Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0070 Iron Army
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sound of the war drums seemed to beat on people's hearts, making it difficult to breathe. The green royal flag fluttered in the sky, and rows of soldiers walked down the hillside, marching towards the distance.
Zorn sat on his warhorse, squinting his eyes as he looked at the dark army passing by him, with an extremely heroic feeling in his heart.
The warhorse under him was shaking its head and snorting, and the armor on his body with carved beams and painted buildings was heavy and hard. This feeling really made him feel comfortable, extremely comfortable.
Further ahead, the green royal flag that had already gone far away fluttered in the wind, and a forest of spears seemed like a barrier, standing between him and the plain in the distance.
The army in front of him was endless. Zorn had already brought almost all the troops that the Alante Empire could spare, totaling 200,000. Including the troops that had already arrived at the front line, the Alante Empire had assembled 300,000 troops to fight northward.
Accompanied by the majestic drum beats and trumpet sounds, huge square formations were slowly moving forward one after another, and long spears were like a forest, swaying slowly as the troops moved forward. Between these slowly moving square formations, there were narrow passages like ridges in wheat fields, and the cavalry responsible for communication were riding back and forth on horseback.
Even in the eyes of laymen, the Alante army in front of him was definitely a well-disciplined elite army. With such an army and reinforcements from the Holy Demon Empire, Zorn was confident that he would not be defeated.
"Whoa!" The leading general, who was wearing equally gorgeous armor, pulled his reins in front of Zorn and said loudly, "General! The area ahead is where the Elanhill troops are active. Do we need to gather the troops first?"
"Ahem!" After clearing his throat, Zorn did not think his army needed to wait. He waved his hand and told his men, "Order the troops in front to form a square formation and stand by! The troops in the back continue to move forward! Just keep the formation!"
Are you kidding me? Tens of thousands of Elanhill troops are fighting an enemy ten times their size? Even if the enemy commander is as brave as a rock, he can't do such a crazy thing. Moreover, is there any soldier from the Mortal Empire who dares to fight the army of the Magic Empire?
"Whoosh!" A gust of wind blew across the plain, and the grass rippled in the wind. Soldiers wearing gray steel armor held three-meter-high spears and walked up the distant hillside step by step.
"General! I heard that the phalanx is being reorganized ahead... Let's go over there too!" The general who came to deliver the message pulled his reins, turned his horse's head, and began to rush forward. The cavalry on both wings of Zorn also began to ride forward, and the ground was trampled by countless horses' hooves, making a dull thumping sound.
The cavalrymen holding the banners held the battle flags tightly in their hands. The black royal flag on it was torn apart by the wind, tumbling and fluttering, which was pleasing to the eyes. Zorn rode on the horse's back, squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and pulled the reins to make the horse move forward.
The huge drum cart pulled by hundreds of war horses was right behind Zorn. The drummers on it were still tirelessly beating the war drums in front of them that were as tall as humans. The dull drum sounds that made Zorn excited were produced by their hammering.
Zorn, who was letting his horse move forward slowly, was also observing his army with the eyes of a leader. As they marched, these spearmen, archers, and cavalry on both wings all maintained a very regular formation.
Moreover, the entire army moved without any noisy noise, and even the footsteps of these soldiers were accompanied drum beats, without the slightest disorder. No matter from which direction you look at it, the army in front of you is an impeccable force that has fought many battles!
The most elite troops of the Alante Empire, including the most powerful combat force including the Royal City Guards, combined with the invincible Magic Empire army - this lineup can definitely completely wipe out the little-known country of Ailan Hill.
If we still can't win, it's really unfair. This is what Zorn thought in his heart. He knew that each of these soldiers was a carefully selected veteran, and their combat effectiveness has always been very strong; the remaining troops were also elites drawn from the imperial border troops, and each of them was a qualified soldier who had been strictly trained.
Just when General Zorn was proud of his invincible army, a huge shadow blocked the sun above his head, just like a dark cloud covering the sky above his head.
"Roar!" A deafening roar even covered up the dull sound of the giant war drum. A huge fire dragon flew over General Zorn's head, with an indomitable momentum, and climbed to a higher sky in the distance.
