Leave a few cavalrymen to monitor the barbarian camp. Ignore the small groups of barbarian cavalry seeking help. Derek led people to clean up the battlefield. There were a dozen or so intact warhorses. The rest could be used to have several meals of horse meat. Then it was time to cut off heads to record merits. The remaining corpses were thrown into a pit and then covered with some soil. The weapons and leather armor pulled from the corpses were not worthy of Derek's attention, but they could still sell for a few coins. Then it was time to wait. The elite hundred-man infantry team did not disappoint him. This team had been trained the longest and did not have any outsiders mixed in. They arrived before late at night. However, even elite soldiers could not be put into battle immediately. They simply set up camp briefly, ate hastily, and everyone directly wrapped themselves in sleeping bags and rested on the spot. The real battle would be on the second day.
...
At dawn!
The barbarians finally argued and reached a result, or rather a compromise.
Hold their ground and wait for reinforcements?
They had no confidence at all. Don't misunderstand. It's not that they thought they couldn't hold out for a few days. They just didn't believe that someone would come to save them. With a little common sense, one would know that the counterattack of the Kingdom of Locke had come. Probably no one would care about these stragglers. In fact, some barbarians had already withdrawn. Those who remained were just taking risks to loot a little more. But Derek would laugh his head off. Whether the barbarians held their ground and waited for reinforcements or directly abandoned everything and ran away, it could cause him some trouble. Only when they were so hesitant like this was he the most relieved.
"When one is indecisive, one will surely be in trouble. Either form an array and hold firmly. At least it can cause more casualties to the enemy. Or abandon everything and run away. With good luck, maybe more than half can escape. This way, wanting to run but staying, and wanting to stay but running again will only end up pleasing neither side. Remember, in such a situation in the future, one must be resolute." Derek taught on the spot. As for the specific situation, it still depended on the result of this battle. However, compared to the barbarians who spent a nervous night, Derek's side was full of energy. Everyone was eager to pounce and bite.
"Attack! Half of the spoils from this battle will be kept by ourselves." This was the first real battle, and they were all old comrades who had followed him the longest. Derek knew that no matter how much was said平时, nothing was more practical than generous rewards at this time. Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned red. As the elite infantry attacked, a small number of cavalry patrolled on the periphery of the battlefield, waiting for the moment when the barbarians showed a flaw. The barbarians also discovered this army of Lockes. Or rather, they had been mentally prepared for it.
"I said long ago that there were reinforcements behind the Locke cavalry. We should decisively abandon everything and flee."
"Holding our ground and waiting for reinforcements is also possible. At least we can bite off a piece of their flesh."
"Stop talking nonsense. The enemy has fewer people than us. What are we afraid of?"
"What if we defeat them? There must be a large army behind. The longer we drag on, the worse we will die."
Before the battle began, there was actually an internal conflict in the barbarian army. Some barbarians abandoned everything and fled lightly. Some stayed where they were and tried to repel the approaching enemy. The funniest thing was that some barbarians watched helplessly. It was not until the hundred-man infantry team approached that they hurriedly helped in a flustered manner.
"Unified command is very important. A one-man dictatorship may make mistakes, but at least this kind of situation will not occur." Without Derek's reminder, others also knew that there was a problem with the barbarian command. The leaders of several small tribes could not determine a leader at all. The final result was division. The seemingly larger barbarian army had less than half of its combat effectiveness left. The barbarians overturned the spoils and tried to build a temporary wall. However, the elite infantry had already stepped over the obstacles. Even in this situation, they still maintained a relatively tight formation. Compared to the barbarians who were in a mess, the gap was very large.
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Kill!
Under the command of grassroots officers, the infantry quickly reaped the lives of the enemies. As soon as the barbarians came into contact, they found that these enemies were different from those they had encountered before. The strength of the elite infantry generally overwhelmed ordinary barbarians. Moreover, their discipline and fighting will were very strong. When they lined up in neat formations and wore leather armor on their bodies, ordinary barbarians could hardly cause effective damage to them. After discovering this, the barbarian formation became even more chaotic. Derek keenly sensed the chaos and emotional changes of the barbarians.
"Charge!"
The iron hooves of warhorses were rumbling. Like the last straw that breaks the camel's back. The barbarians who had witnessed the power of the Locke cavalry finally couldn't hold on anymore. The chaos intensified. Then the cavalry arrived. Massacre. What followed was a massacre. As the knights shouted for surrender, some barbarian soldiers put down their weapons and lay on the ground. The entire battle ended in half an hour. The infantry began to clean up the battlefield and tied up the surrendered barbarians. A simple count of casualties showed that two cavalrymen and more than a dozen elite infantrymen were lost this day. The number of injured was twice as many. This was still the result of having an absolute advantage and attacking with elites. If the barbarians had stronger fighting will, the casualties might be even greater. Derek's evaluation of himself was only satisfactory. If the barbarians had a qualified commander, the trouble might be even greater. However, there was finally a good start. There were seventy or eighty beheaded heads. The number of prisoners was about the same. The rest all ran away. Derek didn't know how the other thousand-man teams had fared, but his speed should be among the top. The messenger had already returned with the good news. Derek was even ready to continue advancing. Count Pereira's goal was nothing more than driving away the barbarians and causing casualties by the way. Sweeping area by area. After this area was finished, naturally they had to pursue while winning. The only thing to worry about was that if they were too prominent, they might be separated from the Second Legion. Then they would become a thorn in the side of the barbarians. This was a very big risk. However, after thinking about it, Derek still decided to continue charging. If one wasn't prominent, how could one stand out? To put it cruelly, this was using human lives to fight for a future.
...
In the Second Legion of the northern province, Count Pereira did not build a large camp. In fact, he did not plan to stay here for long. It was just a temporary station. When each thousand-man team completed their initial goals, they still needed to continue advancing. He drew three horizontal lines on the map. Crossing the last line, they would just reach Ironwall City.
"In ten days, at most ten days, we must concentrate our forces and attack the barbarian army." Count Pereira knew that if they dragged on any longer, Ironwall City would not be able to hold on. It was best to induce the barbarian army to move during these ten days and then look for an opportunity for a decisive battle. Because the First Legion of the northern province was also about to arrive. Gathering the strength of the two legions was enough to fight a battle with the barbarians. If it was really impossible, they would forcefully push back the barbarian army. This would be very ugly and could not打击 the confidence of the barbarians. Count Pereira still wanted to try. Until the messenger arrived.
"Report! The tenth thousand-man team has completed the task. More than eighty heads have been beheaded and more than ninety prisoners have been captured."