Chapter 155, Race Against Time

September 14, evening.

Old World, Britannia, Arden Forest, outside Ursen Castle, Knights Road Army Camp.

The supply of food was getting tighter. The Marquis of Anxi ordered that all the food be collected and distributed according to the quota. This caused complaints from the soldiers. Among them, the knights could still eat enough, and the serfs could only drink gruel. The morale of the army further declined as they dealt with it.

Even through this method, the food of the knightly army is in a situation of stretching.

On the contrary, although the wild beasts suffered heavy losses, relying on the large amount of food and grass in the castle, they always maintained their morale.

Normally, the Beastmen have always lacked food and grass reserves. If the Beastmaster cannot satisfy the endless appetite and bloodthirsty desire of the herd, the herd will be in danger of civil strife. They will even try to challenge the Beastmaster.

But now, a large amount of food for the army of chivalry has entered the stomachs of the beast people, and these omnivorous chaos creatures will eat everything.

In the big tent of the camp, the Marquis of Onchi could already feel the low morale of the knights and serfs. After hesitating again and again, he picked up the magic communicator: "This is Onchi-Desmond, Gabriel? Please Report your situation?"

"This is Gabriel de Bastogne, we have advanced to the depths of the Arden forest, and we are still fifty kilometers away from the Demon Rock!" Gabriel replied.

The right-hand army still doesn't know the situation of the knight road army.

Damn it! The Marquis of Anxi made a little calculation, and he knew that it was impossible for the right army to return for reinforcements. They were at least 150 kilometers away from Ursen Castle, and it would take at least four or five days.

"May I ask what happened? My marquis?" Gabriel's voice came from the magic communicator.

The young and handsome appearance of the Marquis of Anxi was full of haze.

His army was in trouble, but he still had faith in himself that he could still win a face-saving victory over the Beastmen horde.

The relationship between Berhemond, Duke of Bastogne and King Richard has been at odds for a long time, and there are also many conflicts between Duke François of Winford and the king, which made the Marquis of Anchy decide to drive them aside. If you let them know that the left army has been wiped out and the center army is also in a hard fight, their own prestige will be damaged, and the king's prestige will also be damaged.

For his own sake and for His Majesty's sake, the Marquis of Anxi felt that he could not let the right army know the current situation, so he was silent for a while before he said: "It's nothing, it's just that we and Adelaide have encountered an ambush, and the loss is a little Big, decided to suspend the march, you can wait for a while near the Wanmo Rock, if we really can't meet up, you can retreat on your own."

"Okay, Your Excellency Anxi, do you need our support?" Gabriel had already been mentally prepared for the Beastmen's ambush. It sounded like both the left and center army were ambushed, and it is normal to have big losses, so I didn't think too much about it.

"No, you just need to pay attention to intercepting the Beastman army from the Demon Rock." The Marquis of Anxi put down the magic communicator, his eyes had turned blood red, no matter what, he had to eat up the Beastman army Otherwise, everything will be over when the reinforcements from the Beastmen arrive!

"Pass me the order! Everyone get up at four o'clock in the morning! Ursen Castle must be conquered within tomorrow!"

"yes!"

On September 15th, the army of knights began to attack Yursen Castle regardless of cost. The whole city spent almost the whole day amidst the screams of knights and beastmen until dusk. Although the knights shot and killed three The doomsday bull and the four-armed bull demon, but under the crazy counterattack of the beastmen, the knights were still defeated.

In one day, more than one hundred knights and more than two thousand serf soldiers were killed. The number of knights in the army has dropped to less than 13,000. A serf suddenly turned around and fled into the forest and disappeared.

There are only more than 4,000 beastmen left, but what is left of them are all the most elite battle group of big horned beasts, giant minotaur battle groups, chaotic ogres, cyclops, etc., as well as the most powerful doomsday bull and four beasts. Arm bull devils, these creatures and methods of fighting have little to do with the walls of the castle, they tenaciously continue to hold their positions.

The knights were not allowed to advance, and rumors began to spread among the army. Many knights believed that they should retreat due to insufficient food, and some knights believed that it was a mistake to appoint the Marquis of Anxi to command the army of knights.

As a result, the young Marquis was under heavy pressure. In this regard, he finally made a decision to suppress all the reserves in one go, and no longer guard against possible Beastman reinforcements.

