Chapter 88: Hastings' Defense

  Xia Ya had been unconscious for over half an hour, and when he came to, he was lying in a tent, his armor and outer garments already removed. His not-so-loyal attendant, the magician Dudoro, was holding a dampened handkerchief to wipe away the bloodstains on Xia Ya's body.

  As soon as Xia Ya woke up, the magician's face immediately changed from an angry expression to a flattering one, and he smiled obsequiously: "Sir, would you like to eat something or drink some water?"

  Xia Ya struggled to turn over, feeling his whole body was about to shatter, as if he had been hit by an iron hammer hundreds of times, his skeleton almost scattered. Every muscle on his body was transmitting a painful feeling. He groaned twice, but still managed to sit up with difficulty.

  Xia Ya's face showed a rare thoughtful expression, he lightly gasped for air, then suddenly spoke out in a cold tone: "Dororo... tell me, how can people become stronger?"

  "Hmm..." Taro's face remained obedient, but in his heart he was resentful (If I had known, would I still be bullied by you here...).

  "Hmm... so, after a person becomes stronger, what will happen? Will they then possess the heart of a strong person?"

  This is Xia Ya's second question.

  (If I get stronger? If I, Lord Mudora, really become strong, the first thing I'll do is trample you, this country bumpkin, mercilessly under my feet.)

  Fortunately, however, Shia did not really intend to get an answer from the magician. He fell silent for a moment, then had Dororo help him up and took him outside.

  Carrying Xia Ya's heavy body, Duo Duo Luo's small legs were desperately shaking, barely managing to send Xia Ya to the central military tent when Sui Leite was fiercely arguing with a group of other camp officers about something.

  As soon as Xia Ya walked in, everyone fell silent. Unconsciously, Xia Ya seemed to have established a bit of prestige - although it was only among the low-ranking officers of these secondary auxiliary troops.

  Today, Xia Ya showed great bravery in the battle against the first wave of Odin's attack. What's more, he even challenged Hestia, who had been a thorn in the side of the Byzantines for many years, one-on-one on the battlefield - um, although his methods were a bit despicable, but in the end, he actually managed to injure Hestia on the battlefield!!

  This is simply a miracle!!

  Hastings, Odin's god of war! How many years has it been since he was wounded in a one-on-one duel on the battlefield?

  So in the eyes of these low-ranking officers, looking at Xia Ya again at this moment felt completely different.

  Sreit came up with a worried face and personally helped Xia Ya sit down, and the magician naturally took the opportunity to rush out.

  "What's wrong?" Sreth frowned at Xia Ya.

  "It won't die." Xia Ya forced a smile and looked at everyone in the tent: "What are you arguing about?"

  "Counterattack." Sreht's response left Shaya somewhat surprised.

  "Counterattack?"

  Sui Rete looked at the people in the tent, nodded: "We still have 200 cavalrymen. Everyone's idea is that next time the Odinians attack, we'll send out the cavalry to counterattack. Well... anyway, everyone will die, and in the end, we'll make a final blow and take a big bite of the Odinians' flesh!"

  It's no wonder that it's the 13th Legion, even if it's a second-line auxiliary battalion, it still carries Rodoria's ferocity and bravery.

  "No way." Xia Ya shook his head vigorously, but he quickly straightened up from the motion, which gave him a headache.

  "...Why?" Srete's face was very gloomy: "Anyway, we can't keep it, and in the end, it's just...enough to make a desperate last stand."

  "It's no use." Xia Ya raised his head, a bitter smile on his face: "I think we've both made a mistake."

  "Error?"

  "Wrong!" Xia Ya nodded heavily: "Damn, I was wrong before, we were all wrong. We thought Hasting was too terrible! We all thought we couldn't hold on, but in fact, we overlooked Hasting's current weakness and soft spot!"

  "A weakness?" The officers in the tent were all surprised.

  "A weakness!" Shaya nodded firmly: "Hastings... he doesn't have enough troops! Not enough to take down our garrison!"

  As soon as the words came out, everyone in the tent showed an expression of disbelief, and even Slayet couldn't help but doubt whether Shaya had hurt his brain during the duel with Hastings.

  Insufficient military strength?

  What a joke! At this moment, outside the fort wall, Hastings has more than 10,000 troops! We only have over a thousand left!!

  Xia Ya's smile was somewhat tired, but he curled his lips: "Let's think about it this way... Hastings made a surprise attack and defeated the Second Ninth Army, what did he rely on?"

  "Speed." This answer isn't hard to think of. The greatest reliance of a surprise attack is naturally speed.

  "So... what does speed represent? Cavalry!" Xia Ya spat out a mouthful of air, his lungs still somewhat uncomfortable, and even speaking made him feel a slight stinging pain.

  Sui and others were also old hands after all, and they suddenly understood a bit.

  "He is a master of swift and surprise attacks, so he only brought cavalry." Xia continued with difficulty: "In order to gain speed, he also had to split his troops to attack Ye Huo Town in the south, which further thinned out his forces. So when he arrived here, he only had around 10,000 men left. These should be all the strength he has now, but... these are all cavalry!! He doesn't have any infantry! All of them are cavalry! In today's first wave of attack, he is using dismounted cavalry to attack the city! So, Hastings absolutely cannot afford to waste his troops like this."

