Chapter 441

The reasoning is just that; if you really think it through, it actually holds up.

But no matter what, Feng En beside saw this centaur woman not only unafraid, even eager to try, he was dazed.

……This thing truly requires risking your life; no matter how high the reward, do you have the guts to take this money?

But this person, being occasionally muddled, life wisdom: seeing through but not speaking it is best.

As someone who also benefits, he dare not ruin the Prince's good deed, so he can only pretend to know nothing.

After Ke Li Si Ting, who thought she had gained a rare opportunity to advance, left alone, only then did he approach the Third Prince.

「Your Highness…」

The Third Prince waved his hand.

「Feng En, you're also a veteran general; in war, who doesn't have deaths? 」

「Right, I heard you've refused several ennoblements; you probably want a big one-time reward. 」

「Speak, what is your goal? 」

Experts beat novices, and that expert's account even has full god-tier gear.

The Third Prince thus smoothly pushed his breakout plan, quickly developing it to the final combat stage.

As dusk fell, the air, already lacking any warmth, began to rush toward bone-chilling cold.

The scouts just surveyed; currently the castle's east side is the enemy's weakest spot.

Not only that outward defense position, but the assault units that just exerted effort today are also resting here, which is an excellent opportunity.

Thus the three thousand elite cavalry promised by the Third Prince are now behind the city gate in this direction, making final pre-battle preparations.

And when they heard their boss had taken on such a crazy task, Shuang Ju Ren and the adjutant almost went mad.

You must understand that even if they discard past affection, their fates for life are already bound to Ke Li Si Ting, meaning they share honor and disgrace.

But the military order is as firm as a mountain, unchangeable, so they can only choose to follow closely.

At worst, we risk our lives to accompany the gentleman; what if we win?

「Impossible! 」

But Ke Li Si Ting directly refused their request.

Without waiting for them to question, she gave an answer that allowed no questioning.

「I only promised to lead the three thousand elite cavalry in a breakout; I never said I would also bring my own troops. 」

「Both of you, I, Ke Li Si Ting, have trusted few in my life; you two rank highest, so I entrust their safety to you! 」

After saying that, she privately sought out Feng En, asking him to look after the two.

Soldiers understand soldiers best; generals understand generals best.

Back then, it was only because the elder brother saved his life at the cost of his own that today's Feng En exists; naturally he cannot refuse.

「Rest assured, Viscount, I will definitely have them waiting whole and sound for your triumphant return! 」

「Triumphant return…」

Ke Li Si Ting pondered for a moment.

「Of course, I still have someone to meet! 」

Time waits for no one; after all, this rough girl's warhorse mare isn't one to indulge in sentimentality.

After checking her life-saving gear, she, with Shuang Ju Ren's help, put on her helmet and came before her new subordinates.

In the twilight about to fall completely into darkness, Ke Li Si Ting raised her voice while holding the iconic Ma Mao.

「Everyone! This is your final moment; estimated three minutes until the sun fully sets, are you ready? 」

Almost instant.

「Ready! 」

Unexpectedly unanimous.

These three thousand cavalry, who until noon today had no relation to Ke Li Si Ting, not even a single trouble-maker among them.

Not because they were made loyal by the Third Prince's training, but because all who could be considered officers among them were overturned barehanded by Ke Li Si Ting.

All were given the buff 'My new boss is a monster who can stand on fists and run on arms, turtle turtle, if you don't listen you might be torn apart,' naturally making them exceedingly obedient.

「Excellent, truly worthy of being the Third Prince's troops! 」

Speaking ironically, they are actually the elite troops Ke Li Si Ting has long dreamed of.

But she never imagined she would achieve that dream in this way.

And as the city gate was flung open at maximum speed with a low rumble, Ke Li Si Ting turned her body, pointing the spearhead toward the distant darkness.

「Armed and armored, what fear of life and death? 」

「Everyone, follow me! 」

At this moment the dim sun had completely set, the sky black as ink, thick clouds even blocking the bright moonlight reflected from the metal moon.

But the wilderness around Iron Furnace Fortress is not dark, for the nomads' tents still have firelight, the cooking fires they haven't finished preparing their meals.

