A few hours into traveling on the plains, Colet already got reports of beastmen sighting. The reports claimed a handful of beastmen were seen in the distance but they never once approached the centaurs. The centaur chieftain asked Ilumin to keep an eye on the beastmen, especially those who broke off from the group. From his past experiences with them, he expected the worst.
“Actolio, prepare the ax wielders to form the outer defensive lines. They are to hold the line and never pursue any enemies. Understood?”
“Yes, chieftain.”
As Actolio ran off to carry out the order, Colet turned to Konstite.
“Position the shieldbreakers around our spellcasters. They are not to let any beastmen get close.”
“Yes, chieftain.”
Unlike earlier during the withdrawal, Konstite seemed more enthusiastic about gathering his centaurs. Colet knew the shieldbreakers were itching for a good fight but they had been denied an opportunity so far. Against the beastmen, they had a real chance of winning, unlike the undead soldiers they fled from hours earlier. Yet, the chieftain preferred more favorable odds than what he was given.
“Magus, have your spellcasters prepare for combat. They need to focus on area wide spells instead of single targets. I’m expecting the beastmen to swarm us soon. I'll leave you to plan out what spells will suit us, whether when we are pursued or if we are completely encircled.”
Eupoos nodded and broke off from Colet. Igas stood eagerly for orders.
“Igas, tell your centaurs to be on standby. They are not to cast any support spells until I give the command.”
The eager expression turned to puzzlement when the centaur heard the order.
“We may need your spellcasters later if the battle doesn’t go our way,” whispered the centaur chieftain.
The meaning dawned on Igar and he turned serious.
“Yes, chieftain. The support spellcasters will do what must be done.”
With all the remaining centaur leaders except Kallosa given their orders, Colet continued putting on a confident act in front of the centaurs. Kallosa didn’t need to be told anything because she was very much aware of her duties. As for the centaurs, the sight of the undead and the withdrawal had inflicted massive blows to their morale. Very few centaurs marched with their chest held high. Nearly all were staring at the ground if they weren’t assigned lookout duty. There was a sense of tiredness among the centaurs that didn’t originate solely from exhaustion. While reaching home would help them a lot, they were still many days away and that was assuming they didn’t encounter any setbacks.
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More beastmen coming! They fast!
Colet knew the beastmen were the sharks of the plains. They smelled blood or weakness and they would pounce on the opportunity without hesitation. Given their numbers, Ilumin likely only saw a small contingent of what they could muster. Beastmen tended to operate in smaller groups but, once a large enough non-beastmen group showed up and the beastmen liked their chances of winning, they would gather onto the location similarly to vultures gathering near a battlefield. Colet’s suspicion was confirmed when the beastmen continued swelling in numbers. Yet, they still stayed some distance away because they knew better than throwing away their numerical advantage. If any of the centaurs was foolish enough to chase, the beastmen would bait the enemy towards their main forces and finish them off through encirclement. For the next hour, the plains behind the centaurs was filled with so many beastmen one couldn't see the ground behind them. The large mass of beastmen, emboldened by their numbers, began moving closer.
“Bow and spear wielders, stay behind the ax wielders. Don’t attack until the beastmen are within your range.”
The hours of training were paying off. Colet knew the situation might arise when the leaders were absent and he had to take command. Ideally, the leaders were assigned to other tasks and weren’t present. However, he was definitely leaning in the direction of labeling Ides and Tolien as killed in action until confirmed otherwise. Those two entered the Torpin Stronghold and, even if they found victory inside, they would be encircled in the stronghold where they would eventually be massacred. Unlike the humans, a stronghold didn’t offer the same level of protection to centaurs. If anything, a wide open terrain suited centaurs far more. Against beastmen, that benefit was negligent as the beastmen were adept in the open fields too.
Too many beastmen! Several thousand! One leader!
The last bit of Ilumin’s information was a shock. The beastmen only respected strength and they picked their leaders the same way. Due to the harsh conditions on the plains, the life expectancy of beastmen were low with some claiming as short as ten years. If one looked at how long a beastmen took to go from a newborn to an adult, the ten years left very little time for a beastman to rise up the ranks for long. Even then, combat would easily cut down what remaining years they had left as the beastmen leaders were expected to lead from the front. Generally, even a beastman commanding a hundred or so other beastman was impressive. The one leading several thousand was either built differently or had survived far longer than any other beastmen. Regardless, this was a problem as such a beastman might even give the shieldbreakers a hard time.
“Keep moving!” shouted Colet encouragingly. “We can still break out of their encirclement if we continue at our current pace.”
The centaur chieftain was unsure if what he said was true or not. The beastmen were largely showing up in their rear so it wasn’t possible for them to completely encircle the centaurs. Yet, the beastmen were roaming creatures who could be at various parts of the plains. It was entirely possible for the centaurs to be herded into an encirclement due to beastmen already gathering between the centaurs and their home. The scouts among the beastmen were some of the fastest creatures, at times making centaurs look slow even at full gallop. If those scouts found beastmen who could intercept the centaurs, then an encirclement was unavoidable.
“Chieftain,” reported Actolio. “The beastmen are making their move now!”
“What?”
The idea of the beastmen already striking was so absurd Colet thought he misheard the ax wielder leader.