  To dismount expensive cavalry to attack a military defensive line in the manner of infantry is something that anyone with at least some military sense would not do.

  "The second question." Xia Ya rubbed her chest and took a deep breath: "According to the intelligence we have, in the north, General Adrick and General Rul's forces are two legions, while the Odin people they face seem not to be too powerful, at least not as elite as the Blackstin army. So, I ask you all, with such a power comparison, can our general possibly lose?"

  Of course not! Every member of the 13th Legion has a near-worshiping trust in Adrick and a fanatical faith in the combat power of the 13th Legion! As long as they don't encounter Hastings, the 13th Legion is confident to confront any Odin legion head-on!

  What's more... add a Ruhr infantry battalion?

  "So, to the north, the generals will definitely return, and now they are probably being delayed by the Odian army in the valley. However, the Odian army in the north is absolutely unable to pose a real threat to our generals. Once the generals launch a counterattack, Hastings will not want his precious field forces to be wasted on siege battles. So he lacks sufficient troops! He needs to keep enough cavalry to deal with our main cavalry force! No, it's not that simple... I have a feeling, a feeling without any basis, but I just have this feeling: as if Hastings is conserving his strength, he doesn't even plan to break through our defenses and occupy this place!"

  This remark made everyone somewhat skeptical again.

  Hastin doesn't want to break through here? The first wave of attacks today almost couldn't hold back on our side!

  "I can't explain this idea." Xia Ya scratched his head, seemingly unable to find the right words to describe this subtle feeling: "You see, he only needs to launch a second wave of attacks to break through us, but so far... they haven't moved."

  It wasn't until this sentence that it had some persuasive power, the officers in the tent looked at each other with strange expressions, and they all felt that Xia Ya's words were a bit absurd - how could Hastings possibly let us off? This was absolutely impossible, but the reality in front of them was that Hastings did not immediately launch another attack. With Hastings being such a famous general, it was impossible for him to miscalculate the strength of our camp!

  "It seems he doesn't intend to take this place. The first attack today, the force he put in, although it gave us a hard time, was just within the limit of what we could bear! It's almost unbelievable to say so, but I think that if it were Hastings, it wouldn't be strange for him to do something like this."

  The speaker was Sret, a mediocre camp officer who was the only one among all the officers present to command troops in battle and also the highest in military strategy.

  "But why?" a transportation officer couldn't help but shout loudly: "If we are captured, the general's rear route will be cut off, and then he can use his advantage to defeat our 13th Corps and General Ruhl's 6th Corps. Why doesn't he do such a thing?"

  Xia Ya thought for a moment, spreading his hands: "How the hell do we know? If we could guess, we'd all be Hastings. But one thing's for sure, he must have had a reason, and this reason is more important than devouring our 13th and 6th legions... at least to him, that Hastings."

  The officers in the tent began a new round of debate, trying hard to guess Hasting's motives with their own wisdom.

  Could it be... encirclement and annihilation? So Hastings is surrounding us without attacking?

  What a joke! If we were directly eliminated, the main force would fall into desperation. What's the point of "surrounding and attacking" by pulling down our pants and farting?

  "So, I don't think it's a good idea to send out two hundred cavalrymen for some kind of counter-charge. I have a feeling... the time when they can really be useful hasn't come yet, and these two hundred cavalrymen might just prove useful at a critical moment." Shaya smiled wryly.

  This was still his intuition, that kind of intuition cultivated in the mountains and forests before the arrival of danger, which cannot be explained by words or clear reasons.

  What's more important is that Xia Ya actually had a guess in his heart that even he himself couldn't understand, it was just that saying it out loud would be too unbelievable, so he didn't say it.

  Hastings... he seemed... as if he was guarding something?

  Xia Ya's thoughts were not complicated, on the contrary, his way of thinking was very simple and clear.

  Hastings is conserving his strength, I understand.

  So, what is the purpose of conserving strength? There are only two reasons. The first is to conserve strength for dealing with some enemy. But he clearly has a way to wipe out our main force, which is to take down this garrison, but instead he raises his fist and doesn't strike!! So obviously, his goal is not to deal with the enemy!

  So, the second reason is usually to reserve strength, if it's not for dealing with some enemy, then it can only be for guarding against someone!

  Hastings, what is he defending against!!

  ※※※

  "That Hasting guy must be on his guard against me."

  Koko Lan sat on the huge chair made of animal bones, which was supported by a large square pedestal lifted by twenty strong Odin warriors. Koko Lan sat steadily on the chair, with one hand resting on the armrest and the other holding a small harp, his fingers seemingly playing random notes on the strings, producing a series of soft sounds.

  Around him, Odin's legion was advancing slowly, surrounded by large numbers of sturdy and robust Odin warriors on all sides. The long dragon of the procession dragged along the highway, with the sound of footsteps and clashing weapons mixed together...

