When the cavalry approached, some archer units fired in unison toward them, but as the arrows flew in an arc and descended, the cavalry had enough time to move away from the rain of arrows and escape the barrage.

  The chariots had an even easier time blocking them instead of dodging; some archers tried to hit the horses, but the animals suddenly sped up and escaped those. When the passengers were about to get hit, they raised shields and blocked the projectiles.

  After several failed barrages, the enemies finally decided to put their plan in action, several of the enemy units began to get closer to each other and approach the defenders side as well. The archers choose to attack one of those units and then they split up… the target moved away and the other decided to attack the defenders.

  The chariots reached the defenders’ side and made them fly when they were hit. The blades on the wheels ripped apart those who weren’t run down by the horses or the vehicles directly. In a single moment, a single chariot was able to get out of the picture of ten infantrymen completely.

  Everyone gulped when they saw that… They knew of the fame of chariots. It was kind of hard to produce them, but they truly come in handy in battles on open fields.

  Zelos couldn’t help but click his tongue while watching that… the enemies had total control over the battlefield, and they decided when the fights would start and when they would retreat.

  Still, some poor bastards were truly unlucky. All of a sudden, an arrow crossed the air while making a hissing sound and soon pierced the head of the driver of one of the chariots. He died instantly… Zelos looked over his shoulder and saw Edea nocking another arrow. She was making herself useful, but she could only do so much by herself.

  Zelos looked at Liry and saw her looking nervous. Following the plan would be truly risky, but in the long run, would be more beneficial to them. The issue was if she could accept the risks that come with it.

  When the enemies began to attack again, the soldiers on the defending side soon dropped their bows and equipped their spears. The ones in the back targeted the enemies on the chariots by throwing their weapons while the ones in the front tried to stab the horses… one or another rider was pierced by the spears, but the horses barely had time to suffer any wounds.

  Once again, several soldiers were hit by the spikes on the sides of the chariots and the people around sweated cold while hearing their screams of pain. Zelos wanted to jump in and stop them, but soon he was forced to retreat when all the soldiers in the front raised their shields.

  As the enemy chariots approached, the soldiers clustered together, seeking safety in numbers as they moved away from the impending threat. The sound of hooves pounding against the earth and the creaking of chariot wheels filled the air, adding to the tension of the moment.

  At first, the soldiers’ strategy seemed effective. The enemy, noticing the tight formation of the defenders, began to close in, aiming to exploit any gaps in their ranks. The soldiers tightened their formation even further, bracing themselves for the impact.

  But as the chariots drew nearer, the situation grew more dangerous. The spikes attached to the wheels of the chariots began to make contact with the soldiers’ shields, sending sparks flying in all directions. The sheer force of the impact pushed against the soldiers, threatening to break their defensive line.

  Despite their efforts to stand firm, the soldiers found themselves forced back by the relentless advance of the chariots. The spikes tore through their shields, creating chaos and confusion among their ranks.

  In the end, the chariots began to retreat after just ten minutes. Even war horses couldn’t pull them forever. They were more effective in sudden attacks, not in drawn out battles.

  Everyone sighed in relief since that was over, but soon they confirmed the severity of the situation… They lost two hundred soldiers and the enemies were just messing with them, not fighting seriously at all.

  The sun began to set and soon everyone confirmed that the enemy's calvary was still in position between their camps. Several units were one hundred meters away from each other serving as lines of defenses against the enemies… surprising them with night attacks was essentially impossible.

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  “Treat the wounded and maintain guard of the perimeter, we can’t let them attack us while we are resting or unprepared. Set your tents near any hills that you can use. Use the enemies weapons, armor, shields to create blockades to stop their chariots. Use anything that you can find to stop those at any cost.”

  After she gave her orders, Liry realized that she still had a lot to learn about the battlefield. After seeing the power of the chariots firsthand, she had some ideas on how to stop them for good, but nothing that could be done in the short amount of time that they had.

