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However, the fortress shield wall was just an initial measure. The truly insidious tactic was the hidden dragon lance formation behind it. Initially, we seized dragon lances and fortress shields in equal numbers from the "Iron Cross." Later, however, we discovered another fifteen hundred dragon lances among the human supplies, realizing that each fortress shield should be equipped with three or four dragon lances to achieve maximum lethality. However, due to the humans' weaker strength, it was impossible for fewer than four soldiers to wield the three-zhang-long dragon lances, making a one-to-one ratio the limit of their formations. For the orcs, this was not an issue. Thus, when the human heavy cavalry approached, two thousand dragon lances suddenly emerged densely behind the fortress shield wall, completely blocking their path.

The frontal collision was inevitable. Steel met steel, flesh met flesh, and they clashed head-on without any evasion, splattering blood everywhere. Although I would like to claim this as my own innovative tactic, it is not so. In fact, wars have been incessant on the Xinghai Continent for tens of thousands of years, and countless tactics have been developed through numerous battles. Often, what someone believes to be an original strategy has long been clearly documented in military academies. My dragon lance formation against heavy cavalry was invented by the orc general Wallace over five hundred twenty-eight years ago. Following its widespread application, counter-tactics emerged, the simplest being the use of wyvern knights to break through the spear lines with their invulnerable, immensely powerful wyverns, allowing the following knights to charge in and rout the enemy.

Of course, tactics are static, but people are dynamic. If everything could be decided by textbook strategies, there would be no saying like "armchair general." Cough, cough, sorry, this world does not seem to have that saying, but my point remains valid. The human wyvern knights did not expect to face not only dense dragon lances but also solid fortress shields, and behind them, even more robust totem poles, stronger than palace pillars. Even if a few level-eight wyverns managed to break through the fortress shield wall, they faced not panicking orcs but an even denser forest of totem poles. Losing their momentum, they were trapped among countless totem poles and then cut into pieces by the "mooing" Minos warriors wielding massive axes.

The remaining knights could not penetrate the orc formations, losing over a thousand in the dragon lance formation alone. The survivors lost their momentum, crowding at the front, effectively losing their powerful offensive capability. Despite these elite knights possessing silver or even gold warrior abilities, and led by four Sword Heroes, they could not withstand the combined assault of long-range dragon lances and close-range giant axes, falling one after another.

As the cavalry began their charge, the infantry behind them also formed up. Seven thousand regular infantry and three thousand noble private troops advanced together. Basten had no choice but to fight; missing this opportunity meant suicide as his only option. After all, his brother Xilin's losses were mercenaries, even allies of the Temple and the four nations upstream of the Red River. Their deaths would not invite blame, whereas he had lost the strongest experts of the principality. Without compensatory achievements, the major factions within the principality would likely withdraw their support.

If these well-organized infantry reached the front lines, the orc army, already entangled with the cavalry, would suffer significant casualties. However, since it was the final battle, we no longer needed to conceal anything. The half-orcs stationed in the top tower of Qingcheng Fortress immediately activated nine "Nine-Headed Ice Dragon Cannons," firing not the massive spiked ice balls that destroyed ships last time, but countless basin-sized, sharp-edged octahedral ice blocks. The rapid firing and dense coverage completely enveloped the human infantry formations, causing them to scatter in panic.

"Help! Someone save me!"

"No, I don't want to die!"

Even the most elite forces, despite rigorous training, would fall into chaos when facing overwhelming pressure. Ordinary humans, already under immense stress from the menacing orcs, coupled with repeated defeats and heavy losses, found their morale at rock bottom. With their commander clearly in a frenzy, they could not restore order, leading to a full-scale rout of the infantry, entire units fleeing.

At this point, my Snow Wolf Guard had already begun to exit the city but did not rush into the battlefield amidst the ice blocks. Only when the human infantry's defeat became irreversible did I order the ballistae to cease fire and command the wolf knights to begin the pursuit. By then, the human cavalry had dwindled to just over a thousand, having successfully escaped the Minos warriors' siege. They turned their horses, shedding their heavy armor and weapons, and fled.

The subsequent pursuit was virtually without suspense. The disorganized humans finally revealed their ten-to-one combat disadvantage against the orcs. Thousands of human infantry could not outrun the wolf cavalry across the plains, repeatedly surrounded and slaughtered, leaving corpses strewn everywhere. The mounted knights who managed to escape faster returned first to their camp ten miles away, hoping to regroup and regain control. Unfortunately, they did not realize that half of the half-orc laborers left in the camp were under my control. As the humans began to gather, the half-orcs set fires and incited their comrades to attack the humans. The already panicked human army, attacked again in their own camp, lost all confidence and finally collapsed, scattering in all directions.

However, this place bordered the Red River on one side and the Devouring Swamp on the other, leaving only one direction for escape. Without supplies, the humans attempted several failed counterattacks and were pursued for over a hundred miles. Ultimately, only common soldiers were captured, while all high-ranking officers, including Basten, were killed by Catherine and me. With Catherine riding her golden-eyed dragon lion in the sky and two iceberg Beamons swimming in the water, the enemy had no chance of escape.