Chapter 158: The End

At this moment, Rabat was still racking his brains, thinking about how to get Allen, who had defeated him, to accept him; he truly did not want to become a slave to be slaughtered at will, or be tossed into some uninhabited Wilderness to become a meal for vultures or wild dogs.

But what Rabat did not know was that Bamonde, whom he had dragged into this mess, was already lying motionless upon the Wilderness of Rhovanion, his hands tightly gripping his own battle-axe, his wide-open eyes staring blankly at the brilliant stars filling the sky. A javelin nearly a meter long had pierced through his chest, and beneath him was a pool of blood still steaming with heat. Beside him was an overturned, ornate War Chariot, and not far away, two Easterling Warhorses also lay overturned, having lost all signs of life; the arrows bristling from their bodies told the tale of the reason for their deaths.

"By the King's command, all enemies holding weapons are to be killed."

Amidst the flying hooves, a loud, resonant voice rang out, followed by the same words repeated over and over across the battlefield. The one issuing the command was none other than Fatis, who was leading the Cavalry to intercept the reinforcements.

Upon learning that the War Chariot Rabat had sent for help had departed the camp, Allen had immediately given the order for Fatis to lead the Cavalry unit in pursuit, and Allen had also told his Military Minister that he did not wish to see a single Easterling who had come to provide support remain here.

For Fatis at this moment, such an order was not a difficult task. He was currently leading five hundred Raiders skilled in horse archery and four hundred Heavy Cavalrymen clad in Plate Armor. However, since this mission was one of interception and raiding, the Heavy Cavalry had not equipped their horses with full barding, but only with face masks and breastplates; full armor would consume too much of the horses' stamina and would greatly reduce the Cavalry's galloping speed.

After receiving Allen's order, Fatis did not rush to lead the Cavalry in pursuit, but instead, with the help of the moonlight, followed slowly behind the enemy along the tracks left by the War Chariot. In fact, Fatis knew where the enemy's other camp was, because Allen had made thorough preparations before launching the attack; he had conducted detailed reconnaissance on both the enemy's strength and their location, and had even arranged for Holimion to take his most elite horse archers to wipe out all of the enemy's Scout Cavalry.

The slow movement of the Cavalry at this moment was simply because Fatis did not want to alert the enemy, for the commotion caused by the rapid movement of a large-scale Cavalry force was simply too great, and the battlefield he had chosen was the plain between the two camps; he could not let those Easterlings realize his presence before the battle began.

As for whether the enemy would send reinforcements, Fatis could not guarantee it, because these Easterlings, according to Allen's introduction, truly had few good people among them. One must know that even the Kingdom of Swadia knew to use land to keep serfs, rather than engaging in naked slavery; such things could only be done by those barbaric heretics of the Sarranid Kingdom.

However, Fatis was confident that as long as the enemy dispatched troops, they would inevitably pass through the plain where he had set his ambush, as this was the fastest and most convenient road between the two camps. Moreover, to prevent any accidents, the birds flying in the sky would also bring him accurate news, so that Fatis could lead the Cavalry to relocate in time.

In fact, Fatis did not need to do anything at all, because the enemy did indeed, just as he had guessed, plunge headlong into his embrace with an army of over a thousand men.

Bamonde, who would meet the Grim Reaper in less than half an hour, was currently cursing and swearing as he drove his ornate War Chariot at the very front of the formation. This time, he had brought over a hundred Cavalry, five War Chariots, and more than a thousand infantry to support his colleague. In terms of strength, he was stronger than Rabat, and by quite a lot, but in his heart, he actually did not want to bother with this sycophantic bootlicker; he would rather have continued sleeping, and then gone to Rabat's camp after the battle to laugh at him.

Yes, even though Bamonde had brought most of his army out to provide support, he did not believe for a second that Rabat would be finished off by the enemy. After all, that was a camp of nearly two thousand people, and the soldier Rabat had sent to ask for help had told Bamonde personally that those attacking the camp were all Humans, with no sign of Elves or Dwarves, so Bamonde cared even less.

It was just that, in the end, Bamonde still spent some time gathering most of his army and set out on the road to rescue Rabat.

The reason Bamonde did this was, on one hand, because Rabat would, whenever he had the slightest opportunity, bring fine wine, good meat, and some gifts to Bamonde to build a relationship, hoping that the more powerful Bamonde would not come to cause him trouble.

Bamonde had eaten his food, drunk his wine, and taken his things, so now that Rabat had come knocking for help, it would be unjustifiable to do nothing; they were all colleagues, and they would have to see each other in the future.

On the other hand, Bamonde felt that since he was bringing so many of his own troops to help Rabat, that bootlicker would surely have to give him some compensation after the battle. Naturally, the more troops he brought, the more compensation he would get. If he wasn't satisfied with what was given, he could just let his underlings go to Rabat's camp and loot it; after all, he had saved his life, and not asking for half of his clansmen was already giving him plenty of face.

