Fighting on horseback requires a higher level of mental fitness and physical coordination than foot combat in which you control the direction of progress with your own feet. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Taking swordsmanship as an example, when engaging in foot combat, it pays attention to the integration of pace and movement, and mastering the strength and retracting freely to achieve a long-term continuous confrontation - this is because the combat distance between the two sides is extremely close in the case of foot combat, as long as the strength and equipment of the attacking and defending sides are not extremely different, basically the battle depends on each other's physical strength and endurance and judgment of the situation to determine the outcome of success or failure.

The two armies face off against each other or in a life-and-death duel, taking the form of foot combat, except for bows and arrows, any cold weapon in close combat usually cannot escape this situation of continuous combat to block counterattacks. Obviously, steady fighting is the essence of infantry combat - and this is the biggest difference between it and cavalry.

The weight and strength of the horse itself, far exceeding the ability of humans to speed up, all combined with the formation of cavalry has been invincible on the frontal battlefield since its inception. Whether it was the Lamanite Empire's use of it as a means of outflanking or the array charge favored by the Sivaliers and Avenella, the superiority of this class over the infantry was overwhelming, but the cavalry was limited by the number of horses and the time and money required to train its riders, and it has always existed only as an elite force since ancient times.

The only nomads in the Absera steppes are the only ones who can be regarded as cavalry in the true sense of the word, but even if the vast majority of people here know the skills of riding and archery on horseback, there is still a clear gap between the real samurai class and ordinary herdsmen in terms of equipment, clothing, and even archery skills.

Unlike the continuous infantry battle, the cavalry battle is often only for a moment.

The most popular rifle tournament in Sivalier, known as the land of knights, is the ultimate interpretation of this beauty, in the rectangular or oval racecourse of more than 100 meters, knights in full costume with spears made of hollow and fragile material on both sides of the entrance to the cheers of the spectators, and then the horses' hooves kick lightly, slowly run out and gradually accelerate, in the moment when the two sides staggered past - stabbing towards the opponent.

This blow, which condenses the tremendous energy of the war horse's galloping, requires extreme concentration and accurate judgment to be able to hit steadily. Unlike foot combat, where both sides are in high-speed motion on horseback, it is difficult enough for ordinary people to make sure that they don't fall from this constantly shaking seat, where can they have room to swing their weapons, let alone hit the other side.

Even the archers didn't make much difference in difficulty. Although the war horses of the steppe have experienced domestication over the past dynasties, their temperament is more docile and peaceful than that of the West Coast, and they will not casually throw off their masters, but they must be able to step on the stirrups and let go of the reins with both hands, and try to maintain balance when they are still in a state of galloping, and shoot arrows with bows and arrows.

It is one thing to hunt most of the prey that is far inferior to the horse's galloping speed, and it is another thing to attack the slow-moving caravan and the army of mercenaries on foot - in the case of the opponent holding on to the reins and lowering his body without thinking about anything else but fleeing at full speed, to be able to draw his bow and arrow steadily without slowing down his horse and causing him to be thrown off by the opponent, this level of skill must be mastered even by the elite among the steppe people.

"Boom-boom-" The speeding arrow shot at the back of a white-haired girl at a very high speed.

Five days had passed since Catherine had been found, or Lina, as Mila called it, and they had been able to secure adequate rations along the way, though not very rich, in the presence of the sages, and after three days of rapid marching in the same direction, sure that there were no pursuers behind them, and that they had reached a considerable distance, on the fourth day the three of them began to return to a slower and longer rest cruise, so that the tired horses and themselves could get enough rest.

Three days of extreme speed was not the limit for men and horses, and with enough food and a certain amount of time to rest, even the frail Lena was only tired, and they could do it for another three days if they had to continue the rapid march by force. But Henry is so experienced that he will not make such a low-level mistake, and the most important thing in this situation of being in the middle of the vast grassland, without the village and the store, is to push himself to the limit, and being able to save a little physical strength in a state of survival means that he can use more means when necessary.

The sage, who knew all this, led the two Luoan maidens to slow down and begin to recharge their batteries in the mindset of an outing - and once again, Henry had made the right decision.

The Red-billed Finch Clan's camp was already west of Absera, near the Tambul Mountains, and the low-lying area where the people who rescued Lena lived was facing the south, so it was natural that they planned to flee all the way to the Soradin Highlands on the west coast. This is also one of the reasons why Inagi would say to Henry before, "I will report back to the head of the family", and the two sides parted ways, and the sage side rushed directly to the west coast side to complete his original purpose of going here.

