Chapter 579: Act 326 – The Battle of Saintly White
The vast mountains were shrouded in dusk, as the sun sank into the western sea off Ampere Seale, leaving a shimmering golden reflection on the ocean surface. The sky was gradually darkening, turning into a deep purple, with the outline of the moon becoming visible in the eastern sky.
As the non-commissioned officers had anticipated, a light infantry unit appeared behind them in the evening.
Brendel received reports that the scouts from the Royal Knight Academy, patrolling the perimeter, were the first to encounter enemy scouts from the same light cavalry; according to a report from a girl named Bud, they had engaged in a skirmish, sustaining only light injuries and no casualties while causing the enemy to leave behind eleven corpses and two prisoners. The remaining quarter was intentionally allowed to return to convey the message.
Interrogations of the captives revealed that the enemy likely belonged to an independent light infantry battalion from the Finn formation of the Black Blade Legion. The composition of the Black Blade Legion differed from the White Lion Legion, which followed the structure of the previous king Eke’s elite guards. From Brendel’s perspective, the structure seemed somewhat akin to a Roman legion, albeit on a larger scale; each legion had approximately 4500 troops, subdivided into formations, with each formation consisting of battalions led by centurions. The Black Blade Legion typically comprised twenty formations, with the names based on the commanders’ names—Finn formation, where the commander naturally belonged to the Finn family of Nale.
Brendel had previously boasted to the princess that he had an intimate understanding of the military forces around Erluin, and it was no exaggeration. Although the Black Blade Legion was the imperial guard, the royal family actually controlled only one or two noble commanders. When it came to the disposition of the Black Blade Legion’s forces scattered across the land, Princess Grifian would probably be left in the dark.
However, Brendel’s knowledge was vastly different. He knew that the Finn formation was based today in Nale, which lay to the south of Corvado Province and west of Siphai Province, in the territory of Grey Mountain. Most of the troops were local impoverished mountain folks, including the well-known First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation.
Brendel suspected that the so-called independent light infantry battalion behind him was, in fact, the First Highland Infantry. Generally speaking, the most suitable units for pursuit and harassment should be light cavalry, or their superior, the Dragoon cavalry. However, due to the terrain constraints, it was very likely that Viscount Finn had opted to use highland infantry in place of the aforementioned types, especially since this army composed of mountain folk was also known for its mobility.
In Amber Sword, each type of troop has its own special attributes. For instance, the kingdom’s White Lion Infantry possesses the two major traits of always having initiative and high morale. This translates on the battlefield to troops with always-initiative responding more quickly to orders and those with high morale being less likely to rout. The special attribute of highland infantry is suited to mountainous and forested terrains.
This attribute simply means that when maneuvering in terrain suited for operations, their mobility is not affected and their troop level is increased by one. In contrast, regular infantry typically faces a decrease in mobility in mountainous or forested areas, and heavy cavalry suffers a two-level decrease.
These attributes manifested more realistically in this world. The non-commissioned officers of the Royal Knight Academy were all light cavalry; they were tremendously fast across plains, yet they made minimal progress throughout the entirety of a day within a forest.
Regardless of whether or not this was the First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation, the planned operation had to go on as planned. Brendel could not let them linger indefinitely behind, as time was already of the essence.
The hour hand on his brass pocket watch pointed to a little past seven-thirty, while the Black Blade Legion’s Dragoon cavalry vanished for the first time above the treetops. Although Erluinya dragons possessed night vision, the knights above still required nighttime combat gear—such as switching to cold-resistant cotton armor.
Earl Ouding, the most familiar with the Dragoon cavalry among the group, pointed this out in advance. Thus, they had roughly an hour-long window in between. Brendel had to act quickly; fortunately, Nordstad and his Dragoon cavalry had already scouted a suitable ambush site ahead. He promptly ordered the peripheral scout cavalry to lure the enemy into the predefined ambush zone.
Luring the enemy into the ambush ring was easier said than done, yet this was no challenge for the Royal Knight Academy’s scout officers, as their training extensively covered such tactics. Furthermore, this group of young individuals bound for Ampere Seale had been personally taught by Makarolo—known as the cunning fox—who had considerable expertise in subterfuge and ambush tactics and ample experience that most could not match.
Consequently, these young scouts demonstrated a surprisingly convincing performance. The Black Blade Legion’s scout cavalry frequently seemed to “suddenly” encounter enemy scouts, and although each engagement resulted in the Southern army’s scouts taking significant losses, they nevertheless managed to discern the direction of Princess Grifian’s party.
