The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 572 Reckless Driving Leads to Tears from Loved Ones

However, while the killing effect of the dragon's breath is very strong, its efficiency is not high. Its deterrent effect is greater than its actual killing power. After all, the wyvern is considered the bottom of the pure-blooded dragon race. It does not have the continuous breath control of other dragon races. The shortness and low frequency of its breath control result in its killing effect not being as outrageous as people expected.

Of course, in this battle, both the dragon knights and the guards of Lagrange were supporting characters and spectators; the real force came from the mighty power of nature...

"Don't stand on the ice!" Verin Angus frowned, signaling everyone to back off. He didn't want his men to end up in the icy river.

"Hopefully, those dragon riders can see the situation on the battlefield!" Verin Angus could only pray that the dragon riders, flying higher and with a wider view, would discover how these chariot warriors were courting death...

……

In fact, when the first wave of attacks came down, the dragon riders had already keenly spotted the advantageous terrain on the battlefield. As the ice layer, shattered by the breath attack, cracked open, it swallowed the surrounding chariots into the icy river. The river water, carrying icy shards, instantly swept the charioteers who fell into the water into deeper depths.

"Attack the ice! We'll give the fish an extra meal today!" the dragon knight captain grinned maliciously.

"Watch out for enemy heavy tanks! I spot a crossbow!" A dragon knight communicated with the others using dragon language transmitted through battle aura. The obscure dragon language was easily received by the air knights who were also dragon knights through the transmission of battle aura. This was the most common method of communication and command among dragon knights. With the blessing of the skill of rider and horse as one, they would share hearing and vision with their dragons, so these dragon languages ​​were as easy to identify as a beacon.

"Roger that! It's about to attack! Left flank formation, spread out!"

"Damn it! Dragon God, thank goodness! That thing just grazed past me!"

"Black Arrows?"

"if not?"

"Heh! Those dwarves are such little cuties (big idiots)!"

"Take it down first!"

"I can not do it!"

"There's no angle of attack on the right flank! We're caught in their crossbow! It's another crossbow!"

"It's not Black Arrow! Repeat, it's not Black Arrow!"

"what……"

"Doug? Are you alright? Answer me!"

"Thank you! I know it wasn't Black Arrow! If it were Black Arrow, I would be dead!"

"Damn bastards! Doug and his dragon are injured! The dragon's right wing has been pierced! Flight is stable! But Doug is in bad shape!"

"Evacuate the airspace! Doug! Get out of there!"

"Damn it! Pull him up! Don't go down! Countless heavy crossbow bolts!" A dragon knight, after enduring several steel arrows fired from heavy crossbows with his dragon armor and shield, cried out that he couldn't take it anymore. As for the dragon beneath him, it withstood the attacks of ordinary heavy crossbows thanks to its scales and the dragon armor covering its body.

"We're too low! We need altitude!" "Protect Doug's evacuation! That heavy crossbow is targeting him!"

……

"Shoot those flying reptiles!" Dakyi commanded menacingly as he operated his crossbows to shoot down the dragons soaring through the sky.

"The dragon has been wounded! Whoever slays the dragon will be made a commander of a thousand!" Darkie was also skilled in the art of managing people and knew the principle of giving a big stick and then a sweet treat.

Hearing their commander's promise, the charioteers, panting heavily, fixed their crimson eyes on the dragon riders in the sky. At this moment, their fear had been replaced by greed. If Roland knew about Darkie's promise, he would probably spit in his face. Who did they think they were? Whose dragon rider's head was worth only a commander? If Roland were to calculate, at least a lord would be enough.

Upon hearing about Darkie's bounty, the light chariots that were about to charge the Lagrange City Guards circled back on the ice and began shooting arrows at the dragon knights. This left Valin Angus, who was engaged in a fierce battle, completely dumbfounded. Couldn't these guys see the cracks in the ice? Even a few dozen centimeters of ice couldn't withstand so many of your chariots circling around on it!

Compared to the somewhat idle infantry, the wyvern rider squad was completely dumbfounded. It was a classic case of a dragon in shallow waters being mocked by shrimp, a tiger fallen to the plains being bullied by dogs! When did these bow-wielding rabble dare to provoke the high and mighty wyvern riders? No way? Did anyone really think arrows could bring down a wyvern? Ahem! Except for the Elnino rangers…

"Doug! These people are gathering here! You're injured, so get out of here first!"

"I won't die! The armor's pierced! But the internal organs aren't damaged!" The dragon knight, with a crossbow bolt lodged in his chest and abdomen, coughed up blood and pulled the arrow out of his body with a ferocious expression. The barb brought out a spray of blood and bits of flesh. Then he tilted his head back, gulped down a bottle of healing potion, and wrapped the wound with a strip of cloth.

"Attack the ice! Attack at will! They've gathered together!" The dragon knight captain grinned maliciously, almost laughing himself silly at the sight of the three concentric circles below. The innermost heavy chariots were arranged in a circle, effectively avoiding the dragon knights' lock-on. The medium chariots circled around the heavy chariots, and then the outermost were the speeding light chariots. From the sky, the three constantly rotating concentric circles looked like a hedgehog!
Logically, the dragon riders should be at a loss in this situation, but this is a frozen river! Who taught them to play like this? Forget ten thousand men, even orcs wouldn't be enough for them to wreak havoc like this!

"boom!"

"Boom!"

Every now and then, the dragons' lightning breath would strike and blast a hole in the ice, and every now and then, an unlucky chariot would fall into the water because it couldn't dodge in time. The dragon knights, who already had a strategy to annihilate them, were no longer concerned about the damage effect and focused on breaking the ice!
What's even more cunning is that they continued to hover and fly above the chariot civilians' formation, giving the chariot civilians below the illusion that they could shoot them down if they tried harder. However, how could they possibly attack the dragons who were focused on dodging? The dragon knights, who had abandoned their low-altitude precision attacks and switched to high-altitude bombardment, were now grinning from ear to ear.

More and more holes appeared on the ice, and cracks in the ice began to spread. Many chariots were stuck in the icy water, but the bloodthirsty chariot warriors had no time to care about the lives of their fallen comrades.

"Tsk tsk tsk! It's over..." Verin Angus shook his head. If they had charged over, they would have had a glimmer of hope. Why a glimmer of hope? Look at the position Verin Angus and his men occupied! It was the riverbank! He had cunningly smashed through the ice all the way, so even if those chariots charged over, they would just end up swimming in the river. However, Verin Angus's preparations were useless. The charioteers, who were determined to fight the dragon knights to the death, had already walked step by step into a dead end.

A deafening roar drew everyone's attention as dozens of light armored vehicles crushed an already crumbling ice layer and sank into the icy depths.

"Get off the ice!" Darky was jolted awake by the blast of cold air and shouted, trying to get his soldiers to retreat.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Like a chain reaction, cracks spread rapidly on the ice, then shattered and overturned, swallowing up the chariots, horses, and civilians. The entire river was like a rapidly opening abyss, devouring lives one by one. How could the chariots trying to escape keep up with the speed at which the ice was breaking?

……

“Improper driving will bring tears to your loved ones’ eyes! Is the commander on the other side an idiot? Shouldn’t it be basic common sense for a soldier to quickly cross a frozen river?” Verin Angus said slowly, looking at the turbulent and still churning river.

"They're finished! No one survived!" The dragon riders descended from the sky.

"Is this brother alright?" Verin Angus looked at the dragon knight who had just been injured, blood still seeping from his abdomen.

"It's alright, he won't die!" The squad leader glanced at him and shook his head. Knights are known for their resilience; a mere fatal wound is nothing to worry about!
(End of this chapter)