I'm not a lord

Chapter 305 When the Sound of Cannons Resounds Across the Battlefield

Lynn stood on the small hill and looked around. He saw that battles had broken out on his left and right flanks, but the middle remained unmoved.

This is because the enemy on the other side is still on their way.

The enemy's left and right flanks are mainly composed of cavalry, which can quickly attack Lynn's flanks. Only the central flank is composed entirely of infantry, and most of them are newly enlisted serf soldiers, whose mobility on the battlefield is very limited.

While Laszlo and Carula were locked in fierce combat, their central armies began to make contact.

However, this contact did not originate from arrows, but from artillery fire.

Lynn positioned all twenty-odd bronze mortars in the center of the army and used wooden planks for cover, making it difficult for the enemy's scout cavalry to spot them from their high vantage point.

The reason he placed all the artillery in the central army was to 'play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses'.

The cannonballs fired by the mortars were arc-shaped and slow-moving. Because they were solid shot, their range was quite limited, so they were generally used in the attack and defense of castles and cities.

If this kind of cannon were used to deal with cavalry that move like the wind, the effect would be quite limited, and it would most likely miss the target at all.

However, the mortar is quite effective against slow-moving infantry formations.

The central army at Golden Deer Fortress had to maintain its formation as it advanced, which slowed its pace and forced it to advance slowly.

When the distance between the two armies closed to about 300 meters, Lynn's order was just transmitted to the artillery position.

Ten bronze mortars were lit simultaneously, and white smoke rose from the position in an instant. Ten shells, accompanied by a terrifying whooshing sound, crashed into the central army of Golden Deer Fortress.

boom! boom! boom!
The sound of shells hitting the ground rang out one after another, followed by the panicked shouts of the infantrymen at Golden Deer Fort.

Solid shot is actually quite limited in its destructive power. Lynn designed the mortar to be small in caliber and weight in pursuit of portability. Even if it hits a soldier, it can only cause casualties of three or four people.

The battlefield was located on a riverbank with relatively loose soil, so the shells would sink directly into the ground after hitting it and would not bounce, thus reducing their lethality by nearly half.

Even though this salvo of mortars only caused forty or fifty casualties, which was negligible compared to the four thousand men in the Golden Deer Fortress central army, it still created significant chaos in the infantry formation.

Most of these infantrymen had never actually seen artillery before; they only knew that the Earl of Shirakawa on the other side possessed weapons from hell, and they thought these were weapons thrown by the devil.

Moreover, the soldiers hit head-on by the shells died in a gruesome manner. Several unlucky ones were hit in the head by the shells, and their heads shattered like broken pottery jars, with white and red splattering everywhere, leaving only a few headless corpses, which terrified the soldiers nearby.

"Devil! Devil!"

The soldiers shouted and turned to flee the battlefield, causing quite a stir in the four-thousand-strong formation.

However, the officers and the supervising team acted in time, killing the soldiers who fled in fear on the spot, which barely maintained the formation of the square.

A court count in charge of commanding the formation stood under the military flag and shouted, "Fear not, continue forward!"

Although he said that, he actually did not want to launch an offensive.

However, since the Duke led the charge into the enemy lines, he had no choice but to obey Anna's orders and lead his troops into battle.

No sooner had he finished speaking than more than ten shells, accompanied by a whistling sound, crashed into the army formation, instantly causing dozens more casualties.

This commotion in the entire army formation could no longer be contained. More than 500 soldiers dropped their weapons and began to flee, including many urban militiamen who had experienced the baptism of war.

Even the most experienced militiamen had never seen such terrifying weapons before!
Descending from the sky from hundreds of meters away, and taking the lives of several people in an extremely domineering and ruthless manner, they had no thought of resisting, fearing that they would be the next to be smashed into headless corpses.

Led by these deserters, the entire 4,000-strong army was thrown into chaos in an instant.

The soldiers wanted to flee this damned battlefield, but the officers from the court cavalry wanted to keep going.

The logic is simple: if they stop or retreat to their positions, the cavalry that have charged into the enemy's left and right flanks will be outflanked by the enemy's central army, and the Duke may perish there.

No matter how many infantrymen these officers killed with their longswords, they seemed unable to stop the army from collapsing.

It looked like these four thousand men were about to be crushed by two rounds of artillery fire.

When Victor saw the enemy's central army in disarray, he almost jumped for joy. He quickly looked at Lynn on the nearby embankment and asked eagerly, "Sir, shouldn't we order the central army to attack now?"