At least, that was how it appeared; the encounters with the Royal Knight Academy’s scouts seemed to be “increasing,” which conformed to the laws of the battlefield and plainly indicated they were moving toward the right direction.
Brendel was not mistaken; behind them was the First Highland Infantry from the Finn formation of the Black Blade Legion, commanded by Baron Valen, who had no inkling that he was walking into a trap but was convinced that he had the enemy firmly in his grasp.
In fact, Baron Valen was a careful and prudent man, never overly ambitious. He well understood that his task was merely to delay Princess Grifian’s party, not to encircle and annihilate them. In truth, he had no such thoughts, having received reports from behind indicating the possibility of several enemy units ahead; this highland infantry battalion was not their match.
For some reason, however, Baron Valen was unaware that his opponents had previously defeated the White Lion Legion in direct combat and were becoming overconfident. Behind him, Duke Siphai and Marquis Julian might, to some extent, know that the White Lion had suffered losses, yet they likely assumed the enemy had simply broken out ahead of the White Lion Legion’s encirclement.
What a thought! How could just over two hundred student knights possibly inflict such a devastating defeat on the White Lion Legion? If Baron Valen had known the truth, he might have been a bit more wary, at least avoiding walking directly into the ambush.
Unfortunately, war has no “ifs.” Baron Valen was being vexed by the sporadic appearances of mutated wild boar herds throughout the day—crimson-backed wild boars were among the renowned “specialty” of Silver Crag Cliff. In reality, they had not yet become a serious plague; however, after the Great Demon Tide, the port guards of Ampere Seale had endured arduous battles with these highly reproductive creatures—Brendel had once been part of this “boar-slaying” army, but now it was finally Baron Valen’s turn.
The juvenile crimson-backed wild boars in Amber Sword had a strength rating of up to 20 at the black iron rank, while adults measured at the peak level of 25. Most detestable of all, these creatures always brought their entire family to the fight, eagerly embodying the legendary “family-on-the-battlefield” archetype; Baron Valen’s army had set out, unlike Brendel, with foresight and caution, instantly attracting numerous old and young mutated wild boars to observe, resulting in a significant number of casualties among scouts—most of whom were “accidentally injured” by the boars.
He had grown increasingly frustrated with the situation, wishing only to hasten through this wild land. Besides, the surroundings were thick with woods, but the scouts had reported that Princess Grifian’s party was still ahead; confident that he was maintaining a safe distance from the enemy, although the accompanying wizards cautioned him to remain vigilant against the enemy’s illusions, he paid little attention.
Unbeknownst to him, he had walked right into Brendel’s line of sight. Baron Valen ordered his troops to maintain their marching formation as they entered a valley. At that moment, Brendel stood just about a hundred meters back, hidden behind a thicket, flanked by Royal Knight Academy officers armed with longbows, completely unaware of the impending ambush.
The sea witch Brigitte had brought a team of Grayfin Naga priests. With the storm just passed in Ampere Seale, the air was thick with moisture, making it nearly the perfect condition for the Nagas to cast illusions. A massive illusion enveloped the valley—not altering the terrain but acting merely as a smokescreen, making the trees appear denser to the soldiers under Baron Valen’s command while concealing some sounds.
The simplicity of the spell made its effects all the more powerful on each soldier. Baron Valen’s scout cavalry circled and continued to believe they had encountered no enemies, running in circles for a dozen times before returning to report. The scene was somewhat amusing from Brendel’s vantage point, unhindered by the illusion.
However, the application of magic on the battlefield instilled a deep sense of dread in these young individuals; it was terrifying—making the enemy seem like blind and deaf beings. They had heard of classic battle examples utilizing magic in their textbooks, but experiencing it first-hand was an entirely different matter.
Brendel observed the uncertain expressions on the faces of the young officers and nodded slightly. These young non-commissioned officers from Erluin would sooner or later encounter more formidable foes; on the land of Vaunte, it was not just the nobles’ private troops and the outdated kingdom legions that posed a challenge. Both Madara and the Crusian had long since embarked on military reforms, and they too had to keep pace.
Nonetheless, even among noble private troops or the outdated kingdom legions, Baron Valen had several accompanying wizards. Among them, the most experienced was a high-ranking silver-level wizard—what would roughly correspond to level 29-32 in Amber Sword, possessing mastery over fourth-tier spells. Although he wasn’t yet a wizard mentor, he had indeed entered the ranks of high-ranking wizards.
