After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

Under his watchful eye, the Polans quickly launched an attack with the recklessness typical of traditional steppe nomads. They charged swiftly, the infantry increasingly separated from the cavalry ahead, and by the time the cavalry was almost upon the trolls, the infantry were still panting as they tried to keep up.

This is the traditional command and combat style of nomadic armies—the so-called "charge and be done with it."

When facing a weaker army, a cavalry charge can indeed break through the battle lines, providing a foundation for the subsequent infantry to expand their gains.

The problem was that the Polans had let their infantry fall behind, their cavalry overshoot their targets, and, more importantly, they had misjudged the discipline of their own army!

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

Amidst the loud threats and the clatter of hooves from the Polan cavalry, the soldiers at the forefront of the Khuttod Khan's army, their faces drenched in sweat, squatted on the ground, securing themselves with the weights at the ends of their spears. All the front-line infantrymen waited in orderly fashion for the enemy's charge.

This is not to say that Khuttod Khan had any unique charm that made all the lower-ranking soldiers willing to die for their cause. Rather, it was because of Khuttod Khan's military discipline that all front-line soldiers received more than ten times the salary of regular soldiers. If they could withstand a cavalry attack, they could not only receive more than twenty times their salary for that day, but their families could also obtain the honorary title of "Warrior Family," enjoying a superior status in the Khuttod Khanate.

Driven by greed for money and honor, and most importantly, by an unwavering confidence in victory, every soldier was willing to obey the army's rules and eagerly stand at the front, all for the sake of their reward. Thus, when the Polan lancers charged into the hail of spears, they did not see the infantry lines crumble under their hooves, but rather countless spears piercing their own bodies, and the corpses of infantrymen who, even as they were thrown back, still clung tightly to their spears.

The lancers' charge came to an immediate halt. One by one, the cavalrymen were trapped in the resilient, pocket-like gully formed by the Huttok Khan's infantry. The cavalrymen in front were pierced and cut down by lances one after another, while those behind desperately tried to escape, but the crowded situation plunged them into chaos.

The screams of terror before death and the sounds of spears piercing flesh filled the air as the lancers frantically searched for a way to escape. It was at this moment that the archers and javelin throwers behind the Khuttod Khan's army raised their weapons and launched volley after volley at these densely packed live targets.

"Ahhh?! I've been hit by an arrow! Get out of the way! Stop pushing forward! Get out of the way!"

"We can't turn back! The people behind us are still charging forward—hurry! Get off your horses, get off your horses—jump off the horse, hurry!!"

The Polan cavalrymen howled and screamed in agony. The Huttok Khan's infantry gritted their teeth and held on, preventing them from advancing any space while also pushing them forward little by little.

On the other side, the Polan centaur archers were also trying to relieve pressure on their own side from the flanks, attempting to eliminate the threat from archers and javelin throwers to their comrades who were trapped in the enemy lines and unable to break free.

But even as these centaurs drew their bows and shot arrows, they were unable to get past the obstacles formed by the trolls deployed on the flanks by the Hutto Khan's army.

The trolls, clad in armor, gleamed in the sunlight. The centaurs couldn't locate the archers and javelin throwers in the reflected light. They could only howl and fire wildly, most arrows either striking the shields raised by the flanking infantry or directly hitting the trolls' armor, causing no damage whatsoever, or even merely scratching a few white marks.

They launched several futile volleys, and just as the Polan infantry were about to catch up with the tail of the lancers who had fallen into the enemy lines, Hutod Khan gave his order.

He ordered his harpies to descend from the sky and pursue the enemy centaur archers while keeping their backs to the light, and at the same time ordered his centaurs to advance from both flanks and fire at the flanks of the infantry.

He watched with satisfaction as the harpies swooped down from the sky and annihilated the Polan centaurs. After confirming that his own centaurs were also inflicting continuous casualties on the Polan infantry with their mobility, his final order was for the towering trolls to charge the enemy forces from the side.

Like a pair of pincers, when the trolls and centaur archers completed their flanking maneuver against the main force of the Polan, the war was destined to end in victory for the Hutto Khanate.

