Warhammer Divine Throne

Chapter 362: Chapter 155, Racing Against Time

September 14th, evening.

Old World, Brittania, Arden Forest, outside Yulsen Castle, Knightly Army camp.

The food supply is gradually tightening, and Marquis Angxi ordered that all food be collected and distributed in a standardized quota, which sparked complaints among the soldiers. The knights can still have a full meal, but the peasants can only have some thin porridge, barely getting by, causing the army’s morale to drop further.

Even with this approach, the Knightly Army’s food situation is still in dire straits.

In contrast, although the Beastmen suffered heavy losses, they maintained their morale with the abundant food and fodder from the castle.

Normally, Beastmen always lack food reserves. If the Beast King cannot satiate the endless hunger and bloodthirst of the beasts, there is a risk of internal chaos, with the formidable Doomsday Bulls and Great Horned Beasts marked by the Evil God even attempting to challenge the Beast King.

Now, the large quantities of food meant for the Knightly Army have already filled the bellies of the Beastmen; these omnivorous Chaos creatures eat anything.

In the camp’s main tent, Marquis Angxi could directly feel the declining morale of the knights and peasants. After hesitating for a long time, he picked up the Magic Communication Device: ”This is Angxi Desmond. Gabriel? Please report your situation?”

”This is Gabriel de Bastogne. We’ve advanced deep into Arden Forest and are fifty kilometers from Ten Thousand Demon Rock!” Gabriel replied.

The Right Army is still unaware of the Knightly Army’s situation.

Damn it! Marquis Angxi calculated briefly, knowing that it’s unlikely for the Right Army to return in aid. They are at least one hundred fifty kilometers from Yulsen Castle, which would take four or five days.

”Is there something wrong, my Marquis?” Gabriel’s voice came through the Magic Communication Device.

A shadow clouded the young and handsome face of Marquis Angxi.

His army was already in trouble, but he remained confident that he could still defeat the Beastman Army and achieve a restoring victory.

Duke Bohemond of Bastogne has long had a strained relationship with King Richard, and there are also tensions between Duke of Winford, Francois, and the King, which led Marquis Angxi to push them aside. If they found out that the Left Army had been utterly defeated and the Center Army was in a tough battle, his prestige and the King’s prestige would both be damaged.

For himself and for his Majesty, Marquis Angxi felt that he must not let the Right Army know the current situation, so after a moment of silence, he said, ”It’s nothing, just that we and Adelaide encountered an ambush, suffered significant losses, and decided to temporarily halt the advance. Once you’re near Ten Thousand Demon Rock, you can wait a while. If we’re really unable to rendezvous, you can retreat on your own.”

”Alright, Lord Angxi, do you need our support?” Gabriel had been psychologically prepared for ambushes by the Beastmen; it seemed natural that the Left and Center Army encountered ambushes and sustained significant losses, so he didn’t think much of it.

”No need, just focus on intercepting the Beastman forces from Ten Thousand Demon Rock.” Marquis Angxi put down the Magic Communication Device, his eyes turning blood-red. No matter what, he must annihilate the Beastmen before their reinforcements arrive, or it’s all over!

”Pass my order! Everyone wakes up at four o’clock! We must conquer Yulsen Castle by tomorrow!”

”Yes!”

On September 15th, the Knightly Army began attacking Yulsen Castle at any cost. The entire city spent almost an entire day amidst the shouts and kills of knights and Beastmen. By dusk, despite the knights slaying three Doomsday Bulls and the Four-armed Bull Demons, they were still defeated under the ferocious counterattacks of the Beastmen.

By the end of the day, over a hundred knights and more than two thousand peasant soldiers had died in battle, reducing the Knightly Army to less than thirteen thousand men. The army was in a state of panic, the peasants extremely demoralized, and at every moment, peasants would abruptly turn and vanish into the forest.

The Beastmen also had only about four thousand left, but all of them were elite Great Horned Beast Battle Groups, Giant Minotaur Battle Groups, and Chaos Ogres, Cyclops, and the most powerful Doomsday Bulls and Four-armed Bull Demons. These creatures weren’t much affected by castles’ walls; they tenaciously held their ground.

The knights could not gain an inch, and rumors began spreading in the army, with many knights believing that given the food shortage, they should retreat. Others thought appointing Marquis Angxi to command the Knightly Army was a mistake.

The young marquis thus bore tremendous pressure and finally made a decision to deploy all the reserves at once, no longer guarding against possible Beastman reinforcements.

Victory or defeat will be decided in this moment!

......

A day later, deep in Arden Forest, Right Army camp.

Laine took a short nap in the afternoon, then walked out of the camp.

In the past few days, the forest was unusually quiet. The Right Army hadn’t encountered any Beastman Warbands, not even scattered Beastmen. They marched smoothly to within forty kilometers of Ten Thousand Demon Rock.

Taking a deep breath of the forest air, Laine walked among the camp, boosting the soldiers’ morale. The Right Army still had more than four thousand nine hundred men, and after successive victories, the soldiers were high-spirited, especially since Laine allowed them to hunt in the forest, even the humblest peasants managed to get some roasted meat to eat.