"WAAAAAGH!!!"
When the first Big 'Un burst through the obstacles of the forest, roaring with a craving for a good fight, and stepped into empty space—falling into a pre-prepared trap—its life entered its final countdown.
A crossbowman pulled the trigger. A short bolt was precisely driven into its head, sinking more than halfway in.
This was a fatal wound that even the Greenskins' powerful vitality could not resist.
Hunters hid within the woodlands, using the forest cover to conceal their figures.
A unit with a slightly loose formation, using sword-and-shield and spears, backed into the dense forest. They had been waiting for a long time in this clearing that had opened up naturally amidst the trees.
Aside from a few who charged too fast and couldn't turn in time, falling into the pit the first Big 'Un had found, the other Greenskins wouldn't continue to WAAAAAGH! into the pit, no matter how much their battle-lust hit their brains.
Seeing the enemy's figures, they bypassed the trap and rushed forward impatiently.
The loose formation—rather than the tercio squares in front that were as hard as Tuskgors—meant the Greenskins didn't have to use much of their limited brain capacity.
Most Greenskins can only fit one thing in their heads their entire lives: "Chop WAAAAAGH!".
So they simple and crudely, literally "WAAAAAGH!"ed up.
Even though their numbers were in the minority, they still charged recklessly. This kind of situation was normal for both Greenskins and the entire Old World.
It's just that Greenskins are especially reckless.
A loose formation of two or three-man squads, with one or two holding sword and shield in front to engage the enemy in close quarters, while one stood back using a spear to fend off the foe.
The loose formation combined with numerical superiority, plus the tacit understanding and coordination developed since the hunting morale-boosting sessions, ensured they could form a "many-against-few" situation locally.
A poorly trained militia soldier with substandard physical fitness was no match for an ordinary Greenskin Boy or Big 'Un charging out of the wilds.
But two such militia soldiers were often no problem against a single, flailing Greenskin.
The soldiers holding sword and shield at the front line—dodging and sometimes having to use their shields and weapons to hard-tank the Greenskins' forceful swings and slams—were all specifically chosen individuals with relatively stronger physiques.
They had to withstand the enemy's most ferocious first wave of assault as much as possible, while looking for opportunities to counter-attack.
Coordinating with their teammates' spears, they would kill the enemy before them.
Half a squad of Khorngors served as overseers, banners, and the guarantee of morale. They were positioned right in the center of the battlefield, behind the loose front-line array.
This was also the place where the Greenskin impact was most ferocious. Four red-colored Big 'Uns who clearly looked like they could fight were a perfect challenge for the Greenskins who were high on chopping.
Al had issued layered, mandatory orders, and had even personally emphasized in several speeches to these Khorngors mixed into the Mortal Auxilia:
"You, as half of the tribal military force and symbols of morale, are effectively frontline commanders! Do not just start fighting heedlessly the moment combat breaks out!"
"In battle, when the two sides are evenly matched, you must wait until the Greenskins' first wave of charge is finished and their momentum has slowed before stepping onto the battlefield!"
"Otherwise, if you are instantly crushed by the Greenskins' soaring momentum and you fail, it will deal a heavy blow to the mortal militia's morale, causing their already low combat power and will to fight to diminish further."
Al was a young man with somewhat retro hobbies for the era he lived in.
He had researched a bunch of games like European Kingdom: Steel Stars - My Ambition & Yehenara's Secret 3, Total Peace: Hoe, Mount & Harvest 2, Savage 6, and Black Beast: The Depraved Capital of the Proud Saintess Tainted by White Turbidity. [References to Europa Universalis, Total War, Mount & Blade, Civilization, and Kuroinu].
He had his own unique understanding of national affairs and war strategy.
Regarding war, his first focus was on his own losses and the exchange ratio with the enemy.
Especially since his capital wasn't robust, Al wished that before every battle he could arrange his battle lines, pause at any time during the fight, send delay-free faster-than-light mental signals to his subordinates, and even perform real-time micromanagement down to the individual.
But that was obviously impossible.
He was a Chosen, not an Overmind; his subordinates were Beastman warbands, not Tyranids.
He could only do his best during the pre-war strategizing, preparing for every possible outcome. He aimed to face the enemy with a "nine-out-of-ten" or "ten-out-of-ten" prepared army.
Simultaneously, he monitored the battlefield and controlled the overall situation in real-time through the All-Knowing blessing and a few powerful individuals whose vision he could share.
The Khorngors obeyed Al's orders well. These beasts—who, like the Greenskins, were even more eager for bloodshed under the inspiration of their faith—restrained themselves until the Greenskins could no longer push the battle line forward.
The four red-furred Big 'Uns were a significant force on this tiny battlefield where the two sides combined numbered barely a hundred.
They soon stabilized the situation in the center. After coordinating to kill three Greenskins in succession, the enemy's morale showed signs of wavering.
The Greenskins' even more fragile flanks had also started showing fatigue. Soon, this battle—one of many small, inconspicuous ones happening simultaneously across the Piña Forest—was declared over.
The Greenskins failed. After more than half were killed or wounded, the remaining fewer than ten fled backward, shrieking weirdly.
The militia hurriedly began post-battle cleanup and rest, ensuring there were no other enemies nearby and no threat of a sudden ambush.
They cleared the battlefield, collecting their comrades' bodies and useful supplies. After a brief breather, they set off without pause toward the nearest battlefield to rejoin the fight.
They were somewhat exhausted, but the harshest life-or-death trials and the most dangerous enemies had been
shared and taken away by the tribal Beastmen. What complaints could the Mortal Legion have?
Due to the unique terrain of the dense forest and the Greenskins' loose nature, they couldn't advance or retreat in organized formations. They could only WAAAAAGH! loosely "in this direction" and "run aaaaah in that direction."
And this scattering ensured that until they encountered a target hard enough to attract all the nearby Greenskins' attention, their lines would only stretch wider and scatter further.
This provided the tribe with opportunities to engage in many-against-few fights despite being at a numerical disadvantage overall.
However, because the Greenskins were so scattered, forget the Greenskin commander, even Al—with the fog of war revealed—couldn't fully monitor the battlefield and know every enemy's movement.
He couldn't concentrate his strength to chop off every finger of the enemy's outstretched hand one by one.
Yet he had to weaken the Greenskins' momentum in advance; otherwise, the pressure on the units holding the key defense points would be too great.
So Al deployed three thousand Beastmen—already more than half the Beastman strength set for the subsequent defense.
They were equipped with nearly a hundred Shaman spellcasters, as well as the air-and-ground Monster Legion. On the Greenskins' line of advance, he pre-selected terrain to intercept the Greenskin vanguard.
Acting as an indestructible rock, they continuously dealt damage while holding every advantage except numbers (corner-camping, bridge-holding, Dragon Emperor's Chosen Champion Peasant Forest Stance-Holding Ogres).
At the same time, they continuously attracted the scattered Greenskins to swarm and gather around them.
And in the large gaps left behind, the small-scale Greenskin units became perfect targets for the training Al had arranged for the Mortal Legion.
Through small-scale, low-intensity battles, he would first boost the humans' morale and will to fight. This would be crucial for the combat power needed in the upcoming stages.
The foundations of the Empire:
Steel, Gunpowder, and Faith.
Since the first two were temporarily unavailable, the third... or for a long time, the last one has always been the most important.