Victory or defeat, in one fell swoop!

…………

A day later, in the depths of the Arden forest, the right army camp.

Lane took a nap in the afternoon before heading out of camp.

During these few days, the forest has been surprisingly quiet. The army on the right did not encounter the Beastmen war gang, not even a few scattered Beastmen. Kilometers or so.

Taking a deep breath of the air in the forest, Ryan walked between the camps, boosting the morale of the soldiers. The Right Route Army still has a scale of more than 4,900 people. After successive victories, the soldiers Morale was high, especially after Ryan allowed them to hunt in the forest, and even the humblest serfs got a lot of barbecue to eat.

Now they have arrived at the expected meeting place, which is only 30 kilometers away from Wanmo Rock. They arrived here in the morning and established a camp.

But it was too quiet, very quiet. They met neither the Beastmen nor the allies who were scheduled to join forces along the way. They seemed to be abandoned by the world, and they were alone at the end of the world.

This is really strange. After setting up the camp, the scouts in the several kilometers around the entire camp have scouted, and they haven't seen any traces of the Beastmen, nor have they seen any friendly troops.

It's fine if we didn't see the friendly army, because we received news that the two armies had encountered an ambush and suffered heavy losses, so they might not be able to join forces, but it would be too strange if the Beastmen couldn't even see it, right?

You know, Wanmoyan is the core of belief and the camp center of the Beastmen. At any time, there must be Beastman war gangs stationed near Wanmoyan, as well as the powerful doomsday bull guards. Ryan and the others have led the army away from Wanmoyan. The magic rock is only thirty kilometers away, it is impossible to not even see a shadow of a beast man now.

Standing on the soft grass and looking at the lush forest in the distance, Ryan always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell.

The Marquis Gabriel walked behind Ryan. After a series of battles, the third son of the Duke of Red Dragon has fully recognized the lady's champion: "I have led people to scout 20 kilometers away. We didn't meet any Beastmen within twenty kilometers, and we didn't meet any... humans."

"So, the Beastman moved the Demon Rock?" Ryan asked, frowning.

"It seems so. The Beastmen should have moved the Demon Rock to another place, otherwise there would be no Beastmen around here." Gabriel frowned as he discussed the military situation with Ryan.

The two suddenly felt that they had arrived at the scheduled meeting point like chickens without a head, and they saw neither the enemy nor the friendly army.

What's happening here? Both Ryan and Gabriel are feeling overwhelmed, what to do now?

Continue to march towards the predetermined target location? However, the number of soldiers on the right is too small, and they are not capable of facing the army of beastmen alone.

Waiting in place? Will it be possible to fall into a trap and unknowingly be surrounded by Beastmen?

retreat? This choice is even more unreliable. Withdrawing troops without authorization is very likely to be held accountable, and the Marquis of Anxi only said that he could not retreat after saying that he could not rendezvous. If you retreat, you will not be able to take off the hat of fear of war when you look back, and you will be charged if you are serious.

So for the time being, the right army can only wait until they get new orders.

"Your Excellency Gabriel, as you said earlier, our Lord Marquis said that both he and Adelaide were in an ambush, and suffered great losses. They may not be able to join us. What kind of loss would prevent them from joining us? What about it?" Ryan could only find two Mazars and Gabriel sat down in the huge woods and chatted.

"That's at least one to twenty percent casualties." Gabriel nodded.

The knights are well-trained professional soldiers, and the sergeants can be regarded as semi-professional infantry. It is acceptable for them to suffer a loss of 10 to 20%, but the serfs are completely different. The leadership is also low. If there is no knight to supervise the battle, the serfs will basically be defeated at the touch of a finger, and at most they can withstand a wave of attacks. Even if there is a knight to supervise the battle, the combat effectiveness and morale of the serfs are still pitifully low. Let them stand on the spot and defend against it. The opponent can attack, but it is very difficult for them to charge actively.

Unless they are led by the Holy Grail Knight, the serfs can only show combat effectiveness and morale like cannon fodder.

According to the military book, when the army suffers about 10% to 20% casualties, it is not recommended to continue fighting. It is best to rest in place to maintain morale.

