Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 433 The Great Alliance Marches Forward (Part Six)
[Green Valley]
[East side of the provincial highway]
Fire snakes dance wildly, the east wind roars.

Winter wheat, not yet fully green, resembles damp hay, and when burned, it produces even thicker smoke than dry hay.

The raging fire, thick smoke, and heatwave were encased in a wall by the howling wind, accompanied by cries and roars, sweeping across the green valley from east to west.

Standing behind the wall of flames, Paco, a surrendered soldier from the First Battalion of the Iron Peak County New Army, felt his legs go weak and his head spin, unable to take a single step.

Paco also deserves some credit for this infernal scene. Was it he who sprinkled pine resin on the wheat ears, carried the dry materials to the fields, or did he... personally unleash the flames of destruction?

The monkey saw Paco standing there blankly, walked over and patted the recruit on the back, only to find that the recruit's eyes were already full of tears.

“It’s all burned, it’s all burned…” Paco choked up, “There’s nothing left.”

The monkey's shoulders trembled slightly. He rubbed his nose as if to pretend not to care and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, what a pity, what a pity."

"Shut up!" Lu Xirong walked over, carrying a short spear, and hissed, "How dare you interfere with Blood Wolf's decisions?"

The old sergeant's mouth and nostrils were covered with a damp cloth, and only his eyes were visible under his helmet: "Hurry up and put on your triangular bandana!"

The monkey immediately fell silent, bent down and fished out a triangular cloth from the bucket of wood ash water that had been prepared in advance. It wrung it out a few times and covered its nostrils and mouth, just like the old soldier.

Lu Xirong stood solemnly, spear in hand. Beneath his feet lay the scorched, blackened farmland that had just been burned, and behind him stretched endless flames and thick smoke.

His gaze swept over the young faces, the old soldier said expressionlessly, succinctly: "The fire is smoky and the wind direction is unpredictable. Stay close to me and don't get separated."

"Yes!" the monkey and the six tents of the new army answered in unison.

Without a word, Lu Xirong turned around and led his men into the attack position.

While all the soldiers of the First Battalion were waiting for the order to attack behind the ridge, the monkey quietly came to Lu Xirong's side.

He crouched behind Lu Xirong, gritted his teeth, and asked Lu Xirong in a trembling voice that only the two of them could hear, "Sir, we will compensate them, right?"

Old Lu Xirong gazed at the golden field reduced to ashes and said desolately, "I don't know either, monkey, I don't know either."

The piercing sound of bugles suddenly drowned out all other noises, followed by the simultaneous beating of all the war drums.

Not far away, a small figure once again leaped out from the ridge: "All hands on deck! Charge—forward!"

The monkey and Paco exchanged a glance, then followed him across the ridge and rushed toward the provincial highway between the farmlands.

……

Meanwhile, on the provincial highway.

"The wind is blowing from east to west! The fire and smoke are also coming from the east!" Major Felt stood atop the mound, surveying the battlefield from his elevated position, raising his whip and pointing to the east side of the road:

"The enemy must be in the east! Right behind the front line! They want to use the fire as their vanguard, and once our formation is broken up, they will rely on a cavalry charge to completely crush us."

Besides the battalion commander who led the team into the city, Felt's remaining five professionally trained officers were all by his side. All five looked tense, but they managed to maintain a facade of composure, showing no fear or panic.

"Two legs can't outrun four legs, we can't escape. But there's no need to be afraid! The enemy is behind the lines, so we still have time before the fire spreads!"

Major Felt quickly assessed the enemy's situation and calmly issued the following order:

"Since the fire is coming from the east, let's move to the west! Take your troops to the west side of the main road! Clear away any flammable materials along the roadside! Green Valley's terrain slopes from west to east, so we'll use the provincial highway as a firebreak, positioned on the west side of the main road, in a commanding position! Form ranks and meet the enemy!"

