On the central battlefield.
Attila the Hun, known as God’s Whip, led the elite of the Huns into action.
In the chaos of men and horses toppling, Sangis, the king of the Alans, suddenly found it difficult to advance. At some point, the enemies surrounding him were no longer Hunnic nomads in light armor or without any armor, but instead, were squads of exceptionally elite Hunnic iron-clad cavalry.
The situation reversed almost instantly.
The Alan shock cavalry suffered heavy casualties, with noble riders and personal guard cavalry being shredded by the elite Huns. Even in the chaos of battle, those top-tier mounted archers protecting God’s Whip could shoot with precision. The number of Sangis’ personal guard dwindled, and when the last fifty armored heavy cavalry charged out, only slightly more than ten remained, almost all severely wounded.
Sangis fought bloody battles, struck by more than ten arrows, the most dangerous of which pierced his faceplate.
Forsaken by the gods.
While observing the battlefield, Duncan suddenly understood the meaning of these signs. In one charge and assault, Sangis was gravely wounded by a barrage of arrows. It seemed as if he had lost the legendary hero’s luck, and God’s Whip’s Hunnic heroic eagle archers didn’t even need to strike; hundreds of elite mounted archers nearly tore him apart.
A hero without luck can only meet a tragic end!
A counter-charge by the Khan’s personal guard of the Huns pierced through the Alan shock cavalry. Soldiers were in rout everywhere, and even the morale of the Germanic coalition in the rear wavered. Sangis, the exiled monarch of the Alans, was trapped in layers of encirclement.
He roared to the heavens with an unwilling cry, and then, with the remaining seven of his personal guard, launched one last charge towards Attila, God’s Whip’s banner!
But the result was likened to a single splash in the sea; he didn’t break through the encirclement, nor even see the vanguard personal guard of God’s Whip before he was shot into a pincushion by the Hunnic mounted archers attacking from both sides. Sangis, struck by dozens of arrows, perished alongside his armored warhorse.
On the central battlefield.
Attila, God’s Whip, surveyed with the eyes of an eagle; he raised his whip, pointing towards the imperial coalition. The next second, an earth-shattering cheer erupted, as the Hunnic armies from all directions spontaneously gathered towards his banner. With nearly fifty thousand cavalry, led by his elite personal guard as the spearhead, they formed an enormous wedge array advancing.
He did not even spare Sangis a glance, trampling this exiled Alan monarch like one would an ant with ease.
Attila, God’s Whip, with sharp eyes gazed at the frightened expressions in the Germanic coalition’s lines. He keenly identified the weakest point of the enemy and directly deployed the Hunnic Khan’s personal guard. The iron armored cavalry led the charge, like a torrent of steel, relentlessly rolling over the enemy.
—— Attila (God’s Whip) (Hunnic Emperor) (Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Spirits) (Invincible) (Legendary Commander) (Slaughter Sanctuary) (Celestial Destiny Epic) [Golden Skull Mark]!
—— Hunnic Imperial Guard (Veteran Warriors) (Two-star Silver-gray).
—— Hunnic Khan’s Personal Guard (Veteran Warriors) (Two-star Silver-gray).
—— Hunnic Heroic Eagle Guard (Veteran Warriors) (Two-star Silver-gray).
A terrifying pressure surged forward.
As Duncan beheld the majestic forces of Attila, God’s Whip, he almost hallucinated, seeing countless beings wailing in anguish, witnessing cities reduced to ash, and observing the holy sanctuaries of the Alans, Sarmatians, and Germanic peoples turning into raging infernos!
Whether it was the barbarian armies resisting secular forces or supernatural creatures awakened under holy sanctuary curses, all were thoroughly crushed under his Hunnic iron cavalry!
Duncan’s mind stirred slightly.
Attila, God’s Whip’s figure was marked, and a special bloody message emerged.
—— "Celestial Whip - Attila [Celestial Destiny Epic][Invincible][Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Spirits]: This emperor of the Hunnic Empire possesses unparalleled prestige, uniting the loosely-knit Hunnic tribes into a powerful nomadic empire!
His invincible feats inspire countless Huns to fight to the death, who are willing to follow God’s Whip to the ends of the earth! The source of thɪs content is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
At least until his first defeat, the gathered Hunnic tribes will never abandon him.
Even the faith higher than the secular must rely on the renown of this epic figure, as the church bestowed upon him the mandate of ’Celestial Whip’. People see him as God’s agent of punishment upon Europe. His presence has weaved a narrative of Celestial Destiny Epic, and until his undefeated myth shatters, Attila, God’s Whip, with all evils fleeing and all methods invulnerable, possesses a renown that can make the gods of the real world bow!
The sanctuary of Ten Thousand Spirits, rooted in Shamanism, will always protect him, willing even to confront the gods!"
This was Duncan’s first encounter with a unit marked with a golden skull head; even the Crow Queen - Triss’s divine descent rampage was only marked with a blood-red skull.
Terrifying beyond measure!
As God’s Whip - Attila’s central army flag advanced, almost all nearby units displayed morale-boosting marks. The vast extent was jaw-dropping, enveloping nearly the entire plain battlefield. Tens of thousands of Hunnic cavalry bore marks of ’high morale’, and even the Gepid infantry, caught in a bitter struggle with the Imperial Eagle Banner Legion, displayed a ’rallying morale’ special mark.
