Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Among the sound of the thunderous hooves was the sound of the sand on the ground trembling slightly.
It sounded like the whole world was collapsing.
Under the lighting of the fire, the cavaliers on the sand dune were indistinct. Countless hooves struck the sand floor, bringing a dull, thunderous roar to the ears. Thales could hardly hear the nearest voice.
They rushed towards the small campsite of the merchant group.
They got closer and closer.
“No, no no,” said Tormorden, the completely terrified owner of the merchant group. He looked at the group of orcs who were in front of him and looked at Shattered Stone Tribe, who was running away from them. He finally looked back to see the Constellation cavaliers, who were sweeping towards them from every single part of his field of vision. He muttered while completely scared out of his wits, “We… we…”
The other merchants were not that much better than he was, and some even cried in fear.
“Dean, we are caught in the middle!”
The dazed Thales was dragged back to reality by the female captain. He looked at the ferocious and murderous cavaliers who came charging towards them in the name of his father. He turned pale.
Obviously, this was not the best moment for him to smile and say, ‘Hello, fellow comrades.’
After all, he did not have four legs.
“They are charging!”
While the sound of hooves and warcries filled the air, Louisa’s expression turned anxious, and she shouted with all her strength, “We won’t be able to survive!”
The captives panicked.
“Oh, Desert God…” A merchant shuddered while he stared at the approaching cavaliers. He was unable to speak.
“No, no.” Tormorden squatted down. While he curled into a ball, he said in a teary voice. “We will die… we will die… and my goods…”
“Fatty, you f*cking stand up and shut up!” The bald mercenary picked up Tormorden from the ground and violently interrupted the impromptu speech from the owner of the merchant group.
The sound of the hooves were thunderous, and the ground shook.
More cavaliers entered the illumination of the light. They still could not be seen clearly.
The twenty or so orcs who blocked their path screamed wildly as they swung the weapons in their hands. They were ready to put their lives on the line.
“Their goal are the orcs…”
Dean’s expression had never been so grave. His eyes moved back and forth between the orcs and Constellation cavaliers. His gaze was as hard as steel. “As long as we can find shelter and avoid their first attack…”
Old Hammer coughed. “Also, don’t forget the orcs who are fleeing for their lives. The Constellation army will not let them go. We have to stay away from their line of pursuit!”
Mickey spat out a bloody tooth and pointed to a remote dune on the left side of the camp, “There!”
“Very good!” Dean’s eyes lit up. He stepped forward and struggled to kick away a box that stood in the way, “All of you, come with me! Don’t take any weapons with you!”
The female captain of the mercenaries clenched her teeth behind Dean, “Go!”
The group of captives fled helter-skelter on the sand.
Behind them, the distance between the twenty or so orc interceptors and cavaliers drew closer.
The captives eventually managed to hide under the sand dune on the side of the battlefield. They threw themselves down and shielded themselves away from the cavaliers’ sight, and felt a little relief.
Thales slid quickly down the sand dune after the others, then turned over and climbed up two steps. He mimicked Dean and showed half his head above the dune. He then nervously looked at the cavaliers who rushed down the dune and occupied most of his view.
“There’re at least one hundred of them.” By his side was Old Hammer, and he did not appear to be in good condition. He was pale and panted as he leaned against Quick Rope. But when he stared at the battlefield, his gaze was still sharp. “There are even twenty Raven Whistle Light cavaliers among them. This is not common.”
‘One hundred cavaliers?
‘It felt like there’re a thousand horses among them.’
Thales squeezed his palms and stated silently in his heart.
In the distance, Warchief Kandarll fled quickly to the opposite direction of where the cavaliers appeared with its one hundred or so subordinates. The distance between them and their companions who stayed back as rearguards became wider.
“More than a hundred…” Quick Rope asked in a puzzled tone, and he looked at the group of fleeing orcs. “But those gray mixed breeds are also about one or two hundred people… Why are they escaping even when one of their own is equivalent to ten men?”
Old Hammer shook his head and did not speak.
“Who cares?” Tormorden the merchant interrupted Quick Rope, who was about to ask questions. He patted his chest, and his heart was still pounding against his chest, still unable to calm down. “It is a good thing that the group of mixed breeds fled anyway.”
