431: Chapter 57, Robbery – The Fuse_3 431: Chapter 57, Robbery – The Fuse_3 “Regiment Commander, we’ve detected enemies up ahead…”
In the blink of an eye, enemies were coming from three different directions.
The pressure on Vanrumlov was immense.
Running wasn’t an option.
Although people could escape, the caravan couldn’t.
With enemies on three sides and an irregular and broken road behind, there didn’t seem to be a safe path to retreat.
It was clear their enemies had scouted out the area in advance.
Before Vanrumlov had made up his mind, the figures of the human army appeared on the horizon.
“Light the smoke signal.
Everyone, grab your weapons and circle the carts to form a defensive line!”
At a critical moment, Vanrumlov acted like a transportation officer should, making the most practical decision.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
The deafening war cry resounded across the plain as countless crossbow arrows assaulted the Orc soldiers inside the ring of carts.
While the ring provided decent protection for the Orc soldiers, it also limited their space to maneuver.
Facing the barrage of arrows, the Orc soldiers attempted to fight back, but the enemies had magic crossbows while they were armed with basic bows and arrows.
The gap in their weaponry put them at a disadvantage from the start of the battle.
After cursing his unlucky fate, Vanrumlov yelled orders at his panicked soldiers:
“You idiots, stop running around!
Get on the carts and find something to shield yourselves from the arrows!”
Before he finished speaking, Vanrumlov had already raised his large shield.
Unfortunately, not all the Orc soldiers were equipped with such gear.
Due to production constraints, even though they were elite soldiers from the Bearman tribe, only a small number had the privilege of carrying armor and shields.
For most of the ordinary Bearman soldiers, being able to have leather armor was considered lucky.
If they encountered enemy arrows, a wooden plank for blocking was sufficient.
It was far cheaper than an expensive iron shield.
The human army had already reached the frontline within the brief delay.
The bloody scene drove the draft horses into a frenzied state.
“Kill all the draft horses and break the wheels!”
Vanrumlov gave the decisive order.
This action seemingly solidified the defensive line using carts, but in reality, he had prepared for the worst-case scenario.
The enemies were fierce and all were elites.
With only the soldiers assigned to guard the caravan, the hope of protecting the carts was slim.
At this point, the best they could do was to hold their line against the enemy as long as possible and wait for reinforcements.
Even if their defense failed and the carts were rendered unusable, the enemy would not be able to carry away the valuables within a short time frame.
Observing the scene before him, Baron Kailet gloomily ordered, “Knight Holman, send a signal to the Earl.
We need cart reinforcements.
Others, follow me and kill off these scumbags!”
It was clear that Kailet was enraged.
Despite being prepared for this, the worst-case scenario had still occurred.
The transport officers destroyed the carts at the start of the battle, not giving him a chance to stop them.
With no ready carts available, they had to rely on the backup plan and call in the pre-arranged cart reinforcements.
Without a doubt, transporting the goods would waste a lot of time, greatly increasing the risk for the raiding squad.
The rising smoke signal soon attracted the attention of nearby patrolling Hawkman soldiers.
Sensing the battle below, they immediately relayed the information to the Bearman camp.
Almost at the same time, Hudson received the signal.
Even though no Hawkman soldier delivered the message, he had set up temporary beacon towers on his route.
By leaving a few scouts every ten miles and having them light their special magic smoke wolf cake when they spotted smoke signals, Hudson could relay messages across distances.
They could even establish codes in advance, relaying simple messages through the amount of smoke signals.
“Tom, take the cart team for backup.
The rest of you, follow me.
Launch an all-out attack!”
At the same time as giving the order, Hudson had already mounted his war horse.
Appearing at the forefront of the troops, he drew his knight’s sword and pointed out the direction for the army.
Four thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry, fully equipped, embarked on their expedition.
It can be said that for this battle, Hudson had put all his chips on the table.
In field battles, it’s never the case that the more troops, the better.
Rather than dragging along a large amount of cannon fodder, it’s more convenient to just bring the elite.
If the battle reached a stalemate, he could still summon his underlings and use them as the last straw.
The main reason for stepping up at this time was that the main force of the Bearman Imperial Court was an infantry legion, with a very limited number of cavalry.
A lack of cavalry does not equal a weak combat power.
If the Bimon heavy cavalry is the king of the cavalry world, then the Bearman heavy infantry is the king among the infantry, both having the reputation of being the best in the world.
Drawing a sword to such an enemy was not because Hudson was dismissive of everything, but because he had a calculation in his heart.
Not worrying about winning, but worrying about losing first.
Heavy infantry is indeed strong, but it also has a fatal weakness, that is, slow mobility.
The hefty armor worn by the strong Bearman soldiers is also a significant burden.
Encountering such an enemy, even if he can’t beat them, he can run away from them.
If the risk of failure is controllable, then all that is left is victory.
War is a gamble, when the odds of winning are high enough, one should decisively place a bet.
…
The Bearman Imperial Court, just after ordering the rescue of the transport convoy, received news that the enemy’s main forces had come out of the Flying Bear Fort, which enraged the Bearman Emperor.
“Insolent beings, do they really think I fear them!
Commander Bruno, I leave the army of the Flying Bear Fort to you.
Commanders Boge and Nordus, you are responsible for leading troops to cooperate.
No matter how you arrange it, you must demonstrate the might of our Bearman tribe.
Let the human race flee at the mention of our name, preferably can annihilate the elite human troops of the Flying Bear Fort.
Commander Raul, you lead a team to detour there and rescue our transport convoy.
Regardless of what we encounter along the way, do not entangle with the human army.”
The Emperor’s words had just landed, and the commanders were stunned.
Commander Bruno stepped forward anxiously and said, “Your Majesty, drawing so many troops out at once would leave only an ordinary legion in the Imperial Court.
I suggest leaving two thousand heavy infantry behind, with the other three legions each leaving half of their forces to ensure the security of the Imperial Court.”
“No need to worry, the only force nearby that could pose a threat to us is the human army from the Flying Bear Fort.
The rest are like frightened birds, timid even in smaller operations.
How could they dare to run wild in my Imperial Court!
Even if they do come, a regular legion should be able to hold the fort until you return.
If you lack troops, you might not be able to handle the human army from the Flying Bear Fort.
Based on the intel we’ve gathered, this Earl Hudson is a very tough opponent.
Those who dare to make a move now must have something to rely on.
If you’re not well prepared, it’s easy to suffer a big loss.”
The Bearman Emperor said calmly.
He dared to allocate the forces this way because he was confident.
Besides the army, there were many experts with the army in the Imperial Bearman Court.
They were all part of the foundation painstakingly accumulated by the Bearman clan to defend against surprise attacks from human experts.
He had brought quite a few of them.
For some reason, thinking about it, the Bearman Emperor felt a pang of pain.
First, at Bertelli Fortress, they lost more than a dozen experts.
Recently, due to an attack by a mysterious Earth Bear, they unfortunately lost a few more.
If they continue in this way, they fear that before the war is over, the foundation of the Bearman Imperial Court will be completely eroded.
Suddenly, he felt that it was wrong to let the experts trained at a great cost by the Imperial Court participate in the war of attrition.
But since he had already spoken, the Bearman Emperor was too embarrassed to renege on his words.