Chapter 68: Night Attack
Translator: Zenobys Editor:
A few soldiers were looking for mangers at a farm for their horses. In the evening, they saw black smoke billowing out of almost all of the chimneys. They assumed that the villagers were cooking and were not too concerned about it.
Meanwhile, the army of the Great Moon Kingdom was quietly approaching. They took off all of the bells that were hung on their horses. They also wrapped the horseshoes with cotton and stuffed the horses' mouths with sticks. This was to reduce the amount of noise made by the horses. The whole army slowly approached the village under the cover of the roadside trees.
When night drew near, one of the Empire's cavalrymen found traces of the enemy from the top of a tree. He only had enough time to utter a cry of alarm before his throat was suddenly pierced by an arrow. He fell from the tree.
However, that cry was enough to warn the others. Without any hesitation, all of the soldiers quickly got on their horses and drew their scimitars. One of the soldiers also immediately sounded the horn.
Rody and Sieg rushed over with their 50 soldiers. However, by the time they reached, only 30 of the initial 50 soldiers who were already there remained. The troop leader led his men as they alternately charged and retreated in the battle. The Great Moon Kingdom had about 1,000 soldiers and they were all cavalrymen. Fortunately, the road in the village was narrow. Although the Great Moon Kingdom had more military strength, they were unable to spread out and charge in the narrow space. The officer of the Central Cavalry took his men to the rear and continually shot arrows while moving. The troop leader skillfully shot down the approaching enemy cavalrymen. These 50 cavalry soldiers were personally selected by Sieg to act as Rody’s bodyguards. Whether it was in horsemanship or archery, they were the cream of the crop. It was to the extent that they were even better than the foreigners who were supposed to be famous for their horsemanship and archery. Although the foreigners managed to kill more than a dozen of the Wolves Fang cavalry, they also ended up losing about 30 soldiers.
As the Great Moon Cavalry approached Rody's men, they suddenly heard a shout, “Shoot!”
Before the leading cavalryman of the Great Moon Kingdom’s cavalry could react, he was hit by a few arrows and fell to the ground.
Rody had ordered his men to spread out on both sides of the village's main road. The moment the vanguard of the Great Moon Kingdom entered their range of fire, they were ruthlessly shot at by the archers. As it was dark, the Great Moon Kingdom's army was unable to determine the number of archers shooting at them. About a dozen of the leading vanguards who were shot fell down from their horses. The cavalrymen following from behind could not stop on time. They tripped and fell as well. The momentum of the enemy cavalry immediately dropped.
Without giving them a chance to react, Rody and about 100 of his men calmly shot the second volley of arrows. The cavalry of the Great Moon Kingdom was now unable to determine the military strength of their opponents. They could only cry out in alarm, “They have an ambush! An ambush! ”
At that moment, Sieg gave an order. About 100 cavalrymen at the rear threw away their other weapons and rushed forward with their scimitars.
After that, the sound of the horn which signaled the Empire’s cavalry charge was heard on both sides of the road. “Kill!”
The two cavalries fiercely clashed in the dark. The sound of shouting, screaming, neighing and metal clashing could be heard. Rody took about a dozen soldiers with him and rushed to the middle. He held a long scimitar in his hand and fought fiercely. Not a single one of his enemies was his match. The moment he met with an opponent, the opponent would immediately scream and fall off his horse. When Rody raised his scimitar the head of an enemy soldier would soon fly into the sky. Blood sprayed all over Rody’s face but Rody did not bother to wipe it off. He merely roared and continued to rush forward alone.
Although the Great Moon Kingdom had many soldiers, their most powerful leader who was with the vanguard earlier was already shot to death by some arrows in the dark. Since then, the common soldiers that Rody met wherever he went, were not his match.
The Great Moon Kingdom was unable to gain an advantage with their superior numbers in the narrow road. Rody's warriors were squeezed tight together with them in the confined space. It was then that Rody's warriors’ advantage began to take hold.
The Central Cavalry troops were elites whom Sieg personally trained. They brilliantly executed their battle tactics. The attacks of the cavalrymen from the Great Moon Kingdom were often blocked and a scimitar would appear from another side to cut off the cavalier’s head.
At the narrow road, the Great Moon Kingdom was forced to fight against the Wolves Fang Army, one-on-one. Their soldiers at the rear could not squeeze through. They could only roar but were unable to do anything else. On the other hand, the Wolves Fang Army had a strong leader in Rody who was also a powerful warrior. Almost every enemy soldier they encountered was hacked and killed. In just a short time, the Wolves Fang platoon of 100 had pushed back the Great Moon Kingdom company of 1,000 men.
At that moment, the cries of an army came from behind Rody. The trampling of the horses caused the earth to shake. All of a sudden, in the dark a voice shouted loudly, “Wolves Fang!”
“Kill!” In the dark, the voices of more than 10,000 people shouted in unison.
“Kill!” When Rody’s bodyguards heard the shouting behind them, they suddenly became more aggressive. More than 100 soldiers roared imposingly. Their attacks with the scimitars apparently became about 30% stronger.
The army from behind, who was originally guarding the village, had finally arrived. The clear sound of their bugles and the trampling of their horses got louder as they approached. The Great Moon Kingdom’s soldiers suddenly shouted, “They have a group of cavalries!”
After that, excluding the few soldiers who were fighting Rody, the rest of the Great Moon Kingdom soldiers turned around and ran away.
After defeating the remaining enemies, Sieg knowing that his troop was too small, did not chase after the runaways. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to station themselves at their original place.
The soldiers lit up their torches and found that the village road was filled with corpses and injured horses. They also found a few seriously injured soldiers from the Great Moon Kingdom who were groaning on the ground.
Of the 200 guards who originally protected Rody, only 100 guards remained. On the other hand, the Great Moon Kingdom troop left behind about 300 corpses.
After the fight, Rody felt his body ache. He could smell the strong stench of blood. His face was full of blood and he felt a burning pain from the wounds he received on his hands.
He looked on the ground and saw that some of the corpses were without arms and legs while some were without heads. Rody suddenly felt his stomach churn. He quickly pushed away two of his soldiers who were supporting him and ran to the front of one of the houses by the roadside. After that, he leaned against the wall and vomited.
He almost lost consciousness after he vomited out most of his bile. His body was drenched in sweat and he felt a bone piercing coldness from the winds which blew that night.
Sieg slowly approached him and gently held his arms. He asked, “Your Excellency, is this the first time you killed in the battlefield?”
Rody nodded his head. His face was pale as he tried to stand straight.
Sieg sighed and slowly said, “This is nothing. This is usually the case when a person kills others for the first time. The first time I killed someone was when I followed the late Duke. At that time, I pissed myself until I almost had no pants to wear.”
Rody’s face was pale but he still managed to grit his teeth and stand straight. He slowly said, “I know. Don’t worry. I am alright now. I am a warrior! From the time I decided to become a warrior, I knew that this day would come!”
At that moment, more than 10 soldiers brought about 20 villagers forward. The one leading the soldiers was one of Rody’s bodyguards. He was covered in blood and his left arm was injured. Although the injury was wrapped up in a simple bandage, the blood did not stop oozing out of the wound. With a gloomy expression, he spoke loudly, “Your Excellency, these are the people who burned the straws and created the black smoke.”
Sieg’s face turned grave as he looked coldly at the trembling villagers. He then looked at the ground, where more than 100 corpses of his soldiers were neatly arranged. His eyes showed grief and distress. He then looked back at the villagers and ruthlessly ordered, “Execute all of them!”