Absera's vast expanse, the side near the west coast, unlike the south, has rugged forested terrain and wooded plains that stretch as far as the eye can see, making it quicker to get up and down. In addition, the power of the West Coast countries in the south of Soladin actually extends a considerable distance towards the steppe region, and it is roughly estimated that it will only take seven to ten days to see the settlement of the West Coast people from the side of the Red-billed Finch Clan, which is much more convenient than starting from the southern border, which is why the major wars against the steppe people over the years have usually been launched from the Soladin Heights - And under such a series of preconditions, in such a region with fierce conflicts, naturally there will not be any grassland clans with stronger strength and better choice of areas, which will be entrenched here.

It was on the basis of the principle of darkness in the light that a small clan like the Red-billed Finch had found what was still considered a fertile waterside camp, and if it weren't for the long sandstorms here, I am afraid they would not have been able to come. This long stretch from the southern part of Soladin to the depths of the Abu Sella steppe, with little resources but weeds, but a vast land that has witnessed countless blood and death for thousands of years, is also the best escape route for the three of them.

It's just that from the very beginning, our Sage has never been wary, and Albenny's personal ability is quite good, if it weren't for the fool Mustafa holding him back, I'm afraid that the Red-billed Finch Clan would have grown long ago. Thus Henry—or anyone else who knows some knowledge of the history of the steppes—would have thought of passing through a zone where the steppes lacked power, and he could not have thought of it without reason.

It's just that even if you can think of it, there aren't many cards in Albenny's hand that can be played. Mustafa's stupidity determined that if he wanted to mobilize the people in the red-billed finch, he would inevitably go through layers of obstructions, and although there was a possibility that he would be angry because of the fact that Lena had been rescued and wanted to regain face, people like him usually preferred to do things not against foreign enemies but with their own relatives. It can be seen that he ruthlessly counted Ebeni in front of outsiders before, and now he is afraid that he is only accusing Ebenny of negligence while enjoying the supplies left by the caravan.

If the steppe commander wanted to continue the pursuit, he would face no less difficulty than the fugitives they were. In addition, even if Lena is recovered, what the red-billed finch can really get in the short term is just a face-saving conversation. Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Luo'an people has no role in their hands, even if from another point of view, they can publicize her identity and let people who have needs for the Luo'an royal family come to raise the price and gain benefits - but think about it: if someone really plans to come to the rescue, will it be Henry's turn to get the others? As for the other powerful and invincible Ottoro Empire that may be interested in the Luoan royal family, how can such a small steppe clan be qualified to bargain, and the moment it is revealed that they have the news of the Luoan princess, they will become an inconspicuous ember under the attack of the Ottoro Wyvern Knight.

All these factors combined led to the fact that the pursuit of Henry and the three of them would only be a very unprofitable act with no practical interests and many difficulties and dangers, but the problem of face can be big or small, and even some problems that can be laughed at will eventually turn into a bloody war in many cases. Whether it was Mustafa's pressure or Ebenny's wishes, when he had regained a lot of energy on the fifth day, and was eating while noticing a cavalry team of a dozen men on the horizon, Henry was convinced of the fact that the other party had finally decided to breathe this out.

The vast weeds were only less than half a man's height, and the endless field of vision was extremely empty, and there was no terrain to hide, and the moment they saw each other, the other party discovered them.

There was still some distance, and after quickly packing up their things and stuffing them into their purses, the three of them immediately turned over and climbed onto the horse, nervous and still inexperienced, Lena failed several times before she successfully climbed up with the help of Mira, and the white-haired Luoan girl didn't have time to put on her armor, so she simply untied the shoulder strap and split it into two halves, and put on the armor on her back to provide some defense for her sitting behind the horse. After the two men simply tied their armor with twine, Lena hugged Mira's waist tightly, and then the horse neighed and trampled the puddle of fresh soup on the ground that still smelled hot and quickly moved away.

The fact that the centaurs in the distance quickly turned around and chased after them proved that they were not good at coming, and the stronger sprinting ability of the Avennella horses further expanded the already existing distance advantage, but the grassland terrain on this side was smooth and almost undulating, and the radius was barren for hundreds of miles, even if they managed to open the distance several times, the unobstructed and empty vision also made the pursuers behind them always be able to bite tightly, no matter what, there was no way to really get rid of it. By the end of the sprint, when the horses, which were already carrying more loads, began to pant roughly, the steppe horse's amazing endurance was brought into play, and the distance was reduced little by little, Lena kept looking back at the little face and frowned in unison.

