While the scavengers were enjoying a grand buffet in what would later be known as Sunset Plain, a bald head suddenly popped out from the edge of the dense forest.
His appearance startled a few vultures nearby, causing them to flap their wings and take flight. The vultures, in turn, startled him, and he instantly recoiled.
After a long moment, he cautiously emerged, walking along the edge of the forest, clearly trying to avoid the scavengers whose mouths were greasy with food, their noses and jaws askew.
Evidently, if there weren't enough people, the scavengers wouldn't mind trying some fresh meat.
Finally, the bald man in linen clothes, who had almost bypassed the scavengers and was nearing the edge of the plain, about to enter the mountains, let out a slight sigh of relief and then sprinted.
However, before he had run fifty meters, the thunder of hooves echoed from all directions within the dense forest. With the majestic capes and banners of heavy Knights, the bald man collapsed onto the ground, his face dazed.
It was clear that the bald man who had pulled a feint was the King of Scotland!
Grand Duke Andrei had dealt with the King of Scotland more than once. Looking at his round, bald head, how could he not know who this person was?
As he galloped, he joyfully muttered to himself, "Good thing that little brat didn't lie to me! Hahaha... King of Scotland! Damn! I'm rich! This is great, this is great!" He, of course, knew what a huge change the capture of the King of Scotland would bring to the situation within Scotland.
It was like the Tumu Crisis of the Ming Dynasty; after the head of state was captured, even if another head of state from the royal family ascended, who would the country ultimately listen to?
The former head of state, or the current head of state?
This awkward political situation would lead to chaos in domestic orders.
If it were a huge country like the Ming Dynasty, it might be able to rely on its vast agricultural and trade system to withstand political chaos. But for a country like Scotland, which lacks both people and money, domestic chaos would directly create an opportunity. Now that Kayal had annihilated all internal resistance in Scotland, it was not impossible to directly demand the Scottish surrender!
Grand Duke Andrei's mouth was twisted in a smile. Without the slightest courtesy or a word to the King of Scotland, his former old rival and now a defeated dog, he simply waved his hand and had the Knights tie him up. Facing such humiliating treatment, the King of Scotland couldn't catch his breath and fainted in a daze.
Grand Duke Andrei's ambush here indeed had a reason. Kayal had previously ordered the Knights of the Round Table to ambush along possible escape routes in the mountains, but he had Grand Duke Andrei ambush here. How could an ambush be in the original spot? Kayal, pressured by Grand Duke Andrei's burning gaze, had no choice but to whisper something to his father. Only then did Grand Duke Andrei, half-believing, set up the ambush here. However, Kayal's words were difficult for Grand Duke Andrei to believe. Putting himself in the King of Scotland's shoes, he would have fled in such a situation, never turning back.
So the King of Scotland was the King of Scotland, and Grand Duke Andrei was Grand Duke Andrei... Meanwhile, the Scottish, who were being pursued, only realized upon entering the canyon that they were facing a desperate, silent row of shield walls—Kayal's Red Leaf Ridge Heavy Infantry elites!!
They had been ambushed here, poised and ready for a long time!!
It must be said that Kayal's grasp of human nature was precise to the millisecond. After a few seconds of hesitation, the fear of the Knights finally overcame the fear of the infantry. For them, although the shield wall in front was dense, they could still jump over it by stepping on those around them. But the Knights behind them, wielding sharp swords, appeared as murderous, undefeated gods of war. The Scottish, with their deeply ingrained belief in the Knights' invincibility, how could they scrutinize that the Knights behind them had no horses, that they had no long-range attacking weapons, that behind them was a dense forest where they could scatter and disappear if they entered? Although they were numerous, they had no defense against the Knights' attack if they charged... How could they see that? How could they scrutinize such things?
They unhesitatingly charged towards the'seemingly' strong infantry defense.
Just as the first wave of people rushed forward, spears, like venomous snakes, suddenly shot out from the gaps in the oval shields. These spears were two to three meters long, previously hidden among the heavy infantry, completely unseen by the Scottish. By the time they discovered this hidden killing move within the shields, it was already too late.
Because it wasn't a formation charge, the spears, due to visibility issues, mostly didn't stab in the same place, except for the chest.
This resulted in many people instantly falling but not dying, instead being used as human ladders by those behind them to climb over, a tragic sight like a ladder of flesh. Many were trampled to death, and those behind them, eager to escape, surged forward frantically.
Clearly, Kayal's choice of this location was not without reason.
The narrow canyon allowed a maximum of thirty people to stand in a single row. Because the enemy didn't know the formation, a row of thirty infantry only needed to face twenty to twenty-five people. Any more would lead to crowding and blocking, hindering their own movement and preventing them from generating power.
Row after row behind them, except for the fifth row, the second, third, and fourth rows continuously braced against the waves of impact from the front with their shoulders. All were strong men over 1.8 meters tall, making it impossible for this group of malnourished, nearly exhausted refugees to break through the defense by even a single step.
However, they were ultimately numerous. After sacrificing three thousand lives, the fifty thousand people finally created a human ladder of flesh slightly higher than the shields.
This height allowed them to simply walk up and directly jump over the shields into the heavy infantry formation.
Just as all the Scottish were overjoyed, believing they could jump into the heavy infantry formation and, like 'crushing' Joan of Arc's troops, overwhelm these unknown warriors with sheer numbers until they collapsed or were trampled, a few clear shouts suddenly rang out from the opposing formation: "Three steps back... march!!"
Then the spears disappeared, and they were seen retreating three steps in unison. The Scottish refugees, who were supposed to have landed in the enemy's formation, once again faced a wall-like shield and spear defense!
Before the Scottish could react, they heard the same command again. The heavy infantry, after retreating another three steps, suddenly dropped their shield wall. Just as they were overjoyed, thinking they could cover the six steps and crush their defense, the second row of men with large shields all stepped forward, reducing the distance to four steps and an insurmountable chasm—a fresh row of energetic heavy infantry!
Meanwhile, the fifth row began retracting their spears and moving back to the sixth row, while the sixth row stepped forward to fill the fifth row's position... In this long, narrow mountain range called Sunset Canyon, over fifty thousand Scottish civilians were stabbed to death. A long, man-high pile of corpses filled the winding mountain range for hundreds of meters. However, according to historical records, even with so many deaths, not a single Scottish person turned back to charge towards the now empty canyon entrance behind them... PS: Don't mock the Scottish, don't lament the Scottish, because the emasculated Chinese of yesteryear trembled under the Japanese butcher's knife without any resistance... I am merely re-enacting history... Writing this makes me feel heartbroken... PS1: Furthermore, conquest, besides assimilation, is genocide. China, with its vast territory and rich resources, can assimilate other ethnic groups. Japan, being narrow, if it were to enter the mainland, would only be assimilated by the Chinese. Therefore, the smart people of Japan chose genocide. If I were to wage war against the Japanese now, I would also choose to kill all men, elderly, and children. A Yin's (Yamato) state and ethnic group concept is too gentle; perhaps it works for European countries, but for an island nation like Japan, it is useless. They will always remember that they were invaded and will meticulously pick out every difference and disparity in treatment from the Han Chinese, and then clamor... A Yin is still too naive (innocent)!