“Whether the fisherman caught the fish or the fish ran away with the bait, none would be able to tell until the event itself took place.” - Ancient Huan saying.
“It is most certainly a trap, Long Jiangjun, a bait dangled before us as if we are fools,” stated Xiao Jiangjun Ishak mil Sharif from atop his steed to the side of the Dragon General himself. They were discussing the change in the enemy forces’ deployment, specifically how their leadership that had remained in the rear so far suddenly shifted towards the center of the front.
“I would say that the difference between a trap and an opportunity, Xiao Jiangjun, is whether we are capable of claiming the bait dangled before us or not,” stated Hua-Jeong in reply to the younger general. “Surely you too are aware of our situation, especially after the heavy losses we took just the previous day, are you not?”
“We are… devising methods to counter their unusual cavalry and chariots, Long Jiangjun, and have armed our soldiers accordingly to do so,” said Xiao Jiangjun Aswan ibn Musir somewhat apologetically. The devastating damage taken by the Imperial army’s left and right wings the day before were part of their responsibility as the commanders of said forces.
In fact, if the enemy had not been wary of pushing in too deep and getting bogged down, the left and right wings would have likely taken even more damage than they did.
“It has not been tested in combat conditions, no?” asked the old general back at his subordinate, to which Musir could only shamefully shake his head. “No matter. Try to do your best to resist their assault today, at all costs. If things work out well on my end, they will be headless by the end of the day, which should allow us more opportunities to exploit.”
“I wish that we did not have to risk your august self just to win a battle, but if you decree it so, so shall it be done, Sire,” stated Zhong Jiangjun Liu Zhong-Feng, who served as Hua-Jeong’s assistant for a long time and rose through the ranks with him. “Shall my forces take the front once more on this day, Lord Leung?” he asked, still calling Hua-Jeong with the old familiar way as when they were both younger.
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“Yes, Zhong-Feng. Your troops and Liat’s will be my sword and shield today,” stated Hua-Jeong with a satisfied nod at his old friend. “Zhong Jiangjun Al-Nairi, their cavalry had clearly adapted to ours, so instead of trying to harry them on their way towards us, once the battle starts I want you to take our cavalry and harry their flanks and rear, wherever you see an opportunity. If you can get their cavalry to chase after you instead of attacking our troops, all the better.”
“Understood, Long Jiangjun,” replied Zahira Al-Nairi with a respectful bow. “We shall strive to do our best!”
“Musir and Sharif, I just need you two to hold the line, for as long as you can. Give me time to work, so that we may yet triumph against these foes,” added Hua-Jeong as he looked towards the other two generals in their midst with sharp eyes. “I believe you and your soldiers can do that for me, hmm? That is all I ask for.”
“We will do as Sire asked at all costs!” replied the two generals, all too aware of their failings so far.
Throughout the previous days of battle, Long Jiangjun Leung Hua-Jeong had not been idling on his saddle. Other than arranging the general strategy for the army, he had also been observing. While the human soldiers of the coalition army made it pretty clear who were their officers and commanders, and used banners like the Imperial Army, the dwarves had not, so Hua-Jeong was attempting to tell apart the dwarven officers from their rank and file.
It was only yesterday that he felt confident enough – and the situation dire enough – that he made his move. The old general made full use of his much vaunted archery skills, which he reinforced with his innate Wind affinity, to fire arrows over a distance well over five hundred paces to take down his targets one after another. Each arrow was aimed at people he suspected to be the officers amongst the dwarven cavalry that struck the Imperial army’s right wing.
Despite the additional difficulty from how the dwarves were so heavily armored that the only points where a single arrow could potentially strike them fatally was through their eye slits, he still downed at the very least a couple dozen of them. Aided by his Wind affinity, his arrows flew through the air with greater speed and stability than those of other archers and unerringly struck his targets as if he placed them there by hand.
While Hua-Jeong was uncertain whether the arrows directly killed his targets or not, he was certain that they would at least cripple their targets. Even if his enemies had thick enough skulls that the arrows could not penetrate deep enough to kill them, an arrow in the eye should take the fight out of most warriors, even hardened ones.
He planned to hunt some more on this day, and the enemy had so kindly dangled the bait that was their own command staff for him to hunt. He knew they were bait, and that there would likely be some sort of trap, probably aimed directly at him, even, but that was of no consequence. A trap is only worthwhile if it managed to capture prey within, and Leung Hua-Jeong was no easy prey.
In fact, he planned to snatch the bait dangled before him and escape the trap at the same time, which was why he brought his most trusted soldiers with him to the front. As for whether his foes would prove their match or otherwise, that was something only fate would know, and the result of the battle between then subject to its tender mercies, or lack thereof.