Chapter 1608: Chapter 71: Unintended Success
He surveyed the surroundings; the city was built alongside a river, with a natural small river acting as its moat.
He didn’t go down for a field inspection, but from the leisurely flow of the river, it was clear the current wouldn’t be too strong.
There’s no chance for a water assault, and nothing much worth burning for a fire assault.
After all, the city had just been washed by the fires of war, and the Giant Centipedes didn’t seem to excel at construction.
The shortcomings were also starkly obvious; the so-called city was just a psychological comfort, with actual defenses extremely limited.
Perhaps wary of the Magic Crystal Cannon’s threat, the Giant Centipedes’ camp was very scattered. The city couldn’t hold them all, so many troops were stationed outside.
After a quick stroll, he decisively returned, giving no chance for the enemy’s strongmen to strike.
“Send down the order for the Cavalry Corps to take turns circling behind the enemy lines and harass their camp!”
Hudson decisively ordered.
Compared to the Giant Centipedes, the Allied Forces held another advantage—stronger long-range firepower.
The Magic Crystal Cannon was still on its way, but the Magic Crossbow was carried by the troops. At a range of two hundred meters, it was difficult for the enemy to retaliate.
They couldn’t possibly exchange blows with mounted crossbows and catapults; those cumbersome things were nowhere near as agile as the cavalry.
Expecting to kill countless Centipede Soldiers wasn’t the goal, but the impact on morale and troop spirit would be enormous.
War has always been a series of mistakes. Not initiating a decisive battle first meant the Giant Centipedes were already strategically passive.
On the surface, there seemed to be no losses, but changes in the soldiers’ mentality had already begun to ferment.
“Whizz, whizz, whizz…”
Just as the enemy attack signal was sent out, a rain of arrows came rushing in, turning the patrolling Centipede Soldiers into sieves on the spot.
Because of the night raid, many soldiers were resting in the camp. Upon hearing “enemy attack,” they immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed out.
This chaotic behavior had no meaning except to increase casualties.
War made the Centipede grow the most. After noticing the problem, an interesting scene unfolded.
Some Centipede Commanders chose to face the challenge head-on, leading their men to rise in counterattack; others chose to have their men avoid the edge, retreating from the Magic Crossbow’s range.
Two distinctly different choices naturally led to different outcomes.
After the “whizz, whizz, whizz” of the arrows came waves of screams.
Lacking defensive measures, many Centipede Soldiers rushing out of the enemy camp were soon stained with blood.
The centipedes at the front became sieves, and those at the back turned into pincushions. The crossbow arrows’ superior penetration capability manifested unexpectedly.
The relentless charge finally ended with arrows depleted and cavalry retreating.
The cost was numerous corpses lying on the ground and the unending wails of the wounded.
Just as the wounded were gathered, a new wave of arrow rain arrived, and the bloody battle repeated.
Except for a few lucky ones who narrowly escaped the arrow rain by charging into the cavalry, the rest of the Centipede Soldiers mostly fell on the path of the charge.
Getting close was futile; cavalry naturally had an advantage over infantry. The best way was to face them in formation, not with scattered troops delivering victories to the enemy.
After several failed charges, the Centipede Commanders finally realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
As companions around them kept falling, the already low morale of the troops began to plummet rapidly.
When the first Centipede Soldier dropped his weapon and ran for his life, soon followed the second, third…
The Centipede Commanders hurried to lead the guards to kill the deserters, but by then, morale had already collapsed, and the escape couldn’t be stemmed.
Some hot-tempered soldiers even picked up weapons and struck at the Centipedes blocking their path.
Before the Centipede Commanders could react, an arrow had already found its way into them. Their previously sturdy armor was powerless against the crossbow arrows.
The defeat was like a landslide!
The Centipede Soldiers who chose to avoid the edge didn’t fare much better. In their panic, they directly abandoned the camp to the enemy.
This escape directly triggered the herd effect.
Instead of using the facilities within the camp to organize soldiers to orderly resist the enemy’s attack, the panicked Centipede Soldiers caused a stampede within the camp.
Under the impact of the chaotic troops, new camps constantly got swept into the chaos. A few commanders attempted to organize a counterattack, only to find they couldn’t locate their subordinates.
Turning their backs on the enemy, their end was undoubtedly tragic. The Human cavalry wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to hit a downed foe.
An unexpected scene unfolded: the Human cavalry charged through the connected camps, and the defenders, unsure how to resist, fled in panic.
Seeing this, the cavalry, initially prepared for cyclical attacks, couldn’t wait for their turn any longer and directly joined the war.
The battle proceeded unexpectedly smoothly, leaving Count Albert, leading the cavalry charge, utterly stunned.
Setting up camp without even horse-blocking stakes or pitfalls, the internal defense of the camp was practically zero.
Any commander with a bit of military knowledge wouldn’t make such a basic mistake.
Even adding a few more rows of fences could affect a cavalry charge, preventing a direct connected camp assault.
Understanding it wasn’t important; since the enemy revealed a flaw, it was time to strike.
Infantry couldn’t outrun cavalry, but as long as they outran their companions, it was enough!
The Dark World’s jungle law was vividly displayed here.