vstars Chapter 646 Death
Chapter 646 Death
The mountain paths were narrow and winding, with steep cliffs on both sides. The ground was uneven, and mud mixed with blood to form a dark red paste. The paths were littered with the corpses of Yoda's soldiers and mountain militiamen.
The surviving Yoda soldiers are still fiercely fighting with the mountain militia.
Although the militia were poorly equipped and less capable than Yoda's soldiers, they fought a desperate battle against Yoda's soldiers by virtue of their familiarity with the terrain and their determination to die.
"Die, Yoda!"
A militiaman swung an axe and struck a Yoda soldier in the leg. The soldier screamed and fell to his knees. The militiaman then finished him off with another blow.
But then, another Yoda soldier rushed in from the side, swung his long sword, and severed the militiaman's arm. Blood gushed out, and the militiaman screamed as he fell to the ground.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar, like thunder approaching.
Griffith rode his warhorse, with the cavalry of the Band of the Hawk close behind him.
"Soldiers of the Band of the Hawk, charge!"
The cavalrymen responded in unison, raising their weapons high and their horses charging forward like sharp arrows toward the blockade of Yoda's soldiers.
Upon seeing this, the Yoda soldiers at the front immediately abandoned their entanglement with the militia and quickly regrouped, forming a loose defensive line in an attempt to block the cavalry charge.
They held up their shields, gripped their spears, and watched the approaching cavalry with wary eyes.
As they drew closer, Griffiths took the lead, drawing his longsword.
Just before making contact with the Yoda soldiers, he leaned forward slightly, thrusting his longsword forward, which swept past the shield of one of the Yoda soldiers and pierced his chest.
The soldier groaned and fell backward, trampled by the warhorse.
The cavalry behind them also launched an attack, and Yoda's soldiers' defenses were torn open like paper in an instant.
The cavalrymen weaved through the crowd; the force of their horses combined with their sharp weapons made it difficult for Yoda's soldiers to resist, and they fell to the ground one after another.
A soldier lunged at Griffith's warhorse, his spear aimed directly at the horse's leg.
Griffith reacted quickly, pushing off the stirrups with his feet and leaping into the air. At the same time, he slashed down with his longsword, splitting the soldier's head open.
Another soldier swung his sword from the side, but Griffith dodged to the side and stabbed the man in the throat with a backhand strike.
The cavalry of the Band of the Hawk coordinated perfectly, providing cover for each other, and constantly broke through the layers of Yoda's soldiers' obstruction, speeding towards the castle.
Although some cavalrymen were occasionally hit by arrows or wounded by enemy weapons, their overall offensive momentum remained undiminished, and they maintained their charge.
On a hillside not far away, Dester arrived with a large contingent of Yoda's army.
He reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield below, his face instantly turning grim.
The reserve force of over three hundred men was now in complete disarray, with soldiers fleeing in all directions and being chased by the Hawk Band's cavalry and mountain militia, leaving corpses strewn across the paths.
He witnessed the fighting power of the Eagle Band firsthand. The cavalrymen were all brave and skilled in battle, with excellent teamwork and fierce attacks, which were far beyond the capabilities of ordinary armies.
"Archers, form ranks!"
Dester gave the order sternly.
"Aim at the cavalry below and fire!"
Upon hearing the order, the archers in Yoda's army immediately stepped forward and quickly formed a neat line.
They drew their bows, nocked arrows, and aimed at the charging Eagle Legion cavalry.
"put!"
At Dester's command, hundreds of arrows rained down like a dense storm, whistling through the air, and hurtled towards the Hawk's cavalry.
At that moment, Griffith was leading his cavalry through a wave of Yoda soldiers and was about to continue advancing when he caught a glimpse of Yoda's army on the hillside, along with the archers aiming at them.
He was startled and wanted to order his men to take cover, but it was too late.
"Raise your shield!"
Griffith shouted, and at the same time quickly raised the shield in his hand to block in front of him.
The other cavalrymen also reacted quickly, raising their shields to form a tight shield wall.
"Puff puff--"
Arrows rained down on the shield, making a dull thud.
A few arrows pierced through the gaps in the shields, striking soldiers or warhorses. Some of the horses, hit, neighed in pain and leaped wildly, throwing their riders off their backs.
After one volley of arrows, a second and a third volley followed.
The cavalry of the Band of the Hawk could only hold up their shields and struggle to defend themselves, their advance slowing down considerably.
Griffiths, hiding behind his shield, listened to the sound of arrows constantly striking it, his brow furrowed.
He knew that if he continued to passively endure the attacks, the cavalry losses would only increase, and he had to launch a counterattack as soon as possible.
Through the gaps in his shield, he stared intently at Dest, who was directing the archery on the hillside, and made his decision.
"Jetto, shoot down the enemy commander!"
Jedo, who was standing next to Griffith, nodded immediately upon hearing this.
