Barbarian Quest

“Katagi! Call Olga! Prepare the pike units! They’re gonna be here soon!”

Urich felt that the time had come. His blood-soaked hair stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine. Even without seeing from the top of the hill, he had a premonition that the heavy cavalry was about to show themselves.

Buuuup!

Urich’s orders were faster than the command from the hill. Only after Urich gave the command did the standard-bearer on the hill raise the flag to signal the heavy cavalry’s location.

“Woah, woaaahhhh!”

Urich shouted and stretched out his front foot. The soldier he kicked was sent flying back, causing four or five others to tumble down.

Crunch!

Urich swung his axe wide, splitting—more like crushing—the soldier’s helmet.

“Great Chief! Fall back!”

Urich went deep into enemy lines. The warriors following him could no longer advance. The attacks from soldiers closing in from all sides were fierce.

Listening to the soldiers' pleas, Urich slowly retreated and rejoined the warriors. Katagi had returned after touching base with Olga.

“Olga and two pike units are on their way. They should be able to get set up in time.”

Katagi was also panting heavily. He had run on foot to be Urich’s personal messenger.

Urich was a warrior by nature. No matter how hard the situation was, he needed to fight on the battlefield in order for his sharp instincts to come to life. Even if he couldn't see the overall battle, his keen instincts stood out even more by doing so.

“Give me a pike!”

Urich grabbed a pike and joined the pike unit. The morale of the pike unit soared with the appearance of the Great Chief. They, too, were eager to fight after being unable to properly engage due to the empire's deceptive tactics. The frustrated warriors were just waiting for the chance to clash with the imperial army.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The heavy cavalry, already having enjoyed great success once, targeted the right wing of the Porcana-Alliance army again. With the resupply of the cavalry lances, they had nothing to fear. Heavy cavalry had always been invincible.

“Move! Move! Don’t just stand there, get out of the way!”

The pike units fell into formation, ready to counter the cavalry. Warriors scattered to make space for the pike units to form a phalanx.

The heavy cavalry charged fiercely. Even direct volleys of arrows were useless against them. Knights clad in steel armor were leading the charge, and the curved surface of their steel plate armor was highly resistant to arrows. Unless extremely unlucky, they wouldn't even be scratched by such arrow attacks.

“Shoot the horses!”

The warriors who were shooting arrows aimed at the relatively less armored horses instead of their riders, but even the horses were covered in armor thick enough to render most arrows useless. The well-trained warhorses charged unafraid despite the barrage of arrows.

“Woh, wohhhhh!”

The heavy cavalry thrust their lances forward and shouted. The lances fixed in the lance holder under their armpit had tremendous piercing power. A well-aimed lance could easily pierce through two people.

“For His Imperial Majesty!”

“Long live the empire!”

“May the Sun God’s blessings be with us!”

The knights shouted their own mottos. Knights from noble families shouted their family creeds as they fought.

“Die, you barbarian scuuuuums!”

The heavy cavalry were getting closer. One could truly feel their intimidation only when they faced them directly. They felt nearly three times larger than an average man, and their combined weight with their horses was ten times that of infantry. When infantry and heavy cavalry collided, the outcome was obvious.

Facing the heavy cavalry head-on was no different from suicide for infantrymen.

“Do not break the formation! If we die, we die standing here! Fight without shame before the heavens!”

“Just look at the back of the Great Chief! Urich is standing in front of us!”

“Shoulder to shoulder! Stick to the ones next to you like they’re your wives! If you scatter, you die!”

“But I don’t have a wife!”

“Then the guy next to you is your wife, you goddamn idiot! I don’t give a shit, go rub your dick on him or something if you have to!”

The warriors of the pike unit sweated profusely. They were moments away from colliding with the heavy cavalry.

‘Can we really stop them with these long spears? Those monstrous clumps of armor?’

Even the warriors in the pike units were having doubts as the moment actually approached.

Sensing the wavering morale, Urich shouted so loudly his throat started bleeding.

“Woooooaaaaaah!”

Urich’s roar spread as if it was contagious. He could taste the blood as it tore. Near the end of his roar, his voice was so dry it sounded like scraping metal.

The warriors knew that the Great Chief Urich was standing with them. If they failed here, the Great Chief would die as well. He was the Great Chief who was blessed by the heavens, the earth, and all spirits.

‘There is no such thing as failure.’

The warriors' thoughts ceased. The heavy cavalry had arrived.

“Piiiiiikes!” The head warriors shouted.

The warriors in the first line lowered their stance and thrust their pikes upward. The warriors in the second line pointed their pikes straight ahead with a rather awkward stance, while the warriors in the third line aimed their pikes high at the riders.

“Huh?”

The heavy cavalryman charging at the forefront saw the sharp pike tips but couldn’t gauge their length while facing them directly. Naturally, he thought they couldn’t be longer than the cavalry lances.

He thought that even if both he and his enemy were to extend their spears, the cavalry lance would be the one to land first.

And it didn’t take long for that thought to change. The leading steel knights suddenly fell off their horses, crashing down. Since they were pushed on by momentum, it caused the cavalry to scatter and their horses to collide with others.

“Hold your ground!”

“If you’re going to die, die holding your pikes!”

The warriors couldn’t fully grasp the situation either. They just screamed at the top of their lungs and thrust their pikes forward. They screamed as they felt the heavy resistance on their pike tips and arms.

Crrrrrunch!

Of course, not all the cavalry lances could be blocked. The tremendous charging force of the lances and horses toppled the pike units. Tons of warriors were skewered by pikes and crushed by horses, but even though they were faced with the wave of heavy cavalry that could kill them with such ease, the warriors did not break formation.

“Woooaaah!”

