Chapter 762: Wear Them Down

The entire beast-cavalry formation wheels around and races after Dikern's men.

The mountain beasts burst forward with astonishing speed. Within minutes, they are snapping at the heels of Dikern's cavalry.

Having learned from the first exchange, the riders release a locking mechanism behind their saddle harnesses.

They draw out javelins and hurl them at the cavalry ahead.

Hearing the weapons whistle through the air, the riders in the rear immediately flatten themselves against their horses to present smaller targets.

Even so, several riders are hit. Some fall and die, while others survive behind their armor.

After three volleys, the beast cavalry realizes that its javelins can no longer reach Dikern's men.

Less than fifty meters still separate the two sides as the high-speed pursuit continues.

Seeing the Second Cavalry Battalion being caught, Agnico prepares to send troops to its aid.

After watching for a while, however, he realizes that something is wrong.

Agnico fought his way up through the ranks beside Henwell. As an army-group commander, he knows Peace Haven's military equipment inside and out.

Dikern could easily accelerate and shake off the pursuit, yet he deliberately keeps the gap steady.

Agnico also notices that the enemy mounts are slowing.

Dikern slows down with them, preserving the gap between the two forces.

After a while longer, the beast cavalry finally abandons the chase.

Dikern stops withdrawing as well, and the two sides face each other across the open ground.

Dikern pushes up his visor. "Pass the order! Tell the nearest Third Cavalry Battalion to work with us!"

"Get those beasts running again. Don't give them time to rest!"

The Third Cavalry Battalion moves in as soon as it receives the message, and the First Cavalry Battalion begins closing in as well.

The other cavalry battalions circle around the perimeter, ready to support them at any moment.

The beast-cavalry commander sees the Third Cavalry Battalion coming in to repeat the layer-stripping tactic.

He wants to counter with javelins, but Dikern appears to have anticipated the move.

Dikern's men have already shifted into a wedge formation for the charge and can strike at any moment.

The beast-cavalry commander is trapped. To retaliate with javelins, he must release the locking clamps behind the saddle harnesses.

If he does, he will have to face Dikern's frontal charge.

Without the fan-spread javelin array protecting them, the stationary formation will be exposed.

Against cavalry whose horses do not fear mountain beasts, they have no chance in a head-on clash.

Yet if he keeps the fan-spread javelin array deployed to deter a charge, he will have to endure another layer-stripping volley from the Third Cavalry Battalion.

That leaves only one option: keep moving.

But that is exactly what Dikern wants him to do.

The instant the enemy begins to slow, Dikern changes formation and gives chase.

From horseback, Dikern watches them constantly through a telescope. The moment the enemy releases its clamps, he stops closing the distance.

If they keep the fan-spread javelin array deployed, he strips away another layer of their formation.

The cycle repeats for more than half an hour as the two forces pull back and forth across the field.

The commanders of the other cavalry battalions understand Dikern's intent and begin cooperating actively.

They take turns pressing the enemy, creating fresh openings for Dikern.

At last, the mountain beasts can run no farther. Six cavalry battalions close around them at once.

Two guard the outer perimeter while another two race in circles around the beast cavalry.

The final two form up for a charge and maintain a trot, ready to accelerate into the enemy at any moment.

The beast-cavalry commander devises a response. The outer ring keeps its fan-spread javelin arrays deployed to deter a charge.

The inner ring hurls war spears at the riders circling them with the layer-stripping tactic.

It cannot solve the real problem. Once their mobility is gone, so is their chance to escape.

The inner riders have difficulty aiming outward, reducing their attack to little more than an area volley.

Without the speed of their mounts behind each throw, javelins hurled by strength alone pose little threat to the circling cavalry.

Peace Haven's cavalry, by contrast, uses its speed to loose bolts from a longer and safer distance.

They do not even try to hit the beast cavalry in the inner ring. They focus entirely on killing the riders maintaining the outer defensive formation.

After several volleys, the beast cavalry suffers heavy losses and is peeled apart one layer at a time.

Refusing to wait for slaughter, the enemy commander injects the mountain beasts with a drug that burns through their life force and restores their stamina.

The decision comes too late. Had he acted earlier, they might still have escaped.

The moment the beasts start moving, Dikern's rested force joins the First Cavalry Battalion and launches a scissor charge.

The two formations charge across each other's paths like a pair of shears, seeking to sever and divide the beast cavalry.

More than a dozen riders at the tips of the two wedges carry a spear in each hand.

An instant before contact, they hurl the war spears in their left hands into the beast cavalry.

A chain of explosions sends the mountain beasts, already burning through their lives, into a frenzy.

The beast-cavalry formation collapses into chaos as mounts crash into one another in a horrific tangle.

Dikern and his men hurl their Heart-Piercing Lotuses, lower their lances, and smash into the enemy ranks.

Repeated attrition has exhausted the beast cavalry's supply of fan-spread javelins.

The mountain beasts are also panicking and can barely be controlled.

The two cavalry battalions tear through the formation, and a one-sided slaughter begins.

The Fourth and Fifth Cavalry Battalions follow with a second scissor charge.

On the perimeter, the Third and Sixth Cavalry Battalions cut down the beast cavalry that manages to flee.

Dikern roars, "Don't kill them all! Don't kill them all! Take a few alive! We need them for study!"

After the force of more than three thousand beast cavalry is destroyed, the Northern Mountain Raider army begins to retreat.

With the ground ahead buried under corpses, the First and Third Warbands choose not to pursue.

The Second and Fourth Warbands advance from the flanks, bypass the battlefield, and close together into a new central formation.

The First and Second Mixed Garrison Warbands, previously held in the rear, move forward and become the army formation's new wings.

Agnico reaches the original front line. Dikern and his men are already there, dragging several beast-cavalry prisoners behind them.

Agnico studies the officer, who is barely thirty. "Tell me what you were thinking."

Dikern steps forward and salutes, holding up a beast-cavalry saddle harness. "Commander! This is the mechanism they use to secure their javelins."

"It has a special locking device. When released, the javelins can be drawn. When locked, they form a fan-shaped defensive screen."

"If we charge them directly, our horses will certainly be wounded. Even the best outcome would be one casualty on our side for every enemy killed."

"This device prevents our cavalry from intercepting them while they advance and charge."

"Once they break through the cavalry screen and reach the infantry line, they can release the locks and attack the formation."

"I exploited a timing gap. While they are galloping at full speed, they cannot leave the locks open for long, or the javelins will be shaken loose."

"During that interval, they have no way to resist concentrated crossbow fire."

"Their mounts are also predatory carnivores."

"Creatures like that usually possess explosive speed, but far less endurance than hoofed animals."

"After being drawn back and forth several times, they burn through enormous amounts of stamina, especially while charging at full speed."

Agnico nods. "You have ideas, intelligence, and resolve. Very good!"

"I remember that your family used to hunt for a living. It is impressive that you could put that experience to use!"

"However!"

"We cannot simply overlook your disobedience on the battlefield."

"Your achievement offsets your offense, so I won't have you executed!"

"Report for twenty lashes!"

"Your full punishment will be announced at a military meeting after the battle!"

Dikern does not protest. He accepts the order and returns to his formation.