I'm not a lord

Chapter 198 Lynn's Complete Victory

Relying on the rich combat experience accumulated over the past few decades, Count Blackwood made the right choice at the critical moment.

He currently has over 240 cavalrymen under his command, and his combat strength is still relatively intact.

However, this unit lost all its supplies and spare warhorses, and its mounts were exhausted from the back-and-forth trips.

Now they are facing a dangerous situation of being surrounded from both sides, and their morale has plummeted to rock bottom.

In such a situation, if they choose to scatter and escape, the outcome is self-evident.

The only solution is to charge forward, charge forward, and charge forward again!

According to the intelligence brought back by the scouts, Count Blackwood was certain that the enemy force ahead consisted of fewer than two hundred cavalrymen, a number that matched the cavalry force that had raided the western suburban manor. It was highly likely that this was all of Count White River's cavalry force.

If he can defeat the enemy force coming from the west, he will be able to lead his men to successfully break through the encirclement.

On the vast plain, the two armies spotted each other and were slowly advancing toward each other, controlling their horses' speed.

This is a common tactic used by cavalry in charge: start with a slow trot and then gradually increase speed to maximize the terrifying impact of the warhorse.

With only two kilometers remaining between the two sides, a fierce and bloody battle was inevitable.

As they advanced slowly, Count Black Shirt sheathed his longsword, took the lance handed to him by his attendant, tucked it under his arm, and charged ahead.

"Look at them! They're nothing but a bunch of shameless bandits who stole our territory. They burn, kill, rape, plunder, and commit all sorts of atrocities. They're a bunch of utterly useless rabble! In the name of Duke Lothair, wipe them all out! Charge with me!"

In small- to medium-sized cavalry charges, the commander leading from the front is the most effective way to boost morale.

In addition, Count Blackwood's pre-battle declaration was so inspiring that the morale of the entire army immediately rose two levels.

As he said, Lynn's previous identity was indeed that of a bandit, and he seemed to be naturally inferior to noble knights.

Led by the count, the well-trained feudal knights gripped their lances tightly, and the entire army gradually evolved into a wedge formation.

Earl Blackwood himself and his thirty most elite knights formed the apex of a triangle, with the following cavalry spreading out in a goose-like formation, making the whole formation resemble a sharp steel spike.

The advantage of this formation is that it has a more concentrated impact and a stronger visual sense of pressure, while not requiring much from the overall level of training.

After all, the cavalry following behind do not need to maintain a tight formation. As long as the elite cavalry are strong enough to break through the enemy formation, the cavalry following behind can completely tear apart the enemy formation and then pursue the fleeing enemy.

Last year, when suppressing a peasant rebellion, this cavalry used a wedge formation to scatter the peasants in one fell swoop.

Today, Earl of Blackwood hopes to replicate last year's glorious victory.

Most of his cavalrymen wore dark green robes, and from the sky, they looked like a dark green spike.

Meanwhile, the second son, Hugo, was also issuing his pre-war declaration.

"Sanhe City has fallen into the Earl's hands. This is the Earl's glory, and even more so, the glory of all of you! When the enemy's lances shatter upon striking our plate armor, they will understand what a true nightmare is! Charge with me!"

Hugo's pre-war declaration was brief, but its effect was more significant.

In terms of fighting spirit, Lynn's professional cavalry far surpassed the feudal cavalry temporarily recruited by Earl Blackwood.

The cavalry force of Baihe Territory was formed in March of this year, consisting of a small number of bandits and a large number of knights and squires from the original feudal territories.

Although these knights and squires lost their territories, their income actually increased instead of decreasing, and they were able to extricate themselves from the tedious management of their territories, allowing them to devote most of their time and energy to training and combat.

More importantly, Lynn also covered the expenses for the cavalry's horses and equipment, greatly reducing their financial burden.

If they were to die in battle, Lynn would provide their families with generous compensation, and their sons would be able to attend elementary school for free.

This is many times better than the feudal era.

According to Northern custom, when a low-ranking knight dies in battle, the lord may confiscate their land and grant it to another knight, or simply order their widow to remarry, in which case the land will also be transferred.

This is a far cry from the compensation Lynn gave him.

They normally enjoy high salaries and benefits, during wartime they receive spoils and victory bonuses, and even those who die in battle receive long-term pensions and family care.

It can be said that Lynn has already maximized the salary and benefits, completely eliminating the cavalrymen's worries and allowing them to serve him without any concerns.

In terms of overall training level, the cavalry of Baihe Territory were also superior to the feudal knights.

Since March of this year, these cavalrymen have been living and eating together in the military camp, undergoing intensive group training under the leadership of the second-in-command, Hugo, and testing their results by raiding the western suburbs estate.

