Chapter 31: The Battle of the Gates
The soldiers within Segona City formed into ranks. The newly transferred 140,000 troops were well-trained veterans of many battles. At this critical juncture, the Sand Capital would not dispatch motley forces.
If this war was lost, not only would Su Xiao lose his position, but it would also deal a massive blow to the morale of all allied forces on the central battlefield. After enduring so many years of defeat, finally having a force capture a key fortress of Peru, only to be driven back after just one day—the impact on morale was unimaginable.
Su Xiao's capture of Segona City put Unno in a difficult position. Even though Unno was hostile toward Su Xiao, he had to obey the Sand Emperor's orders and dispatch troops to Su Xiao.
Standing on the city wall, Su Xiao watched as his soldiers assembled before the city rather than defending within it. The Sand Flame's war machines were inadequate; defending the city would only be a disadvantage. Once the enemy threw large quantities of oil barrels into the city, it would become a furnace.
Su Xiao decided not to defend the city. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to gather before the city and engage the enemy in open-field battle.
When it came to chaotic melee combat, Su Xiao had never feared anyone. The War Lord title was perfectly suited for chaotic battles and prolonged warfare.
A flock of vultures circled overhead. These battlefield scavengers seemed to know that a feast would soon begin.
As the vultures circled and the sun hid behind the clouds, the soldiers stood at attention. A grim, murderous atmosphere settled over the field.
Before the battle began, Su Xiao's first action was to delegate authority. He had four military commanders under him, one of whom had already departed for the Sand Capital, replaced by Oss.
Beneath these four commanders were twenty-one division commanders, and below them, countless thousand-man and hundred-man leaders.
Su Xiao delegated authority to three commanders. Once the battle started, as long as they didn't flee, they could fight however they saw fit, making decisions based on the situation.
Upon receiving these orders, the three commanders were both bewildered and excited. Having climbed to the rank of commander on the front lines, each commanding 50,000 soldiers—who among them didn't know how to fight? These men sometimes dreamed of battle tactics.
After delegating authority, Su Xiao and Kaisa went to a secluded spot to talk, with Bubu Wang and Baha standing guard nearby.
What Su Xiao entrusted to Kaisa was simple: sow discord. He wanted Kaisa to stir up friction between the three commanders and Deputy Commander Oss, making them dislike each other without becoming outright enemies or hostile. In short, they must not unite.
Wasn't unity and cooperation among subordinates a good thing? The answer was a resounding no. When the three commanders and Deputy Commander Oss became close, calling each other brothers, how far away would they be from joining forces against Su Xiao? The human heart was unpredictable; some things required precaution.
These men were not trained or promoted by Su Xiao. He never believed that with a wave of his hand and a few fine words, other high-ranking officers would become blindly loyal.
A good superior-subordinate relationship was one where the commanders disliked each other, frequently coming to Su Xiao to complain about one another. Su Xiao would find ways to keep them from becoming completely hostile while appropriately giving them the benefits they desired. Feeding them too much wouldn't do, but starving them was also unacceptable. They needed to be kept somewhat "hungry" while remaining sufficiently "strong."
When war broke out, because they weren't hostile to each other, they could cooperate under Su Xiao's orders. This was balance—the game of power, rules beyond the rules.
Kaisa listened, stunned. He nodded thoughtfully. When he served as a quartermaster in the Dragon Soaring Empire, other officials had disliked him. Now he understood—the problem wasn't with him.
For now, these measures weren't needed yet. War was about to begin; doing such things now would only backfire.
Hum~
The war horn sounded. The 200,000-strong army began to advance under the deployment of the commanders. Su Xiao sat on an iron chair atop the city wall, Bubu Wang crouching by his leg, Baha perched on the armrest, and the Black Dragon, Mides, positioned behind Su Xiao.
Thump, thump, thump~
It sounded like war drums being beaten, but it was actually the flat, hollow metal shields of the Dwarf troops. Their attack order had been given.
Both sides began marching toward each other. This time, the Dwarf troops didn't immediately use their war machines. The tragic scene of Segona City was still fresh in their minds. Without dealing with that Black Dragon, large-scale use of war machines would quickly result in the destruction of these expensive devices.
When the two armies were only a kilometer apart, a thunderous roar erupted.
"Kill them all!"
"Sand Flame scum!"
"Dwarf vermin!"
The soldiers exchanged greetings involving each other's relatives and female family members. When dealing with enemies, vulgarity went unpunished. Only the victor could preserve the honor of their family's women.
Boom, boom, boom...
The front lines of both sides collided. Their shields cracked, and some soldiers were sent flying entirely.
The battle had just begun, yet the frontline soldiers on Su Xiao's side were already pushing into the enemy formation like a steamroller. This was the effect of the War Lord's buffs.
Su Xiao and Spring Iron Goat were both positioned at the rear of the battlefield, facing each other. Su Xiao watched the battle below. As long as Spring Iron Goat didn't deploy his war machines, Su Xiao wouldn't act.
At the enemy's rear, Spring Iron Goat stood on a war chariot, surveying the battlefield below. Seeing that the front lines of the Dwarf troops were beginning to collapse, his frown deepened.
"Order the Male Ram Cavalry to charge and break through the enemy lines."
"Sir, isn't this too early?"
Spring Iron Goat's adjutant spoke even as he sent someone to notify the Male Ram Cavalry to mobilize. He could offer his opinion, but on the battlefield, as adjutant, his first duty was to relay Spring Iron Goat's orders.
"Our opponent is Kukulin."
Spring Iron Goat's words left his adjutant speechless.
On the battlefield, the soldiers of both armies were intermingled, locked in close combat. Just as the tide began to turn decisively, the thunderous pounding of hooves echoed across the field.
"Ahahaha~"
A cavalryman riding a war ram, clad in heavy armor and wielding a long-handled war hammer, let out a strange howl. Behind him came more cavalrymen, each riding a slightly smaller war ram.
Hearing this howl, a hundred-man leader on Su Xiao's side turned toward the sound. Almost simultaneously, the cavalryman on the ram slightly leaned sideways. His ram was somewhat tall; when attacking an enemy with full force, leaning sideways lowered his center of gravity for a more devastating strike.
The long-handled war hammer swung. The hundred-man leader turned his head just in time to see a dark shadow approaching. Then, a buzzing sound filled his ears. He felt himself becoming weightless. His vision spun. When it stabilized, his line of sight was level with the ground. He saw only a bloodstained war hammer hanging low, the iron-shod hooves of a large ram stomping the earth, and then darkness swallowed his vision.
The Male Ram Cavalry was like a sharp sword, charging irresistibly into Su Xiao's formation. Wherever they passed, they left behind a trail of crushed and trampled flesh and blood.
In Peru, any unit bearing the name "Ram" was formidable, let alone the powerful Male Rams.
Metal clashed. Mud clung to silver shields. Red-eyed soldiers fought and killed on the battlefield. Though the Male Ram Cavalry was fierce, after charging for a while, they felt the pressure mounting. The enemy soldiers around them were tough to deal with, their strength comparable to Peru's regular elite forces. If they charged too recklessly, they would surely be ground down and annihilated.
A battlefield of 450,000 soldiers would not end in an hour or even a few hours. The plains stalemate had begun.