I'm not a lord

Chapter 307 A great victory
"My lord, the right flank has surrounded the enemy troops who have broken through!"

"My lord, Duke László of the Marshland has been killed!"

"My lord, the enemy cavalry that have broken into the right flank have begun to surrender!"

Since the start of the battle, one victory report after another has been delivered to Lynn from the right wing.

However, his expression remained serious, and he was not moved by the right wing's resounding victory.

The enemy's nominal commander-in-chief did indeed die on the right flank, but this may not have had a significant impact on the overall battle situation.

Lynn's right flank had only two thousand men, and since the start of the war, the casualty rate had been between one and two tenths. In order to snipe the enemy's left flank, which had an equal number of infantry and cavalry, they had almost run out of arrows.

Next, the soldiers on the right wing will have to capture and guard hundreds or thousands of prisoners, and may not be able to support the central and left wings for a short period of time.

With this thought in mind, Lynn turned his gaze toward the central army.

He was closest to the central army and could see that his own central army was in a stalemate with the enemy.

The infantry and barbarian archers deployed in the central army were the most elite part of the entire White River Territory, and Lucas and Soward, who served as commanders at the front, were also leading figures among the young generals.

Unfortunately, the enemy forces were simply too numerous.

The number of enemy troops attacking the central army was nearly twice that of Lynn's forces.

These enemy troops first advanced under a hail of arrows, then used their lives to fill in the trenches, move the palisades, and engage in a frontal assault with Lynn's central army.

Combat between infantry in formation is relatively formulaic. Pikemen charge at each other, and if a soldier in the front ranks is killed, the soldiers in the back ranks must immediately take his place.

Beneath the forest of spears, nimble soldiers behind them crawled forward, armed with short weapons and round shields. They not only had to guard against enemy soldiers breaking into their own ranks, but also had to find ways to break into the enemy ranks and kill the enemy's front-line spearmen.

In this battle between the central forces, Lynn's troops were clearly superior in quality to the enemy's. His front-line pikemen were better equipped and stronger than the enemy soldiers, giving them a clear advantage in the long-range combat.

The swordsmen and shieldmen in charge of the assault were mostly barbarian archers who had been given new weapons. These archers had all received rigorous training from Instructor Karula and had a significant advantage in close combat, almost crushing the serf soldiers from Golden Deer Fortress.

Lynn saw it clearly: for every one of his own soldiers who fell, the enemy would suffer at least two or more casualties.

The problem is that the enemy's central army has far too many men.

Before the war, Anna equipped the central army of Golden Deer Castle with a full four thousand men, and later she poured almost all of her reserves into the central army. She even led her personal guard forward to the rear of the central army, attempting to use her overwhelming numerical superiority to break through Lynn's weak central army in one fell swoop.

Lucas was at the forefront of the White River Territory's central army, and he felt the immense pressure exerted by the enemy's central army most acutely.

The enemy soldiers were indeed at a disadvantage in every aspect, but the enemy's numbers were simply too great. For every one that fell, someone else would immediately take its place. At a glance, the enemy's formation was as thick as the snow in the northern winter, truly bottomless.

On the other hand, the central army on the Baihe territory, in order to maintain sufficient battlefield width, had almost no formation thickness. Each spearman had only one or two substitutes. Once there were too many casualties, they would inevitably have to shrink their battle lines.

If the battle lines shrink, the width of the battlefield for the central army cannot be guaranteed, and it will be surrounded by the enemy's central army from both flanks, falling into a predicament where the more it fights, the more dangerous it becomes.

To fill the vacancies, Lucas, who served as the front-line commander, even had to fill in the lines himself.

Even so, there was no fear on his face.

He repeatedly retracted and thrust his spear forward, roaring incessantly:

"The Earl has ordered that we are not to retreat an inch!"

The soldiers on the front lines were almost all silent, continuing to fight in silence.

In fact, even without Lucas's emphasis, these soldiers were well aware of the importance of holding their ground.

From the moment the two sides clashed head-on, both armies had a compelling reason not to retreat.

This is the bloodiest and most brutal battlefield. Once one side shows signs of retreating, the other side will definitely pursue them to the death.

Who would let go of an opportunity to kick a dog when it's down?
The saying "When an army is defeated, it collapses like a mountain" is a timeless truth. When an army is in disarray, the soldiers that make up the army are like a castle collapsing on the beach, and not a single grain of sand can escape the collapse.

On battlefields of this scale, life and death are often separated by a fine line.

Therefore, even though most of the central army at Golden Deer Fortress consisted of serf soldiers, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight to the bitter end.

Moreover, they not only had the gleaming, blood-stained swords of the supervisory team behind them, but also a steady stream of reserve troops arriving to provide support. They believed that their side would ultimately achieve victory.

Behind the central army at Golden Deer Fortress, a general exclaimed with delight, "Madam, the enemy's central army is about to collapse!"

