Chapter 199 - 172: The Calm Before the Great Battle
Chapter 199: Chapter 172: The Calm Before the Great Battle
To be honest, Robson was somewhat disappointed that the Beastmen hadn’t chosen to attack the city directly.
If the Beastmen had dared to attack the city directly, Robson could have easily dragged the war out, slowly turning the entire defensive battle into a war of attrition.
Once it became a war of attrition, the enemy would have no way to achieve a swift victory. And without a swift victory, they couldn’t win at all.
...
Not everyone was as composed as Robson about the Beastmen’s arrival. Prince Noah, for instance, who had been recuperating in the Ivory Tower, immediately convened a council of Thermopylae’s nobles upon hearing the news.
Those in attendance were mostly familiar faces, as there had been very few nobles originally stationed to defend Thermopylae.
"The Beastmen are now on our doorstep. Have we made preparations against a night raid...?"
"So, Sir Robson, what are your thoughts?" Prince Noah asked, looking directly at Robson after a brief opening statement.
All eyes turned to Robson—or rather, they had been on him the entire time.
Robson set down his teacup and rose to his feet.
"I believe His Highness Prince’s concerns are not without merit."
Although Robson felt that what Prince Noah feared was unlikely to happen, he still decided to preface his own viewpoint with a concession; at the very least, he had to show Prince Noah some respect.
"Of course, we must also consider the current situation on the battlefield.
The enemy didn’t attack at the first opportunity. Instead, they’ve made camp twenty li away. From that distance, they can’t launch a night raid or any other kind of assault.
I believe that, for today at least, we have no need to worry. The Beastmen will likely attack tomorrow at noon, or perhaps tomorrow evening," Robson said.
’In fact, he’d figured as much the moment the Beastmen failed to attack right away.’
"We know that Earl Wei Man’s reinforcements are only two or three days’ march from Thermopylae.
Our griffon scouts report that the enemy is currently preparing various siege engines while their soldiers rest.
The enemy isn’t even trying to hide their intentions. They want to settle this in one decisive blow.
However, they don’t have much time left. Once Earl Wei Man’s forces close in, the Beastmen will be caught in a pincer, unable to advance or retreat.
If they engage Earl Wei Man, we will immediately join the fray. They will be attacked from both the front and rear.
Therefore, they need to buy themselves enough time. On one hand, to rest and recuperate. On the other, they need to leave a sufficient window in case the siege fails, so they can rally their forces to face Earl Wei Man," Robson explained.
This Beastman army was an advance force sent by the main Beastman Army. Their mission was a military gamble.
’In truth, the moment my army set foot in Thermopylae, the Beastmen had already half-lost.’
’Once this business with the advance force is over, both Beastmen and humans will fight even more fiercely for control of this place.’
’As far as Robson knew, the King’s reinforcements were still two weeks away.’
Of course, Robson had no intention of waiting that long. Even if he, Lord Robson, could afford to wait, Prince Noah could not.
What Prince Noah needed was renown—a battle that would bring him glory. Once the battle was won, he would undoubtedly rush back to the Royal Capital without a moment’s delay.
After all, if anything were to go wrong after this, the reputation Prince Noah had worked so hard to build would be ruined in an instant.
As the "core force" under Prince Noah, Robson’s army would then likely be kept off the battlefield.
At the very least, Robson and his army couldn’t afford any mishaps until the storm of publicity surrounding Prince Noah died down. Only after the Prince’s fame was secure could Robson possibly return to the front lines.
’Right now, the Beastmen are making a military gamble. As long as we thwart that gamble, humanity wins.’
Many of the nobles present didn’t pay attention to the rest of Robson’s analysis. Once they heard Sir Robson say the Beastmen would attack tomorrow, their worries mostly vanished. Even Prince Noah breathed a sigh of relief.
Robson looked at the assembled nobles. In truth, despite his words, he felt a knot of panic in his own heart.
’That night, I saw for myself what the true elites of the Beastman Empire were like. And those were Beastman Soldiers in terrible condition—cavalrymen forced to dismount and fight as infantry.’
’I can’t imagine what their truly formidable Beastman Infantry are like—those towering soldiers who fight fearlessly to the death without needing any stimulants.’
’And there aren’t two thousand of them, but twenty thousand. Twenty thousand Beastman Soldiers...’
Of course, Robson didn’t share these thoughts with anyone. An atmosphere of dependency had clearly permeated the army; for matters both great and small, everyone looked to him for a decision.
There was nothing Robson could do about it. He still hadn’t found anyone capable of taking sole command of a situation.
’If I, the army’s backbone, were to panic now, one can only imagine how the others would react.’
...
Meanwhile, in the Beastman Camp, General Griff had all soldiers rest, save for those performing essential duties.
The twenty-li distance was not ideal for a Beastman surprise attack, but it was just as much of an obstacle for the humans.
If the humans wanted to raid the Beastman camp, they too would have to cross those twenty li on foot—a distance more than sufficient for Beastman scouts to spot them and report back.
Based on this reasoning, even without air superiority to observe the enemy’s movements, General Griff still chose to let his soldiers catch up on their sleep.
’In the Beastman Army’s current condition, an attack is definitely out of the question.’
For both sides, the nature of the coming battle was already clear. Everyone knew how things would unfold.
It was like something out of the petty human kingdoms: set a time, pick a place, agree on numbers, and then have a brawl.
Whoever won, got the land.
It was all about a straightforward, head-on clash, without a hint of scheming or trickery.
General Griff watched the heavy snow falling outside.
The altitude and latitude of the Beastman Plateau are far higher than those of human lands.
Of course, the Beastmen themselves had no concept of such things. General Griff only knew that this blizzard wouldn’t be enough to break the Beastman Army. His soldiers could dig a snow cave, cover it with a beast hide, and sleep soundly.
But what worried General Griff was the enemy’s seemingly endless repertoire of tactics.
They hadn’t even engaged in a proper battle yet, and they’d already suffered a series of frustrating setbacks.
He had no idea what to expect when the real battle finally began.