Unfortunately for them, their opponent was Charles, an authentic golden-tier wizard mentor. Brendel instructed the Naga priests to diligently maintain the illusion, while spell countermeasures were assigned to the young wizard attendant at his side. Wizards studying rule spells were naturally adept at unraveling others’ spells; once Charles took action, several wizards around Baron Valen suddenly found themselves rendered truly blind, unaware of their spells being suppressed—they merely felt that something was amiss.
The First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation was made up of roughly 1500 troops; while Baron Valen held down the fort as commander, he was still considered competent. Even in the forest, their marching formation retained some semblance of order. Brendel patiently waited until most of the enemy had passed and until Baron Valen and his accompanying knights were nearest to him before raising his slate longbow.
The bowstring in his hand shimmered with a faint gray light, enveloping the arrow to form a stone-tipped projectile. This was the petrifying arrow effect of the slate longbow, but the bow’s level was unfortunately too low, rendering the effect less significant against higher-ranking enemies—only at this moment did it unleash its true potential.
Brendel targeted Baron Valen’s party, who had not yet noticed him; he only minutely judged the distance and humidity of the air before releasing the bowstring. With no wind, this arrow nearly had no deviation aside from a slight drop, heading straight for the mounted baron.
“Skills have declined,” Brendel couldn’t help but shake his head. The fighters within Amber Sword were not merely muscle-bound brawlers. The warrior class included many professions, such as mercenaries. Warriors had to be well-versed in numerous weapons and armors to adapt to various battlefields. As a level 130 warrior, Brendel was a true master in this regard, though he had not used a bow for quite some time.
Baron Valen finally heard the whistling wind, as a soldier, he was all too familiar with this sound. His accompanying wizard reacted quickly, immediately raising a wind shield. Unfortunately, the arrow came too close; roughly a hundred meters was almost negligible for a magical bow, and the petrifying arrow traced a bright gray trajectory, piercing right through that wind shield a second earlier.
“Sir, watch out!” The knights accompanying the baron, all silver-tier experts, drew their long swords in unison, aiming to sever the flying arrow. Unfortunately, before they could swing their swords, the petrifying arrow exploded with a “bang.”
A swirling grayish-white light erupted from the arrow, enveloping Baron Valen and nearly all the knights around him, freezing their astonished, screaming, and sword-drawing motions into stone, including the mounts they rode.
Seven knights, two wizards, and Baron Valen himself all fell victim, with only one wizard managing to escape. However, that wizard’s left arm quickly petrified, starting to creep up his shoulder, and hastily raising his right hand to strike against the stony arm sent a flash of fire, instantly shattering his petrified limb.
“Enemy attack!” The previous scene had unfolded in the blink of an eye; after the wizard shattered his left arm, he quickly grabbed the staff beside him, screaming.
Unfortunately, it was too late; in an instant, what had once been a calm forest erupted into a flurry of arrows.
Brendel stowed his aged brass longbow; after all, it was a brass-tier magical weapon. Although it was somewhat lacking against elemental foes or even gold-tier strongmen, it was undeniably lethal against weaker opponents.
“Ah! A magical bow?” A surprised voice came from behind him.
Brendel turned to see the girl named Bud staring intently at his slate longbow. “Do you want it?” he asked, recognizing that a good bow was crucial for scouts. Besides, Brendel did not particularly value this bow—after all, it wasn’t that impressive.
“Ah, no, I, um…” Bud appeared a bit bashful. Although she naturally embodied a boyish character, it was nonetheless the commander’s property, so how could she casually ask for it? She had merely blurted it out in the heat of the moment.
“Haha, sir, Bud definitely wants it, but she’s just too shy to ask,” a young officer on the side joked cheerfully. Brendel, showing no airs, found that while the young people regarded him with some admiration, they were also unafraid of him.
Brendel glanced at the speaker and realized he recognized him—someone named Oland, who had been rescued by Carglis from the White Lion Infantry. It seemed this guy had some interest in Bud; he recalled that historically they had eventually married.
With amusement, he thought to simply toss the slate longbow to Oland, chuckling, “Then it’s yours. How you convince Miss Bud to accept it is up to you.”
“Ah!” Oland was caught off guard by his thoughts being laid bare, instantly turning beet red. He turned to see Bud shooting him a fierce glare before turning back to join the battle.
“Sir, about this…” Oland couldn’t help but appear innocent.
