Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 163 Reinforcements
Winters was increasingly convinced that his opponents were not reckless barbarians.

The Styx Army camp is located east of the great river. Considering the terrain, the attack should be launched from the south and north.

The terrain along the riverbank is uneven, which limits the defending team's shooting range.

The river is still in its winter dry season, and the exposed riverbed forms a natural road that leads directly to the pontoon bridge.

If Winters had put himself in the Hurds' shoes, he would have feigned an attack on the west wall while focusing his main assault on the south and north walls.

Meanwhile, an elite force will be deployed on the dry riverbed. When the battle reaches its climax, a surprise attack will be launched to break through the pontoon bridge and the east gate, and outflank the defending troops inside the camp.

Under attack from both inside and outside, the defending troops will surely be thrown into chaos. Considering the disparity in troop strength between the two sides, the casualties of those who capture the camp will not exceed 30%.

Winters wasn't the only one who thought this way; the other officers shared similar ideas. Having received the same tactical training, the officers' thought processes were largely the same.

Therefore, the defense of the military camp was arranged based on this idea.

The Styx camp originally had a standing army of 100 men stationed there, and they were responsible for guarding the south wall.

Winters was responsible for guarding the north wall, Andrei for guarding the west wall, and Badr's temporary armed men were responsible for guarding the east gate.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica commanded the cavalry and provided support to various locations as needed.

On the dry riverbed, Winters and his men dug thousands of horse traps overnight.

The horse trap and the field mouse burrow are about the same size and as deep as a horse's shinbone. A wooden stake is driven in and pulled out to create one.

The effect is extremely insidious; if a galloping horse steps into it, it will either break its hoof or, in severe cases, suffer a broken leg.

This tactic is generally uncommon because horses are valuable spoils of war. But in dire circumstances, survival is paramount before considering the size of the spoils.

The garrison troops performed their duties and stood ready for battle.

But to the surprise of all the officers, the Harts neither launched a feint attack, nor divided their forces, nor attacked from the north and south, but instead focused their attack on the west wall.

To the west of the camp was a long downhill road, which seemed to be a good place for cavalry to charge, but in reality it was a shooting range.

The defending troops had a wide field of vision with no blind spots.

The enemy attacked from the west, which was exactly what the Paratists, who possessed a large number of ranged weapons, wanted.

But the barbarian Hedt just pushed his shielded wagon and charged in from the west.

As soon as the fighting began, Andrei, who was responsible for defending the west wall, immediately noticed something was amiss.

wind!
The wind direction is wrong!

Overall, the area between the two mountains experiences easterly winds in spring and summer, which blow from the Sea of ​​Seine inland, bringing precipitation and humidity.

However, as autumn and winter approach, the wind direction changes, with the wind blowing from the highlands to the sea, and the westerly winds sweeping across the land.

The Heds pushed their shield wagons up to within twenty or even fifteen paces of the camp wall. Using the earth-carrying wagons as cover, they fired arrows with the wind at their backs, accurate and deadly.

After Andrei's musketeers opened fire, the smoke was blown back by the westerly wind, causing not only sore throats and burning eyes, but also severely obstructing vision.

The defending archers were suppressed by the heavy arrows from the strong bows, and Hart's light cavalry, carrying lassos, rushed in, lassoing, pulling down, and dragging away the barricades outside the camp walls one by one.

The Styx Camp was a field camp that could accommodate tens of thousands of troops. The defenders were short-handed, and Andrei's hundred or so men couldn't even fill the firing positions on the west wall.

The Heds not only did not divide their forces, but also did not launch any probing attacks. They focused their attacks on a few key points and relentlessly attacked. Cellini's 100-man squad was immediately overwhelmed.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica urgently dispatched the Colin Hundred and the Montagne Hundred to reinforce the West Wall.

On the first attack, some daring Hart cavalrymen scaled the camp walls, but were quickly surrounded and killed.

During the second attack, the Heds brought up several small towed catapults and began targeting the defenders' firing positions.

