Chapter 708: The Biggest Pit in History

The two armies formed out in separate formations on the plains of Igni, and the light snow that fell for several days did not make much snow accumulate on the land of Igni, and the movements of the two armies were not affected at all.

After seeing the composition of the enemy army through the magic screen formed by the magic eye, Stewart was even more determined to win.

Because among the 50,000 troops of the Entagri army, the cave people alone accounted for nearly 15,000 people.

The cavemen have always been cannon fodder in the Negan army, and their individual combat effectiveness is quite weak, even if it is the so-called hell cavemen, it is also mediocre in combat, in the last war, the Negan lords coalition army in the Erathia Empire do not know how many corpses of the cavemen soldiers were left behind, and the cavemen who were captured by the Erathian army are countless, so far, in many mines of the Erathia Empire, there are still a large number of cavemen prisoners of war who are working hard and living an inhuman miserable life.

And right now, nearly thirty percent of the soldiers in Entagre's army are cavemen, and Stewart, who has seen cavemen in battle, almost didn't smile and crooked his mouth.

There were still nearly 10,000 Harpys in Entagre's army, and the discovery also made Stewart's heart happy.

Nearly 10,000 harpies, about 4,000 poisonous manticores, and 300 dragons are the entire air power of the Entagri army today.

Harpys are an important flying class of Negan's army, and their combat effectiveness is not bad, and they are known for their agility, but Harpys have a rather fatal weakness, that is, their strength is weak, and among the many flying races on the continent of Erathia, they are relatively small.

When dealing with ground forces that are not capable of flying, with their flying ability and agile body, the Harpys are undoubtedly a big advantage, but when it comes to aerial combat, the Harpy performance is a bit unsatisfactory, especially when dealing with some opponents who are larger, stronger, and no less fast than them.

This was the case, for example, against the Griffon, the iconic flying class of the Erathian Empire.

The griffin has a strong physique, a fierce temperament, is very good at hand-to-hand combat in the air, and its flight speed is also good, if the number is superior, even against the dragon, it has the power to fight, and the combat power in the air is much higher than that of the harpy.

In past battles, in order to deal with the griffin herds of the Erathian Empire, Lord Negan would always send a large number of poisonous scorpion lions, supplemented by dragons to help, never like the Entagre army, knowing that the opponent was the Erathian army, and also using the harpy as the main force of the flying force, putting the cart before the horse, unless they can make the harpy form an absolute numerical advantage over the enemy on the battlefield.

And today, on this battlefield, the harpy does not have a numerical advantage, because among Stewart's army of 90,000, there are more than 20,000 griffons alone, and there are nearly 1,000 angel warriors to help.

Both qualitatively and quantitatively, the Elassian Army's flying units were far superior to their opponents.

"Civilians are civilians, they have no orthodox military education, they are really an out-and-out layman, and they made such a layman's military configuration, no wonder they will be so miserable in Oufu"

After learning that the leader of the Entagree Army was the half-elf Pete with a half-blood body who was said to have been following Jian Chen since Hammondal, Stewart couldn't help but sigh like this.

However, despite his contempt for his opponents, Stewart was a little shocked by the well-equipped nature of the Ntagari Army.

Whoever sees the cavemen, who have always been used as cannon fodder, wearing sophisticated chain mail, will be a little shocked, and Stewart is certainly no exception.

Not only the cave people, but also the harpies flying in the air, and the poisonous scorpion lion also wore special chain mail.

As for the hoplites in steel armor, the number of them in the home of the Entagri army was also staggering.

But shock after shock, good equipment does not change Stewart's belief that he will win this battle.

"Equipment alone can't change the outcome of the war, let's teach these guys how to fight a real war"

After making such bold statements, Stewart commanded the Erathian Army to go on the offensive.

90,000 against 50,000, the huge advantage in strength made Stewart boldly let go, he left 10,000 as a reserve, and let 20,000 flying troops fight against the enemy's flying troops.

Then he divided the remaining 60,000 ground troops into three parts: left, center, and right, and he placed 30,000 elites, including heavy cavalry, in the central position, and another 30,000 troops, including ordinary cavalry, into left and right flanks, intending to outflank the enemy left and right by taking advantage of the superiority in strength.

Stewart was not in a hurry to charge the enemy with cavalry, and although he was a little arrogant, he was not really stupid, and he was not so naïve as to think that a single charge would crush the enemy.

He is also a commander with considerable experience, and he even participated in the last shocking battle that almost destroyed the Erathian Empire, and his tactical level is actually quite good.

Stewart knew very well that cavalry was a valuable force that should be seen before entering the battle at the right time, and then have a decisive impact on the outcome of the battle.

He ordered the cavalry to stand by and then lined up his hoplites, the Crusaders armed with well-armed chain mail and even steel armor and steel shields, to form a shield wall, and together with the halberders, to cover his long-range troops of crossbowmen and priests.

