Chapter 189 Ranger and Ranger
In fact, the members of the Horn Summoning Rangers were very conflicted when they first gathered into the main force.
Because the rangers who had been guarding Changhe Town for a long time did not like the Noldor elves very much. After all, the Noldor elves had killed many civilians in Changhe Town in revenge, especially Aldarian's troops.
Although there have not been many conflicts between the two sides in recent years, it is indeed difficult for the Rangers to become friends with the Noldor elves.
But in fact, the lord just wanted the rangers to fight together with the Noldor elves and ease the conflicts between them with comradeship.
Perhaps at present this is just an army of thousands of people that has been forcibly gathered together, and there is no question of mutual coordination between them.
But no matter what, this scale and level of eliteness are definitely top-notch in the continent of Pande, enough to face any strong enemy.
Leofric couldn't believe it the moment he saw the reinforcements - who would have thought that Leon would bring such a large number of elite troops?
"Lord Leon, the army of the Kingdom of Raven is indeed coming to Brave Shield. My scouts have confirmed that a Raven army is now camping dozens of miles northwest - but they will probably be scared to death when they see your team..."
Leofric was now so relieved that he began to laugh heartily.
"They'd better come quickly so that we can kill them first..."
Li Angke was not at all reassured, his face was quite serious: "The Stern Crow Kingdom had just fought a war with the Gatu people not long ago, but now they dare to cross the Gatu grassland. This is probably because they have reached some agreement with the Gatu people. I think the Gatu people are likely to mobilize in large numbers..."
The Lord was not as optimistic as Leofric, because he had just asked Dumbledore to go for a stroll in the grassland a few days ago...
In fact, this "reasonable suggestion" to lure the Gatu people was originally intended to ease the hatred between the Noldor and the residents of White Hart Castle and other places. The lord originally wanted to let the Ebony Gauntlet Knights lure a small number of Gatu people, and then bring the student rangers of Vendatil to fight side by side with the people of the eastern border to kill the lured Gatu people.
After all, the Jatu are the common enemy of the Noldor and the eastern people, and fighting side by side is the best way to resolve the original conflict.
Dumbledore only has about a hundred men under his command now, and the number of Gatu people he can attract will definitely not be too many - the lord has actually already planned it out.
But no one expected that the Kingdom of Ravenstern would suddenly cross the Gatu Grassland and enter the Territory of the Fierce Lion.
Since the army of the Stern Crow Kingdom passed through the Gatu Grassland safely, there is obviously something fishy between them and the Gatu people. The lord feels that this battle is not as simple as it seems.
In addition, Dumbledore's Ebony Gauntlet Knights are probably causing trouble in the northern grasslands, so it is difficult to determine how the Gato people will react...
"I heard that something happened in Changhe Town... Should we ignore Changhe Town? Before, Alma sent people to arrest me and asked me to go to Changhe Town for investigation. Before I could decide what to do, I heard that he died in Changhe Town..."
Leofric turned to ask Leon.
"After we defeat the external enemies, we should consider how to quell the rebellion. This is the principle... Even the first generation of the Fierce Lion King repelled the external enemies first and then resolved the internal rebellion, didn't he?"
The lord shook his head and sighed.
"That's right, that's the way it should be. And... Sarleon City will probably react..."
Leofric nodded and smiled, looking at the golden griffin flag behind the lord with a meaningful look in his eyes.
When he led his troops to set fire to the Three Prophets' camp, he also had this kind of 'honest' smile on his face.
Li Ang's premonition was confirmed half a day later.
Raphael, who was familiar with the terrain, went to investigate and reported that the troops of the Kingdom of Crow Stern did not continue to approach Brave Shield Fort, but set up a camp in the grassland dozens of miles northwest of Brave Shield Fort.
In fact, that place is closer to Fletcher Village, basically just north of Fletcher Village, about thirty miles across the river.
Strangely enough, armies usually choose to camp near rivers - for easy access to water.
But the troops of Stern Crow Territory chose a grassland thirty miles away from the river, which made the lord smell danger.
