Some people returned to their vehicles, and the queue regrouped. Baiyin's pace returned to normal.
They no longer deliberately quickened their pace to escape the barbarian's ambush, because Alphonse had other plans.
A soldier ran up and reported the situation in our rear to the regimental commander: "The enemy has also crossed the Horus River and is accelerating their advance! It is estimated that the two armies are less than 100 meters apart!"
"Should we speed up too?" Priscilla asked Alphonse.
"No need, I have other plans. Now that I have the advantage of timing, location, and popular support, I've decided to take this opportunity to launch a counterattack."
He ordered everyone to halt, prepare their weapons, and get ready to engage the enemy.
The soldiers, unsure of their chances of victory, hesitated.
Priscilla quickly stopped her, "With Silver's strength not yet fully recovered... are you sure you can win this battle?"
She thought Alphonse's move was extremely careless, even more reckless than before. "Weren't you just now... afraid that you would suffer a crushing defeat in a head-on confrontation with the enemy?"
"Get out of my way." Alphonse didn't have time to explain the tactics to her. He shouted this and pushed her aside, walking straight to the wagon loaded with weapons. He took out a quiver of arrows and threw it in front of Priscilla. "Prepare for battle. I guarantee you victory."
Alphonse suddenly turned cold and distant, treating her as if she were a complete stranger, which frightened her slightly. She didn't know what she had said wrong to offend him.
Alphonse ignored the princess and instructed Finchley beside him, "Now, command of the Silver Army will be temporarily handed over to you. I will go to the front to arrange tactics. When you lead the troops, do not engage them rashly, and always maintain a distance from the enemy until you receive my signal..."
“There are wizards in the enemy army, and they are no weaker than you or me. We must be careful.” Finchley reminded Alphonse, then slung his quiver over his shoulder, sheathed his sword, and rode off to the rear.
"Douglas, the teammates are in your hands now."
"Whatever you tell us to do, we will do it without hesitation."
The big man put armor and helmet on his warhorse, checked his weapons, and then followed Finchley.
“Priscilla…believe me, believe in everyone here!”
Before Priscilla could react, Alphonse lightly kissed her blue, frostbitten cheek.
He then mounted Daisy, hoisted his cloak, and led another squad of fifty archers, breaking away from the original unit, galloping forward.
The majestic figure of the pure white knight gradually receded from her sight and disappeared into the snow curtain kicked up by the hooves of the horses ahead.
-
"I've never heard of snow falling in this valley!" the commander roared at the kneeling soldier reporting.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and snow continued to fall.
Under the sky, the jet-black flags fluttered in the wind.
The weather in Cross Valley suddenly turned abnormal. This southern region experienced its first severe cold. Pure white completely covered the landscape.
The war drums of the southern barbarians thundered across the land, intimidating all directions. The column advanced swiftly, pursuing their enemy—the Silver Knights.
The barbarian warriors were all dressed in only thin animal skin armor, with most of their upper bodies exposed. Some of the thinner soldiers couldn't withstand the sudden cold and shivered in the wind.
The wizard instructed them to take out torches, light them, and hold them up as they continued on their way.
The swirling snowflakes obscured their previously clear view ahead, preventing them from discerning the enemy's movements in the distance.
This reason caused some soldiers to feel anxious and uneasy.
However, the root of their fear came when they witnessed the river, which never used to freeze, freeze into a thick layer of ice and white snowflakes flying everywhere.
Many barbarian soldiers were stunned, followed by a fear of the cold.
"Commander, they must have used some kind of powerful witchcraft. Not only did they freeze the entire Horus River, but they also turned the valley white! This is simply... a demonic power!"
The barbarian leader rode a giant bull, gazing ahead. A soldier walked forward, looked around, then ran back timidly to report.
Upon hearing this, the commander immediately grabbed the soldier's long hair, lifted him into the air, and then slammed him to the ground.
"Are you trying to demoralize my troops by saying this? Or are you just scared?"
The soldier knelt down and begged for mercy, but the commander's ox-horse stepped on the soldier's head without applying any force.
"Shut up."
The soldier prayed and begged for mercy in the barbarian language until the bull's hoof left the top of his head.
"Commander—"
Another barbarian—a disheveled man in a robe made of animal skins, his face covered in scars and dark paint, looked quite strange.
He was the shaman in the barbarian army. He rode up and quietly reported the situation of the monster horde following behind his army.
Severe cold weather is rare in the south, let alone snow. The monsters that have long been entrenched in the forests encountered the extreme cold environment on their first trip out, and they were terrified and lost their spirit. Some of the monsters even looked exhausted and wanted to hibernate.
The soldiers tried to urge them on, but they remained in place and refused to move forward.
"Stab the beasts that want to hibernate and refuse to move forward, and throw their carcasses aside!" the commander ordered without hesitation.
At this point, the wizard suggested, "Why don't we hang these corpses on the wooden carts loaded with weapons to intimidate our kind, make an example of them, and teach them not to disobey us again!"
The commander nodded, approving the wizard's actions, and then continued leading the army forward.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
