This year’s winter was unusually cold. That was the consensus among everyone in the north.
Even the south was affected, with the first cold wind arriving much earlier than in previous years.
In years past, people in the south would still be in short sleeves, but now they had already donned their coats.
Countless goose-feather snowflakes drifted down from the solid blanket of dark clouds, occasionally surging with the cold wind in a dreamlike, fantastically beautiful display.
But these beautiful snowflakes would eventually land and form drifts. And snowdrifts were not beautiful. They brought a desolate silence to the land, causing all life to wither.
Amidst this blizzard, countless heads rolled across the plains as earth-shattering war cries filled the air.
Scalding blood splattered across the ground, lting the snow and revealing the red, bent-backed blades of grass beneath, adding another layer of crimson to them.
With the Pigman Iron Armor Army joining the battle, the impenetrable line of spears and shields was torn open. For a mont, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain an advantage.
anwhile, the Centaurs skirmished with the Thorn Corps’ flanks, with victories and losses on both sides.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to these two fronts. No one noticed a patch of dark clouds in the sky drawing closer to the main battlefield.
And wherever these clouds passed, the snowfall in that area would briefly cease.
The Lord had been watching Fujero arrange his troops with great interest. The Wilderness Alliance Army’s offensive seed ferocious, but the Thorn Corps was like a reef in the ocean, unbreakable no matter how the waves crashed against it.
If this continued, defeat would be the only outco for this band of Wilderness Natives.
But the unexpected often arrives in the most bizarre and sudden ways.
The dark clouds ca to a halt directly above the Thorn Corps’ rearguard Archer formation. The next mont, countless Harpies burst from within, flapping their wings.
The sight startled everyone. Even Fujero, who had been calmly directing the battle, furrowed his brow, his expression turning grim.
Individually, Harpies were not that strong. They were just difficult to deal with because they could fly.
The crucial part was that this flock of Harpies was carrying dozens of well-equipped Minotaurs on ropes.
These brutes were all elite warriors standing over three Tri-Blades tall, clad head-to-toe in Iron Armor with only their eyes exposed.
Though few in number, if they landed in the formation of Archers clad only in Leather Armor, they would absolutely inflict a devastating blow.
The Archers had clearly spotted these uninvited guests as well. They turned and fired into the sky, but their arrows were useless against the Minotaurs in their Heavy Armor.
The Harpies also held shields with one hand, hiding their entire bodies behind them.
On a hillside not far from the Archers, they easily completed their tactic of deploying the Minotaurs.
"Dammit, it’s like seeing an Undead." Levi slapped the telescope into Mier’s hand and paced back and forth, grabbing at his hair.
"These Wilderness Natives... talk about an eye-opener. They really pulled a fast one on with this ’soldiers from the sky’ routine." The Lord’s tone was a mixture of anger and admiration.
Using Harpies to transport combat units seed simple, but in reality, it required the perfect combination of timing, location, and personnel to pull off.
If the sky had been clear, a single dark cloud appearing out of nowhere would have definitely drawn attention. But wouldn’t you know it, the damn sky was already overcast and blanketed in white snow.
They also needed a Shaman who knew this kind of Magic.
Add to that the fact that few people would bother looking up at the sky in the middle of such a desperate battle, and they actually managed to pull it off.
’Is this really a tactic so Wilderness hicks could co up with?’ The Lord was inexplicably shocked.
It was like seeing a monkey flip him the bird. His mind was filled with a single word: ’Fuck!’
To be honest, High Cliff Castle was only here to slack off and go through the motions.
But that was all predicated on the Thorn Corps winning.
If the Thorn Corps fell, High Cliff Castle would have to face the entire Wilderness Alliance Army directly, which was obviously sothing Levi could not accept.
"Our dear Legion Commander is clearly dumbfounded right now." The Lord pulled on his helt and bellowed loud enough for everyone to hear, "Si Kai! You’re with ! We’re going to take care of these Minotaurs."
With the addition of this surprise force, the weakly defended rear was now in total chaos.
The Archers had forgone heavy equipnt for the sake of mobility. They only wore a layer of Leather Armor over their cotton clothes, which might have been enough to stop an arrow or a blade.
Unfortunately, these were Minotaurs, brutes strong enough to kill a tiger with a single punch. A re swing of their great hamrs crushed a large swath of them.
Dozens of Minotaurs fought with the force of hundreds. Adding to the chaos, the Harpies in the sky were still circling nacingly, occasionally swooping down to land a surprise attack.
This left the soldiers of the Thorn Corps in utter misery.
Fujero tried to mobilize his infantry to provide support, but redeploying soldiers from their optimal positions on a battlefield of four to five thousand n was easier said than done.
One wrong move could an losing everything.
At this mont, the support squad played a decisive role.
A squad of several dozen n arrived about a hundred paces from the Minotaurs. These Warriors, clad in black Iron Armor and only slightly shorter than the Minotaurs, had only their excited eyes showing.
They didn’t attack directly. Instead, they waited for one of their comrades, who was bent over, fiddling with sothing.
A simple banner was raised, its golden sun dancing in the wind.
"All set. Charge!" Levi snapped his fingers, his voice booming from under his faceplate and carrying a great distance.
High Cliff Castle had co for experience and fa, so of course they had to fly their banner at a ti like this.
The sound of synchronized footsteps rang out as the Beastman Barbarians charged forward, Warhamrs raised.
Joining the fray, Si Kai spurred his horse and charged with his lance held high.
The Minotaurs naturally noticed this squad. Although they were few, they maintained a perfect formation even while charging. The shocking sense of them moving as a single entity made it clear even to those who knew nothing of military matters that this squad was composed of elite human warriors.
Under the command of a Minotaur who was clearly their squad leader, they stopped slaughtering the surrounding Thorn Corps soldiers and turned to et the charge.
From a distance, Fujero also saw this and breathed a sigh of relief.
He had heard a great deal about this Lord of High Cliff Castle from his sister. Although the stories were often exaggerated, they weren’t entirely fabricated.
It proved the man had so real skill. What Fujero didn’t understand, however, was this.
Whether it was out of arrogance or sothing else, the Lord of High Cliff Castle had co to their aid with a squad of rely a dozen or so n!
He admitted that High Cliff Castle’s Beastman Guards were by no ans lacking in individual martial prowess.
But their opponents, the Minotaurs, were clearly a tougher nut to crack.
There were at least thirty of these Iron Armor-clad Minotaurs, which ant each of the Beastman Guards would have to face about two of them.
But... how was that possible!
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