Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 291 Time
The verification of the Battle of Tiefeng County-Teldun will be a major challenge.

Due to a lack of scribes, the military in Tiefeng County was unable to leave any written records.

The new government also failed to inherit the old officer system's good habit of "writing war history".

The remaining instructions, orders, and letters are filled with coded language and symbols, making them incomprehensible.

As for the Teldenans? They don't even have a written language.

For the Hed people, war records are romantic heroic epics sung by old shamans around the campfire.

Each shaman's version is different, and all contain a lot of improvisation, classic homages, and purely fictional elements.

Perhaps in the future, some of those who experienced this battle will publish their memoirs.

However, we all know that memories are the most unreliable records because everyone distorts and embellishes their memories according to their own needs.

Even liars aren't necessarily lying, because they genuinely believe that what they remember is true.

Only the War Bulletin, printed on scrap paper, could help bystanders vaguely sketch out the whole picture of the war.

A skilled propagandist is adept at presenting bad news as ordinary bad news, bad news as acceptable bad news, bad news as good news, and good news as a glorious victory.

Winters was clearly not good at this, because he honestly informed the entire Iron Peak County in the War Correspondence that the Teldens had occupied the Ponto River ford.

That same night, after Bud led his militia to repel the first attack, the Teldenans launched a second offensive.

Prior to this, Bard had already thwarted several small groups of Teldun cavalry attempts.

Unlike the remote Wolf Town, Blackwater Town and Five Mastiff Town are separated from Zhongtiefeng County by only a river, making travel convenient.

By the time the Teldens invaded Lower Tiefeng County, a large number of people from Blackwater Town and Five Ao Town had been evacuated to Middle Tiefeng County.

Having gained little from plundering the towns of Blackwater and Five Mastiffs, the Terdons attempted to sneak into the hunting grounds of other tribes—Mid-Iron Peak County—to try their luck, but were easily repelled by the militia under Bard's command.

However, the pressure on Bard increased dramatically when the Teldens launched their real offensive.

A small group of sneaky raiders trying to "poach" were clearly no match for the Teldun cavalry who were determined to seize Tushechang.

The first offensive was merely a probe by the vanguard.

In the second wave of attack that night, the Teldun not only committed more cavalry units, but also concentrated a group of armored soldiers to fight on foot, fiercely attacking the weak points of the chevaux-de-frise and wooden palisades.

Bows and arrows and catapults were less effective in night fighting, and the Teldun focused their attacks on a single point, making the battle extremely fierce.

The barbarian Hed's whistling arrows, accompanied by a terrible shriek, sometimes even grazed Ish's ears.

Exhausted, Ish raised his musket high, letting out a muffled groan of pain. With a burst of strength from his waist, abdomen, and arms, he swung the musket down, striking the outside of the wooden fence repeatedly.

He couldn't see where the barbarian was, so he just kept smashing the objects where people were moving.

The hastily made tamping gun had an oak core, with linen wrapped around it to increase its toughness, and finally brushed with tung oil and asphalt.

Because there wasn't enough time to dry the wood core, the so-called "beating gun" was extremely heavy, making it more strenuous to use than pushing a stone roller uphill, but its power was also more astonishing.

Just as the gun was about to hit the ground, the shaft suddenly sent a shockwave back to Ish's hands, making them numb.

With a "crack," the gun broke in two.

Ish seemed to hear a scream, a cracking sound of a skull being smashed. More likely, however, all the sounds were hallucinations, because the battlefield was too noisy for him to hear anything clearly.

Many of the barricades have been removed, leaving only a thin wooden fence between the two sides.

The militia of Tiefeng County used all their strength to pound on the barbarians outside the fence, using not only batons but also long-handled flails.

The flail was originally just a tool for farming, but now the striking stick is covered in brains.

Meanwhile, archers and slingers gritted their teeth and unleashed a hail of arrows and stones at the outside of the fence. Most people couldn't see where the barbarians were, so they just threw stones and arrows at the general area as if the faster they shot, the safer they would be.

The Teldun people were doing the same thing—shooting arrows at people through the fence.

Ish discovered that his pistol was broken, but it didn't seem to be broken either.

Because the linen cloth wrapped around the wooden core barely connects the two sections of the gun barrel, the musket now looks like a broken arm, with the front section dangling down.

The flail had become a large flail, but Ish had nothing to complain about. He panted and raised the flail again.

Another shriek came from afar, but this time it didn't fly away like before; instead, it burrowed into Ish's left leg.

Ish, whose consciousness was already dulled, paused for a moment before realizing that he had been shot by an arrow.

With his last ounce of strength, he swung his gun at the barbarians outside the wooden fence, then fell heavily onto the rocky beach.

The militiamen beside him witnessed the soldier being wounded and hurriedly carried Ish to the rear of the battle line.

As the number of wounded soldiers carried to the back increased and the Telden's offensive showed no signs of abating, the young horseman Angru became increasingly anxious, sweating profusely.

"Move to the reserves, Lieutenant!" Anglu spurred his horse to Bard's side and pleaded again, "The front line will collapse if this continues!"