“No rush.” Lynn raised his right hand slightly and then said, “Anna should be joining the reserve army.”

At this point, the distance between the two armies' central forces was still more than 300 meters. If Lynn ordered the central forces to launch an attack, they would inevitably lose the advantage of the palisades and trenches.

Moreover, his central army consisted of only two thousand soldiers, a small portion of whom were archers from the wilderness, putting them at a disadvantage in close-quarters melee combat.

As long as Laszlo remains deep on the right flank, Lynn is not afraid that Ana on the other side will not send reinforcements.

Sure enough, not long after the two rounds of shelling ended, the reserve forces of Golden Deer Fort finally came out.

Hundreds of cavalrymen split into two groups and galloped from west to east, arriving at the rear of the chaotic infantry formation in less than two minutes.

These court cavalrymen, clad in green or yellow robes, swung their swords wildly, shouting in unison, "Keep advancing! Those who retreat will die!"

The court cavalry, the supervisors, and the officers worked together to quickly suppress the rioting soldiers who had lost their minds out of fear. The remaining infantry, out of fear, had no choice but to stop and turn back to continue their eastward advance.

The 4,000-person formation thus managed to regain its composure in a short period of time.

Lynn narrowed his eyes and then gave the order: "The other side was well prepared and had already anticipated our artillery fire. Order the central army to continue to hold the position!"

As for the twenty mortars under his command, they are still being reloaded and it will be difficult for them to fire in the short term.

Even the most skilled artillerymen take several minutes to load ammunition into a mortar.

To maximize the deterrent effect of the artillery, Lynn divided the mortars into two batches for firing, which proved quite effective.

But Anna reacted swiftly; the instant the cannons fired, she dispatched her court cavalry as a supervisory force, quickly averting a potential rout.

Anna was also keeping an eye on the battle situation at the front. Standing on the makeshift watchtower, her excellent eyesight had already spotted the cannons that Lynn had hidden in the central army.

The white smoke from the main artillery firing is indeed conspicuous; it's hard not to notice it.

"This bronze cannon really can't fire in rapid succession. Reloading the stone projectiles will probably take quite a while." Anna sneered and turned to share her discovery with her trusted general.

Previously, she had gathered intelligence from various sources and learned many characteristics of the bronze cannon, including the material of the ammunition, the sound when it was fired, and the firing pattern.

After all, Lynn had captured twenty or thirty strongholds with these cannons, and these external features were bound to be noticed.

The trusted general, also well-versed in military affairs, suggested after a moment's thought:
“Madam, this is a golden opportunity for us. Lynn’s central army is quite weak, and his left and right flanks are tied down by our forces. I suggest that you immediately send all your reserve troops to break through his formation from the center. Then this battle will be a glorious victory for our army!” Upon hearing this, Anna turned her gaze to the enemy’s left and right flanks.

The battle on the right flank remains chaotic. László's thousand cavalry have completely charged into the right flank and are locked in fierce combat with the enemy. It is unlikely that a victor will emerge in the short term.

The situation on the left flank was not ideal. The thousand cavalrymen Anna sent out were poorly equipped and had limited combat capabilities. Most of them were retired veterans who had been rehired, full of courage but physically old.

Faced with the trenches, fences, and barbarian archers that Lynn had laid out in advance, these veteran cavalrymen could only resort to sheer numbers.

The cavalrymen in front fell, but those behind continued their advance over the corpses of their comrades.

There was no other way; to the left of the left flank was the surging Sami River. These cavalrymen could not take advantage of their speed in flanking maneuvers and could only fight against the fortifications and arrows with their bare hands.

Fortunately, these cavalrymen were courageous and did not retreat despite their heavy casualties, which should have bought them some time.

Anna frowned, pondered for a moment, and finally made a painful decision: "Eight hundred cavalrymen will support Laszlo, flanking him from the side to stop the enemy cavalry. All other reserve troops will be committed to the center line!"

Anna knew that the ownership of the entire territory depended on this battle, so she did not hesitate and simply put all her cards on the table!

Currently, she has three thousand reserve troops, half cavalry and half infantry.

Several hundred cavalrymen had already been sent to the central army to suppress the fleeing soldiers, but she noticed the Lynn cavalry starting to move at the eastern edge of the forest, so she sent the rest of the cavalry to the right flank to exchange fire.

She feared that László would be cut off from his retreat by the enemy cavalry and completely trapped in the enemy ranks.

