Only God-Chapter 608 - 512: The Final Battle Begins (Extra Double Release)

Chapter 608: Chapter 512: The Final Battle Begins (Extra Double Release)

Since crossing the Helong Mountain Range, the might of the Dwarves had seemed nearly unstoppable.

Despite a recent defeat that severely damaged the Second Dwarf Legion, under the direction of Kafu the Sixth, and bolstered by the superior transport capabilities of the Steam Train, the Second Legion had quickly reorganized. The forces of Kaelonde amounted to as many as eighty thousand soldiers.

Moreover, among these eighty thousand, the majority were not recruits hastily drafted into service, but rather a group of veterans who had become accustomed to bloodshed in Golan, besieging and conquering cities far and wide. Half of them were equipped with fine breastplates, an enormous advantage compared to the Golanese army, where less than one-third were so armored.

Upon entering Golan, the continual plundering of the local regions greatly boosted the morale of Kaelonde’s troops. Very few dwelled on the crushing defeat of the Second Legion, and even the most anxious Legion Commander merely worried that storming Nuo Lang would come at a great cost.

In such a climate, Kafu the Sixth saw the conquest of Nuo Lang City as something inevitable and even natural. They held the advantage in numbers, in weaponry, and in morale, and what was there to fear from a nation that had lost its king?

This wise Dwarf king had long since dispatched an Envoy to the Royal City’s Golanese army with an ultimatum. While awaiting the Envoy’s return, Kafu the Sixth had already begun planning where to build a new capital after establishing his vast Empire.

Soon enough, the Dwarf Envoy brought back a response from Earl Maxwell.

"...Golan has been liberated from servitude for two hundred years. You’ve come too late; we no longer recognize any master.

Your army has brought us immense peril, and perhaps tomorrow we will be demolished, reduced to rubble and debris.

But I believe that peril cannot destroy Golan."

Earl Maxwell’s response was lengthy, so the Dwarf Envoy only repeated the most crucial part.

After hearing it, Kafu the Sixth feigned surprise and asked,

"Peril cannot destroy Golan? Is that what he said?"

The Dwarf Envoy nodded slightly, assuring him again and again that the message had been conveyed correctly.

Kafu the Sixth laughed scornfully,

"He’s nothing but a defeated general who abandoned his lands. What right does he have to say such a thing?

It’s simply a joke.

Convey my will; reward the entire army, and we will launch an attack in two days."

Those two days passed quickly, and the Dwarf army was brimming with high spirits. The bitter cold of the early morning gradually gave way as the sun rose, its rays glinting off the grey Armor. The waters of the East Flava River reflected the sunlight gently, a deadly seriousness permeating the air.

As the horns sounded, massive armored giants carrying shields like mountains began to lead the crossing of the river, while the Golan Garrison released a torrent of arrows from the sky. Most either struck the shields or Armored Dwarves, hardly enough to stop their advance. As a result, the Golan army quickly changed tactics with their commanders ordering shots aimed at the flags that marked the locations of the Dwarf legion leaders.

A small detachment of Cavalry hidden in the forest, prepared for a surprise attack, also charged out at the right moment, aiming to kill the leaders of the legions in their midst with a precise strike at the head.

Another volley of arrows came sweeping in, and the positions of the legion flags seemed to lack defense. The flying arrows of the Golan army were about to inflict damage, but the Dwarf Legion Commanders began to chant some ancient words. Various mystical abilities started to manifest, deflecting the incoming arrows completely, and the Cavalry who attempted the head-taking charge nearly all faced emptiness. Some of the commanders became invisible, others caused the ground to collapse in small areas, while some managed to quickly increase the distance between themselves and the Cavalry.

In this way, the Cavalry intended for the head-taking charge had no choice but to wheel their horses and rapidly withdraw. Even though they did so promptly, still more than a dozen were too slow to escape and were cut down or wounded by the surrounding Dwarf infantry.

Ultimately, with various factors in their favor, the Dwarf army successfully crossed the river with minimal losses. In front of the East Flava River were trenches, and the defending Garrison, having prepared oil and straw in the ditches, set them ablaze. The immense flames that roared to life were too much for the short legs of the Dwarves to cross. The Fourth and Sixth Legion Commanders ordered water to be brought from the river to extinguish the fire, causing a temporary halt to the Dwarven advance.

The Golanese army seized this opportunity to shoot volley after volley of arrows. These harassing attacks were effective, with one giant even being injured and falling, stirring up moderate waves and dust. But soon after, as the fire died down, the Dwarves maintained their formation and surged forward en masse. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Dwarves’ vanguard was roughly ten thousand strong, opposed by the approximately three thousand soldiers stationed at the East Flava River.

The Garrison holding the East Flava River began to engage the Dwarves in close combat, using various defensive structures. The gleaming Armor of the Dwarves and the eyes of soldiers accustomed to slaughter overflowed with battle fury. As the Garrison fought against a force many times their own size, despite the valiant Golanese resistance, the tide of defeat inevitably began to show. Upon the commander’s orders, the Garrison started a deliberate and measured withdrawal, yielding ground to the enemy and leaving bodies behind.

Eventually, by the afternoon, the Dwarves had successfully taken the East Flava River, gaining control over the entire waterway. The first line of defense that the Golanese had painstakingly built had thus collapsed.

In this battle, facing an enemy force several times their own, the Garrison of the East Flava River suffered heavy casualties, while the Dwarves, despite having incurred significant losses of their own, with approximately several hundred fallen, found this to be advantageous given their superior numbers.

