Chp.26: The new military formation

Following Sarpa, the ogres withdrew quickly but in an orderly fashion. In this way, the soldiers didn't risk being crushed and killed by their own fleeing companions as would have happened in the case of a disorderly escape. The fairies continued to bombard them mercilessly, but the ogres kept their cool and didn't panic.

Sarpa led the ogres towards the border, a few hundred meters away from the battlefield. Once he was close enough, he yelled: "LANCERS, ATTACK!"

The soldiers were somewhat dazed, since nearly every spear and javelin they had had been used. But suddenly it happened something that amazed everyone.

The ground opened up and the grass lifted up as if it were a trapdoor. Holes appeared everywhere, and the heads of several dozen ogres poked out of them. These ogres wasted no time in throwing numerous javelins at the faeries, who were completely taken aback by the sudden attack and hundreds of them were lynched.

Sarpa smiled. Apparently, the plan was working.

That was the escape route he and Dharon had planned (well... actually Haku had had the idea and Sarpa had passed it on to Dharon). Since defending a tunnel was so easy, why not move the battlefield underground?

Before leaving, Dharon had given some ogres of the Shack tribe (Sarpa's tribe) some spades; as soon as they crossed the border, these ogres broke away from the group and began setting what Sarpa had called the 'underground trap'. The ogres weren't a burrowing people, but they were tireless workers nonetheless: their muscles were more than enough to build a series of underground tunnels in which they could hide. The earth would absorb the force of the fairies' attacks, protecting them, and allowing them to fight for a long time.

Of course, even with all the time they'd had, so few ogres could ever build a tunnel system deep enough to house the entire army. However, Sarpa already knew what to do. "LISTEN TO ME! PLACE YOURSELF IN THE CENTER OF THE FORMATION! CREATE A TRIPLE WALL OF SHIELD AND A TRIPLE ROOF OF SHIELD! PLACE THE ENCHANTED SHIELD OUTSIDE AND THE WEAKEST INSIDE!"

The other ogres complied quickly. The tunnels dug by their comrades clearly formed a circle surrounding a leveled area of ​​land where the army could comfortably stand. The army spread out as Sarpa had said: the ogres gathered within that area and raised their shields. Very soon, they were completely covered on their heads, while on the sides they were surrounded by a wall of shields. What's more, behind that wall another had been erected, and then another. Though the faeries continued to fire enchanted arrows and magical items, with enchanted shields at the forefront the army seemed to have transformed into a huge, impenetrable turtle.

As soon as this formation was completed, Sarpa yelled: "ROPES!"

The holes in the ground opened up again and ropes were thrown in all directions, catching several fairies who fell to the ground. Then Sarpa shouted: "FIRST LINE, ATTACK!"

The ogres in the first line ran forward and slaughtered all the fallen faeries. But they hadn't even gone a hundred meters when Sarpa yelled again: "FIRST LINE, WITHDRAW!"

The ogres were a little surprised by that order, but they did it. Sarpa's voice was now like an absolute order for them: without thinking twice, they went back and rearranged themselves within the formation.

"FIRST LINE, EXCHANGE WITH THE THIRD LINE!" Sarpa yelled. The ogres performed and the formation changed. It wasn't a smooth movement, as the ogres weren't used to that method of fighting, but they executed it rather quickly nonetheless. At that point Sarpa yelled again: "ROPES!" And again the holes in the ground opened and the ogres inside threw ropes at the fairies, knocking them over. Sarpa then had the first line loaded again, recalled it after a short ride, and then replaced it with the next line.

It was enough for Haku to observe a battle between ogres and fairies only once to understand the greatest flaw of the ogres: while the fairies were coordinated and made use of very subtle strategies, the ogres did not have a real method of battle: they charged when they felt they had an opportunity and would retreat in disorder when the situation became too dangerous. They didn't use battle patterns or plans: the only rule was to assault with full force. This made the ogre army extremely flawed, when a little ingenuity could have made them an unstoppable force.

The formation that Haku had designed and then explained to Sarpa demonstrated this concept: a group of ogres that had just lost miserably in the battle had now transformed into a veritable living fortress. Thanks to the holes in the ground, some ogres could shoot down the fairies in flight, and then the first line would abandon formation and kill them, then withdraw and switch with the next line; in this way, the soldiers had time to rest and ran as few risks as possible, well protected by shields. With such formation, the ogre army could have fought on for hours on end without suffering major casualties.

For that plan to work, however, it was absolutely imperative that all ogres listen to Sarpa. Even with their total obedience, in fact, they struggled to maintain formation since they had not received any training; if anyone started to disobey, the formation would collapse. Therefore, Haku had decided to take advantage of the situation. During the battle in the open field he had silently eliminated all the rival chieftains; it had become quite easy using invisibility. It was enough for him to pick up the arrows that fell to the ground and throw them at their heads, and no one noticed anything. Since ogres respected strength, the absence of additional chieftains made Sarpa the strongest among them, naturally leading them to do his bidding. Also, the fact that his plan was working would ward off any hotheads. That was all Haku could do: otherwise, he could only hope that Sarpa managed to be authoritarian enough to command respect.

Apparently that was the case: although Sarpa wasn't doing much except giving orders, his confident expression and the fact that his method of fighting was successful, combined with all the stories that had been circulating about him after his heroic behavior in the Bolvek tribe, they made soldiers listen to him, even the elites. This was flattering since as long as they kept that formation the ogres would be relatively safe.

The battle lasted for several hours; it was probably one of the longest ever fought by both armies. For the first time the roles seemed to have reversed: whereas normally it was the fairies who played defensively using solid formation, now it was the ogres who had sealed themselves like a turtle in its shell. Every few minutes, the ogres in the tunnels would emerge and capture some faeries which were then torn apart by their fellows; if there were too many fairies, Sarpa ordered to 'reduce' them using spears and javelins. Despite the long battle, the ogres weren't tired, while the fairies were starting to wear out.