Winters never imagined he would witness the catapults return to the battlefield.

However, the defenders, armed only with a few inaccurate rotary cannons, really had no way to deal with the catapults.

Andrei led his cavalry in a charge, but was intercepted by the prepared Hed people.

In three attacks, the Huds patiently sniped the musketeers, removed all the barricades, and damaged the firing platforms.

His composure in advancing and retreating was like that of a skilled butcher deboning meat.

Although the camp walls had not yet been truly breached, Winters could sense that the will of his militia was nearing its limit.

At noon, the officers in the camp held a meeting.

“Next time, Hedman will get serious,” Jessica said grimly.

“It’ll be even harder to fight in the afternoon.” Bard calmly pointed to the sun: “The sunlight is at our disadvantage.”

Winters suddenly realized that in the morning the Hurds had a tailwind but backlight. After noon, both the sunlight and the wind direction would be unfavorable to them.

“Light and wind direction are all factors.” Winters frowned. “I’m worried that if the Heds break through the walls, the morale of the militia and those makeshift armed merchants will collapse.”

Defending a living area is harder than defending a dead area.

The first two battles were fought in formation on the vast grasslands, with no way to escape and only the option of fighting for their lives.

But right now, behind the camp, there is a pontoon bridge leading to the other side of the River Styx.

Crossing the river and destroying the bridge ensured everyone's safety.

With a way out right in front of them, no one could remain unmoved.

“Or…” Andrei gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s just cross the river.”

"Absolutely not!" Lieutenant Colin refused resolutely, shouting, "Anyone who dares to move the pontoon bridge will have to step over my dead body first!"

Although their time together was brief, Winters was deeply impressed by Colin Victor's meticulousness and attention to detail.

Other camps along the way collected lodging fees and then ignored the lodging of merchants. Only Lieutenant Colin's camp on the west bank of the river was impartial and strictly prohibited any outsiders from entering.

However, the usually taciturn Lieutenant Colin was now so excited that his face turned red.

[Note: In Plato's names, the surname comes first, followed by the given name. This is called a glorious tradition by the Plato people, but it is actually a legacy of Hed.]
The lieutenant's words were harsh, and Andrei also became angry: "If the pontoon bridge is so important, why only leave your hundred-man squad to guard it? If you leave a whole battalion, would we have to risk our lives?"

Colin was speechless for a moment before finally speaking: "Originally, there was a large brigade."

"What about people?"

"The main camps of all the tribes had long since retreated two hundred kilometers to the west! Who could have imagined that the Hed people would appear at this time and in this place?"

Andrei raised his eyebrows and glared, asking angrily, "You 'think' the Hed people won't show up, so you transferred the entire battalion away?"

Colin cried out in frustration, "The higher-ups are in a hurry to deploy troops. I'm just a centurion, what can I do? I strongly opposed the troop deployment, but tell me! What can I do?"

Before the Heds could even attack, it looked like the defending troops were about to turn on each other.

"Enough! Shut up!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica shouted.

Andrei and Colin immediately fell silent, sat back down on their stools, and glared at each other.

Jessica sighed and pointed at Lieutenant Colin, saying, "Everyone else is scrambling for credit, while he's stuck guarding the bridge. He's gotten himself into this state; what can he do when orders come down on him?"

Upon hearing this, Colin was taken aback. His lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't speak.

Andrei's face turned ashen, and his anger seemed to dissipate as he thought of the situation of Veneta and the others.

"We must defend this bridgehead," Jessica set the tone: "Defend it until we can no longer hold it."

There will be a moment of silence when they meet.

“The Republic hasn’t treated me well. I served overseas for twelve years, and not a single day went by without resentment.” The lieutenant colonel clicked his tongue, his attitude as indifferent as ever: “But without her, my family would still be serfs to the Mazar Lord. Without her, I would either be robbing and plundering or already hanged. So this bridge must be guarded, until it can no longer be guarded.”

