Chapter 76: Chapter 75 Injury
The expected scene of a one-sided collapse didn’t happen; the centaurs felt as if they had crashed into an indestructible iron wall, hitting it with bloodied heads.
Long spears thrust out, and the centaurs, galloping swiftly, couldn’t stop within such a short distance and had no choice but to charge into the dense forest of spears ahead of them.
Puff, puff, puff...
The muffled sound of spears piercing flesh rang out continuously, blood splattered everywhere, and huge bodies collapsed to the ground with a crash. In just a breath, the entire centaur unit had lost more than half of its members. The centaurs at the back, horrified by this scene, tried to come to a halt, but their massive bodies continued to charge forward due to inertia, eventually impaling themselves on the sharp spears ahead.
Blood splattered, and the entire battlefield instantly turned into a meat grinder. In a flash, the centaurs suffered heavy losses, but the Dragon Nest Beastman Legion also wasn’t left unscathed.
Even though the beastman troops had strict discipline and neat formations, the frontline beastmen facing the centaur charge were pushed back several steps by the massive impact. The previously tidy rectangular formation of the entire legion was now uneven, nearly on the verge of breaking apart.
This was due to the disparity in size and power, something discipline and cooperation couldn’t reverse. Under the enormous impact, even several beastmen found it hard to resist, their bodies forced back by the sheer force, spears bending almost to the point of breaking.
Even though the centaurs couldn’t wield their weapons to attack, suffering heavy casualties in front of the beastman legion, the massive momentum they carried also sent several frontline beastmen flying. One centaur even soared into the air unexpectedly and crashed down into the formation, instantly crushing a kobold to death, while nearby beastmen suffered varying degrees of injuries.
This battle was unprecedented in its ferocity, with blood and corpses flowing everywhere, the splattering blood painting the sky as if a blood rain had fallen.
At this moment, within this assaulting centaur squad, after witnessing the tragic deaths and injuries of their comrades at the forefront, the last few centaurs finally came to a stop a few meters away from the legion, choosing not to linger for a moment longer, hurriedly turning around, and fleeing back in the direction they came from in sheer panic.
Ultimately, only three or four centaurs managed to flee back. This skirmish resulted in a casualty rate of over seventy percent for the centaur squad, leaving the few centaurs who fled back utterly demoralized, their expressions filled with fear and shock.
Meanwhile, the centaur leader who had gathered his kin in the tribe was almost overcome with anger upon witnessing this scene, his eyes bloodshot, questioning when in their tribe’s history had they ever suffered such heavy losses!
Unbeknownst to the centaur leader, the orcs within the Dragon Nest Legion opposite him were also shaken.
In the Dragon Nest Tribe’s past campaigns, when had there ever been such fierce slaughter and sacrifice? Even in battles against several times the number of enemies, thanks to the Dragon Vein Attendants and their united formations, the most severe results had only been a few orcs being gravely injured, but deaths had never occurred.
But now, just to deal with a small squad of ten or twenty centaurs, one orc had already died, and no fewer than ten others were seriously or lightly wounded!
Although compared to the centaurs’ casualty rate, the Dragon Nest Beastman Legion’s losses seemed negligible.
Nevertheless, this was already considered the most painful loss in the history of the Dragon Nest Beastman Legion!
"Charge! His Highness is watching us from behind!"
Despite the fact they had suffered heavy losses just upon confrontation, the two leading Dragon Vein Attendants let out a furious roar in the next instant, and the orc legion beneath them immediately felt a surge of hot blood rushing to their heads, their gazes towards the direction of the Centaur Tribe seemingly ablaze.
"His Highness is right behind us!"
Upon hearing these words, moments ago receiving a harsh blow from the centaur squad, the Dragon Nest Beastmen were immediately enveloped by a burning morale. Instantly, they reformed their ranks and charged angrily towards the Centaur Tribe with overpowering momentum.
Under Austin’s leadership, all orcs in the Dragon Nest Tribe underwent a tremendous upheaval in their lives. Every orc living in the Dragon Nest Tribe harbored an indescribable awe for Austin. Moreover, whether in military training or during daily routines afterwards, Austin always ensured to brainwash the orcs in a subtle manner.
Now, every orc in the Dragon Nest Tribe possessed a willingness to die for Austin.
Noble and kind His Highness Austin watching from behind, what is there to fear of mere centaurs!
The invigorated Dragon Nest Beastman Legion surged forward like a tidal wave from afar, instantly impacting the centaurs in the tribe who felt a wave of overwhelming force as if they were about to be engulfed by the rushing tide.
"Everyone, use bows and arrows! Kill the invaders!"
The centaur leader, at this moment, also drew a sharp breath. The relentless momentum of the bloodthirsty orc legion, combined with their orderly lineup charging forward, made him feel as if he were swaying in a storm.
In this crisis, the centaur leader even abandoned the pride of their kind, commanding his kin to use bow and arrow.
Centaurs, with their tall stature, rarely found any enemy able to withstand their group charges. Precisely because of this, they seldom resorted to bows and arrows unless facing an indomitable foe.
Using bows and arrows against kobolds, jackal wolf people, minotaurs, and other "weaklings" would be considered a disgrace by their kin.
But at this moment, the centaur leader no longer cared.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
With the centaur leader’s order, continuous bowstring sounds echoed, arrows shot out swiftly, piercing the air like dense rain to cover the advancing Dragon Nest Beastman Tribe.
Puff, puff, puff...
Within the arrow-riddled Dragon Nest Beastman Legion, there were instantly orcs struck down by arrows.
Even though for group charges, the orcs maintained about a man’s distance between them during the charge to loosen the formation and somewhat reduce losses, there were always some unfortunate orcs who were hit directly by arrows.
The two leading Dragon Vein Attendants at the forefront were each carrying a massive shield. With the shields’ deflection, the incoming arrows posed no threat to them, and the frontline orcs were clad in crocodile soft armor made from crocodile skins so that even if struck by arrows, they only penetrated an inch or so deep.
But the orcs further back weren’t as fortunate. Although most arrows missed or fell to the ground, two orcs had arrows pierce through their eyes and out of their heads, killing them instantly. Five had their bodies penetrated by arrows, and over twenty had arrows lodged in their shoulders or arms, with blood streaming down.
The entire Dragon Nest Beastman Legion faced its greatest losses to date!