Bard, watching from the sidelines, seemed utterly emotionless: "It's not time yet."

"They can't hold on."

"They can still hold on; I know their limits."

"Then let the cavalry charge!" Anglu gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. "I'll lead a charge from the flank."

"It's not yet time."

Anglu wanted to argue, but Bard gestured for him to be quiet.

Bard squinted and listened intently. Soon, Anglu heard it too.

The dull thud of hooves grew louder and louder, and the distance drew ever closer.

Anglu's pupils dilated suddenly—the sound of horses' hooves wasn't coming from the other side of the river, but from behind them!
Are they reinforcements? Or...?

"Beat the drums!" Bard shouted. "Reserves! Assemble the wagons!"

There are no reinforcements tonight, only the enemy.

To the southeast, on the road leading to Xiaoshi Town, groups of cavalry were crossing the hills and charging straight toward Tushechang.

The spears gleamed coldly, and the sound of horses' hooves was like a sudden downpour.

In Hetti, "war" and "robbery" are the same word, which means that war is actually an economic activity.

Therefore, the Hud people were most reluctant to engage in direct combat, because even if they won, it would be a losing proposition.

Flanking maneuvers, encirclements, and maneuvering—using the advantage of four legs to annihilate the enemy in motion—that was the skill of the Heds.

If the Hud people choose to confront them head-on, there must be a good reason—for example, a "surprise force" that sneaks across the river from upstream.

The cavalry was led by none other than "Corpse Chewing," the centurion who had just fought Bard.

The original mission of the Corpse Chewing Clan was not to capture Tushechang, but to gather intelligence. Attacking Tushechang with only a hundred cavalrymen was a decision made on the Corpse Chewing Clan's own initiative.

Winning is naturally a great achievement, but if you lose... well, you have to atone for your mistakes.

Last time they were repelled, the Corpse Chewing crew left behind more than thirty corpses. This time, while swimming upstream through dense forests, many of their men were swept away by the river.

Before they'd even plundered any spoils, nearly half of their hundred or so followers had already perished. If they couldn't make a fortune, it was hard to say what awaited them—the corpses of their fallen comrades.

It was with this strong motive that he, like a corpse chewing, plunged headlong into the pit.

The Teldon riders following the Corpse Chewing reined in their horses, but some were too slow to react and trampled the Corpse Chewing and its horses into the pit. Only when its thoracic vertebrae were crushed by its followers' horses did the Corpse Chewing realize—the two-legged man had also set up a defense behind it.

With Kota's fate unknown, the other Teldun cavalrymen were thrown into a panic.

A red-feathered figure roared through gritted teeth, "[Herd] Corpse Chewer is dead! I am Kota! Go and kill the two-legged man! By the gods!"

Red Feather led the way, stepping over the corpses and warhorses of the chewing corpses to cross the pit, charging towards the treacherous ground from behind. The other Teldun people instinctively followed this man who dared to give the order.

“It’s smaller than I expected.” Bard watched as the Teldun cavalry rammed head-on into the wagon formation once more: “Anglu!”

"Yes!" Anglu replied, beaming.

"Go through the secret passage and stab the Teldon men in the back!"

"Yes!" Anglu suddenly perked up, drew his saber, and rushed back to his men.

Including Anglu, the cavalry consisted of no more than thirty men, all of whom had their saddles ready and were just waiting to attack.

"Spantaevich!" A boy of about sixteen or seventeen, waving a d'assault saber passed down from his father, excitedly asked Anglu, "Is it our turn?"

"You stand at the very back." Anglu put on a stern face, his expression serious, and unusually adopted a superior demeanor: "Stay close to the group, or you'll wet your pants in fear."

The cavalrymen under Bader came from diverse backgrounds, including sixteen or seventeen-year-old Dusak who was not yet an adult, wealthy farmers from well-to-do families who knew how to ride horses, and two sons of estate owners who volunteered to join.

Anglu was clumsy with words; he didn't know how to rally morale with words, and time didn't allow it.

He drew his saber, looked into the eyes of those before him, some weathered by time, others still innocent, sniffed, and said, “Follow me. I’ll be at the forefront. If I die, you continue the charge.”

Having said that, he lightly tapped his red mane with the heel of his boot, and plunged into the riverside woodland without looking back.

The battle for control of the barricades and fences had reached its most critical moment. The Teldenans, the Paratans... they were all human, and faced with imminent death, they all wanted to turn and run away.

Both sides were on the brink of defeat, and whichever side showed signs of weakness first would be followed by a domino-like collapse, so neither dared to back down.

The men gritted their teeth, glared, panted heavily, and endured pain and torment as they desperately tried to kill each other.

When the Teldun heard the sounds of fighting coming from behind the camp, they knew that a flanking force had arrived, and their morale soared.

A burly Teldun soldier named "Bear" roared and charged toward the fence, bracing himself against the waving muskets and flails.

The militia of Tiefeng County only saw a bear-like creature, encased in iron armor and with two shields strapped to its shoulders, grab the fence and, roaring like a brown bear uprooting a tree, forcefully pull a wooden stake up by its roots.