The armored trolls were an invincible mountain range in the waves of the Polan. The iron swords in the hands of the Polan could not inflict any damage on the trolls' armor, while every swing of the trolls' spiked clubs sent countless Polan soldiers flying into the air and turning them into a pile of shattered corpses.

Centaur archers fired arrows with steel arrowheads that could pierce through iron shields, pierce the hands of Polan infantry, or even penetrate their armor.

When Hutod Khan's personal guards officially entered the battlefield, the Polan people were defeated.

Their prized iron swords were cleaved by steel blades, and their armor crumbled like gauze before steel weapons. They couldn't comprehend what kind of monster they were facing. In the ever-shrinking, crowded sack, only a few groups at the very back managed to escape, while the rest were trapped inside and subjected to a near-endless slaughter.

But by noon, it was all over.

The Khuttod Khanate captured over 2 Polans with fewer than a thousand casualties. The remaining Polans either died or fled, and in the final count, it was found that approximately five thousand routed soldiers escaped this doomed war.

They escaped quickly, but it was more likely a deliberate act by Khuttod Khan.

"Let them spread fear within Polan's territory! This will reduce the resistance we face when we conquer more cities and territories," Hutot Khan ordered. "Of these prisoners, I intend to give a chance to the bravest warriors. If they can scale the city walls in the upcoming siege, I am willing to treat them with a more generous reward than the Polan people themselves—as for the others, especially the cowards, let them be reduced to slaves."

On one side was the fear spread by the routed army, and on the other side were the rewards and hospitality received by those who surrendered after proving their strength—Khuttok Khan believed that his psychological warfare would succeed, paving the way for his subsequent conquests.

After seizing the spoils, the Khuttod Khan's army entered the town to rest and recuperate. This town, which could have posed a threat to their rear at any moment, had become their base. Now, they could continue their advance with great vigor and give the Polan people a beautiful early spring gift.

............

Let's go back to February 5th.

At present, the defeated army that was once the main force of Polan has crossed their southern border after spreading the news of the Khan's southward march throughout half of Polan, and is trying every means to advance further south.

Their commander understood that Polan's demise was inevitable. Moreover, they were a routed army; even if they managed to escape back to the city, they wouldn't escape the pursuit of the nobles and elders. As a defeated army, they would once again face the terrifying Khan's army, and then either choose death or continue their rout.

In this situation, rather than suffering repeated defeats, it would be better to simply seek refuge in the Roman Empire to the south!

"We will relay the news of the Khan's southward march to the Romans, and they will be willing to let us in, then we can...we can save our lives for the time being!"

Some of the fleeing soldiers encouraged each other as they fled, but even so, their eyes were still filled with lingering panic and fear.

After all, the Khan's army was simply too powerful. They were very worried that the Khan's army was right behind them—especially since they had only brought a few days' worth of food when they set out, and had lost a batch of supplies during their escape...

In this situation, they were on the verge of running out of ammunition and food. And just when they were at their wits' end, the faint outline of a city appeared in the distance, beyond the forest before them...

"Was there ever a city here?" an old soldier asked, puzzled, but the fear of hunger quickly dispelled his confusion. "Who cares! Let's go in first... A city that suddenly appears can't possibly have many people! Even if there are, we'll just raid the surrounding villages..."

"Not taking this into account?"

"Why go in! Are they as powerful as Roman? And they're blocking the Khan's southward route. They'll definitely be besieged by the Khan's army! Let's go, let's go, let's plunder first!"

Fully armed, they stepped into the borders of Bayezid. Even before they arrived, the border guards had used magic to inform Baselis in Constantinople and the future Caesar of this urgent news.

Faced with the soldiers' urgent report, Yang Hao and Theresa exchanged a glance and made a decisive decision: without affecting the celebration, they would have the garrison, equipped with new weapons and on duty, cooperate with Golem to block the fleeing troops.

"This is also a good opportunity to test our weapons—I'll go explain the situation to Finn now. It'll also be a good opportunity for the elves to test the strength of the northerners."

With that, Yang Hao left first. Theresa watched his departing figure and sighed. If even he didn't take the routed army seriously, then so be it.