In the end, the fairies decided it wasn't worth continuing to attack that impenetrable formation without an efficient plan; so they withdrew. After all, they weren't afraid that the ogres would continue their march: they had the advantage because they played defense, but if they attacked it would have been a disaster for them.

The ogres cheered when they saw them go. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of the fairies, while the ogres had suffered many losses. While theirs wasn't exactly a victory, they felt like it was. Their war cry resounded through a large part of the forest, and soon they began to call in chorus for the commander who had allowed them to drive the fairies back.

But Sarpa didn't let himself be proud and instead maintained a stoic expression: "Listen to me! We aren't out of danger yet. We must get away from this place immediately before the fairies return with reinforcements. March in orderly lines in the direction of our camp!"

The ogres were touched: even in his moment of greatest glory, Sarpa cared for their lives and not for himself. He was the definition of 'perfect commander' in their eyes, one they had only heard of in stories. None of them even thought to challenge his will: very neatly, the ogres made their way to their military camp, leaving behind them a battlefield filled with corpses that Sarpa knew would become part of Haku and his siblings' food supplies.

The march that morning had been swift, for Volgor had wanted to get to the border as soon as possible and the ogres under his command were in full force; but now, the ogres were tired and Sarpa had no intention of forcing them into a debilitating march. The return was therefore much slower. Combined with the fact that the battle had ended at about four in the afternoon, they were unable to reach their military camp as darkness began to arrive.

However, Sarpa wasn't worried. They had gone far enough from the border and it was unlikely that the fairies would chase them there. However, he wasn't willing to take any chances. As soon as he found an area clear enough of trees, he turned to the army and said: "We'll camp here for the night! I know you're tired, but I have to ask you to work a little longer. Do as I tell you..."

The ogres obeyed and under his command they dug holes around the whole area, inside which some of them hid, equipped with numerous javelins and ropes; whereupon the rest of the army arrayed themselves in the center and planted their shields firmly on the ground, forming three walls. Each soldier kept his shield beside him, ready to raise it in case of alarm. In this way, if the fairies were spotted, they could rebuild the formation that had allowed them to win in less than ten seconds. For the price of a little effort to build everything, the ogres could therefore sleep peacefully.

Sarpa arranged for wounded ogres to be placed in the center of the camp and ensured that they received proper care. After that he posted some sentries to keep watch and established shifts to prevent anyone from getting too tired. This increased even more the esteem that the other soldiers felt for him. Only when all was ready did Sarpa finally stop and succumb to exhaustion, sitting down on the ground and sipping some water from his canteen like any other ogre. The other soldiers, who were used to the haughty behavior of the chieftains, couldn't help but admire him.

It was at that point that someone forcefully pulled the elephant out of the room: "Sarpa, now that Dharon is dead, you should take his place as chieftain"

Sarpa looked up; he had been so intent on drinking and replenishing himself that he hadn't noticed several ogres from the Shack tribe approaching him. Apparently it was time to officially take the lead. "I never wanted this role" he said. "But I accept it anyway. In this moment of difficulty we must remain united, and I will be happy to be your commander"

Which translated meant 'I don't think anyone could play this role better than me at the moment'. However, false modesty was not an accepted virtue among ogres; on the contrary, they preferred that sincerity. After all, with his extraordinary qualities, why shouldn't Sarpa think himself superior to the others? It was only natural for this to happen. Such characteristics were welcome among the ogres. "In that case, we salute chieftain Sarpa!" the soldiers of the Shack tribe exclaimed, bowing to him reverently.

Sarpa puffed out his chest with pride. He remembered Haku's words, who had told him the day before that he would become chieftain within the next day. Apparently, dragons really always kept their promises.

But suddenly other soldiers came near him. They were the soldiers of the Bolvek tribe. They bowed respectfully: "Chieftain Sarpa, we want to thank you for saving us all, and we apologize for the reckless actions of our now deceased chieftain"

Sarpa shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We must stick together in these difficult times. It would be foolish of me to bear a grudge against you for your dead chieftain's actions"

The other ogres' admiration for Sarpa soared even more with those words. Normally, a chieftain in his situation would have sworn vengeance against the Bolvek tribe; on the contrary, Sarpa was forgiving them and was instead urging them to stick together. The ogres of the Bolvek tribe bowed, "We know we are abusing your kindness, chieftain Sarpa, but please guide us!"

Sarpa was surprised by that request. "I'm not your chieftain, and I don't even belong to your tribe"

"No, but you're right. In these difficult times, we must stick together. We need a commander to lead us all wisely, and there is no one better than you!" the ogres of the Bolvek tribe answered.

Other ogres from other tribes Volgor had forced to go with him approached and bowed, "We feel the same way too. Our chieftains are dead and we don't have time to elect others. We ask you to lead us!"

Sarpa felt flattered by those requests. Had his lead been so extraordinary? It seemed so, if all the soldiers wanted to continue to be led by him. Basically, they were voluntarily handing over a third of the ogre army to him!

'Wait... what if that dragon had foreseen this too!? Damn... he's really a genius...' he thought, then he said: "Okay. You will be under my command until this war ends. What happens next, we'll discuss it when the time comes"

The soldiers were satisfied with that answer. Sarpa had not proclaimed himself their chieftain, but had simply agreed to lead them. This would calm things down for a while, as the other tribes wouldn't feel threatened by his new great power.

And so, in just one day, Sarpa not only became the chieftain of the Shack tribe, but also gained command of a third of the entire ogre army.