Chapter 43: Unstoppable
The march of 300,000 beast cavalry caused the earth to tremble, the surrounding area feeling like a mild earthquake, and the vultures in the sky were startled away.
With Su Xiao's forces on the move, Spring Iron Sheep naturally received the news. The 300,000 war beasts had been sent to Segona City the night before, and Spring Iron Sheep knew of it, but he was not concerned.
Beast cavalry were indeed strong, but they required time for soldiers and war beasts to bond and coordinate before their combat power could be unleashed. This hastily assembled beast cavalry would have reduced, not increased, combat effectiveness.
Su Xiao was well aware of this, so before the full army set out, he ordered that if anyone felt uncomfortable during battle, they should immediately dismount from the war beast and fight alongside it.
Who said beast cavalry had to fight while riding on the war beast's back? Their war beasts had sharp fangs and claws, with considerable combat power. Although their charging ability couldn't compare to war sheep, if a war beast and a war sheep fought one-on-one, the war beast would likely win.
Riding the war beast for speed was enough. Su Xiao needed to invade the Kingdom of Peru, and there would be plenty of opportunities for the soldiers to bond with their war beasts.
The army advanced quickly, and within less than ten minutes, the enemy's ram cavalry appeared from the front.
A full 100,000 ram cavalry faced 300,000 beast cavalry. The two armies charged at each other, shaking the mountains and earth, splashing mud and sending grass blades flying. Soon, the vanguard forces clashed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!...
Weapons collided. War sheep lowered their heads, their curled horns sending war beasts flying with dull thuds.
A miraculous scene unfolded. In the past, a war beast struck like this by a war sheep would be either dead or half-crippled. But now, each war beast that was sent flying merely rolled a few times on the ground, shook its head, and stood up. Blood dripped from the corner of one war beast's mouth, but the soldier on its back didn't fall off. Their riding skills were poor, but their physical constitution held firm.
"Roar!"
The war beast bellowed, its eyes bloodshot. The knight on its back patted its nape, his eyes equally bloodshot.
"Partner, this is my first time fighting with you. Don't fall before I die."
"Roar."
After a brief exchange, the war beast charged forward with the soldier on its back. The soldier slapped the war beast's back with one hand, lightly leaped up, and stood on its back.
A faint blood light appeared on the soldier's curved blade. The blade was nearly two meters long, with a half-meter handle, yet the soldier wielded it with one hand.
The war beast charged, meeting a ram cavalry head-on. The ram cavalry soldier was stunned for a moment, then let out a sneer. He adjusted his helmet. The other's riding posture on the war beast was utterly amateurish.
The war sheep and war beast sprinted, the soldiers on their backs facing off. In the instant they crossed paths, the battle axe and heavy curved blade traced two arcs of cold light.
A spray of blood scattered. A sheep's head spun in midair, and behind it was the upper body of a dwarf soldier, his battle axe severed in two.
"Ah?"
The dwarf cavalry's face was full of shock. With a thud, the dwarf soldier, cut in two, and the war sheep crashed to the ground. The spreading blood soaked the soil.
The allied soldier glanced back at the scene, then remounted his war beast. Across his chest was a wound spanning his entire torso, revealing his still-beating heart within his chest cavity. But he didn't care. As a soldier who had followed Su Xiao from Shadu to the present, this was the third time he had suffered such an injury. He'd be fine after a bit of fighting.
"You're not bad."
The allied soldier patted the war beast's head, grinning fiercely and fearlessly. The main reason he hadn't been promoted was that he was too bloodthirsty. He worried that if promoted, he'd have to command others, and then how could he enjoy fighting freely?
Unfortunately, Su Xiao's men were not isolated cases. They had extremely vile personalities but were incredibly brave on the battlefield.
The beast cavalry and ram cavalry became entangled in a chaotic melee. Within half an hour, the ram cavalry sensed something wrong. They were losing far too many men.
Just then, the dwarf infantry arrived and joined the plains battle. The great battle of 600,000 versus 300,000 began.
Hmm~
A horn sounded, unusually long, somewhat like a cow's low growl. It was one of their soldiers blowing the [Bull Horn].
