CCTnovel Chapter 616: The Outcome Is Decided
Chapter 616: The Outcome Is Decided
The Summer Campaign ends with a costly victory for Lumir.Ogiro still falls into the trap. They misjudged the strength of Lumir's six newly formed legions.
Obilian's two legions, in particular, show fierce combat power in this battle.
Even after marching for three full hours under the blazing sun, they still maintain their fighting strength.
One legion alone holds back the pressure of two Ogiro legions.
The remaining legion does not disappoint Obilian either.
Under Clifford's command, it takes only half an hour to rout the warband blocking the way.
A wide gap opens on the right wing of Ogiro's center army. Clifford leads more than ten thousand elites forward in ten assault waves, ready to drive into the opening.
Ogiro's commander-in-chief then makes another fatal mistake.
He transfers the Rushing River Legion over, trying to stop the threat.
But he overlooks one thing. If the Rushing River Legion wants to fill the gap in time, it has to march faster.
On this continent, apart from Peace Haven, almost no army goes out of its way to train in running formations.
At first, nothing seems wrong when the Rushing River Legion starts running.
Clifford's legion is jogging as well, but the Rushing River Legion runs too fast because it is trying to save time.
So the Rushing River Legion reaches the right-wing defense line first, ten minutes ahead of Clifford.
Those ten minutes cost Ogiro's army its life.
It is early summer now. People in this world have strong bodies, and the soldiers of the Rushing River Legion are elites.
But natural law still exists. Running for more than twenty minutes under the blazing sun while wearing armor consumes a great deal of strength.
More important, the Rushing River Legion's formation is now in disorder, and they still need to reform their lines.
The soldiers are dizzy and dazed. They can only form temporary defensive groups with the comrades around them.
Many soldiers have been scattered by the run, leaving the formation badly disordered.
By contrast, Clifford's side also jogs forward and its formation is somewhat loose, but it still maintains its overall structure.
At first, everyone thinks this will be a head-on melee.
But when they reach a position about a hundred meters from the enemy line, Obilian's personal guard suddenly hang their weapons behind their backs and take down their military crossbows.
Those sizable military crossbows are Peace Haven's Recurve Crossbows.
The front rank draws strings and sets bolts. When the two sides are less than fifty meters apart, they fire straight into the enemy.
Rushing River's heavy shield spearmen in the front line are not in position yet.
A large swath of Rushing River soldiers is dropped in an instant.
After one volley, the Lumir soldiers immediately stop, step on the stirrup rings at the front of their crossbows, and reload quickly.
At the same time, the row behind them raises its crossbows over the first line and continues firing forward.
Every hundred-man square in the first assault wave carries Recurve Crossbows.
The first five rows keep moving and fire in staggered ranks, while the rear five rows also shoot.
They use longer heavy arrowheads, firing in arcs to strike the Ogiro soldiers farther back.
Over a distance of just over a hundred meters, they force out ten volleys.
The front of the Rushing River Legion is a mess. How can there still be any formation left?
Now, the first wave of that legion steps over the corpses and reaches Rushing River's original defensive line.
Then they suddenly put their military crossbows down at their feet, draw the weapons from their backs, and charge straight into Rushing River's still-chaotic ranks.
The second assault wave follows close behind, spreads out, and clears the remaining Rushing River soldiers.
The third assault wave does not immediately support the first wave.
Instead, they take down their waterskins, stand in place to reform, and drink in small mouthfuls.
A few minutes later, after adjusting their breathing, the third assault wave throws its waterskins aside and advances in formation.
The soldiers of the first assault wave withdraw, pick up their waterskins, and also drink in small mouthfuls while resting.
At the same time, the fourth assault wave has just crossed the engagement zone and picks up the military crossbows arranged on the ground.
After checking that everything is in order, they draw heavy armor-piercing bolts from the quivers at their waists.
Once they are in position, the Lumir soldiers in the third wave withdraw from their hard fight.
The soldiers of the fourth assault wave, holding military crossbows, loose another volley at the Ogiro soldiers.
On the surface, Obilian's personal army has organized ten assault waves, each made up of ten hundred-man squares.
In practice, every three assault waves, or three thousand soldiers, form one complete striking cycle.
The Rushing River Legion is also an elite ace force, but because of the run, its heavy shield troops fall behind. The battle has almost become a one-sided slaughter.
This sudden change on the battlefield leaves everyone staring in stunned silence.
When they see Obilian's personal army tear through the Rushing River Legion with unstoppable momentum, everyone sighs from the heart.
Such precise coordination. Such steady advance. This truly is an ace legion.
Henwell, however, understands clearly that Clifford planned this tactic long ago.
When they separated at Saltwater Town, Clifford deliberately bought more than two thousand Recurve Crossbows for this exact moment.
In addition, after reaching the front line and working out the strategic plan with Obilian, Clifford has already drilled Obilian's elite personal army more than ten times.
In the end, Clifford's gamble pays off. After Ogiro sees how dangerous Obilian's elite personal army is, it sends an equally elite legion to intercept them.
And that legion runs over to seize time.
Everything is perfect. It seems Lumir's national fate is not yet meant to end.
In such a short time, the Rushing River Legion, one of Ogiro's ace forces, is defeated so cleanly and decisively.
This has a massive effect on the entire battlefield, especially on the Ogiro soldiers who witness it.
As expected, when Ogiro's flank defense legions move up, fear has already entered their hearts.
They cannot stop Clifford's attack at all. Even worse, once Obilian sees that the plan has succeeded, he immediately sends out a signal.
The four new armies, which have stayed in a defensive posture the entire time, immediately rotate in warbands that have been resting and launch a full-line counterattack.
Ogiro's center army begins collapsing in plain sight. Everyone present can already see that Lumir has won this battle.
But what follows is not a grand pursuit.
Ogiro fights while retreating.
The battle continues until dusk before it finally comes to an end.
Under the sound of both sides' horns, each legion breaks away from combat and withdraws toward its own main body.
Obilian wants to pursue, but he has fewer cavalry than the enemy, not to mention that the Gloomwood Knights are still watching like tigers from the side.
If he pushes Ogiro too hard and forces the Gloomwood Knights to move, the gain will not be worth the loss.
Just as both sides are withdrawing, Dalton, Henwell's captain of the guard, walks to the edge of the floor.
He takes out a rune-carved horn, draws a deep breath, and blows.
The long horn call spreads across nearly half the battlefield.
Then several louder horn calls sound from Peace Haven's observation camp.
When the officers of the Observation Delegation who are recording and analyzing the battle hear the sound, they immediately run toward their warhorses.
A few minutes later, the first group of more than a thousand cavalry charges out of the camp.
After that, thousand-man cavalry units rush out one after another, heading toward the battlefield.
Everyone's expression turns horrified. They look at Henwell in disbelief.