Upon hearing this, Anna turned her gaze away from her own right flank and said calmly, "Yes, order the central cavalry to advance and completely break through the enemy's central force within half an hour!"

The right wing of Golden Deer Castle is currently locked in a fierce battle, seemingly locked in a close contest with the left wing of White River Territory.

But it won't be long before the outcome of the battle over there is decided.

The right flank of Golden Deer Fortress was on the offensive, facing not only harassment from arrows but also the obstruction of trenches and palisades. They were not outnumbered and were merely using their bravery to hold back the left flank of White River Territory.

In Anna's plan, the rehired court cavalry on the right wing were originally discarded pawns, but now they can be considered to be "making the best use of their talents".

If she can break through the central army of Baihe Territory, this battle will be a great victory for her.

Under her command, the war drums in the rear of the central army beat even louder, and the few hundred remaining palace cavalry were also sent to the battlefield to break through the weak points on the left and right sides of the Baihe territory's central army.

But just then, another of her trusted generals suddenly stammered, "Madam, on the left wing, the Golden Deer Banner has fallen!"

Anna's expression changed upon hearing this, and her gaze instantly turned to the left flank. She saw that the Golden Deer Flag, which had been standing on the enemy's right flank, had disappeared without her noticing.

That golden stag flag symbolized the young marsh duke, was the symbol of their left wing, and was a totem that the soldiers had to defend to the death.

The falling of the flag indicated that László's core personal guard had been largely wiped out, and László himself may have met with misfortune.

Before Anna could speak, another trusted general vehemently denied it: "Impossible, you must have seen it wrong! Or perhaps, His Highness the Duke has already led his army deep into enemy territory, which is why we can't see that flag."

At this point, even if László and the left-wing cavalry were completely wiped out, they could only pretend they hadn't seen it.

We must not allow the collapse of the left wing to affect the central army's excellent situation.

The Duke's sacrifice is indeed tragic, but as long as this war can be won, Golden Deer Castle can still rule the entire Marshland.

Besides, Lothair doesn't only have one son, László; his second son is currently temporarily governing the territory at Golden Deer Castle.

Anna, having no time to attend to her eldest son, anxiously asked, "Where are the cavalry sent to support the left flank? Why haven't they broken into the enemy's right flank yet?"

To boost the morale of the central army, she had already left the high ground watchtower where she had set up the formation and had now broken into the center of the battlefield. With her line of sight obstructed, it was difficult for her to take in the overall picture of the battlefield.

One of the generals squinted and observed for a moment before replying, "Judging from the location where the dust is rising, we should be engaged in battle with the enemy cavalry!"

Previously, Anna had noticed the commotion in the oak forest to the east and had specially dispatched eight hundred cavalry to the left flank to support her eldest son.

It appears that this group of cavalry was blocked by Lynn's backup plan and failed to provide any support.

At this critical moment, the general who had delivered the news of the death suddenly shouted again: "Madam, it's bad! The infantry on the left wing has collapsed!" Before the battle, the left wing of Golden Deer Fortress had a total of two thousand troops, half infantry and half cavalry.

The cavalry, following László, broke into the enemy's right flank from the side, while the infantry launched a conventional offensive from the front, attempting to capture the enemy's right flank from both sides.
After the Golden Deer Banner fell, the already demoralized infantrymen could no longer maintain their offensive and could only retreat in haste.

Moreover, they also had to constantly face a barrage of arrows from the barbarian archers, and their casualties had reached a critical point, almost rendering them incapable of fighting.

But the bad news didn't end there. Just ten minutes later, bad news also came from the right wing of Golden Deer Castle.

"Madam, Count Gae was seriously wounded during the attack, and the right wing has begun to retreat!"

Count Gae was a court count at Golden Deer Castle, in charge of the right wing.

At this point, the bloody tug-of-war on the right wing had lasted for nearly forty minutes, and his serious injury meant that the right wing had also completely lost its fighting capacity.

Anna's face darkened instantly, and she almost fell off her horse.

The simultaneous retreat of both flanks will inevitably free up enemy forces on both flanks.

Unless Lynn is an idiot, he will definitely order the flanks to maneuver forward and cooperate with the central army to surround the most powerful central army of Golden Deer from three directions.

Once the central army is surrounded, the outcome of the battle will be completely decided.

Anna's back had just buckled when her trusted confidant swiftly caught her shoulder: "Madam, be careful!"

Soon, another confidant supported her other shoulder.

With the two men's prompting, Anna managed to regain her senses. She bit her tongue hard, forcing herself to stay alert.

One of her trusted aides, who was supporting her, anxiously suggested, "Madam, why don't we retreat? As long as you can return to Golden Deer Castle, we will still have a chance to fight back!"

Retreat is a wiser choice at this time.

