Chapter 168: The Dark Elves Finally Strike

Chapter 168: The Dark Elves Finally Strike

In response, Mahat could only summon nearby infantry to form a tight frontline to block the approaching cavalry.

Meanwhile, his attention started shifting to how to deal with this human cavalry unit.

Cavalry, especially heavily armored knights, were absolute killing machines on this battlefield.

Even if those cavalry couldn’t attack him for the moment, their assault on the Orc Warriors would still result in massive losses for them.

Especially since many Orc Warriors had already engaged in close combat with the human soldiers; a flanking charge from the human cavalry in such a situation would lead to unimaginable consequences.

As Mahat’s thoughts focused on the cavalry, the pressure on the human infantry’s frontline suddenly eased quite a bit.

Without Mahat’s powerful support, the originally charging Orc offensive came to a screeching halt.

Duke Rayman seized the opportunity to reallocate forces to stabilize the human line.

As for the cavalry, that was beyond his control for the moment.

Moreover, the cavalry was quite some distance away from him, making it impossible to intervene quickly.

Thus, he left everything to Hudeman.

Facing Mahat’s magic attacks, Hudeman’s cavalry unit was utterly miserable for a time.

Though they moved quickly and Mahat’s spells were hard to hit them, his magic greatly affected their rhythm and formation.

Mahat’s spells were not particularly lethal; mostly, he cast interference magic.

For example, he raised walls in their path or created big pits, preventing them from advancing straight ahead.

These obstacles made it hard for them to attack the Orcs, forcing them to only skirt around the edges.

This was very bad for them.

Riding high on their horses might seem easy, but the steeds were rapidly exhausting their stamina carrying their armored riders.

Once the horses ran out of strength, they’d be unable to keep up speed, and the cavalry would have no choice but to become infantry.

Though their capabilities on foot weren’t bad, it still didn’t match the power of being on horseback.

Hudeman galloped forward, worry etched across his face under his helmet.

The situation was quite unfavorable for them.

He had also noticed that Mahat wasn’t just trying to simply block their advance.

Mahat was setting a trap for them.

Under the onslaught of Mahat’s magic, their movement space was shrinking rapidly.

These magical obstacles were impeding their progress.

They either had to find a way to quickly break through Mahat’s spells in front of them or retreat.

Otherwise, once the trap was fully set, escape would become impossible.

Looking again at those magical barriers, Hudeman gritted his teeth, his resolve forming in his heart.

“Retreat!”

With a command that took many by surprise, the cavalry promptly turned and hurried back under Hudeman’s lead.

Yet every single one of them felt a bit dejected.

They had charged forward with enthusiasm, ready to fight, only to now retreat in embarrassment, having achieved nothing.

Hudeman keenly sensed the shift in morale among his cavalry.

He knew this would be the outcome when he made this decision.

In battle, one needed to boldly move forward.

Once retreating, even if everyone understood it was a strategic withdrawal, it still badly affected the morale of his troops.

For that, he didn’t spend much time explaining.

To be honest, he felt pretty uncomfortable himself.

It was just that it was all a matter of circumstances!

Those magical barriers weren’t easy to overcome.

There could very well be traps waiting for them above.

To deal with magic, it was best to have their own mages do it.

But right now, their mages were neither able nor available to assist them.

So, they had to be careful.

Moreover, it wasn’t yet time for the cavalry to fight tooth and nail.

Duke Rayman’s intent was already nearly fulfilled.

Previously, Mahat’s attention had been successfully drawn away by them.

They had helped Duke Rayman stabilize the human infantry line.

Though at the cost of their cavalry’s precious stamina, once the human infantry line crumbled, a single cavalry unit wouldn’t hold much use in a battle of this scale.

Just like earlier, Mahat could have easily eliminated them with magic.

However, even as Hudeman withdrew with the cavalry, they didn’t retreat too far.

He led the cavalry to a safer position, then turned his gaze back towards the Orc forces.

Even if he couldn’t attack them right now, they couldn’t just ignore him entirely either.

Duke Rayman observed Hudeman and his cavalry’s performance carefully.

He nodded slightly, clearly pleased with what Hudeman had accomplished.

Mahat, on the other hand, was getting increasingly frantic.

Now, he could not attack the human cavalry, yet he couldn’t fully focus on the human infantry either.

Because if he did, the human cavalry would seize their chance to launch a critical blow.

In that situation, he had no good options.

Their cavalry had taken substantial losses already, and now they were no match for those human cavalry.

At that moment, the Dark Elves finally took their action.

A scout rode up to report the observed situation to Mork.

Especially noting that the human cavalry was being tied down by the Orcs, and the Orcs were not faring well.

After weighing the situation, Mork ordered the assault.

Their formation spread out, and giant crossbows were pushed forward from the ranks by the Dark Elves.

Seeing those crossbows, Duke Ogg’s pupils constricted.

The human soldiers were also struck with fear.

Once hit by those things, it was a certain death.

Mork watched this scene, a sinister smile creeping across his face as he declared, “Fire!”

According to their intelligence, the human forces had exhausted nearly all of their long-range firepower in previous assaults, with no resupply yet.

So this was a one-sided slaughter.

The giant crossbow bolts, under the control of the Dark Elves, roared angrily towards the humans in the camp.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that these first rounds of bolts weren’t ordinary; they had been enchanted with powerful explosive magic.

The enormous bolts would penetrate multiple human soldiers before bursting, wreaking havoc among the surrounding troops.

Each single bolt fired was enough to impact dozens of human soldiers.

“Scatter! Scatter! Spread out!”

Duke Ogg could only urgently command his soldiers to disperse, seeking to minimize their losses.