stonecrandall Chapter 193 Before the Battle
Chapter 193 Before the Battle
Chapter 124 Before the Battle
"Habroy, Dmitri, old Tom!" Jules, sitting in the center, calmly and steadily began to deploy his troops.
"You are the anvil of the left wing, and also the part under the most pressure. You will first rush to the enemy's front line in column formation and then turn into a line. You will be the first to make contact with the enemy. Their commander will begin to hesitate: whether to let the central army continue to break through our lines, or to cooperate with the left wing and cut through like a sickle—but in any case, you must, you must stop the enemy's attack, otherwise everything will be in vain!" Jules instructed.
"I'm entrusting you with the most dangerous mission! Can I trust you completely?"
"No problem, Brother Jules!"
"Take the direction, boss, leave it to me!" Old Tom grinned, picked up his spear, and told his men to prepare for war.
"Vito, Halvin, Tiberius, your tasks are relatively less difficult, but equally dangerous." Jules placed the pieces representing the units they were responsible for in the center of the map.
"Listen, your mission is to make the enemy think that it's easier to break through the center than the formidable left flank. Especially when they see the rolling yellow sand behind the center and are constantly retreating, they'll think: the enemy's center seems to have the largest number of troops, but it's actually weak, and they'll try to break through here!"
"So we have to keep retreating, but not in disarray, right, Uncle?" Tiberius asked.
"That's right!" Jules nodded. "Exactly!"
"You must retreat steadily, letting them see how utterly vulnerable our central army is—teetering on the brink of collapse, seemingly about to crumble at any moment. But absolutely, absolutely not, can it be a true collapse."
"Because if they truly collapse, then they truly lose, sir!" Vito added, carrying his crossbow. "Don't worry, sir, my crossbowmen army, and Harwin's heavy infantry, will definitely hold him off!"
"The right flank is even simpler; they'll be the last to engage the enemy, and their mission is simple: coordinate with the central army's retreat," luring the enemy deeper into their territory. "Alright, now, prepare for war!" Jules rose, his hand resting on the twin swords at his waist.
"In any case, just like that brat Sevita said: we've plundered enough, seen enough of the world, we've gotten our money's worth." Tiberius, don't you realize? We've created a miracle, we've humiliated a vast empire with a mere few thousand, making him look like a pathetic giant being bitten by ants!
A rare smile appeared on his face.
"The people of Westeros don't have our kind of good fortune!"
As Tiberius reached the front lines, he suddenly realized that he should say something to boost morale, to convince the soldiers that they were chosen by God—or at least, to make them realize how tragic the outcome would be if they lost.
However, when he stood on horseback in front of the crowd, he did not say these words.
Those inspiring words, those material temptations, those passionate pronouncements, all seem so powerless on the battlefield at this moment.
He looked at the white legion flag fluttering in the wind, and at his own flag, that of the Lightning Legion.
"Sharpen your weapons, strengthen your souls!" Tiberius roared.
He roared so loudly that his voice struck the hearts of his audience like stones, trying to suppress the fear in everyone's hearts, both the soldiers' and his own.
He desperately needed a speech to suppress his inner fears and terrible fantasies about the unknown.
"Because today, it's either you or me who dies!"
General Varro's voice came through the gaps in his visor, carrying a dull, metallic echo.
"The enemy's central army is covered in dust and banners, indicating that their main force is concentrated in the central army."
"Their left flank, lined up along the riverbank, was in perfect formation and moved with great order. My scouts reported that the look in those soldiers' eyes was the numbness and ferocity that only veterans who had experienced countless life-and-death situations and crawled out of pools of blood possessed. It wasn't decoration; it was a real anvil."
"I reckon their 'trustworthy leader' personally trained veterans; they have the real elite troops under his command."
He paused, then traced his finger across the simple sand table in front of him, pointing to the area representing the enemy's left wing and center.
"They are likely to employ a classic diagonal attack tactic, old-fashioned but effective, especially in this terrain, which greatly limits the role of assault cavalry. He intends to use these tenacious veterans on the left flank to engage the enemy first, or even to launch a diagonal attack to draw and hold off a portion of our forces."
As he explained, he pointed his baton at the sand table.
