I'm not a lord

Chapter 302 Hunting Deer (Part 2)

In war, defense is usually easier than offense.

Especially when the strength of both sides is relatively even.

After all, they can rely on pre-arranged defensive fortifications to avoid the formation from becoming chaotic during movement.

In this battle, Lynn had a total force of 7,000, while László had a total force of 11,000. The former had a huge advantage in infantry, while the latter had a stronger cavalry.

Judging solely from their paper strength, Laszlo is definitely stronger, and by a significant margin.

Despite being the dominant party on the surface, they resorted to a defensive tactic in the final battle, which was somewhat unexpected by Lynn.

While soldiers from both sides were busy digging trenches and setting up fences, their light cavalry also began reconnaissance.

A large number of light cavalry with excellent eyesight broke away from their formation and galloped northwards to higher ground, trying to discern the enemy's troop deployment by taking advantage of the terrain difference.

Soon, a light cavalry squad leader arrived at the front to report the reconnaissance findings to Lynn.

"My lord, the enemy forces are divided into four parts. The right wing, which is closer to the riverbank, has a total of two thousand men, including one thousand cavalry and one thousand infantry. The left wing has the same configuration."

The central army was divided into two parts: the vanguard of 4,000 men, including over 1,000 crossbowmen, and the rearguard of 3,000 men, consisting of half infantry and half cavalry.

This squad leader had the best eyesight in the entire army and had received professional training. He could accurately identify the enemy's troop deployment even from nearly a kilometer away.

Regarding the investigation results, clerk Victor's assessment was:
"The enemy is in a classic three-wing formation. Although the two wing forces are smaller, they have a thousand cavalrymen. Their combat strength should be similar to that of the central army, which is all infantry. Therefore, the combat strength of the three wings is roughly the same. The rear army can provide support at any time. It is a fairly standard defensive formation."

Because he was writing a history book for Lynn, Victor had recently been cramming on a lot of military books in order to record the course of the war in as much detail as possible.

After studying diligently for a while, he can now comment on the enemy's military formations.

Lynn stood on a small, elevated hill, squinting as he gazed at the enemy formation a kilometer away: "It seems Anna is determined to wear me down."

Although the three-wing formation is a basic formation, it is highly versatile. By simply adjusting the troop deployment on the three wings, it can flexibly switch between functions such as central breakthrough, flanking maneuvering on both wings, and balanced defense.

Lynn's intention was also to defend and counter-attack, so he set up a balanced defensive three-wing formation with two thousand troops on each of the left, center and right wings.

He himself was stationed in the central army, while the third and fourth brothers were stationed on the two flanks respectively. Two thousand barbarian archers were evenly distributed across the three flanks, while the second brother, Hugo, had five hundred heavy cavalry waiting at the edge of the forest behind the three flanks.

In other words, Lynn's three flanks were all infantry, and on the surface, they had almost no offensive capabilities.

Moreover, in order to pursue a wide battlefield and prevent being flanked by the enemy, he deployed all his infantry at once, and the formation was relatively thin, almost in a straight line, without leaving any reserves.

In Lynn's pre-battle plan, Hugh's five hundred cavalrymen were not a reserve force, but rather the spearhead for launching a defensive counterattack.

Victor, squinting as he gazed westward, said, "This certainly sounds like Anna's style. If Laszlo were in power, he would probably be at our front lines by now."

After saying that, Victor looked up at the position of the sun.

By 9:00 a.m., both armies had completed their position deployment.

"I was hoping he would come over soon, but alas," Lynn said with a slight sigh.

His defensive formation was designed to be an impenetrable fortress.

Two thousand soldiers on the left flank were deployed laterally along the riverbank. With the swollen Sami River as a barrier, they were almost unafraid of being flanked by enemy cavalry.

Although the two thousand soldiers on the right flank had no natural barriers, they dug trenches, set up fences, and even brought in dozens of supply wagons to form a wagon formation, which could easily defend against flanking attacks.

Needless to say, the rear is protected by a large oak forest, so there's no fear of being flanked or ambushed.

Lynn's formation was heavily fortified on the left, right, and rear, leaving only the front open for the enemy to break through.

If László really dares to lead more than three thousand infantrymen to charge into the enemy lines, then Lynn will show him what cruelty is.

