Chapter 394 Who is the Real Enemy?
The Immortals were defeated.
Sometimes, soldiers retreat on the battlefield not because they cannot win or because they are not brave enough.
But because I have concerns.
There were no cowards in the Immortal Legion. While they were protecting Emperor Marius as he retreated, they also left behind teams of soldiers to risk their lives to cover the rear.
These warriors brandished their swords against the charging cavalry, trying to use their lives to buy time and space so that other comrades could take their emperor away from the battlefield.
The rear guard troops were almost certain to die in this situation, but they did not mind sacrificing on the battlefield.
They were only worried that His Majesty Marius might come to harm.
These are all loyal and brave warriors.
However, Leon knew that Emperor Marius did not actually want to leave the battlefield.
Li Ang was even sure that Emperor Marius would rather die here. Like these immortals, this emperor was trying to use his own life to buy time and space for the Bacchus Empire...
The emperor was worried about the future of the empire and wanted to preserve the vitality of the empire as much as possible. He personally commanded the empire despite his illness and used himself as bait to lure the enemy into the battle.
The soldiers were worried about the emperor's safety, so they abandoned their formation and used themselves as shields to protect their master and evacuate...
The reality is often like this. They are all noble decisions and correct decisions, but they cannot get the desired results.
At this moment, on the side of the battlefield.
General Agathon and his three thousand light cavalry were galloping along the periphery of the battlefield.
Emperor Marius ordered Agathon to attack as soon as Leon launched the charge. Agathon's original mission was to lead the light cavalry that were not suitable for head-on confrontation to rush to Leon's rear as quickly as possible while Leon launched the charge.
As for where to attack specifically, Emperor Marius let Agathon play freely - he could go straight to Changhe City, or go to Serenmis to cut off Leon's food supply, or go around behind Leon's large force and cooperate with the main force to launch a pincer attack, which is also a good choice.
Agathon was best at raiding operations, and Emperor Marius was well aware of the strengths of his favorite general.
But Emperor Marius ultimately misjudged the mentality of his soldiers...
If the center of the Immortal Legion had withstood the charge, and if Marius's flag had not retreated a single step, Agathon would surely have gone around the flank of the battlefield to Leon's rear and done what he was supposed to do.
But the problem is that the Immortal Legion has retreated!
Retreating with the flag of Emperor Marius!
Agathon was on the side of the battlefield. He couldn't see the whole picture, but he could see the flag of Emperor Marius...
Based on Agathon's understanding of Emperor Marius, unless he was truly unable to stop the enemy, Marius's central battle flag would never retreat...
But the central army was led by His Majesty Marius himself, so why couldn't it be stopped so quickly?
His Majesty Marius has been through hundreds of battles and has fought throughout his life. He has been defeated before, but that was because the difference in troop strength was too great. He has never lost in an equal contest!
Moreover, even when using weaker forces to fight against an enemy several times larger than his own, there was no precedent for His Majesty Marius to retreat so quickly!
Is something wrong, Your Majesty?
At this moment, Agasson's face was full of confusion.
Should we continue to carry out the task assigned by His Majesty Marius?
Or to rescue His Majesty Marius?
If they continue to charge toward the periphery, no one will be able to stop these 3,000 light cavalry. They can completely bypass the battlefield and directly cut off Li Ang's supply line in the rear, eventually forcing Li Ang to retreat.
But even if Leon retreated, it would be after today's battle was over. The Immortal Legion, which was currently retreating, and Emperor Marius would most likely be overwhelmed by Leon's cavalry...
If they go to rescue Emperor Marius now, then these 3,000 cavalrymen will have a chance to hold back Leon's heavy cavalry that will charge into the battle later, helping Emperor Marius alleviate the current crisis, and perhaps even allowing the Immortal Legion to regain its footing.
But these 3,000 light cavalry were the gendarmes and public security guards, or mounted police, urgently recruited by Emperor Marius. They were not suitable for fighting on the frontal battlefield.
Moreover, these were all light cavalry. Using light cavalry to fight against the heavily armed lance cavalry that had already increased their speed would result in staggering losses...
But His Majesty Marius... is more important!
Agathon hesitated for a while, and finally made a difficult decision: "Brothers! Follow me and charge!!"
Three thousand light cavalry changed direction and cut towards the center of the battlefield.
Since they had already charged for a while, they were now some distance away from the Immortals in the center, and could not directly provide assistance. So Agathon led the light cavalry to cut into the battlefield from the side, and then tried to "pursue" Li Ang's heavy cavalry...
This is almost suicide.
Because there were two cavalry archery units in the center of the battlefield.
Noldor elves and horns calling for rangers.
The Lancers had already charged into the Bacchus' formation, and the two cavalry archers, who had been providing cover with projectiles, fell to the rear.
Seeing that Agasson's light cavalry changed direction, both Islandil and Ralph realized what this unit wanted to do, and they responded in the same way at the same time - intercepting head-on.
