Chapter 744: Act 102 – Eternity II
“Brendel Knight, do you see that crack in the west? Lead the Eighth Squadron around from behind there and encircle that cavalry from the side,” Freya suddenly turned around and said to Brendel, looking at the shattered glacier in the western area. The cracked glacier undulated across the snowy plain, reflecting the sunlight after noon and shimmering beneath the ice. Brendel looked in that direction, somewhat confused: “Why? It’s impossible to catch up from that direction.”
“Yes, Brendel Knight, your task is to force them to change direction, making those half-elves run north, preferably to the northeast,” Freya replied.
“What’s in the east?” Brendel paused, subconsciously looking in that direction, but in his field of vision, the east was as boundless as the north, an endless expanse of glacier—the glacier’s edge sparkled under the clear sky, resembling a mirror’s edge, and it hurt his eyes. He couldn’t help but squint, feeling doubtful.
“Brendel, it’s the wind.” Xiao Peiluo, who was on horseback, seemed to have realized something, “The wind direction is coming from the northwest.”
No one present was foolish; Brendel immediately understood. He watched the icy dust lifted by the wind slowly move toward their direction and couldn’t help but be extremely amazed: the wind coming from the northwest indicated that direction might be a mountain pass, while the north and east likely led to a valley. These concepts hadn’t been taught in the noble’s tactical classes; they were just common sense. However, the ability to keenly perceive and utilize this information for judgment at this moment was not something everyone could think of.
“The guy up front might have noticed this early on. I don’t think the opposing commander would choose to flee in this direction, leaving his fate to Lady Martha,” Xiao Peiluo analyzed further, admiringly looking at Freya and speaking intermittently in the wind. “We’ve sealed off his escape route; the other side definitely won’t just sit and wait. Miss Freya, you intend to force them to turn back and face us in a death battle, right?”
The maiden was slightly taken aback; she hadn’t thought this far ahead, only having a vague intuition that it might make the opposing side turn around. But as a commander, she had at least learned how to maintain her authority and nodded gently.
“I understand,” Brendel said, a bit excitedly pointing ahead. No one was willing to follow a useless leader; it was intolerable for them to be merely mediocre. But the thought that they were about to achieve a perfect victory made these young men from Cruz unable to contain their excitement. To put it seriously, it could be considered their maiden battle.
Across the entire glacier, the knights of Cruz formed a perfect suppression with Alorze against the half-elves. The Enhor cavalry under Anlek had almost no room for resistance, being suffocated on the icy surface, blood flowing from the bodies of the half-elf cavalry, freezing in an instant into a pool of red ice. The Tenth Squadron led by Rojie and the other seven squadrons were engaged in the final cleanup battle, and the fighting on the last battlefield was reaching its end.
Kuwu saw a cavalry unit with a swallow-tailed flag split off from the pursuing forces behind and enter the shadow of the broken glacier, realizing the commander’s intention. He too had been waiting for this opportunity; he had thirty-four guard cavalrymen beside him, all of whom were fine young men from Enhor, the most elite of Duke Anlek’s half-elf cavalry. The opposing cavalry unit had only a dozen or so members, and he did not believe that four times their number wouldn’t be enough to deal with these unknown cavalry.
Seeing that the opposing commander dared to divide his forces, a slight cold smile appeared on Kuwu’s face. In his view, Freya had made a right choice, but in a certain sense, it was also a wrong one—the opposite side was too arrogant, or rather, their initial successful escape had created an illusion, making them believe they were weak and vulnerable. Kuwu was quite satisfied with the situation he had created, but he did not hurry to order his subordinates to turn back. Those half-elf guard knights, who had not scattered and fled, were all his most trusted subordinates. He was waiting, waiting for Brendel’s cavalry to leave Freya far enough behind.
He cunningly pretended to continue fleeing and adjusted his direction back to the north as Freya desired, as if the Cruz knights had truly taken the bait. He saw Brendel’s cavalry bypass the broken glacier and finally understood that he had come upon a rare opportunity.
In fact, he was very clear; at this moment, the stamina of the half-elf cavalry’s ponies had nearly reached their limit. They could support one more charge at most, but that would be enough. Kuwu whistled, and the accompanying half-elf cavalry turned sharply on the icy plain, facing Freya and her first squadron in unison.
