Chapter XXXVI Withdrawn

War will always cause casualties, let alone a force of nearly 20,000 people that is close to 20,000 people despite being in a chaotic situation, even if the other side is all fighting on its own, Zhao Mian can't afford to consume it, not to mention that the enemy is often in groups of three or five, seven or eight groups to resist the attack of Rohan's cavalry.

Twelve hundred, this was the final number that Zhao Mian got when he left the camp and gathered with the archers outside. More than half of the cavalry who followed him fell in the camp not far away, and the two thousand Rohan cavalry were eventually reduced to less than a thousand - and even the light cavalry who joined later, because they were not armoured, they were much more agile than the others, and they did not suffer much loss. Finally, with the less than three hundred archers providing support on the outskirts of the camp, these were the only remaining troops in Zhao Mian's hands, purely from the data point of view, this operation resulted in nearly sixty percent of the soldiers killed in the huge camp, and among the remaining troops, there were few soldiers who were not harmed, except for those archers who basically did not engage with the enemy.

But the enemy must have suffered greater losses than the losses suffered by Rohan. In this large camp of nearly 20,000 people, more than 10,000 corpses burned in one night, and there must have been many enemies who had been crushed in the initial explosion, and there were countless enemy soldiers who fled into the river at night. After this fire had burned out, the enemy would have been able to reorganize himself with no more than three thousand troops defending the crossing—a record of victory, a ratio of battle losses, which could in any case be called a brilliant victory.

Not a single one had a smile on their faces, and perhaps the defenders of the Valley of the Holy Helm would have had a sumptuous dinner party to celebrate the victory with a full twilight revelry. But for the warriors who were now resting for a moment in a nearby valley, they just needed a while to heal the waves in their hearts, and the dead comrades around them, the enemies who died in their own hands, were deeply imprinted in their minds on such a night shrouded in flames. These memories will accompany them through their short lives, and then die in the fragments of their memories.

Zhao Mian was standing on the hill at the edge of the valley, surveying the surroundings, resting so close to the enemy, and despite the guerrillas' assurance, Zhao Mian decided to send a part of the garrison - he himself was one of those sentry posts. The long runs and the fierce battles did not make him as tired as the ordinary soldiers, and he had experienced more difficult battles on Azeroth than this night, whether it was the time when the ancient kingdom of Angela saw the light of day, or when he was besieged by the undead above Northrend, and even the battle in Daron County was more exhausting than this one.

Grimber and Aheim, the two generals of the guerrilla forces here, were surrounding Zhao Mian.

"Thank you, my lord, for leading these troops on such a run, but we don't quite understand why you led these warriors here, and why they were. Aheim asked in a low voice, his head bowed a little stiffly, holding the reins of his horse in his hand, "As far as I know, they should be the guards guarding Idoras, and they should be under the orders of Iomo and the direct orders from my king." ”

"Idoras has been abandoned, and all the populace has been turned to Oderberg in the east, with the princess Iowen leading them. Zhao Mian carefully looked at the surrounding scene, and did not find anything suspicious, he turned around, looked directly at Aheim and Grimber, and said, "Iomo and Okembran lead their troops to guard the defense of the Valley of the Holy Helmet and the Canal of the Holy Helmet, and your King Xiudon leads all the troops he can organize to be stationed in the Valley of the Holy Helmet, I was recommended by the wizard Gandalf to lead this attack, and the King of Xiyodon also trusts me, so I can stand in front of you." ”

"That's it. Forgive me, my lord, for being abrupt, you know, in times like these, being suspicious is not always a bad thing. Aheim raised his head and glanced at Zhao Mian, then lowered his head again, and said, "But my lord, what should we do next?" As you can see, our archers have used up all their arrows, and even the supplies we have stored in some hidden places have been depleted, and although the knights of Rohan have never been afraid, they and those exhausted horses are already scarred and can no longer withstand another battle. My lord, if we fight again, we will probably lose these warriors forever. ”

"So, after they have rested for a while, you lead them back to the Valley of the Helm. Zhao Mian said, glancing at the cavalry in the valley, those riders were falling asleep on their tired and sleeping horses, and their hands were still tightly holding the reins and long swords, "This victory came by luck, the enemy was hastily transported something that was not safe for everyone, so I was able to kill them by surprise - but this victory is already our luck once, and we cannot expect a second time." Moreover, this blow could easily make Saruman angry, and he will inevitably use all his means to land all his troops on the west bank of the Aishin River as soon as possible, so we must get out of here as soon as possible. Brave warriors are always admired, but brainless reckless men can only do bad things. ”

"Evacuate?!! but my lord, once we evacuate, won't we put all the territory in the rear in front of the enemy?" asked Grimber with some surprise, "Even though the Valley of the Holy Helmet is impregnable, if the enemy chooses to take a detour from the north and then attack our rear, then we will not be completely passive?"

"Saruman didn't dare to get too far north - no, to be precise, he didn't dare to go near the edge of the Fagon Forest, his actions had completely angered his masters there, and his natural anger would kill all orcs and troops with Saruman's white hand mark passing by them. Zhao Mian said this, he once again observed the situation around him, the enemy did not seem to be able to move for the time being, and there was no trace of the enemy in the vast wilderness, "And they will definitely take the Sacred Helmet Canal, and then attack the Valley of the Holy Helmet - the cavalry cannot play a role in the defense of the city, and the king of Xiudon has cut off his little advantage, and Saruman will definitely seize this." What's more, the number of enemies is more than the defenders of the entire Holy Helmet Valley, and the Holy Helmet Valley - there is no way back. ”

A ray of light broke through the blockade of the earth and poked his head out, and those warm rays shone on Zhao Mian's body, reflected by his armor, as if it was glowing.

"When the time comes, lead them back to the Valley of the Holy Helm, and tell King Sheudon and Gandalf to get ready. After Zhao Mian finished speaking, he took out a disc that seemed to be a lot of gears piled up together and a rein that shimmered with mysterious brilliance, "I have other things to do, and the task of leading them to evacuate will be handed over to you!"