"Men are responsible for external affairs, so don't I have to take care of my own duties first? Sigh, there is no such thing as a peaceful life. In fact, it's just that someone else is shouldering everything for people."

Barry seemed to be deep in thought at Barcelina's sigh.

............

Yang Hao immediately went to find Fen, explained the situation to her, and then went to the outskirts of the city with her.

Outside the city, the garrison on duty in Constantinople was leading Golem to the location where the routed army had been discovered. Finn gazed thoughtfully in the direction of the forest, then stood beside Yang Hao, tiptoed slightly, and whispered in his ear:

"We can't let them escape into the forest. If they do, it'll be a huge hassle to deal with them—I'll have the elves set up an ambush in the forest to try and wipe them out. Should we capture them alive this time?"

"It would be best to leave them alive. We need to get a better understanding of the situation in the north—by the way, don't your rangers have any new intelligence?"

"The only intelligence we have is that the Khan has launched an attack on Polan, that small country."

Actually, it's practically the same as nothing—Yang Hao shook his head. After repeatedly telling Fen to prepare, he used teleportation with Fen's help to arrive at the elf's encampment. There, he gathered a group of elf archers and headed towards the designated rendezvous point as quickly as possible.

Half an hour later, they arrived. The routed army in the distance no longer resembled an army; they were like bandits, sweeping away resources along the way. It seemed they had no leader, or perhaps their leader lacked the necessary abilities.

These routed troops had no formation, no order, and no objective—to be precise, they had the general objective of "advancing south," but exactly where south they were heading was still a good question.

They would make contact with the camouflaged positions of Bayer Zans in an hour. Bayer Zans had deployed a thousand-strong army, half of whom were equipped with Bayer Zans small-caliber rifles, while the other half, due to production limitations, could only use older melee weapons and shields.

Then, the elves also arrived with a thousand people—but these thousand people were all archers, and there were also several elven archmages.

Yang Hao immediately ordered the melee warriors of Bayrzans and half of the elves to infiltrate the forest and form an encirclement. Then he had five hundred elven archers mixed with Bayrzans archers, allowing them to hide in skirmish lines in the waist-high grass on the slopes to gain concealment and terrain advantage. They patiently waited for the arrival of this defeated army.

The routed soldiers seemed oblivious to what was happening ahead. They continued their chaotic advance, and it was at this moment that Yang Hao, who was observing from a distance using magic with Fen's help, suddenly realized something:

"Their equipment doesn't look too damaged... Could it be that these fleeing soldiers never even fought the Khan's army and just escaped like this?"

Yang Hao was greatly puzzled. After all, according to his understanding, if a defeated army had ever fought with the enemy, their equipment should bear some traces of the battle.

The problem is, the equipment of this routed army shows little sign of wear and tear from the battle... Yang Hao could even see that many of their pieces of equipment were still relatively new...

...This was not actually a defeated army, but rather a vanguard army heading south to carry out an invasion, right?

"But even if you say that, how could an advance force be in such disarray?"

Finn's expression was also strange. She knew this rout army seemed abnormal... but if they were a regular army, they were far too undisciplined...

...Never mind. Let's take them down first.

The two reached an agreement. Once the routed troops were within the archers' optimal firing range, they immediately engaged in fire from Bayez and the elven archers.

Gunshots rang out one after another. The elves' large-caliber rifles could easily create a large hole in a normal human body, and even penetrate shields and armor in the process. It was a classic case of excessive power.

Although the Bayer Zans' small-caliber rifle could only make a small hole in a person's body, the fact that the opponent fell down so easily, combined with the high rate of fire of the small-caliber rifle, suggests that this weapon's overall performance was actually comparable to the Japa 1404 rifle.

The bombardment from the howitzer Golem and the machine gun Golem was like hell for the fleeing troops—they collapsed the moment explosions and fires broke out everywhere.

As expected, these fleeing troops were heading towards the forest. However, the United Nations had also laid an ambush in the forest, so this time, Yang Hao and Fen did not issue any additional orders.

They simply watched the fleeing soldiers, observing their willingness to escape into the forest rather than retreat.

