Chapter 40 Raid

Perhaps aware that Queen Laya's large army was about to arrive, the Bishop of the Church of Truth sent several personal letters to Duke Andrew, urging him to come and support them quickly. Duke Andrew also wanted to arrive promptly, but he was currently being firmly held back by Prince Char. Prince Char's principle now was simple: if he can defeat you, he'll fight; if not, he'll stall and frustrate you. Duke Andrew, with 900 men, couldn't break through Prince Char's defenses, at least not in the short term.

Seeing Duke Andrew unable to support them, the Bishop of the Church of Truth had no choice but to personally arrange the defenses. He dared not withdraw the army back to the castle for defense because there wasn't enough food there. If surrounded by Queen Laya's army, they would not last against the Southern Empire's troops fighting on their home soil. He had to place the three knight orders at a crucial point, relying on the terrain to deliver a heavy blow to the imperial army.

There were currently two likely routes the imperial army would choose. Unable to predict where the enemy would launch their attack from, the Bishop of the Church of Truth had to take a gamble. He stationed the three knight orders at a mountain pass on the northern road (temporarily named so) because the pass was wide enough to allow the rapid passage of a large army.

The Bishop decided to ambush the Southern Empire's army here. He deployed the Knights of the Eye of Truth and the Raven Knights on either side of the pass to lead the assault. As for the Black Spear Knights, they were stationed in the rear as the reserve.

"This is so unfair, Captain Kemal. It's clear they don't trust us," complained a soldier from the Black Spear Knights.

Kemal just looked down at the makeshift sand table in silence. No one knew what he was thinking.

...

"March quickly, hurry!"

A 200-strong Imperial force composed of cavalry and light infantry was swiftly marching along the southern road. They were a surprise force sent by Queen Laya. Although the northern road was wide and convenient for the passage of a large army, Queen Laya, with numerical superiority, was eager to quickly crush the Church of Truth's rebellion and disdainfully chose not to take the slow route through the southern road.

Moreover, she was confident that the opponent wouldn't split their forces. With just five or six hundred of you, would you dare to divide your troops? So Queen Layah divided her forces into two. She led 1000 men straight towards the Northern Highway, aiming for the stronghold of the Truth Church. On the other side, she dispatched a 200-strong unit for a swift assault. If the enemy had stationed all three knightly orders on the Southern Highway, then these 200 troops would become expendable. Queen Layah wouldn't care about the fate of this unit. She would lead her main army directly to the castle occupied by the Truth Church. By then, with the loss of their stronghold, the Truth Church would once again become a hunted dog. The Southern Empire would just need to pursue and attack. The plan was extremely meticulous. There was a reason why Queen Layah could become a leader. Her military prowess was outstanding, not inferior to the seasoned old lords. With Queen Layah's seemingly flawless plan, the 200-man raiding party finally arrived at the last barrier on the Southern Highway—a nameless mountain. Once they crossed this mountain, they could head straight for the Truth Church's stronghold castle. And they had an even more important task—to break through here, make a wide detour afterward, and ambush the Truth Church knights possibly lurking at the pass of the Northern Highway. The Imperial soldiers dragged their exhausted bodies, preparing to cross the mountain range and deliver the final blow to this fanatical religious group dreaming of establishing a kingdom. They climbed and climbed. Suddenly, in the glaring sunlight, figures appeared on the cliffs, like death descending from the sky—those were Kaimer's Black Spear Knights. The morale of the Imperial army that had traveled this far collapsed. Even the lowest-ranked foot soldiers knew they had become expendable, already plunged into the enemy's encirclement. One moment, they were terrified of where the enemy might emerge; the next, they were pierced by arrows and spears. The Black Spear Knights surged down like a raging torrent. On the bare slopes, no one could stop their charge. The Imperial army lay dead and scattered across the land, and the survivors could only flee backward. This place became the nightmare of the surviving Imperial soldiers. What they didn't know was that Kaimer, in order to arrive here ahead of them, ordered his troops to march at all costs. In the end, he was only a few minutes ahead of the Imperial army. Even the two units were simultaneously ascending the mountain from two different directions. It was these few minutes that changed the course of the battle. Now, the captain of the Black Spear Knights had probably figured out Queen Layah's deployment. His courage and decisiveness could very well sway the tide of war.

Exactly, he didn't sit back and wait for the bishop's orders. Instead, based on his keen battlefield instincts and understanding of Queen Layah, he made a judgment and took military action on his own initiative.

Fortunately, he bet correctly.

The weaker side can only rely on bold gambles to turn the tide. This is the tragedy of the weak and the only reward fate gives to the brave.

Now, his knightly order had become the protagonists of the battlefield. Chasing down the remnants of the Empire was clearly not the most important thing.

He, Kaimer, the former commander of the Southern Empire's knightly order, finally gave the order—circle around to the Northern Highway and strike directly at the rear of the Imperial army.

At this moment, the battle had already begun at the pass of the Northern Highway.

Queen Layah looked at the Truth Church knights assaulting from both sides, not only without panic but with a satisfied expression—it turned out she guessed right. These foolish religious fanatics, besides causing disorder, were good for nothing.

She calmly organized her troops for defense, even nonchalantly abandoning some units that collapsed under sudden attacks.

After paying a certain price, the Imperial army finally demonstrated its solid qualities. Their not-so-wide central road temporarily formed a direction, blocking attacks from the two mountain ranges on both sides.

The battle entered a stalemate.

Just then, an unexpected force broke the deadlock. Both sides of the battle looked in shock at the black spear flag full of killing intent.

At the most unexpected time, at the most unexpected place, appeared an unexpected force.

Naturally, the effect caused was also unexpected.

"Damn it, what the hell are those guys doing?" Queen Layah's face was full of anger. It seemed her idiots had messed things up again. She could only hastily pull back troops to defend against the threat from the rear, to prevent them from breaking through the military formation.

"Damn it, weren't they supposed to be waiting in the rear?" The bishop of the Truth Church was equally shocked. According to his arrangement, this force should have been acting as a reserve behind him.

At the very least... they shouldn't have appeared behind the Imperial army.