Game of Thrones: The Black Dragon King

While the fighting raged on the periphery, Reed carefully observed the casualty ratio between his own side and the Dothraki.

Based on visual estimation, the Dothraki would need to lose 4 to 5 Roaring Warriors to inflict one casualty on Reid. This is a rather pleasing ratio. Of course, this is the result of armored troops holding the line. If the halberdiers and heavy swordsmen are exhausted, the unarmored and lightly armored troops will at most trade one for one with the Dothraki.

Currently, the two sides are outnumbered 6 to 30. If this drags on, it will result in mutual destruction. However, Reed doesn't believe that the Dothraki are the kind of troops whose fighting spirit can withstand a 100% casualty rate.

Based on recorded battles, Dothraki cavalry had a casualty tolerance of less than 30%. In the Battle of Kohol, three thousand Unsullied fought against over fifty thousand cavalry led by Temokao. The Dothraki suffered 12,000 casualties; the rest either fled or cut off their queues (traditional hairstyles). If the Khal and his men didn't have the habit of leading charges, Reed felt this figure could be even higher.

Leading by example is something that junior officers might do casually, but for mid- to high-ranking generals to do it like that shows they have no regard for the organization of the military.

Thinking of this, Reed suddenly realized that, according to the Dothraki tradition of having their leaders at the forefront, this Dothraki Kho or Koh should already be dead, right?

So, are the Dothraki currently in a state of being without a leader, as they are launching a fierce attack?

Although the Dothraki have only ever had one tactic: charge forward bravely! Tactical command is the same whether there is a leader or not; but without a leader, it means their organization is reset to zero! It is impossible to make effective tactical adjustments.

An organized army, under the command of officers at all levels, will take tactical actions that are beneficial to the overall situation, based on the needs of the battlefield situation.

An army with zero organization relies entirely on the instincts of its soldiers to fight independently.

What are the basic principles of a soldier's actions? It depends on what the people around him are doing. If everyone is rushing forward, then he rushes forward; if everyone is watching, then he hesitates and doesn't know what to do; if he looks up and sees friendly forces running away, then he will definitely run away with them!

Sensing an opportunity, Reddy excitedly roared, "Cavalry! Prepare to charge!"

The front of the wagon formation was currently unsuitable for a cavalry charge. After facing the strongest charge of the first wave of Dothraki cavalry, they had been engaged in fierce fighting, with the corpses of men and horses piled up to half a person's height. Coupled with the densely packed fighting on both sides, the 80-odd cavalrymen might not be able to break through. However, the Dothraki cavalry behind them were flanking and encircling them, making their forces relatively weak.

Reid selected two gaps, had the giant crossbows adjust their direction, and prepared to concentrate fire to clear a path for the cavalry. At the same time, he ordered his men to knock down the tents and other obstacles blocking the cavalry charge in the middle. The cavalry then formed a charge formation at the farthest point from the gaps, with the heavily armored cavalry on the outside and the lightly armored horse archers protected on the inside.

With everything prepared, the servants brought in Reed's mount.

"Are you trying to run away?" O'Ellis asked loudly, looking flustered, just as Reed was about to mount his horse.

Reed rolled his eyes. "Which eye of yours saw us about to lose?"

"Lord of Light, I paid you! Double the price! If you really want to escape, take me with you! As long as I return to Pentos alive, my promise remains valid..."

Impatient Reed gave a wink. Several heavily armored swordsmen stepped forward and forcefully separated the two of them.

With a major battle imminent, there's no time for explanations!

"spread!"

As the command was given, the halberdiers blocking the gate tacitly dispersed to both sides, clearing a passage. Immediately afterwards, one massive crossbow bolt after another whistled through the air. At such close range, the Dothraki cavalrymen who seized the opportunity to rush into the gap were like butter being poked by hot iron skewers, falling headlong in the blood mist exploding from the crossbow bolts.

"charge!"

The heavily armored cavalrymen spurred their horses, and the powerful warhorses neighed loudly, leaping forward.

"Speed ​​up!" "Speed ​​up!" Reed urged incessantly. The space inside the wagon formation was limited. After knocking down the tents and other obstacles, the cavalry had less than fifty yards to charge. To get their horses moving as fast as possible, the cavalrymen whipped their mounts frantically!

Although they couldn't reach full speed, the Dothraki cavalry on the outer perimeter were almost stationary compared to the heavily armored cavalry that had already charged forward.

Very fast! Compared to the back-and-forth, colorful sword fights of infantry, the duels of cavalry are very fast! The weight of the rider, horse, armor, and weapons, along with the high speed of the warhorse, all turn into huge kinetic energy when attacking.

Then, under the lance, all beings are equal. In an instant, victory or defeat, life or death.

The spear tips of the front-line heavy cavalrymen pierced the chests of the unarmored Dothraki roaring warriors in an instant, the spear shafts snapping and splinters flying. The heavy cavalrymen decisively discarded their spear shafts, drew their longswords, and began to hack and slash. Meanwhile, the horse archers in the middle found openings and fired at the Dothraki.

In the blink of an eye, Reed's cavalry broke through the encirclement of the Dothraki and emerged from their ranks!