Bull Horn: If the number of allied troops exceeds 25,000, all gain a temporary increase of 1,000 health points for 5 hours, affecting up to 375,000 allied soldiers.
Hearing the horn, all allied soldiers felt a surge of warmth in their chests, as if some energy had entered their bodies, strengthening their vitality.
This change boosted the soldiers' morale even higher, and the war beasts let out roars.
Behind the enemy lines, Spring Iron Sheep sat on the battlefield, surveying from a high vantage point. With his keen eyesight, he spotted Su Xiao on the opposite side, now standing on the back of the black dragon.
Seeing this, Spring Iron Sheep couldn't help but feel envious. Peru's war machines were too heavily countered by that black dragon. The dragon-hunting crossbows meant to deal with it had just arrived last night but were all destroyed. The culprit had yet to be identified. Spring Iron Sheep always suspected there was a traitor beside him, or an enemy he couldn't see.
"Ah-choo!"
Bubu Wang beside Su Xiao sneezed, sniffing, wondering who was thinking of him.
On the battlefield, soldiers were locked in chaotic combat. 600,000 dwarf soldiers against 300,000 allied soldiers wasn't a simple two-on-one. The war beasts were also formidable combatants, completely unleashed, cooperating with their riders to pounce, tear, and bite the enemy.
Once the two armies were fully entangled, the dwarf soldiers immediately felt immense pressure. From a bird's-eye view, the dwarf soldiers fell like stalks of wheat under the allied soldiers' blades. Only the ram cavalry could hold their ground.
Ordinary dwarves, facing the combination of allied soldiers and war beasts, were almost overwhelmed. With a boost of 10 true attribute points and two passive abilities, the allied soldiers' combat power was evident.
War beasts couldn't gain the "Soul Burning Power" ability, but they could benefit from "Bloody Battle," and the effect was about a third stronger than for the soldiers.
Before long, all the war beasts' eyes turned bloodshot. This wasn't berserking but a killing-type buff. The soldiers were also affected by the "Bloody Battle" effect. With similar auras, the war beasts became inseparable from their riders.
Half an hour into the battle, the dwarf side had suffered over 50,000 casualties, and morale began to wane. Seeing this, Spring Iron Sheep ordered his dwarf soldiers to split into six groups, forming a charge and semi-encirclement formation.
The dwarf soldiers quickly formed battle lines and charged at the allied forces. The result was that, except for the ram cavalry, no other dwarf units could break through, nearly surrounding the ram cavalry completely.
Two hours into the battle, over 100,000 dwarf soldiers had fallen, and a small number began to flee. The allied side had lost about 10,000.
Indeed, with the War Lord's boost, the casualty ratio between the two sides reached a terrifying 10 to 1.
Four hours into the battle, another 90,000 dwarf soldiers had fallen. The rear execution squads faced immense pressure. The allied side had lost no more than 7,000. The "Bloody Battle" effect played a huge role. The longer the war of attrition, the stronger this ability became.
Six hours into the battle, the dwarf soldiers had suffered over three-fifths casualties. The ram cavalry was reduced to 70,000, but their desperate final charge caused over 10,000 allied casualties.
By 2 PM, the scales of war began to tip. The dwarf forces were routed, with large-scale desertion occurring. What made them despair was that this time, they faced cavalry—they couldn't even run.
The war subsided by 5 PM. Looking out, the plain was covered with the bodies of dwarf soldiers. The stench of blood and burnt flesh mingled, creating a scene like an Asura battlefield.
Of the 600,000 dwarf soldiers, over 470,000 had died here that day. The rest had barely escaped. The ram cavalry was reduced to less than 50,000, with over half dead, but not a single ram cavalry soldier had fled.
Among the dark clouds, the glaring sun half-revealed itself through the gaps, dyeing the nearby clouds red.
A dwarf soldier knelt among the piles of corpses. Nearby, a dying war beast spat bloody foam, breathing laboriously.
Crack!
Between the dark clouds and the sun, a thunderclap exploded. A bolt of lightning struck the battlefield. In the sky, the remaining clouds were red as blood.
This battle was later known as the "Siege of Segona," the most painful war the Kingdom of Peru had ever experienced, without equal.