Just then, an honorary officer in a brand-new uniform came running toward Major Felt, his cries audible from afar: "Major! They've all gone mad! Mad! These heartless rebels! They burned the wheat just before the harvest! How dare they? How dare they? We have to get out of here!"

"Shut up!" Major Felt, enraged, drew his sword and stab his horse in the ribs as he charged down the hill. A far cry from his usual mild-mannered demeanor, he roared, "You bastard! Where are your hundred men? Get back to your soldiers right now! Otherwise, I'll execute you myself!"

The honorary officer was so frightened that he was speechless and turned ashen-faced. He wiped away his tears, not daring to say another word, and slunk back home.

"Gentlemen," Felt said earnestly, turning to the officers of the 22nd class who had just graduated last year and returned home this year, his sword drawn. "In this battle, I can only rely on you. I trust you all wholeheartedly, and I hope you will hold your positions and not let me down."

Five officers solemnly saluted and went to find their subordinates. Their figures disappeared into the smoke and quickly vanished.

The snare drum played a rapid melody, accompanied by constant shouts and commands.

As orders were relayed up the chain of command, Felt's troops, like snakes awakening from hibernation, were slowly but surely regaining their ability to move.

Right next to Major Felt, two squads of 100 men were driven off the main road by officers and sergeants with whips and clubs, and poured into the farmland on the west side of the road.

He vaguely heard someone shouting, "Form ranks! Reorganize! Quickly clear away the straw around here!"

Despite the danger, Major Felt remained on the mound, anxiously observing the movements of the various battalions.

"Time!" His heart was pounding violently; he could even feel the blood vessels in his neck and forehead expanding and contracting with each heartbeat. "Time!"

Given a little more time, his troops could regroup. At that point, no matter how many Platonic cavalry there were, they wouldn't be able to break his phalanx.

However, the smoke arrived faster than the flames, and in the blink of an eye, both sides of the provincial highway were completely shrouded in thick smoke.

The soldiers covered their mouths and noses, still coughing uncontrollably. The warhorses were nearly out of control, and some cavalrymen had to lead them on foot.

Major Felt's view was also blocked; apart from the few messengers beside him, he could see nothing further away.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from behind the thick smoke, followed by a deafening roar of battle cries.

The terrifying shouts of battle crashed against the soldiers' hearts like giant waves. Near Felt, screams of alarm rose in response, followed by curses and rebukes.

Gunfire came from ahead, and Felt immediately realized that the frontline troops had already engaged the enemy!
He suppressed the urge to go and check the battle situation himself, grabbed a messenger from behind him, and ordered in a shrill voice: "Go to the Sixth Battalion immediately, ask Lieutenant Imre about the battle situation, and then come back and tell me right away!"

"Yes, sir!" The messenger, his face crestfallen, saluted and nervously pulled on the reins, preparing to leave.

"Tell all units along the route!" Major Felt shouted into the messenger's back, issuing another order: "Be on guard against attacks from the east side of the road! Beware of enemy cavalry raids! Once the fire spreads to the main road, the enemy will be here!"

"Yes!" The messenger rode off.

A series of rapid hoofbeats approached, and Major Felt alertly drew his sword, but only one rider emerged from the thick smoke—Lieutenant Kadar, the battalion commander under Felt's command.

"Major! My battalion has regrouped!" Lieutenant Kadar rushed up the hill, his expression urgent as he requested, "Please take refuge in the 9th Battalion's formation."

"No!" Major Felt refused decisively: "If I leave here, the other battalions will completely lose command."

“If you are killed, the other battalions will also lose their commander!” Lieutenant Kadar stepped forward and grabbed Major Felt’s reins, almost pleading, “Have you forgotten that rebel light cavalry unit from before? We can leave a few messengers here, but you must leave with me!”

Felt struggled painfully for a long time, then punched his thigh hard before following Lieutenant Kadar away from the roadside mound.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Winters Montagne, who was also observing the battlefield, had his view obscured by the smoke. However, unlike Major Felt, Winters' light cavalry kept reporting the latest battle situation to him, allowing him to "see" the entire battlefield even though he could not see it with his own eyes.

