Chapter 467: Chapter 215: The True Elite

It wasn’t until the Human Corps began to charge that Oles realized just how ridiculously wrong his previous assessment of them had been.

He hadn’t overestimated them. He had underestimated them—completely and utterly underestimated them!

He had seen them maintain a strict formation during a rapid march and assumed they were an Elite Army.

But the scene before him now...

They were actually... running!

Yes, the human soldiers in the distance were advancing at a run. And it wasn’t a jog; they were sprinting with all their might, screaming as they charged.

And yet, even under these conditions, the enemy was somehow still maintaining their formation, their movements perfectly coordinated.

General Oles glanced back at his own forces. No matter how elite the Beastman Army was, their formation was unstable after that last volley from the Magic Crystal Cannons. Besides, reorganizing on the fly was not without its costs!

Many warriors were still scrambling to find their units.

General Oles stared hard at the humans across the field. There was still one thing he couldn’t understand.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

’There’s more!’ General Oles cried out, looking at the Energy Balls rising in the distance, then back at the Human Corps before him. The human army was now less than half a mile away!

’The two sides are about to clash! At a time like this, aren’t they afraid of friendly fire?!’

Now, General Oles was truly finding it difficult to decide. ’Dodge? But the human army is already right in front of us...’

General Oles’s brow furrowed. Steeling himself, he raised the scimitar in his hand.

"Hold the formation! Prepare for battle!"

"For the Empire! Charge with me!"

General Oles roared.

He had just seen those human soldiers sprinting over. On the battlefield, everything depended on that initial burst of momentum.

In a real battle, commanders rarely had their soldiers charge at a full run. That was usually reserved for the pursuit phase after a victory had been secured.

Because if soldiers ran, their stamina would be spent. By the time they reached the enemy, panting and out of breath, what strength would they have left to attack?!

This was his, Oles’s, only advantage! If he could capitalize on this, he might just be able to hold off the army before him!

"For the Empire! For His Majesty!"

"Charge! For the Empire!"

The Tiger Race was already near the central battlefield. The Beastmen here were predominantly from the Royalist Faction. In truth, the Royalist Faction still constituted the majority within the Beastman Empire, but they were currently facing immense pressure from the humans. This was also why the Gray Dwarven King had sought out Robson for an alliance.

General Oles finished adjusting his formation and turned back, only to be dumbfounded by the scene before him.

The human soldiers no longer showed any sign of their previous running charge. They had already formed a tight phalanx, and the soldiers at the very front had even been swapped out for a fresh wave.

’They can swap them out just like that?’

General Oles was at a loss for words.

’Is this what it means to command an army as if it were an extension of one’s own body?’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

At the same time, the Energy Balls in the sky drew near again. The situation no longer permitted General Oles the luxury of further thought.

"For the Empire! Charge!"

General Oles roared from his war chariot as the Beastman Soldiers at his side charged forward, their formation scattered but their hearts filled with courage.

The Energy Balls fell once more, but this time, the Beastman Warriors did not try to dodge.

...

"For the Kingdom! For the Lord of Dawn!"

Estimating the distance between the two forces, Robson saw that the time was right. He immediately raised his arm and bellowed. At the same time, the drums of war and horns of attack sounded from within the human ranks, their calls echoing across the clashing battlefield.

"Victory to Affleck!"

The human soldiers couldn’t wait any longer. They had been waiting for this day for far too long! Ever since the battle in Julian Province ended, the soldiers had barely seen any blood. They hadn’t participated in the siege against the Centaurs, and the subsequent standoff with the Tiger Race People had never erupted into a full-blown fight.

In any other army, the soldiers’ will to fight would have long since faded. But thanks to Robson’s system of military merit, the fighting spirit of Affleck’s soldiers had not diminished in the slightest; on the contrary, it had only grown stronger!

The Tiger Race People before them had a considerable size advantage, but so what?

To the soldiers of Affleck, a larger size had never been a disadvantage.

After all, regardless of size, the enemy would always be defeated by their Lord in the end. In fact, a larger size just meant greater military merit!

Everyone in Affleck knew that military merit was directly tied to the strength of the enemy.

They’d be disappointed if their opponents weren’t large. What was the point of killing goblins? That was just small potatoes.

General Oles felt the full force of the human soldiers’ current mindset!

’Why does every single one of these human soldiers look so eager for a fight?’

’In this day and age, even the most elite soldiers are forced onto the battlefield! Even in a professional army, most are just trying to make a living, and some armies have their pay skimmed by damned bureaucrats until not a drop is left. Who would risk their life for such a pittance?’

But the human army before him gave him a distinctly different feeling.

General Oles swallowed hard, suddenly regretting having accepted this rear-guard mission. But it was too late for regrets now. The arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be loosed.

"Charge with me!"

General Oles glanced around, steeled his heart, and charged straight into the fray with his Personal Guard Team.

The battle erupted in an instant!

"For Affleck!"

"For the Empire!"

The warriors clashed in a chaotic melee. Both sides were rare elites from their respective factions, and for the moment, the Beastman Warriors still held a slight advantage in numbers.

At least, that was how it seemed in General Oles’s eyes; the enemy’s fifth through seventh regiments had not yet arrived.

When the battle began, the Beastman Army even seemed to be overwhelming the human soldiers.

However, Oles, who stood on his chariot observing the entire battlefield, knew this was only temporary.

Although the Beastman Warriors had the upper hand, it was only because of their superior numbers!

In reality, Beastmen were constantly dying on the battlefield. Oles couldn’t even see how they died; they would just suddenly be gone. The air was filled with the screams of Beastmen, yet there were surprisingly few pained cries from the human soldiers.

The enemy was clearly fighting defensively, biding their time. General Oles glanced toward the Beastman Camp behind him. He couldn’t say how much longer he could hold out; he could only hope the Prince was making good time.

SKRAW!

Hm?

General Oles looked into the distance, his brow furrowed.

’Did I see that right? Was that... a silver-white phoenix?’

In an instant, General Oles thought of Robson. The Beastmen had studied Robson extensively. His signature was unmistakable—a silver-white phoenix had been present in nearly all of his famous battles.

But why would that phoenix appear over on the Beastmen’s side?

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