Even Gmajky himself couldn't help but feel he was being overly suspicious, because no matter how he looked at it, these infantry could never stand against heavy cavalry. The enemy infantry numbered at most five thousand; even a mere thousand ordinary heavy cavalry could easily shatter them, let alone the superior Black Guard Heavy Cavalry. Defeating them seemed like an impossible fantasy.

Had the commander of Jiet City lost his mind after a series of defeats, desperate for revenge, prompting this move? Gmajky wondered to himself.

Just then, Mengli spoke, “General Gmajky, there is nothing to deliberate over. This is a rare opportunity. If we wait for these infantry to return to the city, it will be too late to deploy. Look, these infantry have already moved beyond the effective range of the ballistae atop their city walls. What more hesitation is needed?” Hearing Mengli’s words, Gmajky quickly looked up. He saw that the opposing infantry formations had moved at least a thousand meters away from Jiet City, and were only about three thousand meters from his own camp. This distance exceeded the firing range of the large ballistae mounted on Jiet City’s walls; as for the arrows, they couldn't possibly reach that far.

Do they truly wish to court death? Mengli thought with confusion. Examining them closely, these infantry formations appeared no different from other infantry of the Fire Cloud Empire—standard equipment, standard weaponry—except that each soldier seemed to carry a strange, pack-like satchel on their back.

What could that be for? Mengli, seeing this, prepared to move his troops, but Gmajky stopped him. Gmajky looked at Mengli with grave seriousness. “Until we ascertain the true intentions of these Fire Cloud Empire infantry, we must not act rashly. The Black Guard Iron Cavalry is currently our greatest trump card. If any mistake is made with them, I fear we risk total defeat.”

Although Mengli was displeased with Gmajky’s decision, Gmajky was, after all, the overall commander of this operation. If he pushed the matter too far with the General, it would do him no good either. He could only snort heavily in dissatisfaction. Gmajky, seeing this, paid it no mind, merely staring coldly at the opposing infantry formations, his mind rapidly cycling through possibilities, yet unable to find any viable method to effectively counter heavy cavalry.

With that realization.

Gmajky addressed Danka beside him. “Issue my orders: send the Third Infantry Regiment and one Cavalry Regiment to drive back those enemy infantry. Let’s see what mischief these Fire Cloud Empire troops are up to.”

Upon hearing Gmajky’s command, Danka nodded to a nearby messenger. The messenger quickly hurried off to deliver the orders. Not long after, a clear, resonant bugle call echoed from the proud Moon Empire's encampment. Then, the main gates of the proud Moon Empire camp slowly opened.

Columns of fully armed infantry marched out in neat order.

Following behind the infantry was a contingent of the proud Moon Empire's standard light cavalry. After both units exited the camp.

The light cavalry suddenly accelerated, sweeping out to envelop the flanks of the opposing Fire Cloud Empire infantry regiments. Meanwhile, the infantry unit slowly advanced to confront the front of the Fire Cloud Empire’s foot soldiers.

The moment the proud Moon Empire infantry appeared, the Fire Cloud Empire infantry formations began a rapid withdrawal, seemingly having rehearsed this maneuver countless times.

The spearmen within the formations, specifically designated to counter enemy light cavalry, swiftly moved to the flanks of the lines, preparing to ward off any charge from the light cavalry.

The spears held by these spearmen were specially treated.

The shafts were three meters long; not only were the tips exceedingly sharp, but the butt ends were also incredibly pointed. This design was specifically intended to counter the impact of enemy light cavalry. By planting the spear butts into the ground at a forty-five-degree angle toward the approaching enemy, they posed a significant threat to the lightly armored light cavalry, proving highly effective.

However, this formation offered little utility against heavy cavalry, which were completely encased in armor, even their warhorses being protected by steel plating.

Originally, the infantry had been less than a thousand meters from the city walls. After this withdrawal, they retreated about two hundred meters, bringing them to within about eight hundred meters of the fortifications—precisely within the effective range of the large heavy crossbows atop their own city walls. At this very moment, the proud Moon Empire's light cavalry arrived to flank the Fire Cloud Empire infantry.

At the command of a Fire Cloud Empire officer, the two front ranks of spearmen on the flanks swiftly and forcefully thrust their spears into the ground. Behind the spearmen stood the standard infantry blocks, shields held tight, broadswords ready, providing a dense protective screen for their infantry ranks.