He had already noticed that the figure giving orders on the hillside was the core of Yoda's army.
He quickly took the crossbow from his back, deftly loaded it with arrows, and steadily raised his arm, aiming in Dester's direction.
Dester kept a close eye on the developments on the battlefield, especially the reactions of the Hawk Band cavalry.
When he saw a cavalryman take down a crossbow and aim it in his direction, alarm bells went off in his mind.
Without hesitation, he immediately dismounted and quickly hid behind a thick tree beside him.
"call out!"
Almost at the same moment Dester hid behind the tree, Jedo pulled the trigger. The arrow, whistling through the air, shot towards the spot where Dester had just stood, finally embedding itself in the tree trunk, its fletching buzzing.
When Jiedu saw that his first shot had missed, he frowned slightly and immediately prepared to reload his arrow.
Just then, Griffith seized a gap in the rain of arrows and shouted the order:
"Now! Everyone, rush over there as fast as you can!"
The Hawk cavalry, who had been poised for battle, immediately lowered their shields, spurred their horses, and launched another fierce charge. Like wild horses, they charged toward Yoda's infantry formation.
Yoda's infantry had just formed their ranks, intending to block the cavalry charge, but they did not expect the enemy's offensive to be so swift.
With a loud "bang!", the Hawk Band's cavalry and Yoda's infantry collided violently.
The warhorse's impact was so great that it knocked the Yoda soldiers in the front ranks off their feet.
The cavalrymen brandished their weapons, relentlessly reaping the lives of Yoda's soldiers, and forcefully breaking through the infantry formation.
Down the hillside, the mountain militia who had been suppressed by Yoda's soldiers were greatly encouraged when they saw the Hawk Band's cavalry break through the enemy's formation.
They shouted to each other, gripped their weapons, and surged forward like a tidal wave, following behind the cavalry, charging towards Yoda's infantry formation.
Although the militia had limited combat capabilities, they had the advantage of large numbers and were fearless in the face of death.
They squeezed through the gap created by the cavalry and launched a fierce attack on Yoda's soldiers.
Some chopped with axes, some stabbed with spears, and some even pounced on the Yoda soldiers, wrestling with them and attacking them with their teeth and fists.
Yoda's infantry formation had already been broken by the cavalry, and with the addition of the militia's frenzied charge, it instantly became chaotic.
The soldiers fought individually and were unable to mount an effective resistance; their formation was completely torn apart.
Screams and sounds of fighting filled the air as Yoda's soldiers fell one after another, suffering heavy casualties.
Dester, who was on the hillside, looked even more grim when he saw this.
He never expected that Yoda's infantry couldn't even hold the line, and were routed in a short time under the combined attack of the Hawk's cavalry and the mountain militia.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Dester made a quick decision and gave a loud order.
The standard-bearer beside him immediately understood, raised the flag in his hand, and waved it continuously to convey the order to retreat to the Yoda soldiers below.
However, the flag bearer's gesture of waving the flag was observed by Jiedu, who had been keeping a close eye on the battlefield.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He quickly loaded the arrows, aimed the crossbow at the flag bearer, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"call out!"
The arrow pierced the air and struck the flag bearer precisely in the chest.
The flag bearer's body jolted violently, the flag in his hand fell to the ground, he clutched his chest, gasped for breath, and slowly collapsed, soon becoming still.
With the flag falling to the ground, Yoda's soldiers lost their signal to retreat.
The already chaotic frontline troops were completely disorganized and thrown into utter disarray.
The soldiers didn't know whether to attack or retreat. Some continued to resist, while others began to scatter, and the entire formation completely collapsed.
Dester looked at the chaotic army below, feeling anxious and angry, but there was nothing he could do.
He looked up at the center of the battlefield, where Griffith was riding his warhorse, charging left and right among Yoda's soldiers, wielding his longsword, unstoppable, with soldiers around him falling one after another, none able to stop him.
A murderous intent surged within Dester. He abruptly drew his flintlock pistol from his waist, quickly loaded it, gripped it with both hands, and aimed at Griffith's figure.
He wanted to personally shoot the man who led the Band of the Hawk to thwart his plans.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, an arrow suddenly shot from the side and struck him precisely in the shoulder.
Dester groaned, feeling a violent impact on his shoulder.
Fortunately, he was fully armed, and the heavy shoulder armor blocked most of the force of the arrow. The arrow only pierced the shoulder armor and did not hurt his flesh.
But the force of the impact still made his arm go numb, and he almost dropped the flintlock pistol.
He steadied himself, knowing that it was no longer possible to shoot Griffiths now, and staying in the same spot would only lead to him being surrounded.
Without further hesitation, he loudly ordered the bugler beside him:
"Blow the bugle, retreat!"
The trumpeter immediately picked up the horn, put it to his lips, and blew it loudly.
"Woo-"
The deep, long horn sound echoed through the valley, conveying the order to retreat to all Yoda's soldiers.