The Rose Cross Squad advanced slowly through the Brielson Forest, while the reserve squad from Perth Town galloped out of the forest.
Because it was a reserve squad, only about two thousand two hundred out of the three thousand could actually participate in the battle. For a war of around ten thousand people, this level of strength was enough to determine the outcome of the battle.
Compared to the panic he felt a few days ago, Rody finally had some confidence in the current crisis. However, he did not dare to relax. He did not leave after the army had set off. Instead, he followed the army and silently monitored the speed of the army's advance.
This behavior had caused a lot of disgust. After all, as the commander, the bishop absolutely did not want to see someone ordering his troops around. Roddy, who was disguised as a priest, also knew that he could not overstep his boundaries, so he did not say a word along the way.
He also understood that this army could not be ordered around like his own cavalry squad. When the battle really started, he could only be a 'spectator' …
Time passed in this manner. The calendar flipped to the sixth of May. After the sun rose on the seventh of May, the Rose Cross Squad in the Brielson Forest finally began to gather before the decisive battle …
"Captain, are we a little too slow?"
Marching through the dense forest, it was impossible to speed up. But it was obvious that ever since they set off early in the morning, Captain Sally obviously did not have her usual swift and decisive attitude. Instead, she delayed the departure time and increased the scouting range of the team. Although she did not explicitly say it, the team members all felt that she was deliberately delaying the speed of the advance.
Sally did not deny it. She nodded and replied, "Roy and Bart who went to the flank to scout have not returned yet. Wait for them to bring back the exact news, then we will speed up and catch up with the team in front."
"Understood, Captain."
Knowing that Sally was not afraid of the battle, the team members felt a lot more at ease. And Sally, who was walking in front, picked up the map to confirm the current position of the team —
The entire Rose Cross' main force was spread out in a "convex arc" around the edges of Briar Forest. At this moment, Sally's team was right behind the "arc's tip". They were about a kilometer away from the frontline troops and were about the same distance from the left and right wings.
This was the position that she had personally led the team to adjust last night. It was not that Sally did not dare to face the enemy, but she was still unable to confirm whether these enemies were as weak as they appeared to be …
"Captain, there's news from the frontline. The first batch of troops has walked out of the forest and arrived at the predetermined rendezvous point."
"Got it."
Sally nodded. She remained calm and did not urge the team to speed up.
"The second echelon has left the forest and arrived at the rendezvous point. Bishop Fryer is urging us to move forward. Captain Sally …"
"I will be there on time."
Sally looked up at the sun above her head and said, "Tell Bishop Fryer not to rush me anymore —"
Halfway through her sentence, Sally suddenly stopped. She looked ahead vigilantly. The atmosphere of the entire team froze for an instant. When the surrounding team members saw this, they all tightened their grip on their weapons.
However, the expected enemy did not appear.
The subordinate who held his breath for a few seconds looked at Sally and said aloud, "Captain …"
"Listen carefully!"
Sally raised her hand to interrupt him. The soldiers who received the hint concentrated for a moment, but they all heard a vague sound …
"Horn?"
The horn would not be blown when the team gathered. Only when charging or retreating would they use this conch horn that could transmit a long distance even in the forest. At this time, when they heard it, everyone thought of several possibilities —
"The decisive battle has been brought forward?"
Someone asked aloud, but no one answered him because the team members in the forest had no way of knowing what was happening outside.
But just a few seconds later, the sound of hurried hooves suddenly sounded. Sally turned her head. When she saw Roy rushing back, covered in blood, she immediately rushed a few steps forward and shouted, "Get out of the way, healers, get ready!"
Roy jumped down from the horse, exhausted. The two divine arts had restored some of his strength. When he got up, he did not even have time to salute and shouted, "There are enemies on the right flank! There may be more than a thousand of them! "
This sentence made everyone's heart suddenly sink. Sally immediately ordered, "Everyone, stop advancing!"
Before the follow-up orders could be given, Bart's figure appeared on the other side — — "The left flank is under attack, there is a fierce battle! There are too many enemies, it is impossible to count! "
"Damn it!"
Sally could not help but curse. She had originally prepared for the worst, but she did not expect it to actually come true. Even if she had some mental preparation in advance, the young Sally still could not suppress the panic in her heart.
"Throw away all the supplies and prepare for battle — —"
She tried hard to suppress the panic in her heart and prepared to give orders one by one. But just as she finished speaking, the rustling of leaves and the sound of horses' hooves came from the forest behind her … Sally suddenly turned back, but after hesitating for half a second, she decisively said, "Cancel the battle preparations, everyone break through to the right flank! Quick! "
"… We are surrounded!"