Right at this moment.
“Kerol!”
The foreign blood’s roar appeared from the other side of the battlefield, from among the fleeing group!
The captives turned around and looked to the right side where Shattered Stone Tribe was fleeing desperately.
Thales’ eyes instantly froze.
*Clip clop… clip clop…*
The thunderous sounds of horse hooves rose in the dark shadows of the other side of the battlefield, where light did not shine. It was then followed by numerous battle cries.
“My God, that’s…” Mickey widened his eyes. He was in disbelief.
Unfamiliar and agile figures appeared before their eyes. Beneath these figures were horse hooves that rode in the darkness, and on their bodies were armor that shone with a chilling light.
Cavaliers.
The second group of cavaliers.
It was as if they were deadly assassins who had sprung out in the darkness after laying in wait for their target for a long time. They rushed toward the fugitives with an unstoppable charge!
“Mixed breeds!”
The new cavaliers shouted coldly, “Do you like surprises?”
Warchief Kandarll’s roar grew more and more urgent as it faced the enemies who suddenly appeared. The fleeing orcs had to slow down and rebuild their formation.
Old Hammer looked at these cavaliers with a grave expression.
These new cavaliers charged forth with a snap of their reins. The sound of their horses as they charged forth were louder and deeper than the Kroma Family cavaliers, and their equipment was also more uniform. There was also a murderous aura on all of them.
“Outflank!”
The Old Hammer frowned, “This is a trap.
“The cavaliers from the Kroma Family are just herding staffs, responsible for driving the enemies into their pockets, and the cavaliers around this side are the bear traps.” The Constellatiate veteran sighed. “Single-Winged Crow… The tactics and formations they used must have been arranged in advance.”
“It’s different,” Dean suddenly spoke.
Dean pointed to the group of newly emerged cavaliers while the other people turned to look at him with puzzled expressions. “Look at the flag.”
Thales squinted in bewilderment and activated the Sin of Hell’s River to see the battle flag flying above the cavaliers.
It was just as Dean said.
That was not the Single-Winged Crow.
It was a flag that Thales did not recognize. The pattern of the flag in the distance looked like a few bright stars enveloped by dust that resembled fog.
“Stardust Battle Flag!”
Old Hammer said in shock, “It’s the Stardust Unit!”
Many people were surprised at this remark.
“Stardust Unit… in Blade Fangs Camp?” Louisa asked with a frown.
Thales looked at others in confusion.
Old Hammer nodded.
“Look closely, their horses are not the same as the Kroma Family. They are not the ponies used in the Western Desert. They are much taller, bigger and heavier.” The veteran carefully observed the new cavaliers. “That is the hybrid of Northland horses and horses on the plains. The explosive force of their charge is also stronger.
“This group of cavaliers are the regular troops stationed in the Western Frontline and serve the royal family directly.
“The Stardust Unit of Baron Williams.”
‘The regular soldiers of the royal family?’
Thales eyes lit up.
‘That is to say, this group of people is trustworthy… right?’
“Thank the Desert God, thank the Sunset Goddess, thank the Bright Moon Goddess, thank Dark Night, thank all the Kings of Constellation of all ages…” Tormorden patted his chest, and his tears practically spilled out from his eyes. “I knew it. Our family has been loyal to Constellation for generations since the time my great grandfather served the Virtuous King. Fate would not let us die here…”
Everyone pursed their lips and did not say a word.
But Old Hammer furrowed his eyebrows a little.
“I can’t believe this. The baron’s Stardust Unit and Kroma Family’s conscription army…
“This must be a large-scale plan… After the Desert War, this is the first time I have seen these two groups, who can’t see eye to eye, work together,” Old Hammer murmured.
Thales frowned slightly.
“But these are orcs! The immortal gray mixed breeds!”
Quick Rope counted the number of people and asked in amazement, “I counted them, the newcomers… the Star whatever Unit. The total number of people is just about a dozen, and they’re rushing in just like that, can they really gain the upper hand?”
While he spoke, Stardust Unit’s cavaliers moved like sharp blades and mercilessly stabbed the wing of the fleeing orcs!
They engaged in their enemies much faster than their colleagues from the Kroma Family.
Quick Rope’s question was answered immediately.