“Here they come!” At this moment, Xiao Peiluo’s voice rang out. Freya saw those half-elf cavalry turn their horses around and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as they ran a little further, they would be nearing the limit for interference magic, but fortunately, it seemed like Lady Martha was still on their side. She raised her long sword high: “Prepare for battle!”
The knights erupted in a restless cheer, raising their shields. The half-elf cavalry were one of Vaunte’s most unique types of cavalry; they did not excel at charging formations like heavy cavalry. These riders, on ponies and even riding war dogs, were best suited for mid-range and close-distance combat. Specifically, they were javelin cavalry.
Both sides charged in a desperate dash across the icy plain, the distance closing to where they could see each other’s tense faces—human and half-elf alike. Suddenly, a whistle rang out from Kuwu’s cavalry, and they threw their short spears forward in unison. A rain of short spears flew across several dozen meters, pouring into the thin line of the Cruz knights. Yet, the expected chaos of men and horses falling did not occur; instead, the shields in the humans’ hands suddenly unfolded one after another into colorful light shields, and the short spears collided with those shields, breaking into splinters.
When Kuwu saw this scene, his heart went cold. He did not make any mistakes; as a private captain of nobles, he could hardly dream of how great the gap was between the mediocre cavalry under him and the continent’s most elite knights of the powerful Empire—this ignorance sometimes had to be paid for with lives.
With one round of thrown javelins, the Cruz forces suffered no injuries, and on the level snowy plain, as both cavalry charged towards each other, there was simply no second chance. Having likely seen the end approaching, the morale of Enhor’s elite guard cavalry plummeted, yet their accumulated pride in the past forced them to stiffly raise their weapons.
From above, the Cruz knights led by Freya looked like a thin silver blade thrusting into the heart of the half-elf cavalry.
“They’re done for!”
Brendel saw this scene and pulled on the reins to stop, though the battle had just begun, he already saw the outcome. The golden-haired knight said somewhat regretfully: “It’s a pity I can’t participate in the battle myself.”
“Don’t worry, that guy Anlek isn’t dead yet, if we hurry up to clean up the battlefield, maybe we’ll have a chance.” A knight behind him shouted excitedly. The King of Fire once said that cavalry was an unstoppable force, and their blood and enthusiasm were like their mark; just being present on the battlefield was enough to make these young men eager to act.
“Ha, well said!”
The knights chatted excitedly, but Brendel turned back, as if he saw a flash of light appearing on the horizon. He rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he was seeing things; the sun on the ice often causes snow blindness, and the refracted light making one see illusions was not impossible.
Yet Brendel felt a vague sense of unease in his heart. He turned back to the others: “Did you see anything?”
“What is it?”
“Over in that direction, didn’t you see it? It looks like a blue light…” Brendel asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Blue light?”
“No.”
“Could it be a mistake, Brendel?”
Brendel shrugged: “Maybe.” But as soon as he finished speaking, someone in the ranks began to scream: “Oh my god, look over there!” Brendel was slightly taken aback and immediately became alert, turning back. But just as he turned his head, his face instantly changed.
Martha is up there; what the hell is that…
……
In the silent cave covered in ice and snow, eternal frost formed bluish walls. The glacier sank, forming stripes and textures; in the dark cave, naturally formed holes crisscrossed, but among this natural craftsmanship, there were many man-made objects piled up.
If you looked closely, you would find many cargo boxes from Cruz, marked with an eagle emblem indicating these boxes once contained military supplies. On the other side, there were many wooden barrels, originating from Varlanden, Lantonrand, and even farther away. These barrels and wooden boxes were filled with all sorts of food, and if anyone arrived here, they might think they had stumbled into a frost giant’s underground pantry.
But this was a real dragon’s lair.
Although here, you wouldn’t see gleaming gold coins, sparkling jewelry, priceless artworks, or silver and gold utensils; not even the dazzling gems loved by dragons could be found. Food, just food remained. Pickled beef, sausages, frozen fish, sour curds, bread, fruits, and jars piled together with honey and candy.
Yet this cave, resembling a witch’s candy house, was indeed the hiding place of the frost dragon Shi Ta.
……(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
