novelraw Chapter 200 : Battle Formation Melee (II)
Chapter 200 : Battle Formation Melee (II)
Chapter 200: Battle Formation Melee (II)
Akar stood in place, expression unchanged as he repeated the motions of drawing the bow and loosing arrows.
Only his shooting speed was astonishingly fast,
almost every time the bowstring vibrated, a streak of flame would howl through the air.
These flames looked no different from ordinary arrows—apart from being engulfed in fire—but since they were manifestations of bloodline power, their destructive force remained terrifying.
Especially when one Second-Tier bloodline user tried to rely on rock-hardening of his body to boost his defense and foolishly attempted to block Akar’s attack, he was nearly blasted to pieces by a single arrow to the head; after that, no other bloodline user dared to forcibly resist Akar’s onslaught.
“Plant spears—!”
Ryan took command of the troops from Akar.
He had been the strongest among the thirteen surviving veterans from the first White Mountain Territory defense; for a long time he served as Annie’s visible guard—the covert protection had been handled by the young bloodline knight Annie herself had recruited—but this time, since the battle was evidently perilous, Ryan naturally accompanied Akar to the battlefield.
Under his orders, all the soldiers quickly formed a circular formation.
On the outermost ring were the sword-and-shield soldiers, shield in the left hand and sword at the right—this was a type of soldier every lord trained; usually about six months of training was enough to send them straight into battle. Known in military circles for being “good, cheap, and effective,” they were an extremely cost-efficient kind of light infantry. If they had previously received more professional militia training, that cycle could even be shortened to three months.
Two layers of human walls made up of sword-and-shield light infantry did not offer particularly strong resistance.
But behind the sword-and-shield soldiers were the longspear infantry, whose training period typically exceeded a year.
“Plant the spear, brace the spear” were the two combat stances they practiced most in that year: the former anchored the body in a fixed stance, shifting the center of gravity to the lower body and using oneself as a spear rest; combined with the latter—angling the spear as a brace—cooperating with infantry like the sword-and-shield troops who also kept some defensive capability, they could quickly form a defensive structure similar to a chevaux-de-frise.
The enemy drew ever closer.
“Brace spears—!”
The sound of spears being put into position rang out in unison: every longspear was lodged into the gaps exposed by the front-line sword-and-shield soldiers.
Ahead, the two layers of the human wall had already taken their trained positions: the first layer crouched half-squat; the second layer stood pressed close behind the first. The former were responsible for cutting the enemies’ legs; the latter for stopping frontal attacks.
“I don’t need you to keep any independent thoughts. If you are truly terrified, close your eyes and follow my orders.”
“Front-line swordsmen may silently count three seconds after their first thrust.”
“All spearmen, prepare!”
“Ready!”
“Ready—”
“Thrust!”
“Whoosh—” At that command, the longspear infantry’s long training produced an instinctive conditioned reflex: every spear suddenly shot forward.
Because so many spears were thrust at once, the spears’ forward motion even produced a sharp whooshing sound like something slicing through the air.
Seen from above, one would have observed a dense sea of people; in the center the “sunflower” abruptly extended a field of “spines,” then bloomed into a vivid color, like a red petal in full blossom.
After each longspear was thrust, regardless of the immediate outcome, the spearmen swiftly withdrew their spears.
The first batch of the fastest attackers fell.
But those fallen were merely a drop in the bucket to the Aust Empire’s forces—a negligible loss at best.
Then, in the next moment, like waves crashing against a shore, the circular formation took the first, fiercest impact.
“Thrust—!”
Ryan’s voice remained calm and steady, his tone unchanged as he issued a second concise command.
All the longspearmen again drove their spears forward.
Another sharp whoosh cracked through the air, accompanied by the sound of splintering, sprays of blood, the crowd’s roars of fear and fury, and screams—innumerable strange noises converged into a chaotic, massive roar; at last some soldiers broke down and began yelling wildly, even flailing their weapons as if having epileptic fits.
“Pfft—”
A sharp whoosh from the rear suddenly sounded.
Swift-handed Ryan swung his sword and decapitated that spearman, and with an icy tone shouted again, “Thrust—!”
All the soldiers instinctively thrust their spears. For a moment, some could not withstand the immense psychological pressure and the line wavered, producing small breaches. With the rapid intervention of the discipline squad and several bloodline knights, the formation was immediately stabilized: the gaps left by casualties were quickly filled by reserve soldiers, ensuring those vulnerable points held.
“If you’re afraid, close your eyes!” Ryan roared. “Swordsmen free attack!—Spearmen, thrust—!”
Another series of sharp thrusts followed.
Once more, Aust Empire’s foot soldiers fell in numbers.
But this time the situation had become markedly different.
Many spears that had found purchase in enemies’ bodies were not easily withdrawn as before: the enemy grabbed hold of the spears and held tight, and suddenly the situation froze into a delicate stalemate.
The rear spearmen could not strike, but the enemy did not stop.
They swung their weapons rapidly at the sword-and-shield soldiers making up the human wall.
