Chapter 117 - Bewildered! Charging into the formation! Piercing through!
【Wow, over ten thousand people getting electrocuted at once!】
【How spectacular!】
【Such a rare sight!】
【Shocked! How can so many people gather to experience this!】
【Unbelievable!】
【Report: The anchor is blatantly bullying people!】
【The anchor is so evil, but I like it!】
【…】
Seeing the thousands of rebels at the base of the wall shaking uncontrollably, the atmosphere in the live stream became incredibly lively!
“What’s happening to them?”
On the city walls, Count Zane also saw the rebels trembling uncontrollably.
If there were only a few or even dozens of such people among tens of thousands, he might not have noticed.
But now, with over ten thousand rebels, in several rows, shaking continuously, it was hard for Count Zane not to notice!
Such a large number of people being electrocuted and shaking collectively had never happened before, even before Richard’s transmigration.
This scene was indeed extraordinarily rare!
Count Zane was completely baffled.
Despite having spent quite some time in Florencia City and using advanced electric lights, Count Zane still didn’t understand the reaction to being electrocuted.
So he had no idea what was causing the rebels’ condition.
“Could it be magic?”
The idea of magic crossed Count Zane’s mind.
He knew that Richard was a noble mage in Florencia City.
This was also why Count Zane had come to regard Richard with a new level of respect.
Now, with no clear understanding of what was causing the rebels’ reaction, he instinctively thought it might be magic.
As a count, he had a different level of exposure compared to ordinary nobles.
He had seen mages in the royal capital.
However, he felt that even the mages he had seen could not make so many people tremble uncontrollably, unable to hold their weapons!
That’s how people are.
The less they understand something, the more impressive it seems.
So, Richard became even more mysterious and formidable in Count Zane’s eyes!
“Charge!”
Although a large number of rebels were trembling due to the electric shock, the elite troops led by General Rigg at the forefront had not yet noticed the odd behavior of the rebels in the rear.
After a large number of ladders were placed across the moat, the rebels in the elite force charged forward with their shields.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
On the city walls, a barrage of crossbow bolts and arrows rained down.
“Hold the shields!”
Among the elite troops, some with considerable combat experience led the way. Under their command, the rebels raised their shields and pressed forward.
These rebels coordinated well, and after advancing, they didn’t immediately attack but instead formed shield walls to wait for more rebels to arrive.
However, even so, some of them were still hit by arrows.
The crossbowmen continued their attack, and the fox archers also launched projectiles from behind the city walls.
The projectiles had significant impact and came from different angles than the crossbows, making them harder to defend against.
Rebels kept falling.
Yet, the rebels who had passed the closest low wall continued to surge forward.
“General, there’s a situation!”
At this moment, a staff officer on the high ground had noticed the rebels shaking.
However, he couldn’t quite understand what was happening.
In some TV dramas before the time travel, the blue light appearing on people after electric shock was an exaggeration.
Aside from the exaggerated effects of high voltage shocks, ordinary electric shocks generally left people immobile and convulsing, with no visible electric currents.
Thus, the staff officer couldn’t make sense of it.
“What’s going on?”
General Rigg frowned.
“Charge!”
At this time, General Rigg’s elite troops had already rushed across the moat, and more rebels rushed up from the rear.
As these rebels moved, those further back who had not yet been electrocuted also started moving.
But the rebels who had been shocked could barely move.
Those near the electrocuted rebels noticed something was wrong, but without touching them, they didn’t know what exactly was happening.
Now, as the rebels in the back moved forward, they were also pushed into the area of electric shock.
Immediately—
These rebels also experienced the electric shock.
After passing through many people, the electric current’s power had diminished, but it still left people numb and unable to hold their weapons steady.
As the rebels from behind pushed forward, a large number were knocked down by the pressure.
“Charge!”
The rebels continued to push forward.
More and more of them were shocked.
Thus, by the three low walls, an increasing number of rebels were shaking uncontrollably.
“Stop! There’s a problem!”
Some rebels cried out in alarm.
Those who hadn’t been shocked also noticed the issue and stopped.
Soon, they discovered that whether in front or behind, there were large numbers of people shaking, and many collapsed to the ground after shaking for a while.
Touching these people caused instant immobility from the electric shock.
The rebels, who had taken several cities, were completely bewildered.
They had no idea what was happening or why such a bizarre and eerie situation had occurred.
For a moment, the rebels who weren’t electrocuted were stuck, unable to retreat or advance, standing there in confusion.
Only the more than ten thousand elite rebels who had crossed the first low wall and a few thousand ordinary rebels continued to advance, trying to use the remaining ladders to scale the city walls.
But the rebels had been completely cut off.
Between the first low wall and the city wall, there were nearly twenty thousand rebels.
