Half an hour passed quickly, and seeing that no progress had been made, Saski, seething with anger, reluctantly gave the order to withdraw his troops.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The panicked shouts rose and fell, and seeing the soldiers' disheveled appearance as they retreated, Saski felt as if he had been slapped hard across the face, and even felt a faint pain.
"Damn it!!" He nearly ground his teeth to powder, cursing furiously.
The officers beside him also looked extremely grim. This positional battle had already resulted in considerable casualties. Although the infantry suffered the most casualties, the artillery corps had suffered the greatest losses. In the initial attack, hundreds of tanks were destroyed by enemy artillery fire. This was a shocking loss that could even affect subsequent operations.
In addition, although signal corps have been dispatched to the flank, it will take some time for them to send back messages. Given the current situation, everyone knows that the casualties of other units are also not optimistic.
Leo's face was grim, but seeing that the troops at the front were withdrawing and that the Yan Kingdom people were not pursuing them, his expression softened slightly. He turned to look at Saski, who was still cursing incessantly, and said:
"Sir, the Yan Kingdom has completely sealed off Pariston; we have no choice but to wage a protracted war..."
Before he could finish speaking, Saski shot him a fierce look: "The Yan people's defensive strength is somewhat unexpected, but the tactics I arranged are absolutely flawless. Something must have gone wrong!"
"It's absolutely because the flanks didn't put enough pressure on the Yan Kingdom, which allowed them to concentrate their forces here! That's definitely it!"
Upon hearing this, Leo couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The arrogant General Saski never thought he had done anything wrong.
But at this moment, Leo remained silent as usual, while the officer beside him whispered:
"We'll revise our battle plan once the other units return... That's all we can do for now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Saski's fierce gaze swept across everyone's face, but in the end, he could only let out a venting roar.
——
During the period when the Gortian army began to withdraw, Qin Ze also received messages from the front lines.
"If they want to retreat, let them retreat. There's no need to go out and pursue them," Qin Ze said calmly to the communications soldier who came to report the news.
"Your Majesty, the enemy forces on the north and south sides will surely retreat. Aren't you going to pursue them?" the communications officer asked.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ze sat up from his chair and waved his hand, saying, "No need."
"The enemy forces to the south have already inflicted enough damage; they are now just a remnant force, and there's no need to pursue them. As for the north..."
"We vacated the defensive line earlier, but those guys still haven't come over. The enemy commander there is very cautious and must have already made preparations to withdraw, so there's even less need to go out and fight them."
"Useless efforts, you can't catch up."
After listening to his explanation, the communications soldier said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, after this battle, they should already know our true strength. What if...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Ze shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter."
"Whether they are preparing to attack again or retreating from here is irrelevant."
"We have a general understanding of the military strength they brought this time, so it's time for us to attack."
"Besides, I believe they won't retreat too far... After all... they brought such a large group of people, they'll have to try a few more times, they're just reckless..." Qin Ze stroked his chin, a faint smile in his eyes.
——
It was soon afternoon, at the Gore army's main camp, six kilometers east of Pariston.
"What did you say?! Halson has lost contact?!" Saski, his face contorted with rage, grabbed Riel by the collar as he returned in disarray from the southern battlefield and demanded an explanation.
Halson, pale-faced, said in a trembling voice, "Yes, General Halson led a force to flank them, but... communication was lost, and not even a communications officer was sent back."
"Damn it! Didn't you send anyone to meet you when you retreated?!" Saski roared angrily.
"We sent men... sir, but they spotted enemy cavalry from afar. There was clearly a battle taking place there; with enemy forces present, we had no choice but to retreat..."
"As you know, all we have left is..."
Just then, Saski slapped Riel across the face, silencing him of the rest of his sentence.
After slapping Saskia, he was panting heavily with anger, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.
Previously, Halson had brought nearly 30,000 cavalrymen, but now, less than 6,000 have returned, many of whom are wounded. They not only failed to achieve any merit, but also suffered heavy losses, and Halson has even lost contact with them.
If someone goes missing during a battle, they are most likely dead and their body can never be found.
"That bastard Halson, doesn't he know... we should retreat when we should?! That bastard!" Saski was both angry and anxious.
Meanwhile, the other officers listening nearby couldn't help but glance at Saski, thinking to themselves, "You were so insistent on a breakthrough on the flank."
Riel, whose mouth was split open by the slap, felt even more bitter. He covered his face and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, I was just following your orders. I just didn't expect... I didn't expect the Yan people to defend so resolutely."
These words undoubtedly put Saski in an awkward position, and he immediately pointed at Riel and shouted angrily:
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