*****
'Rose Cross's' strategy in the Briar Forest was completely based on the 'scattered soldiers' tactic. All members moved in the forest in the form of 'small teams', with each team consisting of 15 to 50 people, including several mobile cavalry teams of nearly a hundred people.
Although it was announced that there were 20,000 people participating in the battle, because it was harder to ensure the supply of supplies in the forest than on the plains, most of the people in this number were engineers and farmers responsible for logistics — — And those who could actually enter the battlefield did not exceed 3,500 people.
Although the ratio was not high, this number was enough to instantly kill most of the private soldiers of the kingdom's nobles, and they could even 'run amok'. But as the nominal commander-in-chief of this battle, Bishop Fryer, who had just left the forest, was completely shocked by the scene in front of him …
There were more than 2,000 enemies surging from the front, and they were in an orderly formation. There were also two teams of cavalry on both sides, ready to charge at any time.
And on his side?
The two teams that had just walked out of the forest added up to only 500 people, and at this moment, they had not even completed the most basic formation …
How could this be?!
He gripped the staff in his hand tightly, and had no idea what to do at this moment: Soldiers continuously rushed over to report the battle situation. Other than the enemies in front, there were more than 500 enemies on both sides of the entire army, and in just a few minutes, there were even small scale battles.
He had originally thought that his team would be able to easily repel the enemy like before, but the results of the report were completely unacceptable to him. The scattered team of "Rose Cross" had no way of resisting the enemy's large-scale assault, and were annihilated almost immediately!
"Lord Bishop, we have to stop their charge, or the entire army will collapse …"
"Stop! Quickly stop them! What are you waiting for? " His adjutant's words brought Fryer back to his senses, and he lost his composure and shouted at his subordinates beside him, "Why did the enemy suddenly appear? Why did no one warn us?! "
But no one answered his question, the infantry of 'Viper Cross' had begun to collectively accelerate, and the flashing purple light proved that there were many clergymen in the enemy's formation … This often meant that the enemy was more difficult to deal with than expected.
"Where is my army!? Why are there only a few small teams? "
There was no point in asking questions now, Fryer's commanding ability was mediocre, and he had only been carrying out Mograine's orders like a puppet from the beginning to the end. That was why he had completely panicked and lost his ability to adapt to the situation.
However, the well-prepared "Viper Cross" did not give him the chance to catch his breath. The first wave of assault from the frontline team, after five minutes, directly crushed the first team in front of them into smithereens!
These pagans had been waiting at ease, and after many days of lying in wait for today's battle, their morale was high and full of vigor … In comparison, the exhausted 'Rose Cross' team had neither morale nor strength, and they did not even have the most basic defensive formation before they were flattened, and had no room to resist at all!
Such a result was like a blow to the head, and the minds of the soldiers who thought that victory was in their grasp went blank, and what followed was a gradual spread of panic and fear …
Batch after batch of squads rushed out of the forest, bumping into their teammates who were retreating in panic. Then, without any formation or defense, they collided with the enemy's advancing formation … and were all killed in an instant.
A bloody battle broke out, but the difference between the two sides was too great, and it was a complete massacre.
And among the countless small teams of 'Rose Cross', only three teams chose the correct route, and successfully broke through the enemy's right flank, and left the edge of Briar Forest unscathed … Among them, was the team that Sally was in.
But at this moment, she wished that she hadn't charged out of the forest … Because once her field of vision was broadened, the situation on the plains was instantly clear. From afar, the well-prepared cultists were like adults beating up children, forcing the Rose Cross Army's defense line to retreat and shrink continuously …
And the three teams that followed Sally to escape the encirclement by luck, did not even add up to a hundred people. Facing over four thousand enemies, their only option was to 'preserve their strength' …
"Retreat! Find cover! "
"Throw away your heavy armors and weapons!"
Throwing away their armor and helmets was an incomparably humiliating sight, but complaining was useless, this was reality: When failure was like a fierce punch to one's face, the only thing one could do was not to face it head-on, but to use the most logical method to protect oneself.
"Captain Sally, there are pursuers at the left rear!"
"Report their numbers!"
"Around three hundred …"
This number made Sally lose all thoughts of turning around to face the enemy, and she gritted her teeth and ordered: "Speed up! Continue to retreat! "
This was not the first time she chose to 'escape' to face a crisis. Back when she was at the border of Efta, she also ran away because of Frances' traps and traps … But Sally understood that at this moment, the person who had led her out of danger countless times would never appear again …
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