Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 402 - 6: When Narrow Roads Meet, the Braver One Wins

Chapter 402: Chapter 6: When Narrow Roads Meet, the Braver One Wins

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On the mortal battlefield, both sides in the conflict are unable to determine the exact location and number of their enemies, so they must send out scouts and reconnaissance in all directions to dispel the fog and provide vision.

But on a supernatural battlefield, this rule of war may not be accurate.

Because some people can illuminate their vision through special means.

Origin City has a Beast Witch, and the Kingdom Army has priests who receive revelations from the mysterious realm.

Of course, the visions provided by these means still have limitations.

For example, no matter how good the eyesight of the Beast Witch’s birds, they cannot overlook the entire battlefield.

The same goes for the Kingdom Army; their revelations are not clear and can only sense a force approaching them.

An example is Origin City gathering troops, like throwing a stone into the water; as the ripples spread, the priests of the Black Iron Army detect that unusual fluctuation—the ripple itself is coming towards them.

The methods of the Church Court are more advanced than those of the Beast Witch.

After all, a witch is at most like a drone.

Yet the priest’s revelations come from a special dimension, which in terms of convenience and foresight, are much stronger than the witch.

In the past hundred years, the Church Court had lost this detection method until the crown fell, and they were favored by All Gods, reestablishing a certain connection with the Netherworld.

This event is also recorded in the secret history of the Black Iron Court.

Tashina knew about it, but she also understood that those priests could only get vague information. There could be no clear indication like ’my combat power is only six thousand, he has at least ten thousand or more,’ nor could they know her marching route.

The battlefield was somewhat transparent, yet not entirely.

Because it is almost impossible to predict the process and outcome of the war.

The only certainty is that when a surprise attack loses its information advantage and initiative advantage, all tactical actions ultimately come down to a direct clash.

Carter Family Head is reckless, a complete warmonger.

The King of Lavender seems elegant but is actually arrogant.

The two have completely different styles of doing things, with the only similarity being their confidence; otherwise, they wouldn’t recklessly advance, going deep into enemy territory alone—a major taboo in the battlefield, yet they disregarded it, or rather, thought it was not a problem at all.

...

The sun was visibly tilting west.

The intense sunlight gradually weakened.

The two armies were about to meet, all prepared for battle.

Tashina said, "Lord Dick, I entrust my Black Iron to your command, you lead the infantry to engage the enemy head-on while I lead the cavalry to attack from behind."

This is a standard anvil and hammer tactic.

The Black Iron is an infantry unit that can conduct long-distance assaults, but its mobility is not as good as the cavalry, so it was placed on the frontline.

Quickly, Tashina led over thirteen hundred cavalry, detaching from the main force.

It was an open field, terrain not complex, not flat, with many hills and mounds. At this moment it was spring, the lush green forest also served as an effective screen.

’Boom! Boom! Boom!’

The attack drums sounded.

The main phalanx of the River Valley Army began to march forward in strides; the open terrain made it impossible for them to form a tight formation, because encountering just a tree or a rock would disrupt the lineup’s integrity.

But even if the line was not in neat order, the three rows of sharp spears at the front were still a formidable threat, the spearheads flashing with a bright cold light.

"Engage!!" The Beast Family Head shouted.

"Wooah!!" Over a thousand beast warriors exclaimed with ferocious roars.

Their fighting spirit was intense, quickly infecting the conscript soldiers.

In the past, the Carter Family, in an attempt to seize the Salt Mine, had fought with the River Valley Army, where hundreds of warriors died tragically, marking the most devastating battle for the Beast Family in decades of development.

Now they were here again.

"Release arrows!!" Dick shouted.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

Arrows shot from the rear of the River Valley Army, covering the Carter Army like a torrential rain; through prolonged training and numerous battles, their range and accuracy had become extremely precise, especially the sniper unit, all of whom could be considered elite archers.

"Ah!" The wounded let out screams of pain.

Some arrows hit the conscripted army, but more were blocked by shields.

"Advance!!"

Following this, they were met with a spear charge!

The River Valley Army directly attacked, filling the gap between battles, pushing the offensive rhythm to full, giving not a single chance.

The conscripted soldiers in the front row were struck by the arrow storm, causing a significant collapse in morale, but there was no retreat for those behind.

The Carter Family needed the conscripted army to fill the line, to exhaust the main strength of the River Valley Army.

Filling the line was a brutal task.

For instance, in an army of ten thousand, a hundred deaths sound little, only one percent.

But for the front row, it equates to collective death.

So unless constrained, the conscript soldiers could crumble even with just one percent loss, as nobody wants to die.

But if behind them there were thousands of fully armed beast warriors supervising the battle, the endurance to loss among the conscripts would soar; there would still be a slim chance of survival by attacking the enemy, but to turn and flee would mean immediate death.

Their sacrifice was not without value.

Spearmen’s stamina would significantly deplete, spearheads would momentarily become stuck from killing enemies, and the corpses would add to the battlefield’s complexity...

...

While both sides engaged in direct confrontation.

Tashina was also maneuvering with the cavalry,

The battlefield was vast, providing a span of several leagues as maneuvering space for the cavalry.

For convenience, they often chose flatter roads.

The cavalry following Tashina was constituted by special forces, vanguards, White Knights, and Oak troops, among others.

A thousand riders galloped, the ground trembled, and dust rose.

"Screech!" A sharp whistling sound came from the sky.

That was the scout’s alarm arrow!

Tashina looked up abruptly, glancing at the sky ahead, faintly seeing swirling dust rise, and the ground’s tremors became uneven.

A messenger crow descended from above, its hoarse voice urgently shouting, "Your Highness, enemy sighted, Conquest Knights! Heading this way! Many! Many!"

Tashina instantly realized that while she chose to maneuver around, the enemy also opted for this tactic.

Unfortunately, they chose the same path!

In other words, the two surprise forces had encountered each other head-on.

"Everyone!! Draw swords!!"

Tashina, wrapped in a white cloak, her light armor gleaming, exuded a force from her lungs and throat that, for a moment, eclipsed the thunderous roar of hooves, reverberating in everyone’s ears, horrifyingly.

"Raise the cavalry spear! Wield the round shield! Oak Tribe! Brave forward!!" the Oak Prince, clad in shining armor.

"Meeting on a narrow path—" Nathan roared.

"The brave win!!" shouted all the vanguards in unison!!

The ground trembled!

Closer!

The Kingdom Army clearly also sensed the approaching cavalry force.

But they did not choose to slow down, instead making the same decision as the White Steel Princess!

That was to accelerate!

Keep accelerating!!

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