Then, between the first, second, and third low walls, there were another twenty to thirty thousand rebels trapped there.
These rebels, having witnessed their comrades being electrocuted, were terrified and stood frozen in place, afraid to move.
Behind the third low wall, there were only a little over ten thousand rebels left.
“It’s time. Let’s deploy the centaurs and minotaurs!”
Seeing that the rebels had been thoroughly divided, Richard said calmly.
“Yes, Master!”
Next to Richard, Dorothy issued the order via the intercom.
“It’s our turn!”
Outside the city, in a dense forest, Mia said.
At this moment, Mia was riding on the back of Charlotte, the daughter of the centaur chief.
“Let’s go!”
With Mia’s command, dozens of minotaurs and a thousand centaurs began to move.
They spread out their legs and charged thunderously toward the main force of the rebels!
The minotaurs, having been well-fed and grown robust over the past few months in Richard’s domain, were almost as fast as the centaurs.
Additionally, the minotaurs had great stamina for long-distance marching.
In summary, the minotaurs were incredibly strong in all respects.
If there were any drawback, it was that they ate a lot.
One minotaur could easily consume enough to starve a common baron if given free rein.
Only Richard could afford to feed more than ninety minotaurs and let them eat as much as they wanted.
Nowadays, Richard’s livestream room even had people specifically donating to help feed these minotaurs.
Presumably, they were worried that Richard might dismiss them.
But Richard would never dismiss them. These minotaurs were invaluable for charging into battle.
“Rumble, rumble!”
As soon as the minotaurs and centaurs began to move, the ground started to shake.
Their direction of attack was the northern side of the rebel forces.
The forest provided the best cover for concealment. The rebels had not noticed them at all.
The minotaurs and centaurs were very fast, and within two minutes, they were already near the rebel forces.
【Oh yeah, the minotaurs and centaurs are finally making their move!】
【The mighty minotaurs!】
【Wow, the anchor’s strategy is impressive—dividing the rebels like this, the more than ten thousand rebels outside won’t be able to withstand the charge of the centaurs and minotaurs!】
【666!】
【I knew the streamer wouldn’t play by the book!】
【I suddenly understand the anchor’s deep intentions!】
【You don’t get it.】
【Awesome! I feel like this war will end soon!】
【It can’t drag on too long. Knowing the anchor’s style, if it goes beyond an hour and a half, we might not see it anymore!】
The first to notice the movement of the minotaurs and centaurs were still the viewers in the livestream room.
The system’s automatic cameras provided an excellent view.
Many viewers quickly understood Richard’s strategic intent!
Some viewers had initially thought Richard would defend the city.
Over the past few days, there had been extensive online discussions about Richard’s strategy for this battle.
Military enthusiasts had even listed several tactics Richard might use to win.
Given the high engagement in the livestream room, this topic was very popular.
It also brought a lot of attention to Richard’s livestream.
However, the viewers now realized they had guessed wrong!
Richard had not employed a night raid or a passive city defense strategy.
Instead, after using electrified barbed wire to divide the rebels into sections, he boldly deployed the centaurs and minotaurs!
Richard’s tactics immediately made a large number of viewers exclaim in admiration!
Although there were still more than ten thousand rebels outside, the viewers, who had already witnessed the power of the minotaurs and centaurs, were confident in their abilities!
Especially the minotaurs.
Fifty minotaurs, without any other troops, could dominate a battle involving a thousand or even two thousand people.
And now there were so many centaurs as well!
These centaurs, fully armored and incredibly strong, were even more fearsome than human heavy cavalry.
When they charged at such terrifying speed, even the kingdom’s regular troops couldn’t stop them.
Let alone these rebels!
So, every viewer in the livestream room was excitedly watching the screen, eager to see the performance of the minotaurs and centaur warriors!
【Charge, crush them, hahaha!】
【Kill, kill, kill!】
【My minotaur, even bearing the abyss, is still invincible!】
【I bet a spicy strip that the war will end within an hour!】
【I’ll bet a tea egg instead.】
The livestream room was buzzing with excitement.
“His demi-human troops!”
Soon, Count Zane and Sir John, standing in the tower above the city gate, also saw the scene.
Count Zane knew Richard had an demi-human army. However, he had never seen this army in battle before.
As he watched this demi-human army charge towards the more than ten thousand rebels, Count Zane widened his eyes.
Previously, he might have thought Richard was taking too much of a risk.
After all, there were still over ten thousand rebels outside.
And he had never seen the combat effectiveness of the demi-human army.
In the last battle against five thousand rebels, the centaurs had been deployed, but they were just finishing up, having only thrown a round of spears to end it.
Count Zane had no impression of the demi-human’s strength.
