477: Chapter 73: The Rapidly Deteriorating Situation_3 477: Chapter 73: The Rapidly Deteriorating Situation_3 In the face of absolute strength, fate cannot be reversed by planning alone.
The reality facing the Moxi People is that no matter what they choose, the final outcome is a tragedy.
Marshal Hodge glanced back in the direction of the Capital, making up his mind in secret.
Unable to reverse the inevitable decline of the Duchy, his only option was to buy as much time as possible.
Each extra day the Teluns Defense Line held, was another day the main Orc forces could be held up.
If after such a heavy price paid, they were unable to lift the siege of Dapes City, then the Moxi Duchy was completely doomed.
…
The Warhammer Kingdom was also in a dire situation.
Previous maneuvers by the Orc Army at the front forced the defensive forces to hesitate in their actions.
Even when they saw the main Orc Army turning around, they didn’t dare to reassign troops to reinforce the Atrus Battlefield, fearing it was a feint by the enemy.
Actually, the Atrus Battlefield wasn’t currently short on manpower.
What they lacked were elite Knight Corps who could go toe-to-toe with the Orc Cavalry.
As a kingdom, the Warhammer Kingdom has a stronger footing than the Moxi Duchy, but that strength is very limited.
They had a large population and territory, but most of the Warhammer Kingdom’s land was mountains.
The plains weren’t as fertile as the Moxi Duchy’s lands, so the financial gap between the two countries was not significant.
Poverty could breed strong soldiers, but it couldn’t breed knights.
Limited by finances, there were only a few Cavalry Corps.
Even with stronger resilience, facing the Orc Cavalry that charged everywhere, they could only sigh in despair.
With each unexpected loss in provisions, Joseph II’s anger grew day by day.
The granaries of the nearby nobles were quickly being depleted by the army.
If this continued, everyone would eventually starve.
Retreating was out of the question.
Even if Joseph II was willing, the Orc Army surrounding them would not allow it.
It was absurd to imagine that a seven-hundred-thousand-strong army had been restrained by a ninety-thousand-strong Orc Army.
Faced with heavily fortified camps, the Orc Army was helpless.
But the moment they begin to move, the Orc Cavalry would immediately charge.
Unless they marched in formation.
Clearly, this was impossible.
What kind of formation could accommodate a seven-hundred-thousand-strong army?
Even if they formed a formation, it would be impossible for them to move forward in an orderly manner.
Plains didn’t mean all the land was on the same level, there were hills and valleys as well, just relatively gentler.
…
“Have we located the Orc infantry’s position?”
Joseph II asked somberly.
If given a choice, he would never personally command this army again.
This kind of passive fighting was simply too frustrating.
From the time the army gathered in the Atrus Province, they had been led by the nose by the enemy, as if they were taking a dog for a walk.
Several attempts to take the initiative had not only failed to foil the enemy’s plot but also cost them two Cavalry Corps and four severely damaged Knight Corps.
The only accomplishments achieved were touted by subordinates as “pretty good”.
Anyway, when later asked to launch an attack, everyone hesitated, as if they were being led to the execution ground.
“Your Majesty, we have located them.
A large number of Bearman Infantry are stationed at Fort Yakelun, fifty miles away from us.”
A middle-aged general hastily replied.
They had spent a lot amassing this information.
Nearly a hundred scouts paid the price with their lives.
But on the battlefield, lives were cheap.
With daily casualties exceeding four figures, everyone had long since grown numb to the numbers.
“Fifty miles is a bit far.
But given the current situation, we don’t have the luxury of being choosy.
“Guard, bring in the senior officers to discuss our battle plans.”
Joseph II said with an overtone of seriousness.
The Orc Cavalry had taken control of the battlefield.
The longer they dragged it out, the less favorable it was for them.
Not actively seeking an opportunity to battle meant that later, when the army’s supplies ran out, they wouldn’t even have the ability to fight.
In fact, even if the Orc Cavalry did not harass their supply lines, they would still not be able to hold out for long.
Mobilizing an army of seven hundred thousand all at once may seem impressive, but the strain it puts on logistics is beyond imagination.
The Atrus Province, located in the central region of the kingdom, was not the predestined battlefield, and no supplies had been stockpiled in advance.
All consumption of the army relied on temporary allocations.
The difficult problem facing the Warhammer Kingdom, aside from the army’s logistics, was the massive number of refugees created by the war.
For some reason, the Orc Army had suddenly changed their strategy this time.
Instead of carrying out devastating massacres, they were driving the serfs to leave.
Refugees from individual cities and regions could be accommodated by the Warhammer Kingdom.
However, when all the people from several southern provinces became refugees, it became an unsolvable problem.
If aid could not reach them, they would have to suppress the people.
Many regions in the Warhammer Kingdom had turned into a veritable human hell.
In some sense, Joseph II was in a predicament.
The outcome of the Battle of Atrus would directly affect the future of the Warhammer Kingdom.
Retreating would not only risk the total collapse of the entire army but the situation in all the central provinces would also completely fall apart.
However, fighting would not only fail to annihilate the Orc Army but also play straight into the enemies hands.
The best choice would be to take advantage of the infantry in the Orc Army, inviting the enemy’s cavalry to assist, and find an opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the enemy.
…
Two wars, both facing a decisive moment of fate.
An oblivious Hudson led the large army towards Dapes City.
What perplexed him was that the number of hawkmen in the sky had suddenly increased, disrupting the gryphon cavalry’s regular scout duties.
In order to drive away these annoying foes, Belsden had been dispatched numerous times.
This made the bear cub look at him with resentment, as if complaining about his abuse of child labor.
Logic suggested to Hudson that the more the enemy didn’t want them to do something, the more they should do it.
Dispatching hawkmen in large numbers just to block the airspace and prevent the gryphon cavalry from scouting meant that something significant was happening.
While he was hesitating, the sudden rise of smoke from behind them turned Hudson’s face pale.
“The thick black smoke indicates that the Orcs are attacking the Teluns Defense Line!”
Hudson immediately understood.
The breach deliberately exposed by the Orcs this time was not intended for a siege under Dapes City.
Instead, they were aiming to attack the defense forces along the Teluns Line.
For the Orc Empire, annihilating Moxi Duchy’s living forces obviously held more strategic value than capturing Dapes City.
Knowing this did not change Hudson’s decision not to provide reinforcement to the Teluns Defense Line.
It wasn’t a matter of wanting to or not, but rather, they simply couldn’t.
During the journey, wary of the Orc Army’s rear-end attack, the expeditionary army caused damage all the way.
The main roads were now pitifully pot-holed and unsuitable for major troop movement.
To return, they would first need to repair the road.
Everyone knows that destruction is easier than construction, and just how high the level of destruction was caused freely by the soldiers, only the Lord of the Dawn could tell.
“Send the order down the line to speed up!
Within two days, we have to reach the Dapes City.”
Logic told Hudson that this was not the time to conserve energy.
If they could not seize the opportunity of the absence of Bimon Cavalry early on, to first lift the Dapes siege, the situation would only worsen.
…