The eyes of the Burning Men Tribe warriors were bloodshot, and their faces were flushed red with anger; these Plainsmen had made them feel an unprecedented fury.
Roars erupted from the mouths of the Burning Men Tribe warriors!
They no longer cared about the ditches and fences obstructing them!
Their only thought was to charge over as quickly as possible, hack apart those Plainsmen cowards hiding behind the ditches and wood, and avenge their fallen tribal heroes!
Walker, son of Negoti pulled out his battle-axe and roared, "Warriors of the Burning Men Tribe! Kill them all!"
The warriors of the Burning Men Tribe, wielding a chaotic array of weapons—longswords, axes, spears, and wooden clubs—charged towards Arthur's fortifications.
They were very fast, their steps carrying the speed and strength honed by years of living in the High Mountain, as if trying to smash through all obstacles in front of them with their bodies.
However, this fierce charge was like hitting an invisible wall.
The foremost warriors reached the edge of the ditch and, to engage the Plainsmen, had to jump down or find a crossing point.
Those immediately behind them pressed forward, and the formation instantly became severely congested.
They either tried to jump over the ditch or climb out of it, but there were fences on top of the ditch.
This forced them to find ways to destroy the fences.
This gave the archers a chance; Arthur's force had gathered over a dozen archers, all of whom had once been hunters and were now temporarily serving as the unit's archers.
"Fire!" Arthur calmly ordered.
The archers stood in the first row.
Under Arthur's direction, they continuously loosed arrows; the hunters were skilled at shooting small animals, so Arthur instructed them to aim for the unprotected eyes of the Burning Men Tribe savages.
The Burning Men Tribe warriors felt utterly stifled, being relentlessly shot by the Plainsmen at such close range.
Especially these damned, shameless Plainsmen, who kept shooting the eyes of the Burning Men Tribe warriors!
This made them dare not even look up! It further restricted the difficulty of them climbing up and moving the fences!
The strength and ferocity they usually prided themselves on seemed so clumsy and inefficient when facing prepared defensive fortifications.
Behind the fences, Arthur's soldiers, though still nervous, gained immense confidence from the sight before them.
After all, it was their first time on a battlefield, and their hearts were still filled with panic!
But now, beneath their feet was solid earth, in front of them were simple but effective wood and ditches, and to their left and right were their comrades in formation, looking down upon their enemies!
They stood there like hunters waiting for prey! There was no need to rush forward and engage in close-quarters combat with these terrifying barbarians!
Arthur watched all of this; this was also the reason for his consideration.
By utilizing the terrain and simple fortifications, he transformed the enemy's advantages into disadvantages, eroding their strength and morale in the ditches, at the fences, and under the gaze of their enemies looking down on them.
His unit, after all, consisted of new recruits, even if they now possessed ambition, greed, desire, and a longing for victory.
They were still new recruits! Only through the crucible of blood and fire could they build their confidence!
And if these new recruits, who had only recently taken up arms, were immediately thrown into a brutal, bloody close-quarters battle with the ferocious Burning Men Tribe savages, it would be absolutely detrimental to building confidence.
Now they did not need to confront the ferocious savages directly; they only needed to execute simple commands from a relatively safe position.
The archers steadily shot arrows at the congested enemies at close range, while the spearmen defended the fences, continuously poking the arms of the climbing savages with their spear tips.
The spearmen's hands, gripping their spear shafts, initially trembled, but with each successive wounding of a savage.
Hearing the savages' pained howls, that fear began to recede like a tide.
In its place came a strange calm; their movements gradually became swift and powerful.
The archers' movements also became smoother, mechanically and rhythmically drawing, aiming, and shooting.
Each "whoosh" of an arrow leaving the string was a judgment delivered upon the eyes of the Burning Men Tribe savages.
Watching the eyes of the Burning Men Tribe savages being repeatedly struck, their confidence also grew rapidly.
Was there even a peculiar sense of pleasure?
The battle, from the very beginning, was destined to be unfair.
One side utilized terrain and simple fortifications, building a safe line with ranged and long-bladed weapons, establishing confidence within that line.
The other side charged in anger but was trapped before the obstacles, unable to leverage their own advantages, like cornered beasts gradually disintegrating in despair.
Seeing this situation, Walker, son of Negoti's heart bled, but he quickly realized they could not continue like this.
He had originally thought that with the bravery of the Burning Men Tribe warriors!
They could charge onto these Plainsmen's wooden structures in one fell swoop and draw the Plainsmen into the close-quarters combat that the Burning Men Tribe warriors excelled at!
But he had not expected these Plainsmen, who had no iron armor, to be so resilient!
"Retreat! Fall back! Quickly retreat!" Walker, son of Negoti roared hoarsely.
His voice seemed somewhat pale and powerless amidst the chaos.
He tried to command the warriors desperately pushing forward to stop! At the same time, he ordered those still charging at the Plainsmen to retreat!
However, for the High Mountain Clan's Burning Men Tribe, retreating was often more difficult than charging.
Those warriors who had already seen red and were consumed by rage did not immediately hear the order, or rather, heard it but were unwilling to accept it.
They were still futilely trying to climb out of the ditch and destroy the fences, to clear a path for their brothers to charge forward!
And those trying to retreat were squeezed by comrades surging from behind, wanting to charge forward, throwing the formation into complete disarray.
Arthur's soldiers were initially stunned when they saw the enemy gradually beginning to retreat.
Then, an uncontrollable cheer of excitement spread through the ranks.
Arthur calmly surveyed the battlefield.
He was not carried away by the immediate victory.
Although the scene was chaotic, the Burning Men Tribe were still assisting their wounded comrades and withdrawing, indicating it was by no means a rout; if he rashly attacked, it was very possible they would counter with a devastating blow.
Seeing some soldiers already planning to abandon the fortifications and charge out to fight.
He quickly gave loud orders to Lucien and Hakon at the front to relay his military command:
"Archers! Keep firing! Aim at those trying to disengage! Infantry, hold the line! No one is to leave the fortifications without my order!"
Although Lucien and Hakon did not understand why he wasn't ordering a pursuit of the retreating enemy, they faithfully carried out Lord Arthur's command.
They immediately galloped on horseback, loudly relaying the instructions.
Though the spearmen were eager to rush out and pursue, under Arthur's command, they managed to restrain their impulse.
They gripped their spears tightly, stood firm, and guarded the fences.
Upon receiving the order, the archers swiftly complied, shooting arrows into the backs of the retreating Burning Men Tribe warriors.
The retreating Burning Men Tribe warriors lost their guard from when they were facing the enemy head-on, making their backs a target for the arrows, hitting true with every shot.
When he saw the Burning Men Tribe warriors quickly stop once they were out of the archers' range, glaring fiercely back at his side.
Arthur knew his decision was not wrong; these people had not truly routed.
They were attempting to lure him out of the fortifications with a retreat, to launch an attack, and then counter.
He couldn't help but marvel; these barbarians were indeed excellent warriors, no wonder Tyrion liked them so much.
Arthur rode forward.
He ordered the soldiers to rest temporarily on the spot.
The archers loosened their taut bowstrings, and the spearmen also put down their spears, slumping to the ground, panting heavily.
Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their arms ached from tension and exertion, but their faces were alight with excitement and a tremendous sense of accomplishment!
Toman knelt on the ground, looking at the bloodstains still on the tip of his spear.
He burst into hearty laughter!
He had just wounded five or six barbarians.
Every time he stabbed those barbarians! It filled him with pleasure and pride!
The resting soldiers were spurred on by this laughter, and one by one, they began to laugh heartily too.