“Fix bayonets!” “Fix bayonets!”
With a rustling sound, the soldiers of Alda drew their bayonets and fitted them onto their rifles.
“Officers to the front!”
With a loud yell from Bryce, his deputy commander Joyce immediately repeated his order: “Officers to the front!”
No one moved, as the officers of each company, platoon, and squad were already at the forefront of their formations.
The cavalry of the Kent family was closing in rapidly, now less than 500 meters away from the square formation.
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The soldiers on the outermost rows of the square formation, facing the cavalry, immediately knelt on one knee, while the second and third rows remained standing. The soldiers in the third row threaded their muskets through the gaps in front, aiming forward with their weapons.
“Hold steady, hold steady!”
“Don’t fire without an order!”
Makarov whispered to those around him, reminding them that many soldiers, especially the green recruits who had never been on a battlefield, tended to fire prematurely when faced with a rapidly advancing enemy, regardless of whether the enemy was in range or not.
Joshs nervously wiped the sweat from his left palm onto his body, then gripped the trigger again. Initially, he was a left-handed shooter, holding the rifle with his right hand and pulling the trigger with his left, unlike others. However, his habit was forcibly corrected by Sergeant Makarov, who strictly adhered to the “1991 Infantry Training Regulations” issued by the Staff Department. In the tense moment of facing a formidable enemy, however, he unconsciously reverted to his old habit.
He was positioned in the third row, a measure of ‘care’ for the new recruits. However, as a consequence, their protective gear was not as substantial as that of the soldiers in the first two rows. Joshs only wore a leather cuirass, while the soldiers in front mostly wore armor with metal components at key areas. After all, it was an era dominated by melee weapons, and Paul, who could produce a large amount of iron, did not skimp on improving his army’s armor coverage to prepare for potential hand-to-hand combat.
Jace’s lips curled up in a sneer of contempt.
He recognized the flag of the obstructing army ahead – it belonged to the Grayman family, the minor lord who nearly clashed with the Kent family last year.
“Paul Grayman! I was merciful to spare you last year, and yet you’re ungrateful and continue to oppose us!”
“Grayman, look at your army! A mere thousand or so conscripted farmers, holding laughable weapons that are neither proper sticks nor guns, and those horses are nothing but nags fit for pulling carts. Oh! The formation is neatly arranged, but what good does that do?”
He ordered his assistant to wave the flag, signaling to another cavalry unit — to scatter the square formation from both sides. Leading nearly 300 cavalrymen, including knights and their attendants, Jace was confident he could easily break this square formation, despite being vastly outnumbered by the Alda army.
The difference in combat power between knights and peasants was like night and day.
The leading knight picked up a javelin hanging from his horse — unlike on Earth, knights here did not consider the use of ranged weapons dishonorable. In his experience, as soon as he and his companions threw their spears, those farmers who had just put down their hoes would either cower and scramble on the ground or disperse in panic. Once their formation was disrupted, they could charge in and trample at will.
Moreover, seeing no archers in the square formation gave him even more confidence. They could ‘tease’ the enemy without fear. Even if there were archers, given the poor quality of bows and crossbows that ordinary soldiers could afford and the thick armor he wore, inflicting effective damage would be challenging.
They were getting closer! Bryce raised his command saber high.
In the Alda army, the four sides of the hollow square formation were referred to as front, back, left, and right. Currently, the four battalion commanders were each responsible for one side, with Bryce in command of the front.
Finally, the first enemy reached about 50 meters from the square formation, holding a javelin poised to throw.
Bryce’s command sword swiftly dropped, and his order echoed throughout the formation.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”
A series of musket shots rang out, and thick gunsmoke immediately enveloped the front of the formation.
Several of the leading knights were instantly thrown off their horses, flipping backward while still holding their spears, and fell to the ground.
“Not good!” The fallen knight instinctively tried to roll aside, not wanting to be trampled into mush by the hooves of his companions who couldn’t rein in their horses in time.
But to his dismay, he felt as if all his strength had been drained away, making even turning over difficult.
Wait, what just happened? The knight’s brain realized something was amiss.
He had only heard a series of noises, then felt as if he had been harshly struck by something, and then he fell off his horse.
What exactly hit him, he couldn’t see the trajectory of the incoming object.
Suddenly, the knight felt a burning sensation on the right side of his abdomen and instinctively touched it.
A large hole — the touch sent a shock through him; whatever it was had penetrated his thick armor!
What followed was even more terrifying.
Pain… an increasing agony… replaced the burning sensation, radiating throughout his body.
The knight grabbed a handful of grass from his side and threw it into the air in frustration.
A horrifying sight met his eyes — the yellowing dead grass leaves were stained red.
“Front row, second rank, fire!”
The following Kent family cavalry suffered the same fate as their predecessors.
The two battalions that had gone out on the campaign had already switched to flintlock guns. Without matchlocks, the soldiers could line up shoulder to shoulder in tight ranks, significantly increasing the density of their volley fire.
The charging cavalry were hit, some riders, some horses, and some both. However, thanks to the inaccuracy of smoothbore guns, many were fortunate to escape harm. Some horses, startled by the gunfire, ran uncontrollably with their riders.
But still, some lucky ones managed to get within throwing range of their javelins and hurled them with all their might into the square formation.
Under these few knights’ attacks, the Alda army suffered casualties.
The wounded were immediately dragged to the central open space of the square formation, where newly trained medics with basic knowledge of disinfection and bandaging skills swiftly tended to them.
“Front row, third rank, fire!”
Bryce issued the order bitterly, pained to see the soldiers he had trained so hard getting injured.
The third row’s gunfire rang out, sweeping away the Kent family cavalry who had thrown their javelins and were trying to turn their horses to escape.
The first volley resulted in nearly 50 enemy cavalry losing their combat capability.
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