Ch.234234. The Frankish Kingdom (3)

On the day of the decisive battle, the Frankish Kingdom’s formation gathered an army of 10,000 from 44 of the 87 territories.

These soldiers, sporting rather colorful appearances with clothes or cloaks dyed to match the emblematic colors of their respective territories worn over their armor, were each preparing for battle in their predetermined positions.

But if there was one characteristic that stood out most in the Frankish Kingdom’s allied forces….

It would probably be that the Frankish Kingdom’s allied army consisted almost entirely of cavalry.

Of course, infantry did exist, but their numbers amounted to only about 4,000 out of the 10,000 allied troops.

Moreover, half of these 4,000 infantry were merely conscripts equipped with old spears and a single gambeson, while the remaining half were professional soldiers (infantry) known as men-at-arms, armed with chain mail and superior armor.

Not only were their numbers woefully insufficient for a battle where national pride was at stake, but beyond numbers, they belonged to different factions and their quality could hardly be considered high….

This was the reality of the Frankish Kingdom’s infantry.

In normal times, when infantry were needed, they would fill the ranks with vassals or men-at-arms, and if large numbers were required for territorial battles, they would conscript serfs to make up the numbers.

Some wealthy lords devoted considerable effort to developing elite infantry units, but that was only possible in affluent territories that could afford to provide excellent weapons and armor even to common foot soldiers.

In the Frankish Kingdom, infantry were regarded as mere expendables and arrow fodder—a lower-class military unit. It was often cheaper to hire mercenary companies when elite infantry were needed.

Instead of these subpar infantry, the lords of the Frankish Kingdom focused all their efforts on developing cavalry.

The kingdom’s 6,000 cavalry, exceeding half of the 10,000-strong allied forces, were the elite of elites responsible for the Frankish Kingdom’s military might.

Though they hadn’t awakened their Aura, they were either elites (Grade 7) seasoned through years of combat, or warriors of noble bloodlines who hadn’t been granted knighthood due to their inability to awaken their Aura.

Under their lords’ command, they were given the title of Cavalry, the core strength of the Frankish Kingdom granted the right to fight on horseback wearing plate armor.

The reason the Frankish Kingdom adopted a cavalry-focused development strategy lay in the western terrain—most of the kingdom’s territory consisted of endless plains with solid ground that wasn’t muddy.

Combined with the fact that there was no better terrain for mounted cavalry to excel, the result was that whenever fighting broke out in the kingdom, everyone became cavalry.

As mentioned earlier, even those of serf origin who reached the equivalent of Grade 7 were treated as quasi-nobles and granted the right to wear plate armor and ride horses—privileges not permitted to ordinary serfs.

In particular, while the Frankish Kingdom’s warhorses might appear to be just ordinary horses, those of good bloodlines often had ancestors like griffins (hippogriffs) or pegasi.

The reason this seemingly ragtag Frankish Kingdom had protected itself from external threats until now was precisely because they had raised large numbers of these elite cavalry units to prepare for invasions.

In any case, these elite Frankish Kingdom cavalry, who could be considered the finest defenders of each territory, were each clad in thick clothing and plate armor with sturdy lances in hand.

Mounted on the kingdom’s warhorses covered in thick barding, they presented the very image of exemplary medieval cavalry.

And while the Frankish Kingdom’s army was checking their tactics one last time and beginning simple coordination before battle…

“Hey, hey?!! They’re coming… coming over there.”

“What, what should we do…?”

“What do you mean what? We need to inform the knight immediately!”

The sharp-eyed hunters of the Frankish Kingdom who were monitoring the distance from the vanguard could see the approaching forces of the Dawn Empire appearing one by one from beyond the horizon.

The first thing that caught their eye were those marching in perfect formation without the slightest error, moving in identical motions.

They were soldiers of the Avenger Legion, clad in blood-red plate armor covering every inch of skin, with builds that made them appear at least two or three heads taller than ordinary people.

They effortlessly carried enormous rectangular shields large enough to completely cover their bodies, while in their other hands they wielded massive metal halberds proportionate to their immense stature.

The Avenger Legion soldiers, displaying the full dignity of the Dawn Empire’s representative military unit, were advancing steadily forward.

The next noticeable unit was the cavalry marching on their flanks—the Blood Wolf Riders of the Avenger Legion, mounted on massive armored blood-red wolves.

Unlike the Avenger Legion soldiers, they were armed with small shields and lances instead of tower shields, and were said to rival mid-rank knights in terms of destructive power—truly elite troops.

Though everyone knew that size alone didn’t solve all problems, there was something about massive builds that triggered instinctive fear in living beings.

As they observed the Avenger Legion soldiers preparing for battle in the distance, a strange tension began to creep through the Frankish Kingdom’s formation…

“Advance!!”

“Walk! Walk!”

With the advance of the Frankish Kingdom’s allied forces—an offensive-specialized army composed mostly of cavalry—the first war between the Frankish Kingdom and the Dawn Empire began.

※ ※ ※

“””””《Increase Magic Target》!!”””””

“””””《Addo of the Tailwind》!!”””””

“””””《Increase Magic Target》!!”””””

“””””《Protection from Projectile》!!”””””

The Frankish Kingdom’s first move was a wide-area buff centered around ten mages deployed in the rear.

Along with the auxiliary magic that literally increased the number of targets affected by spells, the kingdom’s mages cast two main types of magic:

A spell that significantly increased movement speed by causing wind to blow from behind the targets, and a spell that provided high resistance against enemy projectiles—ranged attacks.

The secret to how they could continue to adopt cavalry-focused tactics even after the introduction of gunpowder weapons.

As these spells took effect and the Frankish cavalry’s advance accelerated—

———Woong.

“Kuhak!!”

Neeeiiigh!!

Thud! Thud!!

After a stream of blood-red flashes poured down from the distance.

At least dozens of cavalry tumbled to the ground, trampled by the hooves of the horses following behind.

But this level of sacrifice was well within the Frankish cavalry’s calculations, and the casualties were actually several times fewer than originally expected.

Therefore, the empty spaces left by the fallen were quickly filled by surrounding cavalry as they continued their advance.

The subsequent volleys that followed caused less damage than expected.

For being fully exposed to the coordinated fire of magical weapons—the prototype of gunpowder weapons that were quite popular for taking down cavalry—about 200 casualties was relatively few.

Thanks to this, the Frankish cavalry were now approaching within about 30 seconds’ charge of the enemy lines, grinning hideously in excitement at the thought of slaughtering those superhuman soldiers—

Whoooooooosh———!!!

What greeted these cavalry next were dozens of streams of scorching flames erupting from between the empire’s formations—heavy flamethrower troops.

The flamethrower troops, positioned slightly ahead of others in the empire’s formation, each had a flamethrower attached to the back of their hands thanks to their specialized flame-resistant armor.

The so-called “wearable magical flamethrowers,” based on lightweight flamethrowers made possible by the empire’s advanced chemical (alchemical) technology, made the oncoming cavalry nice and toasty.

“””””””””GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA———!!”””””””””

“Hot, h-hooooot!!!”

Unfortunately for them, they were wrapped in metal perfect for heating up, and had been advancing in tight formation for breakthrough power.

As hundreds more casualties occurred instantly from the flames extending toward the enemy lines,

the warriors in the rear silently readjusted their equipment, preparing for battle after the flamethrowers ran out of fuel.

Still, the battle was far from over.