The militiamen swung their flails in terror at the humanoid beast, but it seemed to feel no pain. Without even taking out its weapon, it picked up the wooden stake it was holding and roared as it charged into the fenced area.

"Bear" wielded a log more than three meters long with brute force. The militiamen of Tiefeng County who could not dodge in time were beaten until their chests collapsed. No one could get close to "Bear".

"[Herd] Break the formation! Break the formation!" The other Teldun people, their eyes bloodshot with rage, howled and squeezed towards the small opening: "[Herd] By the gods!"

The thunderous sound of hooves and the clatter of warhorses splashing in the water came from behind. The Telden people by the fence thought some nobleman was eager to claim credit.

Several red-feathered soldiers were furious and started cursing, but their curses turned into gasps of surprise before they could even finish.

Because they saw a reddish-brown warhorse floating on the water like a winged horse, charging toward them with overwhelming force.

A steady stream of riders leaped out of the riverbank bushes, their warhorses seemingly impervious to the water, treading on the surface as they charged towards the Teldun from the sides and rear.

The Teldenans, who were besieging the fence, once again experienced the classic anvil and hammer tactic.

"Ura!" Anglu roared, and with a swift stroke, cleaved off half of the head—the victim never came to his senses.

The red-maned creature, draped in felt to protect its chest, charged through the Teldonians without slowing down in the slightest.

The Telden men along the way cried out and gave way, but while they could avoid the red-maned ones, they couldn't avoid the yellow-maned and white-maned ones, nor could they avoid the other Iron Peak riders who were urging their horses to charge.

They were struck dead, run over, and trampled to death; the will of the Teldun people collapsed.

They were a horse-taming clan, and dismounted foot combat was not their forte, let alone being hit squarely by a flanking charge.

The Teldun people scattered and fled, and Anglu brandished his saber, mercilessly driving the barbarians toward the deep waters.

The water grew deeper and faster, and the Telden people, who had initially been driven by instinct to flee, found that the icy river was already above their knees.

They were already barely able to stand, while the vicious cavalry continued to drive more Teldun people into the deep water.

Finally, one by one... the Terdonians, exhausted, lost their balance and were swept away by the river with screams. After several rises and falls, they disappeared without a trace.

As the number of Teldun people on the riverbed dwindled, Angru ordered without hesitation: "Don't take prisoners! Kill them all!"

Just as Anglu tightened his ribs, preparing to launch one last charge, the sound of hooves like hail came from the south bank.

Teldun's commander dispatched another cavalry unit to attack the rear of the Anglo cavalry.

"Retreat!" Anglu pulled on the reins, leading his men back to the north bank along the original route.

The pursuing Teldun cavalry tried to follow Anglu to the north bank, but one after another their horses stumbled and fell into the water.

The people of Teltown won't know what's going on until tomorrow morning, when the Iron Peak County militia begins dismantling the underwater wooden stakes and bridge deck.

The Terdon warrior "Bear," who had broken through the fence, finally ran out of strength, and Anglu's charge routed the rest of the Terdon warriors.

Apart from the "bear," no other Teldunman could pass through the gap in the fence.

The bear clung to the wooden stake, panting heavily, barely managing to support its body.

A militiaman tentatively approached the bear-like savage, but the latter did not move... he was simply too weak.

Suddenly, all the militiamen became bolder, swinging their pistols, flails, and clubs at "Bear" from all directions.

The "bear" was beaten down with sticks, and the militiamen beat the bear-like savage relentlessly, as if venting some long-suppressed emotion.

Many people were shouting and fighting at the same time. You should know that when they were fighting just now, they had clenched their teeth tightly and couldn't utter a sound.

"Enough!" Bard coldly stopped everyone.

One after another, the militiamen stopped fighting. Many of them just stood there blankly after they stopped, and some even cried.

Perhaps it was the strength of its armor, perhaps it was its tenacious vitality, or perhaps it was a final burst of energy before death, but "Bear" was still alive, and a sigh-like groan came from his throat.

“He’s a warrior too.” Bud took off his cap. “Give him a quick death, don’t cut off his ears and head.”

“I’ll do it.” Ish, who had already removed the arrow from his leg, limped over to the dying Teldun man.

He drew his dagger, made a gesture of respect, removed the "bear's" neck guard, and slit the "bear's" throat.

The sound of throats being slit was horrible, and blood gushed out; some militiamen couldn't help but vomit.

“You’ll get used to it,” Ish said, wiping her dagger.

Meanwhile, Bard received a letter delivered by a messenger cavalryman with a green plume on horseback.

"Tell everyone to prepare for evacuation." Bard handed the letter to Anglu, who had returned to the camp: "Captain Montagne is here."

It's less than a kilometer away to the northeast of Tushechang.

Winters arrived at the "battlefield" with his main force.

However, the battlefield he chose was very quiet, and most of his "troops" were not carrying weapons, but rather shovels, picks, and baskets.

“This is it.” Wintersler halted his horse, glancing back at the hundreds of faces behind him. “Let’s begin.”

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[Late]
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(End of this chapter)