The wind on the grassland carried the scent of withered grass, sweeping past the ranks of Paul's Ausser Army. The 30,000-strong force maintained a tight marching column, their dark gray uniforms casting a long, straight line across the meadow as they steadily advanced northeastward.
After repelling the orcish probing cavalry, the Ausser Army continued marching across the grasslands for two days, encountering only scattered orcish tribes along the way, but still unable to find any trace of the Abar main force. This inevitably made the generals anxious. On the vast grasslands, if the Abar chose to avoid battle and flee, it would be extremely difficult to track them accurately. Once their supplies were halved, the Ausser Army would have no choice but to slink back.
" Marquis! Scouts ahead report!" A communications soldier rode up and reined in Paul's horse.
His voice was filled with barely concealed excitement, "Thirty miles to the northeast, a large-scale orc army has been discovered! The tents are lined up in one row, and there are at least fifty thousand troops!"
"Finally found it!" Bryce, standing next to Paul, clenched his fist tightly, his tone full of relief. The other generals who heard the news also gathered around.
Their biggest fear was being caught in an endless hunt, and now that the enemy had taken the initiative to gather, it was the perfect opportunity to settle the score.
Paul smiled slightly, took the binoculars, and looked in the direction the scout cavalry pointed. Although the distance was still far and he could only see dense black dots on the distant grassland, the outlines of the tents and the fluttering animal skin flags were enough to prove that this was Abar's main force.
"Send word to speed up the march and remain vigilant!" Paul lowered his binoculars, pointed his whip in the direction of the enemy, and said, "Once they enter our field of vision, immediately change formation!"
The Ausser Army quickened its pace, the soldiers abandoning their earlier laxity, gripping their rifles tightly, their eyes fixed on the distance ahead. As the distance closed, the orc army's formation became increasingly clear.
Centered on the Royal Tent, they formed a traditional crescent-shaped formation on the steppe, with infantrymen wielding spears in the front and cavalry waiting in the back. Many giant catapults could even be seen on both sides of the formation, clearly indicating that they had been prepared in advance.
"Change formation!" Chief of Staff Schroeder shouted, the red command flag tracing a rapid arc in his hand. The original marching column instantly began to change: the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Divisions quickly spread out to the sides, forming neat lines of fire in battalions, staggered to form three lines of fire defense; the artillery pushed the Cannons into the gaps between the lines and adjusted the muzzle angles to aim at the Orcs; the supply train and medics retreated to the center, surrounded and protected by the infantry, forming a solid rear.
The entire formation transition was carried out in an orderly manner. In less than half an hour, the 30,000-strong army had completely transformed from a marching column into a combat line, spreading out on the grassland like a steel fortress.
Just then, a cavalry force of over a thousand men suddenly charged out from the orc ranks. Wielding battle axes and roaring, they charged toward the flank of the Ausser Army, clearly intending to launch a harassment while their formation was still unstable and disrupt the Ausser Army's deployment.
"Cavalry regiment, charge!" Paul ordered coldly.
The Ausser Army cavalry, who had been waiting in advance, immediately spurred their horses and charged forward. More than two thousand cavalrymen, armed with sabers, formed a wedge formation and charged toward Orc Cavalry.
The two cavalry forces quickly clashed in front of the Ausser Army's formation. The crisp sound of sabers clashing, the shouts of soldiers, and the neighing of warhorses mingled together. With their superior mounts and tactical coordination, the Ausser Army cavalry quickly suppressed the Orc Cavalry's offensive, preventing them from getting even a step closer.
Seeing that their harassment efforts were ineffective and fearing encirclement by the Ausser Army, the Orc Cavalry had no choice but to retreat to their own lines after suffering over a hundred casualties.
The troop deployments of both sides are nearing their end.
At the front of the Ausser Army, artillery commander Bryce personally supervised the operation, pushing more than thirty Cannons to a position three hundred paces in front of the line. The artillerymen skillfully adjusted the angle of the gun mounts, loaded fixed ammunition, and aimed the cannons at the Orc formation.
On the orcs' side, more than fifty catapults and heavy ballistae were pushed to the front. The catapults' ammunition pouches were filled with burning pottery jars and sharpened stone projectiles, while the ballistae's arrow slots were filled with giant arrows covered in iron. Several orc blacksmiths were busy around the equipment, wiping the crossbow strings with animal hides, applying grease to the catapult winches, and making final adjustments.
Paul held up his binoculars to observe the orcs' ranged weapons, a dismissive smile playing on his lips. "Still the same old thing. Those clumsy orcs. Their catapults have a range of at most two hundred paces, and their ballistae are the same. They're lucky if they can hit two hundred and fifty paces away."
The Ausser Army commanders echoed this sentiment, noting that in previous battles against the orcs, their catapults either had limited range or poor accuracy, and their ballistae were limited by the strength of their strings, making them far inferior to the Ausser Army's. The range and power of the Cannons had never posed a real threat to the Ausser Army, so seeing that the orcs still relied on these old relics, they naturally didn't take them seriously.
" Bryce, let's enjoy the artillery salvo! Target the orc front-line infantry!" Paul put down his binoculars and gave the order to the artillery commander.
"Yes, sir!" Bryce shouted. "Aim at the front of the orcs! Fire!" The messenger waved his flag, relaying his orders.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The cannon roared, and the shells flew towards the orc ranks with sharp whistles.
In the blink of an eye, clouds of dust erupted from the front ranks of the orc infantry, stones and splinters flew everywhere, screams filled the air, and several rows of orcs fell instantly into pools of blood.
A cheer erupted from the Ausser Army ranks as their Cannons overwhelmed the Orcs.
Almost at Ausser Army As Cannon opened fire, the orcs launched a ranged attack. The winches of the catapults were suddenly released, sending burning clay pots and stone projectiles soaring into the air, flying in arcs higher than ever before towards the Ausser Army. At the same time, more than twenty heavy ballistae roared, and giant arrows covered in iron shot towards the Ausser Army like black lightning, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound.
"Hmph, this is a waste of effort at this distance..." Paul's expression suddenly froze before he could finish speaking.
The burning clay pots and stone projectiles that were expected to land on the open ground actually crossed the front line of the Ausser Army and crashed heavily near the central army!
The earthenware pot shattered, and flames instantly licked at the grass, scorching two communications soldiers responsible for relaying orders. Sharpened stone projectiles hit the ground, sending shards flying and knocking down several more infantrymen.
The giant iron arrows fired by the orc crossbows landed on the edge of the Ausser Army's artillery position. One arrow grazed the gun carriage and embedded itself in the earthen slope behind it, its tail still vibrating. The other arrow struck the wooden planks where ammunition boxes were stacked. Although it did not detonate the ammunition, it injured two artillerymen on the spot with sawdust.
This is only what Paul saw.