But now, seeing how in a short period, the rebels were first reduced by more than ten thousand from crossbow attacks, then caused to tremble inexplicably and taken down another ten thousand, with the remaining rebels being divided into several sections and unable to move…
This outcome had already proven Richard’s tactical brilliance!
As a result, Count Zane subconsciously let go of his worries.
He was even a bit eager to see the demi-humans in action!
“Demi-humans!”
At this moment, the rebels finally noticed the approaching centaurs.
The rebels on the northern side were immediately thrown into a state of panic.
Demi-humans were feared in many places.
And now, seeing such a large number of demi-humans was even more terrifying.
Immediately, the rebels on the northern side began to retreat in fear.
“General, the demi-humans!”
The staff officer soon noticed.
General Rigg looked to the north and saw the minotaurs and centaurs forming a tapered formation and charging crazily towards the rebels.
Upon seeing the centaurs, General Rigg instinctively felt something was wrong!
He had originally planned to bring 90,000 troops, but only brought 70,000 because he had seen the centaurs outside the Stone Fort City!
Although it was only a reduction of 20,000 men, if he had 90,000 troops now, even if they were divided, there would still be 30,000 to 40,000 outside the outermost low wall!
But now, there were only a little more than 10,000 left outside!
General Rigg had felt something was wrong when he saw his troops trembling and falling down in large numbers as if they were possessed by an evil spirit.
You know, his army has just reached the enemy’s city wall!
Now, seeing these centaurs charging out, General Rigg felt even more uneasy.
“Where’s Cole? Where did that guy go?”
General Rigg shouted.
It was Cole who had reported that there was a city with a large amount of gold and food, which was why he had brought the army here.
The people around General Rigg searched and could not find Cole!
“General, Cole is missing!”
One of the leaders reported anxiously.
“Damn it!”
General Rigg suddenly felt that he had most likely been tricked by Cole.
Meanwhile, the minotaurs and centaurs had already reached the front lines of the rebels.
Seeing the minotaurs and centaurs, like small hills, charging with terrifying speed, the rebels were completely frightened.
Not only did they lack the courage to fight back, but they also instinctively began to retreat to the sides.
However, they had no time to escape.
The minotaurs were already upon them.
“Ah~”
A rebel who failed to avoid in time was directly smashed away by the minotaur named Tieling, who was charging at the forefront with a hammer.
Indeed, after Tieling grew to nearly three meters tall, Richard had given him a new weapon.
From a double-headed axe, he was now equipped with a flail.
No, he actually still carried a double-headed axe on his back.
Now, slightly taller minotaurs were equipped with such a weapon setup.
Their armor had dedicated weapon slots. They could carry a double-headed axe, a flail, and also attach a shield.
So, during marches, they could walk around with these weapons on their backs.
In battle, they could simply detach these weapons and immediately engage in combat.
Having dual weapons made them even more versatile.
After all, single weapons might not be enough on the battlefield. Even now, pikemen often used dual weapons, or even triple weapons. A spear paired with a short sword or dagger.
This way, even if their primary weapon broke, they would still have something to fight with.
After Tieling the minotaur smashed a rebel away, he did not pause and continued charging deeper into the enemy ranks.
Following him, dozens of minotaurs and centaurs smashed and crushed the rebels in their path.
Even though there were still over ten thousand rebels outside, no one could stop the terrifying charge of the minotaurs and centaurs.
In fact, the rebels at the back, seeing them approach, were so frightened that they scrambled to avoid them, crowding together with their teammates.
The entire rebel formation was being torn apart by the minotaurs and centaurs as they charged through!
【That’s so fierce!】
【This is the terrifying power of cavalry!】
【No, the combination of minotaurs and centaurs is even scarier than heavy cavalry!】
【Yeah, heavy cavalry becomes dangerous when trapped, but these minotaurs and centaurs aren’t afraid of being trapped. Did you see? The centaurs haven’t even thrown their spears yet!】
【Look at their direction of advance!】
【…】
In the livestream, viewers were both excitedly watching and discussing.
On the battlefield, seeing his army utterly powerless against the minotaurs and centaurs, General Rigg’s eyes narrowed!
He was well aware of the rebels’ combat capabilities. But he wasn’t worried because of the numbers.
However, today, the usual principle of numbers seemed to be failing!
General Rigg felt that even his so-called “elite” troops might not be able to withstand the advance of the minotaurs and centaurs!
It seemed that only with a massive loss of lives could they hope to destroy them.
But now, their army had been divided.
The rebels trapped between the three low walls were too scared to even move.
Although the rebels who had crossed the last low wall had begun their siege efforts, they had expended so many ladders that their effectiveness was minimal. They suffered heavy losses under the crossbowmen’s attacks and were unable to scale the walls.
Despite this, General Rigg did not consider retreating!
Or rather, he was somewhat stunned and hadn’t even thought about retreating!
