Chapter 106
Sancho utilized his advantage of having more than twice the available forces, especially numerous light cavalry, in a textbook manner.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Louder!"
"Haaaaaaah!"
The essence of his strategy was to use light cavalry to pressure the enemy's rear and flanks, pushing them towards the center, and then annihilate the surrounded enemy with an all-directional attack led by superior numbers. This was a method often used by the kingdom's army in field battles.
Most enemies, conscious of cavalry maneuvers and charges, could be easily guided in their movements just by light cavalry repeatedly advancing and retreating while maintaining distance, but,
"The enemy isn't moving."
"...It's not easy."
The kingdom's army facing the Red Dragon Corps felt difficulty from the very first step.
-Ratatatatat!
"Ugh...!"
"Increase the distance more!"
The musketeers surrounding the outer edges of the formation seemed to know that the cavalry had no intention of charging, and fired without retreating.
Maintaining a distance of about 150m, the actual damage was minimal, but the arrows shot from the small bows carried by the light cavalry couldn't penetrate the Red Dragon Corps' armor.
The kingdom's cavalry also had no means to strike the Red Dragon Corps at this distance.
"Damn it, this side too...!"
-Ratatat!
Some cavalry moved to the rear of the Red Dragon Corps, risking attack from enemy cavalry, but there were no blind spots for the musketeers surrounding all sides of each unit.
The Red Dragon Corps checked the cavalry with sequential firing to reduce gaps in their fire, and,
"Argh!"
-Neigh!
"Ugh, the horse was hit!"
Like clothes getting wet in drizzle, bullets that luckily hit gradually ate away at the cavalry.
"...Can't we just charge?"
"Wait. If you want to commit suicide by charging alone, I won't stop you."
"..."
Knowing that reckless charging would result in their bodies being riddled with holes, the cavalry on the field just aimlessly circled around the square formation.
"What are they doing now!"
"The enemy keeps coming up, doesn't it! Why aren't they fighting properly!"
As the Red Dragon Corps maintained their formation and steadily advanced, slowly pushing back the cavalry, the kingdom's officers watching from the hill raised their voices in frustration.
"Even from here, I can see wide gaps..."
"Although they're advancing, those gaps are maintained, so that spacing must be intentionally created by the enemy. We shouldn't enter carelessly."
"Ugh... Let's just charge! We have over 20,000 infantry, what's there to fear?"
"...!"
The officers, tired of the ambiguous standoff, were more inclined towards Alfredo's bold proposal than Sancho's cautious response.
"Baron Alfredo Blas. You seem overflowing with confidence. If you'll take the vanguard, I'll approve the order to charge."
"..."
Of course, Alfredo quietly sat down again at Sancho's words, but,
"The absence of the royal cavalry is regrettable. If only they were here..."
"It would have been nice if they could break through the formation... Well, what can we do? If the enemy cavalry had returned unscathed, the situation would be even more difficult than this."
Sancho felt the same frustration.
If they couldn't stop the Red Dragon Corps' advance like this, the kingdom's army would inevitably be pushed off the hill.
After pondering for a long time, Sancho,
"We must attack now! This is our chance while they're not closing the gaps!"
"...Tell the cavalry. All cavalry except units 3 and 7, which will disrupt the rear, are to annihilate the two enemy units at the front along with the infantry. Instruct the infantry to be ready to attack on signal as well."
"Understood!"
Finally, as Alfredo had passionately argued, he ordered to use the gaps between the Red Dragon Corps units to attack the leading units.
"Finally...!"
"Let's teach them a lesson!"
Along with the excited shouts of the officers, several messengers carrying Sancho's orders left the tent.
---
Around the same time.
The kingdom's officers on the field were also discussing ways to break the Red Dragon Corps' solid formation while examining the strategies in their pouches.
"Is a charge possible?"
"Their movement speed is not normal. It's difficult for us alone, we need to move with the infantry..."
Various opinions were raised, including preemptive charges, maintaining the status quo, and prolonged battles, and,
"...Are you saying we have no choice but to go inside?"
"In my opinion, yes. There's no chance of victory with a frontal breakthrough."
As there seemed to be no gaps other than the spaces between the Red Dragon Corps units, the conclusion was similar to what Sancho had decided.
Although they couldn't be certain that those gaps were weaknesses, they thought it was at least a more realistic method than charging towards the formation.
"The order is to use the gap on the left to break through to the rear of the enemy's leading unit!"
"As expected, it comes to this."
"I believe in His Excellency's judgment."
As Sancho's order, which arrived shortly after, was similar to the field officers' judgment, they prepared for the breakthrough according to the order.
"Hah..."
Although they couldn't know what the rear of each formation looked like, having confirmed that the enemy was prepared to respond even on the flanks, they tensely waited for the charge signal.
"Charge!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
First, small infantry units were inserted into the gaps between the formations to attempt an attack, and,
-Flutter.
"Now it's our turn! Let's go!"
The cavalry waiting on both sides of the Red Dragon Corps also rushed between the formations along with them.
-Ratatatatat!
"Ugh..."
"Don't stop! If we stop, our allies will die!"
"Argh!"
"Run, run!"
The cavalry charged through the gradually thickening gray smoke, and,
"This way! Everyone, follow me!"
