Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 680: The Attack
Chapter 680: The Attack
TL: Rui88
Wave after wave of harassment ignited a fire of anger in the officers and men of the Aldan army.
Although the archers within the Aldan army were also fighting back desperately, their targets were moving—orc cavalrymen galloping on horseback—while the formed-up Aldan army was a stationary target for the orc cavalry.
Drawing a bow and shooting arrows on horseback was no difficulty at all for this race that had grown up on horseback from a young age.
“What is this? Are we just going to stand here and take a beating?”
Complaints arose in every formation of the Aldan army. Many couldn’t understand why they weren’t being allowed to attack even after all this!
“Your Highness!” Montret once again requested instructions from Catherine. “If this continues, our army’s morale will soon collapse!”
Hearing his anxious tone, Catherine looked at her own army’s formation.
Indeed, the infantry phalanx in the center and the knight formation on the left wing had begun to grow restless.
A sense of dilemma rose in her heart.
The armies of the various lords of the Blackstone Plains ultimately lacked a bit of patience.
In order to balance out the mobility advantage of the orc cavalry, she had carefully chosen this battlefield.
Sunset Valley, as its name suggested, was a place sandwiched between two mountains.
Although it was still rather wide for a valley, it could already limit large-scale cavalry movements to the left and right to some extent.
A few hours before the main army had set out from the camp, a cavalry force of more than two thousand men under the command of Klein and Lester had quietly left the camp. Their goal was to secretly detour through the mountain roads to the rear of the orcs and launch an attack from behind the orc army when the main forces of both armies were locked in a stalemate.
But in order to avoid the detection of the orc scouts, the route they took was a bit longer, which was why Catherine had insisted on holding their ground.
According to the original plan, they were to wait until the appointed time to launch a simultaneous attack.
This was a plan insisted upon by the generals who were familiar with the orc army’s tactics, and it carried a certain degree of risk.
Of course, if the orcs abandoned their usual tactics and no longer used these hit-and-run harassment tactics, but instead charged directly in formation, that would be even better for the Aldan army.
The Aldan army would use its numerical and armor advantage to crush the orc attack, and the mission of the flanking force would automatically change to intercepting the fleeing, routed orc army.
As one of the senior generals commanding this battle, Montret was aware of this deployment.
But he still held another view—even without the cooperation of that flanking force, the Aldan army’s main force, facing the orcs head-on, could still defeat them.
The orcs’ harassment tactics gave him a reason to urge Catherine to attack as soon as possible.
Catherine checked the time again. There was still an hour until the agreed-upon time of attack.
Perhaps Klein and his men had already reached the designated position? After all, redundancy had been considered when the plan was made.
Should they attack now?
Or wait a little longer?
As the supreme commander, Catherine was struggling with her thoughts.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion on the left flank, and countless men let out a cheer.
Catherine looked over and saw that a knight had suddenly spurred his horse out of the formation, brandishing his lance and killing an orc cavalryman who had gotten too close.
The knight’s action could not be considered a violation of military orders, as he had not ridden too far from the formation and had quickly returned after killing the target.
No one would let go of an enemy who foolishly rushed up to be killed.
But his unexpected action greatly boosted the morale of the entire army, yet it also made them even more restless.
Catherine realized that if she didn’t let the officers and men do something, many might lose their minds.
“Attack!”
She finally gave the order!
When Catherine’s command was relayed to the entire army by flags, a startling cheer erupted from the Aldan forces.
The morale that had fallen due to the repeated harassment by the orcs was instantly boosted. Everyone was enthusiastic and filled with fighting spirit.
The great army quickly moved into action.
According to the plan, the left, center, and right formations advanced in unison towards the orc side.
The infantrymen of the central army, who had been building up their strength for a long time, held their long spears and rushed to meet the orc cavalry who were turning back again.
The cavalry on the left and right wings closely covered their flanks to prevent being outflanked by the enemy.
The advance seemed to be going smoothly. Many orc cavalrymen who had not expected the Aldan army to suddenly attack failed to dodge in time and were skewered, man and horse, by the forest of long spears.
Finally inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy, this achievement boosted the morale of the entire army even more.
“Kill!”
Montret, who was in command of the central infantry, was extremely excited. He brandished his greatsword and directed the formation, urging the officers and men to continue to fight bravely.
He couldn’t help but be fired up. If he defeated the orcs now, he would have achieved the greatest merit in this battle and become a dazzling new military star in the kingdom.
Just think, to cut off the orc army’s westward advance in a situation where Watcher’s Fortress had fallen and the kingdom’s northeastern territories were all lost—what immense glory that would be.
Urged on by him, the infantry advanced even faster.
On the orc army’s command post, Kalem stared intently at the changes on the battlefield.
“The human army has finally attacked!”
He said coldly to the generals around him, “The warriors of the plains will defeat them, slaughter them! But… that army from Crystal Shine is a threat!”
A one-eyed orc with a fierce expression shook his reins. “Lord Kalem, I request to lead my troops to engage them!”
Kalem looked at him with approval. “Commendable courage, one-eyed Wardle, but you must be prepared to not return. Perhaps ordinary human soldiers are weak compared to us, but those men are all powerful knights with exquisite martial skills, in no way inferior to the Grand Chieftain’s Eagle Feather warriors.”
A strange light shone in Wardle’s remaining eye. “That is precisely what I desire, great General Kalem. Wardle and the warriors under his command need a worthy enemy to prove themselves.”
Kalem nodded solemnly.
“Bring me my saber!”
His attendant immediately handed him a saber.
“This is a long saber that I purchased from a human merchant for a high price. Although it cannot be called a divine weapon, it is forged entirely of fine steel and is a rare and excellent blade. I now gift it to you!”
A flash of excitement crossed Wardle’s originally stern face, and he reached out to accept it with solemnity.
Clang!
He couldn’t wait to draw the blade from its sheath. The bright reflection dazzled him for a moment.
He couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “A fine blade!”
The body of the blade was engraved with some intricate patterns. If someone knowledgeable were here, they would recognize it as a type of Aldan cursive script that had been newly created in recent years.
“Northwest Industry Manufacturing, Serial Number 1995-0231”
The font style of these letters was quite abstract, recognizable only by those in the know, and it served a certain anti-counterfeiting purpose.
However, Kalem had always believed that these were just decorative patterns on the blade.
Chapter 680: The Attack
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