Chapter 187: Field Operations (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The two large armies were like two beasts that had fought each other for a long time. Both were already exhausted. They breathed heavily as they watched each other with vicious, bloodshot eyes. They gently licked their wounds, while they watched their opponent with vigilant eyes. They looked for an opportunity, ready to rise and deal a fatal blow.
Tiger finally could no longer wait. He dispatched the special troops of the Roland army, the War Chariots.
The War Chariots was a well-known and special type of troop of the Roland Continent. That troop had special characteristics: sturdy and a powerful momentum. The impact from a direct hit would be terrifying especially on the open plains.
Each chariot was made with the special ironwood from the Roland Continent. They were very sturdy and ordinary fireballs could not destroy them. Sharp blades were also fixed on the wheels on both sides of the chariots. When the chariots moved, the wheels would roll and the revolving blades would become as terrible as the whirlwind.
Every chariot was equipped with three specially selected strong warriors. These warriors were selected in accordance with some standard of physique and strength. They wore heavy armors with strong protective capabilities, similar to the armors worn by heavy infantries. One of them would drive the chariot while the other two would fight, one holding an ax and the other a spear. Besides that, they were also equipped with leather shields to protect themselves from arrows during a charge. When they were near their enemies, these warriors would swap the shields for their spear or ax to attack.
Every chariot would be pulled by two excellent warhorses. These warhorses had gone through many layers of selection and were also rigorously trained. These warhorses were much stronger than ordinary horses but their speed and stamina were slightly lower. The warhorses were also draped with light armors to give them some protection.
This type of troop would be extremely lethal in an open field. The solid carriages were similar to charging fortresses for attacking enemies. They could easily charge through the formation of heavy infantries, while the archers behind those infantries would not be able to do much damage to them.
Just imagine, when the heavy and solid chariot charged at a human body... it was definitely a nightmare!
Although the advantages of the chariot were obvious, its weaknesses were also prominent. That was one of the reasons why Tiger did not dispatch these troops earlier. The other reason was that the chariots were extremely expensive. A chariot unit would be several times more expensive than a knight unit.
The ironwood used to make chariots cost quite a sum of money. The costs of maintenance and repair were also quite alarming. Besides that, the soldiers on the chariots must also be carefully selected. Although it was easy to train an ordinary soldier, it was difficult to train the chariot soldier. They had to undergo several layers of careful selection from the army. The warhorses were also the cream of the crop. Coupled with the cost of weapons and armors, the total cost became extremely huge.
The War Chariots was a special army of Sauron Kingdom. They were unique to the Sauron Kingdom. The other smaller kingdoms of Roland continent did not have the ability to support such an expensive army. They were also unable to select many good soldiers.
Even though the Sauron Kingdom controlled almost half of the national strength of the Roland Continent, they could only form three thousand chariot teams with about ten thousand soldiers. However, when compared to their fifty thousand Royal Knights, the expenses needed for these ten thousand soldiers were much higher.
"It is time…" As the war drum continued to beat, the two armies assembled at the wilderness. Tiger then said in his heart. Let us see if this team of War Chariots could fight, face to face, with that scary Lightning God’s Whip.
Naturally, Tiger did not dare use the War Chariots earlier because that was the Sauron Kingdom's real trump card. King Sauron had spent a lot of money to build up that horrible war machine with the purpose of fighting the Holy Knights on the Roland Continent.
King Sauron had a great ambition. He was naturally dissatisfied that his royal authority was supplanted by the religious authority. The War Chariots was originally meant to be used as the trump card against the Holy Knights of the Temple in the future...
After the loud and clear sound of the military horn, the army of the Radiant Empire began to move slowly.
Before them were the formations of several tens of thousands of the Northern Legion’s heavy infantries, followed by two cavalries on both sides... Cavalry? Tiger wrinkled his brow. How come the Lightning God’s Whip did not appear?
After an Imperial officer in the camp shouted his command, the phalanx formations of the Radiant Empire's heavy infantries slowly moved forward. The soldiers also shouted loudly in unison as the morning sun shined on their swords and bright armors.
The neat phalanx formations slowly advanced. The sound of the heavy pounding steps, together with the tinkling sounds of their weapons and armors colliding, fiercely hammered into the hearts of the Roland soldiers.
Tiger looked at his enemy and sighed again, "If only I had one hundred thousand of such elite infantry..."
He then shook his head and thought. Now is a time of war. This inexplicable idea is really meaningless.
He then whispered something. His conveying officer immediately passed down his military orders.
The front row of the battle formation of the Roland army slowly stepped aside, revealing a huge opening. After that there was the loud sound of a horn and, immediately, the sky shook and the earth quaked.
Those who did not personally witness that would never be able to appreciate that kind of shock.
The earth had immediately started to shake the moment the horn was sounded. Thousands of chariots charged forward as if a savage beast had awoken. The sound of horses' painful neighs and the soldiers' high-pitched cries were all mixed together. Although the cries were not grating and ear-piercing, it was sharp enough to make their ears go deaf and their hearts trembled.
The rolling wheels threw earth all over. Leading the billowing earth and dust were thousands of speeding chariots. Although the chariots were still a distance away, the roar of the opponent soldiers was clear and their blood red eyes were evident.
The commanding officers of Radiant Empire immediately realized the danger. They gave the orders and the archers behind the infantries immediately shot a volley of arrows. A huge concentrated volley of arrows ferociously shot towards the charging chariots. However, those on the chariots raised their heavy shields, effectively keeping them safe. Even when the arrows occasionally got past the shields, they did not cause much damage because of the heavy armors.
