Chapter 852: Clash in the Gorge

Pabos changes course and quickens the march of his three combat battalions. They must seize favorable ground before the enemy detachment gets there.

The soldiers with minor injuries hurry toward a nearby city. They must bring the warband's horses to the battlefield as quickly as possible.

A little over an hour later, the Ninth Warband reaches the area where it plans to fight.

The calamity bandit army has not arrived. There are no tracks to mark its passage either.

The men are just beginning to relax when Pabos's nostrils flare. He sniffs, then bellows, "First Combat Battalion, with me! Block the gorge! The enemy is already in the valley. Don't let them break out!"

"Second and Third Combat Battalions, take the hills! Secure the high ground on both sides and suppress them with ranged fire. Send men to prepare boulders and logs!"

The damp air and faint fishy smell tell Pabos that the calamity bandit army is close.

A riverbed runs through these hills. Water still flows along it, making it a suitable route for the calamity bandits.

Days of scorching sun have reduced the stream to ankle-deep water.

But the shaded valley still holds plenty of moisture. The calamity bandits can use it to raise protective water mist, or even a light drizzle, for their march in daylight.

Beyond this valley, a river lies not far away.

Following it for a little over two hours would bring them around to the flank of the Five Forts.

Pabos leads his men forward at a run. By the time he reaches the mouth of the gorge, he can already see the calamity bandits.

Startled, the enemy's marching column falters and falls into disorder.

Only a few dozen meters separate the two sides. The enemy plainly never expected a human army to appear in this forsaken place.

Seeing them about to emerge from the valley, Pabos draws his longsword. "Drive them back!"

Fighting spirit blazes around him as he crashes straight into the enemy's front ranks.

His sword flashes. Blood sprays, and severed limbs scatter.

The soldiers behind him do not immediately follow him into the charge.

Their squad leaders shout them into formation. Only once the ranks are ready do the soldiers begin striding forward.

The valley is narrow, a little more than forty meters across.

Three standard twelve-man squads are enough to block the opening.

Half a minute later, the first hundred-man unit finishes forming up. Shields raised, it advances.

The Subterranean River Bandits recover from their surprise. Amid hisses and the notes of water flutes, they surge toward the mouth of the gorge.

But Pabos has already hacked their vanguard to pieces.

His battle armor is superb, of course. Henwell obtained it from Newwood, and it is some of the finest equipment available.

It would be nothing to be ashamed of even at Glory Rank.

His longsword is finer still, a weapon from the Age of Divine War.

Many of the calamity creatures before him are at Battle Knight Rank, but their scales offer no protection against the Kingslayer Blade.

At last, a naga warrior at Grand Knight Rank barges through the river bandits and ties Pabos down in combat. Only then do the others begin to form up.

But the First Combat Battalion's hundred-man unit is already upon them.

Shields slam forward in unison. War spears thrust out, punching bloody holes through the creatures in the front rank.

The shield-and-spear soldiers a few ranks back step left into the gaps. They rush forward and slam into the enemy, then drive their spears into vital spots before the creatures regain their balance.

Behind them, more soldiers finish off the enemies felled by the first assault.

Wave after wave of shield strikes and spear thrusts gives the Subterranean River Bandits no opening to strike back.

With his troops being steadily driven back, the enemy commander acts at once. He sacrifices nearly a thousand soldiers at the front and pulls the middle of his force back a short distance to form up.

The Lobster Cavalry takes the lead, preparing to break through the First Combat Battalion's line.

Half an hour later, the thousand calamity bandits at the front have all been killed.

The third hundred-man unit has now taken over the shield-and-spear assault.

The tactic is fierce, but it demands precise coordination and burns through stamina.

After the forced march and the sprint to seize favorable ground, the soldiers need a chance to catch their breath.

Now the Lobster Cavalry nearby begins its charge.

The hundred-man unit pulls aside at once. Its men run more than ten meters up the slopes on either side, clearing the passage through the middle.

Two rested hundred-man units rush forward at once, raising their shields to meet the impact.

Meanwhile, the other two battalions have reached the hillsides, more than fifty meters above the valley floor.

Their officers direct the hundred-man units into position. The men unsling their heavy crossbows and cock them.

Before the Lobster Cavalry can reach the human line, a volley of bolts rains down on it.

The height advantage adds to the force of the military crossbows. Their armor-piercing arrowheads tear easily through the Lobster Cavalry's defenses.

Lobster riders fall in swaths. Their bodies block those charging behind them.

Just like that, the long-prepared charge is broken.

The two hundred-man units that cleared the passage regroup into squads more than ten meters up either flank of the First Combat Battalion. With heavy crossbows drawn, they aim at the wounded lobster riders and finish them off.

Ruchi, now directing the troops, halts the advance. They will hold here, four hundred meters into the valley.

Beyond it, the slopes on either side grow steep. Climbing to the top would take too long.

The difference in height is also too great for effective ranged support.

This stretch is a little wider. It lets them spread out their men and bring superior numbers to bear where the fighting is taking place.

The enemy soon changes tactics, putting creatures with large seashell shields on the defensive line.

Enormous toadlike creatures launch strange objects at the crossbowmen on the slopes and the shield-and-spear soldiers below.

Each object is the size of a washbasin, covered in spikes like a sea urchin.

Once launched into the air, they burst and scatter their spines.

The spines can pierce deep, spread over a wide area, and carry a paralyzing toxin.

Each of these is a living biological weapon.

Every soldier in the Ninth Warband, however, wears heavy armor over a layer of chain mail.

The urchin spines cannot pierce that armor, let alone their shields.

Peace Haven's standard-issue shields are wooden, but an alloy facing half a centimeter thick gives them a sturdy defense.

These soldiers are the elite troops Peace Haven sent to the coalition, so their shields are better still. Their laminated-steel construction places a layer of extraordinary alloy inside the steel.

Even that small amount improves their defense.

It is especially effective at dispersing and absorbing the force of extraordinary attacks.

This calamity bandit army does have archers.

Their bows have coral frames and seaweed strings. Their fishbone arrowheads pierce deep and carry poison as well.

In suitable conditions, such as heavy rain, these arrows can outrange even human bows.

But the enemy's ranged troops are at the rear of its column.

The enemy commander has tried bringing the ranged troops forward to suppress the Ninth Warband's crossbowmen on both slopes.

But the valley is too narrow to squeeze them through.

If he forced them forward, the crossbowmen on both flanks would likely kill them on the way, before they could fire.