  "Hmm... the sound of the harp is still so pleasant." Koko Lan smiled slightly, slowly stretched out his hand, and took a pure gold wine cup from a servant kneeling beside the high platform. The wine cup was filled with bright red wine, he sipped it lightly, then tapped his forehead: "It's really hard to deal with... That guy Hasting must be on guard against me, so he won't dare to use force to attack the 13th Legion's garrison. He only has 10,000 cavalry, if he really gets trapped in the Byzantine people's garrison, and I deliberately let Adrick go back, then he would be surrounded instead... Haha... what a fun thing to do. Look, our Odin's pride, the strongest general, Hasting, his fate is actually decided by my hands... Hmm, no way, Hasting won't let that happen. Sigh, I'm getting a headache again."

  As the noble lord spoke recklessly of plotting against Hastings, the attendant kneeling beside his chair turned pale and trembled all over.

  This is simply torture! This lord, can't he slightly turn his back on people when he says such treasonous words? If we're heard listening to this kind of talk, there's always the danger of being killed and silenced...

  Last time you said Your Majesty had many sons so it didn't matter if a few died. Now you're actually plotting against Hastings...

  Are you going to let people live or not?!

  Koko Lan smiled lightly, and he seemed to have noticed the pale face of this attendant.

  "Alas, poor guys, you don't have to be afraid." Koko Lan shook his head and sighed: "These words, even if you say them out loud, it doesn't matter. Anyway, whether it's me, Hasting, or my great and almighty father, everyone understands in their hearts." He actually jumped down from the chair, pulled up the trembling attendant who was kneeling on the ground, and smiled excitedly: "Don't you understand? Come, come! Let me explain to you... This war is just a rehearsal for the struggle for the throne! Hasting is the close friend of the eldest prince. And I... if I want to scheme against my dear older brother, I can only use Hasting as a sacrifice. But my poor little brother died in battle... Okay, I admit it was my idea to encourage him to participate in the dangerous interception action... Alas, our father's heart is really ruthless. He knew all about this and didn't stop it. Is it that every generation of new emperors of Odin must step on the corpses and blood of their brothers and sisters to ascend to the throne?"

  The attendant finally collapsed!

  He, such a humble person, really can't understand why this noble suddenly went mad and said such absurd things to himself. This kind of talk should be heard by someone who would die from it! Such a secret, how could it be heard by someone with his status? Even if he heard just one word, the consequences would be immediate beheading and silencing!

  He trembled with madness, then loudly wailed: "Your Highness! Your Highness, please spare my life! Please spare my life! I, I, I didn't hear anything! Didn't hear it!!"

  Kokoran's gentle expression vanished in an instant, he glanced at the attendant, stood up and sat back down on his chair with a look of boredom, like a lost child waving his hand: "Get out, I won't kill you."

  After that servant almost crawled away, Keke Lan's fingers pressed on the strings of the guqin and let out a long sigh.

  "It's so lonely... there isn't even anyone to talk to."

  This Odin nobleman looked dejected.

  A mounted archer on a tame deer galloped up from the front, dismounted at the foot of the high platform and knelt down: "Your Highness, our warriors have already clashed with the Byzantines who cut off our rear! Our warriors can't break through, please order..."

  "What's the order?" Koko Lan yawned lazily, raising his hand to point casually and saying, "Are you all eager to fight to the death with the elite troops of Byzantium? Hmm, if you really want to send yourselves to your deaths, there's no need to rush at this moment."

  That reindeer cavalry was stunned on the spot, with its mouth wide open.

  "Alright, alright, let our brave warriors return. No need to rush and fight, uh... just let the people in front form a queue to see off the Byzantines. Yeah, that's it, form a queue to see them off. And don't forget to blow the horns, haha! Let's send them off with fanfare!"

  Your Highness, have you gone mad?!

  Watching the cavalry, Koko's face sank, and a hint of strange color flashed in his eyes. He still revealed that calm smile: "Alright, the 13th battalion is still left to our Odin's pride, let Lord Hastings deal with it. Our mission is just like driving sheep, drive these Byzantines under the great Lord Hastings' butcher knife, and let him slaughter them."

  "May I, but..." The cavalry officer obviously couldn't quite understand this order.

  Line up, see off and blow the whistle? !

  "There's nothing to hesitate about, just carry out the order." Koko Lan's face showed a hint of impatience, and the cavalry officer finally ran away with a sullen face.

  Keke Lan sat there, lazily leaning back in her chair, listlessly cracking her knuckles.

  Hmmm... Hastings, you must be feeling quite frustrated now. You knew you were going to get outsmarted this time, yet you still had no choice but to fall into the trap. Who made you our "Odin War God" anyway? With a reputation like that, all you can do is gallop forward like a horse whipped by a lash!

  So, the 13th Legion will still be yours to command, as for my military achievements... I've already devoured one of the 13th Legion's banner troops. Probably enough to satisfy that great father of mine too.

  Hmmm... Never show off more than you should be capable of. It's enough if you just manage to get by...

  This noble Odin lightly plucked the strings with his fingers and let out a yawn.

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  Must buy books~~~~ Must collect books~~~~~~~~~~~

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