These cavalrymen already had a strong foundation, and after more than three months of rigorous training, they had largely gelled into a cohesive unit, able to advance and retreat freely under the command of the second-in-command and unleash formidable combat power.

Therefore, facing Count Blackwood's wedge formation, the second son waved his left hand and ordered the cavalry to form a charging square.

The formation consisted of thirty riders per rank, with the riders in the same rank spaced about 1.5 meters apart, forming a dense, overlapping square formation.

The first two ranks of cavalry are the most elite, all equipped with half-plate armor or half-plate suits. In battle, they hold their lances horizontally, forming an iron wall of lances, possessing extremely astonishing defensive and offensive power.

The last three rows, holding long spears at an angle, also carried short weapons such as longswords and battle axes, maintaining a distance of about two meters from the first two rows, and were responsible for following up and breaking through.

The advantage of this formation lies in its balanced offense and defense, and its ability to pursue enemies is no worse than that of the wedge formation. It is even stronger than the wedge formation in cavalry charges.

If the wedge formation is the best formation for easy wins, then the dense square formation is the strongest formation for high-level games.

However, dense formations place a great demand on the overall training level and coordination.

The second brother trained these cavalrymen for more than three months before they were able to form a battle formation.

The knights of the White River Territory all wear pure white robes, and when viewed from the sky, their overall appearance resembles a broad, white warhammer.

Both sides advanced slowly, completing their formations, before gradually increasing their speed.

When he saw the enemy forming a dense square formation, a look of astonishment flashed in Count Black Shirt's eyes.

He was experienced in combat and knew the power of such a dense formation.

But is it that he doesn't want to form a dense formation?

Clearly, his scattered noble cavalry did not support his actions.

In his memory, only the two hundred most elite court knights under the Duke of the Swamp were capable of maintaining a dense formation during a charge.

At this moment, Count Blackwood finally realized the terrifying extent of the enemy's power.

But the warhorses had begun to accelerate, and the distance between the two cavalry units had been reduced to eight hundred meters.

Anyone who entertains the thought of deserting in the face of battle will surely meet an utter and irreversible end.

Behind Count Black Shirt was the Golden Deer Banner fluttering in the wind. He had no room to retreat, and it was too late to change formation.

"Charge! Charge! Charge!"

The count shouted from the tip of the spike, and the noble knights behind him shouted along with him.

Even the most cowardly person, in this situation, can only transform into a warrior and charge forward with gritted teeth.

"Kill them all! Kill them all!"

The second brother, Hugo, was also shouting loudly.

But unlike Count Blackwood, the shouts of his comrades came not only from behind Hugo, but also from both his left and right sides.

The mere eight hundred meters was quickly shortened as the warhorses accelerated. Morning light pierced through the thin clouds, illuminating the entire battlefield.

Count Blackwood's wedge formation resembled a rusty spike, the chainmail of thirty elite knights gleaming coldly in the sunlight, yet unable to conceal the weariness in the eyes of their warhorses.

In contrast, Hugh's dense formation, with its front thirty riders resembling a moving, solid iron wall, and their exposed plate armor gauntlets reflecting patches of dazzling silver light.

"Hold on!"

Hugo's roar pierced through the entire square formation from front to back.

The soldiers in the front row gripped their rifle shafts tightly and lowered their rifle tips, creating a horizontal line that was almost parallel to the horizon!

This is the muscle memory formed after three months of training.

When the distance between the two sides was reduced to three hundred meters, Count Blackwood took the lead in accelerating, and the tip of the wedge formation suddenly thrust forward, with grass stems crushed by the horse's hooves flying like arrows.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters, five meters!
Count Black Shirt straightened his lance and thrust it first at the breastplate of the enemy's front-line knights.

Based on his past experience, even if the opposing cavalry were wearing two sets of fine chainmail, they would inevitably be pierced through by this powerful spear.

The wooden shaft of the lance would also break off due to the reaction force.

As the count held his spear in his right hand, his left hand even instinctively reached for the longsword hanging on the horse's belly; he was ready for close combat.

But when the lance collided with the breastplate, he only heard a crisp clang.

The armor beneath the opponent's robe not only withstood the piercing attack of the spear tip, but even deflected it.

The reaction force shattered the gun barrel and also made his hand go numb.

Of course, Count Blackwood did not come away empty-handed; the powerful impact of his lance directly knocked the opposing cavalryman off his horse.

But the count had no time to ponder the unusual sensation he had just experienced.

Because the second rank of cavalry lances in the dense formation had arrived one after another, and their target was him on horseback.

