Ch.173Mud and fresh blood.

“There are more of them.”

“It doesn’t matter. We are stronger.”

“That’s right.”

Amurtat’s Sword Master, Ignatz von Jäger, nodded at his subordinate’s words.

Swords and spears cannot withstand guns and cannons.

However, if they outnumber us by 500,000, they would need to fire that many more shots, and if they make even the slightest mistake in that moment, their thin, long formation would be broken through instantly.

“Change the formation to three rows. Even if they fire all their guns, they won’t kill all of us, so we need to secure minimal organizational strength.”

“Understood.”

“And separate the knights as reserves. Select 10,000 of the strongest knights and assign them to me. The knights and I will handle their cavalry.”

“Yes, sir.”

The enemy’s knight corps boasted an enormous number of 230,000.

In contrast, Amurtat’s knight corps had only 30,000, and with 10,000 assigned to the Sword Master, the actual number of knights that commanders could control was merely around 20,000.

But Amurtat had cannons and guns.

And above all, Amurtat had the Sword Master, so no one dared to suggest that this battle would be unfavorable for Amurtat.

“What about the enemy’s mages?”

“What do you mean ‘what about them’? I’ll cut through their magic as well.”

Ignatz, once a novice Sword Master, had grown into a mature Sword Master after four years of countless struggles.

If lightning struck at the speed of light, he simply had to cut it down faster than light.

“What about sandbags and embankments?”

“Engineers and mages are constructing them. The same goes for the artillery positions.”

“Good.”

Although Amurtat had fewer mages, they were regularly tasked with maintaining two seawater desalination facilities, making them a step or two above Fahrenheit’s mages when it came to terrain-altering magic.

For Fahrenheit’s mages, who had learned spells to shake the earth but not to create fortresses from soil and sand, the magically constructed field fortifications would be like a wailing wall.

“Are the artillery preparations complete?”

“We’ve distributed sufficient ammunition to all troops and stacked gunpowder barrels and shells near the artillery positions.”

“Good. Then our preparations are complete.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bang!

Amurtat’s standard-bearer fired a signal flare into the sky.

This signaled that preparations were complete, and soon Fahrenheit’s side also spread flames in the air to indicate they were ready.

The reason for this ritual was to announce to the entire North that both sides had fought with full preparation and to their utmost ability, making it easier for the victor to absorb the defeated faction.

Both sides rejected any half-baked conspiracy theories about internal sabotage.

“Let’s go! Let’s fight! Let’s win!”

“Waaaaaah!!!”

With thunderous cheers, the first row advanced.

The sound of footsteps shaking the earth, the formation of soldiers covering the horizon…

Even a dragon would tremble in fear at the sight.

“It’s beginning now,” a knight whispered softly beside the Sword Master.

“No…”

“?”

“It’s ending now.”

With those words, the standard-bearer raised the swallow-tailed flag high and began galloping on horseback.

*

“Enemy infantry approaching!”

“Archers! Prepare for high-angle fire!”

As Amurtat’s front-line infantry approached with large strides, Fahrenheit’s infantry commanders ordered their archers to fire at high angles.

Compared to direct-fire weapons, the only advantage bows and arrows had was the ability to fire in arcs, and Fahrenheit had no intention of wasting this advantage.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

The sound of bowstrings releasing and arrows cutting through the air was incessant.

Soon, shadows fell over Amurtat’s front line, caused not by clouds but by a rain of arrows.

Swoosh! Swoosh-swoosh!

“Argh!”

“Keep advancing! Get within firing range!”

Thousands of soldiers died, but conversely, only thousands died.

Amurtat’s front-line infantry were all armored, allowing them to defend against arrows falling from a distance. Only those unlucky enough to be hit in the face or areas unprotected by armor lost their combat effectiveness.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

As if their formation had never wavered, they regrouped and advanced with gritted teeth, soon reaching within a few hundred meters.

“Ready to fire!”

“Ready!”

“Aim!”

“Aim!”

“Fire!!!”

Ratatatatat!

The crisp, thunderous gunfire traveled faster than sound, and the swordsmen and spearmen deployed to block Amurtat’s advance suffered severe casualties.

