Chapter 393: The Price of Loyalty
Leon, who was leading the charge with a lance in hand, was already about a hundred meters away from the Immortal Legion's formation.
This is already within the range of the Bacchus Empire crossbowmen.
The two infantry phalanxes formed by the Second Legion of the Bacchus Empire fired crossbow arrows towards the center of the battlefield from the left and right sides of the Immortal Legion.
The distance between the two battle formations is very careful, two hundred meters apart, allowing the crossbowmen to form crossfire.
This is the traditional battle formation of the Bacchus Empire. The large shields and spears of the Bacchus Empire are never placed in the center of the army, but are used to cover the crossbowmen.
Just like the 'ear forts' protruding from both sides of the bastion, the phalanxes on both sides fired at oblique angles, and the Immortal Legion in the middle acted as a city wall to intercept.
Charge towards the Immortal Legion in the center and you will face all the firepower.
But if we attack the two spear formations on both sides... we will have to rely on heavy infantry like the Silver Hand to break them down. Using cavalry to bite this hedgehog will not end well.
Crossbow arrows shot diagonally are very difficult to defend against, especially in large-scale battles, facing a rain of arrows like locusts. You can either rely on your equipment to withstand it, or pray that you can get the favor of the goddess of luck...
Fortunately, Leon brought a shield with him in this battle - this was not a fight against the Fallen. Facing the heavy crossbows of the Bacchus Empire, if he didn't bring a shield, he would be courting death.
The Noldor cavalry and the Horn Summoning Rangers followed Leon. After rushing half the distance, they spread out to the left and right to make room in the middle, then drew their bows and shot at the Bacchus on the opposite side.
This is not a regular shootout. It is not cost-effective for cavalry to shoot against crossbowmen in the shield formation. This is just to suppress the opponent's long-range output as much as possible so that more heavy cavalry can rush into the Bacchus formation.
Rushing out from the gap left by the mounted archers were the Griffin Knights, the Lion Lake City Heavy Cavalry, and the Sarleon Cavalry - they accelerated behind the Noldor and formed into horizontal rows of sixty people, then passed the Noldor elves and followed closely behind Leon.
These heavily armed lancers were the main force in the charge.
There was a horizontal gap of nearly two meters between each cavalryman. The cavalrymen in the back row did not follow their comrades in the front row , but faced the gap.
There is a distance of about twenty meters between each horizontal row.
This formation is actually a fish scale formation. All the space is left for the reaction distance of the war horses. If the cavalry in the front row are forced to stop or shot down, the back row can continue to charge forward directly through the gap without being blocked by their comrades.
Heavy armor, lances, and fish-scale formation charges - this is also the tradition of the Realm of the Sarleon... or rather, this is the tradition of the Kingdom of Pendor.
The sound of horse hooves became the main theme of the entire battlefield, and Leon could no longer hear any other sounds.
There were no other images in his eyes except the battle flag of the Bacchus Empire getting closer and closer.
He bent down, hid his head behind Alice's neck, and shrunk his body as much as possible under the protection of the shield.
Crossbow arrows kept flying past his side, occasionally piercing his shield and armor, causing slight shocks.
When they rushed to the front of the Immortal Legion, more than a dozen crossbow arrows had been stuck in Leon's shield and Alice's horse armor, and two were also stuck in the armor on his shoulders and hips.
There was some blood on the side of Alice's neck, and Leon had some skin injuries on his shoulder and thigh, but fortunately, they were all minor injuries.
As a king, of course both he and his horse wore the best quality Noldor enchanted armor. Most crossbow arrows could not penetrate this equipment, after all, they were shot from a distance of one or two hundred meters.
But the cavalrymen behind Leon were not so well equipped. Just by rushing through the range of more than 100 meters in front of the Immortals' array, dozens of cavalrymen were shot down along with their horses.
Especially the first row of cavalry, only half of them could still follow Li Ang closely.
Li Ang knew that if he charged head-on, the losses would certainly be huge.
But Li Ang also knew that as long as he could successfully rush to Marius' side, forcing a charge at the center of the army would be the way to minimize losses in the end.
Now Le Ang has seen Emperor Marius, who is right in front of him, holding up a flag and looking at him.