"They do indeed have enemies behind them that they would rather die than face."

Yang Hao stated this seriously.

“We must immediately construct our defenses on the western ranches. Barbed wire, trenches, and walls created with earth magic—Fen, I’ll have to rely on you for that.”

"Although our archmages may not like this kind of civil engineering work, who knows what ideas they might come up with when they have a burst of inspiration? Leave it to us with confidence."

They patiently waited for news from the ambush in the forest. Soon, news arrived that the routed troops had been captured.

The defeated soldiers claimed to be reserves of the Polan army. They had been utterly crushed in battle against the Great Khan and had no choice but to head south, hoping to find a better place in the Roman Empire.

............

At the same time, in Panlam, the capital of Polan, the Great Khan's army was outside the city walls.

This was the last important city of Polan they needed to conquer. Once they captured this city, the entire Polan would fall into the hands of the Khuttod Khanate. More importantly, only by conquering this city could the Khuttod Khan gain the submission of Polan.

This city was built on a plain with no natural defenses and had stone walls. On the grassland with almost no quarrying sites, a town with stone walls nearly 10 meters high was indeed a formidable fortress for the nomads of that time.

But to the current Khutuktu Khan and his army, this former "fortress" is now nothing more than a tree branch that can be broken off at will.

He personally inspected the assembly of the siege tower with Qiexue, watching the shirtless trolls assemble the siege tower section by section with the help of a crane, until the top gate tower was level with the height of Panlan's city wall.

"This will allow us to send a large number of our soldiers up there... but the battle on the city walls is not the main point—our core objective is still to break through their city gates. Only when the city gates are breached can my personal guards reliably break through their militia's defenses and finally directly attack the inner city in the center of the city."

Khutod Khan recounted that after the siege towers were assembled, the final siege of Polan began with the sounding of horns.

The counterweight catapults concentrated stones on the weakest and thinnest section of Polan's wall. The ballistae pushed forward by the soldiers fired accurately at various defensive points on the wall. The battering rams and siege towers were being pushed and shoved by the soldiers with shields raised, and were slowly moving towards Polan's gate or the other side of the wall.

For the Panlan people, the right side of the city wall was in grave danger of being breached at any moment, allowing soldiers to scale and pour in, so they could not withdraw their soldiers from the right side. However, the gate tower and the left side of the city wall were also in imminent danger of being attacked by siege towers and battering rams.

The local commander had no choice but to deploy his elite troops to the city walls, order the militia to raise their guns behind the city gates, and have another group of temporarily conscripted soldiers stand by on the right side of the city wall.

He then realized the problem: the trolls of the Khutto Khan's army were not as easy to deal with as they had imagined.

Clad in steel armor, the trolls can advance steadily, completely ignoring ordinary arrows. Once they reach the base of the city wall, they will immediately use their weapons to attack the defenders on the wall.

Even if they couldn't reach it with their maces, they could simply lift the ladder and fix it firmly to the city wall with their own strength, so that the Polan slave soldiers and ordinary soldiers behind them could climb it.

In addition, some trolls even rushed to the gatehouse, forcibly propping up the iron fence in front of the gate with wooden supports, creating an advantage for the battering ram behind them to breach the gate.

This was a tactic the Polan defenders had never seen before. He stared in disbelief as the battering rams and siege towers drew ever closer. In a panic, he ordered his men to try and stop the trolls from advancing further, only to discover that they had no weapons whatsoever that could pose a threat to the armored trolls.

The stones thrown from above couldn't even make the trolls stagger! Let alone ordinary arrows and conventional magic.

"Our army has been defeated!" The commander's face was ashen. Faced with a war destined to end in defeat, he wisely chose to surrender. "Raise the white flag! Raise it now—! Besides the armored trolls charging ahead, they are also our former warriors turned slaves. Even if we hold off this attack, we cannot harm the Khan's main force. We surrender, we surrender!"

The white flag was raised on the gate tower the moment the siege tower approached the city wall.

The Khan's army suffered no casualties this time; if the casualties of the slave soldiers are included, he actually lost less than a hundred men.