Thales saw that the dozen orcs in the last line had their formation ready, and they formed the first line of defense for the fleeing orcs. They leaned over to avoid colliding against each other while they held up their shields and weapons. They flexed their powerful muscles and prepared themselves to stop the horses that were rushing towards them.
The cavaliers right in front instantly reached them and came face-to-face with their sharp blades.
The prince held his breath.
He thought he would see the cavaliers fighting against the orcs with brute strength, but he was wrong.
The next second, with a sharp piercing sound, dozens of tiny shadows shot out from among the cavaliers, and they instantly snuck into the orcs’ formation!
*Whoosh— whoosh!*
As the orcs cursed and cried out in pain, two of the dozen orcs bent down in pain, and the group fleeing orcs instantly fell into disorder!
“Cavalier crossbows!”
Old Hammer exclaimed, “As expected of the Stardust Unit. This weapon only appears among elite cavaliers, and when it comes to tearing apart enemy formations…”
He did not get to finish his words, because right before his eyes, the cavaliers of the Stardust Unit threw away the crossbows, stepped on their stirrups, and roared as they drew out their swords and spears!
Their weapons clashed against the orcs’, but the head-on confrontation Thales imagined still did not appear.
The first orc swung its axe at the first cavalier who came charging towards them.
The sound of the axe slicing through the air appeared, but the cavalier calmly controlled the horse and instantly thrust his pike outwards.
The shadows of the axe and pike intersected each other.
*Schick!*
The horse charged past the orc at an incredible speed and angle.
The cavalier passed by and did not look back.
The greataxe fell to the sand.
The orc turned around in disbelief, then looked down at its chest. There was a broken pikehead there, which pierced through its chest and dyed its armor red.
The wounded orc howled with grief and indignation. The great strength orcs would have before they died surged through its entire body.
It turned around furiously, then tried to find its next target, but it found, to its despair, that the human cavaliers all turned like a swarm of bees who just received their orders. Then, like a wave striking a reed, they instantly split up and ran past their opponent by its sides, not wasting energy dealing with it, and also ignored it while it cried out weakly.
*Clip clop… Clip clop…*
The horses ran past it, and the orc’s fingers could only sweep through the air feebly.
At the next moment, it knelt down, and its body was buried permanently in the yellow sand.
It was not the only one.
Not far away, an orc faced the cavalier who rushed to it with his sword. It howled and lifted its shield, then exerted strength in its waist and feet.
*Clang!*
Due to the orcs’ advantage in their strength and physique, it only swayed a little before it endured this strike!
But before it could fight back, the second cavalier charged past the orc’s other side.
Cold light flashed.
The saber in his hand sliced past the orc’s unprotected neck.
*Swoosh—*
While it let out a roar that shook the sky and earth, blood spurted out of the orc’s neck, and its shield fell to the ground.
“Moron.” The cavalier’s disdainful word was mixed with the sound of the hooves, which then traveled into its ears.
Such a scene could be found everywhere from the cavaliers’ first charge.
Some orc warriors died due to pike thrusts angled in such a manner that it was difficult for them to dodge. Some orcs were slashed several times by cavaliers who charged past them at high speed, and died in the end of blood loss. There were some skilled orcs who managed to fend against a few cavaliers, but they would always be beheaded by the next enemy who appeared by its side. Some orcs frantically brandished their axes fiercely, but it only made the never-ending wave of cavaliers wisely avoid its edge, and the orcs were covered in wounds after the charge. They swayed while they stood where they were and let out sorrowful cries at their companions.
More and more orcs were wounded and bled. After raging in vain, they fell to the ground, drained of their strength.
Where the horses went, they would leave behind blood and carnage.
Warchief Kandarll’s voice shook the skies, but it could not prevent its subordinates from dying.
The captives who hid at the side were flabbergasted by the sight.
“See it? This is the answer.” Old Hammer shook his head. “When their feet are on the ground, we cannot even defeat their pinkies.
“But when you step on the stirrup, sit on the saddle, and charge with a steed that weighs more than eight hundred pounds, everything changes. Your field of vision broadens, your weapons grow longer, the world becomes smaller.
“Even the once invincible opponents will inevitably become weaker.
“Even if it is the orcs.”