The two stared at each other on the dangerous battlefield.
There seemed to be no one else in each other's eyes.
The soldiers of the Immortal Legion have already rushed forward dozens of meters - they did not foolishly wait for the cavalry to charge, but stepped forward and threw the broad-bladed javelins in their hands towards Le Ang's lance.
This is the correct way to deal with it. Shield walls alone cannot stop heavy cavalry. Only by causing more casualties to the cavalry in the front row and making them form an obstacle to the cavalry in the back row can the impact of large-scale cavalry be truly slowed down.
Li Ang did not dodge the javelin thrown at him - dodging was actually useless on the battlefield. He simply held the shield in his left hand horizontally in front of him, held the lance horizontally and continued to move forward at high speed.
“Bang!!” “Crack…”
The lance shattered, and the brittle wooden pole in front of the handle was almost blown into slag. An immortal was pierced by the spear head and flew back several meters.
Then, there was a loud sound of lances breaking, and blood splattered everywhere like waves hitting rocks.
The spear also pierced Li Ang's shield, and the tip of the spear pierced Li Ang's arm.
"Hiss...uh hiss..."
Alice beneath him let out a sharp neigh, and another javelin pierced into its chest, swinging back and forth as it ran.
But Alice still didn't slow down, it still rushed forward.
Leon casually threw away the handle of his lance, leaned over and pulled out the javelin from Alice's chest, used the javelin as a pistol, and stabbed it into the throat of an immortal who was raising his sword to stab him in front of him.
Then, there was a violent vibration.
Alice has crashed into the shield wall of the Immortal Legion.
A sword blade created dazzling sparks on Alice's horse armor, and Leon felt an uncomfortable sensation on the side of his leg as the metal rubbed against his shin guard.
But Li Ang ignored it.
Now, he would ignore anything that was not a stab from the front.
Naturally, other comrades will deal with the enemies on the sides and behind.
He just needs to move forward.
Draw the sword.
forward.
After breaking through three layers of shield walls and knocking down more than a dozen people in a row, Alice's speed slowed down, but she was still not forced to stop.
Because Alice has been actively charging towards the shield - in fact, this is the way for a warhorse to be least vulnerable and easiest to break through the shield wall, but ordinary warhorses will instinctively avoid or change direction after seeing the huge shield.
Alice was not blindfolded, but she ignored all interference. When Leon told her to move forward, she kept moving forward.
Perhaps horses, like humans, often rely not on strength but on wisdom and determination.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Alice's golden-maned horse is not the best charging horse, because it is not the strongest in all aspects - its explosive power is not as good as that of a purebred horse, its endurance is not as good as that of a Gatu horse, its impact is not as good as that of a gelding from Changhe Town, and its agility and speed are not as good as that of a Noldor horse...
But Leon always felt that Alice was the best.
Because Alice is much smarter and more resilient than ordinary horses.
It could sense what Le Ang wanted to do, had complete trust in Le Ang, could avoid the greatest dangers on its own, and could endure the pain to complete what Le Ang wanted to do. It didn't even deviate from its direction after being hit by a spear.
What could be better for a war horse?
Leon has broken through the shield wall of the Immortal Legion.
The cavalry behind him had also rushed into the Bacchus' formation.
The sound of lances breaking resounded through heaven and earth, and then the sound of swords and shields clashing drowned out the sound of horses' hooves.
It was getting closer. Emperor Marius's flag was only thirty meters away, and Marius himself was still standing under the flag without retreating a single step.
But at this time, Alice did not continue to rush forward, but suddenly jumped high.
Li Ang also saw two rows of extremely long spears appear in front of him.
This is a chevaux de frise - the kind that's five meters long.
These chevaux de frise were probably urgently deployed after Leon launched the charge. There were only two rows, with dozens of them in total, all in front of Emperor Marius's flag.
The two rows of chevaux de frise spears were mounted on large shields, pointing diagonally at a very small angle, with the tip of the spear about one meter and two meters high - this was the height of a warhorse's chest and abdomen.
If the warhorse charged forward, the tip of the spear would pierce the horse's chest and be pushed up at an angle due to the impact, and the person riding on the horse would be strung together.
