Chapter 208: The Royal Legion's Competition!

Thirty li east of the Griffin King, stands one of the royal family's most luxurious retreat manors, the Golden Shield Manor!

Today, on a hillside outside the Golden Shield Manor planted with tulips and lavender, colorful flags flutter.

Nobles dressed in luxurious attire took their seats at the arranged tables and chairs.

Hou Jue Mi Xiusi and Vice-Commandant Adri were among them.

One can imagine that the nobles surrounding them must be of incomparably noble status.

"Prince Bruce arrives!"

A loud shout rang out, and the nobles present rose to their feet; Hou Jue Mi Xiusi and Vice-Commandant Adri did the same.

Immediately, a luxurious carriage pulled by twelve warhorses, guarded by a large contingent of knights, stopped before the red carpet.

The carriage door opened, and a middle-aged man in magnificent robes stepped out.

This man was none other than one of the kingdom's most powerful nobles, Prince Bruce.

Prince Bruce was the ninth younger brother of Griffin VII, born of a maid, an illegitimate son.

Originally, because his mother was of low status, he was ostracized from a young age.

However, Griffin VII, who was then the Second Prince, took very good care of this younger brother, thus forging an exceptionally deep bond between the two brothers.

Later, when Griffin VII contested the throne succession rights with his own eldest brother, the Crown Prince of the Griffin Kingdom, Prince Bruce played a crucial role.

Because Prince Bruce possessed extremely high cultivation talent, he entered the realm of the Earth Knight at a young age.

It was his intervention that allowed Griffin VII to obtain the final succession rights and sit firmly on the throne for decades.

And over these decades, Prince Bruce became the stabilizing pillar of the Griffin Kingdom.

Even now, though Griffin VII is aged and finds it difficult to personally manage state affairs, the Griffin Kingdom remains stable.

"Greetings, my lord Prince!"

"Greetings, my lord Prince!"

As Prince Bruce walked from the red carpet to the main seat at the very front, the nobles bowed their heads respectfully to greet him.

Prince Bruce, who was stern and rarely smiled, nodded faintly at the crowd only after taking his seat.

After scanning the area, he asked, "Is everyone ready?"

"Your Highness, we are ready. In this drill, Hou Jue Mi Xiusi and Vice-Commandant Adri, acting as the attacking force, command fifteen hundred cavalry and three thousand infantry."

"While Hou Jue Wex and Vice-Commandant Anthony, acting as the defending force, have five hundred cavalry and eight thousand elite infantry!"

"Then let us begin. Who will enjoy this year's generous treatment depends entirely on them!!"

"Yes, my lord Prince!" the subordinate replied, and quickly walked toward Mi Xiusi and the others.

"Your Excellencies, my lord Prince has ordered the competition to officially begin!"

Hearing this, Mi Xiusi and the others immediately stood up, walked to the very front of the assembled nobles, and ordered their respective messengers to sound the horns.

Amidst the sound of the horns, the rhythmic pounding of hooves echoed.

An army of fifteen hundred cavalry and three thousand infantry entered the Royal Hunting Grounds one li away.

They were the attacking force this time, the Iron Guard Legion of the Royal Legion under the command of Mi Xiusi and Adri.

The defending force, as the subordinate had just reported, totaled five hundred cavalry and eight thousand infantry, belonging to the Royal Guard Legion.

And according to the rules, they had entered the Royal Gardens three hours in advance to conduct troop concealment and deployment.

This competition between the two sides is held annually and concerns the level of treatment the two armies will enjoy in the coming period, so both sides care deeply about it.

The competition rules are very simple.

In the front Royal Hunting Grounds lies a vast mountain peak, over two hundred meters in altitude, with a front-to-back depth reaching two or three li.

At the very top of that mountain peak, a bright Griffin military banner is planted.

The goal of the attacking force under Mi Xiusi is to assault the summit, seize that Griffin banner within the allotted time, and thus be counted as victorious.