Unfortunately, the enemy didn't fall for it!

How come Anna is still in charge when it comes to the front lines? Is László really that spineless, letting his mother shit on his head?
Lynn stood there pondering for a long time before instructing, "Victor, write another challenge and send it to the other side. Also, send two longswords to Laszlo. Make sure to deliver them directly to him. Judging from the flag distribution, he should be on the left wing now."

Sending two swords to one's final opponent is a gesture with profound implications in the North.

Victor was taken aback at first, then a knowing smile appeared on his face: "Understood, I'll go arrange it right away."

Meanwhile, László is watching a duel.

Within a small circle formed by a hundred soldiers, two tall knights clad in plate armor were engaged in a longsword duel.

The so-called longsword duel is a new one-on-one duel method recently invented by the court knights of Golden Deer Castle.

In such duels, both sides would wear multiple layers of armor, including a tunic, chainmail, and a plate armor overlay.

As for weapons, he only had a two-handed greatsword.

These court cavalrymen discovered that the new plate armor was extremely powerful, far surpassing the chainmail they had used before. Longswords would usually only leave a faint white mark on this armor, and could hardly cause any damage to the human body inside.

As a result, these warlike cavalrymen incorporated plate armor into their duels, and in doing so, invented 'longsword duels'.

Two cavalrymen, wielding longswords, were seen passionately slashing each other with their New Year's greeting swordsmanship in the narrow space, the clanging of metal echoing throughout the area.

Before long, one of the cavalrymen was exhausted. The opposing cavalryman seized the opportunity and slashed at his right shoulder with his sword, knocking him to the ground with tremendous force.

"it is good!"

The soldiers watching erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Sword duels are almost entirely based on strength and stamina; whoever is slightly weaker or less physically capable will be directly defeated by the opponent.

Once your buttocks touch the ground, you've lost the duel.

These cavalrymen had already tested it; plate armor was by no means invincible. Simply knocking the opponent down and then stabbing the gaps in the armor plates with a dagger was enough to break through the armor's defenses.

After the duel ended, László, clad in plate armor, walked to the center of the arena, raised the victor's arm, and awarded him a bounty of the Northern Golden Shield.

The cavalrymen below then began to divide the winnings from the bet; gambling in duels was a traditional virtue in the North.

In such a duel bet, the winner is certainly happy, but the loser can also watch a wonderful duel, so it's not too bad.

Laszlo smiled as he watched the cheering soldiers, but deep down he felt a deep melancholy.

If there were a battle, would he have made his soldiers duel to pass the time? His left flank was far from the riverbank and had a thousand of the army's most elite cavalry, tasked with outflanking the enemy.

But now they can only cower behind the trenches and fences, looking just like a turtle!
Through his scout cavalry, Laszlo had already learned of Lynn's troop deployment.

With only seven thousand men, almost all of them infantry, how could they possibly withstand the charge of the palace cavalry?

László's thousand cavalrymen were equipped with more than two hundred sets of plate armor.

With this powerful armor, he could easily assemble an elite squad that was unafraid of arrows, and use this squad as the spearhead to break through the enemy's right flank in one fell swoop.

Once the right flank is breached, László could even launch a full-scale attack and threaten Lynn's rear.

Meanwhile, the rest of the troops from Golden Deer Fortress would swarm in and completely encircle Lynn's army in the corner between the riverbank and the woods.

Unfortunately, you can't fight city hall.

László is now under the tight control of his mother Anna, and he can hardly command even the two thousand men on the left wing. The most senior court count is on the left wing and has strictly ordered the cavalry not to launch any attacks.

Why.
Just as László was feeling distressed, a soldier suddenly shouted, "Sir, the enemy has sent an envoy!"

A young envoy, carrying the banner of Baihe Territory, arrived at the dueling arena where they had just fought.

Soldiers along the way spontaneously made way for him, allowing him to reach László directly.

The envoy dismounted, glanced at the golden stag emblem on László's robe, and asked arrogantly, "You are László?"

Before László could speak, his personal guards angrily rebuked him, "How rude! This is the Duke of Golden Deer Castle! How dare you address him by his first name? And why don't you bow in respect?"

