Chapter 1613: Chapter 73: The Might of the Knight Corps
Seeing the sky gradually brighten, Marshal Howell decisively commanded.
The task of covering the army’s retreat was now complete. Although the main force was only a dozen miles away, it was something unavoidable.
With hundreds of thousands of troops moving together, the formation naturally stretched long, not something individual will could change.
The enemy wouldn’t rashly attack at night, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t after dawn.
Even if there were weaknesses in the enemy force, there were at least tens of thousands of elite soldiers. Handling their rear guard would certainly pose no problem.
If they didn’t leave before dawn, they wouldn’t leave at all.
Hearing this long-awaited command, the previously listless Centipede Army suddenly had a surge of morale.
The bugle call for retreat sounded, and the Centipede Soldiers, who had been pretending to be dead, quickly got up from the ground and rushed back to the camp.
Kogtaluo, mixed within the ranks, was completely inconspicuous.
However, this large-scale scene of soldiers ‘coming back to life’ was particularly glaring in Marshal Howell’s eyes.
Originally, he had been saddened by the heavy casualties of his troops, but now he realized he was the most foolish of all.
The feigned attacks in the front were conducted in dispersed assaults, yet casualties were just like usual, which was abnormal in itself.
Besides wasting emotion, what worried him more was the morale of the troops.
Pretending to be dead on the battlefield was high-risk business. A slight mistake and fake death turns into real death.
Occasional soldiers doing this wasn’t strange. But seeing it on a large scale, this was a first in his military career.
Aside from believing that charging had a higher survival rate than playing dead, more essentially, the soldiers no longer wished to fight!
The surface world was wonderful, but this beauty was not something all soldiers could enjoy.
Apart from shared sunlight and air, nothing else concerned them, as spoils of war always belonged to the high-rankings in their tribe.
Even if low-ranking soldiers won the battle, at most it resulted in a victory banquet. Concrete reward measures simply didn’t exist.
“Clearly defined rewards and punishments” were merely dreams.
Among the numerous races on the Continent of Aslante, few managed to achieve this, not to mention the more primitive Giant Centipedes.
The military discipline was straightforward: heavy penalties for mistakes!
At other times, Marshal Howell would surely have ordered immediate execution of those pretending to be dead.
But now, with the enemy likely to pursue at any moment, there was clearly no time to deal with such matters.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
As the Centipede Soldiers began their retreat, the Allied Human Army was far from idle, unleashing their Magic Crystal Cannons and Magic Crossbows to reap the fruits of victory.
“Marshal, the enemy forces are beginning to withdraw!”
Upon receiving this news, everyone in the command room broke into smiles. Everything was going as predicted, indicating that their initial strategic deception had succeeded.
The first impression implanted in their minds meant that even if someone later suggested the Allied Army wasn’t the main force, the Centipede Soldiers wouldn’t believe it.
“Pass down the orders, concentrate all Magic Crossbows and hand them over to the Magical Beast Legion and Knight Corps, and notify them to launch an assault with me after dawn!
Venerable Marcello, Venerable McDonald, your assistance is requested to act with me and see if there’s an opportunity to kill one or two enemy Sanctuaries.”
Hudson promptly gave the order.
Having planned for so long, this was the moment they were waiting for.
Since the Giant Centipedes lacked experience dealing with cavalry, Hudson wanted to maximize the advantage of cavalry.
Yesterday, he had held back the Knight Corps from attacking precisely to save their energy. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t have so easily retreated their forces.
Now that the enemy was on the move, everything was no longer the same.
Across the entire Continent of Aslante, commanders who had overseen thousands of cavalry in battle could be counted on one hand.
Even fewer were those who could defend against a cavalry raid.
In the absence of their own cavalry, the Giant Centipedes dared to leave their cities, exposing themselves to the cavalry’s spearhead, which was a strategic blunder in itself.
In theory, a military formation could withstand a cavalry charge, but the problem was Hudson wasn’t leading ordinary cavalry!
Not forming a formation was fine, but genuinely forming one meant they were just sitting ducks.
Using Magic Crossbows to aim and shoot from two hundred meters away, the Giant Centipedes, lacking effective protective measures, were completely at the mercy of being attacked.
Scenes Hudson had anticipated long ago.
In times when cold weapons and firearms were both present, there were instances of rifle massacres.
Compared to the nascent flintlock gun, the Magic Crossbow’s killing power was actually more potent, perfectly resembling an armor-piercing rifle.
Aside from their high cost and the need to constantly restock arrows, which made them less convenient to carry, the rest were all advantages.
“Marshal, you’re leading the Magical Beast Legion and Knight Corps in an assault, how will the remaining troops be arranged?”
Governor Piers asked with concern.
Knowing Hudson’s decisiveness, once he resolved to act, it was merely a matter of the extent of success—failure was never an option.
This time, especially with the Knight Corps and Magic Crossbows as the main components, if the Allied Forces secured a major victory, it would surely influence the continent’s military history.
Being part of this historical milestone, with a chance to be recorded in textbooks, Piers wanted to take part.
Not only Governor Piers, but all the commanders in the command room looked eagerly at Hudson, hoping to have a role to play.
“Rest assured, everyone will have their tasks!
Once the enemy’s formation is disrupted, your arrival will be timely to expand the battle results.