482: Chapter 76, Dilemma_1 482: Chapter 76, Dilemma_1 The sky darkened further, as the two armies mingled in conflict.
The last glow of the sunset illuminated the blood-soaked land; the whole world was immersed in hues of crimson.
The heavy infantry successfully broke into the orc army formation, their superior equipment demonstrated its advantage most vividly at this moment.
The human heavy infantry, fully armored, against the armourless orc soldiers, it was never an equal fight to begin with.
The army formation was torn apart, the orc soldiers on the front lines were squeezed back step by step, creating bulges on flanks that became strikingly visible.
Balatz, realizing the precariousness of the situation, hurriedly issued an order to modify the formation.
Unfortunately, his plans were more promising than the brutal reality.
Mounting a united front with different races was arduous enough.
Changing formations at will was simply pushing the orcs too far.
The command of “change formation” not only failed to reverse the situation, but it also caused chaos in the flanks.
The areas where different races intersected were especially chaotic.
Many orc soldiers lost direction at this moment, darting wildly around the battlefield like headless flies.
Upon seeing this, Balatz almost choked with rage.
Although he was well aware that the orc army was not up to much, he had never imagined they would be so futile.
Their weapons and equipment were inferior to those of the humans; this was determined by their level of productivity.
The limited armors were worn by soldiers of the five royal clans.
Even if there were surplus armors gathering dust in the armouries, they could not be equipped with them.
This was a matter of principle.
If vassal races gained too much power, they could easily overthrow the master.
From the standpoint of the orc royal family, they could afford to lose to the humans, but they couldn’t tolerate vassal races becoming too powerful.
Losing to humans meant losing their supremacy over the continent, they could still find refuge elsewhere; but the rise of vassal races would shake the very foundation of their existence.
The long-standing exploitation and oppression have resulted in conflicts between the orc royal family and the other races within the orc kingdom.
This hatred may not be less than that between orcs and humans.
In the eyes of humans, all orcs are the same.
But to the orcs, only those of their own race are considered their own.
Orcs of other races are seen as competitors.
“The entire army, ATTACK!”
Balatz hesitantly gave the order.
Engaging the expeditionary army in direct combat wasn’t part of his original plan.
However, plans never keep up with changes.
If the elite of the expeditionary army are allowed to showcase their prowess, their own formation will be shattered sooner or later.
Rather than allowing the enemy to attack, they should attack first and drag all soldiers of the expeditionary army down with them.
Balatz’s extensive life experience told him the Alpha Kingdom wouldn’t be so generous as to send hundreds of thousands of their elite to reinforce Moxi Duchy.
As long as they weren’t the elite, the gap in combat capability wouldn’t be too great.
A large-scale melee would maximize their numerical advantage.
Since dusk was upon them, they could wait for nightfall and then unleash chaos!
“Cavalry Corps, ATTACK!
Target the enemy flanks!”
Hudson ordered decisively.
If he chose to start the battle at this time, he had already prepared to fight through the night.
For any ordinary army, fighting in the pitch-black night would be disastrous.
But the expeditionary army was different.
Though they seemed elite, in reality, only less than a third of them were indeed elite.
So, direct confrontation with the orc army would have led to true elite soldiers mixing with the pretenders, resulting in the latters’ morale being easily shattered by the brutal conflict.
The darkness of the night, on the contrary, would restrict their visibility and potentially boost their performance.
As long as the condition of their far-off comrades remained unseen, morale wouldn’t collapse.
Killing a few orcs might, in fact, heighten their spirits.
However, this strategy could only work for an army with high spirit and morale.
An army with scattered morale would only collapse quicker in the dark night.
In this chaotic battle under cover of the night, apart from the clash of physical strength, the key was the collision of morale.
Hudson was betting that the morale of the expeditionary army was higher than the orc army.
Both armies chose to attack at the same time.
Shouts of battle echoed through heaven and earth, setting off a practicum of mounted archery tactics.
Countless arrows gushed into the orc army like a tide.
After three rounds of mounted archery, the cavalry didn’t choose to charge; instead, they retreated several meters and, once again, repeated their previous action.
There were no best tactics, only the most suitable ones.
The armorless orc army was the perfect live target on the battlefield.
As to the exact combat results, the chaotic scene made it impossible to count.
But one thing was certain: the morale of the orc army under the rain of arrows was gradually being eroded.
The resilience of the troops was driving Balatz insane.
It was simply unconscionable.
Instead of charging forward, the cavalry had taken up bows and arrows.
He had never encountered such a shameless enemy before.
Where could he find a countermeasure on such short notice?
Moreover, the army had already charged.
It wasn’t something that could be stopped at will.
Any ill-timed order could lead to a catastrophic defeat.
Even though he knew that continuing like this would require a steep price, Balatz could only grit his teeth and hold on.
The orc soldiers on the flanks, advancing under the enemy’s arrows, were even more frustrated.
If they weren’t mentally strong enough, they wouldn’t make it.
Unfortunately, with the rear troops pushing forward, they couldn’t stop even if they wanted to.
They had no choice but to hold on for dear life.
Screams echoed in every direction, clearly audible even from atop the city walls.