The sheer number of communications cavalry meant that the information received by the command was too disorganized, forcing Charles to lead a group of clerks to compile and organize the contradictory reports—a task previously handled by Captain Mason.

As darkness fell, Andrei paced back and forth, sighing.

“Your Excellency the Tribunal!” Charles rushed to Winters’s side—he always addressed him formally in public—his voice barely concealing his excitement: “The enemy has completely retreated to the west side of the road! They are attempting to regroup!”

Winters put down the Nuremberg clock in his hand: "Let Bart Sharling go."

"Yes!" Charles accepted the order and left.

Andrei plopped down next to Winters, subtly probing, "It's almost completely dark. Shouldn't it be time for my cavalry..."

“No, I don’t want to waste your cavalry’s energy.” Winters put away the map. “The enemy hasn’t fully entered the ambush area. I’m afraid we can’t annihilate them all today. Perhaps we should consider a backup plan.”

"Huh?" Andrei's eyes widened.

……

On the north side of the battlefield, Lieutenant Orsin of the 8th Battalion of the 6th Army Corps was doing his best to keep the square formation from collapsing.

Contrary to the information provided by Major Felt, the enemy forces were not light cavalry attempting to take advantage of the chaos, but rather well-equipped and fierce infantry.

Although the enemy was outnumbered, they exploited the weakness of Lieutenant Orsin's recruits, who were not skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Using smoke as cover, they turned a frontal battle involving a thousand men into a close-quarters fight between a few dozen.

Of the six hundred men under Lieutenant Orsin's command, two were defeated in the melee. He gathered the remaining four hundred men, along with the defeated soldiers, into a battalion-sized square formation, and they struggled to hold on with their backs to the road.

Enemy troops attacking from the east side of the road, upon seeing the large square formation, retreated and turned to pursue the fleeing small groups of soldiers.

However, not long after, gunshots rang out around Lieutenant Orsin.

The rebel musketeers fired sniper shots at Lieutenant Orsin's square through the smoke, while Orsin's musketeers could only fire wildly like headless flies.

In despair, Orsin prayed frantically, praying that the fire would be extinguished quickly, that the smoke would dissipate swiftly, that reinforcements would arrive soon, and that night would fall so that he could take advantage of the chaos to escape.

……

On the western highlands of Green Valley, Bart Sharling awaited the order to launch an attack.

"Battalion Commander, I still don't understand," the former sergeant "Nine Fingers," who had just been promoted to company commander, asked in a low voice, "Why is the whole battalion already engaged in combat, while we're just sitting here watching?"

Bart Sharing carefully observed the distant firelight and casually asked, "Have you ever hunted with the tribunes?"

"No." Nine Fingers shook his head and said regretfully, "I joined the army after Lord Tribunal captured Revodan."

“If you’ve ever hunted with the tribunal, you’ll understand. But if you’ve never hunted, it doesn’t matter; I’ll explain it to you.” Bart Sharing casually broke off a branch and drew on the ground: “Hunting—I mean encirclement hunting—usually involves dividing people into two teams. One team is responsible for making noise to scare the herd, frightening out deer and rabbits; the other team is responsible for setting up an encirclement to intercept the herd.”

Nine fingers nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Bart Sharling pointed with a branch at the smoke-filled, fire-lit battlefield and said with a smile, "Don't be fooled by the fact that the First Battalion fired the first shot; they're just driving away the wild beasts. If we're really going to eat the prey, we'll have to do it ourselves."

Nine Fingers understood now and asked excitedly, "You mean—this time we're going to be the main attacker?"

“Yes. This tactic is called…” Bart Sharing rubbed his forehead, searching his memory for the answer: “It’s called the anvil-hammer tactic! But this time, the anvil is infantry, and the hammer is also infantry. And this time, it’s the 1st battalion acting as the anvil…”

Bart Sharing smiled: "We'll make hammers!"