Quick Rope’s eyes were fixed on the scene, and he seemed to have forgotten to answer.
“Elites. The Stardust Unit is comprised of rare elites, don’t forget this.” Mickey snorted, “They are one of the best…”
Old Hammer shook his head and coughed terribly. “Don’t forget… cough… They are not facing desert bandits who scatter at one strike, or exiles who keep themselves away from harm, but the terrible forces in the big desert. Under the Dragon Skeleton Throne, the elite warriors in Shattered Stone Tribe are also elite soldiers. They move in large groups, and their discipline is as great as Constellation’s brigades. They face death without flinching, and in this regard, they are as heroic as Northland warriors.”
Mickey turned his head away and no longer spoke.
Thales listened carefully to their conversation.
Just like that, the Stardust Unit tore apart the first line of defense the orcs hastily built with an unstoppable, high-speed charge.
They also did not care whether there were survivors left from their first charge. They went straight for the fleeing orcs.
In the chaos, Kandarll’s roar was heard again.
The second layer of defense was set up together. More than a dozen orcs armed with spears and shields growled as they stood together, looked after each other, and covered their companions’ flanks.
The orcs roared when they saw the cavalier drawing closer. Under the commands of a leader with a face full of scars, they raised their shields and spears.
Shields turned into walls, and their spears were densely packed together as the trees in a forest.
The spearheads were directed at the incoming cavaliers.
However, the cavaliers who rushed toward them just looked at their spears, frowned, and whistled.
The next second, the cavaliers sidestepped, raised their reins, and changed direction. The cavaliers once again split up like a river splitting into several branches. They circumnavigated the enemy formation from the sides and gave up on fighting against the formation.
The orcs with scars screamed wildly, seemingly indignant at its opponents running away and their cowardice.
But the offense was not over.
The sound of the hooves rang out again, and this time, their attack did not come from the front. A group of cavaliers bypassed the line of defense, assembled by the side, and turned around before they rushed back to the unprotected flanks in the orc’s formation. They even attacked them while they were behind them.
“On the battlefield, when you have more people on your side than the enemy.” Old Hammer sighed under the sand dune while he stared at the Stardust Unit avoiding a direct charge and attacking the enemies’ sides. “You have more choices.”
“Hurar—”
The orc with scars roared and knocked away a cavalier’s blade swinging down on its head, and the powerful force yanked the cavalier off his horse.
But then, a sword from the side beheaded it.
The blade from the sword flashed, and blood splattered into the air.
The orcs that stood with it also welcomed unpleasant deaths. They either ended up dying from an ambush to their sides or would have swords or pikes stabbing through their backs. The orcs who turned around to handle the pincer attack would have their throats slit because their fronts were completely undefended. Even the surviving orcs often fell powerlessly on the ground in the next attack organized by cavaliers.
The second layer of defense the orcs constructed collapsed immediately when it was attacked from multiple positions.
Thales looked at this scene incredulously.
He still remembered how the merchant group had been attacked. While pained screams and the sounds of battle rose into the air, their enemies attacked them from all sides, and their great strength was almost unstoppable. Their sharp weapons ripped off his companions’ bodies, and at every single moment, someone would fall dead. Blood and death followed them like shadows.
At that time, he had desperately waved his sword and shield while fighting back his panic and fear. He resisted the orcs’ endless attacks, but fell to the ground feebly in the end in despair and pain.
But now, the orcs, the horrible tribesmen who still caused him fear, were beaten up to the point they were powerless to fight back.
Now, it was their turn to be frightened, to be thrown into disorder, and to panic while they had to receive the blades that were everywhere. In their fear and anger, they had to experience the pain of having their companions die and understand just how strong their enemies were.
After this charge, the Stardust Unit’s cavaliers moved past the fleeing orcs in a diagonal line. Before more orcs moved to surround them, they had their horses move out of the enemy’s formation.
They charged until they were a distance away, then they pulled the reins to have their horses stop before they turned around to reassemble their formation. Immediately after, they charged forth at high speed again and went straight into the formation once more.
Charge, attack, disengage, turn back, and then charge and attack again. The human cavaliers—numbering less than one hundred—repeated this process over and over again.