Judging from the size alone, the total number of troops was about 1,500. Raphael saw many flags, probably from multiple lords, and he couldn't tell who was leading the army.
With this scale, if the logistics personnel are excluded, the combat effectiveness would be just over a thousand.
This is definitely not the main force of the Raven Stern army, just a detachment.
But whether this detachment was to block the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Sarleon or for some other purpose, it should have been closer to Fletcher and Fort Brave Shield, especially closer to the Tongtian River.
After all, it is more suitable to intercept on the river bank across the river, and the archers of the Cold Crow Realm are famously strong.
The location where they were camping now was more like what the Gatu people did - if the team had a large number of cavalry or even consisted entirely of cavalry, they should indeed choose to camp on a flat and uncovered grassland.
This is to maximize the mobility of the cavalry and avoid surprise attacks.
The Crows' detachment that appeared here might be mostly composed of cavalry, and that must be to use the high mobility of the cavalry to cut off the connection between Lion Lake City and the eastern border.
This meant that most of the main infantry and archers used by the Kingdom of Stern Crow for siege went towards Lion Lake City.
Although we don't know the size of their main force or their movements, it would be normal for them to have at least 5,000 troops.
Li Ang felt that Lion Lake City was in danger...
After roughly confirming that there were no other troops near this enemy detachment, the lord simply led his troops to station near the village of Fletcher - in the camp built by Ralph before, which was also the camp where Leon had initially fought a bloody battle with the Gatu people.
Today, Fletcher Village is guarded by about eighty Red Arrow Longbowmen and is relatively stable.
These red arrow longbowmen were actually Charles' subordinates, but they were not loyal to Leon - this was the loyalty relationship in this era, the subordinates' subordinates were not your own subordinates...
In fact, the Red Arrow Longbowmen would probably be more willing to be loyal to Godric, after all, they were established by Godric.
But they were born in Fletcher Village and were Charles' subjects.
Charles still hasn't returned to Fletcher Village. In fact, Charles has completely lost contact during this period. After he ran from Changhe Town to Kwen Village, he seemed to have disappeared.
Now that Charles is not here, the Red Arrow Longbowmen are spontaneously arranging their defenses. They are actually quite nervous, after all, the army of the Stern Crow Kingdom is only thirty miles away.
Seeing the lord's large army approaching, the longbowmen cheered - they still recognized the flag of their superior lord, and now seeing their superior lord bringing so many troops over, they did feel safer.
But this sense of security soon turned into a lot of gossip...
They saw the Noldor in the procession.
Li Ang did not come forward to appease these Red Arrow Longbowmen. After all, the fact of fighting side by side was always more useful than persuasion, and he was not familiar with these longbowmen.
Since the troops of the Stern Crow Kingdom did not advance and there was no movement, Leon was worried that if the stalemate continued, some unpredictable changes would occur. Relying on the fact that his troops were currently elite enough, he planned to take the initiative to launch an attack.
In other words, it was to launch a tentative attack to try to directly defeat the Raven Kingdom's detachment.
At present, the Kingdom of Stern Crow certainly does not know that Leon has such a powerful mixed force, so the lord plans to send a small-scale cavalry to lure the enemy and then annihilate them in one fell swoop.
Leofric also has more than 300 cavalrymen. Leon asked him to provide support from the flank. After the fighting on the main battlefield, Leofric will lead his troops to cut off the Ravencrows' retreat route from the side and occupy the enemy's camp.
This plan is not complicated. The Lord's plan always has one purpose - to ensure that each team has only one simple and clear goal.
A group of female rangers under Vendatil and the rangers led by Raphael took on the task of luring the enemy - this was also a deliberate request from the lord.
Letting the girl rangers come out to lure the enemy out would most likely be effective...
But the Noldor elves may not be used to fighting on the grassland, so the horn summoned the rangers who are familiar with the environment to cooperate to avoid accidents.
At the same time, this dangerous mission can enable these two somewhat hostile teams to quickly establish comradeship.
Raphael had great respect for Leon. Since Leon had given instructions, he set off with fifty rangers.