Some struck with greater force; others strictly adhered to their training’s “survival techniques,” and thus some sword-and-shield soldiers miraculously did not fall. But those unlucky ones who had either skimped during training or were otherwise ill-fated failed to block the attacks; they and their shields were hacked down, and in an instant the circular formation’s defense seemed perilously close to collapse again.
One bloodline knight even raised his heavy hammer and swept several blocking foot soldiers aside, charging into the enemy ranks like a raging bull.
“Boom—”
But in the next second!
An arrow streaked through the air!
This time Akar did not fire a mere ability-concentrated flame arrow, but expended considerable resources to unleash thirty refined-grade rare-iron arrows!
Each of these arrows had been infused with a heavy amount of fire-element special materials, with flowing flame patterns painted along the small shafts,
which greatly amplified Akar’s bloodline effect: for bloodline users below Third-Tier, they were almost always one-shot kills. Against Third-Tier bloodline users, a direct hit to a vital point had a very high chance of outright killing them; at the very least it would leave them gravely wounded.
They even posed some threat to Fourth-Tier bloodline users.
Compared to such formidable power, aside from the large resource cost required to craft each refined rare-iron arrow, the other drawback was that these arrows were single-use consumables and could not be reused.
If not for the danger of this war, Akar would have been loath to bring this batch of arrows out.
Originally these were gifts he had prepared for the Aust Empire’s few Third-Tier bloodline users, but his opponents were far more cautious than he had expected, so until now he had failed to find a good opportunity beyond merely halting their advance.
Therefore this costly arrow had to be used on the rampaging bull: the enemy’s ability to break formations could not be ignored; if they had been allowed to storm through, their fragile “isolated island” circular formation would have been shattered. If that happened and they were completely encircled by the enemy, breaking out would not be easy.
After one arrow solved the rampaging bull, Ryan quickly plugged the gap.
He drove out every attacker who tried to rip the formation open, and another third-in-command took up Ryan’s prior duties at the moment, rhythmically ordering all the longspearmen to thrust.
But as Akar’s side’s formation was already rent with multiple “bloody wounds,” the Aust Empire, which held a numerical advantage, was not about to let the opportunity pass.
“Akar—!”
Ryan wiped the blood from his face and hurried to Akar’s side. “We can’t hold them.”
“Retreat!” Akar’s face revealed a clear trace of unwillingness.
He had largely chosen to hold the line in order to lure out the Aust Empire’s Third-Tier bloodline users and eliminate them,
but he had not expected the enemy to be even more cautious than he’d predicted: once they realized how powerful his bloodline effect was, they quickly altered their tactics, ceasing direct charges and instead employing interference and containment, establishing a mutual contest of restraint with Akar.
In such circumstances, if Akar so much as diverted his attention, they would immediately close the distance.
Akar had had the chance to bait them in close and then try to severely wound or even kill one with a specially made arrow, but when that rampaging bull ruined his plan he knew the opportunity was gone.
For the two Aust Empire Third-Tier bloodline users had completely withdrawn into concealment.
Akar was not one to cling to vanity.
Realizing the enemy’s tenacity and that their circular formation could not long withstand the tide-like assault, he decisively accepted Ryan’s suggestion: “Break out toward the main force immediately!”
“Yes!”
Ryan resumed command at once.
Under his maneuvering, the entire circular formation quickly changed shape: it shifted from a circle into a triangular formation.
At the tip of the triangle stood Ryan.
But this time, the outermost troops were no longer the sword-and-shield soldiers, but the longspearmen.
“Charge—”
Ryan roared, and everyone surged forward.
The longspear infantry raised their spears, and ferociously stabbed at the enemy bodies.
They did not wait to see if a particular thrust hit; as soon as they felt the spear’s momentum be resisted, they would sidestep slightly, quickly loosen their grip, and draw the short dagger that hung at their side. Almost the moment the spearmen relaxed and stepped aside, other longspearmen would rush past them and thrust their spears at the enemy, then sidestep, release, and draw daggers.
This cycle repeated until every longspearman had drawn his short dagger and fell in beside the sword-and-shield soldiers.
And when all the longspearmen had dropped their spears and drawn daggers, the sword-and-shield soldiers quickly filled the vacant positions—without considering offensive opportunities, they mechanically raised shields to block, then thrust their swords to wound, and pushed enemies aside with their shields.
They did not go for finishing blows, nor did they intend to clash brutally with the enemy; they simply closely followed their charging comrades.
Some of these soldiers were fortunate enough to survive, while others fell to their foes’ counterattacks.
Whenever a sword-and-shield soldier fell, the longspearmen who had lost their spears would immediately step forward to take their weapons: they would first throw their short dagger away, then grab a comrade’s round shield and longsword, and immediately take up the role of a sword-and-shield soldier.
Those whose movements were quick could complete the weapon swap before the enemy reached them and keep pace with the main force.
But if they were slow or delayed for any other reason, they quickly became another corpse beside their fallen comrade.