The two armies are at war, and the magic of the bow and crossbow takes precedence.

This is a fairly orthodox tactic.

"It's finally begun"

Watching the enemy army begin to move forward, although he had been mentally prepared for a long time, the half-elf Pete still couldn't help but be a little nervous.

It was the first time Pete had commanded a battle of this magnitude.

Originally, with his qualifications and experience, this crucial battle should not have been commanded by him, but Chen Jian sent him over.

"Let those guys see what you're capable of," Chen Jianru said to Pete before leaving.

For the battle in front of him, Pete spent a lot of effort, the young half-elf was eager to prove himself on the battlefield, and he didn't want to live up to Jian Chen's cultivation and trust.

He understood how important this battle was to the Entagrean Army.

The Ntagrei army needed a resounding victory to regain the confidence they had lost in the defeat at Abaden, and the Ntagree needed this victory to buy enough time for Jian Chen's strategic arrangements in the Bairders area.

The defeat of Abbaden disrupted the rhythm of the Entagrean army, so that the Entagrean army had to face the threat of the Erathia army earlier, and now, he has to defuse this threat, and then let Chen Jiande calmly carry out strategic deployment in Bairdes, so that the Entagrei army can have a large-scale guerrilla war with the follow-up attack of the more astonishing number of the Erathia army after all preparations, dragging the Erathia army into another war quagmire.

It's just that although the half-elf has the confidence to win, it is still inevitably a little stage frightened.

He nervously watched the movements of his enemies on the magic screen, calculating the best time to strike.

Compared to the enemy army, the Entagri army undoubtedly did not occupy a numerical advantage, after removing the flying troops, the half-elves could only fight against the enemy's 60,000 army on the ground with a force of more than 35,000 troops.

The enemy's reserve is 10,000 men, and the troops are also fully equipped, but his reserve is only the 2,000-strong boar heavy cavalry.

In terms of flight troops, he also does not have an advantage in troops.

If he fails to grasp the fighter correctly and launch a deadly attack on the enemy as he predescribed, then this battle is destined to be a bitter battle, and may even fail.

The half-elf struggled to calm his nerves.

Under his command, the offensive against the enemy was also divided into three parts: left, center, and right.

The spear phalanx, which is unique to the Entagre army, appeared on the land of Igni, but these phalanxes set up for the different directions of the enemy attack did not move, and Pete ordered the whole army to stay put.

As the Erathian army advanced slowly but firmly, the distance between the two armies grew closer, and soon, the middle armies, which were relatively close to each other, were within a distance where they could attack each other using magic.

But the magic battle that was supposed to happen right away didn't happen.

The Erathian Army, which had been slowly advancing before, did not notice that on the ground beneath their feet, there were many markings made of stones that seemed to be disorganized, but in fact had a special meaning for the Entagre Army.

Pete, the half-elf who had been keeping an eye on the enemy's movements in front of the magic screen, had the enemy still a considerable distance away from these markers, and had a long-prepared letter sent to a certain place with a magic letter teleportation array.

When the enemy brigade finally set foot on the markers, Pete sent another letter.

The two letters were sent somewhere underground in Igni.

A small force of the Ntagari Army, a few dozen people, was stationed here.

"Master Elwyn, the enemy is about to enter the predetermined attack area, Master Pete, let's get ready"

When the first letter was delivered, the soldier in charge of receiving it reported to their commander, a human mage dressed in the leather armor of an Entagre military magician.

took the letter and glanced at it, Erwin, who had long been familiar with its contents, stood up, this was just a down-and-out wandering magician back then, and he also joined the dragoon bandit group, and did bandit work in Bairders, a lowly human earth magician, and now he has grown into an earth magic master with good strength, he is one of the many leaders in the Imperial Academy of Magic who has grown by leaps and bounds, and because he followed Jian Chen very early, now he has a high status in the Entagri army, He also got the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Taking out a magic ball, Erwin began to prepare an earth-based magic, Erwin's eyes were full of heat when he looked at this magic ball, because this magic ball was not an ordinary product, but a relic of the Miracle Era, a magical prop that could greatly enhance the power of earth-based magic, the legendary earth-based magic ball.

With the help of this magic orb, although he only has the strength of a master, Erwin can make the power of magic reach the level of a grandmaster.

As early as the Hammondale period, Erwin, who was still an expert magician, had already experienced the amazing power of the earth-based magic orb, and at that time, it was also in Bairders, who used this magic ball to help the current emperor win a vicious battle that was not large in scale, but extremely dangerous.

And this time, he will use this earth-based magic orb to help his Emperor Majesty win another war.

Erwin chanted the incantation loudly, the earth-based magic elements fluctuating violently around him, and the chanting of the incantation echoed in the dark, yet incomparably empty space in front of him, far away, far away.

When the second letter arrived, Erwin didn't hesitate to cast his spell.