Gmajky, who had been observing the battle from atop the high platform, felt a flicker of surprise in his eyes upon witnessing this scene. He couldn't help but admire the rapid reaction capabilities of these Fire Cloud Empire infantry. It seemed this particular contingent must be an elite unit within the Fire Cloud Empire’s forces to possess such swift responsiveness.

Realizing this, Gmajky knew his initial probe was likely a failure. He was certainly not foolish enough to pit his own cavalry against the enemy’s spearmen—that outcome would certainly be more loss than gain. With this in mind, Gmajky quickly turned to Danka beside him. “Immediately signal a withdrawal for the light cavalry. The infantry formation is to hold the ground as cover.”

Hearing Gmajky’s order, the attendant messenger swiftly raised his command flag and waved it. Gmajky’s command was executed quickly; several short bugle calls sounded again within the proud Moon Empire’s lines. The light cavalry, positioned on the flanks of the Fire Cloud Empire infantry formations, immediately slowed their pace, the front elements shifting to retreat rapidly backward.

Concurrently, a bugle call echoed from the walls of the Fire Cloud Empire city. Then, hundreds of massive crossbow bolts shot forth from the crossbow mechanisms atop the walls, streaking toward the retreating proud Moon Empire light cavalry. In a blink, the bolts reached the rear of the proud Moon Empire cavalry formations. Instantly, dozens of unfortunate light cavalrymen following behind their ranks were struck down from their mounts by the large bolts.

Seeing this, the Fire Cloud Empire infantry formations erupted in a cheer of delight. Since the start of the war, the Fire Cloud Empire had not won a single engagement; they had been thoroughly suppressed by the enemy. Furthermore, having over a hundred thousand men forced into the city, afraid to venture out against fewer than one hundred thousand enemy troops, the generals and soldiers of the Fire Cloud Empire had been deeply frustrated. Now, seeing the proud Moon Empire cavalry fall, the soldiers could no longer contain themselves and cheered, releasing the pent-up dissatisfaction of these past many days.

Gmajky, standing behind the high platform, could not help but change expression. His face darkened as he spoke grimly, “These cunning Fire Cloud generals. I never expected the crossbows of the Fire Cloud Empire could shoot such a distance.”

Danka, standing just behind Gmajky, also spoke with a solemn expression. “General, I estimate the effective range of the Fire Cloud Empire’s crossbows to be at least eight hundred and fifty meters, which is at least one hundred and fifty meters farther than our standard crossbows. They must have been specially designed.”

Hearing Danka’s words, Gmajky spoke with displeasure. “Why was no mention of this critical intelligence made in our military reports? Fortunately, we only suffered minor losses among the light cavalry this time. If I had not ordered a timely retreat just now, the losses could have been catastrophic.”

Danka quickly replied, “General, the intelligence materials we received regarding the Fire Cloud Empire’s military contained no mention of this feature. I suspect that perhaps the Fire Cloud Empire had not utilized these crossbows previously, which is why the reports lacked this data.”

Gmajky merely grunted in response, saying nothing, but inwardly he was profoundly dissatisfied with the intelligence agencies back in the Imperial Capital.

Mengli, standing nearby, could not help but interject with dissatisfaction. “If the General had heeded my advice earlier and sent out our Black Guard Heavy Cavalry, these infantry would have been annihilated by now. Once our troops broke into the enemy’s infantry formations, wouldn’t those crossbows on the city walls have become useless?”

Mengli’s words clearly betrayed his deep displeasure with Gmajky. Indeed, had the Black Guard Heavy Cavalry been sent to pursue the Fire Cloud Empire infantry, even with their specialized spearmen designed to counter cavalry, the heavy cavalry would have suffered almost negligible losses. And by the time the heavy cavalry crashed into the enemy formations, the outcome would have been obvious even to a fool.

Hearing Mengli, Gmajky spoke faintly, “I am the commanding general. The Black Guard Heavy Cavalry is our most crucial asset, and I will absolutely not risk them unless absolutely necessary.”

“But you forget, I am the commander of these Black Guard Heavy Cavalry.”

Mengli heard Gmajky’s statement and replied coldly, “While you are the overall commander of this operation, I trust the General has not forgotten that His Majesty specifically entrusted command of the Black Guard Heavy Cavalry to me before we departed. You have no authority to interfere. I hope the General will refrain from blocking my actions in the future.”