Chapter 37: The Midnight Thunderstorm (I)
"Enemy Attack————!!!!
Tens of thousands of howls of terror shook the rushing river like a raging black tide toward the Byannes' camp on the other side of the river, accompanied by the heart-rending screams of the sentinels.
Without warning, everything was so sudden, and the enemy's attack was still coming towards them like a thunderstorm!
Like a chain reaction, with the central camp as the core, the four small camps around the perimeter lit up beacon fires one by one, and the phalanx infantry that had been prepared for a long time began to assemble under their respective banners.
The iron horses and roars that shook the earth seemed to crush the whole world under their feet, and the horns and shouts of the sentinels were meaningless.
By the lit beacons, the knights and soldiers in the camp could faintly see the figures forced across the riverbank, and the countless iron horsemen seemed to be beating in their ears, and the deafening sound made the roars of those around them useless.
Listening to the terrifying shouts of killing, even if they had been prepared, the faces of the soldiers and knights were still a little pale.
In order to ensure a blockade of the enemy, and at the same time to spread the line as far as possible and avoid a concentrated attack by the enemy, Loren divided Byrne's army into five - so that the enemy had to attack five camps at the same time to share the pressure.
But for the soldiers who held the camp, what they saw was a monstrous wave of black oppression, rushing towards them without reservation!
Chaotic rushes, runs, yelling, horses' hooves... Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the shadows that appeared from the end of their eyes in the night!
"What's going on?!"
Standing on the watchtower of the camp, the incredulous Andrew McAfee looked at the overwhelming army of centaurs as if he was frightened: "These barbarians... Are they crazy?!I—...... we."
"Shut up!" Lu Sien snapped at him, but the nervous expression on his face didn't give in: "There is a parapet, they can't attack it!"
"Do you believe it yourself when you say this?!" McAfee shouted hysterically as he pointed to the parapet in front of them as he pointed to the wall in front of them, shouting hysterically.
"Take a closer look at this thing and then tell me, do you really believe that this playful thing can stop the charge of tens of thousands of centaur barbarians?!"
The pale, gray-eyed young man stared wide-eyed through the parapet and stared at the oncoming shadow.
Through the parapet... That's right, this parapet is still transparent.
Because they're all made of ice!
"Repeat what you just said. McAfee pointed to the "parapet" in front of him and said with undisguised sarcasm: "Tell me, do you believe that this pile of fresh ice can stop the centaur charge?!"
"It's not ice, it's condensate—a mixture of river water and earth with condensate, one of the most proud masterpieces of the alchemist Master Harlem Van Ashamai, even the Imperial Legions of the Broken Mountain Fortress are using this technology!"
"And even Lord Loren said that this thing was definitely much stronger than the wooden fence before it melted, and ......" rolled his eyes, and the gray-eyed boy asked hysterically:
"And this is a prairie, what else can you do without this, can you use a pile of grass?!"
"I think that's a lot more reliable than this looks!"
McAfee retorted, "And if it weren't for someone's blood, the two of us would be in the central camp by now, with 10,000 cavalry on our side to cover us, and we wouldn't have to worry about whether this was really useful!"
"We are Lord Loren's guards, and it is only natural that we will carry out the order!"
"Yes, I'm his bodyguard, but I didn't promise to die for him!"
"Why don't you have any sense of honor, why did you join the army?!"
"In order to make a fortune, in order to become a noble lord, in order to marry a widow with a lot of money and a large manor-do - do you have an opinion?!"
Hoofs roared, and the earthquake trembled.
The army of centaurs screaming and fighting had come into their field of vision, faintly visible in the firelight.
The two of them, who were still arguing just now, were startled at the same time, and looked at the dense centaur front that was rushing towards their camp with a solemn expression, and their faces suddenly turned pale.
"The whole army is ready to ——!"
In the sound of iron horses in the sky, the gray-eyed young man raised the short sword in his right hand: "Array ——!"
With the sound of tense and neat footsteps, the phalanx infantry that had already completed the assembly stepped forward in an orderly manner, forming a tight phalanx of spears behind Lusen, and the infantry knights with their swords raised their swords tightly guarded the gaps on both flanks of the line.
Once the parapet is breached, the heavy lance is the last "line of defense" of the camp.
"Let's go to the back row. Forced to calm down, Lusen stiffly turned his head to look at McAfee: "There is a phalanx in front, even if the parapet wall is broken, you can remember to escape." ”
"Run, where to run?"
McAfee rolled his eyes, his expression full of bitterness as he clenched his halberd: "If you're finished, can I, a two-legged one, still be able to outrun a four-legged one?"
As the words fell, the two of them turned their heads at the same time, looking in the direction of the parapet with anxiety.
The bloodthirsty roar of the centaurs could already be heard clearly, and the burly figures brandished terrifying axes and charged towards them unabashedly.
"Two Hundred Steps......
Gritting his teeth, the gray-eyed boy muttered in a low voice.
"One Hundred and Forty Steps......
Looking at the ridiculous "ice wall" in front of the camp, the centaur warriors showed hideous smiles, shouting fiercely and urging the men behind them, so that those who rushed to the front began to accelerate their charge.
"One Hundred Steps ......"
The crossbowmen stepped forward, raised their crossbows over the parapet and began to shoot at the charging centaurs, and although their accuracy had decreased due to the darkness of the night, they still hit many targets.
The centaurs in the front row were hit by the rain of arrows, and most of them stiffened, only a few of them stopped with a wail or fell to the ground, only to be trampled alive by the centaur warriors who charged behind them.
"Forty Steps ......"
The phalanx infantry clutched the heavy spears in their hands, leaned forward, and held the barrels of their guns with all their strength, ready for the oncoming onslaught.
The thunderous sound of horses' hooves pounded on everyone's hearts, and even McAfee couldn't help but hold his breath and clenched his halberd in a daze.
Finally..."Ten steps!"
"Bang ————————!!!!!"
With a terrifying loud bang, the charging centaur army crashed into the ice wall!
The terrible screams, the painful cries of broken bones and tendons, the loud sound of the ice wall trembling... In an instant, blood splattered under the parapet wall, and chaos was incomparable.
McAfee and Luceen, who were extremely nervous, opened their eyes in shock almost at the same time, looking at the scene in front of them in disbelief - although they were constantly trembling, shattering, and even falling in large areas, this "ice wall" actually really withstood the first round of the centaur charge, and it had not completely collapsed!
In the line of charge, he saw a centaur warrior wielding a long-handled axe slamming into the ice wall, the trembling ice wall intact in the violent crash, but the burly body let out a tooth-aching sound, flying upside down like a sandbag.
At this moment, not only the two of them, but also the phalanx infantry and infantry knights in the back row also had round eyes and grew their mouths!
"This, this, this, this ......" Trembling and raising his head, McAfee swallowed hard and pointed to the ice wall in front of him, "This... Fake, deceitful, right, am I already dead?"
"Smack——!
A crisp slap hit him in the face, and the panicked McAfee turned his head sharply, only to see Lusen staring at his reddened right hand in disbelief, muttering in a low voice, "It's true, I'm not dreaming......"
"Very well, it looks like we've come to an agreement!" McAfee tugged at his collar, "None of us are dead! But if this continues, it's only a matter of time before this ice wall collapses - we're still going to die!"
"That's right......"
Suddenly sobering up, Lu Sien, who puffed up his chest, raised the short sword in his hand, and then swung it hard: "Byrne, ——, prepare for battle——!"
With a neat pace, the phalanx of spears began to close in on the enemy outside the wall.
The midnight fight is about to break out!