Lieutenant Colin stood up and gave the colonel a solemn salute.

"As for you lot," Jessica said, looking at Winters and the others with his single eye, "Palatu has only grudges against you, no favors. You owe me nothing, but by some twist of fate you ended up under my command..."

The lieutenant colonel stood up and bowed deeply to the three second lieutenants: "I'm sorry."

The lieutenants dared not accept such a gesture and quickly left the stool.

“You only need to hold out until I die.” Jessica pulled a letter from his pocket, his expression serious. “After I die, go straight back to Palatul. This letter will prove that you did not desert, but that you obeyed my orders to retreat.”

Winters and Andrei were at a loss for what to do. Bud silently took the letter and saluted the lieutenant colonel.

After giving his final instructions, the lieutenant colonel began to rearrange the defenses.

Lieutenant Colin’s regular 100-man squad was transferred to the west wall to defend the most critical position.

Bud was in charge of reorganizing the wagons, the others were responsible for covering Colin's flanks, and only sentries were left on the other three sides of the camp. "Lieutenant Montagne," Jessica called Winters' name last.

"Yes."

"You're in charge of setting up gunpowder barrels on the bridge. Destroy them if things get too difficult," the lieutenant colonel said coldly. "In short, we can't let Hart's cavalry cross the bridge."

"Yes."

"Gentlemen, do your duty; victory or defeat is still uncertain." Jessica rarely showed a smile: "What if reinforcements arrive?"

The door to the prefab house was kicked open, and Charles, who had been running wildly, shouted breathlessly, "Reinforcements! Reinforcements are here!"

……

……

The Hexi camp was bustling with activity, with people chasing after pigs and pigs running ahead, and tents being knocked over one after another.

The free-range castrated pigs were plump and strong, too heavy for two adults to hold down. Especially since they were starving... there were hundreds of them.

Seeing the fat pigs rooting around the camp, Lieutenant Colonel Jessica was so angry his nose was crooked.

"Reinforcements?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica, rarely losing his composure, grabbed Charles and roared, "This is the reinforcement?"

“They were indeed reinforcements from the east,” Charles said, feigning innocence. “But how was I supposed to know they were bringing so many pigs?”

A man whose face was half covered by a dark red birthmark was leading his men to catch pigs inside and outside the military camp, with more pigs crossing the bridge behind them.

Winters rushed to the pontoon bridge to investigate and was surprised to find that the person leading the pig across the bridge was an "old friend".

"Lieutenant Mason?"

……

As the manager of a labor ranch, Richard Mason was tasked with escorting livestock for meat.

The Palatine people in the Hexi military camp did not receive the reinforcements they had been longing for, but instead received Lieutenant Mason's labor prisoners and more than three hundred pigs.

"Defend? Defend my ass!" Lieutenant Mason exclaimed in shock upon learning the situation: "What are we waiting for if we don't run?"

Winters was furious: "Forget about defending it, get the pigs out of here first, the camp is in complete chaos!"

A series of rapid bell tolled, signaling the appointed time.

"The barbarian Hed is here!"

……

……

The cavalrymen of Hart, pushing their catapults, slowly approached, their oppressive presence making the defenders breathless.

On the west wall of the camp, at the artillery position, Lieutenant Mason, who had been forced into the task, was using the "jumping eye method" to measure distances.

"Will it work?" Winters asked anxiously.

"Shut up!" Mason said angrily. "Why don't you do it?"

"You weren't from the artillery department, senior?"

"After raising pigs for years, I've completely forgotten everything! This cannon doesn't even have a firing table, what the hell are we supposed to do with it!" Mason cursed as he raised the breech of the cannon: "Fire one shot first."

……

The convicts, the pigs, and Lieutenant Mason himself were all conscripted by Lieutenant Colonel Jessica.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica flatly refused Lieutenant Mason's request to "move the pigs to the other side of the river".

"Now, let alone a person, even if a pig were to cross the bridge, my men would run away with it." The lieutenant colonel was also extremely angry: "Once you're in the camp, you're not allowed to leave!"