Earth Master Magic "Earth Shakes", a terrifying magic that can cause local strong earthquakes within a certain range, but does not affect areas outside the magic range, this magic has always been a killer weapon for earth magicians, often used to destroy the enemy's fortified castle in siege battles, and it is also good to deal with cavalry charges and disrupt enemy formations, but the preparation time is too long, it is easy to be interrupted by enemy interference, and excessive consumption of mana is its fatal weakness.

Due to the blessing of the earth-based magic orb, Erwin's magic, both in terms of effective range and earthquake intensity, has reached a rather astonishing level.

Then, in the darkness that Elwin could not see, a widespread collapse began.

Falling into the trap set by the enemy early on, the Chinese troops of the Erathian Army suffered a devastating blow.

In addition to the heavy cavalry who were ordered by Stewart to stand by on the spot, more than 24,000 soldiers of the Erathian Army, who were advancing forward with solid steps on the ground, suddenly felt that their feet sank, and they began to move in free fall involuntarily because of the sudden subsidence of the ground.

Then, in the dust, more than 24,000 Elassian soldiers disappeared from the ground, and in their place was a large circular crater with a staggering area and bottomless depth.

The crusaders who protected their allies with their shields, the priests who had already completed their magic and were about to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, the crossbowmen who were eager to try their hand at heavy crossbows, and a large number of halberders in charge of close combat, screamed and rolled, and fell into the bottomless abyss in this super crater, along with the large amount of mud and rocks formed by the collapse of the ground.

This change came so suddenly that at this moment, the soldiers of the Erathia Army who were lucky enough to witness this amazing scene on the battlefield all lost their minds for a moment.

And the left and right flanks of the advancing Erathia Army have also caused some confusion because of this.

Stewart stared at the magic screen in amazement, and the black pit that appeared on the screen after the dust had settled made his eyes straighten.

The human commander, who had just been elated, could not accept the fact that his elite main force had been annihilated by the enemy in one fell swoop.

"What the hell is going on?" After coming to his senses, Stewart couldn't help but roar, "How did they do that?" What kind of magic is this? ”

No one could answer his question.

Several high-ranking priests beside him exchanged horrified looks, and each saw the confusion in each other's eyes, they did not find any signs of the enemy using magic, and due to the isolation of the ground, they did not sense the fierce elemental fluctuations underground, so at this moment, they were as inexplicable as Stewart.

Unbeknownst to Stewart, his staff, and the priests, they had fallen into the trap set by the half-elf Pete from the start.

It wasn't for nothing that Pete set the battlefield in Igny, a location that was favorable to the Erathian army, and brought such a staggering number of cavemen soldiers with him.

Beneath the Igni region, there was already a huge underground space, which was discovered by chance when the Entagre Army was reconstructing the underground transportation network of Baildes.

At that time, the Entagre Army also tried to transform this underground space into a usable dungeon, but after surveying, it was found that the structure was not stable and there was a possibility of large-scale collapse, so they gave up.

This matter was also reported to Chen Jian and discussed at a certain meeting, and Pete knew this very well, because the report at that time explained in detail the serious consequences that might be caused if this underground space collapsed, and attached a map for Chen Jian's reference, and the report even suggested that if the Entagri army had military operations in this direction in the future, it was best to try to avoid this area to avoid accidents.

Therefore, when Jian Chen put Pete in charge of commanding this battle against the Erathian army, Pete had an idea for this underground space and formulated a battle plan centered on it.

This is the fundamental reason why there are fifteen thousand cavemen soldiers in his army of 50,000.

It was precisely because of the high operability of this battle plan that Chen Jian dared to be so entrusted, and only arranged 50,000 troops for Pete.

Using these cavemen soldiers, it took two days for Pete to ostensibly be at ease in the Igny region, but secretly used a tunnel connected to this underground space to enter the underground, further destroying this already unstable underground space and making it even more dangerous.

It has to be said that the cavemen are indeed superior in this regard, they originally surveyed the collapse range quite accurately, and the damage to the underground space was also quite in place, and they also marked the ground according to Pete's requirements.

As long as Pete is a little bit of a pity, the collapse on the ground is limited, so he can't bury all the enemy troops in one fell swoop.

The position of the Entagrean army, and the standby of the enemy when they began to attack, was all aimed at accurately and as much as possible to direct the enemy directly above the underground space.

When the Erathian Army, who knew nothing about this, entered this dangerous area, Erwin, the earth magic master who had been preparing for a long time, with the blessing of the earth magic ball, used the earth shaking mountain shaking magic that reached the power of the grandmaster, causing a strong earthquake underground, causing the collapse of the underground space, and burying more than 20,000 elite main forces of the enemy in the Chinese army.

"We made it to Mistress Pete"

Confirming the success of the battle plan, the staff officers of the Entagri Army, who were nervously watching the magic screen with Pete, all cheered.

Pete himself was also greatly relieved, and his mind was settled: "Pass my order, and the chariot troops will attack"