Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 424: Chapter 57: Forming the Array to Meet the Enemy

At dawn, scouts reported that large Herder cavalry forces were rapidly approaching.

Along with the report of “large Herder cavalry forces rapidly approaching,” came a call for help from the encampments on the north bank.

The skirmishes had already started, causing a split in the leadership of Paratu’s forces.

Some wanted to call off the siege to prepare for the enemy reinforcements; others demanded a full assault to take the city before the reinforcements arrived; and still, some revisited old arguments, believing that the opportunity to attack Bianli had been lost and that they should retreat and regroup.

At the emergency meeting, Colonel Laszlo—the chief commander of the Fifth Legion—was red-eyed and bellowing, “War is a matter of spirit! Right now we have momentum within the city! Retreat? You tell me, how do we retreat? If we retreat we might never get back in! And if those savages from the city surge out, it will be the Battle of Drelegorbel all over again!”

Cavalry Colonel Haug was equally loud, “What’s the use of taking Bianli if we don’t defeat the reinforcements? If we haven’t taken Bianli and get surrounded from behind, the entire army could be destroyed! Defeat the reinforcements, and Bianli will be ours sooner or later. Don’t defeat the reinforcements, and we’re all done for! It’s that simple!”

“Bullshit!”

“I’ll fight you right here!”

“SHUT UP!?” Major General Alpad flipped the table over, shattering a fine porcelain vase.

The two, who were about to come to blows, instantly fell silent.

Since General Yanosh had a stroke, there was no one left in Paratu’s army who could make a definitive decision.

Those who had been in favor of retreating were now pushing for a siege, and those who had pushed for the siege were now advocating for combatting the reinforcements.

Just like the small part of an iceberg visible above water, the dispute between Laszlo and Haug represented a clash of strategies, directions, and the conflicts between infantry and cavalry factions.

When General Yanosh commanded the entire army, there was a healthy competition because the general was the faction of all factions, and his prestige and wisdom were sufficient to subdue everyone.

But when the general was incapacitated, the previously concealed contradictions immediately intensified.

“The worst strategy is to have no strategy at all. Bickering among yourselves, you might as well just extend your necks for the savages to chop!” Brigadier General Sekler coldly stated, “Major General Alpad and I have already made up our minds.”

…

At dawn, the light of morning grew brighter.

The fate of the battle for West Guard City had been decided. The savages retreated in defeat, with wave after wave of Paratu soldiers flooding into the city walls.

Desperate, the Herders started to set fire to the city.

In the dry winter season, filled with straw huts and wooden houses, West Guard City almost instantly turned into an inferno.@@novelbin@@

The low-hanging clouds were dyed crimson by the blaze, outshining the morning glow.

The wind fanned the flames, which quickly spread towards the outer wall, forcing the Paratu troops that had entered the city to withdraw again to the outskirts.

The great fire temporarily separated both sides; Paratu’s army controlled the exterior city walls, but the main city remained firmly in the hands of the Herders.

A courier from the legion’s headquarters spent tremendous effort to locate Centurion Barlas within the city.

“Retreat? Say it to me again! Retreat?” Captain Barlas’s gaze seemed ready to devour someone the next second.

He gripped the courier’s shoulder fiercely, his fingers digging deep into the flesh.

The poor courier’s legs were weak as he stumbled over the orders: “You are commanded to disengage from combat, rally your forces, return to the staging grounds, and stand by for reorganization.

Captain Barlas tore off his helmet and smashed it furiously to the ground.

Due to the northwestern wind, there was still a small area on the northwest corner of the city that the fire had not reached.

Barlas was leading his men to create a firebreak, constructing makeshift battering rams from roof beams, ready to assault the main city gate as soon as the fire died down.

Military orders are as unyielding as mountains; the captain looked at the flickering shadows of the inner wall through the smoke and reluctantly uttered the word, “Retreat.”

…

Just as Barlas’s century received orders to retreat, Winters had just made his way into West Guard City.

He rode his horse through the breach in the city wall, and a wave of scorching heat immediately hit him.

The stench of burnt flesh filled the air; his horse, Strong, unhappily shook his head, not liking the place one bit.

Behind the billowing smoke came sporadic blood-curdling screams—people being burnt alive.

“Have you seen Lieutenant Mason?” Winters asked everyone he met, “Where is Lieutenant Mason?”

The five infantry platoons responsible for the initial assault were retreating; the soldiers, like a school of sardines, were blindly following each other out.

A few centurions were leading their men to dismantle the city wall to prevent the Herders from reclaiming it.

But after exiting, many soldiers merely collapsed on the ground, gasping for air with no strength left even to raise their arms.

Although the siege was halted, the gains could not be discarded. A full-strength platoon was marching towards the city, with orders to repel any foe attempting to retake the outer wall.

Winters, moving against the stream of soldiers, kept asking around and loudly calling out using a spell to amplify his voice.

“Over here!”

“Right here!”

Winters looked up in response to the call and saw Lieutenant Mason on top of the city wall, vigorously waving his hands.

He hurried up to the wall, where Mason was struggling with a few subordinates to move a heavy bronze cannon.

“Stop moving it! Come with me now!”

At these words, they dropped the cannon.

Mason hastily wiped the soot from his face and asked anxiously, “Why is everyone retreating? I heard that Herder reinforcements have arrived? So many that they can’t be counted?”

“Who said that?” Winters raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what everyone is saying!”

“There are Herders coming from the north, but not so many that they can’t be counted… We’ll talk when we get back!”

“And what about this thing?” Mason pointed to the cannon at his feet.

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