The envoy wore a contemptuous smile and sneered, "Duke? If he is truly a duke, why isn't he in the central army? I have never heard of a duke commanding the left wing alone in a war. Since he is not a duke, he is not worthy of my use of honorifics!"

The envoy's words caused a great stir; the palace cavalrymen who were watching were immediately aroused.

This envoy not only came from the enemy army, but also publicly humiliated their lord. They had never suffered such disgrace before.

"kill him!"

"kill him!"

The cavalrymen roared across the sky, and many of them even advanced, attempting to kill the envoy on the spot.

Meanwhile, László's personal guards had already drawn their swords and shouted, "My lord, please allow me to cut off this rude man's head!"

Kraszlo suddenly grabbed the guard's hand that was drawing his sword and shouted at the envoy, "You are an envoy, and according to Northern etiquette I cannot kill you, but your rude behavior is unpleasant. I now order you to get out of here immediately, or do you want to have a duel with me?"

When conflicts and disputes arose among nobles, they were usually resolved through duels.

If you want to provoke another nobleman into a duel, the best way is to insult him.

Laszlo felt insulted and issued a duel challenge.

Upon hearing that there was a chance to see the Duke himself participate, the surrounding cavalrymen shouted in unison, "Duel! Duel!"

Unexpectedly, the envoy remained fearless, smiling as he spread his empty hands: "The one who will fight you is not me, but my lord, the great Earl of White River."

Then he drew two one-handed swords from his waist and planted them directly in front of Laszlo, saying at the same time,

“Count Shirakawa has been waiting for you for several hours, but you have not yet appeared. In order to rouse the manliness you lack, he ordered me to send you these two unsheathed longswords.”

Under the sunlight, the two longswords gleamed with a dazzling cold light, while the shouting cavalrymen fell silent.

To present two longswords and then insult someone for lacking manliness is the ultimate humiliation in a noble duel.

Such behavior is tantamount to Lynn pointing his finger at László and cursing: "You're a penniless coward. If you're too poor to duel, how about I give you a sword?"

Although the cavalrymen remained silent, they all clenched their fists.

When their lord is humiliated, the cavalrymen who belong to him naturally cannot hold their heads high either.

To wash away this disgrace, we must cut off Lynn's head.

László remained silent, but the bulging veins on his forehead were enough to show his inner anger.

Just as the situation on the field was about to erupt, the veteran court count suddenly spoke up and asked, "Since it is a duel, why doesn't your lord launch the first attack?"

The envoy was prepared for this and replied with a cold snort, "This is Oakshire. If you acknowledge that Oakshire is the territory of the Earl of White River, then of course he should be the one to attack first, and the owner of the castle should naturally take the initiative to expel the invaders, shouldn't he?"

The court count was immediately rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

That makes perfect sense. Lynn was the invader, and the battlefield was located in Oakshire. Logically, the decisive battle should have been fought by Golden Deer Fortress first.

After uttering harsh words and brandishing his longsword, the envoy mounted his horse and headed straight for the central army to deliver the challenge. No one dared to stop him along the way.

After the messenger left, one of László's personal guards walked up to him, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Grace, please allow me to be the vanguard. I am willing to cut off Lynn's head for you!"

Seeing that someone had taken the lead in volunteering, the other palace cavalrymen also knelt down and asked for orders.

They've insulted the Duke; how can anyone tolerate this?
The elderly court count leaned down and whispered in Laszlo's ear, "Your Grace, please remain rational. Even if you must launch an attack, you must first inform your mother. This is a crucial battle that will determine the fate of the entire territory. You must not let anger cloud your judgment."

László clenched his fists so tightly they cracked. After a moment, he raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said hoarsely to the cavalrymen below, "Wait a little longer. Now is not the time to launch an attack."

He held back, but not completely.

Now that things have come to this, how could he not know that Lynn was deliberately provoking him and luring him to launch a strong attack on the right wing?

It's not that he doesn't want to fight, but that he wants to wait for a better opportunity.

Not long after the messenger left, a scout cavalryman suddenly reported: "Your Grace, the enemy's right flank is about to retreat?"

"What! Retreat?"

László suddenly stood up from his high-backed chair. "Did you see that clearly? The enemy's right flank really retreated?"

The scout cavalryman stated confidently, "It's true, I can confirm it!"

(End of this chapter)