“Aaaah!!! My leg! My leg!!”

“The… the spear shaft broke!”

“Now’s our chance! Everyone charge! Attack before they can reload!”

“Uwaaaaaaah!!!!”

It was logical to charge after being subjected to volley fire, and Fahrenheit’s infantry began rushing toward Amurtat’s front line with spittle flying from their mouths.

Boom! Boom!

“Cannons incoming!”

“Disperse! Disperse!!!”

Kaboom! Boom!

Soon cannon shells flew in, and dozens of soldiers were knocked down by the iron balls.

But this time was different.

Even if Amurtat’s gun barrels bent and cannon barrels exploded from being hit, there were enough troops to fill the gaps.

“Aim! Fire!”

Ratatatatat!

“Aaaah!”

“Guhk!”

“Don’t stop! Charge! Charge!!!”

Just a few hundred meters.

Merely a few hundred meters.

A distance that could be walked back and forth in just a few minutes, yet what was this overwhelming difference?

Hit by cannons, hit by guns.

Was it magic or sorcery that turned comrades who were alive just moments ago into meaningless lumps of meat?

No, now was not the time to ponder that.

“Flames! Obey my command!”

“Weave the winds to create a storm!”

The mages charging alongside the infantry began to chant spells, and soon massive explosions began to engulf Amurtat’s front line.

Kaboooom!!!!

“Aaaaargh!”

“The front line is collapsing!”

With explosions that tore limbs apart, the long battle line formed by the front-line infantry began to develop holes like a desk leg eaten by termites.

And Fahrenheit’s soldiers succeeded in penetrating the front line before suffering a third volley, causing Amurtat’s troops to panic and lie flat on the ground.

“All artillery positions, aim!”

They were afraid of dying, but not necessarily at the hands of the enemy.

“Fire!”

Kaboooom!

Swordsmen and spearmen climbing over the prone gunners.

And the shower of grapeshot from 12-pounder direct-fire cannons flying straight at them.

The howitzers had obscured the direct-fire cannons, and Fahrenheit’s command, unable to imagine that direct-fire cannons would be positioned right behind the front line, was shocked. While they stood with mouths agape, their infantry was being annihilated.

The infantry that had rushed into the front line was torn to shreds, and the follow-up forces, their brains frozen by the tremendous noise and casualties, came to a halt.

“Everyone stand up! Form the line! Form the line!”

“Long live Amurtat!!!”

Gritting their teeth and shouting their battle cry, Amurtat’s blood-soaked front-line infantry rose again.

The front line was quickly filled, and the corpses formed mounds that served as natural barricades.

“Fire!”

Ratatatatat!

Thus, the follow-up forces were pinned down after advancing just a few dozen meters, and taking advantage of the shortened distance, skirmishers mixed among the front-line infantry pulled out firebombs from their chests and threw them, turning the battle line into chaos.

“Damn it! Push through somehow! Crossbowmen! Plant the pavises and advance slowly! Mages, enchant the pavises to protect from fire!”

“Pull those winches with every ounce of strength you’ve got!”

“Power of water… grant these shields the strength to resist destruction…”

But this time, Fahrenheit was not to be underestimated.

The pavises (large shields) enchanted with water attributes easily extinguished the curtain of flames and began to advance. Crossbowmen with mechanical crossbows capable of piercing Amurtat’s armor fired intermittently despite the hail of bullets, gradually whittling away at the front-line infantry.

Moreover, due to the close distance, the howitzers couldn’t fire because of their minimum range, and the direct-fire cannons couldn’t shoot because of the mounds formed by rolling corpses.

Even if firing were possible, they would have to open the front line to fire the cannons, and the enemy would surely rush in during that gap.

Eventually, Amurtat requested reinforcements, and the front-line infantry reserves in the rear, who had been watching with bated breath, began to approach with guns in hand.

“They’ve called for reinforcements!”

“We have reinforcements too! The knights will be here soon, so fight like mad dogs!!!”

True to those words, Fahrenheit’s command, thinking that continuing like this would lead to mutual destruction, sent 6,000 knights as reinforcements.

And seeing this, the Sword Master and his 10,000-strong suicide squad began running to behead Fahrenheit’s command.