Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 171 Forming Formation to Meet the Enemy
At dawn, the scouts brought back intelligence that a large force of Hart's cavalry was approaching.

Along with the intelligence that "a large force of Hart's cavalry is approaching," a plea for help from the North Bank camp was also sent to the main camp.

The preliminary battles have begun, and the leadership of Palatine's army has subsequently split.

Some wanted to halt the siege and prepare to meet the enemy reinforcements; others demanded a general offensive to capture the city before reinforcements arrived; still others brought up the old issue, arguing that the opportunity to attack Bian Li had been lost and that they should withdraw their troops and make further plans.

At the impromptu meeting, Colonel László—the chief battalion commander of the Fifth Army—roared with bloodshot eyes: "Fighting is all about spirit! The enemy is advancing like a whirlwind in the city! Retreat? Tell me how we can retreat? If we retreat, we might never be able to get back in! If the barbarians in the city take advantage of the situation and push us out, it will be a repeat of the Battle of Dregelbe!"

Cavalry Colonel Haugwitz roared defiantly, "What's the point of taking Bianli if we don't eliminate the reinforcements? If you fail to take Bianli and are surrounded from behind, the entire army will be in danger of annihilation! If we eliminate the reinforcements, Bianli will be ours sooner or later. If we fail to eliminate the reinforcements, we're all finished! It's that simple!"

"Fuck you!"

"I will fight with you!"

"What's all this noise about?!" Major General Alpad flipped the table over, shattering the exquisite porcelain vase into pieces.

The two who were about to engage in a full-blown fight immediately fell silent.

After General János suffered a stroke, there was no one left in Paratú's army who could make the final decision.

The former retreat faction has now become the attacking faction, and the former attacking faction has now become the reinforcement faction.

Like an iceberg with only a small portion floating on the surface, the conflict between László and Haugwitz was a struggle of strategy, a struggle of routes, and a struggle between the infantry and cavalry factions.

When General János commanded the entire army, competition was able to take place in a healthy manner. This was because the General was the leader of all factions, and his prestige and wisdom were enough to subdue everyone.

But when a general becomes incompetent, previously hidden contradictions will immediately intensify.

"The worst strategy is no strategy. All this fighting is pointless; we might as well just offer our necks to the barbarians!" Brigadier General Seckler said coldly. "Major General Alpard and I have already made up our minds."

……

As dawn broke, the sky gradually brightened.

The battle for Bianlixi Fortress has been decided. The barbarians have been defeated, and Palatine soldiers are pouring into the city walls in droves.

Desperate, the Hud people began setting fire to the city.

In the dry winter, the city was filled with thatched and wooden houses, and almost instantly, Xiwei City turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The low-lying clouds were burned crimson by the fire, and even the morning glow paled in comparison.

The wind fanned the flames, and the fire spread rapidly toward the outer walls, forcing Plato's forces, who had stormed the citadel, to retreat outside the city.

The fire temporarily separated the two sides; the Platut army controlled the outer city walls, but the main city remained firmly in the hands of the Hed.

It took the legion's messengers a great deal of effort to locate Balaz, the chief centurion of the Sixth Legion, within the city.

"Withdraw? Say it again! Withdraw?" Captain Balaz's eyes looked like he was about to devour someone at any moment.

He gripped the messenger's shoulder tightly, his fingers digging deep into the flesh.

The poor messenger's legs went weak, and he stammered as he repeated the order: "Your unit is ordered to disengage from the battle, regroup, retreat to the attack position, and regroup to await further orders."

Captain Balazs ripped off his helmet and slammed it to the ground.

Because the wind was blowing from the northwest, a small area in the northwest corner of the Acropolis remained untouched by the fire.

Balazs is leading his men to build a firebreak and is using roof beams to create a makeshift battering ram, ready to attack the main city gate once the fire has subsided.

Military orders are absolute. Looking at the shadowy inner wall behind the fire and smoke, the captain weakly uttered a single word: "Withdraw."

……

When the Balazs Hundred received the order to retreat, Winters had just entered the West Acropolis.

He leaped onto his horse and charged through the breach in the city wall, whereupon a scorching heatwave immediately hit him.

The city reeked of burning, and Qiangyun shook his head unhappily; the horse didn't like it here at all.

From behind the billowing smoke came horrifying screams, people being burned alive.

"Have you seen Lieutenant Mason?" Winters asked everyone he met, "Where is Lieutenant Mason?"

The five infantry battalions responsible for the initial siege were retreating, and the soldiers were like sardines, blindly following the others outwards.

Several centurions were leading men to breach the city walls to prevent the Hards from retaking the citadel.

But many soldiers, after leaving the city walls, simply collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, unable to even lift their arms.

Although the siege was halted, the gains could not be lost. A full-strength battalion was advancing towards the fortress, ordered to repel any enemy attempts to retake the outer walls.

Winters, going against the flow of people, kept asking questions and shouting into his phone.

"At this!"

"here!"

Winters looked up at the sound and saw Lieutenant Mason waving vigorously on the city wall.