Then, before General Zorn could catch his breath, a second dragon flew over the Alante Empire's marching column, causing many soldiers to look up in fear. This dragon was even bigger than the fire dragon that had just flown by, and looked even more ferocious.
Then, the third and fourth fire dragons appeared. Their shadows slid on the ground, making all the soldiers of the Alante Empire jump for joy. Although these dragons were scary and ferocious, they could indeed bring firm morale and incomparable courage when standing on the side of friendly forces.
Farther away, a long head poked out from the ridge and opened its bloody mouth towards where Zorn was. The long and thin tongue was blood red, which made people's scalp tingle just by looking at it.
Zorn saw the mouth full of sharp teeth, and he also saw the red tongue. He saw the long neck stretched out, and he also saw the pattern of dark red and black scales on the neck shining slightly in the sun.
Then, he saw the monster stretched out its claws, and the membranes on its claws opened up to the wind, forming two huge wings. A dragon knight in gorgeous armor was riding on the dragon's back, looking down at Zorn with contempt.
General Zorn quickly bowed his head to show his obedience, and the dragon rider then turned his gaze away and looked at the endless mortal army. The giant dragon under his crotch had sharp eyes, looking at the friendly soldiers as if he was looking at a pile of food.
"Roar!" What made General Zorn look away was the roar of a giant dragon hovering above his head. Accompanied by this terrifying sound, the ferocious and huge fire dragon slowly descended in altitude, and finally landed not far from General Zorn's side.
The faint pressure made the horses ridden by Zorn and others tremble. They snorted nervously because a huge dragon at the top of the food chain was crawling right in front of them.
A man wearing bright silver armor, with patterns on the armor emitting a faint silver glow in the sun, jumped off the dragon's back holding his helmet, and walked up to Zorn with displeasure.
Irdo held his sword and saw General Zorn, who had dismounted and was standing in front of him with his head lowered. He said in a commanding tone, "I hope that the Elanhill you are talking about is a country worthy of our efforts! If they don't have those dangerous weapons you mentioned, you will be the ones to die!"
"No! No! I saw it with my own eyes! They do have all kinds of weapons, weapons similar to magic!" Alante Lumbak, who was accompanying the army to fight, lowered his head and explained respectfully: "So they must have them! They must have this kind of weapons!"
"Let your men attack first! I want to see what the other side is capable of." After saying this, Ildur turned around arrogantly and walked towards his dragon. Of course, he had the capital to be arrogant, as the dragon knight troops he brought this time were quite large.
Because the ground troops were traveling too slowly, his dragon knight troops arrived near the battlefield first. Seeing that the war between Ailan Hill and the Alante Empire had been going on for more than two months, the speed of this counterattack was not really fast.
"Sir! Our vanguard troops have run into Elanhill's troops..." At this time, a general came over and reported to Zorn the latest battle situation in front.
"Let the vanguard attack! The task of testing is given to us! As long as we show the true power of the Elanhill Empire, the dragon knights of the Holy Demon Empire will help us destroy Elanhill!" Zorn ordered with his fists clenched.
The general stared at the enemy phalanxes on the opposite ridge, thought for a moment and gave his own suggestion: "General, we should start the attack from the front. Push the infantry forward, and then use the archers to test..."
Zorn thought the same, so he immediately gave the order: "All troops, advance! 1,000 steps! Archers, get ready!"
After hearing his order, the flag-bearer standing next to him began to wave the huge flag in his hand, issuing the attack order to each phalanx.
At the front, the Alante Empire army, which had already formed an attack formation, began to advance in the center. After a few steps slower, the phalanxes on both sides of the center phalanx also began to advance - soon, a huge arrow pointed to the center of the enemy army not far away.
Amid the heavier drumbeats, the archer phalanx slowly moved forward. The gray armor rippled and the sound of iron plates colliding was refreshing.
This is the romance of men, this is the melody of the times! Zorn watched his troops approaching the enemy, and a heroic feeling arose in his heart - soon, this army would be able to sweep across the northern plains, recapture the city, and destroy Ailan Hill.
"Now, I'm here! Commander of Elanhill, let's see how you defeat my invincible army! Hehehehe!" Pulling the reins, General Zorn urged his horse forward, and brought his guards to the hillside overlooking the entire battlefield.