Thus the three thousand iron cavalry, like moths to light, followed the centaur out the gate in single file, then spread into a fan, madly dashing toward the castle's east.

The heavy hooves striking the ground thundered like lightning, even the snow on the ground was flung up, swirling beside them into a new storm.

Such a mighty spectacle, the nomads aren't deaf and blind, so they naturally noticed the movement immediately.

But even if they noticed, what then?

The cavalry unit that entered a charge from the start was simply too fast; they had no time to react before the enemy was upon them.

Actually the nomads are quite wise in defense; even for besiegers, they pile ice and snow at the edge of their camp into a wall serving as fortification.

But such a method, even on Earth, would only barely work on a primitive cold-weapon battlefield.

In this world of magic and miracles, trying to block enemies with a wall of solid water is perhaps too laughable.

Thus the cavalry need not breach the wall themselves; the mage unit atop the wall hurled three meteor-like fireburst bombs downward.

The high temperature and explosion instantly destroyed a section of wall three hundred meters long; although it also filled the area with dangerous steam, the cavalry unit had already deployed a group shield and charged straight through without any pressure.

Now it's truly wolves entering the sheep pen, mice burrowing into the cat's den, and college students on winter break discovered they were sharing a room with the New Year goods.

The Grassland Warriors stationed here to rest had just fought a day's battle and were already exhausted; now they were still tapping their bowls, waiting for food.

So they didn't even have time to reach for their weapons before the charging cavalry lifted them with long spears and flung them to the ground.

Moreover, the Third Prince's cavalry are all veterans of major battles; they know how to maximize the power of a cavalry mass charge.

They didn't even need Ke Li Si Ting to command them; they could autonomously accelerate, autonomously seize the offensive, and continually maintain a formation similar to a spear tip.

With frantic suppression and pursuit, they constantly held the battlefield's initiative, continually scattering enemies trying to band together, giving them no chance to catch their breath or counterattack.

Even so, there were not lacking exceptionally brave Grassland people attempting resistance, such as that towering figure who would surely be popular in Tianzhu — an elephant-headed person.

But his luck was terribly poor; running into anyone would have been bad enough, yet he happened to collide head‑on with Ke Li Si Ting, who was busy clearing a path for the following army.

He hadn't even had a chance to see blood on his axe before he was pierced by an enemy's Ma Mao.

His chest and heart were smashed to pieces, and the corpse flung out struck like a shell, killing several innocent Grassland Warriors.

As for those farther away who still had time to organize resistance, the Grassland people were bombarded with all kinds of magic.

Actually, the mages' work was relatively easy; wherever they aimed was a target, so they just flung wide‑range attack magic into the distance and that was it.

Thus the front army was powerless, the rear army exhausted; for the Grassland people who could barely clench a fist, this was nothing short of a massacre.

They could only stand blankly by the bonfire, watching the enemy reap their comrades, and then immediately come to reap themselves.

Finally they collapsed to the ground, using their last breath to watch them run off to harvest the rest of their kin.

"Haha, it's just like slaughtering pigs!"

In this situation, even the most composed kingdom knight couldn't help but let out an excited cheer, entering a state of near‑mad excitement.

Only Ke Li Si Ting's mood, contrary to expectation, grew heavier amidst the splashing of enemy blood.

Because she knew that this was their last bit of joy in the war; what followed would be absolute hell and the abyss.

According to the Third Prince's arrangement, the nearly twenty thousand troops in the city were actually divided into five parts.

The first part, led by Ke Li Si Ting, consisted of over three thousand elite kingdom cavalry vanguard tasked with opening the way and breaking formations.

The second part comprised over two thousand skilled mages, all mounted on warhorses or chariots, responsible for supporting the mage units of the front and rear sections.

The third part is the central army where the Third Prince resides; as his personal guard they are fewest in number but highest in quality, since the selected knights and mages remain here.

The fourth part is the infantry corps led by General Feng En; besides the Third Prince's men, it also includes the garrison originally stationed in the castle, as well as the one thousand reserve forces currently under Ke Li Si Ting's command led by Shuang and the deputy officer.

