429 A motley crowd versus a regular force Part 1 (2/2)

At this point in time, the pikoosi had regained some energy, and he became the first one to lead the pack. The pikoosi was a grade-8 spirit, and even though its magic was restricted to grade-7, its physical strength and toughness were not reduced by a lot. That impact had fractured the formation of infantrymen. Nash was out of luck. He did not deploy any mages to follow these troops, and as a result, they were not prepared at all.

In Qin, most infantrymen would ride on warhorses, but the warhorses were not of good quality. Such horses helped carry the equipment of an infantryman, such as a metal shields. If the infantrymen were allowed to assemble and form a layer of three metal shields for defense, the pikoosi would not have been able to charge through.

There was also a number of swordmasters amongst these infantrymen. In the face of the pikoosi who could not cast any spells, they must have damaged his fundamentals. If there was even a Bronze Grand Swordmaster among the infantrymen, the pikoosi could have been killed. If there was a grand mage present, then Daniel would have cried buckets.

There were no ifs on the battlefield though. Nash's order was flawed. When these two teams of people were out for investigation, the infantrymen and cavalrymen got separated, both teams were detached from one another. There were no mages accompanying them either. At first, the cavalrymen were killed by the Death spell, and after that, the infantrymen's formation were destroyed by the pikoosi. The pirates then rode on their skeletal warhorses, waving their longswords and slaughtering the enemies.

Strictly speaking, the pirates would have lost to the four-hundred infantrymen even if the pikoosi was present. After the pikoosi killed dozens of soldiers swiftly, dozens of swordmasters swarmed forward. One of the swordmasters managed to slash one of the pikoosi's heads. This caused him to charge forward frantically, he no longer coordinated with the soldiers.

This pikoosi was unique. He was trapped on the plane of the Myers mainland, so it was very difficult for him to return to the death dimension. If he died in battle, his soul would simply dissipate, unlike those summoned skeletons who could still return to the death dimension to be revived.

It was always a tragedy for cavalrymen to be trapped in the midst of infantrymen. If the cavalrymen could not increase their speed, they would be massacred by the infantrymen. The elite infantrymen from Qin, who could kill a warhorse which had stopped moving in an instant, especially. Each infantryman had three short weapons, and one of them was solely used to deal with warhorses.

Gurney's subordinates were riding on skeletal warhorses, however. A one-foot long metal thorn would not be able to cause harm to them at all, unless a magic-infused weapon was used.

Infantrymen never had magic-infused weapons. In that period of time where these highly trained soldiers were out of sorts, dozens of them already got slaughtered.

The pirates might not be as skilled as the Qin infantrymen, but they were perceptive. Upon seeing the pikoosi escape, they immediately made the decision to follow the pikoosi out of the circle of infantrymen. That was the instinct of a pirate, no training was required. From afar, Gurney was on the brink of tears as he observed the battle. ”The army which I have put so much effort into is only capable of that?”

It was this escape which salvaged the pirates. Nash's subordinates did not know that a skeletal warhorse could increase their speed abruptly, so they could not organize an effective barrier in time. The pirates abandoned a few bodies as they fled. This happened in a matter of a dozen seconds, Gurney never gave such an order.

In a matter of dozens of seconds, the enemy killed four pirates as the pirates were not prepared. This caused the pirates to be overwhelmed with fear. They no longer dared charge into the enemy's formation to execute a massacre. Instead, they fired arrows from a distance away.

If Nash's infantrymen were not detached from the cavalrymen, such a fighting method would not have been suitable. Be that as it may, the infantrymen were riding on inferior horses, they could not catch up to the skeletal warhorses. It was more challenging killing an infantryman as compared to a cavalryman though. Every infantryman had two shields. One shield was metal, used to form a defense formation, while the second shield was used to block arrows.

A wooden shield could not resist an alchemical crossbow. It possessed a certain defensive ability against steel crossbows or longbows however. The infantrymen's offensive power was also high. In that barrage of arrows, only a dozen or so got killed.

The infantrymen proceeded to wield their crossbows for a counterattack, but a crossbow's range was no match for that of the steel crossbows wielded by the pirates. After the counterattack, another dozen more infantrymen were actually killed. In less than two minutes, almost one-hundred infantrymen were dead. Had the enemy been a motley crowd, they would have fled in all directions by now. These two brigades of infantrymen retreated towards Fort Strand under orders from their commander, as they used the wooden shields to defend against the steel crossbows.

Three-hundred infantrymen had abandoned their horses. They retreated on foot in an orderly manner. Fort Strand was located just behind after all. No matter how strong the enemy was, they would not dare come close. They never expected that the enemy's original intention was to charge into the city.

Gurney felt that something was amiss. In the beginning, the four-hundred cavalrymen had died wrongfully due to the narrow terrain. They were also enveloped by the barbarians and under the effect of a Death spell. These infantrymen in front of Gurney made his heart lurch.

A regular army was really powerful. The pirates had exhausted their steel crossbows. At this moment, they changed to their short bows, firing feather arrows. Currently, half of the pirates were too fatigued to continue firing their bows. If this went on, the infantrymen would make it back to the city.

Out of desperation, Gurney came to Daniel's hideout. The magic chariots were concealed in withered grass. Gurney knocked on the carriage and whispered, ”Sir, the enemy cannot be eliminated.”

Daniel had been observing the battle all this while. He knew that if he still did not take action, the pirates would have no choice but to retreat, and the enemy would escape.

”Okay, gather the barbarians to protect the chariots. We will conduct a direct assault.” At last, Daniel had given a right order. His battle that day would have ended in tragedy otherwise, even though it started off with jubilance.