The individual combat capabilities of the Noldor elves and rangers can defeat these Bacchus light cavalry, and their equipment level is far superior to these temporarily formed mounted police. As soon as the two sides came into contact, a large number of people and horses fell to the ground - most of those who fell were Bacchus.
But Agathon was still determined to chase after Emperor Marius's flag. He led more than a hundred iron ring centurions and fought hard, trying to break through the rangers' obstacles and intercept some of the heavy cavalry behind...
The battlefield had turned into exactly what Leon had imagined - a melee.
There are no enemies around Leon now.
The heavy cavalry continued to move forward in pursuit of Emperor Marius's flag. The charging horses knocked away most of the enemies around Le Ang. The other immortals also gave up besieging Le Ang and tried to intercept the cavalry chasing after Emperor Marius's flag.
But they lost their neat formation and their stable mentality. This unorganized interception could only make them all fall under the horses' hooves.
Of course, they still played a big role. They and the two-handed swordsmen who stayed behind to guard the rear successfully slowed down the speed of the heavy cavalry's charge and avoided the total collapse of the entire legion.
Agasson's light cavalry charge also prevented Leon's troops from pursuing the victory - heavy cavalry could not charge too far continuously, and the subsequent pursuit could only be left to the Horn Summoning Rangers and the Noldor Rangers to carry out mounted archery suppression.
But this was achieved with the sacrifice of thousands of people.
Thanks to the sacrifice of the light cavalry and the fighting of the iron ring centurions, Agasson rushed back to the center of the army and presided over the Immortal Legion to maintain the order of the retreat.
As the cavalry archers failed to pursue, the army of the Bacchus Empire regained discipline after Emperor Marius was out of danger, and under the command of Agathon, they blocked the enemy at every level and slowed down the speed of the heavy cavalry.
Therefore, the heavy cavalry that charged the battle line failed to completely defeat the Bacchus, nor could they completely throw the enemy into chaos. The satisfying state of rolling up the pearl curtain did not appear, and the heavy cavalry ultimately failed to rush to the flag of Emperor Marius.
But in any case, the battle had been won - having lost their stable formation, the Bacchus could not fight back and could only continue to retreat. Only when they retreated to the hilly area would they have a chance to regain their footing.
Li Ang struggled to stand up from the ground. His chest, abdomen, legs and hips were all injured. He was just gritting his teeth and holding on. If the immortals besieged him for a few more minutes, he would definitely not be able to hold on...
Cavalry kept rushing past him. In order to avoid being accidentally injured by his own people, Li Ang did not move, but just raised his sword and pointed it forward.
Emperor Marius's battle flag was retreating further and further away.
The spear formations on both sides were also retreating, and the crossbow arrows that were originally flying everywhere gradually disappeared.
Alice came bounding over on three legs—one of her front hooves had been twisted in her previous leap, and she was afraid to put her foot firmly on the ground.
But the mare still nudged Li Ang with her head, trying to get him on the horse.
Leon put down the sword in his hand and stroked Alice's head: "The battle is over..."
There is no need for command now.
The man and his horse just stood there, watching the other troops rush past them, or chase after the battle flag that was getting farther and farther away from the side.
…
As the sky darkened, the battlefield in the Salem Wasteland grew quiet.
The Bacchus army retreated thirty miles and set up camp again in the hilly area north of the village of Salem.
Leon's light cavalry was blocked by Agathon, and the heavy cavalry and heavy infantry could not continue the pursuit for too long, so they could only withdraw their troops, prepare and clean up the battlefield, and then set up camp in the Bacchus' camp yesterday.
The place where they set up camp was the battlefield that Li Ang had originally planned.
In this battle, more than 400 of Li Ang's men were killed and more than 400 were injured. Most of the casualties came from the first wave of heavy cavalry charge.
As for the Bacchus Empire, more than 2,000 people died in the battle alone - this is the number of corpses on the battlefield. As for the wounded... those who were not dead were evacuated, and it is unknown how many were injured.
Nearly half of the light cavalry led by Agathon were killed in the battle, leaving behind thousands of horses, and the Immortal Legion also left behind more than 800 corpses.
For the newly established Kingdom of Pendor, this was certainly a glorious victory, a great victory achieved when confronting the strongest country in the entire continent with equal combat power.
In terms of military strength of both sides, it is 7,500 against 11,000, and the New Pendor Kingdom is still slightly at a disadvantage.
Moreover, the significance of this battle is far greater than the current casualties - this victory means that no country can hinder the new Pendor Kingdom from conquering the continent if it wants.
In Li Ang's military tent, everyone was jubilant, even the lord who was injured on the battlefield had a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, we can pursue our victory and fight all the way to Siyuan City!"
Ralph was slightly injured. When he was intercepting Agathon, he was hit by a javelin thrown by an Iron Ring Centurion - this was also the main reason why they failed to capture Agathon. If the Iron Ring Centurions had not used javelins to clear the way and protect Agathon as he rushed back to the center of the Bacchus Empire, the Bacchus Empire might not have been able to organize an orderly retreat.
