"Giddy up! Giddy up!"
Hanno gripped the reins tightly and galloped back to report the news, but before he reached the spot where Phil had been, he saw the cavalrymen already running back in a panic.
Completely out of formation and discipline, they were in complete chaos, like a flock of chickens being driven by a wild beast, flapping their wings and screaming as they scattered and fled.
Upon seeing this scene, Hanno's face immediately fell; he knew what it meant.
The communications soldier beside him cried out urgently, "Sir, what... what do we do now?!"
What else could they do? Hanno was devastated; this was no longer a retreat, but a rout caused by the enemy.
He didn't answer, but instead spurred his horse forward and shouted loudly at the cavalry:
"Where is General Phil?! Where is General Phil?!"
A hurried, frantic echo came from the approaching cavalry:
"Our heavy armor units have been almost wiped out by artillery fire. The Yan Kingdom soldiers are charging in with their tanks. We've also lost contact with General Phil. The Yan Kingdom soldiers are in pursuit. We need to retreat immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Hanno shouted anxiously, "General Saskia forbids us from retreating! We need to continue..."
Before he could finish speaking, the routed cavalry had already rushed to Hanno's side. In the chaos, someone suddenly shouted:
"Send General Saski to charge! Send him now!"
"Let him go and fight the Yan Kingdom people!"
Upon hearing these two sentences, Hanno froze. Before he could speak again, the cavalry had already rushed past him. The warhorses were neighing mournfully, and the screams and shouts of countless people were mixed together. In the distance, there was the rumble of cannon fire, like a death knell.
Hanno, caught in the current, looked up and gazed into the distance. Under the cover of night, chariots were galloping along, with countless enemy cavalrymen beside them.
"It's over...."
Hanno broke out in a cold sweat. After muttering this sentence, he didn't hesitate for a moment. He pulled his warhorse around and fled with the remaining cavalry.
It was now 2 a.m., eight hours after the battle began.
——
"Sir! The flank is breached!"
It wasn't until 2:30 that the communications officer delivered the news of the flank being breached to Saski. Before hearing the news with his own ears, Saski had already witnessed the commotion on the flank.
Behind the cavalry were infantry squadrons ready to fight at any moment. They were just waiting for the cavalry to charge into the enemy lines and create chaos before they would move out. However, as the cavalry collapsed, the infantry at the rear visibly panicked.
On the main position, our artillery units have no chance of making a breakthrough. They are now in a state of chaos, suffering heavy casualties that are too painful to look at. The collapse of the flank lines basically means that this offensive has not only made no progress, but has also been completely suppressed by the enemy.
"Send them back! Back to the fight!! Now!" Saski roared at the communications officer again.
However, unlike before, the communications soldier simply stood pale-faced in front of Saski, neither agreeing nor immediately turning to relay the order.
Given the current situation, even the communications soldiers realized that the battle was already on the verge of failure. If the enemy cavalry attacked from the flank, it would not only be a defeat, but could lead to even worse consequences.
"There's no way to continue..."
"Sir," Leo said, looking dejected.
Saskia turned around abruptly, about to grab him by the collar and reprimand him, but then heard several sighs beside her.
“The gap is too big, the combat strength is vastly different, and even in terms of troop strength, the Yan Kingdom may not be less than us... We've been fighting for so long, and we don't even know how many troops they have in total.” An officer kept shaking his head.
“These Yan people… damn them… they… they…” The other officer, who was speaking, touched his face with his hand, but could not even finish his sentence.
“Sir, we are completely suppressed and have already lost…” another person suddenly said, even looking directly at Saski, showing his most genuine expression.
Apart from Saskia, everyone present, like Leo, looked dejected and no longer bothered to hide their true thoughts, directly revealing their opinions on the outcome of the battle.
Hearing these disheartening words, in the past, Saski would have angrily called out each of them by name and reprimanded them, or even punished them.
But now, he froze.
Saski stared, mouth agape, unsure of what to say. He finally panicked, his gaze sweeping aimlessly across everyone's face.
But all he saw were somber faces, either shaking their heads or sighing. He didn't even see anger on their faces, only a deep sense of helplessness.
"What...what do you mean?" Saski pointed at Leo and suddenly spoke, but his words were stammering.
"We've already lost, sir. We have to accept this reality."
"Our army has been completely suppressed by the Yan people." Leo rubbed his face, making it red, and when he looked up again, his expression had become extremely solemn:
"It's not that we can't launch an attack, but that the Yan people have already turned the tables on us, sir."
“We can’t fight them anymore. If we continue, we’ll all die here.”
"Even... even something as simple as General Dylan..."
Upon hearing this, Saski turned to look at the others with a stiff expression. The other officers did not speak up in agreement, but Saski could already see their thoughts on their faces.
Leo continued:
"We must cut our losses, retreat immediately, and preserve our strength for the next time..."
We were just talking about this.
"What are we waiting for?! Get out of here now!"
Saski suddenly shouted, which even startled the officers. They hadn't expected Saski to be so decisive and change his attitude so quickly.
Leo, who knew Saskia better, was used to this, and simply shook his head slightly, imperceptibly, before saying:
"Then let's evacuate immediately."
"Let the frontline troops..."
Before he could finish speaking, Saski interrupted through gritted teeth, "Let them continue firing to provide cover, and the reserves will immediately withdraw from the battlefield with us!"
"Quickly! Get moving! Don't waste any time!"
Without the slightest hesitation, once he decided to evacuate, Saskie hurriedly left the operations command center under the escort of his guards.
At this moment, the battlefield had become one-sided. After the flanks were breached, a large number of Yan army cavalry launched an attack from the side, causing the Golt army, which was still fighting on the main position, to suffer heavy losses.
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