Chapter 281 - 215: You are Chaos? I am too.
Led by Glock, they followed closely behind, forming a wedge formation. This was the standard formation for a cavalry charge, designed to pierce an enemy’s lines like a sharp blade.
However, the Inferior Horned Beast riders’ wedge formation was a wedge in name only. It was too loose and disorganized to execute an effective piercing charge or create any real impact.
Cavalrymen weren’t trained in a day. Moreover, the harsh environment of the Snowfield Basin made it extremely difficult for Glock to raise horses, which meant many of his riders could only mount their steeds once every three or four days.
The Inferior Horned Beast infantry began to part to the sides, opening a path for their leader and his cavalry.
In their minds, a cavalry charge packed immense force. If used correctly, it could tear a gap clean through the enemy’s lines.
Many of their own allies had been slaughtered by the cavalry of these Southern Barbarians.
Glock led his cavalry in a direct charge toward the flank of Henry’s army.
He targeted what appeared to be the weaker sections of the line, hoping the cavalry charge would disrupt Henry’s formation and create an opening for his infantry to counterattack.
The thunder of hooves echoed across the battlefield as the cavalry picked up speed, cutting through the wind and snow straight toward the flank of Henry’s army.
Glock gripped his spear tightly. ’This is my only chance,’ he thought. ’I must succeed.’
Henry’s army noticed Glock’s movement, but they showed no panic.
Three units of Senior Infantry quickly adjusted their formation. They formed a defensive line, raised a shield wall, and braced their longspears, preparing to receive the cavalry’s charge.
Their shields were locked together, forming a nearly impenetrable bulwark.
Weaker, perhaps, but only relatively so. To the Inferior Horned Beasts, it was still a great wall of steel!
The infantry unit about to be charged might have seemed relatively weak, but to Henry’s own cavalry, such a head-on charge was almost laughable.
They didn’t even adjust their formation, merely watching with cold detachment as Glock’s cavalry threw themselves at the infantry line like moths to a flame.
Light Cavalry charging a braced, deep formation of Heavy Armor Infantry was, without a doubt, an act of supreme foolishness on the battlefield.
Glock only had a superficial understanding of cavalry tactics. He knew about the impact of a charge but had missed a crucial point: when the imperial army attacked, it was Heavy Cavalry that charged light infantry. What he was doing now was tantamount to throwing an egg against a stone.
As Glock’s cavalry drew closer, the Senior Infantry units were already well-prepared.
Their shields were locked together, forming a nearly impenetrable bulwark.
The spearmen braced their sharp longspears in the gaps between the shields, awaiting the cavalry’s impact.
Only when Glock’s cavalry reached the infantry line did they realize the defensive wall before them was unbreakable!
The cavalrymen’s lances and shields seemed fragile before the Heavy Armor Infantry’s shield wall, their charge having almost no effect against it.
The riders tried to pierce the shield wall with their lances, but the infantry behind easily deflected them with their longspears. Some lances even snapped on impact.
The cavalry’s warhorses panicked before the shield wall. Some stopped dead in their tracks out of fear, throwing their riders to the ground.
Those riders who managed to reach the shield wall were met with a ruthless counterattack from the spearmen.
Henry had always kept a contingent of soldiers armed with long pole weapons within his infantry. The spearmen and Axe and Spear Soldiers easily pierced the armor of the Inferior Horned Beast riders, plucking them from their saddles.
The bodies of the Inferior Horned Beasts piled up before the infantry line, forming a gruesome barrier of flesh and blood.
’This isn’t right, is it? Weren’t my cavalry supposed to scatter these Southern Barbarians to the winds?’
Glock watched as his cavalry was effortlessly slaughtered before the infantry line, and his heart filled with despair.
His understanding and use of cavalry were woefully inadequate; his misjudgment had led to this disaster.
The veterans in the infantry units were experienced; they knew how to keep the formation stable during a cavalry charge.
They had formed an insurmountable line with their shields and longspears, one that not even the bravest imperial Armored Cavalry and Square Banner Knights could hope to break!
Of course, no imperial officer would be foolish enough to send his prized Heavy Cavalry to die so needlessly.
Before them, the Inferior Horned Beast cavalry were like fish on a chopping block, ready to be slaughtered.
A force of several hundred cavalry might seem large enough to blot out the sky and make the very earth tremble, but alas, within Henry’s vast ocean of infantry, Glock’s cavalry was gradually being ground down to nothing.
The bodies of riders and warhorses alike piled up on the battlefield, a cruel testament to the fighting.
Meanwhile, Henry’s infantry remained as solid as a rock. Their line had not been broken; there wasn’t even a hint of disorder.
They were like a man swatting at a fly: a mere annoyance.
Amidst the chaos and blood of the battlefield, Glock’s figure stood out.
As the leader of this Inferior Horned Beast host, he wore the best armor and rode the best horse. In the chaos, he was lucky enough to escape with a few dozen other fortunate riders.
Their escape immediately drew the attention of Henry’s cavalry.
Sixty Citizen Cavalry—the elite of Henry’s army, all of them having undergone rigorous combat training, with the glory of the cavalry burning in their hearts.