Chapter 14: Scattered Elite Troops
The roar of battle rose to the heavens. In this kind of cold-weapon warfare, once soldiers became locked in chaotic melee, the carnage was utterly brutal.
A blood-soaked soldier from their own side gasped for breath. Gripping a battle axe he had seized from a dwarf soldier, he noticed the blade was slightly chipped. He had lost count of how many enemies he had cut down. Five? Seven? He could no longer remember.
As a four-star title, War Lord provided formidable bonuses. All true attributes +5, morale boosted by 50 points. This was a buff applied to all soldiers. Since soldiers fought based on Strength, Agility, and Endurance, the combined increase of 15 points across these three attributes had an effect that was easy to imagine.
With a thunderous boom, a fireball exploded near this soldier. His flesh and skin were burned away, leaving only a skeleton that clattered to the ground in a heap.
"Kill these short bastards!"
A one-eyed soldier from their side roared. The moment his words left his mouth, there was a dull thud at the back of his head, and then he knew nothing more.
Chop, chop.
A soldier swung a greatsword wildly, cutting down three dwarves. One of them was the worst off—only his upper body remained, yet he was still alive, crawling on the ground and wailing incessantly.
Flames scorched the corpses. The smell of blood mixed with thick smoke, creating an odor that was both pungent and adrenaline-inducing. This was the smell of the battlefield.
Once the two armies were locked in melee, the combat prowess of this dwarf unit became evident. The main force of the dwarves met their soldiers head-on, while the left and right flanks executed a pincer maneuver, quickly regrouping. The dwarf ram cavalry formed multiple "blades," charging from the flanks into their formation, aiming to split it apart and gradually devour them piece by piece.
The rams ridden by the Secret Dwarf dwarves were clad in full armor, stronger than wild boars. Their curled horns were natural weapons. A collision with their soldiers meant death or severe injury. These rams had the bloodline of supernatural creatures; they didn't eat grass, only meat—and raw meat at that.
The combat skill of this dwarf unit was indeed high. Unfortunately, the gap in individual soldier strength sometimes couldn't be bridged by formation alone. The dwarf cavalry on both flanks couldn't break through at all and were instead counter-charged.
Thunder rumbled in the sky. Half an hour later, a torrential downpour began. On the battlefield, weapons clashed, mud splattered everywhere, and under the curtain of rain, visibility dropped drastically.
At the very rear of their army, Su Xiao had not joined the battle. He needed a force of soldiers capable of storming a fortress, not just defeating this one dwarf unit in front of him. From the very start of the battle, he noticed that these defeated troops were not originally from the same unit. They had been cobbled together from scattered remnants.
Clearly, after Su Xiao eliminated the former Deputy Commander, Avare, Uno had thought of this defeated army. Although Avare's troops lacked combat strength, they could still form battle formations and relay orders quickly. This defeated army was different. Some Centurions didn't even know their Decurions. They couldn't form a complete organizational structure. The flaws weren't visible before the battle, but once fighting began, they immediately surfaced.
Su Xiao didn't care whether his soldiers could form formations or not. As long as he had over fifty thousand soldiers, even without any formation, he wouldn't fear the enemy's elite dwarf troops. That was the power of the War Lord title.
Three hours into the battle, their soldiers and the dwarf soldiers were completely locked in melee. By this point, the enemy had no formations left either. The dwarves who were fighting had no time to relay orders to each other. Everywhere was filled with roars and screams, and the rain poured down.
The ground was covered in muddy footprints. Light red rainwater filled the footprints. The rain gradually lessened and finally stopped.
When the rain ceased, visibility returned. The dwarf soldiers then suddenly realized how many of their comrades had fallen around them.
Pairs of vicious eyes stared at them. The heavy casualties, combined with the ferocity of the enemy, made the dwarf soldiers' hearts pound with fear.
"Where, where has Lord Redbeard gone?"
Light red droplets dripped from the edge of a battle axe. A dwarf soldier began to panic. Unable to see their leader, he couldn't help but start imagining that their Lord Redbeard had abandoned him and fled.
"Redbeard abandoned us and ran!"
A Centurion from their side shouted loudly, then lay down beside a pile of corpses, pretending to be dead.
"Redbeard ran!"
Amidst the clashing of weapons and the clatter of armor, this shout was particularly piercing.
Fear began to spread among the dwarf soldiers. Soldiers were human too. Without command, their first thought was whether they should escape the battlefield first. If Redbeard had fled, did that mean the execution squad had also run?
After another half hour of chaotic fighting, the dwarf soldiers broke and began fleeing to the rear. Their soldiers seized the opportunity to beat the drowning dogs.
The pursuit and slaughter lasted a long time before the battlefield finally fell silent. Wisps of black smoke rose into the sky. Looking out, the battlefield was covered in corpses and blood—both their own and the Secret Dwarf dwarves'.
A soldier with three bloody scratches on his face sat on a small pile of corpses. He picked up a warhammer from the ground, looked at the ram's head pattern with a broken horn on it, and grinned.
