novelraw Chapter 27: The Blocking Battle (2)
Chapter 27: The Blocking Battle (2)
Covered in blood, Fabio found Henwil: "The casualties are just too heavy! Let's retreat!"
On the thirteenth day of the blocking battle, Fabio had just personally led his guard troops to hold the front line.
Starting from the ninth day, the Allied Forces began fiercely attacking this position.
They even sent soldiers attempting to climb the mountains to attack those annoying arrow towers.
But all were driven back by the new army soldiers waiting fresh in the fortifications.
Charging uphill at an angle, especially in this era of cold weapons, was extremely physically demanding.
Initially, when the Allied Forces charged to the valley's defensive front, they already suffered heavy casualties and were quickly repelled.
But sharp-eyed Allied generals immediately realized the defenders here weren't the Allied Forces' regular legions, and their combat effectiveness wasn't as formidable as they had imagined.
What was truly formidable were just those defensive works on both sides of the valley!
So the Allied Forces immediately raised their stakes, sending more elite troops attempting to break through in one push.Seeing this situation, Fabio wanted to charge down with his Guard Corps, but Henwil stopped him.
Ultimately, the Allied Forces were still repelled, but not because the new army fought bravely—rather because the arrow tower attacks were too devastating.
Even with the arrow towers' assistance, this battle still resulted in a one-to-two exchange ratio.
And the "one" here belonged to the Allied Forces!
After figuring out the new army's actual combat strength, the Allied Forces began continuous assaults.
In just three days, the new army here had lost several thousand men.
Today, the Allied Forces broke through the new army's formation and nearly breached the valley.
If Fabio hadn't led his Guard Corps to counterattack, it would have been disastrous!
But Henwil thought otherwise—if Fabio had listened to him and dispersed the Guard Corps among the new army, the situation wouldn't have been so dire.
In armies of any era, veterans are extremely important.
Although the new army soldiers were strong and their equipment had caught up,
their combat mindset still followed the concept of fighting noble private armies—this couldn't be corrected in just one or two lessons.
If every ten new army soldiers were paired with one Guard Corps member, the situation would quickly become different.
When people face life-and-death situations, their learning ability accelerates rapidly.
Especially when their own survival is at stake, saying they learn quickly is an understatement.
According to Henwil's plan, just two rounds of combat would allow these new army soldiers to mature.
Instead of now, lacking veteran backbone support, facing elite Allied troops and retreating step by step.
Facing Fabio's request now, Henwil shook his head: "Not yet! Not enough people have died!"
Fabio's eyes were bloodshot: "We've already lost over six thousand people! Isn't that enough? How many more need to die before it's enough?"
Still short four thousand!
Henwil didn't say it aloud, just pointed at the Allied Forces: "They haven't lost enough people yet!"
Seeing Fabio's nerves stretched taut, Henwil reassured him: "Hold for two more days! Then we'll retreat!"
Fabio slumped onto a nearby rock: "But morale is already very low! I'm afraid we can't hold on!"
Henwil said calmly: "We only said we'd bring some people back to the duchy, not everyone!
Since they don't trust you, sir, and choose to leave on their own, then their fate afterwards has nothing to do with us!"
Fabio remained silent for a long time, then stood up and put on his helmet: "I hope you're right this time!"
Watching Fabio's retreating back, Henwil sighed.
By the next afternoon, the Allied Forces deployed a heavy armor corps advancing toward the valley.
Fabio, still commanding at the front lines, saw that dark mass of heavy armor troops and felt his hair stand on end.
He knew arrows and his soldiers couldn't stop these metal cans.
Just as he roared while fighting back enemies, trying to break through with his Guard Corps,
he suddenly heard a strange sound, one that gradually grew louder, and soon he found its source.
On both sides of the valley, large quantities of rocks had begun rolling down at some unknown time.
The smallest of these rocks were half a meter in size, while the largest stood taller than a person.
These variously sized rocks slowly accelerated down the slopes, occasionally bouncing up, cheerfully rolling toward the valley floor.
Seeing this disastrous scene, the Allied Forces commander screamed for the heavy armor corps to retreat.
But it was already too late—they had advanced too deep into the valley.
Both their heavy armor and those still-accelerating rocks made quick withdrawal difficult.
Additionally, due to the nature of heavy armor assault formations, their ranks remained quite dense.
Then, an extremely gruesome scene unfolded.
Of over five thousand heavy armor troops, only slightly more than a thousand withdrew—the rest were lost in that rock-filled valley.
Not only that, but even the previous Allied soldiers in the valley failed to escape.
Seeing this terrifying scene, those soldiers lost their fighting spirit and tried to turn and run.
After this battle, the Allied Forces lost several thousand troops in the valley.
That evening, Fabio excitedly found Henwil: "There are signs the enemy is withdrawing! We've held this position!"
Henwil said calmly: "We leave tonight!"
"Why? The Allied Forces are about to withdraw—why leave so quickly?
We should at least rest for a day! The soldiers have been fighting continuously and are exhausted!"
Henwil sighed: "Ah~! Precisely because the Allied Forces are withdrawing, we must run!
We need to yield this position to them without destroying it.
We must make it look like we were defeated and they captured this place!
Otherwise, we'll truly become valuable main forces!
If the Allied Forces just leave like this, next time will bring relentless pursuit!
Rather than facing that outcome, better to let them take credit for breaking through here!"
Having ambushed so many heavy armor troops today, even Henwil felt it was excessive.
This wasn't just making the Allied Forces feel pain—it was kicking them hard in the groin.
So Henwil decided to withdraw tonight—they couldn't wait any longer.
Afterwards, when this Allied force occupied the defensive works, they could at least save face.
If another Allied force came, they'd certainly want to prove themselves stronger and would chase Fabio down.
But with this Allied force occupying the position, things would be different—they'd greatly exaggerate the new army's strength to burnish their achievements.
After all, only powerful enemies could highlight their own bravery!
This way, if any Allied forces did pursue them, they'd approach with caution!
Additionally, Henwil specifically had Fabio not kill all prisoners today, leaving previous captives and wounded soldiers in the camp.
These people were Henwil's signal to the enemy, making it appear they hadn't suffered excessive losses, giving them something to report to superiors.
Apart from the soldiers who fought hard today, the remaining new army and logistics personnel packed up through the night.
After midnight, they directly crossed the valley and left the Six Bay Mountain area via pre-scouted routes.
The next day, as the Allied Forces prepared to withdraw, prisoners escaped from the empty fortifications and reported the situation here.
The generals of this Allied force cautiously occupied the defensive works, then confirmed the new army's retreat direction.
But no one dared to pursue—they quickly found justification: their mission was to break through here and pursue the Allied Forces' main force!
Why chase this dangerous hard nut to crack!