The pigs were driven into the dry riverbed, the pig farmers and convicts were turned into stretcher bearers, and Lieutenant Mason became a gunner. Andrei guarded the pontoon bridge, and anyone who dared to cross it was to be executed.

……

The red-hot charcoal was attached to the ignition hole, and with a thunderous thud, the cannon suddenly shuddered.

News of the artillery lieutenant bringing pigs to reinforce the camp had spread far and wide, and the defending soldiers watched with bated breath, filled with anticipation.

Then they watched helplessly as the shells arced over the heads of the Heds and landed on the hillside behind them.

Silence fell behind the trench. The shot had gone way off target. Winters looked at the artillery lieutenant in shock.

"What are you standing there for! Change the gun!" Mason shouted sternly, continuing to raise the breech of the cannon.

Before the others could react, the man with the birthmark had already deftly removed the empty gun and replaced it with a new one.

While the breech-loading cannon may lack power, its rate of fire is absolutely unmatched.

Another thunderous roar followed, this time the shot was slightly more accurate, the shell hitting the rear ranks of Hed's cavalry, and it seemed someone had fallen from their horse.

"Come again!"

This time, the shells flew into the crowd. The defenders' artillery fire became increasingly accurate, and even the Heds began to panic.

Finally, after several test shots, the cannonball hit the catapult directly.

The two-pound iron ball, carrying immense kinetic energy, shattered the hastily made wooden siege weapon, rendering one of the Hed's catapults useless.

The defenders behind the earthen wall banged their weapons and shields and shouted encouragement.

The three rotating cannons have a total of twelve bullets.

With each shot fired by Lieutenant Mason, the Paratists would shout in unison.

The twelve bullets were quickly emptied, and with the sound of horns, the Heds accelerated towards the camp wall.

"Bring me lead!" Lieutenant Mason, his hair and brows covered in soot, roared with delight. "Today, we're treating that barbarian Hart to grapes!"

……

Lieutenant Colin’s regular 100-man unit was the first to be hit.

The camp wall was built from the earth excavated during the digging of the trenches, and it was slightly taller than a person. There was a half-meter-high step behind the wall, which people could stand on.

Hart's cavalry arrived in droves and quickly filled in several trenches.

The Hurds climbed up the trench, while soldiers wielding halberds stabbed downwards.

The first close-quarters battle between the attacking and defending sides was filled with shouts, roars, and screams.

The militia on either side of the zigzag wall opened fire toward the outside of the wall, and the Huds returned fire with arrows.

The distance was too close; Heard's archers aimed for the face, and anyone hit by an arrow would either die or be seriously injured.

Their lamellar armor was practically useless against the defenders' muskets at this distance.

One of the Hards jumped down from the wall, landing on the tip of a halberd and dying instantly. But more Hards followed suit, scaling the wall.

The battle turned into hand-to-hand combat.

Only then did the militia understand what a "standing army" meant.

The soldiers, clad in half-armor and wielding blades, looked like iron men from afar. The Hurds had to drag them down before they could kill them.

Lieutenant Colin, whose helmet had a distinctive plume, was particularly eye-catching. The Heds also noticed this Paratul warrior and risked their lives to surround and kill him.

Lieutenant Colin and his soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder, roaring as they killed one Hud man after another who scaled the camp walls.

However, Lieutenant Colin's halberdiers were dwindling while the number of Heard men was increasing.

Above the camp gate, Charles asked nervously, "Should we go help them?"

“No.” The lieutenant’s expression was stern. “The Hed’s advantage lies in the breadth of their attack. If they only focused on one point, they would have won this battle long ago. They can only rely on themselves… and so can we.”

There were too few defenders and the camp was too large, so the defenders simply couldn't control all the walls.

As expected, two groups of Hart's cavalrymen split off from the distance and flanked the two sides.

Winters muttered to himself, "Now, it's our turn."

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(End of this chapter)