The number of Holy Grail Knights is very rare. Only the Lake God Witch and the Great Mentor Green Knight know how many Holy Grail Knights there are. The number of Holy Grail Knights is estimated to be between 300 and 500, and most of them are guarding In the Holy Land of the Fairy in the Lake, most people don’t know how many Holy Grail Knights are active outside, so there is no way to know the exact number of Holy Grail Knights, but what is certain is that the number of Holy Grail Knights is very small, unless the Knight Kingdom encounters a very serious situation. In the face of a crisis, the Holy Grail Knights will be dispatched collectively.

This chivalry war is more like an opportunity for young knights in the entire kingdom to practice.

Now the group can only wait until no new scouts come back.

"Oh~ nothing, it seems that something serious happened in this forest." Ryan stretched his waist and said helplessly.

"we can only do this."

…………

Outside Ursen Castle, smoke filled the sky.

This is already the third day since the army of chivalry attacked Yursen Castle. There are only more than 3,000 beastmen left in the castle, but more than half of the army of chivalry has already suffered casualties. Both sergeants and knights deserted, and many knights were persuading the Marquis of Onchi: "My Marquis, the war has been lost, let's withdraw our troops quickly!"

"No! No! This war must not be lost!" The Marquis himself was covered with sweat and all kinds of dirt, and he roared at the knights: "I don't understand, we have already surrounded the beastmen Inside that dilapidated castle, why can't we take them down?"

His lieutenant, Pierre, was wrapped in a bandage, and tried to persuade him: "My Marquis, the remaining Beastmen are all elite, and the Beastman's combat method itself does not depend on the city wall. We have been rushing for several days If you don’t come down, it’s time to withdraw, my Marquis.”

The original soft and beautiful long blond hair of the Marquis of Anxi has been covered with all kinds of gunpowder smoke and neglected, and has become as dry as straw. He gritted his teeth and considered the pros and cons of it.

If the troops were withdrawn now, the remaining 10,000 chivalry troops should be able to withdraw from the forest, and the Beastmen would also suffer heavy losses. They would not dare to chase after them, at least they could retain their last bit of vitality.

But when he comes out, the price of returning after defeat is astonishing. His title of Marquis will definitely be deprived, and he will go to a military court. The prestige of the king who appoints his grandnephew as commander is bound to be damaged. It's time for the army to go out.

My whole life will be ruined, unless I can get the lady's understanding, complete the Holy Grail trial, and become the Holy Grail Knight.

But...is it possible? How could a lady forgive a self who ruined an army of chivalry?

What if we don't withdraw our troops?

When the reinforcements from the beastmen arrive, your chivalry army will be in danger of collapsing. I know this, and so do the beastmen, but as long as I can eat up the beastmen before the reinforcements arrive The head of the beast king, this war is not a complete failure.

Everyone is racing against time.

Thinking of the end, the spirit of adventure gained the upper hand, Marquis Anxi gritted his teeth and said: "I can't withdraw the troops, let me lead the people to charge again!"

It was another fierce battle at noon, and the war lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon when the sun was westward. The knights still failed to defeat the remaining beastmen. Those big horned beasts and minotaurs were really deadly, even though the knights had rushed to In front of the Beastmaster, the final result was still in vain. The Beastmaster took action himself and killed the knights.

Just when the Marquis of Anghi was forced to retreat, in the depths of the forest, there was a shrill and low sound of horns.

It's the Beastman screaming great shaman "Heart Eater" Groz! It moved the Wanmo Rock and hid it, and then led the last new force and elite troops of the Beastmen guarding the Wanmo Rock to join the Beastmaster!

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh then!" Seeing that the reinforcements finally arrived, the beastman's morale was shaken.

The knights were ashen-faced.

Soon, after many days of hard work, lack of food and grass, the demoralized knightly army collapsed after being attacked from both sides, and was besieged by the beastmen in a small basin in the river valley.

So when Marquis Gabriel picked up the magic communicator, there was the desperate cry of Marquis Anci from inside.

"Right Army! Right Army! This is Anxi-Desmond! The knight army is surrounded by Beastmen. We have suffered heavy losses and need your support. We need your support!"

There has been a lot of buzz recently, so don't blame me for writing "the following abbreviations", that's something that can't be helped, and no one wants their books to be blocked.