After this battle, the Dwarves’ morale soared once again. They believed that the Golan army guarding the Royal City was no different from Golans elsewhere and would eventually be crushed under the iron hooves of the Dwarven legions.

Hardship could not destroy Golan. It seemed that what Kafu the Sixth had said was a joke indeed.

Kafu the Sixth quickly received news of the front-line battle report, and as he had previously anticipated, although the Golans resisted fiercely, delaying the Kaelonde army’s advance somewhat, the Dwarves’ assault was still incredibly smooth.

"It seems Maxwell is but a whelp that knows only how to howl. Just a few more steps forward for our legions, and we shall ’return’ Hudson to his throne.

If that’s the case, then let’s continue with multi-front assaults, attack swiftly, and strive to break all Golan defenses at an earlier date and take Nuo Lang City, letting Hiris witness our victory."

Kafu the Sixth made his decision. From the perspective of the unstoppable Dwarven army, the strategy of multi-front and rapid advances, though somewhat arrogant, was undoubtedly reasonable. The Dwarven King commanded his troops to assault Boot Fortress, Larsen Town, and Horse Head Fortress simultaneously, wishing to annihilate the enemy’s forces as soon as possible.

The unending victories in war bestowed the King with endless prestige. No one in his legions questioned the will of Kafu the Sixth. After brief preparations, the Dwarves divided their forces into three groups to launch a massive assault on the Golans, seeking a swift and decisive victory.

.............

Learning of the defeat at the East Flava River, Maxwell had almost a sleepless night and poured his whole being nearly sixty years of age into every step of the planning that followed.

Maxwell had originally anticipated that the East Flava River would repel the Dwarves’ assaults several times and hold for two days, but defeat always came unexpectedly.

A gloom spread through the conference hall, and the victories brought by Philip seemed insignificant. Without victory in this decisive battle, all previous victories were meaningless.

Soon after, the scouts from the front lines brought news of enemy movements. The Kaelonde Dwarves had begun to launch attacks along three routes, aiming to shatter all Golan defenses at once.

Maxwell understood that although the grand strategy didn’t require change, they needed to adjust their tactics promptly. The enemy dividing their forces into three was something to be thankful for, yet the veteran general couldn’t help but worry. The Dwarven army was so fierce that he wasn’t sure if the Golans could withstand this fierce onslaught.

"Boot Fortress can be abandoned, but we must try our best to delay the enemy there for three days. Horse Head Fortress is on the flank and should face the least initial attacks, try to entice the enemy to focus more on Horse Head Fortress and alleviate the defense of Boot Fortress and Larsen Town. As for Larsen Town, tell Baron Ambot and Weiset that they must hold! Until I lead the troops for a surprise attack!"

Maxwell quickly made his judgments, and after speaking, he incessantly pleaded with Scatty, for once all three defensive points fell, Nuo Lang City would become a dead city.

Tactical adjustments were swiftly delivered to the front lines. By then, all three defensive points were under fierce attack by the Dwarves.

Boot Fortress faced the most violent attacks. Of the Dwarves’ sixteen legions, six were reserve and ten were main battle legions. Boot Fortress was assaulted by five of these, and the more than ten thousand defenders did everything they could in their defense works to resist wave after wave of fierce Dwarven assaults, with Golan blood constantly flowing down, moistening the land here.

To relieve the pressure on Boot Fortress, Horse Head Fortress followed Maxwell’s instructions and chose to sally forth and attack the Dwarven legion. Battles between Kaelonde and Golan were often characterised by the former attacking and the latter defending—this reversal of roles led several Dwarven Legion Commanders to suspect that Horse Head Fortress had gathered a large number of enemy troops preparing to encircle the Dwarves from east to west.

Thus, troops originally attacking Boot Fortress began to be redirected to besiege Horse Head Fortress. The situation at Boot Fortress, while still dire, was somewhat alleviated.

Meanwhile, in Larsen Town, the Dwarves encountered unimaginable resistance, or it could be described as a setback.

Defending Larsen Town was one Baron Ambot, Legion Commander of the second Golan legion, and another was the son of an Earl, Weiset, who as Cavalry Captain, led hundreds of his cavalry in charge after charge.

The Dwarves, while attacking on three fronts, had the least deployment of forces at Larsen Town, only two legions, totaling just over eight thousand men. The terrain of Larsen Town was relatively flat, and the defenders were positioned on ground slightly higher than that of the Dwarves. Such terrain favored cavalry charges, and since the Dwarves lacked a cavalry unit and couldn’t pursue the enemy’s cavalry, the human advantage was maximized.

On that day, Larsen Town repelled the Dwarves’ assault with minimal losses, and the Dwarven legions paid the price for their underestimation of Larsen Town, with nearly two thousand casualties and forced to rest for a day, waiting for Kafu the Sixth to dispatch more reinforcements.

By the end of the first day, not one of the three defensive points had fallen.

Horse Head Fortress suffered the largest losses due to having launched an attack, with nearly one-tenth of its garrison suffering casualties. Boot Fortress was close behind in losses, albeit marginally better, while Larsen Town enjoyed the most gratifying victory.

Maxwell was finally able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Without further hesitation, he quickly led his soldiers out of the city and raced to the west side of the battlefield. As long as the front lines held, his forces could not only strike from the west side of the battlefield to complete the encirclement, but they could also sever the connection between the Dwarves’ main and reserve legions.

And for this, they needed three days. During these three days, it was crucial that Larsen Town did not fall. If it were lost, the preceding carefully laid-out strategy would completely collapse.