After a volley of arrows, the chariots had already gotten much closer.
"Get ready!" An officer of the Empire shouted loudly. The soldiers nervously moved forward and gradually closed up. They tried to make their square formation more packed and deeper.
"Get ready!" The officer cried out again and he sounded a little nervous.
The soldiers in front plunged their shields into the ground and then they leaned forwards into them.
"Ready!"
Others raised their spears and extended them through the gaps between the shields. Countless sharp spears were lifted to greet the difficult and dangerous enemy.
Finally, they collided. When the first chariots smashed into the phalanx of infantry, the spears immediately broke from the heavy impact. The shield wall was breached and some of the soldiers were torn apart and scattered on the ground, screaming miserably as they died.
Some of the horses from the first row of chariots were pierced by the spears. However, those mighty horses neighed and dragged the chariots a little bit more before they fell. Just those few steps were already damaging enough.
After getting past the shields and spears, the following chariots cut through the phalanx of the infantry, like a blade cutting through meat.
The axes and spears of the Roland warriors on the chariots; the sharp blades on both wheels of the chariots; the impact of the sturdy chariots as well as the trampling of the horses; were all nightmares to the infantry of the Empire.
The front infantries could not withstand the impact of the charging chariots, while the infantries from both sides were churned apart by the blades on the rolling wheels, even before they could get near the chariots.
Faced with that amazing weapon, the quality of the infantry of the Empire was immediately apparent. If it were the infantry of the Roland army facing such a stunning charge, they would collapse immediately. However, the Northern Legion bravely rushed forward. One after another fell under the rolling wheels of the chariots. They did not retreat. These soldiers would fight to the death and even used their bodies to stop the advancing chariots. Some of the soldiers picked up the broken spears from the ground and, while holding the broken spears, rushed at the wheels of the chariots. The moment they did that, their bodies were diced apart by the blades on the wheels. Several soldiers even rushed towards the front of the chariots at the same time.
The cavalry of the Empire, on both sides, had already started moving. They tried to attack the chariots from two flanks, but Tiger had already prepared the Holy Knights. After a whistle signal, the Holy Knights, who had been waiting for a long time, appeared and split into two groups to intercept the cavalry.
Facts had proven that on the battlefield, those with better weapons could easily procure an advantageous position, within a short time.
That truth was played out on the soldiers of the Empire.
The Northern Legion trained by Milo showed extreme courage and quality. They deserved to be called elites of the Empire’s army. For the sake of blocking the chariots, they were willing to pay a heavy price. That was because they knew if the chariots had rushed past them, the archers that were standing behind the infantries would be massacred. The lightly equipped archers, when faced with those horrible weapons of war, would definitely not be able to hold.
The cavalries, on both sides, confronted the Holy Knights. Although the cavalry of the Northern Legion was powerful, they were slightly weaker compared to the Holy Knights of the Roland army. The entire army of the Empire was overwhelmed. When Tiger saw that, he immediately ordered several of his infantry regiments to rush forward. He wanted to take this opportunity to completely rout those tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and break through the Empire’s defensive line.
Milo was depressed as he watched his army massacred. He gritted his teeth and ordered a retreat.
The archers behind were the first to withdraw. One of the walls was pushed over and formed a bridge above the deep trenches. The infantry, in front, used their bodies to block the advances of the enemy, while the infantry, behind, attempted to withdraw.
Fortunately, the chariots had slowed down after getting blocked by the dense formation of infantry. The momentum of the assault had stalled. Although the knights on the chariots were still swinging their weapons at the surrounding soldiers of the Empire, with the piles of bodies on the ground and the sluggish wheels, the chariots were already incapable of bulldozing through.
That gave the soldiers of the Empire valuable time to withdraw.
After seeing the breakthrough of the first line of defense, Milo gritted his teeth and gave another order. "Raise the drawbridge."
Although there were still tens of thousands of infantries left behind and two cavalries desperately fighting against the enemy's knights, the only escape route had already been closed.
The drawbridge was pulled up and the only retreat bridge over the trenches had disappeared.
The soldiers of the Empire saw that the escape route had disappeared but they had no fear or sadness. The remaining soldiers shouted loudly, turned around and viciously glared at their enemy. They roared like a desperate beast as they rushed forward.
The two cavalries of the Empire fought to the end. They did not win their battle against the Holy Knights. However, they did not tarnish the banner of the Tulip Family that was flying in the barracks.
When the last soldier of the Empire on the battlefield finally fell, the faces of the Roland people were not joyous from the victory. Instead, they showed admiration and fear.
The ground was covered with blood and corpses as if attesting to the existence of a tragic battle here. Some fallen horses which were not dead yet were issuing some soft plaintive whine. Each and every Holy Knight was also covered in blood and could no longer tell if the blood was his own or his enemies'. They had already laid down the swords in their hands. However, when they looked at their fallen enemies, their cold expressions turned into a peculiar look.
That battle was the most tragic battle since the second crusade started. That was the first and last time the War Chariots of the Roland army had demonstrated such terrifying strength. Their special chariots would later be known as the ‘Meat Grinder'.
Tiger looked at the opponent's defensive wall re-erected again. The archers' arrows and the magicians' fireballs were all thrown downwards, attacking from the walls. Finally, he sighed and ordered his troops to withdraw.
Although Tiger had won he felt somewhat worried.
Where is the Lightning God's Whip? Why did they not appear today?