The pike units suffered heavy casualties. Most of the warriors in the first line were killed, entangled with the heavy cavalry. The horrific ends of the first line could have been enough to make the other warriors flee, but they did not break formation. They persistently thrust their pikes forward even if it meant that they would be crushed by the warhorses.

Just being able to exchange casualties with the heavy cavalry as a pike unit was a tremendous gain.

Buzzzzz!

The knights who had fallen off their horses could not comprehend the situation. They looked up as blood dripped down their body. The vanguard of the charging cavalry was nearly annihilated. They became tangled up among themselves, and even when they managed to advance forward, they were hindered by the pikes. The startled horses panicked, and the rear heavy cavalry attempted to retreat, sensing something was wrong.

‘What hit us?’

The knights shook their heads as they stood up. They walked on broken legs and wielded weapons with twisted arms. Blood trickled from the seams of their armor. It was the fallen state of the steel knights who were supposed to be invincible.

Horses with broken legs whinnied. Warriors who survived the collision staggered and threw themselves at the knights. They forced the visors of the knights open and shoved their blades inside.

Screams echoed everywhere. The heavy cavalry lay scattered from the collision numbered hundreds. Most of them were key forces of the imperial army, as it was customary for the steel knights to lead the charge.

"Kaaargh!"

Urich rose from the pile of corpses. Dead warriors and knights lay around him.

The first engagement of the pike unit was successful. The heavy cavalry charged straight into the pike formation that they never saw coming. It was like rushing into a death trap. Hundreds of warriors died entangled with the heavy cavalry, but it was still a significant gain for the alliance. Even if the pike units were annihilated, bringing down the imperial cavalry was a victory for the alliance army.

‘This is an incredible achievement for an improvised unit.’

Urich wiped the blood from his face. The sticky blood fell like phlegm.

"Why are you idiots just standing around? Advance! Teach them a lesson, you damn bastards!" Urich shouted to his warriors.

The heavy cavalry's crushing defeat greatly affected the morale of the imperial army. The heavy cavalry that was supposed to be invincible was unexpectedly defeated. The warriors gained momentum, and the imperial army was bewildered.

Even the imperial command couldn't understand the current situation. Because they were watching from afar, they couldn’t figure out why the heavy cavalry was defeated.

“What in the world just happened?”

Even the composed Carnius was furious. His army had lost most of the steel knights. They had practically lost the core of the heavy cavalry’s breakthrough power.

Both the Porcana-Alliance army and the imperial army were taken aback. Even the successful side couldn't believe it and repeatedly checked the battlefield. The heavy cavalry, who had suffered directly, were still in shock.

“I-I don’t know what happened. There were spears coming out of nowhere….”

“Was it a hedgehog formation?”

“No, that wasn’t it. If it were just spears, we would have stabbed them first. Their spears… their spears were longer. So long that they managed to stab us first. Even when crushed by fallen horses and pierced in the neck by broken spears, they held onto their spears and stood their ground.”

A knight who had returned from the cavalry charge pieced together his memory. His pupils continued to tremble.

“Just how long were their spears to reach us before our cavalry lances?” The adjutants murmured. These were pikes that were unheard of in the civilized world.

The armies of the civilized world comprised conscripts, mercenaries, professional soldiers, and knights. Operating a pike unit capable of countering heavy cavalry required professional soldiers. But only the empire had such a large number of professional soldiers, and since they possessed the strongest heavy cavalry, they didn’t feel the need to develop anti-cavalry weapons.

Weapons and tactics were born out of necessity. It had been over two years since the western plunderers first clashed with the imperial army. The barbarians didn’t stop at absorbing the weapons and strategies of civilization but went further.

‘This is the introduction of tactics and units that hadn’t existed before.’

Carnius realized what the alliance army had done. They had created tactics and units to counter the imperial heavy cavalry. In the past, heavy cavalry hadn’t been very effective in the north due to the snowy terrains. Additionally, the conservative northerners were not able to come up with countermeasures like pike units.

‘These barbarians could be more threatening than the northerners.’

Carnius was anxious. He had no idea how many pike units there were. Their scale was unknown. Even if they wanted to respond, they had no experience. Veteran commanders were people who solved current problems through past experiences. Generals who have aged were quite far from creative tactics.

‘There were cases of blocking heavy cavalry with pointed stakes. But this is like moving stakes. They don’t fear clashing with the heavy cavalry even if it means them dying.’

Having experienced one victory, they would have gained confidence. On the other hand, the heavy cavalry of the imperial army was completely demoralized after a severe beating. There were no knights willing to charge at the moment. The brave knights who had led the charge did not return to the imperial camp.

“They seem poised for a full-scale offensive. Their rear units are moving as well.”

Carnius received reports from all directions.

The Porcana-Alliance army didn’t let their momentum go to waste. They mobilized even their reserve units with the intention to crush the imperial army in one go. Their morale soared as they witnessed the devastation of the heavy cavalry.

“Huff, huff.”

Carnius took deep breaths. Getting aggravated wasn’t going to yield any answers. Everyone was looking at Carnius. They waited for a solution to come from his mouth.

Squeak.

Carnius donned his helmet. He looked at the remaining heavy cavalry. There were still two thousand left.

“I will lead the cavalry.”

Carnius took a cavalry lance from his squire. The adjutants didn’t try to stop him, as only Carnius could resolve the current situation.

‘We’ll hit the rear of the force that’s launching the full-scale attack. We just have to climb the hill and smash their command.’

The Porcana-Alliance army had committed all their forces forward. They knew they had to ride the current momentum. Only a small number of troops guarded the Porcana-Alliance command on the hill.

“General, there's only one path we can take due to the last exchange. If they realize we’re moving, they’ll deploy their troops there.”

An adjutant donned his helmet and followed.

“If they block us, we’ll just have to break through. Isn’t that what knights do?” Carnius said, closing his visor.

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