3 bar menu

Vol 04 Chapter 107: The Battle with the Equus Tribe I

The border between the King Rosais’ Country and the Equus Tribe was a reasonably high mountain range known as the Alva Mountains. To the west of the mountains lay King Rosais’ Country, and to the east, the land of the Equus Tribe.

The mountain range was not part of any country’s territory and was demilitarized.

In other words, there was no clear border between the two countries. This wasn’t uncommon on the Adernia Peninsula.

Led by Redus, three thousand cavalrymen had crossed the Alva Mountains. There was no response from the King Rosais’ Country. This meant that their demands were rejected.

Generally, the nomadic tribes adhered to the principle of might makes right. What Redus did was not praiseworthy, but if he could defeat Mutzio, he would be recognized as the chieftain.

After all, Redus’s grandfather… the father of the previous Equus king, killed his lord, the chieftain, and took his wives, daughters, and the chief’s position.

Follow the strong. That was how the Alvans thought. Nowadays, they might be nearly completely assimilated with the Adernians and were beginning to forget parts of their nomadic culture, but they were the descendants of the Flat-faced Tribe.

Additionally, Redus has a personal desire to acquire Rakela. He could just rape her right now and be done with it, but…

He thought giving the severed head of her former husband in place of an engagement lamb might make it easier for her to give up.

Writing it like this makes Redus sound like scum, but this was a pretty normal thing among the Alvans. For the nomadic tribes, women and wealth were things to be taken.

Robing someone else’s wife and being robbed of your wife were everyday occurrences.

◇

There were three routes from the Alva Mountains to King Rosais’ Country, from north to south, let’s call them A, B, and C.

First, the A route. This path was rugged and the most roundabout, so it was normally not used. However, it was intricate and effective for escaping or hiding. Mutzio had fled through this route.

Next, the B route. It was the shortest path and had the best pavement. The B route was often used by merchants. It was also the route that envoys from King Rosais’ Country typically used.

However, this path was narrow, making it unsuitable for the movement of large armies.

Lastly, the C route. This was the path that Redus and his troops were currently advancing on. It had an acceptable pavement and was of medium distance, but it was wide, which made it suitable for marching.

The Equus Tribe didn’t use packhorses; instead, they moved sheep. The sheep served as walking food supplies. If the path was too narrow, they couldn’t walk the sheep, so they couldn’t advance on any route other than C. Although they could split into smaller groups, dispersing their forces would be the pinnacle of folly.

The enemy was obviously aware of this.

◇

「Most likely, the enemy will be waiting at the entrance of this gorge. It’s disadvantageous for them to fight on the plains.」

Redus said to his grandfather walking beside him. Redus’ grandfather was one of the great warrior chiefs and a veteran general.

「I agree, Chieftain. We must be wary of ambushes. This terrain is perfect for hiding troops.」

The great warrior chief surveyed the surroundings. If they got caught between the front and back, the cavalry would lose its strength. On this terrain, the mobility of the cavalry couldn’t be fully utilized.

「Chieftain, we have a report from the hawk. The Rosais army seems to have formed a blockade on the road. Five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry. There are also many barriers designed against cavalry. No ambushes have been confirmed yet,」

This was reported to Redus by Lydia, who had recently become the chief magician of the Equus Tribe and was a spy from the Rozel Kingdom. Lydia’s true masters were Mari and King Rozel, but for the encirclement to be truly complete, they needed Redus to win.

Thus, Lydia was fully supporting him.

「I see… thank you. I have high expectations for you.」

「Thank you.」

Lydia smiled slyly to herself, bowed, and stepped back.

◇

That day, Redus kept a vigilant watch on his surroundings as he spread out the yurts and allowed his soldiers to rest in preparation for tomorrow’s decisive battle.

「Mutzio!! Come out!! You coward who fled. Or are you too scared to show yourself? Is this how the people of the horse behave?!」

Redus shouted toward the Rosais army’s encampment, followed by his soldiers who also loudly taunted the Rosais army and Mutzio.

Unable to bear the provocation, Mutzio emerged from the formation with his troops.

「You’re the coward!! Attacking us in a night raid while we were asleep. Is that how the people of the horse behave? I’m ashamed as your brother. To resort to such tactics because you lacked confidence, and to tamper with the horses too. There’s a limit to cowardice!!」

Supported by the taunts of the Equus cavalry and Rosais infantry led by Mutzio, Redus smirked.

「Good! Then let’s have a duel!!」

Redus said, stepping forward without his troops. At this, Mutzio also couldn’t refuse the duel.

This battle wasn’t just about winning. Mutzio had to demonstrate his strength. Otherwise, without the support of the Rosais army, he would be seen as powerless.

「What will it be? Shall we compete with bows, brother?」

「No, let’s use the sword, your specialty. If I used the bow, you would definitely lose.」

Mutzio said with confidence. Redus licked his lips.

「You’ll regret this, I’m warning you!」

The two kicked their beloved steeds into motion, charging forward at full speed. Their swords clashed violently.

Neither had stirrups, so they were supporting themselves with the strength of their thighs alone. This spoke volumes about their skill as warriors, given the fierceness of their confrontation.

The sound of iron striking iron echoed throughout the gorge. Both armies watched the duel, holding their breath in anticipation.