The enemy's left and right flanks have not yet launched a full-scale counterattack, and our own central force still holds the upper hand.

If Anna were to abandon half of the central army, she would have a good chance of escaping back to Golden Deer with her core generals.

Last winter, Duke Lothair of the Marshland also made a drastic decision, abandoning the Earl of Coldwind and other royal nobles, and fled back to River Bend with the remaining court cavalry.

Faced with her confidante's suggestion, Anna refused without hesitation: "No, I will not retreat. I am Anna of the Swamp Territory, and I have never been a deserter in my life! Issue my order: the entire army shall charge forward and break through the enemy's central army as quickly as possible!"

Faced with a choice between life and death, Anna chose to fight to the death.

She was risking being surrounded from both sides, trying to break through Lynn's central army as quickly as possible.

Escape back to Golden Deer Castle?
She would never do that.

The lesson of her husband was right before her eyes. Lothair did indeed escape safely back to River Bend, but in the blink of an eye, he was beheaded by the rebels and sent to Otto in Amber Harbor.

If Anna were to escape back to Golden Deer with her remaining troops, it's hard to guarantee that her subordinates wouldn't harbor any ill intentions.

Besides, running away is not in her nature. She has been strong-willed since childhood and never runs away from a duel initiated by others.

Anna now understood everything. Lynn deliberately deployed his central forces rather sparsely to lure her into committing her reserve troops to the center, and then used his stronger left and right flanks to break through the flanks of Golden Deer Fortress and encircle the central forces.

She didn't want to back down right now, so she could only play along and try to seize that slim chance of winning.

Upon hearing Anna's order, the expressions of her trusted generals immediately hardened.

But you can see little fear or dread in their eyes, only admiration and boundless fighting spirit.

The young duke may have already died in battle, but he was a brave warrior who was the first to charge into the enemy lines, and his courage is admirable.

Now, the mistress, fearless of death, is determined to launch a final, desperate charge against the enemy's central army.

How could the generals not risk their lives to accompany him?
A man from the North may die in battle, but he must never die from a sword in the back!

Anna drew the longsword her husband had given her before he went to war, her eyes filled with determination and fighting spirit: "Nobles should have the bearing and courage of nobles. Gentlemen, follow me into battle!"

Even knowing that hell lay ahead, she refused to run away.

"Yes, ma'am!"

The generals drew their swords in response.

Before long, Anna led this core group of generals forward.

Inspired by their example, the morale of the troops at Golden Deer Fortress soared.

The soldiers in the central army were all caught up in the battle formation and could not see the situation on the flanks. They thought that their side was about to win a great victory and was about to reap the rewards!
Viktor was so surprised by what he saw that he almost jumped up: "My lord, after the two flanks collapsed, Anna didn't think about retreating. Instead, she led the last troops to launch an attack on our army!"

"Not only do they refuse to surrender, but they also dare to launch a counterattack against our army? Interesting." Lynn stood at the rear of the central army and could see clearly.

The pressure on their own central front increased sharply, and the battle line began to shrink as casualties rose.

However, the remaining thousand or so soldiers in the central army fought bravely against the enemy, and the battle line did not move backward.

Lynn glanced at the situation on the right flank and immediately gave the order: "The right flank has also rested for a while. Order Yang to lead his troops to attack immediately. Also, Hugh's cavalry should move closer to the center as soon as possible!"

After killing László, the right-wing soldiers spent some time clearing the battlefield, mainly killing the court cavalry who refused to surrender, and with the help of the five hundred cavalry apprentices who arrived later, they subdued the remaining court cavalry.

Hugo's five hundred heavy cavalry were locked in a fierce battle with the enemy's eight hundred cavalry, but these heavy cavalry were far better equipped than their opponents.

Even though they are outnumbered, they can still gain the upper hand on the battlefield.

Before Lynn's orders could be relayed, Hugh had already defeated eight hundred cavalrymen and was leading several hundred more to move south.

Clearly, Hugh had also noticed the change in the situation and knew without orders to outflank the enemy's central forces.

Lynn immediately issued another order: "Give another order to the left wing, commanding Joseph to launch a full-scale attack, pursuing the fleeing enemy troops while trying to outflank them as much as possible!"

After the messenger left, Lynn drew his longsword and shouted to the sky, "Personnel Guard, follow me to support the central army!"

Since the enemy commander has already set out, he naturally has to make a move as well, which will also provide support to the seemingly crumbling central army.

Moments later, he personally led a hundred cavalry to reinforce the central army and commanded the central army to withstand the enemy's last and most frantic offensive.

Once the cavalry from both flanks and Hugo had positioned themselves to encircle the enemy, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.

The soldiers of Golden Deer Fortress, located in the center of the army, realized the collapse of their flanks and, after resisting for a period of time, gradually lost their will to fight.

The battle began in the morning and finally came to an end at noon.

(End of this chapter)