Chapter 133: Charge(2) (1/2)

The two groups clashed.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't either of the two front rows to first make contact with the enemy. By angling their approach and because of the arrow-shape of the enemy troops, it was the third row of the riders that got the honors of spilling the first blood.

And they didn't hold back at doing so at all.

”KILL!” The soldiers shouted right before the clash, carrying their voices along with each of their own attacks.

First came the lances. Roughly two to three meters long, those simple weapons allowed the medium-armed soldiers of Castor's unit to attack the enemies even before they could attack them.

Layn didn't pay much attention to the gory scene that ensued. Not only was the fight too chaotic and rapid for him to marvel at the skill of each of the soldiers, but there was also no glory in fighting whatsoever.

Then, Castor's entire army pushed forward. Counteracting the arrow-like formation of the enemy, the two rows that split to the flank didn't bother attacking at all. They simply followed along the sides of the opposition, keeping the same pace as the charging lancers in the middle.

'If I'm right,' Layn thought, watching the gore festival ahead from the relatively safe distance of the back row. ”They should attack now,” he muttered under his nose, not really intending for anyone to hear it.

But nothing changed.

The lancers at the front continued to cull the numbers of the enemies. Castor's troops also started to rack up losses. While only a few were injured and only two or three ended up dead so far, it was only a matter of time before the front unit would lose its entire momentum.

And then, the losses would only continue to spike up.

'What is he doing?' Layn asked in his thought, turning his face to Castor. Unfortunately, the man himself was fully focused on the battle, making him omit Layn's anxious glance. 'He should give the order already!' Layn scolded the man in his thoughts but ultimately decided to hold his tongue.

Castor's face twitched. He stood up in his stirrups, gaining just enough height to survey the entire battlefield.

”Now!” he shouted in the distance as if he wanted to express his love to his childhood friend standing on a nearby hill.

Whizz! Whizz!

The buzzing sound of the powerful whistle instantly introduced two major changes to the battlefield.

The small detachments of the lighter cavalry that continued to flank the enemy so far suddenly gained more speed. Then, they turned inwards towards the column of the enemy, using their momentum to charge at the unexpecting soldiers of the other side.

At the same time, the middle of the Castor's force slowed down. Just looking at how precisely the entire maneuver was coordinated, it became clear that it was something those soldiers considered bread and butter of their lifestyle and technique.

”Tad too late,” Layn muttered once again, watching how the slight lapse of Castor's judgment resulted in two parts of his force joining together almost perfectly.

Sadly, they lacked perfection.

By the time the two forces merged again and pushed the enemy force off to regroup, five more soldiers left the battlefield. Whether they were just injured or already gave their lives up would only become apparent once the battle would conclude.

Castor's force continued to push forward. As soon as they got some breathing room to reform their ranks, the formation changed from a simple column into a wedge.

”Roll up the left flank!” Castor shouted again, only for six more whistle noises to shake the air. During the momentary break, his forces managed to get back into formation.

'Just who is dumb enough to waste people like that?' Layn asked himself while watching how the other side fared. And to say the least, they weren't in a good position.

The initial charge neutralized their numerical advantage, bringing their original position of three to one to a more reasonable two to one.

For a single charge to devastate a third of the opposing army, there had to be some kind of magic involved. Otherwise, one could achieve such a result only by putting complete amateurs against hardened veterans.

'I'm reluctant to admit, but I guess I overestimated those people by quite am l...' Layn couldn't even finish his sentence when the enemy finally launched a real counterattack.