  Night came and then everyone kept working nonstop. Still, Liry looked at Zelos and Kaitrine and nodded at them. Before long, they moved to the back of the camp and then disappeared in the darkness of the night. Heirina arrived in the area with Irlan and Edea and soon saw that the other two were missing.

  “Did they leave already?”

  “Yes, just now… the rest of the battle will be in their hands.”

  “While they have the skills to pull that off, they are like water and oil… I just hope that they won’t do anything stupid that will put them in danger.”

  It was an unspoken fact among the group that Zelos could say something that would annoy Kaitrine. Her short fuse was well known among them, and they understood that even the slightest remark from Zelos could set her off.

  Zelos himself was aware of this. He knew better than to say anything that might get on Kaitrine’s nerves, as it could quickly escalate into unnecessary conflict. While he had his own strong opinions, he also recognized the importance of maintaining harmony within the group, especially during critical missions.

  The others in the group silently hoped that both Zelos and Kaitrine would keep their focus squarely on the mission at hand and set aside any personal grievances or differences. They knew that in the heat of battle, there was no room for distractions or internal conflicts.

  Since the others looked a bit worried, Irlan thought that it would be a good idea to change the subject, but not a single idea about it came to mind.

  “... Any predictions as to when we will put the plan in action?”

  “That is in Zelos and Kaitrine hands, we can only hope that they will be able to do so before the enemies make their move. Still, my best guess is that we might be able to move at midnight. The enemies will only attack a couple of hours before sunrise, that is the best time for the attackers, after all. They also should know that we are waiting for them, and preparing some traps, so there is always the chance that they will even wait until morning. That would be truly useful for us… but I don’t think that they will show any weakness, unless we force them to do so.”

  In situations like that, it was good to have spies on the enemy's ranks or even in their territories, but their country was lacking in that aspect… They were truly bad when it came to gathering Intel. Moreover, with the internal problems regarding the imperial family, the power of the country was pretty much all over the place.

  To deal with a situation like that, Liry was expecting to gain some influence in this battle, but first, she had to survive and win and then she would have the chance to plan ahead.

  Once they left the camp, Zelos and Kaitrine moved in a massively long arc in the area in order to completely keep their distance from the line of the enemy’s cavalry and even their scouts. Thanks to that, they had to run for around four hours nonstop and they did it completely silently.

  Eventually, thanks to that, they arrived on the back of the enemy’s formation. At least three kilometers behind them. Before approaching, they decided to take a short break to recover a bit. It was hard to say what would happen afterwards, but they would need to be in tip-top shape for it.

  “Our goal is to destroy the chariots and stop the cavalry that is on their camp resting. The cavalry are more numerous, so I will focus on them. You can deal with the chariots. As long as you destroy the central part of their front, they won’t be used anymore. They can be repaired, but it will take a week and they shouldn’t have enough materials for all of them.”

  Zelos nodded after hearing that… he still didn’t know how he was going to pull that off, but he couldn’t ask Kaitrine either since she had her own share of problems. Destroying them with his sword and strength should be easy, the question was if he could do that without being found out. There are too many of them, after all.

  If he fails, Zelos will be chased by the enemy’s cavalry and even he couldn’t form war horses. It didn’t take long for Zelos to have a pretty nasty idea… It looked like he was learning a bit from tacticians like Liry and Heirina.

  After taking a much-needed half-hour rest, Zelos and Kaitrine began their cautious approach towards the enemy camp. Despite the urgency of the situation, they knew the importance of moving stealthily and avoiding detection.

  Crawling on their bellies, they made slow progress towards their targets. The distance between them and the enemy camp was still considerable, but they understood the necessity of caution in such situations.

  Every movement was necessary and calculated, as they navigated through the terrain with utmost care. They kept low, using whatever cover they could find to conceal their approach. The sounds of the camp, faint at first, grew louder as they drew nearer, serving as a constant reminder of the danger that lay ahead.

  One hour later, they were five hundred meters away from the enemies lines, but then Kaitrine stopped Zelos and she pointed to four points in the area, there were some hidden sentinels in those points. She sure was amazing for being able to find them, Zelos couldn’t sense their presences or see them at all.