Upon seeing the sudden appearance of over 20,000 cavalry, Yun Zhe couldn't help but feel suspicious. According to recent reconnaissance, Belvaldo's forces numbered approximately 30,000 cavalry. Having endured war, troop detachments, sieges, and plague, the fact that over 20,000 cavalry could still move with such speed and without showing any signs of fatigue made Yun Zhe begin to doubt whether the plague was truly as effective as Valentine had described.
Yun Zhe was naturally unaware of the meticulous preparations and elaborate schemes the Belvalid army had undertaken over the years in preparation for invading his neighboring country. In recent years, to enhance their troops' combat experience, they had repeatedly sent troops south to fight against the barbarian orcs. They had also established soldier schools to strengthen soldiers' basic cultural knowledge and improve their various combat skills. This ensured that a soldier could not only wield a shield and sword, but also draw a bow, mount a horse, throw spears, and drive a chariot. Of course, this basic, comprehensive education could not compare to specialized training for each branch of the military. However, under this training, Belvalid soldiers could quickly transform into any type of unit, thus mitigating the potential disadvantage of having one type of soldier wiped out on the battlefield.
So it wasn't that Yun Zhe's plague war was ineffective, nor that Belvaldo's cavalry were lucky; rather, it was that Yom utilized the advantage of his soldiers, transforming them all into the most mobile cavalry. However, Yun Zhe was unaware of this. At this moment, he was leading a dozen or so cavalrymen into the woods, partly to avoid encountering the enemy's scouts, and partly to meet up with Valentine and his group, and incidentally to dispel his own doubts.
To make matters worse, Yun Zhe and Valentine's troops were spotted by Belvaldo's scout cavalry. Even worse, the opposing cavalry were clearly more professional; they didn't attempt to annihilate the force, but instead followed them at a distance, their intentions clear: if they retreated to camp, they would report their position; if they stalled, they would call in other troops to wipe them out.
Yun Zhe's side had fewer than thirty riders, while the enemy had exactly half a hundred-man squad. This put Yun Zhe in a slight predicament. Eliminating them was definitely out of the question, but if they just kept at it, the enemy's cavalry would grow stronger, putting him at a greater disadvantage.
"Elke, start running towards Herak village now. Can we make it before sunset?"
Elke glanced at the sun, which was no longer directly in the center, and shook his head. "My lord, it will be difficult before we descend the mountain. You know, it gets dark very early now."
Yun Zhe thought for a moment. The other party might be more familiar with this place than he was, and playing hide-and-seek here would be very risky, so he decisively gave the order.
"Everyone, heed my command! Head to Herak Village! Throw away anything unnecessary, and run as fast as you can without stopping! Everyone go first, Akdina and I will bring up the rear!"
"Akdina?" The soldiers were puzzled, but then they realized that the woman in the black robe was named Akdina. Many of the more quick-witted soldiers immediately thought that this woman might be an elf. However, considering the perilous situation they were in, the soldiers lost their gossipy mood and began to discard useless items as Yun Zhe had instructed.
Yun Zhe had no time to concern himself with the soldiers' gossipy mood or the trouble that might result from the name being passed back. He urged everyone to speed up and then walked over to Akdina. "There's danger today. We're short on time and can't explain things properly. You don't know how to handle these matters yet. You go first, I'll follow behind you. I'll explain things to you more clearly when we have the chance later."
Akdina stubbornly wanted to walk alongside Yun Zhe, but Yun Zhe glared at her fiercely before she changed her mind. At this moment, Elke also ran back, "My lord, I'll go with you. It's too dangerous to leave you to cover the rear alone."
Although Elke knew that Yun Zhe was highly skilled in martial arts, he still felt that it was inappropriate to do so. Personally speaking, rushing back before everyone else was a good opportunity to show off, not to mention the chance to be with the beautiful elf.
Yun Zhe was well aware of Elke's scheme. Seeing Elke's actions, many soldiers with similar ideas began to run back, completely disrupting the entire unit's formation. At this point, Yun Zhe became furious. He sternly reprimanded the soldiers who had run back and then gave the order that no one except Elke was allowed to break the formation and rush back! Otherwise, they would be court-martialed upon their return.
The newly promulgated military law has not yet established its authority, but given Yun Zhe's ability to enforce it, the soldiers no longer dare to run around aimlessly towards him.
Upon discovering that Yun Zhe's soldiers were accelerating their retreat, the Belvedo army, after a brief hesitation, quickly followed. This time, they no longer deliberately kept their distance, but instead began to try their best to catch up with the soldiers, even drawing their bows and shooting arrows in an attempt to kill them.
Yun Zhe gestured to Elke and Akdina to retaliate with bows and arrows, while he himself circled around to one side of everyone, closer to the enemy cavalry, and retaliated with a crossbow.
After several rounds of arrows, Elke killed two people, Akdina killed three, while on their side, four or five horses and six or seven men fell.
Yun Zhe sacrificed his own horse and only managed to kill one man, but that man was the centurion of the cavalry.
Seeing Yun Zhe's horse shot dead, Akdina suddenly broke out of formation and rushed towards Yun Zhe, trying to catch up with him. However, she was met with wave after wave of arrows. Akdina endured being hit by several arrows, and her horse was also shot dead, but she still managed to reach Yun Zhe's side. She pulled Yun Zhe up and was about to use her vampire-like agility to rush out, but Yun Zhe grabbed her arm.
“We can’t run, you shouldn’t have come over…” Yun Zhe smiled bitterly. In this situation, if the other side rushed up, they would likely be trampled to death if they didn’t want to expose their abilities.
“I’ll carry you, it’s okay…” Akdina immediately understood Yun Zhe’s intention not to reveal his thoughts, and the meaning of her words was also very clear. So, after saying that, she tried to carry Yun Zhe and run away.
Yun Zhe tried to stop Akdina again, but it was clear that sacrificing a centurion would not throw the cavalry into disarray. With their enemy right in front of them, they spurred their horses to charge and finish off the two men.
Seeing his master so valiant yet in such a sorry state, how could Elke let such a good opportunity slip by? So he disobeyed Yun Zhe's orders and led his troops to fight back, trying to rescue Yun Zhe and Akdina.
Another round of arrows clashed, and both sides paid the same price as before. The only difference was that this time Akdina and Yunzhe achieved nothing. Akdina once again carried Yunzhe on her back and ran towards Elke's troops. The speed was indeed beyond everyone's comprehension.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, both sides fell into a brief silence. Yun Zhe seized this golden opportunity and signaled his soldiers to retreat first. The enemy, clearly incapacitated by their centurion's death, ultimately failed to give chase.
However, when they arrived at Herak village, Akdina did not come along, and no one mentioned Akdina.
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