Similarly, the side responsible for defense, Hou Jue Wex and Vice-Commandant Anthony, must protect the Griffin banner from being seized within the allotted time to be counted as victorious.

Although the attacking force under Mi Xiusi has an extra thousand cavalry, seemingly gaining an advantage.

However, one must also consider a terrain issue here.

On the open wilderness, cavalry is indeed an iron tide of warhorses that infantry cannot easily resist.

But facing the mountain forest with a slope altitude of over three hundred meters, this advantage would be greatly diminished.

Moreover, there are only three paths up the mountain; with the defending infantry holding a massive numerical advantage, they need only lie in ambush quietly and wait for the enemy to walk into their trap.

The key to victory for the attacking force lies in mobility or the judgment of the attack route.

Because if they can probe out the enemy's weak point, leveraging the cavalry advantage, they can quickly assault the summit and seize the banner.

Of course, currently, the defending force has only a small portion of the garrison they are willing to expose visible on the mountain paths.

The rest, unwilling to be exposed, are all concealed within the mountain forest; exactly which route to choose depends entirely on experience or even luck.

"Mi Xiusi, Adri, my lord Prince has already started; what are you two still dawdling with that round tube for?"

"If you are afraid, then simply surrender obediently; Anthony and I only need those two Rabbit Maidens granted to you by His Majesty the King!"

While Mi Xiusi and Adri were formulating their attack plan, Wex and Anthony began to tease them.

Of course, it is hard to say whether this was not also an attempt by the two to deliberately disrupt the thoughts of Mi Xiusi and the other.

Hearing the teasing, Vice-Commandant Adri immediately put down the round tube in his hand and sneered, "Wex, Anthony, do you think such a lowly disruption can lead you to victory? Truly two naive fellows!"

"Furthermore, make sure you have those two barrels of Elven vintage prepared; Mi Xiusi and I are waiting to divide one barrel each after defeating you!"

"Hmph, then let us see if you have the ability!" With their scheme exposed, Hou Jue Wex and Anthony were too embarrassed to continue the disruption.

And very quickly, Mi Xiusi and Adri finished formulating their plan and ordered the messengers to issue their commands.

Soon, the messengers conveyed the orders, and the fifteen hundred cavalry and three thousand infantry rushed swiftly into a small forest nearby.

And after hiding in that small forest, the attacking army waited there for seven or eight minutes.

Just as the watching nobles wondered what was going on, finally two thousand infantry charged out of the small forest and launched an attack on the left and center mountain dirt roads.

Clearly, because the left and central routes were relatively flat, the attacking side believed they had an advantage in these two directions.

Of course, the defending side, resting and waiting, was also well aware of this.

Thus, as the two thousand troops reached the foot of the mountain, they were immediately intercepted.

The forces assigned to intercept were each one thousand infantry; both sides were evenly matched in strength.

After a brief clash, following Marshal Mi Xiusi's order, a horn sounded, and from the small grove two cavalry units of three hundred each surged forth.

The two cavalry units headed straight for the left and central routes.

With cavalry support, the defending side's one thousand infantry could no longer hold and began gradually being pushed back.

Roughly seven or eight minutes later, the left and right front lines were driven halfway up the mountain.

At this moment, the ambush troops hidden in the grove by the defenders also appeared.

Two units of one thousand infantry each burst forth from the thickets halfway up the mountain, blocking the advancing attackers.

Instantly, both sides became locked in stalemate halfway up the mountain.

Ooooh!

Another horn blast rang out, and from the attackers' small grove, their final one thousand infantry and nine hundred cavalry charged out, heading toward the left path and the central route.

From this point, all of the attacking force had been deployed.

On the left route, there were one thousand five hundred infantry; on the central route, seven hundred fifty infantry.

Meanwhile, the defenders had so far deployed only four thousand infantry—two thousand each on the left and central routes.

And because of the disparity in strength, the stalemate halfway up the mountain began tilting once again in favor of the attackers.

The defending soldiers began retreating step by step, driven back toward the halfway point of the mountain.