I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 211 Want to die
"Hey ya, hey ya, hey ya..."

The sound of horns tore through the sky. Toby, with his back to the sky filled with black smoke, walked step by step, heavily following the plate-armored figures of his brothers ahead, toward the outside of the camp.

The heavy shield forced Toby to grab it from below with his other hand to lift it up, which caused the edge of the shield to cut his palm.

This is a composite shield that was made overnight by the craftsmen who accompanied the army. It is very heavy and has sharp metal burrs on the edges. Using it is a huge test of physical strength and agility.

However, Toby would not, and dared not, abandon it.

"Attention, guys!"

The company commander, standing at the very front of the column, roared like a hammer shattering eardrums; his voice was both angry and tragic.

"We've left the main camp; the enemy can see us, and their artillery can reach us too..."

Toby silently gripped the shield in his hands, the arm armor clashing against the breastplate with a crisp sound, and his mood gradually became heavy and tense.

No one can ignore the fact that the enemy bombarded the camp all night, and no one thinks that Chris's artillery, which had been firing all night, would be spared any shelling today.

The first group to leave the camp knew exactly what they were going to do and what the outcome would be.

As they walked, Toby, through the shoulders of the man in front, could see the remaining earthen wall. The man at the front forcefully knocked down the remaining earthen wall and then stepped over it, using the somewhat dried mud as stepping stones.

The cold mud gripped everyone's boots. Toby gritted his teeth and forced his legs to keep moving. He stepped into a soft crater, mud splashing onto his greaves. Through the gaps above his shield, Toby could see the scorched earth plowed by artillery fire ahead.

The turf was torn up, the spears were broken, and there were several corpses that hadn't been dragged away last night. Their armor was twisted and deformed from the explosion, like tin toys that had been crushed by children.

Will I be one of them?
Toby was a little scared, but he turned his head to look at the family crest depicted inside the shield... Three silver stars supporting a crescent moon, the glory that his ancestors had earned with their battles and lives. How could he desecrate it?
Thinking of this, Toby mustered his courage and continued to open his mouth to the wind, letting the icy, bloody smell fill his chest.

Toby is a nobleman, or rather, everyone who is fighting alongside him now is a nobleman of the Kingdom of Minicia, or a descendant of a nobleman. The lowest-ranking among them are knights.

They were the vanguard, the ones who went to their deaths, the sacrifices offered to the god of war, and the martyrs used to inspire the entire army to advance under enemy fire.

This was General Dude's order, and for this reason, he also sent his eldest son over; the company commander in front was Dude.

Amidst the heavy, rhythmic footsteps, Toby waited. As he heard the sound of flowing water through the gaps in the shield, he also heard a sharp, frightening whooshing sound.

Then, the world exploded in Toby's ears.

The mud, gravel, and sawdust, mixed with the pungent smell of gunpowder, slammed into his shield like the hand of a giant, causing him to stagger and instinctively stop...

"Snapped!"

"Toby, why did you stop? Let's go!"

The patting from behind brought Toby back to his senses. He gasped for breath, realizing that everything that had just happened was just his imagination.

The shells didn't hit us; there was dirt, gravel, and sawdust, but it was all at Toby's feet. The smell of gunpowder came from the waist of a musketeer on the left... his gunpowder pouch wasn't tied properly.

Toby's face burned beneath his helmet. He shook his head violently, trying to banish the bloody hallucinations from his mind. The throbbing pain from the wound on the edge of his shield, ironically, brought him a sense of relief... at least the pain was real.

"Shieldbearer, step forward..."

Company Commander Dud's voice came from the front row.

"Make a path through the stream!" Toby and the soldiers on either side, each also carrying a shield, strode forward and threw their shields one by one into the three-meter-wide stream, pressing them against the barbed wire at the bottom. Then they jumped into the icy water, using the shields as stepping stones to reach the other side.

Upon reaching the other side, after charging forward for more than fifty meters, Toby, disregarding the cold in his lower body, took the spear handed to him by his comrade behind him and plunged it heavily into the ground compacted by the enemy, forming a forest of gunfire with his companions on either side.

What’s next?
There's nothing to do, so I'll just wait to die.

They were waiting to be crushed by enemy artillery fire, killed by volleys of bullets, or hacked to death by Prince Chris's soldiers who charged forward.

Regardless of the outcome, death is inevitable, and even in death, we cannot leave this place. We must cover our allies as they build a pontoon bridge until the main force crosses the river…

Toby crouched down, awaiting his fate... but all he heard was Company Commander Dodd's exclamation.

"Ah, what happened? Why did the Bagnians run away?!"

"What!?"

Toby and his brothers quickly looked up, some even disregarding military orders, putting down their spears and standing up to gaze into the distance.

Although it was a bit difficult to see clearly because of the distance of two kilometers, everyone who had crossed the river could see that Prince Chris's army was indeed moving in the opposite direction, and they had even towed away their artillery.

Soon, Company Commander Dud received the new military order sent from the rear using flag signals.

Advance to scout the Bagnia camp.

Company Commander Dud did as he was told; they dropped their spears and quickly moved forward.

When everyone cautiously and nervously arrived at the camp, Toby was surprised to find that not only was the camp empty, but he also found several large pots of food bubbling away, with oatmeal porridge inside that looked incredibly delicious.

Toby removed his helmet with trembling fingers. The steam from the hot porridge blurred his vision. He saw Company Commander Dodd using the tip of his sword to pick up a piece of meat from the pot, the fat still sizzling.

"This is a ghost..."

Veteran Loren crouched down and picked up the scattered iron wrist from the ground.

"They didn't even take their bowls with them. Are the Bagnians planning to treat us to a meal?"

"I don't know... I want to ask, have we survived?"

"No, this could be a trap."

Someone countered, but after saying that, even he himself was puzzled.

But where...is this trap?

Yes, instead of going through the trouble of setting traps, why not just bombard them while they are crossing the river?

They couldn't figure it out, but when the news reached the back, General Dudley's face showed a hint of surprise, and then he looked dejected.

"Lost..."

(End of this chapter)