With his personal might, he shook the entire battle!
"The central army can’t hold."
Duncan could almost foresee the central defensive line being crushed by a torrent of steel.
As Attila, God’s Whip’s central elite surged, the Germanic coalition’s defense line instantly wavered, and even the brave Saxons continually showed signs of shaken morale.
—— Saxon Spear and Shield Legion (Shaken Morale) (Aghast) (God’s Whip) (Outnumbered)!
The winds and clouds changed, the earth shook and thunder roared. The Huns’ heavily armored cavalry charging at high speed seemed like a lightning bolt, no longer executing the cavalry’s piercing tactic, but instead like a giant hammer smashing down, forcibly crushing the first line of Saxon infantry defense.
Almost at the moment of collision, the central army line of the imperial coalition began to fully collapse.
The entire central line was pierced by the Huns’ iron cavalry!
Attila, the God’s Whip, with supreme military force, directly used heavy cavalry to charge at the infantry, relying on incredible tactical intuition, disregarding casualties, broke through the central army in a sweeping manner, splitting the imperial coalition’s line nearly in two.
Complete collapse of the central army.
The mountains and fields were filled with the corpses of the Germanic coalition, and one or two legions of infantry were directly routed, continually retreating in a panic.
"Is this how you use heavy cavalry?"
"Does Attila, the God’s Whip, want a quick battle?!"
At this time, Duncan looked up at the sky. The decisive battle started after three o’clock in the afternoon, and it was now close to four o’clock, the sky had darkened a bit. If it dragged on, it would turn into a field and chaotic battle.
After dark, the Huns’ mounted archery would be affected.
Attila, the God’s Whip, grasped the situation with clear insight. As his central army’s command flag changed, something that made Duncan’s scalp tingle occurred. The vast Huns’ army began to change formation, tens of thousands of warhorses galloped across the central line, surging with the command of the central army, and tens of thousands of Hun cavalry began to rotate to the right!
Almost fifty thousand Hun cavalry, like a rotating whirlwind, stirred up a terrifying storm across the battlefield!
A rain of arrows that blotted out the sun poured down on the imperial coalition’s left wing.
With the rightward whirl of the wind, tens of thousands of horses galloped, ten thousand arrows were fired, countless Hun riders, as if under the command of the God’s Whip, formed a vast whole. Although it was just a ninety-degree right rotation, the covered area nearly enveloped the entire central battlefield. Endless sharp arrows poured out with the wind, causing tremendous casualties to the imperial coalition’s left wing.
The Roman cavalry prepared for defense couldn’t stop them, and the barbarian foreign cavalry collapsed at first contact.
When the Germanic coalition led by the Saxons retreated, the imperial legion, steadfastly holding formation on the left wing, was immediately caught in a pincer attack. The soldiers of the imperial legion had to contend with melee combat at the front while raising shields to guard against arrows from the side.
At this time, the ordinary imperial legion was barely holding on.
"Eagle Banner forward!"
"Fight for the Empire!!!"
At the moment when the entire military formation was about to be overwhelmed by the God’s Whip’s whirlwind, the burly figure of Aetius appeared. With his aging body, he donned armor and entered the fray himself, even holding a radiant golden eagle banner. Under the sunlight, the gold-crafted eagle banner shone brilliantly.
——Aetius (Protector of the Realm) (Mitra’s Army) (Legendary Commander) (Gods’ Gaze) (Empire’s Twilight) [Silver-Grey Skull Mark]!
——Barbarian Elite Imperial Guard (Veteran Warriors) (Two-Star Silver-Grey).
——Imperial Eagle Banner Field Army (Veteran Warriors) (Two-Star).
——Imperial Elite Field Army (One-Star).
One by one, heavy shields clad in iron were raised. The truly elite troops stepped onto the battlefield. Protector of the Realm, Aetius, glanced at the Western Goth king on the right flank, then looked towards Duncan’s location, personally stepping to the first line, lifting the Roman heavy shield in his hand and wielding a spear to face the Hun cavalry surging like a whirlwind.
Wherever the golden eagle banner went, nearby Roman legions all bore ’inspire’ marks, and even the British Legion exhibited a temporary state of ’fight for the Empire’.
Countless shields formed a wall as solid as a rock on the battlefield!
The Roman elite on the left flank stepped forward, their steps orderly, like the imperial garrison forbidden army of the pre-Christian era, upholding the empire’s last bit of glory as the empire faded at sunset.
A barrage of arrows was blocked.
The Imperial Eagle Banner Field Army formed an iron defense line as solid as rock, with heavy shields riddled with arrows, forcibly halting the storm stirred by the Huns’ army.
The last assets of the Western Empire were all here.
If they all perished, the Western Empire would have no elite troops left.
A terrifying battle cry rang out. As the Protector of the Realm, Aetius personally entered the fight, the valiant Frankish heavy infantry began their counterattack. A sky full of Frankish axes was hurled out. Following a thunderous roar, the Frankish heavy infantry raised their shields and axes, launched a counter-charge against the Gepids before them!
They were like repressed beasts pouncing out, eager to gorge on the blood of their foes!
Up until this moment, Aetius finally deployed the Frankish axe-throwing heavy infantry, the fiercest fighters within the barbarians, to the battlefield.
All at once, the entire left wing turned into an extremely bloody slaughterhouse!