The Beastmen are not like Mastiffs, charging mindlessly. They possess human minds - albeit the basest kind - so they know how to survive in war and how to profit in brutal combat.

They lack the long and lethal horns of the Beastlords; their horns are small and blunt, but they are more agile, often able to survive more in their relentless charges.

Some of them are aided by shields to survive the rain of arrows from the militia, but they are ultimately beasts running on the ground, and threats from below are still deadly to them.

The first pitfall was triggered, and three Beastmen screamed as they fell, pierced by the sharp wooden spikes at the bottom. The rest of the Beastmen were killed one after another by the pitfalls, and the dozens of pitfalls prepared by the mercenaries were soon exhausted, leaving only a dozen or so Beastmen.

"Your Excellency, can we now open fire or advance to kill the enemy?"

Airen was somewhat anxious, fearing that the Beastmen would rush forward once they confirmed safety, so he planned to rely on long-range firepower to shoot down the remaining Beastmen.

"No need," Avi replied, then shouted to the militiamen constantly shooting arrows from behind cover, "Stop shooting! Everyone take a break and let the infantry go forward!"

The pikemen and the militiamen holding the long spears they had taken from the archers came forward to replace the archers behind cover. The continuous shooting had made the archers' fingers sore from the bowstrings, and their back and arm muscles were sore, so this brief rest came just in time.

These Beastmen were not as scattered and calculating as they had encountered in the forest before. They could gather in groups and charge bravely at the enemy, even if their companions had been killed or wounded.

Seeing this scene, Avi felt somewhat strange. Normally, Beastmen wouldn't have such high morale unless...

He cast his gaze into the depths of the forest, feeling that there were some dangerous things hidden in the shadows there.

The remaining Beastmen did not contribute much. Most of them fell into pitfalls during the charge, or slipped and couldn't climb out of the trench at the bottom. The mercenaries just let them quarrel and curse in their strange language below without being moved at all.

After two waves of death charges, the Beastmen's herd was already more than half depleted. But both Avi and the militiamen understood one thing: the real attack had yet to begin, and this was just the Beastmen's cannon fodder tactics commonly used in siege.

Sure enough, when the Beastmen declared complete annihilation, there was a commotion in the Black Forest. A minotaur, towering two men high, led the way, followed by dozens of roaring and aggressive Beastlords.

A group of chaotic warhounds swiftly darted out of the forest, rushing towards the camp without any hesitation. Their speed was much faster than their kind, and before other beasts could catch up, they had already fallen into the trenches one after another, screaming and struggling.

These warhounds were nothing but free enemies, but Avi and the others couldn't be happy: the trench was only a little over two meters deep, and the Beastmen and warhounds that had fallen earlier had already filled the bottom of the trench. This meant that if the Beastmen launched an attack, this trench would not be enough to completely stop them.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The minotaur smelled the bloody smell on the battlefield, which made its bloodthirsty desire completely erupt. The monster with muscles all over its body roared madly, lowered its horns on its head, and charged straight towards the camp.

The minotaur's charge was like the horn of the herd, and the Beastlords raised their hooves and weapons and followed suit.

Unlike the Beastmen, the Beastlords were mostly creatures with sheep heads, sheep legs, and human bodies, and they were more primitive and stronger.

Primitive impulses and instincts occupied a larger proportion in their bodies, prompting them to swing two axes and rush past the minotaur, directly charging towards the human camp.

"Fire, fire!"

The militia archers responded to Avi's call and moved behind the infantry to open fire with their bows, just as they had done before. The ferocity of the Beastlords proved their downfall; while their dual axes made them formidable in close combat, they were easy prey under a hail of arrows.

Arrows rained down, and after the first volley, nearly ten Beastlords were wounded. However, these monstrous hybrids of man and beast possessed far greater stamina and vitality than humans. Even with multiple arrows piercing their flesh, there was no sign of slowing down.

Avi knew that relying on long-range firepower to suppress this batch of enemies was futile. He immediately ordered, "Infantry, prepare the spear wall formation!"

"Your Excellency, we—"

"Airen, take your followers and find a better angle to target that minotaur!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"Rafe, don't act recklessly. If the minotaur gets too close, fall back with everyone!"

"Got it, boss!"

Avi drew his sword, preparing to go to the infantry line to help. At that moment, Manid approached with a spear that no one else was using. "Boss, let me join too!"

"You..." Avi halted his steps, scrutinizing Manid, "Why are you calling me boss? And you don't know how to fight, do you?"

"You asked me to think about joining you before, and I've made up my mind," Manid said. "Instead of continuing to be someone else's lackey, I'd rather help you. I'm good at doing business, and I know a bit about firearms and engineering. You can use me."

"Alright, you—"

"Your Excellency, the minotaur is charging!" Airen shouted. "Can we open fire?"

Avi immediately turned back, and indeed, the towering minotaur had already charged to within twenty meters of the camp, its nearly three-meter height making it particularly conspicuous among the Beastmen crowd, like a moving house.

"Open fire!" Avi shouted, "Follow our rehearsed tactics!"

Almost as soon as Avi gave the order, three advance riders decisively pulled the trigger, and gunpowder propelled lead bullets directly towards the minotaur, effortlessly piercing its tough skin and leaving three wounds gushing with blood.

The minotaur didn't even pause, as if the damage from these three bullets was nothing but a nuisance. Instead, being wounded and bleeding seemed to enrage the monster even further. It accelerated further, lowering its horns to charge, its thick hooves even causing some tremors on the ground.

However, before it could take another step, three more bullets struck its body.

This was what Avi called his tactics: instead of traditional volleys, the musketeers were divided into groups of three and organized into four groups to fire sequentially.

After the first group fired, they began reloading, while the second, third, and fourth groups fired in turn. By the time they finished, the first group had already completed reloading, seamlessly starting the next round of shooting.

If Oda Nobunaga's tactic was called "San Dangeki," Avi intended to name his tactic "Yondangeki," essentially the same concept: abandoning morale impact from volley fire in favor of sustained suppressive fire, which proved more effective in halting enemy charges.

Subsequently, with each step the minotaur took, it was hit by three lead bullets, and its speed gradually slowed. No matter how vigorous its vitality, there was still a limit. When it was only three meters away from the camp, covered in arrows and gunshot wounds, the minotaur finally fell in front of the trench.

But the Beastmen had already achieved their goal. In this half-hour long death charge, they had finally exhausted all the mercenaries' ammunition.

"Arrows are depleted!"

"Your Excellency, we're out of bullets!"

The news from the long-range troops was grim, meaning they would have to rely on melee combat to defend their camp from now on.

That wasn't the only bad news; Avi had already seen another wave of beasts pouring out of the forest. It was a mixed group of chaotic warhounds, Beastmen, and Beastlords, devoid of any order, charging straight towards the camp.

Seeing the archers' hands, bloodied and sore from continuous shooting, Avi stood among the infantry ranks.

"Archers, fall back and rest. Everyone else, prepare for close combat!"