Under the banner and beside Marius, stood a large number of two-handed swordsmen ready to attack - they were also immortals, but they did not hold shields, but each of them was holding a two-handed sword and waiting.
Of course, it is not so easy to break through the formation of the Bacchus Empire.
The ability to quickly arrange multi-level interceptions alone demonstrates their superb discipline.
The spear arrays and crossbows on both sides came from the tacit cooperation of the Second Legion of Bacchus.
The javelin teams charging forward to meet the attack, the three-layer shield wall, the two rows of lances protected by the shield wall, and the two-handed swordsmen preparing to attack under the flags - all of this was arranged by the Immortal Legion within one minute after Leon launched the charge!
The battlefield efficiency of the Immortal Legion is even higher than Leon imagined.
Moreover, those two rows of caltrops were very insidious because they were blocked by the shield wall. The Bacchus deliberately moved the three shield walls forward twenty meters just to prevent Leon's cavalry from seeing the location of these caltrops.
I'm afraid most cavalrymen would be caught if they rushed here...
But Alice was not hit - she cleverly jumped over the first row of chevaux de frise, then landed heavily on the ground and came to an emergency stop.
The clever little mare was eventually forced to stop, and this leap might have twisted her hoof because she stepped on the gun barrel, but at least she avoided herself and her master from being pierced by the spear.
But Leon did not waste Alice's spiritual leap.
Before Alice landed, Leon jumped off the horse's back and used the last inertia given by Alice to fly towards his final goal.
Emperor Marius was behind two rows of lances.
Alice jumped over the first row, and Leon took advantage of the momentum to fly over the second row.
They are truly like-minded partners.
"Leon!"
Emperor Marius raised his head in surprise, looking at Li Ang who flew out from the horse, and tightened his sword in his hand: "Everyone, attack!"
The place where Li Ang landed was less than ten meters away from Marius.
Marius did not panic. He stood still calmly and let the two-handed swordsman beside him attack.
But then, his expression changed drastically.
Because the two-handed swordsmen did not obey orders...
"Your Majesty, please retreat!" "Protect Your Majesty!"
The immortals around Marius swarmed over, but instead of attacking forward, they stood in front of Emperor Marius.
“Don’t panic! Maintain the formation! Ahem… ahem!! Line up your swords! Push forward!!”
Marius shouted loudly.
But the Immortals did not do as he said...
Most of them did not hear Marius' voice, and were only focused on protecting His Majesty the Emperor...
The immortals crowded in front of Emperor Marius, even completely blocking Marius's sight.
In fact, Le Ang could not hurt Emperor Marius now - the enchanted armor on his body was very light, and he was not knocked down when he flew out, but as soon as he landed on the ground, he was surrounded by several Immortals and Imperial Guards, and could only roll and crawl while slashing left and right.
Basically, he had to rely entirely on his strong armor and sharp sword to resist, and it was not easy to stand firm.
The cavalry behind him were stopped by halberds, and many soldiers were pierced along with their horses. The cavalry behind him were also blocked, and no one could support him for the time being.
But Leon was so close to Marius...
Marius himself was not afraid. He did not move at all because he knew he would not be in danger.
If the Immortal Legion could maintain its formation at this time, take advantage of the opportunity when the first few rows of Le Ang's cavalry were stopped to form a greatsword array and push forward, and continue to deploy calvary spears, it would be very likely that they would be able to intercept the charge of most of Le Ang's cavalry step by step!
When facing a cavalry charge, the infantry cannot retreat, let alone panic.
As long as you stop the front few rows of the enemy cavalry, then keep steady and push forward, chop down the horses of the cavalry in front, so that the wounded horses pile up and cannot be dispersed, then the subsequent cavalry of the enemy will have to turn around and avoid it.
Even if the cavalry is determined to move forward, the horse will turn around on its own - unless the horse's eyes are blindfolded.
Once the cavalry turns to avoid, it will cause a chain reaction and the formation will be disrupted. Even the fish scale formation will not be effective in this situation.
But now, the immortals' army formation was in chaos.
Just because Li Ang rushed to within ten meters of Marius...
Emperor Marius ultimately overlooked a small matter.
