Chapter 40 - 39

EX Story: The Ape King’s Origin Part V

The enemy commanders watched in terror as their cavalry unit was annihilated in the blink of an eye. And for those commanders, they simply couldn’t believe that their cavalry units were destroyed without even being able to put up a fight. Furthermore, they were also still in shock after witnessing those unbelievable maneuvers with their very own eyes. Then, to top it all off, there was also the existence of that aberrant cavalry unit that was somehow being led by a monster.

In truth, the commanders’ reaction was actually a normal one. After all, even though the maneuvers of those cavalry units were truly outlandish, it was still possible to achieve that albeit with a lot of effort and training. And even though it was certainly a rare occurrence, the enemy commanders still know of some monsters that could actually ride in battle. Unfortunately, even for those battle-hardened commanders, witnessing a monster leading a cavalry unit made of humans shook them to their core. Because no matter how much they tried, the enemy commanders simply couldn’t comprehend how the monster was pulling that off. More than that, the enemy commanders also couldn’t believe that there were actually humans who were insane enough to follow the lead of a monster. If they had to guess, it must have been the work of that lord. But even then, that fact would only mean that they wouldn’t be able to fully understand that lord’s way of thinking, because for the enemy commanders, it was just too bizarre and out of the norm.

But much to the enemy commander’s ignorance, the young Ape King’s ability to lead a cavalry unit was simply a byproduct of fighting together with his master for years. Because in truth, the idea of having the young Ape King ride in battle only came up when they noticed his weakness. Of course, that didn’t mean that the young Ape King was weak in battle. In fact, their species was actually pretty strong when they were fighting inside a forest. Unfortunately, that fact also made their species vulnerable when they were fighting in plains. In short, the idea was only a means to counter that weakness. And as for how the young Ape King was leading a cavalry unit, well, it was only possible because of the connection between the master and his monster. Using that connection, the monster could easily synchronize his movements with his master. As a result, the only thing that the members of the young Ape King’s cavalry needed to do was to follow the monster’s movements without question. Though obviously, this use of the master and servant connection was strange so it was no wonder that the enemy commanders couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

After watching the destruction of their own cavalry units, the enemy commanders just stood there in complete silence. And even though they truly wanted to do something about that rampaging cavalry units, the enemy commanders simply couldn’t risk the chance of losing their two remaining cavalry units. Because on top of being outnumbered, their cavalry was also undeniably inferior when it comes to battlefield maneuvers and coordinated attacks.

Naturally, because there was no left to hinder their movements, the cavalry units led by the young Ape King and his master freely wreaked the enemy lines. And though he could now freely join his master’s cavalry units, the young Ape King still decided to have his cavalry units move independently. But even then, it was still clear to see that the young Ape King was synchronizing his unit’s movements with that of his master’s.

Of course, at first glance, it looked as if the young Ape King’s master had managed to turn the tide of battle into their favor. But in truth, that wasn’t actually the case because the enemy still had some reserved infantry troops. And while it was true, the enemy had no means to stop the rampaging cavalry units; it wasn’t as if those cavalries had an infinite supply of stamina. To make matters worse, the horses that they were riding in were also the same. That was why even though their army had received some major damage, the enemy commanders were still pretty confident about their victory.

Then, as if confirming the enemy commanders’ conclusion, both the cavalry units led by the young Ape King and his master started to retreat behind their spear infantry units. Naturally, the enemy soldiers took that chance to reorganize their formation. And as if sensing their inevitable defeat, the soldiers under the young Ape King’s master had begun to withdraw.

Seeing that action, the enemy soldiers recovered their morale and they vigorously chased after the soldiers who were trying to pullback. As a result, the enemy soldiers who were previously in a spread-out formation had slowly begun clumping up. But contrary to their enthusiastic soldiers, the enemy commanders who were in the back line felt a bad premonition upon seeing that. Unfortunately, before they managed to find the reason why, the sound of an unfamiliar war horn echoed on the battlefield. And as if trying to resonate with that sound, thunderous explosions suddenly erupted shaking the land itself.

Unconsciously, the enemy commanders turned their gaze on the front lines, and in there, they saw the raging hellfire along with the thick black smoke rising up from the area where their soldiers were supposed to be. Then, as if that wasn’t nearly enough, a new enemy army had also appeared to flank their army on the left. And based on the flag of the newly arrived army, it was undoubtedly from the landlord who was in a friendly relationship with this area’s landlord.

With all of this turn of events, it had become painfully clear to the enemy commanders that the battle was turning against their favor. More than that, now that their army was flanked on two fronts, the deployment and formation of their troops would be surely thinned out. And even though their army was still superior in number, at the rate the battle was unfolding, their army would certainly take some heavy losses. Then of course, they also had to worry about the reinforcements that would come directly from the enemy’s nation would inevitably deploy.

Upon realizing the predicament that they were in, the enemy commanders seriously considered to fall back. After all, even though their superiors had given them some pretext and justification for invading the enemy’s territory, they still couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was some kind hidden agenda and conspiracy lurking behind the scenes. Besides, no matter how they thought about it, it was truly rather strange that their nation would sanction the deployment of an army in a simple dispute between neighboring land lords. And even though it was true that the landlords in question were members of two opposing countries, normally, a nation wouldn’t interfere like this and would only let the two landlords settle their dispute themselves.

Because of all this suspicion, the notion of retreat became more and more prevalent on the enemy commanders’ mind. But before they managed to finalize their decision, the two armies that were opposing them simultaneously rushed in.

Left with no other choice, the enemy commanders were forced to order their soldiers to engage the two armies in battle. But because their orders came a little too late, the two armies easily broke through the unfinished formation of the enemy commander’s soldiers. As a result, the battlefield was plunged into a chaotic free for all combat. And in that instant, before the enemy commanders completely fell into panic, someone briskly appeared and talked them down.

Amidst all that chaos, the young Ape King’s cavalry unit rampaged on the battlefield. And because everything had turned into an absolute mess, the young Ape King cavalry was moving to target the enemy soldiers who were attempting to reform their line just like his master. But then, out of nowhere, three units of cavalries appeared and charged towards his direction. Of course, that was normal and all, but what was confusing about it was the unit leading the group. Because no matter how he looked at it, even the young Ape King could tell that the armor of that unit was vastly different from the other two.

For one, immediately upon laying eyes on the young Ape King, the human smiled. Following that, the human carelessly stood on the still running horse. And in the next instant, that very same human vanished only to reappear directly in front of the young Ape King.

The young Ape King’s eyes shot wide open, but before he even managed to react, the human punched the young Ape King so hard that he actually flew a few meters back. Then as if that wasn’t nearly enough, the human also kicked the ground creating a shockwave powerful enough to the whole cavalry unit flying in different directions.

Still in pain and a little bit dizzy, the young Ape King forced his body to stand. But upon looking up, the first thing he saw was two scarlet eyes staring him down. Then, before he knew it, the young Ape King was suddenly pummeled into the ground.

In that moment, the young Ape King saw his life flashing before his eyes. But before he completely succ.u.mbed to the nothingness that was pulling him in, the series of strikes came to a halt. Then upon f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y opening his eyes, the young Ape King saw his master desperately fighting against someone.

Unfortunately, probably owing to the fact that the young Ape King was on the verge of death, everything after that became too hazy. Though, even then, one thing was for sure. That day, the young Ape King lost everything once again. And tragic as it was, this time, his beloved master was among them.