Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters
Chapter 1223 - 33 Great Alliance Moves Forward (19)

Chapter 1223: Chapter 33 Great Alliance Moves Forward (19)

Colonel Bod gazed down from the church bell tower at both banks of the valley, the thick smoke rendering distant scenes into blurry shadows.

But it didn’t matter, for the entire battlefield was already mapped in his mind. Tens of thousands of humans and warhorses seemed like a gigantic living creature, and Bod Gates listened intently to its pulse:

To the south, Colonel Gais Adonis’s Mont Blanc County forces were advancing triumphantly, with the vanguard Hundred-Men Squad piercing through the river like an awl, successively capturing the enemy-occupied riverside cottages;

To the north, Colonel Skool’s Riverside County and Thunder Group County forces were fiercely battling the enemy, Skool’s line enveloping the enemy’s flank, while the enemy reinforcements similarly enveloped the flanks of the Riverside County and Thunder Group County forces.

Both sides were like a pair of ouroboros, frantically tearing at each other’s remnants, only to see who could first strike fear, pain, or death into the other;

As for the most intense fighting, it was inevitably on the earthen mound to the east where the enemy had set up their cannons. The land there no longer bore the desolate appearance it once had, the ground furrowed by hooves. Looking out, no trace of green could be seen, only the black of mud and the red of blood.

The Thunder Group County cavalry had surrounded the enemy, launching waves of attacks. The enemy square formation, almost buried in warhorses and smoke, seemed about to collapse any second, yet it just wouldn’t break.

South, north, and east—all three fierce sub-battlefields; the outcome of any one could potentially decide today’s victory or defeat.

The "least important" place, ironically, was River Valley Village, at the very center of the maelstrom.

Captain Luosong did not possess Colonel Bod’s overarching view; in the frenzied melee, he was driven purely by instinct. He feared nothing, wanted nothing, roaring loudly, slashing fiercely, cleaving open chests, severing necks.

A lead bullet, from who knows where, struck Luosong’s mount. The horse neighed mournfully and suddenly fell, collapsing to one side. Had it not been for the captain’s quick reflexes, promptly retracting his legs, his shins would have surely been crushed.

No time to mourn his beloved horse, Luosong rolled away just after extracting his right leg from under it, narrowly avoiding a thrusting spear. The spearhead grazed his back, leaving a shallow mark on his armor.

The captain charged at the enemy withdrawing their spear to stab again, but felt a mighty force clutch his arm and shoulder—a sergeant pulled him onto his own horse and whisked him away with a whip.

They withdrew beyond musket range, and other Thunder Group County cavalry also gradually disengaged from the enemy, retreating to regroup.

The sergeant brought a riderless warhorse back to the captain. Luosong accepted the reins and mounted the saddle.

"Saber," the captain ordered through gritted teeth, unwinding the tassel from his wrist.

The sergeant procured an undamaged saber for the captain. As the saber was handed over, the sergeant noticed the captain’s arm was involuntarily trembling.

"Form up."

The assembly horn sounded again, and the combat-ready Thunder Group County cavalry reformed. Those still with swords drew them, while those without picked up discarded enemy spears, once more charging toward the enemy’s square formation.

However, even though the Thunder Group County cavalry had the spirit to launch a new assault, their warhorses were exhausted from the relentless exertion.

No matter how vigorously the riders used whips and boots, the horses could no longer sprint at full speed as they did at the start, only manage a large trotting pace.

On weary warhorses, the less than two-hundred-meter charge felt as long as a kilometer.

From within the enemy’s square on the killing field’s opposite end, a United Province officer leaped onto a wagon, shouting while waving the military flag to urge his men to keep fighting.

Sparse red flames erupted from within the spear wall; the enemy could no longer organize disciplined volleys from their musketeers.

Yet, out of the corner of his eye, Luosong spotted an anomaly at the corner of the formation: The gunners in the rear were pouring powder into the touch hole, and the front line spearmen nervously made room for firing.

Another enemy cannon was loaded.

As the Thunder Group County cavalry charged repeatedly, the four undestroyed enemy cannons continued to fire rapidly. These inflicted more casualties on Luosong’s men than the musketeers from both squares combined.

Now, the deadly rain of lead was coming again.

"Scatter!" Luosong shouted, raising his hand: "Scatter!"

At that moment, the cannons fired.

Luosong felt a wave of heat rush toward his face, the airstream cutting painfully at his cheeks. He thought he was dead, but it was the sergeant beside him who perished first.

The sergeant’s left arm was cleanly severed at the shoulder by the cannonball, with blood gushing rhythmically from the jagged wound, as he cast a pained glance at the captain, then tumbled from his horse.

In the fierce engagement, the enemy had learned a new trick.

They concealed their artillery within the human wall, hiding their reload progress from the attackers, only dispersing the front-line spearmen at the last moment before firing.

The sudden barrage left a gap in the Thunder Group County cavalry’s charging formation, yet the screams and wails emanating from within the enemy’s square were even more harrowing than the lament of the Thunder Group warhorses.

Around the heavy cannon that had just rained death, a scene of carnage unfolded, bodies and splinters scattered everywhere.

A terrifying, torn hole appeared at the rear of the heavy cannon, the metal shards detaching from the barrel and turning into deadly shrapnel, blowing apart an already crumbling section of the square formation.

"Press on! Press on!" screamed the officer.

"Right there!" Luosong urged passionately, waving his saber toward the site of the cannon explosion: "Follow me!"