433: Chapter 58, Beasts Speaking Everywhere_2 433: Chapter 58, Beasts Speaking Everywhere_2 “Perhaps by this moment, the nearby human army has already emerged from the fortress and launched a siege against the Imperial Court!”
“Chief of Nordus Corps, I have dispatched the Gryphon Cavalry for reconnaissance, we will soon receive a report.”
Though he said this, deep in his heart, Bruno didn’t believe that the Human Race would pass up such a good opportunity.
In the Imperial Court, there was an average legion stationed with several experts accompanying it.
If it was just the defensive forces from nearby human fortresses, he wouldn’t be worried.
But now, with four thousand of the elite cavalry joining, everything no longer seemed the same.
It was clear that this was a deliberate move by the Human Race.
Since they had been preparing for long, gathering a group of human experts and taking advantage of the situation to attack the Bearman Emperor, it wasn’t surprising.
Discerning the Human Race’s plot, Bruno became increasingly troubled.
Now both sides were engaged in a chaotic battle, unable to defeat the enemy army in one fell swoop, it was clearly hard to decide a winner immediately.
If he ordered a retreat now, the Human army would surely chase after.
Any carelessness, and the retreat would turn into a major defeat.
“General Bruno, the safety of the Imperial Court is critical.
While it’s not too late, hurry and lead your troops to reinforce the Imperial Court!”
As for this enemy force at hand, leave it to us.
Even if we can’t defeat them, we can still hold them back.”
Chief Boggs proposed to cover their retreat.
Even though he was the commander of a ragtag army, he was also a Bearman by origin.
At a critical moment, the first thing he considered was the interest of the Bearman tribe.
If the Imperial Court fell, not only would the ten thousand strong defensive army be lost, but the numerous high-ranking members of the Royal Family in the camp would also be lost.
Even if all high-ranking members successfully escaped, the political disaster would be a devastating blow to the Bearman tribe.
This would be much more serious than losing a main force that had previously occurred.
“Report!”
Before Bruno could make a decision, an outbound Hawkman had returned with news.
“During our investigation, a large number of Human armies were spotted moving towards the Imperial Court from southeast.
Judging from the marching troops, there are no less than twenty thousand.”
We are still unsure about which unit it is.”
Before Bruno could respond, another Hawkman soldier descended from the sky.
“Report!”
“The defense troops from Landry Fortress have come out, appearing to be heading towards our Imperial Court.
The long line of troops stretches several miles…”
The final straw that broke Bruno’s patience appeared, he could no longer afford to hesitate and immediately ordered:
“Sound the horn to cease fire and retreat.
The Bearman Legion will follow me to reinforce the Imperial Court!”
“Chief Boggs, Legion Commander Nordus, you are responsible for holding back the enemy.
You must stall the enemy for at least two hours, we cannot allow them to join the siege of the Imperial Court!”
The horn for retreat sounded, and the Bearman soldiers, who were fiercely fighting, began to retreat from the battlefield.
Finally seeing their opportunity, Hudson wasn’t about to let it slip, he promptly ordered: “The enemy has been defeated, we cannot let them escape!”
Regardless of who believed it, the guards around him began to shout, and all the soldiers followed suit.
This time it wasn’t in Bearman language, but in the widely circulated common language of the Orc Empire.
Hudson didn’t know how many people could understand, but shouting a few phrases wasn’t a loss, shouting down a few Orcs was better than none.
He had promoted this for nearly half a month in the army before all soldiers could remember it.
The facts proved that there were indeed quite a few fools nowadays.
Upon hearing the shouts and seeing the Bearman soldiers continuously retreating, the two Orc legions who were originally responsible for the rear guard fell into chaos first.
“Get back, the Human Race is tricking you, all of you fools!”
“The Supervisory team must be killed, anyone who retreats without permission will be killed on the spot!”
The two Legion Commanders responsible for the rear covered yelled desperately.
Unfortunately, the supervisory team could kill scattered deserters, but could not stop the chaotic retreat of the large army.
The first to be affected was the orderly retreating Bearman Legion.
The allied troops were in tumultuous disarray, many of them unexpectedly intruding into their array.