The battle was over. The first battle was won, but not a great victory. According to Deputy Commander Oss's tally, their side had lost approximately 9,700 soldiers, while annihilating over 16,000 enemies.
Keep in mind, this was under the buff of [War Lord]. If the enemy hadn't routed, the final outcome would have been an extremely bloody victory, or even a defeat.
No sooner had the first battle ended and the soldiers begun to clear the battlefield than the enemy's reinforcements arrived—a force of 20,000 dwarves.
At this moment, their soldiers had just fought a major battle, leaving only about 13,000 men, many of whom were wounded.
Amidst the earth-shaking rumble, the enemy's dwarf cavalry charged at the front, followed by ranks of dwarf soldiers in an A-shaped formation.
Although their soldiers were in poor condition, their morale had topped 90 points. No one retreated. The soldiers wiped the blood from their faces and charged forward. It was still the "steamroll" tactic—swarming forward in a massive wave.
The second battle lasted only an hour before it ended. The enemy was utterly pathetic. Compared to the previous Broken Horn unit, this reinforcing dwarf force was completely unable to withstand a single blow. Although they deployed various formations, under the suppression of individual combat power, it was all useless.
In just one hour, the enemy abandoned over 5,000 corpses and fled. Their retreat was like that of a bereaved dog. On their side, only a little over 300 had fallen...
Far from the battlefield, a large group of dwarf soldiers was running quickly. Among them was a dwarf officer, his expression panicked, worried that the enemy would pursue. In his mind, they had run into terrible luck, encountering the elite troops of the Sand Flame Army.
In reality, the soldiers under Su Xiao were actually defeated troops, transformed into scattered elite forces by the War Lord's buff.
...
Behind the battlefield, their soldiers were passing by. Su Xiao sat on a wooden crate. Upon receiving the battle report, he was quite surprised.
"The enemy fled? That fragile?"
"Yes, my lord. They fled toward the Secret Kingdom. Should we pursue?"
"No. Clear the battlefield."
"My lord, how should we distribute the spoils?"
Oss's eyes held some anticipation.
"Whoever finds the valuables keeps them. Weapons and armor are to be collected uniformly."
"Yes."
Oss withdrew. Before long, their soldiers began clearing the battlefield. Bubu Wang and Baha were also busy, scurrying around looking for treasure chests.
From Oss's account, Su Xiao learned that the Broken Horn unit was one of the Secret Kingdom's elite forces. Although not the most elite, it was quite famous. Su Xiao had been wondering why this dwarf unit was so difficult to deal with.
At six o'clock that evening, the battlefield was cleared. A large number of shields and weapons were seized. The shields could be used directly. As for weapons, battle axes and warhammers were also usable. However, thick-bladed swords and the like were not suitable; they were a bit short for their soldiers.
The bodies of their soldiers were buried together. The enemy's corpses were burned. Prisoners were executed without mercy. Su Xiao had no food to feed these enemies, and selling them as slaves would be too time-consuming.
Large tents were set up, all new ones bought by Kaiser. Each tent housed 10 soldiers and one Decurion. This would both speed up assembly and make it easier for each Decurion to command their men.
Inside Su Xiao's tent, the firelight illuminated the space brightly. Su Xiao sat at a low table with dinner laid out before him. Beside him, Bubu Wang occasionally snuck a piece of supernatural beast meat.
"Kaiser, why did you bring him here? You could have just killed him with the prisoners."
Su Xiao tossed a berry into the air. Bubu Wang beside him tilted his head and caught it.
"Bai Ye, this one can't be killed."
As Kaiser spoke, he pulled off a dwarf's helmet. This dwarf was tightly bound. Two soldiers pressed down on his shoulders, forcing him to kneel. A suspicious black object was stuffed into his mouth, causing the dwarf to roll his eyes repeatedly. This thing seemed to be Kaiser's sock.
"This dwarf is called Laidon Redbeard. He's the cousin of the Secret King, Spring Steel Ram."
Kaiser's words made Laidon Redbeard struggle violently, letting out muffled sounds. Seeing this, Kaiser pulled the sock out of his mouth.
"Ugh~"
Laidon Redbeard dry-heaved, gasping for breath.
"Hahaha, you've caught the wrong person. Lord Redbeard fled long ago."
Laidon Redbeard laughed loudly, clearly seeking death.
Seeing this, Kaiser pinched his nose and brought the sock in his hand toward Laidon Redbeard, preparing to stuff it back into the dwarf's mouth. Laidon Redbeard's face began to turn green.
"Are you Laidon Redbeard or not?"
"No!"
"Very well!"
Kaiser shook the sock.
"Ugh~"
Bubu Wang rolled his eyes and dry-heaved. Su Xiao frowned deeply. He was about to tell Kaiser to take that thing out immediately; the tent was already stinging his eyes.
"Wait, wait. I, I am."
Laidon Redbeard dry-heaved again and lowered his head. He would rather die than let that terrifying thing get near him again.
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