The Extra Wants To Live

The Tumari rebels were unable to react to the sudden weakening of their strength and fell forward in a heap.

Among them, those who fell were trampled to death in an instant by the overwhelming force of over 30,000 men. The soldiers who barely managed to survive among those in front could sense that they would be crushed to death by the friendly forces rushing in from behind, helplessly impaled by the shields of the Hardion line infantry.

The center of Hardion's infantry gradually fell back, and over time, the crescent formation gradually changed into a straight line. Through this process, the enemy pressure that had been concentrated in the center began to be evenly distributed to the periphery, and the troops in the center were able to take a breather.

Conversely, the situation for the Tumari rebels was deteriorating incredibly. The troops, spread out widely, were pushing endlessly toward the enemy center. However, the protruding center of the opponent retreated, and the space became more overcrowded than before. Except for the rearguard and some soldiers on the left and right outskirts, the infantry of the Tumari rebels were all in a situation where they could not even lift a finger.

"Move sideways after me! Quickly!"

The commanders of the Tumari rebels, who had been safely retreating, rushed out on horseback and tried to somehow disperse the soldiers in the rear to the flanks. However, the battlefield was in complete chaos, and the soldiers, suffering from the tremendous force, were already exhausted.

"This fucking retard! Charge in and hit the rear somehow!"

The light cavalry on the left wing of the Tumari rebels, who had come to reconfirm the order to charge, also realized the situation and ran back down the slope in a frenzy.

"Turn! Turn!"

"What? Charge?"

But even after hearing the order to charge once again, the light cavalry did not move right away. Because they were at the bottom of the slope, they had no way of knowing what was happening in the infantry battle above.

"We must charge! Charge immediately!"

"Are you really crazy? Charge uphill against an enemy who is defended by light cavalry?"

"It looks like the central infantry is all going to die!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Why do they die when there are so many more of them?"

While the light cavalry was faltering, the battle situation began to change once again.

"Now is the time! Charge both wings!"

"Charge both wings!"

Phew! Phew! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The commanders who remained behind Hardion to observe the battle situation were the ones who figured out the exact time. As soon as their orders were given, the troops guarding the flanks and rear of the infantry ranks began to advance.

The right wing on the east, maintaining a thin column, went down the slope slightly and then up again, and was able to surround the enemy's left flank without much difficulty. Although some fighting had taken place, the Tumari rebels had too few available troops and were too exhausted.

"Beware of the archers!"

Catherine and Billford, running at the forefront of the true right wing, ran briskly, glancing sideways at the infantry in the center. Somewhere out there, their lord would be fighting. They had to complete their mission and win.

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Before the start of the infantry battle, the archers of the Tumari rebels who had retreated were about to shoot arrows, but they could not let go of their bows because they might end up showering the backs of their allies with arrows if they were not careful. Also, Hardion's soldiers were all wearing sturdy plate armor, so arrows wouldn't be very effective. Friendly casualties from friendly fire would be far greater than enemy casualties.

Hardion's true left wing was also advancing, but they had to squeeze through the slender gap between the infantry in the center and the cavalry engaged in a bloody battle. Normally, they wouldn't even dare approach it, because the moment they entered, they would be overwhelmed by attacks pouring in from the left and right.

"Master Jaren!"

However, in the Hardion formation, there was a master named Jaren who had not participated in the battle so far and was waiting for the right time. If Master Jaren had been deployed early, it would have been difficult for the infantry to take advantage of the crescent formation due to fear of the Master.

Jaren appeared, leaping out alone at the front of the left wing of infantry.

Soowsh—!

Jaren dashed through the narrow corridors of death, his mana blades gleaming brightly even under the desert sun, slaughtering everything in his path with his halberd.

"Wow!"

"Jaren! Jaren! Jaren! Jaren!"

The morale of the soldiers soared to the sky at the sight of the Master's majesty. Soldiers who called out Jaren's name bravely broke into the gap and took up positions.

"Fuck!"

"Run away!"

"No! Don't run away! If we run away, we're all finished!"

The right wing cavalry of the Tumari rebels, who had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, were defeated by the infantry that had rushed in, formed a line, and brandished spears, thanks to Master Jaren's efforts. The stopped cavalry was surrounded by infantry. There was nothing they could do. Eventually, those who fled began to emerge, and soon the cavalry ranks of the Tumari rebels completely collapsed and disintegrated.

"Purchase! We must push them as far away from the battlefield as possible!"

"Run! Run!"

Hardion's cavalry did not retreat despite suffering losses of nearly half their number, and after enduring a period of painful patience, they were finally able to launch an attack on the flanks of the fleeing enemy.

The cavalry of the Tumari rebels turned their backs on Hardion's cavalry, which was only a third of their number, and began to flee. Once they turned their backs and ran away, they could not fight back, no matter how many there were. Because the command structure had already collapsed, it was impossible to flank the enemy by deceiving them and performing a turning maneuver.

"Dolgyeogeok!"

Meanwhile, the light cavalry commander of the Tumari rebels at the bottom of the slope belatedly realized the situation and hurriedly ordered a charge. However, it would be difficult to break through Hardion's well-fortified flank by climbing up the slope with light cavalry.

From the start of the battle until now, they had been moving around the steep slope, irritating Hardion's right rear, so their horses were very tired. Above all, even if they made a difficult breakthrough now, they would not be able to turn the tide of the battle.

However, since they could not see the battle situation from below the slope, they attempted an impossible charge.

Five hundred light cavalry charged from north to south along the slope.

But, to their horror, this time they could not see it from the bottom of the slope, so the light cavalry decided to avoid them and run further south to attack their rear.

"Charge! Charge!"

Doo doo doo doo!

The horses ran strong, but the situation was very bad. If they charged from as high a position as possible, they would suffer minimal damage, but the horses would slowly slide to the left as they went down the slope. There was nothing they could do about running up a steep slope when they were tired.

"Shooting!"

The Hardion archers finally fired their first arrows for the first time since the battle began. They knew their opponent would run without turning in order to somehow break through the rear.

Shhhhh!

Hehehe!

"Kkaaa!"

A volley of 500 archers rained down on the vanguard of the light cavalry struggling up the steep slope. The light cavalry could not be well-armed. Arrows pierced through the armor of the poor riders, killing or dismounting them, and sending the poor horses, not even wearing chariot armor, to a brutal death.

Choaack!

"Ahhhh!"

On the unstable slope, the leader collapsed and slid down to the left. The screams of the crushed rider, being dragged along by the rolling horse, echoed in vain.

Two more volleys were fired before the light cavalry could barely reach the archers, and the five hundred light cavalry were now visibly thinned out.

"Stop it!"

"Eww!"

The light cavalry charged, aiming their spears. However, the road was blocked by a raised stone stake, making it impossible to form a proper line.

The Hardion archers blocked the gaps between the stakes with their prepared shields and thrust their spears out from beyond the shields. Even though they were archers, most of them belonged to the elite central imperial army. If you gave them a bow, they were archers, and if you gave them a spear and shield, they were infantry.

Kwaaaaang!

"Kkaaa!"

"Ugh!"

After running along the steep road, the lead cavalry finally hit the shield between the stone stakes. Naturally, the horse fell, and the rider fell off. However, even the thin shield wall of Hardion collapsed as the soldiers fell backward.

But here again, Hardion's amazing tactical insight shined through in the formation he created.