Harboring such thoughts, Bamonde led his army in a hurried march across the Wilderness. He was even a bit worried that if he arrived and found that Rabat had already stabilized the situation and driven the enemy out of the camp, he might not be able to reap any benefits. However, burdened by the infantry, he could not go very fast, no matter how anxious he was.

When Fatis stood on the hillside and saw from afar that Bamonde's convoy was getting closer and closer to his pre-set battlefield, he immediately ordered Abinas to take his clansmen to target the six War Chariots and the Cavalry surrounding them, while he himself would lead four hundred Heavy Cavalry to charge directly into the infantry formation that was somewhat detached from Bamonde.

Abinas, carrying Fatis's order, reunited with his clansmen and then launched the operation. For a time, the sound of numerous horse hooves rang out.

Bamonde, who was currently harboring thoughts of reaping benefits, suddenly heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves and suddenly became uneasy. In fact, he was guarded by over a hundred Cavalry, so it was normal to have the sound of hooves, but in order to wait for the infantry formation behind them, their marching speed was not fast, and it was impossible to cause such a great commotion.

Following the sound of the hooves, Bamonde looked toward the west. Under the bright moonlight, armor flashing with specks of gold gradually became clear in his eyes. At this moment, the first thought that appeared in his mind was exactly the same as Rabat's.

"Damn it, Ashur set me up! He actually said the Elves wouldn't come out of Mirkwood to attack me? Then what am I seeing now? Elven wraiths?"

Bamonde, who had excellent eyesight, saw that his west was already surrounded by as many as several hundred "Elven Cavalry," and he also recognized that the armor had a very distinct Elven style; after all, apart from the Woodland Elves of Mirkwood, few other forces' armies would equip golden Plate Armor on such a large scale.

"This is truly hellish."

Bamonde's first thought was to drive his War Chariot to turn toward the east and reunite with his own infantry formation. Many of the infantry he had brought this time carried Spears, and although the quality was not very good and the surfaces were uneven, it was enough to deal with a Light Cavalry charge; at the very least, they could manage to trade lives. Bamonde believed his fierce subordinates could fully accomplish this.

Moreover, he had also brought hundreds of Archers holding Longbows this time. As long as his infantry and the Cavalry under his command could buy a little time to form a line, he was not afraid of wearing down such Light Cavalry on the plain. If all else failed, he would just find a way to turn around and go home. Surely these Cavalry wouldn't dare to charge into his home's Spear formation while braving a rain of arrows, would they?

Just as Bamonde was about to issue the order to reunite with the infantry, the rumbling sound of horse hooves actually came again from the east behind him, and this time the sound was louder and the commotion greater. It was clear that this unit was not Light Cavalry. A personal guard assisting in the battle on the War Chariot observed carefully toward the rear, then said to Bamonde with a pale face: "Boss, a large mass of silver-flashing Cavalry has already charged into the infantry. They... they are finished. Let's run."

Upon hearing the words of his personal guard, Bamonde's already somewhat pale complexion became even paler under the illumination of the moonlight. Immediately, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "Run? Run where? Can we run? Pass my order: everyone draw your weapons and charge at full speed toward the enemy in the west."

Bamonde did not know what the large mass of silver-flashing Cavalry his guard spoke of actually was, and he had neither the time nor the interest to look back. But Bamonde knew that once a unit of Heavy Cavalry charged into the infantry currently on the march, the outcome was obvious; his men would soon be split up and then die on this Wilderness to become nutrients for the land. At this point, he could no longer go back.

Because if he turned back at this time, he would fall into the encirclement of two Cavalry units and become food in the enemy's mouth, bitten to pieces by two rows of dense teeth. Bamonde did not want to meet such an end. He still had over a hundred Cavalry in his hands, as well as six War Chariots that had already begun to charge at full speed; he did not believe he couldn't carve out a bloody path.

Cavalry battles have always been cruel. Once they launch a frontal charge against the enemy, they will suffer heavy casualties in a short period of time, whether they are the enemy's or their own. The wind always carries away life after life.

When Fatis led his Heavy Cavalry to charge toward the enemy army, these Easterlings, after a brief moment of panic, quickly stabilized under the shouting of their respective Captains. Then, they raised the Spears in their hands and assumed a defensive posture. Having experienced war for years, they knew that when facing a Cavalry charge, one could only resist bravely and then pray that the all-powerful Dark Lord would protect them on the battlefield so they could survive; turning and running would only result in being caught by the faster Cavalry and then dying a shameful death.

However, the Dark Lord they worshipped could not protect them at this moment. When those silver-flashing Heavy Cavalry charged into the Spear formation they had hastily set up, these Easterling soldiers discovered in terror that the uneven Spears in their hands actually snapped under the enemy's charge, and the flying spearheads even rebounded, causing a certain amount of casualties on their own side.