Wendatil also began to disperse with dozens of female rangers, and she herself followed Raphael - she was not very familiar with the environment, and had to cooperate with Raphael in the battle.
Wendatil knew that Leon's intention was just to make the Noldor fight alongside humans. She had discussed these things with the lord all night.
This Noldor swordmaster is not good at tactics or strategies, but she has a high-end advantage that most people do not have - a strong sense of purpose.
Once she decides what she wants to do, she will do it to the end.
In order to protect the Noldor girls from the tragic abuse they once suffered, she had honed the fighting style that was most suitable for them for more than two hundred years, and had been training girl rangers without slacking off.
In order to try to find a long-term future for the Noldor, after , she will resolutely do it to the end, even if her teammates are the Horn Summoning Rangers, whom she does not like.
There was nothing wrong with Li Ang's idea. Both teams put aside their grudges and tried to cooperate.
However, there was something that the Lord had not expected...
Originally, Leon hoped that Raphael, who was familiar with the environment, would take care of the Noldor as much as possible, but in the end, Raphael almost capsized in this operation to lure the enemy.
Raphael, who had been following Ralph on missions for a long time, was originally a very outstanding ranger. He often lured the enemy when dealing with the Gatu people. Although he was young, he was very experienced.
The camp of the Stern Crows was built on the grassland, but there was no one outside the camp.
So Raphael planned to get close to seduce them. He had to find a suitable place to let the enemy see the Noldor girls...
But in the end, before the Noldor girls could get close behind, Raphael himself had just arrived within 300 meters of the other camp when he encountered a large group of Raven Knights and Rangers rushing out - the number was quite terrifying, at least seven or eight hundred.
No wonder the enemy would camp on the grassland... It looks like the camp might be full of cavalry, and they seem to be ready to fight at any time!
Raphael didn't expect this to happen. The enemy's reaction speed was beyond his expectations. Before he could seduce him, the enemy rushed out...
Of course we had to turn around and run away quickly, after all, no one could hide in the endless grassland.
But Raphael was unlucky. He was closest to the enemy, and the enemy was shooting a rain of arrows at him from more than 200 meters away.
Although this wave of arrows did not hit him due to its long distance, it blocked his route - he could not go around in a circle and turn around along his original route, so he could only rein in his horse, turn around and start again.
The purpose of the enemy's long-distance rain of arrows is to make Raphael's rangers lose speed.
As a result, this time the horse turned around against its will, causing Raphael's horse to step into a pit on the grassland.
That should be a rat hole. The rats on the grassland are very big, and the entrance of the hole is just big enough for a horse to trap its feet. It is also hidden in the grass and cannot be seen at all.
There are many such rat holes on the grassland. Mainland horses are indeed prone to encounter such situations after entering the grassland, and it is not uncommon for them to break their legs while running.
But Gatuma and Changhe Town geldings generally don't fall into such rat holes, probably because they can feel or smell them, after all, they live here.
Raphael was riding a Changhe Town gelding. It would have been very reliable to let the horse run on its own, but Raphael's operation of reining in the horse forcefully in order to avoid the rain of arrows did not go in line with the horse's own judgment, and as a result, the horse stepped into a rat hole and twisted its foot.
Raphael was thrown a long distance away due to the horse's misstep - luckily it was a grassland, so it was good enough that he didn't get hurt.
There are a large number of enemies chasing behind. Generally speaking, the team luring the enemies will not rescue in this situation, otherwise it is likely that everyone will be doomed.
But Wendatil didn't understand any human combat rules. When she saw a friendly soldier fall off his horse, she turned back to rescue him.
The Noldor elves will definitely rescue their people in any battle, because the Noldor always seek smaller losses.
Wendatil was extremely brave in battle, not at all like a woman.
Since it was a short journey to lure the enemy, no one brought spare horses. Raphael lost his warhorse and could not escape, while Vendatil rode a smaller Gato horse that could not carry two people.
So Wendatil shot and killed the fastest enemy with one arrow, and then rushed forward to take away the enemy's horse and then turned around and ran away - as a result, a large number of enemies chased her to a distance of about a hundred meters behind her!