After all, such a battle had never occurred since their uprising began!
“General, it’s bad. Their target is likely you!”
At this moment, one of General Rigg’s aides spoke up.
“Sound the horn, hold them off!”
General Rigg commanded.
“Whooo~”
The horn sounded.
“Simon, you go!”
General Rigg, determined, sent one of his aides with a few thousand elite troops to try to block the minotaurs and centaurs’ advance.
“Keep charging, don’t stop!”
Mia shouted loudly from Charlotte’s back.
Ahead of her, fifty minotaurs did not slow down.
They would not stop to slowly kill the enemy but would charge forward while using their weapons to kill the enemies in front of them, then continue pressing deeper into the rebel ranks.
Their target was General Rigg!
Along the way, no rebels could stop them.
At this point, a unit of rebels equipped with superior weapons advanced to meet them.
“Spears!”
Charlotte shouted.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh~”
Instantly, a thousand long spears were hurled.
Many of the rebels in that unit were pierced by the spears before they could even raise their shields.
A rebel holding a shield, when the spear came flying, managed to block the spear with his shield, but since he was holding the shield with one hand, it was unstable, and the shield was knocked away by the spear’s immense impact, leaving him vulnerable.
Larger shields were shattered by the spears.
The impact of the centuars’ spears at close range was far more terrifying than arrows or crossbow bolts.
After all, the weight of the spear combined with the centuars’ high-speed throwing force was extremely formidable.
“Whoosh whoosh~”
After the first volley of spears, a second volley followed immediately.
The well-equipped rebels screamed in agony.
Then, the minotaurs charged forward with their shields.
“Crack~”
The sound of shields breaking filled the air.
Many rebels were sent flying, their shields and bones shattered.
Following this, the centaurs charged in, like a sharp dagger, piercing through the rebels!
This well-equipped “elite” unit was utterly powerless against the minotaurs and centaurs’ formidable strength!
【Minotaur boss is so impressive!】
【Cleaving through from north to south, amazing!】
【So satisfying!】
【It’s making my blood boil!】
【…】
On the tower, Count Zane and Sir John watched in stunned silence.
From their elevated position, they had a clearer view.
In a short time, the minotaurs and centaurs had completely torn through the outer rebel forces of over ten thousand.
Not only had they killed a large number of rebels, but they had also reached close to the rebel leader!
Such overwhelming combat power astonished both Count Zane and Sir John!
“Quick, quick, quick!”
The several thousand elite troops finally managed to make some impact. Some of the rebels had placed a large number of wagons, originally intended for transporting goods, in front of the minotaurs and centaurs, slowing them down.
“Charge forward and kill them!”
General Rigg issued the command.
The remaining elite troops and other rebels surged forward like a tidal wave.
“No matter how strong your fighting ability is, once you lose your speed, I can simply drown you with numbers.” General Rigg scoffed.
He was well-versed in military knowledge.
However, he didn’t understand minotaurs!
Even with their speed reduced, the minotaurs’ combat power remained extraordinarily fierce. Forty or so minotaurs charged at the surrounding rebels, spreading chaos and death.
The centaurs continued to hurl spears, killing the advancing rebels.
A few minotaurs moved forward, overturning the obstructing wagons and quickly clearing a path.
“Hold them off here. I will deal with him!”
Mia said from Charlotte’s back.
“I’ll clear the way!”
Minotaur Tieling roared, tossing aside his shield, wielding a flail in one hand and a double-headed axe in the other, and began clearing the path with powerful sweeps.
Charlotte, carrying Mia, led over a hundred centaurs as they charged forward.
Meanwhile, the remaining minotaurs and centaurs continued to clash with the surrounding rebels, keeping more of them occupied.
“They’re coming!”
General Rigg, seeing over a hundred minotaurs and centaurs charging toward him, revealed a cold smile.
He still had a thousand “bodyguards” with him!
These thousand bodyguards were selected for their strength and combat prowess.
“Kill them all!”
General Rigg commanded, and the thousand bodyguards surged forward.
“Roar!”
Tieling roared, discarding his shield, and with his flail and double-headed axe, he cleared the front with a ferocious sweep.
Immediately, the centaurs accelerated and charged forward again.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
The centaurs threw their last batch of throwing spears, clearing the path before them, and then charged forward with even more force.
Among them, Charlotte led the charge, carrying Mia as they rushed toward General Rigg.
Getting closer, closer!
As they neared General Rigg, Mia suddenly shouted, “Be careful!”
Charlotte quickly raised her shield.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
Dozens of arrows shot towards them.
A few bowmen among the rebels were positioned near General Rigg.
But before these bowmen could complete their first round of attacks, screams filled the air.
Mia had already leaped into action, killing several bowmen before leaping towards General Rigg with her short sword gleaming menacingly.