Chapter 156: Chapter 72: Bloody Battle! Catalonia Plain.
For Duncan, this was the first time witnessing a true military might, as he led the Empire’s heavily armored cavalry positioned behind the cavalry of the Western Goth Kingdom on the right flank, waiting for the opportune moment to engage. From where he stood, Duncan couldn’t see the battlefield’s end and could only observe the situation unfold using strategic maps from a God’s perspective.
The exact number of Huns was still unclear, but it was estimated to be over a hundred thousand. Among them, the main Hun cavalry and nomads numbered around fifty to sixty thousand, with nearly all the Hun cavalry, who had plundered throughout the Gaul Region, concentrated around the Sharon area.
"This battle won’t be easy!"
Duncan watched the frontline, where the central army was advancing, foreseeing another scenario where the central army would be pierced through.
As the mass of Hunnic forces gradually approached, the Empire’s allied forces also began to make moves. The first to start accelerating were the Alan cavalry. After their kingdom fell, the exiled monarch Sangis led the remaining Alans into the Empire’s territory.
This battle involved about ten thousand Alans and Sarmatians mixed into a legion, with the Alans, as the core of the central army, having several thousand cavalry, among which the heavy cavalry comprised the Alan nobility that had fled during their exile.
— Sangis (Exiled Monarch) (King) (Abandoned by the Gods) (Celestial Destiny Lost) [Three-star Whiteboard]!
— Alan Noble Heavy Cavalry (Powerful Charge) (One-star).
— Alan Assault Cavalry (Quick Movement).
The exiled Alans first sought refuge with the Sarmatians, who were later wiped out by the Huns, ultimately escaping together to the Roman Empire. In the Eastern Empire, there were more Sarmatians, while the Western Empire allied with the exiled Sangis.
"Abandoned by the Gods? Celestial Destiny Lost?"
"Such a mark exists?"
Through the God’s perspective, Duncan observed the exiled Alan King. He was a rugged middle-aged man with a face lined by experiences, eyes ablaze with the fire of revenge, inspiring the surrounding warriors with fervent words, essentially rallying them to avenge against the Huns.
This was the only three-star combat unit in the central army. Behind the Alan troops was a hodgepodge of Germanic mixed legion, concentrated in the central army as they were not trusted by Aetius.
The Burgundians and Saxons were also in the central army, with their infantry numbering over ten thousand.
Aetius only positioned the Franks and British Legion on the left flank, forming a solid line with other Roman legions.
Approximately thirty thousand troops formed the central army, with the vengeful Alan cavalry at the forefront and mixed Germanic Barbarian Race units in the rear. The Empire’s formation resembled a ’凸’ shape, with the line above being the elite Alan cavalry, who were the first to engage against the Hunnic forces.
The thunderous sound of hooves echoed!
The massive Hunnic light cavalry began accelerating, thousands of warhorses galloping simultaneously, accompanied by eerie cries and shouts piercing the sky—a tactic the Huns often used to instill fear in their enemies.
"Disperse!"
"Circular Horse Archery Formation!"
A three-star silver-gray marked Hun heroic eagle shooter led his troops charging at the battlefield’s forefront. Unlike the Alan cavalry, the Hun mounted archers began with rapid movement, igniting the warhorses into action. Over ten thousand Hun archer cavalry split into two groups, slowly forming a curved archery formation during their advance.
As the Hun mounted archers began to run, the central battlefield resounded with the pounding of hooves, nearly drowning out any commands. Several elite riders shot whistling arrows into the sky, creating piercing screeches, prompting the surrounding Hun archer cavalry to instinctively scatter and form an archery formation, closing in and surrounding the enemy.
The Hun army, accustomed to constant warfare, sometimes required no orders, knowing what to do with just a signal.
Their forte lay in harassing attacks with mounted archery.
"The enemy’s riding skill clearly dominates."
From Duncan’s God’s viewpoint, the elite Alan cavalry also began to accelerate, with Sangis gradually moving to the front of all the cavalry. The exiled monarch led a group of forty to fifty personal guards, commanding them to issue orders.
"Wedge Array!"
The thousands of cavalry began forming a wedge array, following the King’s steps while gradually picking up speed. They did not rush headlong but instead steadily advanced, transitioning from a jog to a gallop, eventually surging into a frenzied charge.
The distance gradually closed.
Five hundred meters, four hundred meters, three hundred meters, two hundred meters.
Sangis could now see the incoming encirclement of the Hun mounted archers. He suddenly raised his lance high, shouting back to the cavalry behind him, "Alan warriors!"
"The time for revenge has come!"
"Our ancestors and the gods are watching us!"
Boom!
A roaring sound like a landslide or tsunami erupted.
Sangis slowly lowered his face shield, gripping the lance tightly under his arm. The thousands of cavalry behind him accelerated simultaneously, as if a torrent, with heavily armored cavalry leading the charge, flanked by Alan assault light cavalry. Spears gleamed coldly in the sunlight, raised high and then leveled.
"Charge!"
"Lance Charge!"
Under Sangis’ leadership, the Alan cavalry launched into a thunderous charge.
But the Alan cavalry met with a downpour of arrows, countless arrows falling from above. Over ten thousand Hun mounted archers galloped in a circular formation, shooting continuously in one direction while rapidly moving. They avoided the sharp edge of the Alan heavy cavalry, maintaining distance to harass the enemy, as the tens of thousands of warhorses surged like a storm.
This is the arrow storm stirred up by the Hunnic mounted archers!
Thud.
Thump, thump, thump.
From Duncan’s god-like perspective, he saw hundreds of Alan cavalry fall from their horses as the arrows rained down like a curtain. The foremost riders were almost turned into porcupines, with only the elite heavy cavalry led by King Sangis, protected even their horses with iron armor, surviving the terrifying storm.
Sangis took three arrows, let out a roar, and launched a lance charge, directly impaling a Hunnic mounted archer who couldn’t turn his horse in time to evade, armor and all.
Within the range of the arrow rain, the fallen Alan riders were trampled to death by their companions from behind!
Though they had not yet directly engaged the enemy, the Alan riders had suffered heavy losses.
But they did not panic in the slightest; the king’s valor inspired their fighting spirit. Fueled by the fire of revenge, they began to accelerate their charge under the raining arrows, with the wings of the Alan assault cavalry suddenly surpassing the elite heavy cavalry in front. After absorbing the initial arrow storm, two to three thousand light assault cavalry, like a sharp blade, directly pierced into the formation of the Hunnic mounted archers.