He rushed up the city wall, where the lieutenant and several subordinates were huffing and puffing as they lifted a bronze cannon.

"Stop moving! Come with me!"

Upon hearing this, the men dropped the cannons.

Mason hastily wiped the ash from his face and asked anxiously, "Why is everyone retreating? I heard that the Heds' reinforcements have arrived? So many that they're countless?"

“Who said that?” Winters raised an eyebrow.

That's what everyone's saying!

“There are some Harts coming from the north, but not so many as to be uncountable… We’ll talk about it when we get back!”

"What about this thing?" Mason pointed to the cannon at his feet.

"Throw it here! How can you throw it away?"

……

When Winters and Mason returned to camp, the Jessica Battalion was assembling.

Within the camp assigned to the militia auxiliary forces, the shouts and curses of the corps leaders rose and fell.

One of the key points to quick formation is that everyone must know where they are standing, something the Paratul militia clearly did not understand.

Seeing that the two centurions had only just returned to their unit, Lieutenant Colonel Jessica was somewhat displeased: "What were you doing?"

“If Montagne hadn’t come to find me, I wouldn’t have known there was an emergency assembly.” Lieutenant Mason couldn’t help but ask the colonel, “Sir, how many Herd men have come?”

“I don’t know yet.” Jessica’s expression was grim. “Have your men prepare.”

During last night's siege, the Jessica Battalion did not directly participate in the fighting. Half of Winters's men were on guard duty in the trenches, while the other half remained on standby in the camp.

The militiamen in the camp quickly assembled, while it took some time for the militiamen on duty to assemble.

Fortunately, Winters's deputies were capable enough that he didn't need to do everything himself.

Most of the militiamen could not hide their panic, which made Winters glad that he still had some "veterans" who had seen blood to serve as the backbone.

Mason rushed back and consulted with the lieutenant colonel, then hurriedly took more men and wagons and left to move the cannons.

Lieutenant Bard, who was in charge of managing the ordnance, began distributing weapons, armor, and ammunition to the militia.

The Jaska battalion captured over a hundred pieces of Hedza armor along the way, which were usually kept and repaired in the battalion's armory. Now, they were all distributed to Winters' spearmen.

Some makeshift lamellar armor, modified from Hedde's horse armor, was also issued. The idea of ​​turning horse armor into human armor was actually the blacksmith Berian's.

[Note: The Herder horse armor and the human armor use the same armor plates.]
Thanks to reinforcements and additions, the JSKA battalion now has eight 100-man squadrons—two more than a full-strength battalion.

Therefore, the lieutenant colonel reorganized the groups, changing each hundred-man team from a "flower team" to a "pure team".

[Note: A "flower team" refers to a 100-man team with mixed weapons, while a "pure team" refers to a 100-man team with a single weapon.]
The composition of the Jessica's battalion is now complex. Winters' two captains of spearmen and halberdiers are the most reliable, followed by Andrei's two captains of musketeers and crossbowmen.

Winters and Andrei's subordinates consisted mainly of the old guard from the battalion and newly recruited militia.

Compared to Lieutenant Bud and Lieutenant Mason, their men were a mixed bag: convicts, merchants forcibly conscripted, remnants of other militias... all sorts of people.

In a sense, Bud and Mason were assigned to lead this "rabble" precisely because only the two of them could lead it. The Dussac riders, on the other hand, were personally commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jessica.

Winters walked through the ranks, inspecting the weapons and armor of each soldier.

Half of his men wore Paratul armor, while the other half wore Hedza armor, which looked very strange at first glance, and it was even difficult to tell which side the soldiers were from.

“What kind of way is this?” Winters stopped in front of a lamellar spearman.

He was anxious, and his words inevitably carried a hint of anger: "Why are the ropes left outside?"

Upon hearing this, the spearman shrank back.

"Your name is Ish?" Winters recalled the spearman's name. "Is that you?"

Ish from Ganshui Town nodded hurriedly. He reached out to try and untie the rope, but his movements were clumsy, and he couldn't find the end of the rope.

Winters, in a fit of impatience, immediately unfastened the spearman's arm armor and quickly put it back on: "Tie it the way I do! Put all the knots inside!"

By the time Ish came to her senses, the lieutenant had already walked up to the others.

Ish tried to speak several times, but only licked her lips, and in the end, she didn't say "thank you."

"Listen up, sir! Check the armor of your fellow soldiers!" Winters, who was inspecting the ranks, shouted the order: "Two men, help each other put it on!"

The deputies immediately began to act, showing more composure than the flustered militiamen who had followed Winters all the way.

Charles and Heinrich ran to Winters' side, carrying the centurion's armor: "You should put on your armor too!"

Winters found an empty spot and stood there. Charles and Heinrich began to help him put on three-quarters of his armor.

Andrei and Bader came over to meet Winters.

"Do you know how many Hed people have come?" Andrei asked, frowning. "Making such a big fuss?"

