Chapter 414: Chapter 162: Centaur Shooter

When the order was given, the entire army erupted in cheers, especially the Soldiers under Robson.

They had waited for this day for far too long.

Everyone knew the enemy was nearby, yet they had been unable to act. It was like seeing a pile of treasure ripe for the taking but being forced to only watch from afar.

Following the order, the entire human encampment stirred to life early the next morning.

The First, Second, and Third Regiments, who formed the vanguard, were packed and ready to move out in less than half an hour.

Julian City was not far, and with enough Magic Carriages in the army, Robson estimated they could arrive by evening.

.....

「Meanwhile, in Julian City.」

After seeing Hall and his party off, Chief Liete remained on the city wall, continuing his daily watch. He couldn’t help but feel a growing anxiety. ’What on earth are these humans planning?’

’If this really drags on,’ he thought, ’I’ll have no choice but to request reinforcements from the Centaur Royal Court.’

"Chieftain! Chieftain!"

Just as Liete was lost in thought, a shout came from behind him.

Liete turned to see a Centaur galloping toward the city wall from below, an urgent look on his face.

"What happened? Why all the panic?" Liete asked, frowning.

"Chieftain, this is bad.

According to reports from our frontline scouts, the humans have mobilized. They’re heading for our southeastern flank," the messenger Centaur said urgently.

"What?" Chief Liete’s expression changed dramatically.

"How many men did they send?" Chief Liete asked.

"Their vanguard has five thousand Soldiers. We don’t have a clear count of their total numbers yet.

Chieftain, what should we do?" the messenger Centaur asked.

Chief Liete frowned.

"Notify all the goblin tribes. Have them dispatch their earth goblins to the southeast and prepare for battle.

Also, inform Vistozde. He is to lead the clan’s most elite Centaur Shooters and depart immediately!" Chief Liete commanded.

For the Centaur Clan, archers were undoubtedly their most formidable combat units.

This was true whether considering the Centaurs’ mobility or other factors.

However, most Centaurs of the inner grasslands lacked large numbers of Cavalry Shooters. This was due to a scarcity of suitable wood and the subpar craftsmanship of the Beastman Empire.

Chief Liete, however, did not have this problem. Julian Province was rich in purplewood, a material whose quality was high enough to compensate for any deficiencies in the craftsmen’s skills.

This contingent of Centaur Shooters was the elite of the entire Centaur Tribe.

Not long after Chief Liete gave the order, the thundering sound of hooves echoed through the city.

A thousand-strong force galloped straight out of the city.

.....

’The enemy is splitting their forces? Why?’

Within the human army, Robson frowned as he received the latest report from the Griffin Knights.

’At such a critical time, why would the enemy divide their troops?’

"Who cares why.

Now that these Beastmen have given us an opening, we should just charge them!

Commander, I am willing to lead the Cavalry Team as the vanguard!" Claude was the first to step forward and request the assignment.

Robson looked at Valentino.

"This isn’t my expertise. The decision is yours," Valentino said.

Robson nodded.

Just then, another Knight came galloping up from the distance.

Several arrows were embedded in the Knight’s armor.

The Knight reined in before Robson and began reporting immediately, without even dismounting.

"Commander, we’re under attack from the front by a force of about a thousand Centaur archers! Their aim is incredibly precise—they hit me with several arrows from over one hundred and fifty paces out!" the Knight reported.

One hundred and fifty paces!

Robson’s expression tightened at the number.

To Robson’s current troops, a range of one hundred and fifty paces was nothing special; it might even be considered unimpressive.

But these were Cavalry Shooters!

Hitting a target with precision while moving at high speed was notoriously difficult.

"Have all archers stand ready," Robson said.

For Cavalry Shooters, a range of one hundred and fifty paces was likely considered the absolute pinnacle of skill.

Too bad for them, he, Robson, had more cards to play.

For the Frankish Border Watchers, such a feat was merely the entry-level requirement.

Especially since Robson had recently procured a batch of fine equipment from the Royal Treasury.

’This is the perfect opportunity to see what they can really do.’

....

"We’re not returning to the city until every quiver is empty!"

"Everyone, before we return to the city, your quivers must be empty!"

The Commander of the Centaur Shooters, Vistozde, raised a sharp arrow high and looked back at the ranks of Centaurs behind him.

For Centaurs, this was a form of ritual. Seeing his gesture, the other Centaur Shooters raised their shortbows in response.

The sky was beginning to darken. Vistozde peered into the distance and could already make out the figures of the human soldiers.

"Long live His Majesty! Long live the Empire!"

"All units, draw your bows!"

With hooves continuously pounding the earth, Vistozde couldn’t tell if the Soldiers behind him had followed his command.

But it didn’t matter. He had faith in them.

’Closer!’

Vistozde stared at the human formation in the distance.

He saw that the humans had simply formed ranks and were standing frozen in place.

Vistozde sneered inwardly.

’So this is the legendary, invincible army,’ he thought. ’They don’t seem like much.’

Over the years, he had seen countless such Infantry formations from all sorts of races.

And their final fate was always the same: to be gradually worn down and broken by his Centaur Shooters.

’Hm? What’s that?’

He watched as the human formation drew closer.

Vistozde was just about to get a little closer before giving the order to attack.

But to his surprise, before he reached his ideal firing range, a black cloud suddenly rose over the human formation.

It was a dense, black cloud of arrows.

Vistozde was puzzled.

’We’re still two hundred paces away. How could they possibly hit anything from that distance?’

His confusion didn’t last long.

The black cloud climbed higher and higher into the sky, showing no sign of descending.

’Something’s wrong!’

In an instant, alarm bells went off in Vistozde’s mind.

According to his own experience, the higher the arrows climbed, the farther their effective range.

’In other words, we’re already inside their effective range!’

Thinking about the sheer density of that black cloud, Vistozde’s blood ran cold.

"Scatter! Everyone, scatter!"

Vistozde wasted no more thought; his own escape was paramount.

"What is that?"

"It’s a rain of arrows! Scatter! Scatter!"

Vistozde hadn’t gotten far before the black cloud from the sky descended upon them.

More than half of the Centaur formation was caught within the cloud’s coverage.

"ARGH!"

"Get out of the way! Move!"

.....

"Ding! Your Tier Six Frankish Watcher has successfully killed a Tier Three Centaur Shooter. Experience +300."

"Ding!"

Amidst the human formation, Robson watched the scene unfold as a constant stream of system notifications chimed in his ears.

When the black cloud of arrows finally dissipated, it revealed countless Centaur corpses left in its wake. Even from hundreds of paces away, one could feel the terror of the inferno that had just been unleashed.

"Have the Archers pick off the survivors!" Robson commanded.

In truth, if Robson had wanted, he could have unleashed the arrow volley from three hundred paces.

But, that would have given many Centaurs time to escape.

Two hundred paces was just right.

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