Earl Black Shirt instinctively drew his longsword, slashed upwards, and narrowly deflected the lance aimed straight at his chest.

Only then was he finally able to spare the energy to observe the battle situation around him.

The result, however, was shocking.

Only half a minute had passed since the two sides clashed, and in the first round of fighting, more than half of the thirty elite cavalrymen that Earl Blackwood had specially arranged at the tip of the cone were killed or wounded!
Most of the remaining survivors were also knocked off their horses and plunged into the jungle of horses' legs and lances.

With the collapse of the wedge-shaped formation, its disadvantages became clear.

This is a gambler's formation that must constantly move forward.

Once the elite troops at the tip of the cone are defeated, the cavalry following behind will crash into the wreckage of their allies ahead.

Broken spears, warhorses, and fallen riders would severely impact the momentum of subsequent cavalry charges, forcing them to turn around and creating a so-called 'blockage effect'.

This is a domino effect, which will be passed on to more subsequent teams.

Moreover, because the warhorses' collective charge was difficult to stop, when the subsequent echelons found the road blocked ahead, the overall formation was forced to spread to both sides, which in turn caused the entire wedge formation to tear laterally.

In contrast, Hugh's dense formation, although the front row of cavalry suffered a few casualties, the second row of cavalry was able to advance through the gaps between two riders to withstand the pressure, and the overall formation did not waver too much.

Due to the huge disparity in formation, morale, and equipment levels between the two sides, the battle was already completely over after only half a minute.

"Change formation and continue advancing!"

The second brother, Hugh, drew his sword and shouted, and the entire formation slammed down towards the east like a heavy hammer!

This was clearly a heavy hammer, yet it had been split in the middle by what appeared to be an even sharper spike.

After defeating the enemy's elite troops at the tip of the cone, the cavalry of Baihe Territory quickly regrouped into an 'anti-wedge formation'.

The two leading cavalry ranks continued to advance like bulldozers, completely crushing all enemy troops in their path.

The three cavalry ranks behind them then spread out to the sides in an orderly fashion, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the enemy's formation splitting in the middle to launch a second charge!
Count Blackwood was still alive, but his mount had stopped and was standing there in a daze.

There were no longer any figures in dark green robes around him; instead, he was surrounded by enemy soldiers in pure white robes.

A lance was thrust at him from mid-air, while longswords and battle axes slashed at his beloved horse from below.

The count tightened the reins with one hand and brandished his longsword with the other, relying on his rich combat experience and still abundant stamina to dodge and weave.

But this was already a desperate struggle, like a cornered beast fighting for its life.

In just two or three minutes, he was overwhelmed by attacks from all directions.

His beloved horse was struck multiple times, with three of its four legs severed, and it collapsed with a crash.

His two layers of thick chainmail were pierced, and two broken spears were inserted into his back and abdomen respectively.

However, Count Black Shirt still managed to kill an enemy soldier with his formidable strength.

By using his sword to pierce through the blood-stained white robe, he finally understood why his initial shot had failed to penetrate the enemy.

Beneath the robe was a suit of armor he had never seen before.

This armor, made of steel, is a single piece with a slightly raised chest area that creates a cavity between the armor and the body when worn.

It was this bizarre shape that withstood the enormous impact of the lance, and could even injure the attacker in the process.

Count Blackwood was relieved.

Is it shameful to lose to an army that is far superior to him in terms of discipline and equipment?

It's not shameful at all.

If the enemy's front ranks are all wearing this kind of armor, then his defeat is not unjustified.

Count Blackwood eventually collapsed due to excessive blood loss.

Before he closed his eyes, he only felt that the morning sky was exceptionally blue.

With the death of Count Blackwood, the golden stag banner symbolizing the Duke of the Marshland was also cut down.

With the death of their commander and the fall of their banner, the Count's cavalry forces suffered a complete collapse, marking Lynn's decisive victory in the Battle of Three Rivers.

Only five minutes had passed since the two sides officially clashed.

The surviving cavalrymen dropped their weapons and scattered, fleeing to the southwest and northwest.

While fleeing, they also tried to remove their chainmail, hoping that the enemy would abandon their pursuit because they were busy looting the spoils.

But would Lynn's army stop for such a pitiful spoil?
Under the command of the second brother, Hugh, the cavalry split into two groups and pursued the fleeing enemy forces relentlessly.

At the same time, Lao Sanyang, who had set off from the North Gate, had already led more than thirty riders to the scene and joined the pursuit.

Not only that, the fourth brother, who was following behind the second brother, also ordered his infantry to turn around and pursue them.

The enemy has lost its courage, and their mounts are exhausted. If we don't pursue them now, when will we?
(End of this chapter)