Batu, who also fell back along with the others, moved to the left as he commanded the Chief Engineer of the Sand City, and the five-thousand-strong men were with him. The blond-haired engineer pressed the button on the black box appearing in his right hand, and some movements began on the wide flatland remaining on the opposite side of the roaring river.
The Mercenaries weren't aware of these; everything happened in a few seconds. Just as they were about to catch the army they were pursuing, the energy weapons emerged and began to fire one after another. When the attacks consisting of fire, earth, and wind elements reached them, the mercenaries were still chasing the enemy.
Some of the weapons, lined up one behind the other in a way that wouldn't block each other's shots, had a different height than the others. Holzmeister had positioned them in the most efficient way and then hidden them underground.
Batu, who first sacrificed two thousand people and then made a fake retreat maneuver, didn't stand idle while more than ten thousand mercenaries trapped between the river and the energy weapons perished. Going around behind the weapons, he prevented the enemy from approaching the Chief Engineer's inventions with the arrows of the warriors he named the Golden Army.
The arrows weren't ordinary things; they were deadly weapons, the latest products of orc engineering, developed taking inspiration from the explosive-tipped arrows Nafız used. The five thousand arrows appearing in the sky opened deep craters where they landed; after a while, it was seen that they were useful not only for preventing but also for dealing heavy damage.
In addition to Lion and Tiger's ten-thousand-strong armies, the five-thousand-strong left flank army was also caught between the river and the energy weapons, and Batu was taking away their chance to turn back with their bows. The mercenaries seeing this chose to advance towards the enemy who stopped running away, but it was debatable whether this was the right choice.
Boss, who drove the people he gathered from the scattered forces outside the City of the Heart of the Sand to the front lines, was currently at the front with the core cadre he brought with him, and this time he directed his black energy onto the enemy. The orc warrior had drawn his boundary ten steps ahead, and the only thing waiting for anyone who could go beyond there was death.
There was no place left to escape for the mercenaries onto whom the corpses of their comrades fell; the only option was the river on their right, and this looked more appealing than death. The mercenaries jumping into the water one by one disappeared from sight in seconds; there was no one who could manage to resist the current with their heavy equipment.
"Lion, Tiger, what are you waiting for?"
Izumrud was watching his army melting right before his eyes, and judging by the volume of his voice, his anger had hit the ceiling. Even though his two generals were busy looking for a solution, he had no patience to wait for this; the two men, understanding they had to do something along with his roar, were officially stepping onto the battlefield.
Lion struck his axe, glowing with yellow color, to the ground, and the resulting crack caused the earth under the energy weapons to begin shattering. The commander of the right flank was trying to eliminate the greatest danger, and the other General, Tiger, began to rain fire on the Golden Army on the same side again.
Both Generals used axes, but Tiger's weapon glowed ember red thanks to the fire element. Batu had to fall back, because the problem wasn't just the fires; the ground under their feet was disappearing too.
The five-thousand-strong force, along with their commanders clad in golden armors, returned to where they started without suffering a single casualty, but the area behind them was leveled. Neither the energy weapons nor anything else was left in the area that was five steps wide and long enough to cover the space between the two armies.
Lion was panting; the attack had affected a large area, and it was obvious the cost of this wasn't small. Even though Tiger also looked a bit affected, his body language said he was fine; he was thinking of stepping forward and going on the attack.
He could have achieved this if it weren't for the soldiers fleeing backwards, but it was impossible to step in front of the crowd of about seven thousand people who managed to survive from the twenty-thousand-strong force. The trap had only worked for a few minutes, but even in this way, it had ensured that thirteen thousand people wouldn't take a breath again.
The ten-thousand-strong Sand Army and the five-thousand-strong Golden Army were now equal in number to the enemy. Batu puffed out his chest; as he watched the enemy trying to reorganize, his two swords were in his hands.
"Is this all you can do? Lion, you are a man with a working brain, you are not stupid like the brainless one standing on the left of the bastard and his son. If you leave the battlefield now and return to the Emerald City, no one will touch your status and wealth. If you continue to fight here, you must have seen how your end will be by now!"
The offer came at the most unexpected place; Izumrud turned to his right, trying not to miss even the slightest movement of his general, but not a single facial muscle moved on the face of the man with mane-like hair. Everything Batu said was true, but he had forgotten to mention that Lion's loyalty was at least as strong as his courage.
"Not everyone is a traitor like you; my Generals are not cowards enough to switch sides with the words of a runaway like you!"
Batu's gazes were on Izumrud; even if the man speaking from behind his mask was his father, there was no trace of love among the dozens of emotions in the eyes of the man in golden armor.
"Was this really your plan? Did you think one of the man's best two generals would just up and leave?"
Boss spoke in a tone of voice only those in his own army could hear. He didn't see the need to hide from his warriors that he found what Batu said ridiculous.
"Orc warrior, do not underestimate the bond between a father and a son!"
When Batu completed his words, he raised the sword in his right hand into the air and extended it forward to target Izumrud's head. Then he began to walk, first with slow, then fast steps; then the five-thousand-strong force followed behind him.
"If you are scared, you can wait there; the Golden Army is more than enough to finish these off!"
When Batu's words reached his ears, Boss's eyes widened, and his roar that made the knees of the Golden Army warriors tremble crossed the Field of Mohács and reached the enemy positions.
"A human who can question the courage of an orc on the battlefield hasn't been born yet. Don't you dare step in front of me, shiny boy!"
Izumrud, hearing the words of Boss, who went on the attack with the Hyenas and the forces he gathered from the desert, couldn't wait any longer; the enemies he came to crush like bugs were mocking him.
"All forces advance!"
Tiger and his son went into action before the order even finished; Lion's surviving mercenaries were following them. Lion's son took his place at the very rear; except for its leaders, the Emerald Leaf Guild army had taken the battlefield.
"Your turn has come; you are free until you return to me!"
Dona Gracia, one of the few people the Sand Army left behind, turned to his butler, who hadn't left his side for a second, and pressed his right index finger on his forehead. The dwarf, whose eyes sweeping as if looking at the most beautiful, most magnificent person in the world became bloodshot at that moment, turned to the battlefield.
A breath later he disappeared from sight; when he reappeared, he was in front of the enemy advancing from the right flank. He couldn't wait for the daggers in his two small hands to be drenched in blood; he stepped on his first target he killed and advanced towards his next victim by somersaulting.
While everyone was waiting for the first move from Batu, Boss, or the two Generals, someone completely out of the equation was opening the account, and he didn't look like he would stop either. He didn't hesitate for a moment to plunge into the five-thousand-strong force alone; this attitude, rather than angering Boss, was whetting the orc warrior's appetite.