The orderly retreat of the original rearguard became the disorganized forefront when disrupted by the impact of the allied troops.
While the Bearmen soldiers were well-trained, not all of them were smart.
They managed well following the army, but once immersed in chaos, they were equally baffled.
Bruno, their commander, was infuriated with the sight.
Regrettably, the confused army scattered in all directions, like headless flies.
Officers couldn’t find their soldiers, and soldiers couldn’t locate their direct officers.
Everyone was acting on instinct.
Teammates that were as dumb as pigs simply couldn’t be managed.
The retreat turned into a rout.
Had he known this sooner, he would not have let the two Cannon Fodder Legions join the battle.
Experience was a tricky foe.
In the past, the Bearmen Legion was the core, with the cannon fodder legions flanking.
Once they broke through the enemy’s formation, they could immediately begin slaughtering.
Indeed, this is exactly how the initial combat went.
The two legions hindered the flanks of the Human Army while marching alongside the Bearman Army.
The only difference was that they couldn’t immediately tear through the enemy’s formation, causing the war to be at a stalemate.
When the Commander in Chief ordered the retreat, the poor performance of the allies peaked.
The Bearman Clan Troops, known as the continent’s first heavy infantry, were not defeated by the enemy but instead were worn out by their own allies.
After disentangling from the human army, only to see that its troops had been reduced to a little over six-thousand, Bruno was left fuming.
In the midst of disarray, getting his elite soldiers back was not only a matter of whether the human soldiers would comply, but time would not allow it either.
The received intelligence alone revealed tens of thousands of human troops marching towards the Imperial Court.
God knows how many more they haven’t discovered yet.
If they were to tarry here, what would happen to his homeland?
Glancing at the chaotic battlefield, Bruno clenched his teeth, angered and reluctantly giving the command, “Leave!”
The disarray was widespread, even if he called upon the Bearmen Legion to fight once again, it would be hard to change the dire state of affairs.
Staying here to fight a do-or-die battle, the best outcome would be both sides suffering heavy losses.
…
Noticing the Bearmen had taken the bait, Hudson heaved a sigh of relief.
This war was a gamble on the judgment of the opposing commander.
If the enemy commander insisted on staying and fighting to death, the Expeditionary Army would be the one who would need to retreat.
For this grand scheme, he had mobilized all nearby Human defensive troops.
While it was true that the large army was moving towards the Orc’s Royal Court, besieging it was not part of the overall plan.
It wasn’t that Hudson’s plan was imperfect, he simply hadn’t expected the plan to go so smoothly.
Originally, he thought that he would lure the Bearmen’s Main Force into assisting and subsequently wipe out a few scattered Orc soldiers, scoring a major victory against the Bearman Legion.
This alone would have been an impressive feat to flaunt.
Who would have thought the enemy was so arrogant, that they were certain they would win.
To minimize main force losses, they unexpectedly even sent out cannon fodder troops.
Furthermore, who would have predicted that the Orc Cannon Fodder Army Brigade would be so efficient, that they upset the Bearmen Legion’s retreat.
They surely had a knack for tripping up their own team.
The fake victory he wanted to boast about suddenly became a real victory, leaving Hudson’s head buzzing.
Watching the severely depleted Bearman Legion leaving the battlefield, Hudson suddenly realized that his plans had gone a bit too far.
A new idea suddenly appeared in his mind, should he take advantage of the victory and just annihilate the Bearman Imperial Court in pursuit?
Once the idea germinated, he could not dismiss it.
Indeed, an opportunity had presented itself.
The closest main force to the Bearman Imperial Court was severely damaged.
If the two Cannon Fodder Army Brigade on the battlefield could retreat with a third of their soldiers, that would be a blessing from the Beast God.
At the moment, the forces staying in the Bearman Imperial Court absolutely did not exceed these two Cannon Fodder Army Brigades.
Looking at the anxious expression of the enemy’s commander, perhaps even the stationary troops might be in better condition.
If the Human armies from the four directions were to join forces for a siege, it may not be impossible to take the Bearman Imperial Court before the reinforcements of the Four Great Royal Courts arrived.