Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 151 - 23: Riptide! Riptide!! (Extra for Alliance Leader Torch)

Chapter 151: Chapter 23: Riptide! Riptide!! (Extra for Alliance Leader Torch)

The ambush in the forest quickly spotted the convoy dividing its troops.

Under the leadership of four Conquest Knights, about three hundred Lightly Armored Soldiers marched swiftly toward the fourth village.

Consequently, the speed of the convoy behind slowed even further.

Two hundred Heavy Armed Soldiers silently picked up their Large Shields, placing them in front of themselves like a fortress, moving along with the convoy like a turtle shell.

...

Overnight fermentation of news made Earl Kant aware of Baron Hass’s experience and he flew into a thunderous rage.

I haven’t even made my move, and you’ve already struck first?

And you’ve wiped out two of my barons?

Good!

You’ve done splendidly!

Opportunity has arrived!

Earl Kant delighted inwardly, hurriedly ordering the gathering of the Conscripted Army.

He gave a life-or-death order, determined to leave Roman here so that the Salt Mine could fall into his hands without any effort.

But there was a problem: conveying the order took time, assembling the troops took time, traveling took time — not all Militia came with their own weapons and needed to be supplied on site.

What did it mean to be a conscripted soldier in Kant Territory?

As long as I reduce your taxes, you are a conscripted soldier; simply respond to my call in times of war, no thresholds or conditions.

By afternoon, the first wave of reinforcement troops would be able to arrive.

Moreover, you are pursuing, and they are retreating.

Even if the retreat is slow, they aren’t just standing still.

You advance thirty kilometers, they advance fifteen kilometers; it’s as if you’ve only made fifteen kilometers of progress.

It’s necessary to launch harassment and attacks to hinder the enemy’s retreat, at the very least to prevent them from passing smoothly.

Now, the problem lay before those waiting in ambush.

Whom should they attack?

After a brief discussion, most Conquest Knights agreed to attack those Lightly Armored Soldiers.

Because those Large Shields were too difficult to deal with. One glance and they looked like a tough nut to crack.

Conquest Knights couldn’t break them, Conscripted Militia couldn’t hack them, and even Archers couldn’t shoot them down.

What was more frightening, they were well-trained.

Fifty meters apart, they lined up perfectly, unscathed in their formation.

When they stood in a row and advanced steadily forward, all attackers could only retreat!

And those Military Servants, though they did the grunt work, were physically strong, each with a curved blade at their waist, looking like qualified Martial Artists; in a critical moment, would you really mistake them for mere servants?

No one was willing to confront such a troop.

Compared to that, the Light Troops were much easier to handle.

But they couldn’t just be attacked recklessly.

According to yesterday’s intel, two hundred Lightly Armored Soldiers had defeated nearly double their number of Conscripted Army in a frontal assault.

What did this imply?

To defeat three hundred such Lightly Armored Soldiers...

At the very least, the very least, it would take more than six hundred Conscripted Army!

And then once again be defeated.

Today’s Conscripted Soldiers were truly no better than yesterday’s; merely doubling their numbers was not enough.

Without a Conscripted Army of a thousand men, there should be no talk of defeating the enemy.

The problem was, after yesterday’s rout, they suffered heavy losses in troops, and they could barely muster up five hundred conscripts now.

Could five hundred Conscripted Soldiers take on those three hundred Soldiers?

They felt it was a bit risky.

Fortunately, the enemy’s Conquest Knights number were few, just four.

And this time, they had rallied twelve Conquest Knights — the Conquest Knights who had rushed over from other Knight’s territories throughout the night were faster on horseback, so they went ahead, with the main force following behind.

This included the two Conquest Knights who had suffered a disastrous defeat yesterday and had fled in the dire moment.

Today they were strongly against attacking the Heavy Troops.

Yesterday’s tactical error directly resulted in the loss of twenty to thirty Cavalry, which meant even fewer Cavalry today.

...

Without forming a battle formation, the outcome of a war often hinged on which side had more Conquest Knights.

Not to mention those legendary races, ancient Demon Beasts.

Even if they appeared, as long as the battle was on plains, on land, there would be no creature that could withstand the charge of the Conquest Knights.

After a to-and-fro charge like that, even an ironclad unit would collapse.

After briefly discussing the plan of attack,

Twelve Conquest Knights, leading about forty Riders and five hundred Conscripted Soldiers, gave chase like that.

Sige Town was so poor it clanked, and Kant Territory wasn’t much better off.

Without an industrial base, relying solely on agriculture to support the Cavalry, the quality of Cavalry raised in such a remote and impoverished place could be imagined.