They were like sharp daggers that were thrust out again and again, then pulled back, then thrust out again. They brought a new wave of bloodshed while they harvested the lives of the orcs.
The captives had forgotten to breathe.
Kandarll’s roar grew more urgent and mournful.
Dean said with all sorts of feelings welling in him, “On the chessboard, war chariots and knights are often loved.”
The others turned their heads and looked at him.
Dean shook his head slowly, “Because they can take the farthest steps in one round.”
“Quick! Look!”
Mickey the Barren Bone man who had been staring at the battlefield all this while whispered, “The Kroma Family!”
The captives turned their heads.
On the other side of the battlefield, the twenty strong orcs left behind to act as rearguards finally ran into the cavaliers from the Kroma Family rushing down from the dunes.
Surprisingly, compared to the Raven Whistle Light Cavaliers’ previous nimbleness and agility as well as the Stardust Unit’s repeated charges, the Kroma Family chose a completely different strategy to handle the orcs.
At some unknown point of time, the cavaliers from the Raven Whistle Light Cavaliers had already circumnavigated their interceptors. The cavaliers in the front row were replaced by heavily armored cavaliers with long pikes. A fierce looking Single-Winged Crow could be found on their shields and the armor on their horses. Dust rose after them, and they charged forth in waves.
Majestic and powerful.
They went straight towards the twenty or so well-built, armored orcs who were very clearly born to intercept them!
Louisa narrowed her eyes. “No way… They are going to…”
Dean nodded and looked grim. “A heavy cavalry charge.”
“Obviously, the Single-Winged Crow doesn’t want to waste time.”
Thales eyes widened.
‘That’s right.
‘Charge.’
Head to head, iron against iron, face to face, no avoiding the collision, no fancy impact!
With one order, the first row of heavy cavaliers lowered their pikes.
The orcs acting as rearguards moved sideways with a roar. Their shoulders were placed against their shields, and they drew their blades in preparation to fight back.
Finally.
*Clang!*
A loud, scary noise rose into the air. The heavy cavaliers’ pikes collided against the orcs’ shields!
In an instant, the sound of pikes snapping, shields breaking, the orcs’ pained screams, and the humans’ curses all appeared together, making things appear to be incredibly chaotic.
Thales was shocked. Once again, he witnessed the great power of the orcs. A ferocious orc pushed its shield forward in its formation. Its tendons rose on its skin. While it roared with all its strength, it was forced back three steps on the sand, but not only did it manage to resist the heavy cavaliers’ charge, it even exerted force in its waist and abdomen to yank the heavy cavalier before it down from his horse!
It roared and growled, and with a swing of its axe, it killed the fallen cavalier.
‘This kind of power…’
The prince understood why Kandarll left behind this team of elites as rearguards.
But that was the end of their performance.
The next moment, before the captives’ surprised gazes, when the orc who just yanked its opponent off his horse lifted its head, the second heavy cavalier rode past the horse on the ground, then crashed against the orc’s shoulder with his pike!
*Clang!*
A loud noise appeared. The orc, who was already at the last of its strength, could no longer endure any longer. It swayed and could only watch the heavy cavalier charge past its body.
The third heavy cavalier rushed towards it mercilessly and slammed into its chest accurately.
In the dreadful crash, the orc who had just defeated its enemy with its mighty strength, could only be hit like a sandbag by its enemies. Its huge body flew backwards.
It fell to the ground, then coughed out blood in pain. It could not get up.
The orc would soon not need to worry any longer.
After one second.
*Rumble—”
The fourth, fifth, sixth… Countless heavy cavaliers rode forward in waves at a momentum no one could stop.
Their horse hooves mercilessly stepped over the orc who laid on the ground. While the bone-chilling thuds resounded through the air, they broke its bones, muscles, internal organs…
They shattered the pride the orc once had.
The dying orc did not even have the chance to stand up. It could only be submerged by the endless sea formed by the heavy cavaliers.
It was the epitome of what happened to the twenty or so orc interceptors. The orc warriors who faced death without fear and who had burning spirits were like the splashes in a sea, disappearing into the sand of the desert under the charge of the heavy cavaliers.
Without a trace, quietly.
Just like what the Kroma Family had ordered before they charged forward.
Leave none alive.