「You’re good, brother.」

「You too.」

They moved apart and then together again, parrying and separating repeatedly.

「Haah!」

Redus’ sword struck Mutzio’s with force, sending vibrations along the blade that shook Redus’ arm vigorously.

「Damn, it seems I’m at a disadvantage in this duel.」

Mutzio said, then turned his back and began to flee. Redus had won.

「Wait! Are you fleeing? And you dare call yourself one of the people of the horse?!」

Redus spurred his horse into a gallop to catch Mutzio, followed by three thousand Equus cavalry. They rapidly closed the distance to the enemy lines.

Redus hesitated for a moment.

(Should I charge in now?)

He looked at the fence in front of him. It wasn’t very high. Precisely, it was too low to stop the Equus cavalry, though it might be effective enough to halt the pseudo-cavalry of the Adernians.

It seemed possible to jump over it with a bit of effort. Naturally, if the horses were caught on the fence, they would be easy targets for arrows and spears, but…

Redus glanced back at his troops.

「Ooooooh!!!」

His soldiers were right behind him, full of morale and vigor. This was the moment to trust his warriors and their horses.

「Charge!」

Driven by high spirits, Redus urged his horse toward the horse fence. He raised the horse’s head with force. Understanding his intent, the horse kicked off the ground powerfully.

Leaping over the fence, Redus sliced into the Rosais infantry, who had been caught off guard, mistakenly thinking the barrier would stop him.

「Surround him! Encircle and kill—gah!」

Blood sprayed from the body of a man who appeared to be a centurion, slain by the great warrior chief.

「Don’t overextend yourself.」

「Thank you, Grandfather.」

One after another, inspired by momentum, Redus’ Equus cavalry penetrated deeper into the enemy’s formation. While some failed, they were in the minority. Indeed, a fence of this caliber was insufficient to stop the Equus cavalry.

There was no regrouping now.

Both the Rosais infantry and cavalry abandoned their positions and fled.

「What’s this, it’s nothing much. Onward! Our targets are Mutzio and King Rosais’ heads!」

Redus raised his voice and spurred his horse forward. His cavalry followed, slashing through the fleeing Rosais infantry.

The outcome of the battle was already clear.

The soldiers of Redus’ army, confident of their victory, began to think of the spoils they would soon plunder. Among them, one man had a somber expression.

It was the great warrior chief who looked troubled.

(Things are going too smoothly…)

With Mutzio from the same Equus Tribe among the enemy, they should have realized that the horse fence wasn’t high enough. Moreover, the enemy’s resistance was suspiciously weak.

And then, the flags.

Given the extent of their defeat, it would not be strange to see soldiers discarding their flags, yet not a single one had fallen.

「Chief! Something is odd. The enemy’s retreat is too perfect. It’s likely a trap! We should pull back.」

「What are you saying! What kind of trap could there be in this situation? The magicians reported no ambushes. If there are so few that they were overlooked, they can be ignored. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity!」

His point was valid. The suspicion of the great warrior chief was just a hunch, perhaps more likely to be a misjudgment. An army couldn’t be directed by the mere intuition of an old man.

「If you say so…」

The great warrior chief moved as close to Redus as possible, to protect him if needed.

They continued to charge through the formation. Soon they would break through the enemy lines and be able to strike at the retreating main force of the Rosais army.

That’s when it happened.

「What is this!」

The scent of oil struck the great warrior chief’s nostrils. But it was too late.

The Rosais light infantry and the Equus cavalry led by Mutzio, who had previously been retreating, turned around. They fired flaming arrows.

The flaming arrows ignited the oil scattered on the ground, causing an immediate blaze.

「Cursed tricks!」

Redus cursed while calming his horse. However, he saw this as no real threat.

A fire attack using only oil wouldn’t hold up; the oil would burn off too quickly without additional fuel like wood around. The amount of oil was also minimal, only noticeable close to the scattered areas on the ground.

While horses are afraid of fire, making the flaming areas impassable, the affected area wasn’t large. They could easily maneuver around it.

「Ha ha ha, fools! Do you think such a small fire can stop cavalry!?」

Boom!

As Redus shouted, a loud explosion resounded. The ground suddenly exploded in a chain reaction, engulfing the surroundings in white smoke.

The explosion itself wasn’t substantial, and only a few unlucky riders were blown away. However, the noise and smoke were more than enough to ignite terror in the horses.

「Whoaaa!」

Redus’ own horse started to panic. He hurriedly tried to control it. Looking around, he saw the chaos among his troops.

Thirty percent of the cavalry had been thrown off their horses, forty percent were desperately clinging to their rampaging mounts, and the remaining thirty percent, like Redus, were just managing to restrain their horses.

Then, the Rosais army’s heavy infantry and cavalry charged.

The momentum of the Equus cavalry was already broken.

「Run, Redus! You’ll be killed if it continues like this. I’ll buy you some time!」

The great warrior chief yelled, his formal tone lost due to his own confusion and lack of composure.

「Understood!」

Redus responded, attempting to flee. But as he did, an arrow whizzed past his ear.

「Hey, hey, the people of the horse shouldn’t show their backs to the enemy.」

Mutzio taunted, aiming his bow.