They lacked the ability to shoot from horseback, and even if they could, due to lack of training, their accuracy was a concern and unlikely to cause significant casualties to the enemy.

Archery cavalry requires a suitable environment to be cultivated.

In Kant Territory, most riders ride only packhorses or inferior horses worth two or three gold coins.

Only Conquest Knights ride taller warhorses.

Pursuing for three or four leagues, they quickly caught sight of Roman and his Light Troops.

...

In a battle involving hundreds of people, there are basically no formal tactics.

It all depends on the soldiers’ combat instincts and fighting skills—it’s akin to a street brawl.

It is also like saying, "When narrow paths cross, the brave wins!"

As long as you are brave, as long as you fight desperately, the disparity in numbers becomes secondary.

But Roman, in his raid with light equipment, took all the Lightly Equipped Longbowmen.

A hundred Longbowmen were responsible for providing cover, while the remaining Lightly Armored Soldiers went to capture people.

"Fire at will!"

Upon seeing the cavalry enter their range, the Archers executed a volley fire.

Roman’s Archers could not be considered elite, nor were they professional.

But, after all, they were diligent in practice, with plenty of arrows, having trained for over a month, practicing with a hundred arrows daily; they had the basic shooting skills.

A single volley caused casualties of about a dozen men, most of them wounded. Though not fatal, the cries of anguish from those hit severely damaged morale.

The Conscript Army’s Archers were furious and retaliated with their own fire.

However, their hands were unskillful, their returns ineffective, not a single decent shot, the arrows flying erratically with zero lethality, not even coming close to Roman’s line.

Quite embarrassing.

...

The Cavalry were to wait until the battle had fully engaged before attacking from the flanks, breaking the enemy formation.

This tactic is the most common because its simplicity begets effectiveness.

But now it was impossible.

The Conscript Army was suppressed by the enemy’s hundred Longbowmen.

If they were to charge headlong into fire.

With their opponents’ firing rate, each Archer could shoot at least six arrows a minute, which meant nearly a hundred casualties on their side before even coming to close combat—they’d collapse.

It was up to the Knight units to break the stalemate.

The terrain here was open, and the Longbows posed little threat to them.

"Scatter them!" ordered the leading Conquest Knight.

The leading Conquest Knight, spear in hand, was followed by many Riders.

The sound of hooves thundered!

When they got within one hundred and fifty meters.

A Magic Steel Arrow as wide as a razor cleaved through the air, whistling towards them with the swiftness of thunder.

Thud!!

The array of plate armor, chain armor, leather armor, soft armor, and cloth armor pierced in succession by the first Rider, penetrating straight through his chest.

The gleaming arrowhead burst out from his back with a spray of blood mist.

The vast force hurled his body high from the back of his warhorse; he landed heavily on the ground, his head tilting to the side, lifeless.

The Conquest Knights behind were terrified.

Everything happened too quickly, they didn’t even comprehend what had occurred.

Coming to their senses and looking toward the enemy, they saw a Conquest Knight standing with a blood-red Large Bow, drawing another arrow.

The all-steel arrows, each weighing over a pound, were readied for a second shot.

His shooting motion was exceedingly quick, with an elegant flow like drifting clouds and flowing water, conveying a fatal mist rolling towards the enemy.

Whoosh!!

The heavy arrows surged forth viciously at a speed of over a hundred meters per second!

Bang!

The second leading Conquest Knight was pierced through the body, the steel-forged plate armor shattered like paper, and he too fell from his steed.

"Crack Armor Great Bow!!"

Someone cried out loud.

In an instant, those Conquest Knights who had not yet begun to charge at full speed were thrown into chaos; their warhorses’ gallop turned to a trot, slowing down.

They were reminded, all at once, of a legend from over a hundred years past—the First Generation Split Armor drawing his bow to slay a dragon.

Every one of them felt numb all over, feeling as if their scalps were about to explode.

That was the title knight, a household name, a powerful figure who accompanied the Conqueror to conquer lands, a Grand Duke!

Without a doubt, this Conquest Knight was his descendant.

The Riptide Family was famous for their Divine Archers.

From a young age, each Split Armor had to apply a certain extraordinary substance to their eyes to enhance their vision and maintain their eyesight.

Thus, the Split Armor’s eyesight was extraordinarily sharp, seeing in the dark was nothing unusual for them.

And often, their gaze was particularly intense.

With a powerful Riptide glare alone, they could chill to the bone.

It was no mere legend that the First Generation Split Armor could kill a farmer just by staring him down!