It's just that compared to the simple worries of the Luoan girl, the sage hesitated because of other problems.

- If he hadn't forgotten because of his age, the Red-billed Finch Clan would have been just an extremely small clan that wasn't even a third-rate.

So how likely is it that such a small clan would send an elite squad of only a dozen people who could track it all the way and probably accurately determine the location of its group by the smoke emitted by cooking, and then quickly chase after it and hold on to it at this moment?

These conditions may not seem difficult, but don't forget that the person who is about to be caught up is not a random junior mercenary, but our Sage Sage. They rode the real Avennella horses, which were of good blood that only nobles and related people could obtain, and even if their endurance was relatively weak, they were comparable to the excellent steppe horses. The two men had never let down their faithful companions after such a long journey, and if they were just ordinary prairie horses, they would have been left far behind in the initial acceleration phase - plus a rider who was good enough to command the horses to steer them in the right formation to avoid puddles without slowing down.

"Bang-huh-" The arrows hit "ding-!" "Sparks flew around!" The impact force from behind made Lena cry out in fright, although due to the urgency of the situation, Mira did not remove the close-fitting cotton armor for her to wear, but the dwarven finely crafted plate armor was still able to resist the damage of the arrows even if it lacked the excellent curvature of the inner lining, leaving only a shallow dent and the arrow fell into the weeds galloping behind her.

"Lower your body!" Mira's cry became indistinct with the sound of the wind, but then her whole body fell down with Lena behind her, although it was more luck than skill to be hit by the arrows of the pursuers at this distance, but the ponytailed Roan girl did not want to touch this luck.

"Bang-huh-" The horses galloped, and Henry took the time to look back, and the pursuers who were following closely and slowly closing the distance were indeed dressed as steppe warriors, and there were more than a dozen of them in leather armor and scimitars, many of whom were holding bows and arrows in both hands and stepping on the stirrups, maintaining an excellent balance steadily, and pouring arrows in this direction.

"Huh-" Another arrow slashed in front of the sage, although it was not able to hit the three people and two horses again, but it was already extremely high in the high-speed movement, he frowned, these people obviously came from a large clan that had the ability to train elite warriors, but how did they manage to run over and find themselves in such a short time? No, what did Ebenny use to convince them from the beginning-

"Teacher!" he thought, and Mira shouted in front of him, and Henry turned his head, and at first glance noticed a number of bare oaks on the ground that were evidently close to the Tambur Mountains - they were approaching the Soladin Heights - "Teacher! " Mira couldn't help but shout out the dialect of Avenella, which was obviously the language she was most familiar with in all her years of life, the Ravine, compared to the true native Loan, which was the language she had been most familiar with in all her years of life.

"Remove the cuirass, unload the luggage!" Henry's judgment was extremely decisive, Mira grabbed the reins with one hand and ripped open the hemp rope for temporary fixation with the other, and at the same time fumbled to untie the leather bag strap fixed to the saddle, and the supplies carried by the war horse were all unloaded. The cooking utensils and leather bags that had accompanied the two of them through a long journey rolled and fell into a grassland behind them, and Henry, who had also unloaded the supplies and lightened a lot of weight for the war horse, grabbed the reins and commanded the war horse to squeeze out the last trace of strength and charge a short distance.

"Jump!" Mira shouted, and the panting horse jumped halfway up and kicked the ground with its hooves, and the pride of the Avennella mountain horses was revealed at this moment, and they crossed the not too narrow ravine, and landed successfully on the ground on the other side.

The dust kicked up small pieces of gravel and tumbled, but the three men and the two horses continued on without hesitation.

"Shh

"Adira!(Damn it!)"

"Bisippa!"

The cacophony behind them and the cries of trying to pull the reins to stop the horses were one after another, and it was obviously impossible for the more petite steppe horses to jump over the same ravines, which bought the three of them some time, but after losing all their supplies, equipment, fuel, and food, even knowing that they had come to an area close to Soradin, the road ahead was not much easier.

In addition, the pursuers were only temporarily thrown away.

This final sprint is really difficult. (To be continued.) )