He ignored the fact that he had personally given Leon a reputation as a demon king a few years ago...
At that time, Leon was still a small baron, but Emperor Marius and Justus portrayed Leon as an extremely terrifying monster - an invincible hero, a swordsman with three heads and six arms, a monster who ate five children in one meal...
If someone else had flown over , the Immortals might not have taken it too seriously and would have just sent a few people to rush over and be done with it.
But Emperor Marius looked at the man flying over and called out " Leon "...
Moreover, seeing this guy's bravery and fearless determination when he led the charge, every Immortal felt that this guy might indeed be an invincible swordsman!
Otherwise, who has ever seen a king taking the lead and rushing to the front?
This is fucking different—a swordsman who can kill anyone he wants is less than ten meters away from Emperor Marius?
Of course the immortals are panicking!
"Ahahahaha! Your Majesty Marius! I'm coming! Why don't you retreat?!"
Le Ang shouted at the top of his voice, and the volume of one person almost drowned out hundreds of people - there were already hundreds of immortals piled in front of Emperor Marius.
They all held two-handed swords, so they used their bodies as shields in front of Marius.
This is the result that Li Ang wanted to achieve by forcing his way into the battle!
——Marius is a good emperor who is loved by the people. His guards will subconsciously protect him, especially now that Emperor Marius is weak and has no fighting ability, the Immortal Legion will subconsciously protect him!
Marius himself could indeed remain calm in the face of adversity, but his immortals could not - these loyal guards would be driven by their subconscious...
Protecting the weak is the instinct of all animals, including humans, and protecting the Emperor is the duty of the Immortal Legion.
They messed up when they shouldn't have.
In fact, Li Ang was struggling to resist, as a large group of Immortals and Imperial Guards had already surrounded him. He didn't rush over directly, but in fact, he relied on his reputation as a 'Sword Saint'...
Li Ang was only holding on thanks to his good equipment, and he already had several wounds on his body.
But this did not stop him from continuing to scare the immortals...
"You can't stop me!!"
Leon had another wound on his body, and the Noldor enchanted armor could not stop the sword of the immortal, but he still kept slashing and killing, and seemed to be getting more and more energetic.
Several Immortals have already fallen to his sword.
"Keep the formation! Leave me alone! He can't hurt me... cough cough... cough cough cough!!"
Emperor Marius shouted at the top of his lungs, then began to cough hard.
There is no way to stop a cough on the battlefield...
The immortals who were protecting Emperor Marius began to retreat slowly, and Emperor Marius's flag also began to retreat - the immortals carried Emperor Marius back a little, hoping to keep Marius, who currently had no fighting power, away from Leon.
Protecting the seriously ill emperor and retreating was an instinctive reaction and certainly not a mistake.
But when they retreated, the situation became serious...
"Ha! Huh! Charge!"
The troops on Leon's side suddenly let out a startling roar. The team that was continuously charging brought unimaginable pressure to the Bacchus at this moment, and the surge in morale was almost visible to the naked eye.
——Following Leon’s orders, they had all been looking at Emperor Marius’s flag, but now, that flag retreated!
what does that mean?
It means victory is just around the corner!!
No wonder His Majesty Li Ang had to lead the charge personally, it turns out the enemy is vulnerable!
With such thoughts, anyone's morale would surge, and most people probably think they can beat at least ten people!
They actually don’t know that Li Ang is the one in danger... They can’t see Li Ang who has already fallen.
But most of the Bacchus people didn't know either... They only saw Emperor Marius's battle flag retreating!
Li Ang finally got what he wanted - the morale of one side rising while the other fell.
This is the price of loyalty.
The immortals who were loyal to Emperor Marius personally tipped the balance of the battle in favor of Leon.
The immortals in the front row were quickly forced back, and several cavalrymen finally rushed to Leon's side - they were lucky enough not to be stabbed by the calvary.
Seeing that Le Ang had new reinforcements, the immortals, carrying Emperor Marius and his flag, began to retreat faster.
"Keep going! Leave me alone!!"
There were scarlet wounds on Leon's chest and abdomen, but he still brandished his sword and shield and shouted loudly: "Do you still remember my orders? Charge forward!!"
