The Lord Of Blood Hill-Chapter 212: Encircled on All Sides
Rifidi may be a fucking weakling, but that doesn’t mean all the legion commanders are the same.
Once they realize they might’ve fallen into the trap, several legion leaders immediately band together and strip Rifidi of his command.
Their first move is stopping the full-on rout. They split the nearly 10,000 scattered cavalry into three groups.
Two of these cavalry clusters take position on the rear left and right flanks of the retreating army, forming a buffer line. This setup aims to prevent Henwell’s cavalry from charging straight through and turning the whole force into a herd of panicked sheep.
Though none of them truly believe they can hold back Henwell’s elite horsemen, at least this tactic threatens Henwell’s flanks during his advance.
Even if they can’t beat Henwell outright, they can still inflict some serious damage on his cavalry cluster.
But Henwell shows no signs of a reckless charge—instead, he trails the kingdom’s army at a measured pace.
As long as Henwell’s cavalry keeps the pressure on, the kingdom’s two cavalry groups can’t catch a break.
Without a chance to regroup, the kingdom’s horsemen can’t break through the frontline blockade.
Meanwhile, another kingdom cavalry unit circles around to the front of the retreating army.
Their job is twofold: hold back the retreat speed to maintain some semblance of formation—because a chaotic stampede would be a goddamn disaster—and scout ahead for possible ambushes.
Several commanders already suspect traps lie ahead, and they scramble to contact their rear for reinforcements.
Too bad they’re too slow.
Peace Haven’s first and second legions have already closed the gap, sealing the pocket.
Over 3,000 kingdom cavalry trying to break through the first infantry regiment’s line find no success.
Before they can pull back, Peace Haven’s cavalry battalions charge in, slicing them in half.
When the remaining cavalry retreat, the bulk of the army finally realizes they’re trapped in a fucking encirclement.
Under normal circumstances, tens of thousands of troops might still break through the blockade.
But not now.
Consecutive crushing defeats, relentless pursuers, and chaotic formations make it damn near impossible to mount any effective counterattack anytime soon.
Things get even fucking worse—it’s already dusk, and darkness is closing in fast. The snow keeps falling harder.
After running for over two hours, the soldiers are completely drained.
The supplies they managed to drag along is not nearly enough to support such a massive force.
The commanders weigh their options and come up with two plans.
One: a desperate, all-or-nothing breakout charge. With so many troops, and Peace Haven’s forces not fully squeezing their movement space yet, maybe some can slip through.
Two: set up camp and defend for the time being. They’re still inside Ika Kingdom territory. Most of the kingdom’s southeastern troops are nearby, and the kingdom won’t just stand by. If they hold out for a few days, reinforcements can arrive. Supplies can last a bit longer, so this might save the force.
After hashing out the pros and cons, they go with the second option.
Sounds dumb, right?
But it’s easy to understand—no one wants to be the fool responsible for wiping out nearly 100,000 troops.
Whoever pushes for that breakout plan? They’re signing up to take full blame if the entire army gets wiped out.
And that’s not just losing their job or title—they could end up executed.
Let Rifidi take the fall?
He’s a military idiot, sure, but not a political one.
There’s no way he’d accept that responsibility. Instead, he dumps the decision on the commanders.
Looks like he’s listening to the pros, but really, he’s already scheming to pass the blame.
In the end, they settle on holding their ground.
Even so, the risk of total annihilation is sky-high.
But at least this way, they have a scapegoat—like blaming the reinforcements for being late.
Bottom line: deep down, they all believe that while Peace Haven beat them, Henwell doesn’t have the guts to wipe out these tens of thousands of troops outright.
But they overlook one crucial fact.
They fail to grasp how Henwell’s move shakes up the entire war between the two nations.
Count Jansen’s troops have already crossed into Ika Kingdom territory, seizing two border fortresses. Using these as supply bases, his mobile force of ten thousand can strike north or south at will.
Heading south, they coordinate with Henwell to crush most of the kingdom’s southeastern fighting strength.
Heading north, they threaten the rear of the kingdom’s forces stationed at the Vorska defensive line.
These are the big-picture concerns the kingdom’s top commander must juggle—it’s far from a simple matter of sending reinforcements.
But Jansen’s actual role is mostly for show. He won’t march north or south. Instead, he waits to intercept any kingdom reinforcements trying to reach the southeastern.
The area where Rifidi’s army is now encircled is exactly the spot Henwell picked out long ago.
It’s a basin-like terrain—not obvious at first glance—but surrounded by dozens of small hills, offering a strategic edge.
As night falls and the retreat grows frantic, the kingdom commanders overlook the surrounding terrain.
They fail to seize those hills immediately, and by the time Peace Haven’s pursuers arrive, it’s too late.
Henwell sends men overnight to set up defensive positions on those hills, assembling arrow towers one by one.
Massive chevaux-de-frise block the pathways—not fully sealed off, but enough to seriously hinder any charging assault.
That night, the kingdom’s soldiers huddle together, braving the heavy snow as they struggle through a brutal night.
The next day, the kingdom’s officers are stunned to find that dozens of arrow towers have already been erected all around them.
Not only that, but three massive camps are under construction nearby, clearly meant for long-term occupation.
Over ten thousand laborers, braving the light snowfall, keep working to fortify the position. The irony is that much of the building material was ripped from the kingdom’s own former camps.
After a night in the cold, many kingdom soldiers are already falling sick.
No tents, a whole afternoon of running, soaked underwear with nothing dry to change into.
In weather this fucking freezing, that’s a death sentence.
The kingdom’s officers are way too optimistic. Forget holding out for days—the way things look, even three days seems like a stretch.
The only silver lining is that there’s a small village in this basin, so the commanders at least don’t have to sleep outside.
But there are nearly 70,000 soldiers in the Ika’s troops.
Feeding, watering, and managing these soldiers every day is a colossal task.
For warmth, every tree and burnable thing nearby has already been stripped to ash.
Henwell wastes no time sending messengers with a message: out of respect for life, they’ll accept wounded and sick soldiers.
Drop your weapons, and you’ll get food, medicine, and proper care.
Kingdom commanders, of course, forbid any such surrender.
But in the morning the next day, when counting the numbers, it is found that some soldiers couldn't take it and surrendered.
Some injured commanders’ conditions worsen by the day.
Cases of frostbite and respiratory infections spread rapidly through the camps.
That night, soldiers start trickling over to the blockade to surrender.
Some group leaders even lead whole squads in laying down their arms.
Don’t expect those non-elite troops to have unshakable resolve.
And never underestimate how merciless nature can be, breaking down both body and spirit.
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Chapter 212: Encircled on All Sides
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