“Ahh,” Brendel chuckled inwardly, amused at youth failing to hide their nascent infatuations. A brass-tier magical weapon was worth quite a bit; in the earlier game setting, it could sell for at least a couple of hundred at this stage.
Brendel had intended to play around with the young officers of the Royal Knight Academy since he genuinely did not concern himself with victory or defeat in this ambush battle. Or rather, he didn’t believe they could lose—Earl Ouding and Nemeses were leading the charge, which was more than enough.
And indeed it was, although the First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation was quite infamous, their reputation had primarily been built during the rebellion against King Ansen VI and during several skirmishes before the last Crusade, known for their mobility. Besides, that reputation was established by their forebears, while the current Highland Infantry was merely new blood filled into the Black Blade Legion post the November War, still retaining the grit of the mountain folk but lacking the kind of unwavering resolve embodied by the White Lion Legion during fights.
Particularly since the military structure of the Black Blade Legion was even older than that of the White Lion Legion, dividing each formation into three battalions, with each battalion further subdivided into ten squads, each led by a centurion, most of whom were actually knights alongside Baron Valen and not true lower-tier officers.
Thus, most of these centurions, aside from a handful maintaining their formation in the front, found themselves turned to stone by Brendel’s one arrow; the First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation, lacking their command structure, would have already fled in utter chaos if not for the fierce combat prowess of the mountain folk.
Subsequently, the twenty-person Naga priest team ceased to maintain their illusion, instead unleashing hail spells and freezing spells against the clustered highland infantry. The hail spells were not the kind of trivial stones that could be blocked by raising a shield; they were magically reinforced ice spikes, which could pierce through standard leather helmets. The lightly equipped Highland Infantry could not withstand such onslaughts, and after a single round of magic was cast, cries filled the air, with corpses piled high.
Lacking their commander’s restraint, these light infantrymen, suddenly beset, instinctively turned to retreat, scattering in every direction. But what combat power remained in the dispersed light infantry? Waiting for them were the noble private troops and light cavalry of Ouding’s side slicing through the battlefield.
Isolated, the highland infantry was clearly no match for the spear-phalanx bearing foot soldiers, but in collective retreat, they were shattered once more by magic. The cornered First Highland Infantry of the Finn formation held out for barely ten minutes before collapsing entirely. Their fate was either death or surrender, with a portion managing to escape, but that was only because Brendel had no desire to pursue them too closely to avoid needless casualties.
The entire battle, from the ambush setup to conclusion, lasted less than half an hour; it was still not completely dark. As Brendel looked at the time while clearing the battlefield, he realized that there was at least another quarter-hour before the Black Blade Legion’s Dragoon cavalry returned to the battlefield, far exceeding his expectations of success.
He glanced toward the direction the Black Blade Legion fled, feeling a sigh of relief. The rear concerns had been dealt with, and now he could finally focus on executing his plans. And the fleeing Highland infantry would lead their true enemies right into the trap.
……
————————————————————————————————————
Background notes:
(1) Nale, a town located in Grey Mountain territory. In Erluin, the series of mountains extending south from Grey Mountain to Corvado comprises the primary habitation area for Northern mountain peoples, who were once considered barbarians by the Crusian but are more untamed than the southern mountain folk of Erluin. The Northern mountain folk had long submitted to King Eke during the establishment of Erluin, becoming citizens of the kingdom, though they still maintained a modicum of independence.
(2) Silver Crag Cliff, a geographical term referring specifically to the cliff-ridden bay area extending south from Ampere Seale to the northernmost bay of Vlada, known as the “Tranquil Anchorage.”
—————————————————————————————————————
P.S.: I caught another cold—how unfortunate! I struggled all morning to regain my composure and found my rhythm after stepping outside for a bit. Nevertheless, I still feel somewhat dizzy. I’ll post 6000 words to guarantee two chapters for now and see if I can churn out another later.
Also, I want to remind everyone to take care as the weather gets cooler.
Additionally, at the request of readers, I’ve started including some glossary notes. Some of these pertain to geography, and I’ve indeed shared maps before, which you can find if you look. I plan to create a more detailed one when time allows, as the image upload mechanism here is quite unfriendly—it often times out. Please kindly remind me to update as needed.
Lastly, the timeline for Amber Sword is also in the works, though I need everyone’s contributions to help spot and fix any potential bugs in my earlier dates. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please head to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly subscriptions; your support is my greatest motivation.)
