Volume 3, Chapter 249 - Battle of Gilgimel Plains III (3/7)
Volume 3, Chapter 249 - Battle of Gilgimel Plains III (3/7)
After uniting the cavalry led by Zaurosh, they rode to battle the Valkyria led by the War Princess. With the king’s calvary added into the fray, even defeating the Valkyria should be possible.
The Gaidga Tribe and the snow demons (Yugushiva) led by Gi Go were also with them to protect the Goblin King.
The elven archers accompanied Felduk. The enemy cavalry likely wanted to attack from the flanks. If not for the support of the archers, even Felduk would have a hard time.
Felduk, which pushed the frontlines, were able to create a gap inside the enemy formation by opening the flanks, but if they were to compress their formation, the enemy cavalry would trample them.
Temporarily open both flanks to control the enemies at the flanks, remove the threat from the back, and then destroy the enemies at the flanks with the cavalry. That was Pale’s plan.
The Goblin King’s cavalry possessed a far greater destructive prowess than that of Gi Ga Rax’s Aransain. It was made up of the few elites, chosen specifically for their loyalty and strength, necessitating that even the least among them be rare class.
Cavalries specialize in speed and impact compared to other army units like the infantry which included mages, archers, spearmen, and swordsmen.
But regardless what type of army the humans might have, the cavalry of the Goblin King stands out in terms of power. The reason is because of the monster beasts that they use for steeds, which the humans find too difficult to raise.
An explosive acceleration accompanied by the goblins’ exceptional handling. It is with these two aspects that the king’s cavalry is able to exhibit its terrifying destructive power.
But the goblins were never really horse riders, so they did have one blind spot.
The cavalry which Zaurosh led in a wedge-shaped assault formation was meant to intercept the Valkyria, who were riding from behind. The goblins needed to accelerate first before they could exhibit their destructive strength; hence, why they had taken it upon themselves to use an assault formation.
If they didn’t remove the enemy behind them quickly, the enemy cavalry expanding toward their flanks would attack them. In order to raise morale and give time to build their charge, the formation they chose was the arrow-point formation. They would focus their strength into a single point and then smash all of that into the approaching enemy.
Zaurosh’s objective was to stop the cavalry led by the War Princess. Behind them was the cavalry of the Goblin King.
After passing by the enemy, they could go around and take the enemy from behind to help the king’s cavalry in their assault. Of course in that case, if the enemy doesn’t want their backs taken, then they would have no choice but to respond to their movements.
Zaurosh tried to pass by the enemy while using the arrow-point formation, but then the movement of the enemy cavalry caused his eyes to open wide.
“What!?”
The head of the enemy’s formation had split into two.
They passed by each other, and Zaurosh tried to crush them, but the enemy did something unexpected, and before he knew it, they were already leaving them behind. Zaurosh had attacked straight into the center, but the Valkyria just split to the sides. They showed no signs of regrouping into one group and instead continued riding as two diffrent groups.
“—To the right! Turn!”
But Zaurosh only hesitated for a moment before deciding to chase after one of the two cavalries. Already, he had drawn up a diagram in his mind where both cavalry groups attacked him. As such, he led his cavalry to turn around.
But again, the cavalry of Valkyria did not do as he expected.
“Don’t ignore me!” Zaurosh cried.
Valkyria rode as if they didn’t care about him, and their intentions became apparent.
—They’re going after Felduk!
But by the time Zaurosh realized that, much time had already been lost.
“At this rate… Tactician-dono!”
The Goblin King was also watching when the enemy cavalry split.
“So Zaurosh chased after the right cavalry. In that case, we shall give chase for the left!”
The Goblin King’s great sword flashed and the direction of his cavalry was decided. Gi Be Slay and the other imperial guards of the Goblin King accelerated.
Their objective was the commander at the head of the cavalry with fluttering blonde hair.
“Attack!”
The king bellowed and the rest of the goblins cried back in response.
Like that the Goblin King’s cavalry and Zaurosh’s cavalry were split as they gave chase after the now split cavalry of the Valkyria.
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“They’re fast. As expected of monster beasts.”
When Blanche the War Princess saw the giant goblin approaching, a faint smile appeared on her face. If they were to take that head on, no matter how well-trained the Valkyria may be, only destruction would await them.
“If we face them head on, that is… Archers!”
It wasn’t easy to pull off horse-back archery in an actual battle, but it wasn’t impossible by any means. The Holy Shushunu Kingdom possessed a vast amount of wealth and plains that made that very thing possible.
The famed archers under the direct control of the royal family were one of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom’s major powers.
And although few, even the Short Sword Battle Maiden have succeeded at training their soldiers to perform horseback archery.
At Blanche’s behest, her soldiers fired their arrows at the goblins while riding like the wind. The Goblin King easily brushed aside those arrows, but even then he had no choice but to slow down a little.
“Change course! To the left!”
The official army of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom that Blanche Ririnoie led regularly used horses. The Holy Shushunu Kingdom didn’t merely incorporate the faster three-eyed unruly horse (Hipparion), hich because it wouldn’t make the unit uniform, but more so because monster beasts like Andrewarchus, Hipparions, and Sand Horses were all actually inferior to horses when it came to their ability to turn around.
Until now the goblins’ enemies have always clashed with them from the front, so it hasn’t been a problem, but Blanche Ririnoie understood the weakness of the goblins well, and the irregular trajectories she drew with her cavalry made sport of the Goblin King’s cavalry.