed to have shaken off his previous confusion and showed extraordinary calmness and rationality regarding whether to withdraw or continue fighting. Not only had he sent messengers back to the grand duke to report the current difficulties and proposed next steps, but he also took the initiative to send envoys to negotiate with the Nicomians. This might have seemed like overstepping his authority, but it was undoubtedly a wise move.
“Well done! I’ll award medals to Baoling and Dragumo!” Komer downed his gin in one gulp. His extreme excitement made it hard for him to control himself; like an agitated lion, he kept pacing back and forth on the soft carpet in the study.
“Boss, the messengers from Bessarabia have also arrived. They’ve formally proposed marriage to our lord—perhaps the battles at Katyn spurred them on.” Puber lay lazily on the sofa, speaking nonchalantly, “These Bessarabians really know how to take advantage of opportunities. As soon as they saw the situation turn, they became eager. Boss, it seems that little Skylark Vrjana will soon end up in your bed as your prey. Hehe, I wonder where you’ve put her again, Vero?”
Komer frowned sharply. His excitement instantly cooled down as if doused with a bucket of cold water. Puber had brought up the most troublesome issue for him, but he knew he couldn’t avoid it.