On the walls of Jialai, Sind looked with great contempt at the retreating Ars cavalry in the distance.
For this attack on Gyalay, Ars came up with a novel tactic. He was probably inspired by Andrew's trick of luring him home to provide reinforcements some time ago. This time, he followed suit, dividing his forces into two groups. One group of infantry openly marched into Gyalay territory, while the other group of cavalry secretly detoured through unclaimed land and lay in ambush near the city of Gyalay.
Ars thought he had done a flawless job, but in reality, even without the spies lurking around him, he had already been completely exposed.
First, his luck was extremely bad; his infantry, openly charging towards Garai, ran headlong into Andrew's garrison left near Garai. Second, the other cavalry force's route was completely controlled by the Nightfire mercenaries after entering the no-man's-land.
The infantry forces that were openly attacking were caught in the middle by the garrisons of Garai and Andrew, and dared not even breathe loudly.
The land that they thought was unclaimed actually had an owner, and that owner was Sind.
By this point, any commander with a modicum of sense would have known they were being targeted, if not outright outmaneuvered. But Ars defied the odds. He had his reasons for not backing down; if he didn't gain a foothold in Jiale, his soldiers might starve that winter. But in reality, he cared more about his reputation. Having suffered so much, how could he not retaliate forcefully? What would others think of him?
The Western Continent doesn't value repaying evil with kindness; instead, it prioritizes bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Moreover, the presence of Andrew's troops was to be expected; after all, even if the brothers weren't of one mind, appearances still had to be maintained. After a moment's thought, Ars changed his initial plan. He ordered his infantry to directly attack Andrew's garrison. The cavalry, meanwhile, lay in ambush on the flanks, ready to ensure that any reinforcements sent by Jialai would not return. If they didn't send reinforcements, they could be used as fresh troops to decide the outcome of the battle.
So, on the morning the messenger arrived in Perth, Ars's nearly one thousand infantrymen, under Lorain's command, formed a tight formation and marched powerfully towards Andrew's camp. Shield-wielders, spearmen, and archers were lined up in order, with more than ten cavalrymen on each flank. The formation was impeccable, practically perfect.
The garrison left behind by Andrew was jointly commanded by three knights: Luke, Aisie, and Lothar, along with their five hundred men. They never imagined that what was supposed to be a mere show of force would actually turn into a hostile presence for Ars's army. If they hadn't maintained their daily habit of sending out scouts, they probably wouldn't have even known Ars's army was on their doorstep. What's even more infuriating is that after a day of anxious waiting, Ars's army didn't attack Jialai; instead, they turned and attacked them.
"Are you worried we'll sabotage your siege? You're overthinking it. Our orders are to preserve our strength, not to launch an attack on our own," Luke thought irritably.
However, they did possess some military discipline. Although the situation was sudden and contrary to their wishes, they quickly adjusted their mindset, just as Lothar encouraged the soldiers, "Let those peasants of Arth know who the true king of the infantry is on this land!"
With 500 against 1,000, there is naturally not much chance of winning, but to completely wipe out 500 people with 1,000 troops would also come at a heavy price.
The archers from both sides launched the first attack, their arrows crisscrossing in the air and raining down on the opposing ranks. It looked beautiful, but the effect was less than ideal. However, both commanders knew that this was merely an appetizer before the main course; the real battle would begin once the spearmen clashed.
Andrew's army, using the palisades as cover, formed three tight squares. Each square had shield-wielders on the outside, spearmen at the rear, and archers hidden in the center. Luke's square in the center had the largest number of men, over two hundred, while Aisie's and Lothar's squares on the left and right each had over one hundred men. The three squares formed a triangle to meet the attack from the Paz family.
The Paz soldiers breached the palisade with ease, their excitement fueled by the palisade's fragility. They assumed the Andrews' infantry were equally easy to deal with. Shouting, they surged into the camp like a tidal wave. Facing the enemy's charge, three phalanxes retreated rapidly, while the other two retreated more slowly, gradually forming an inverted triangle. Any soldier who reached the open space in the center of this triangle, seemingly surrounding the enemy, was in reality surrounded by all three phalanxes.
The spears came from three directions, and one of them was bound to pierce their defenses. The soldier in the middle was quickly riddled with spears from all sides. Coupled with the archers' sneak attacks, the Ars infantry soon couldn't hold on. The Ars archers had long since drawn their longswords and short axes, not because they were negligent, but because each of them only had five arrows, which they had already used up.
The three formations rotated slowly, like meat grinders, shredding the Ars family's infantry forces.
Lorain, in charge of the attack, keenly sensed that things were starting to go wrong. His troops' formation had already broken after breaking through the palisade, while the enemy's formation remained intact. If this continued, not only a thousand, but two thousand men would be wiped out here.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he ordered several hundred men to quickly assemble again into a tight formation and launch a fierce attack from one side of Lothar's phalanx. This tactic proved effective; the area of Lothar's phalanx under attack, lacking the cover of the other two phalanxes, was indeed unable to withstand the attack and was quickly breached.
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