Li Ang smiled and said nothing.
He was not so optimistic...the war with the Bacchus Empire had just begun.
The Bacchus Empire is the most populous country in the continent of Pendor. After occupying half of Deshar, its territory is currently the largest in the entire continent. The outcome of a battle cannot make such a country lose its will to fight, but will instead wake it up.
From now on, the Bacchus will completely regard them as the weaker party, and they will begin to truly hold their positions and resist step by step. The hard battle is yet to come.
But Li Ang didn't say anything to spoil the fun. The brothers now had the confidence to win, which was a good thing. As long as he, as the leader, didn't get carried away by the victory, it would be fine.
So we should celebrate our success, but just don't have a banquet - we didn't bring any wine with us on this expedition.
"Your Majesty, an envoy from the Bacchus Empire wants to see you. He says he owes you a debt."
At nightfall, a Noldor ranger entered the tent and reported.
"Another messenger? Why does Emperor Marius always like to send people at night? Is he going to challenge for another battle?"
The military tent fell silent, and Leofric complained.
"This is definitely not a fight, probably to negotiate peace... Let him in, that should be Agatho."
Li Ang shook his head, stood up and sat in the main seat again.
The person who came was indeed Agathon.
There was a slap mark on the general's face, and it looked like he had just been taught a lesson - Li Ang could guess who had taught him a lesson, and why he had been taught a lesson...
If Agathon had resolutely gone around and cut off Leon's food supply when Leon launched the charge, then even if the Immortal Legion was completely wiped out, Leon would have been forced to withdraw.
Moreover, Agathon used the light cavalry, which was not well armed and trained, to fight against the Noldor troops, which caused greater losses. Emperor Marius must be very distressed...
"Lord Li Ang... Your Majesty Li Ang, I am here to negotiate peace..."
Agathon was obviously not used to calling Li Ang "Your Majesty", and only changed his mind after saying "Your Excellency".
"I thought you were here to pay your debt... Eight Dragon Tears, don't forget them!"
Looking at Agasson's serious expression, Leon tried to speak in a lighter tone.
"I have looked for the Dragon's Tears... but I can't find them. I have no choice but to keep this debt."
A smile appeared on Agasson's face, probably because he remembered the sword he stabbed Leon with at Qicha Fortress and the unpalatable meal Leon treated him to.
"Okay, I'll pay you back if you owe me. Just don't default on it... You said you wanted to negotiate peace? But I just won a great victory. It doesn't seem like a good time for you to negotiate peace now."
Li Ang said this half seriously and half jokingly.
"I don't want to come either...but this is an order from His Majesty Marius."
Agathon subconsciously touched the fingerprints on his face and said, "I have to tell you that a few days ago, after you asked General Sura to bring back the Shadow Legion, General Cleon had already marched from Sava River Castle to Sarleon City."
Leon looked at Agasson in silence for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "This is inevitable. I sent troops to attack the Bacchus Empire. As a general of the empire, Cleon must also send troops to my kingdom..."
The words sounded easy, but Leon actually felt uncomfortable in his heart - he had solved the Red Death together with Cleon, and Cleon had also led the Knights of the Glorious Cross to help clean up the undead troops in Sarleon City. They should not have been enemies.
"...Aren't you going to return to defend? Cleon is not easy to deal with... Moreover, he knows that Her Majesty Amy is settling refugees in Deer Heart Lake."
Agathon asked.
"If Cleon attacks farmers and refugees, he is not Cleon... Why should I worry? Instead, you should be worried about the current situation - you have suffered too many casualties and can no longer defend Karen Deer Castle."
Li Ang shook his head and said, "His Majesty Marius didn't ask you to tell me about Cleon, did he? It would be better if you told me what Emperor Marius said."
Leon knew very well what kind of man Marius was. The emperor would never threaten anyone with the safety of farmers or refugees. This must have been Agathon's own decision.
Sure enough, Agasson sighed, glanced at Lisadiran beside Leon, then turned around and said, "The original words that His Majesty asked me to convey were... The Bacchus Empire has suffered heavy losses, and the fire in the Noldor Forest has been extinguished. Can the elves think rationally now? Our real enemies are laughing at our foolish fighting."
The military tent fell silent, and Risadilan and Islandil stood up at the same time.
Li Ang also stood up: "Snake Worship?!"
"It's not just the Snake Cult. Your Majesty Leon, you may know that Kairos' entire family is in the hands of the Snake Cult, and both he and his son need the blood of the Noldor elves to survive, so they will provoke a war between us..."
Agathon nodded and said, "What caused them to become like this was a masked weirdo who caused a disaster in Imperial Port... The reason why General Sura caught Antonius a few days later was because of a terrible disaster that happened in Imperial Port... Many of the dead who had been buried were resurrected, and thousands of living people... died in an instant!"
"Aziz Dahaka... Kavala!"
Li Ang's face changed: "Where is His Majesty Marius? I want to see him!"