Soon, Lynn also noticed the movements behind the enemy lines.

Instead of panicking, he exclaimed with excitement, "Good, very good! Anna has actually sent out the entire reserve force!"

Lynn's goal in this battle was to annihilate the 11,000 men from Golden Deer Fort.

This force is the last elite of the swamp territory. Once this force is defeated, no one will be able to stop him from taking over the entire swamp territory.

Even if Anna or László managed to escape, the remaining troops they gathered later wouldn't have been able to hold Golden Deer Castle.

How easy is it to rally the morale of a broken army?
Seeing this, Victor said with concern, "Sir, the enemy has sent a large number of reinforcements to the central route. We only have two thousand men."

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Even if the enemy's central army has six thousand men, they won't be able to break through my central army!"

Lynn's tone exuded unquestionable confidence, a confidence stemming from the fighting spirit and bravery of the lower-ranking soldiers.

The frontline commanders guarding the central army were none other than Lucas, who had distinguished himself in the Battle of Turbulent County, and Soward Jr. from the Lowlands.

Both of them were young officers, and the soldiers under their command were almost all young men in their early twenties.

I dare not say anything else, but their tenacity and courage are unparalleled in the entire army.

Last year, before Lynn had even manufactured cannons, it was thanks to the amazing performance of these two young generals that they captured more than thirty castles in Turbulent County.

Lucas was the first to breach the city walls, while Soward Jr. led his archers in close-quarters combat with the crossbowmen inside the castle.

Today, these two young players will surely not disappoint Lynn.

Wearing the plate armor bestowed upon him by Lynn and holding a long spear, Lucas stood at the very center of the battle line. Seeing the enemy soldiers regrouping and advancing step by step, he looked around and roared, "Hold on tight! Hold your spear firmly! They're all cowards and weaklings. Do you want to lose to them?"

His five hundred infantrymen immediately shouted in unison, "Victory! Victory!"

“Very good.” Lucas nodded. “All for the Earl!”

"All for the Earl!" His soldiers shouted in response.

This slogan comes purely from the heart.

The soldiers in Lucas's battalion were almost all refugees. They had been plundered by various forces in the Crown Territory and were forced to leave their homes and flee to the White River Territory.

It was Count Shirakawa who took them in, providing them not only with food and shelter but also with a substantial salary, enabling them to support their families who had fled with them.

Today, most of these soldiers' families have been allocated land and farming tools, and are living a stable life in Baihe Territory.

To protect their families and to repay Count Shirakawa's kindness, even death could not deter them.

Even if they die in battle, their families can receive a large sum of compensation and receive condolences from the local government during holidays.

They are not lonely ghosts destined to die on the battlefield, but warriors bearing honor!
Meanwhile, young Soward was also inspiring his barbarian archers.

"Think about your past, and think about your present. If it weren't for Earl Baihe, you would have died long ago on the cold wasteland!"

Soward Jr.'s slogan was a bit long, but also more straightforward.

Your lives were given to you by Earl Shirakawa, and your families' basic needs were also met by him. You all know what to do.

Soon, the enemy troops advanced to within 200 meters of the central army's line.

Little Soward waved his right hand, and the seven hundred archers who were prepared fired their arrows into the sky in unison.

The iron arrowheads, meticulously crafted by artisans, rained down from the sky with momentum, striking the enemy's central army like a shower of iron.

This volley of arrows caused more damage than the previous two volleys of artillery fire, but it failed to create much panic.

This is naturally because the infantry at Golden Deer knew what weapons were used to attack them.

It is known that it is difficult to evoke fear.

Urged on by officers and supervising officers, these infantrymen stepped over the groaning wounded soldiers and continued their advance, raising their spears and shields high.

The barbarian archers fired a total of fifteen volleys of arrows. Dozens of archers died in the crossbowmen's counterattack, but the overall casualty ratio was quite astonishing. They killed at least five hundred enemy soldiers before retreating in an orderly manner to the rear of the infantry.

Regardless, the central army at Golden Deer Fortress finally crossed the two-hundred-meter-long death march, filled part of the trench with corpses, and desperately moved wooden fences in several places.

The central armies of both sides engaged in close-quarters combat.

At this point, fierce fighting broke out simultaneously on three fronts between the two sides.

With Hugh's five hundred heavy cavalry charging out from the edge of the forest, the balance of the war completely shifted in Lynn's favor.

(End of this chapter)