As for the last part, it is the death squad recruited by the Third Prince with a huge bounty; having already received a large sum of reward money, they are responsible for the most dangerous rearguard action.

Therefore, strictly speaking, this fifth part is truly the most unlucky batch of cannon fodder in the Third Prince's plan; Ke Li Si Ting and her group are not the most unlucky.

——They are the second most unlucky.

Because as the vanguard, their task is to open the way.

Note, this opening of the way is not simply blasting a path and calling it done; you must also keep the "escape route" continuously open.

At the very least, they must join forces with the later mage units to guarantee that the Third Prince's core cadre can escape alive.

Considering that Ke Li Si Ting's own reserves are actually in the fourth part, she probably needs to hold out even longer.

Thus, after completely breaking through the Grassland people's camp, and seeing the endless darkness before her, Ke Li Si Ting did not flee into it.

Instead, she loudly commanded, leading the cavalry behind her to turn around like a huge boomerang.

But since the Grassland people grow up on the plains, they naturally also possess their own highly mobile units.

The Deep Forest people have been causing a ruckus in their main base for so long; it's time for them to appear.

Thus, another round of "chaotic drums" gradually sounded on the battlefield; funny enough, the newcomers turned out to be Ke Li Si Ting's own clan.

Indeed, they were thousands of galloping centaurs!

Although their stature is not as massive as Ke Li Si Ting's, their muscle mass is absolutely as strong as that of ancient Greek statues.

Moreover, the objective of this elite centaur regiment is clear: to become a spear‑like blade, thrusting horizontally into the mage units that charge out alongside them.

But how could Ke Li Si Ting possibly let them have their way?

"Enemy troops approaching, accelerate, follow me in the charge!"

She directly imitated the enemy's tactics, turning the three thousand elite cavalry into another, even faster blade, which was also meant to thrust horizontally into them.

Although they are also cavalry, this group of royal household elite knights possesses the most advanced battle‑formation magic and forging techniques.

If they meet head‑on in close combat, the centaurs are absolutely no match for them; this is a bloody lesson learned by the Grassland people.

"Damn it, everyone follow me and keep distance from them!"

Thus, the centaur side's commander immediately led his people behind him to turn and swiftly maneuver toward the opposite direction of the camp.

This is actually a blatant ploy, because if the enemy cavalry give up the pursuit, they can enter their most comfortable circular formation horse‑archery rhythm, wildly freeloading on the enemy's lives while flying kites.

And if the enemy cavalry insist on pursuing, it's fine too; they can rely on their long arms and legs to leash‑and‑dog the foe, seeing whether the mages deprived of shelter can withstand the Grassland people's counter‑strike!

Yet this miserable bunch still underestimated the worth of the "Kingdom Knights" and "Prince's Guard," taking them for ordinary Deep Forest cavalry and indulging in fantasies.

Thus, when a dangerous dark red flashed in the darkness, like a blood‑thirsty blade aura sweeping over, they even rather amusingly glanced at each other.

By the time the commander whose helmet bore a red unicorn horn reacted, wanting to remind his people to wake up and prepare for battle, it was already too late.

The centaur on the opposite side, like a small hill, suddenly charged up to him, raising the Ma Mao in his hand—a pure brute‑force smash requiring no skill at all.

But since he could simultaneously be acknowledged as a warrior by several centaur tribes, this commander still had a couple of tricks up his sleeve.

Thus this blow did not smash him into pulp on the spot; instead, he mustered his strength, raised his long spear, staggered, and barely managed to catch it.

But his subordinates were not so fortunate; in the clash of the two forces, the kingdom knights' elite close‑combat killing ability was nightmare‑level.

Since the Grassland people's forging strength cannot equip everyone with armor, the flesh‑and‑blood centaurs can only end up drenched in blood.

As for how the kingdom knights managed to sudden acceleration……

Even the worthless count of Huiguang's southern region can pull out a unit of equipped cavalry capable of sustaining a group shield.

The Deep Forest people, whose military history can even surpass national history, have naturally long since mastered this trick to perfection.

Isn't it just a massed war charge? No big deal— as the world's top-tier troop type, the kingdom knights have even more nasty tricks.