Raphael did escape because of this. He seized the opportunity to jump on the horse while running, and began to ride and shoot with Wendatil.
When the scattered girl rangers saw that their teacher was in danger, they all gathered together and gradually moved closer to Vendatil.
The rangers who could have escaped unscathed naturally joined the Noldor elves when they saw this situation. The Noldor girls, who all looked like young girls, were fighting and killing the enemy. As men, the rangers certainly couldn't be cowardly, otherwise it would be so embarrassing...
As a result, the originally planned attempt to lure the enemy turned directly into a fierce chase.
The number of female rangers and the Horn-summoning Rangers added up to nearly a hundred people, all of whom were top-level elite cavalrymen who were good at mounted archery. It was actually difficult for any troop to chase them - the easiest way to achieve victory with mounted archery was to turn around and shoot at the enemy who was chasing them.
The Horn-Summoning Rangers also witnessed the fighting power of these Noldoro maiden rangers and their reliability on the battlefield.
Needless to say, the Noldor elves were very skilled with archery, and the rangers knew that, so they were not surprised by the girls' accurate shooting skills.
But what they didn't know was that the Noldor were always accustomed to taking the initiative to help their comrades out of danger during battle.
This is the habit of the Noldor, they always try to avoid losses. In the culture of the Noldor, killing enemies does not create great merit, on the contrary, rescuing companions is a greater merit - Islandil also said to Lisadiran that killing enemies cannot atone for sins, only saving the tribe or bringing back knowledge can do it.
Therefore, the female rangers took the initiative to use their shields to help the rangers block many arrows, and some of them took the initiative to go to both sides of the team to defend.
The rangers, who had never fought such a safe battle, suddenly had a completely new impression of the Noldor elves.
What’s more - the person who is protecting himself is actually a girl!
What a beautiful young girl!
What man can let a girl protect herself on the battlefield?
Plus, Raphael had just been saved by Vendatil…
So the Horn Summoned the Rangers to slow down and stay behind the team to block the arrows - they carried shields on their backs, rode the larger and armored Changhe Town geldings, and stood at the end of the team to block the arrows shot by the enemy during the pursuit.
These arrows in the same direction are not very powerful in a high-speed chase, just like after Leofric set the fire. They are no problem for larger or armored horses and will not cause too many casualties.
But if the person running in front turns around and shoots backwards, the power is completely different, and the arrows of the Noldor are too accurate...
The rangers realized that if they acted as shields and allowed the Noldor girls to focus on their attacks, the results would be higher, so the rangers stopped shooting arrows and focused on protecting the girl rangers.
This protection gradually turned into an unexpectedly good combination - the rangers would move between the enemy and the girls, using short spears and shields to reduce damage, while the girl rangers would use bows and arrows to slow down the enemy and kill them.
Since they are all familiar with mounted archery, the rangers will avoid the sight and arrow trajectory when the female ranger turns around and draws the bow, and the female ranger will also constantly adjust their positions to facilitate the rangers' blocking.
Occasionally, if an enemy gets too close, Vendatil will shoot him accurately...
This army of less than a hundred people actually made at least seven hundred Crow Cavalry helpless!
Therefore, the cavalry of the Cold Crow Territory did not chase for too long. They soon realized that it was not cost-effective to continue like this. The chasing party suffered many casualties, while the chased party did not suffer much loss. This was completely different from chasing the Misty Mountain people.
After chasing for several miles and suffering at least fifty casualties, the cavalry of the Kingdom of Raven Stern stopped pursuing.
However, when the Raven Riders began to retreat, Vendatil and Raphael both remembered the Lord's request - the mission goal was to lure the enemy!
How can we stop chasing the enemy?
They both realized that their own troops seemed to be too strong, and they were afraid that the mission of luring the enemy would not be accomplished...
So the two of them turned around bravely and started attacking actively.
The Lord had never expected that before he had even taught Raphael and Vendatil how to fight guerrilla warfare, the two of them had already grasped the essence of it on their own - if the enemy advances, we retreat; if the enemy stays, we harass; if the enemy tires, we attack; if the enemy retreats, we pursue...