As Fatis led the Heavy Cavalry and smashed fiercely into the long, narrow formation of the Easterlings, the enemy's corpses flew far away as if they were fallen leaves blown by a hurricane. It seemed that in just a single instant, Fatis discovered that there were no more enemy figures in front of him.

Fatis, having slowed down and reined in his horse, looked at the enemies who were still standing in place and shouted loudly: "Reform the line! Reform the line!" Since the enemy had not lost their fighting spirit under the impact of this charge, then they would just do it again.

And the personal guards following closely beside Fatis also followed their Governor and shouted loudly. At this moment, the Heavy Cavalry who had charged out of the enemy formation quickly gathered behind Fatis amidst the shouting. Under the moonlight, the originally silver-shining armor was covered by large patches of bloodstains.

Those Easterlings who had been intimidated by the Heavy Cavalry finally reacted at this moment. Seeing that their weapons could not cause even the slightest bit of damage to the enemy, they finally fell into complete despair. The remaining few hundred people began to howl and flee frantically across the Wilderness. Even though they all knew that this approach was actually of no help at all, the fear under despair directly strangled their reason, making them commit this ineffective and pathetic act.

"Spread out, spread out! Hunt down the enemy, don't let a single one escape. All enemies who refuse to lay down their weapons are to be killed."

Fatis looked at the enemies who were scattering in a hubbub before him and immediately changed his order. Then, he led his personal guards and pursued in the direction of Bamonde, because Fatis knew that his command was no longer needed here; the battle-hardened Cavalry would faithfully complete the orders he had issued.

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And Bamonde had also fallen into despair at this moment. When he led the Cavalry and War Chariots under his command to charge toward the enemy, he was met head-on by a dense rain of arrows. His Cavalry suffered heavy damage under the impact of the arrows, with one-half falling directly. Even three of the War Chariots charging at full speed overturned; the Easterling Warhorses pulling the chariots received too many fatal hits in an instant, and the sudden death caused the horses to collapse directly to the ground, while the chariots also flipped over sideways due to inertia.

Afterward, Bamonde discovered that those "Elven Cavalry" wearing golden armor did not collide head-on with his troops, but turned their horses' heads and also ran toward the west. Moreover, in a very short period of time, they controlled the speed of their horses to surround him and his subordinates from the left and right. Then, the Cavalry subordinates surrounding him disappeared from his field of vision one by one.

This critical situation stimulated Bamonde's nerves. He whipped the horses pulling the War Chariot twice, hoping that he could escape the Cavalry's encirclement, but at this moment, a thick despair welled up in his heart.

Abinas, leading his clansmen, had originally intended to have a chase battle with the Easterlings before them, but what he didn't expect was that the opposite side would insanely launch a charge. One must know that the number of people on his side was five times that of the opposite side.

However, this behavior didn't count for much. After Abinas saw the enemy's movement, he immediately ordered his clansmen to stop their horses, then took out the Elven Longbow from his warhorse. This kind of bow was simply too big; there was no way to shoot it while the horse was galloping, but it was barely possible to shoot while stopped in place. Now that the enemy had charged over like this, how could they be worthy of the bow's ultra-long range and the enemy's "throwing themselves into their arms" if they didn't unleash a rain of arrows?

After finishing the shooting, Abinas had his clansmen, who were even more skilled in horsemanship, complete the encirclement of the enemy in a short time, and then used the Hunting Bows they had equipped when guarding Eriador to shoot the enemies dead one by one.

During this process, the Easterling Cavalry also launched a counterattack in despair, but the effect was extremely limited, or even equivalent to no effect. Only one or two of the Numenoreans' warhorses received arrow wounds and then broke away from the formation, but they relied on their superb horsemanship to control their horses and did not suffer any additional harm.

Soon, death descended upon Bamonde. Under the circumstances where the surrounding Cavalry were heavily killed or injured, his War Chariot also received the "care" of these Northern Rangers. The personal guards assisting in the attack on the War Chariot died one by one under the arrows while wailing, and the horses pulling the War Chariot were also hit by countless arrows at this moment; they slowed down while neighing and then collapsed.

Due to the obstruction of the horses, Bamonde's ornate War Chariot flipped over in an instant, and he, before the War Chariot lost its balance, tightly gripped his great axe and jumped off the slowing War Chariot.

The Northern Rangers did not shoot this enemy before them. They knew that this man waving a battle-axe before them was the leader of the Easterlings. They were currently hesitating whether to finish him off; after all, they were a guest army, and it might be better if they could capture the enemy before them alive.

At this time, Fatis, leading his personal guards, caught up. He directly nailed Bamonde, who was like a trapped beast, to the ground with a javelin, and at the same time shouted loudly: "By the King's command, all enemies holding weapons are to be killed."

Immediately, those Northern Rangers who had been guarding Bamonde dispersed, and the shouts of "All enemies holding weapons are to be killed" spread across the battlefield.