Except for a few who lost their way in the smoke, the cavalry managed to reach the middle point of the gap between each unit.
Unfortunately for them,
"Guns!"
"What?"
-Ratatat!
The Red Dragon Corps, appropriately spaced to avoid affecting each other's fire, began firing at the enemy that had entered between them.
"Argh!"
"What should we do!"
"Keep advancing! Keep going!"
The cavalry charged towards the rear of the enemy units while taking fire from both sides, but after the musketeers in the rear finished their volley, they disappeared as if seeping between the advancing pikemen.
The cavalry officer looked around.
The small infantry units that had charged together couldn't withstand the concentrated fire and didn't even reach this point, and,
-Ratatat!
The allied cavalry that had charged from the opposite side was experiencing exactly the same situation.
Moreover, even other enemy units that had clearly been far away were now approaching while maintaining their square formation.
The cavalry that had been checking them had already retreated under attack from the Red Dragon Corps cavalry, but being in the middle of enemy lines, he had no way of knowing this fact.
"...Hah."
He let out a dry laugh.
They were already trapped, and there was no way out.
"...Charge."
"Waaaaaaah!"
The few surviving cavalry charged towards the pikemen glaring at them, for the sake of their allies.
"Thrust!"
-Thud!
"Ugh..."
"Gah..."
Regardless of their will, the light cavalry with only light armor and equipment were annihilated without inflicting damage on the formation.
"Run! We must stick to the enemy!"
The main infantry force, which had begun its charge upon seeing the cavalry's movement, was not in a good situation either.
-Ratatatatat!
"Argh!"
"Don't drop your shields!"
Having started from a long distance, and with armored soldiers at the front, the infantry's charge wasn't fast enough.
Knowing this, the Red Dragon Corps musketeers didn't retreat until the enemy was right in front of them, and the infantry had to endure the Red Dragon Corps' fire for a long time.
Before they could widen the gaps between the Red Dragon Corps units, the Red Dragon Corps moved to close the gaps first.
"Push!"
-Thud. Crack!
"Argh!"
"Charge in! Grab them!"
The soldiers who somehow managed to approach were greeted by the spear tips of the pikemen, and,
"The enemy is approaching!"
-Ratatatatat!
The Red Dragon Corps' rear units, seeing the enemy targeting the leading units, advanced and aimed at the kingdom's army, positioned like a chessboard.
The kingdom's army, trying to surround the leading units using their superior numbers, wrestled with the pikemen defending even the flanks, only to expose their sides to the fire of other approaching units.
Moreover, the musketeers they thought had retreated to the rear moved independently and even fired together with other units.
"Uh, ugh..."
"Don't be afraid! Stick close!"
"Stop talking nonsense! M-move aside!"
"What? U-ugh!"
The morale of the kingdom's army, composed largely of mercenaries, dropped rapidly, and some mercenaries retreated haphazardly, pushing each other aside.
-Bang! Ratatat!
"What!"
"The rear! There are enemies in the rear too!"
And, having confirmed that most of the cavalry had been neutralized, the Red Dragon Corps cavalry ravaged the kingdom's army distracted by the front, and,
"What is this... Damn it, retreat, no, move!"
"What?"
"Look at the pouch! The charge has failed, and we're already being attacked from the rear!"
"We need to keep pushing the enemy..."
"Complain to Count Sancho! We're moving to this point!"
This served to push the backs of the mercenary leaders who had been hesitating at the great sacrifice, and they moved to the rear using the pouches Sancho had distributed as an excuse.
They made excuses about regrouping and counter attacking, but it was essentially an independent retreat.
"Where are they going?"
"...Are they retreating?"
"Damn... Let's retreat too!"
As one mercenary unit retreated, other nearby mercenaries also retreated without hesitation, and this instantly collapsed the kingdom army's formation.
"...Keep holding! If we turn back too, our allies will be annihilated!"
Some regular troops tried to withstand the Red Dragon Corps' counterattack to allow their allies to retreat, but,
-Thud thud thud thud thud thud.
"Raise your spears...!"
-Boom!
The infantry, whose formation had been disrupted during close combat, couldn't withstand the charge of 1,500 heavy cavalry.
The soldiers waiting to be deployed in the rear turned their backs instead of charging in further, and,
"...We lost?"
"That can't be... This can't be happening!"
The kingdom's officers, who had been excited thinking they could easily win, turned pale seeing their allies starting to flee in defeat.
"Hah..."
Sancho lowered his command baton, which he had been waving continuously, with a powerless gesture.
Although he had predicted it would be difficult to win and had troops waiting in the rear in anticipation of a retreat, even for him, defeat was not welcome.
"Why are you running away! The battle isn't over yet!"
He approached Alfredo, who was still shouting as if unaware of the situation, showing his discomfort in his expression.
"Baron Blas."
"..."
"Do you understand now? Why did I said we needed to take time?"
Alfredo couldn't meet Sancho's eyes and lowered his head.
His mind, having already lost fighting spirit, was full of anxiety and worry.
"Now there should be no disagreements. We'll retreat to Ordova."
"..."
The officers, who had paid the price with half of their entire force to learn a lesson, quietly agreed, and the kingdom army's remaining forces retreated to Ordova.