"At the same time, their seemingly strong central force will hold off our main attack. The ultimate goal is to rely on the tenacity of the veteran soldiers on the left wing to first defeat or seriously shake our right wing before we break through their central and right wing, thereby disrupting our overall formation and creating chaos."
"They may hope to gain an advantage in a localized area, cripple us first, and then proceed with their next plan."
It can only be said that Varo is a veteran of the battlefield, and his assessment of Tiberius's side is a masterpiece.
Yes, from the beginning, Tiberius's goal was not to completely annihilate the enemy, as that would be too difficult. His aim was to cripple them, force them to hesitate, and use their indecisiveness to find a way out.
"Excellent, General! Your insight is truly remarkable! We have superior numbers and soaring morale; it's time to crush these cunning mercenaries with a righteous and honorable army!"
"Let's use our invincible phalanx of the [Twilight Raiders] to pierce through them from the middle! Let these filthy bastard rats taste the steel of Valanthi!"
The speaker was Lucius Villalius, a young man dressed in magnificent gilded armor and wearing a dark blue cloak symbolizing the Elephant Party. After listening to Varo's speech, his face glowed with excitement.
He could almost see his own army crushing the enemy lines and him returning in glory to Valantis to receive praise from the Senate.
General Varro glanced at Lucius with a complicated expression, but did not respond to the noble youth's boastful words. Instead, he turned to another commander who had been silent beside him.
Kadar, the commander of Summer Storm, has dark skin, wears a Dothraki-style braid, and has sharp, eagle-like eyes.
He crossed his arms, his voice carrying the roughness of the steppe winds and sands, his accent leaning more towards the Dothraki than the solemn accent of the Blackwall nobles of Valantis.
"I do not recommend fighting them here, in this manner, General," he said bluntly.
Lucius immediately cast a disapproving glance his way.
Kadar ignored him and continued speaking to Varo.
"From the very beginning, Commander Marcus's orders were not to annihilate," but to "engage" and "traverse" the enemy.
.
"Use the mobility of my riders to harass and delay them; use the steely resilience of your legion to hold them in place while we wait for the main force to complete the encirclement."
"Think about it carefully. For the past month or two, they have been marching almost every day. After withdrawing from Changqiao, I bet they have been rushing here at breakneck speed every day, trying to take advantage of the chaos and find an opportunity to return to the disputed territory."
"However, our riders and horses are also at their physical limit, not much better off than them. Today's situation is purely accidental. Besides, this terrain—" He pointed to the narrow battlefield ahead.
"The river restricts the left flank, and the woodland hinders the deployment of the right flank. Our numerical advantage is largely negated by the terrain. The heavy infantry phalanx of the [Twilight Raiders] cannot fully unleash their most proficient wide-front crushing attack, and my riders are also finding it difficult to exert their flanking assault and delaying harassment power in the woods and riverbanks."
He stared at the winding blue line representing the Canney River on the sand table, and the icon of the sparse woodland across the way, his brow furrowed.
"The enemy's choice to array themselves here was no accident. Their formation—it's too perfect," so perfect it seems like a deliberate display. And the dust from their central ranks—it's kicked up too evenly."
Lucius couldn't help but sneer.
"Commander Kadar, are you being overly cautious? Or have you lost the courage to even face the enemy after the humiliation at Long Bridge?"
"Don't forget, we Valantis are the true invincible army! Perfume Bay, Stridal, Broken Sword Fortress, Watchtower, the Three Customs Houses—we have won them all, and won them decisively!"
"And the enemy? They're nothing but a few thousand exhausted, defeated dogs. We outnumber them twice as many; we should seize the opportunity and annihilate them!"
"The Long Bridge—what a disgrace! And now, we have a chance to wash away this shame, destined to be etched in history, with our martial spirit and valor! Are we to stand by and watch them slip away again, and when we return to Valantis, continue to endure the Senate's questioning and the whispers of the city's commoners? Behold, the heroes who led the enemy to plant their flag on the Long Bridge have returned!" Can you bear such mockery, Commander Attila?!
""
Faced with Lucius's barrage of questions and almost humiliating provocations, Kadar simply watched coldly, as if the other party were merely putting on a poor theatrical performance.
