408: Chapter 49, The Battle Begins_1 408: Chapter 49, The Battle Begins_1 After the battle plan obtained the support of the Moxi Duchy, it proceeded swiftly.
As for the matter of command, politics ultimately held sway over military matters.
After his subtle proposal was rejected, Crown Prince Caesar became the supreme commander of the Allied Forces.
Daring to take up such a heavy responsibility, Crown Prince Caesar was not a military novice.
Rather than foolishly leading the army to pursue and decisively engage the Bimon Army, he instead set up camp on the spot and blocked their path forward.
In a major military confrontation, often the simpler the strategic deployment, the more effective it proves.
Extravagant plans often backfire most of the time.
The Alpha Kingdom’s Expeditionary Army and the Moxi Duchy’s Newly Edited Army were arranged on the spot under the command of Crown Prince Caesar, waiting quietly for the Orc Army to arrive.
Continually inspecting the camp’s defences, the seemingly spirited Crown Prince Caesar was not as relaxed inside as he appeared on the surface.
Theory is ultimately just theory.
Many deviations arose during its implementation.
The performance of the five major corps of the Expeditionary Army was generally subpar.
The Moxi New Corps was downright unwatchable.
A lack of combat experience was a common failing of these troops.
From him, the commander, down to the lowest-ranked soldiers, none had participated in a major military engagement before.
If it hadn’t been for the assistance of Count Jose, he would have almost been overwhelmed by the internal coordination work alone.
With much difficulty, they finally managed to deploy their forces.
However, when it came to surrounding and annihilating the Bimon Army Corps, Crown Prince Caesar was fully in the dark.
The only reason was the insufficient number of cavalry.
The Expeditionary Army gathered only just over three thousand cavalry, and the three Moxi New Corps only had eight hundred cavalry.
The number of cavalry was less than half of that of the Bimon Cavalry.
If they were to engage in direct confrontation, they probably would be defeated after just one charge.
Not only was the allotment of cavalry insufficient, but other troop types also did not meet the requirements stated in the military manual.
Especially the Moxi New Corps – they didn’t have heavy infantry formation at all.
It wasn’t because they didn’t know the importance of heavy infantry – it was just that these armies were established too recently.
Many people were still serfs wielding hoes as recently as two or three months ago.
After eating well for just two or three months, their physical condition did not allow them to become heavy infantry.
Even though there was an abundance of bad news, there were some good tidings too.
At the very least, further reconnaissance revealed that the number of the Orc Army was slightly less than expected.
The entire army consisted of just under forty thousand, among which the Bimon Cavalry only numbered just over eight thousand.
It can be established that it was the corps in which the cavalry was annihilated by the First Legion.
Even within the Bimon Army Corps, there were different strengths.
However, relative to ordinary human armies, even the weakest Bimon Army Corps was still enormously strong.
The fact that a cavalry could be annihilated by the First Legion indicates that this Bimon Army Corps probably ranked on the lower end in terms of combat power among all the Bimon Army Corps.
Based on this judgement it gave Crown Prince Caesar enough confidence.
As long as they could withstand the first round of attacks from the Orc Army, they could start a counter-attack.
When the time came for the allied forces moving at both wings to press forward, it would be the end of the road for the Orc Army.
…
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
Early in the morning, Dietrich had just woken up from his slumber.
Just after he ordered his men to start a fire for cooking, the cries of ‘kill’ erupted from within the camp.
Before Dietrich could react, the camp was thrown into chaos.
The speed at which the Orc Army arrived was unexpected.
They were more than forty miles apart yesterday, yet they came to raid the camp early in the morning, catching them by surprise.
Horse-blocking stakes, horse traps, and various other barriers proved futile against the Bimon Cavalry.
They did not serve any purpose at all.
A large contingent of Bimon Cavalry rushed into the camp of the Expeditionary Army of Ruilin Kingdom and started a bloodbath without even uttering a word.
Many soldiers who had just crawled out of their tents and were still putting on their armor were met with the long spears of the Bimon Cavalry.
The Ruilin soldiers, who had lived in peace for countless years, had never seen such a spectacle.
They were instantaneously thrown into disarray.
“Counterattack!”
“Organize a counterattack!”
Dietrich almost roared.
As a small country, Ruilin Kingdom had shallow reserves.
They had invested heavily into this rescue mission.
The painstakingly formed corps, upon its arrival at Moxi Duchy, received this huge blow – Dietrich was devastated.
Even more devastated than he were the numerous military officers.
Although their superior was ordering a counterattack, nobody knew how exactly to carry it out.
Unfortunately, the Ruilin Kingdom Expeditionary Army hadn’t conducted drills on such matters beforehand.
Several nobles with renowned family backgrounds had theoretical knowledge about this, but it was only theory.
A small portion of officers organized private armies to confront the Bimon Cavalry in an attempt to stabilize the situation, but unfortunately they overestimated their own power and underestimated the enemies.’
Almost immediately after the face-off, the soldiers who went up to intercept were easily pierced through by the Bimon Cavalry.
The infantry, having lost their organization, were merely destined to be slaughtered under the spears of the cavalry.
The bloody battle continued while countless Ruilin soldiers, having been defeated, had already deserted the camp and fled in all directions.
Realizing the battle was lost, the only thing Dietrich could do was to ignite a beacon and seek help from nearby allies.
Joining him in setting off the beacon was another Expeditionary Army Camp from Orton Duchy.
As “rotten brothers”, while the Orc Army was attacking the Ruilin Kingdom Expeditionary Army, they didn’t forget to also launch a surprise attack on them.