The War Pigs stabilized the front line.
After gathering their remaining troops, they entered a defensive phase. At this moment, it appeared that the Wasteland Bulls had the upper hand. However, as time passed, a steady stream of supplies arrived at the front lines from the War Pigs’ rear.
One side had ample supplies. The other side subsisted on grass roots and river water.
After several probes by both sides, the curtain finally rose on the great battle.
More than ten kilometers away from the battlefield, Aililan looked at the intelligence sent by the scouts and murmured, ‘The War Pigs aren’t stupid. They’re using a logistics crushing tactic! If they hold out for another ten days or half a month, the Wasteland Bulls’ morale will completely collapse.’
Milisanel was a bit curious and asked, “What is a logistics tactic?”
Aililan scratched her head and explained simply, “You can understand it this way: if spending an extra gold coin can save the life of one of our soldiers, then I am willing to pay that gold coin.”
The others fell into deep thought after hearing this.
They all felt that what Aililan said made some sense, but at the same time, they did not quite agree.
It was true that the lives of soldiers were precious, but in this world, the value of a soldier’s life was not actually that high. If a war could save tens of thousands of gold coins in expenses, most nobles would rather sacrifice hundreds or even thousands of soldiers.
Renata said hesitantly, “Lady Saintess, your compassion for your subordinates moves me, but will that also stifle the soldiers’ fighting spirit? If we only fight battles where we have every advantage, why would we even need those soldiers?”
Aililan smiled and did not refute her. “Perhaps what you say is also correct.”
She would never forget the stories of a certain world power spending 80,000 dollars just to rescue a single soldier. What she really wanted to express was that as a superior, she should provide the conditions and capital for the front-line warriors to fight with every advantage.
However, if she ended up raising a group of pampered “Young Master” soldiers…
On second thought, she decided to drop it.
Aililan said no more and looked at the horizon in the distance. “Renata, send out the order. Prepare to move toward the battlefield.”
The group of light cavalry mobilized quickly.
A distance of over ten kilometers was only about one hour’s journey. Gradually, the sounds of killing reached them, and Aililan finally witnessed what real war looked like.
Both sides combined numbered roughly 40,000. However, it was not like the movies where everyone just charged forward at once. Aside from nearly 10,000 main forces in the center of the plain, the rest were divided into battle groups of several hundred or a thousand, fighting across various defensive positions.
Aililan’s group did not deviate from their path and directly targeted a Wasteland Bull unit of nearly 1,000 soldiers.
Renata threw her a hesitant look. “Lady Saintess?” She was actually asking about the issue of command.
Aililan had never clearly decided who the commander was, which was a major taboo on the battlefield. But she could not say it out loud because she wanted to command them herself.
However, a Goddess Lady had never commanded a battle before; she feared it would cause people to doubt her.
“Renata, do you trust me?”
“I will always believe in you.”
“Good. Use flag signals to command a small squad of cavalry to lure that unit of 1,000 elite soldiers. Remember, it’s a lure. Do not let them charge in to kill.”
Renata nodded. “Understood.”
It was impossible to use spoken words while the light cavalry was on the move. Flag signals were the most effective method of communication. Renata gave instructions to her adjutant, who immediately pulled out a flag and began waving it.
Soon, a squad of about 200 cavalry accelerated and headed toward the Wasteland Bulls.
The remaining 800 cavalry split into two groups and disappeared behind some earthen hills amidst the dust. A so-called plain was not without its ups and downs; there were many places with a drop of dozens of meters.
When the 200 light cavalry approached the 1,000 enemies, they performed a round of free firing with their bows.
Soon after, they drew their longswords and closed in on the edges of the enemy formation. Like a knife slicing meat, they shaved off a small piece of the unit. After a brief engagement, they immediately retreated.
“Despicable humans!” the Wasteland Bulls roared.
But they could not catch up. All they could do was watch as that squad of 200 light cavalry continued to harass them. ‘I’ll just fire a round, slice a piece of meat off you, and then I’m done. I’m light cavalry, so I’m not going to be stupid enough to charge your main line.’
It looked a bit like a kite-flying tactic. If the Wasteland Bulls did not deal with this light cavalry unit, they would find it difficult to move a single inch.
Finally.
*Rumble, rumble—*
Accompanied by the sound of hooves… no, to be precise, it was the Savage Bull Cavalry rushing over. They intended to force a decisive battle with the light cavalry. Unfortunately, the light cavalry simply ran away, and the Savage Bull Cavalry could only chase after them.
***
Behind an earthen hill.
A battlefield mage they had brought along condensed two transparent water mirrors on the hill. One was placed in front of the other, creating an effect similar to a telescope.
This surprised Aililan. “Magic can actually be used like this?”
The battlefield mage bowed slightly and said with a smile, “Lady Saintess, you overpraise me. Water Mirror Magic is just basic magic, and it is often used in daily life. If no one had discovered over thousands of years that stacking two water mirrors can show distant objects, that would be the real strange thing.”
“Astrologers use it to observe the movement of the stars, and diviners use Water Mirror Magic on crystal balls to display scenes from afar to trick the gullible.”
Aililan noncommittally smiled. She refocused her gaze on the water mirror.
The charging power of the Savage Bull Cavalry was extremely fierce. Each battle bull was basically over two meters tall and three meters long. They chased the light cavalry like bulldozers.
Aililan could not help but marvel, ‘Holy cow. If there were a few thousand Savage Bull Cavalry charging a defensive line…’ She did not know if there was any heavy armored human legion that could withstand a charge from thousands of these riders.
But for now…
This Savage Bull Cavalry unit only had about 300 members. Aililan wanted to devour them.
When she used 200 light cavalry to harass 1,000 infantry, Aililan never expected the infantry to chase the cavalry. Her goal was to lure out the bull cavalry.
What was this tactic called again? Anyway, that great emperor named Genghis Khan had used it with perfect success during his western conquests.
Aililan ordered, “Renata, use the flag signals. It’s time to close the net.”
Renata’s expression turned solemn. “As you command!”
As the battle flag signals were given, the light cavalry hidden on both sides suddenly surged out from behind the hills. These light cavalry were all elites of the Kingdom of Kasyas. After all, they were assigned to the Lady Saintess, so they dared not be negligent.
They were capable of firing arrows from horseback.
After a volley from each side, the 300 Savage Bull Cavalry were instantly reduced by dozens.
At 100 meters, the second volley began.
At thirty meters, the front-row cavalry leveled their lances and charged. The cavalry in the middle drew their sabers, while the cavalry at the rear completed their final volley of arrows.
Over seventy Savage Bull Cavalry died under the rain of arrows.
Immediately afterward, the charging cavalry slammed into the flanks of the Savage Bull Cavalry, who had no time to adjust their formation. The short-range clash instantly claimed the lives of dozens more Savage Bull Knights.
The Savage Bull Cavalry was already panicked by the ambush. Aside from a few who managed to break out, the rest were wiped out almost without resistance.
After the battle, the casualty report was brought up.
“Eleven dead, twenty-three wounded,” Aililan nodded slightly.
An exchange rate like this… was truly excellent.