As they were speaking, a messenger dressed in green galloped up, reined in his horse in front of Bart Sharling, and drew an iron arrow: "Commander Sharling! The tribunal orders you to attack!"

Bart Sharling took the iron arrow and ran his hand over the familiar scratches and dents on its shaft.

"Beat the drums!" Bart Sharling mounted his horse, raised his iron arrow high, and roared into the battlefield, "Attack!"

The deafening sound of war drums rose from behind him, and the musicians played the marching melody with all their might.

Three infantry battalions of the new army of Tiefeng County poured out of the woodlands and farmlands and launched a full-scale attack on the enemy who had taken refuge on the west side of the road.

……

On the south side of the battlefield, Major Felt, who was doing his best to gather the scattered troops in front, was horrified to find that even more deafening battle shouts and war drums were coming from behind him.

"They're fucking insane! Insane!" Major Felt couldn't help but curse, "Aren't the rebels afraid of dragging their own troops into the fire? Insane!"

But no matter how fiercely they cursed, it was meaningless. Felt knew in his heart that although soldiers in a square formation could deal with attacks from multiple directions at the same time, the appearance of enemy troops from behind would be devastating to morale.

Major Felt tried his best to clear his mind and think calmly—the sixth, seventh, and eighth battalions at the front of the marching column had lost contact; his ninth battalion was still in formation, and behind him were the tenth battalion and a battalion provided by Maplestone City.

Should we support the vanguard, or remain here to shelter the routed soldiers?

Or perhaps... a brave man cutting off his own arm?
Major Alder Felt made the decision.

"Ninth Battalion, maintain formation south! Join the phalanx of the Tenth Battalion and the Maplestone City Battalion!" Major Felt, within the Ninth Battalion's phalanx, drew his sword, pointed it in the direction they had come from, and ordered: "Lieutenant Kadar! Have your men retreat 'slowly'!"

Lieutenant Kadar was taken aback: "Retreat?"

Major Felt said with difficulty but firmness, "Retreat."

Lieutenant Kadar's voice was barely audible: "What about the troops ahead?"

“Send orders for them to retreat as well. If they scatter, let them catch up on their own!” Major Felt replied coldly. “If they do catch up, regroup them into the phalanx.”

What if the troops ahead can't catch up? Major Felt didn't say.

Lieutenant Kadar's throat bobbed, and he answered with difficulty, "Yes."

The drummer picked up the war drum that had fallen to the ground and began to beat the slow drumbeats with trembling hands.

The formation of the Ninth Battalion began to move, slowly crawling back the way they had come.

Major Felt leaped out of the formation, galloping around his own ranks and shouting, "Have courage! Remember your training! March the way you trained! Running away will only hasten your death!"

But at that very moment, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves rang out from outside the valley.

Hundreds of light cavalrymen charged out of the thick fog.

The lead light cavalryman roared, "That guy with the wounded face! Don't let him get away!"

[Ah! Never mind! I'll just post whatever I write!]
[However, I need to take a few days off to write the final chapter of "The Great Alliance Marches Forward" carefully. So... consider today my advance leave.]
[Additional Explanation: It's currently monsoon season, with easterly winds. Therefore, although Green Valley's terrain slopes from west to east, Winters can only launch a fire attack from the west. However, due to the presence of the provincial highway (which acts as a firebreak to some extent), smoke and fire alone are insufficient to wipe out the three thousand enemy troops. Therefore, the real power in this battle lies with the three infantry battalions on the west side of the valley. The purpose of the fire attack is merely to disrupt the enemy's formation and break up their organization, allowing the three infantry battalions to completely crush the enemy [a massive, chaotic battle formation (just kidding)]].]
[This tactic actually originated from hunting and is common among nomadic and fishing-hunting peoples. Its essence is the same as the anvil-hammer tactic, but Winters' cavalry was too valuable and difficult to replenish; he didn't want to waste it on such a small enemy force.]
[However, because the enemy failed to fully enter the ambush zone, Winters was pessimistic about the outcome.]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]


(End of this chapter)