Only after Lucius had caught his breath did he slowly speak, his voice irritatingly calm: "Oh, what an eloquent speech." Kadar crossed his arms, seemingly unaffected by Lucius's "ambition."
"I'm getting all fired up listening to that, Lord Lucius. I almost forgot, war sometimes doesn't care how eloquent the speech is, nor who feels more glorious. War cares about who wins and who loses."
"The victor tramples everything, and the loser is wrong even to breathe. This proverb from the grasslands may be crude, but it is true in its own way."
He took a step closer, stared at Lucius, lowered his voice, and spoke with the straightforwardness characteristic of steppe people, as well as a hint of sarcasm that was very easy, almost imperceptible, to Lucius.
"Listen, young master of the Elephant Party, I know what you're plotting: you're eager to add another brilliant stroke to your political career with a 'clean and tidy' victory, aren't you? Oh, how glorious it is, the bastard who insulted Longbridge has his head chopped off by your soldiers and paraded through the streets on a spear—with this, you're sure to win even more applause and a higher seat in the Senate, am I right?"
"But I'm telling you, war isn't a ladder of advancement. It's real, and it's brutal," he suddenly roared, pointing at the white legion opposite him.
The army opposite, described as "a defeated and exhausted," was led by "the Keeper of the Faith" Jules and that cunning fellow "Lightning" Tiberius, whose ideas were as numerous as fleas.
"In Stoneraven Town, they achieved a true victory. They had far fewer men than Mohata, but through their ingenious and cunning schemes, and the timely arrival of the 'Guardians,' they captured that unfortunate Mohata and firmly grasped Stoneraven Town as a wedge in their hands."
"Cliff Fortress, oh, they had no supplies, no reinforcements, only a pitiful few thousand men—and then? One day, Cliff Fortress was captured."
"Then, at Broken Spear City, their numbers were pitifully small compared to ours. We had super-heavy cavalry, elephants, and riders of the Summer Storm. And what happened? A single day of open battle ended our dominance on the upper reaches of the Controversial River. Our manpower was defeated, and then those idiotic nobles were personally strangled to death on the riverbank by that kid with his own whip! Good heavens, when I heard this, I thought he was a Dothraki barbarian, not a mercenary prince!"
"How can you address those warriors like that—" Lucius said, trembling.
"They're a bunch of idiots," Kadar said nonchalantly.
"They resell military rations, embezzle salaries, and are so poorly equipped they're practically running wild—yet they lead super-heavy cavalry and elephants to charge the enemy's well-prepared front. Besides idiots, I can't think of any other word to describe them—"
Uh, cerebral palsy?
"Then, they crawled all the way from the disputed lands to our heartland, planted their flag on the long bridge, and now they're setting up their forces here, waiting for us—"
"This is cowardice, a shameful weakness! The Senate and Valantis will not tolerate weakness!"
"I don't need you to remind me what courage is and what weakness is, you little master with gold trim." Kadar casually picked at his ear, a vulgar gesture that made Varo frown.
"My courage was proven on the grasslands of the Dothraki Sea, with the blood of my enemies and my own scars."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice to ensure the surrounding core officers could hear: "Secondly, remember this clearly, I'll reiterate it again—from the very beginning, the Commander-in-Chief's orders, relayed by General Marcus, were worded very clearly: 'Hold them on, hold them off!' Not 'annihilate them immediately at all costs'! You hot-blooded fool, you'd better use your head, brimming with glorious fantasies but still empty, to think about that difference!"
He glanced at General Varo, whose face had become even uglier, and continued speaking nonchalantly.
"Finally, and most importantly—do you think the riders of [Summer Storm] exist solely to hunt down these mercenaries from the Three Daughters Kingdom?"
"Wrong! We also need to keep an eye on those perpetually thirsty Dothraki Khalasas on the border, and those city-state allies in the north who are outwardly loyal but could betray us at any moment for their own interests! Those damned wild dogs, those two-faced clowns!"
"A legion is a strategic resource! You're just a greenhorn who's never seen blood! Especially a specialized legion like ours! Without us, who will you use to deal with the nomads on the border?!"