"Speed ​​up!" "Speed ​​up!" Reed kept urging them on, and the cavalry did not stop, galloping towards the open area in the distance.

The halberdiers quickly filled the gap, while O'Iris, who was blocked at the rear of the formation, watched Reed's departing figure and cursed, "I knew it! I knew it! That bastard really was going to run away! That treacherous mercenary! That despicable..." His cursing stopped abruptly as a stray arrow pierced his eye socket.

If Oellis had been a little more patient, he would have seen that, after running a sufficient distance, the Reid cavalry began to turn around and form ranks.

In Reid's cavalry, the heavy cavalrymen who had lost their lances slowed their horses and gradually retreated to the rear or sides, while the heavy cavalrymen who still held lances naturally moved to the front.

Choose a point where the Dothraki forces are relatively weak and begin the charge.

Reed chose to charge outwards from the edge of the encirclement. Outnumbered, a small group of elite cavalry could only inflict limited casualties in a frontal assault, and once they were engaged and lost speed, they would be at the mercy of their pursuers.

Choose the edge where troops are sparsely deployed, resistance to attack is low, and retreat is easy. Cut off small pieces from the edge like slicing a cake. Continuously cutting, defeating, and driving away enemy forces is a more effective strategy for advancing the battle.

Soon the first real cavalry charge began, with many Dothraki on the periphery turning their horses and charging towards Reid and his men.

"Line up! Stick together! Speed ​​up!" Reed roared, his blood boiling. Of course, as the commander, and a commander who valued his life highly, he wasn't in the front row; he was in a very safe position in the middle of the formation.

The horse archers in the back row began to unleash their power first. Compared to archers who cost 2.4 gold dragons to recruit and were equipped with a regular longbow, the horse archers, who cost 16 gold coins to recruit, were clearly more elite. They rode Arabian horses that were not particularly tall but had considerable stamina, wore spiral-topped helmets, and were clad in half-body chainmail, armed with composite bows and scimitars. The accuracy of their arrows, fired from the swaying back of their horses, was even higher than that of ordinary archers, and these guys didn't shoot the horses, they shot the riders.

Before the two groups clashed, many Dothraki cavalrymen were already struck by arrows and fell from their horses. The Dothraki's retaliatory arrow volley was largely ineffective due to their armor; bronze or bone arrowheads were either deflected by the steel plate armor or jammed by the chainmail rings. A few archers were hit in exposed areas, but not fatally, and some even became more ferocious in their retaliatory attacks due to their wounds.

Soon, the charging heavy cavalry clashed with the Dothraki cavalry. Lances pierced flesh without resistance, while Arak scimitars could only scrape sparks against the plate armor of the heavy swordsmen. Reed saw a bloodthirsty Dothraki roaring warrior leap from his horse, tackle a heavy cavalryman, and then both disappeared beneath the galloping hooves.

Everything was happening at breakneck speed. The horse archers did their best to rain down arrows on the Dothraki who came within range, while the heavy cavalry, responsible for close combat, formed tight formations to act as vanguards and human shields. They would occasionally face enemies passing by and often only had the chance to thrust their spears or slash with their swords.

Charge through a group of enemies, pursue and ambush them, then create distance, eliminate any stragglers that come along the way, then accelerate and charge again, continuing to charge through another group of enemies, and repeat the cycle.

From the air, the defensive wagon formation resembled a giant tortoise, while the numerous Dothraki were like a large school of fish frantically devouring it. Reid's cavalry, on the other hand, was more like a small shark. Wherever it passed, the fish quickly scattered, but the shark could always find the slower-moving smaller fish at the edge of the school, then swiftly attack and devour them, while simultaneously creating even greater chaos within the larger school.

Heavy cavalry possessed immense firepower and excellent defense, but they were not invincible. They could fall due to their horses stumbling, be tackled by reckless Dothraki cavalry and die together, be dragged off their horses by ropes, or suffer broken bones through their armor from blunt weapons such as giant axes, stone hammers, and maces.

Although each heavily armored cavalryman could take away more than ten unarmored Dothraki Roaring Warriors before falling on average, Reed's cavalry was becoming increasingly thin. There were even instances where horse archers, after running out of arrows on their backs, would draw their scimitars and fight the Dothraki. It seemed that Reed himself would have to go to the front line.

Moreover, people always get tired. Reed was very tired now. He couldn't remember how many enemies he had scattered. He only felt that his buttocks were numb and painful, his inner thighs were burning from being rubbed by the saddle, and his vision was getting more and more blurred!

Just as Reid began to doubt his 30% theory, he suddenly heard cheers! Turning around, he saw everyone inside the defensive perimeter raising their weapons and cheering. Looking around, the Dothraki who had attacked frantically were now mostly fleeing in disarray, with a small number cutting their whips and throwing them at the feet of the defenders.

"We won?" Reed muttered to himself, a little unsure of himself. But that confusion and self-doubt were quickly swept away by overwhelming joy: "We won!"

But his joy didn't last long before Reed became very angry.

The reason was simple: the fleeing Dothraki still managed to take most of their livestock and valuables with them.