Winters shook his head

Bard gestured toward the center of the camp and calmly said, "Get everything moving."

Suddenly, an invisible, violent vibration came from the air—the thunderous sound of horses' hooves pounding the earth, right nearby.

Everyone was taken aback; some militiamen even dropped their weapons in fright.

"They arrived so quickly?" Andrei's eyes widened.

Winters pursed his lips and listened intently, then quickly breathed a sigh of relief: "It's not the Heds coming; it's the cavalry in the camp heading out, probably scattering scouts."

“No, not scouts.” Bard checked his pulse and counted. “Where would there be so many scouts?”

Three lieutenants climbed a nearby watchtower, from which they had a clear view of the entire military camp.

At the cavalry camp located at the other end of the main camp, hooves kicked up clouds of dust that blotted out the sky.

At least four cavalry squadrons have already left the camp, and more cavalry are ready to go.

Andrei squinted to examine the area carefully, then suddenly exclaimed, "Almost all the light cavalry have been mobilized!"

Outside the camp gate, a long trail of smoke and dust was stretching northward.

A messenger with a green helmet plume galloped toward the militia encampment, carrying a formal intelligence report for the Jessica Battalion:

A large force of Hart's cavalry is approaching from the north. Scouts were driven back by the enemy's light cavalry on the outskirts and were unable to ascertain the exact strength of the troops, but it was estimated that there were several thousand cavalry.

The messenger also carried orders for the JASKA squadron:
Proceed immediately to the North Bridge to reinforce and defend the bridgehead camp.

……

The siege was abruptly halted, and all sorts of rumors spread like wildfire, causing panic among the lower-ranking officers and soldiers.

But the command chain of the Paratul army was still functioning normally, with the legion headquarters issuing orders methodically, as if they had anticipated this situation.

In this situation, orders are the ballast of morale; being able to mechanically execute orders actually gives people peace of mind.

A sense of honor surged in the hearts of the soldiers of Palatul. They had repeatedly won against overwhelming odds. They were the shield of the alliance, an invincible and unbeatable iron army.

Like a ferocious beast turning its head, the army began to adjust its center of gravity, preparing to meet the enemy.

Reserve troops that were not engaged in combat were repositioned, while the five battalions that were already engaged in combat withdrew and reorganized.

More scouts ventured into the wilderness; this time, they would not be easily driven away.

The cavalry and cavalrymen poured out of their camp to reinforce the camp on the north bank.

Brigadier General Sackler found Alpad, who was putting on his armor, and said, "I don't think sending light cavalry to the northern camp alone will be enough."

“I know, I’ll take the heavy cavalry.” Alpard took a big gulp of strong liquor and casually stuffed the flat silver flask into his breastplate.

The major general's face was slightly flushed from the increased blood flow. If it weren't for the wrinkles and graying temples, it would be hard to imagine that this Paratist man in front of him was over fifty years old.

Two infantry battalions set up camp on the north bank of the Huiliu River, and their deployment there was intended to block the entry and exit of Bianli City from the north.

Now, facing enemy reinforcements, they are the first to bear the brunt.

“If it’s just dealing with the vanguard of the Hed people, light cavalry will be enough.” Sackler paused for a moment, “But if we need to stop reinforcements from entering the city, or prevent the Chihe tribe from breaking out, the North Village needs to be reinforced. That place is now of utmost importance, and someone must be stationed there.”

“Hmm?” Alpard raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll take men.” Sackler said gravely. “I’ll take the reserves that weren’t used in the siege to the north camp. Before, we only needed to defend against the Hed people coming out, but now we also need to defend against the enemy going in, so the south camp needs to be reinforced as well. Let that kid Jessica dig the blockade trenches; his men are good at that.”

Arpad laughed heartily: "Then it's my turn to lead men to the North Village. You've always been in charge of the central army; the camp can't function without you."

“No, that was before General János’s accident.” Seckler’s gaze was intense. “You are now the highest-ranking officer, the commander of an army. You can no longer act recklessly in the field. The Heds are all cavalry, giving them the tactical initiative. But they are forced to relieve Bianli, putting them at a strategic disadvantage. Our opportunity lies entirely in this…”

……

……

The west wind howled, and dark clouds obscured the sun.

Three thousand Palat soldiers crossed the wooden bridge and headed towards the northern village.

The thunderous sound of hooves came from the north, and a scout, brandishing his helmet, galloped toward Brigadier General Sackler.

His mouth was wide open, but his shouts were completely drowned out by the sound of horses' hooves.

Suddenly, a Hart cavalryman appeared on the ridgeline of the hillside behind the scouts, then two, ten, a hundred...

Countless Hed cavalrymen leaped from the reverse slope and roared towards the Paratul's ranks.

"Block the point and attack the reinforcements?" Brigadier General Sackler sneered.

Bugles sounded, and war drums beat.

Right before the eyes of the countless barbarians of Hed, six infantry battalions completed a series of complex formation changes.

The soldiers of Palatine, with their backs to the confluence of rivers, formed ranks to meet the enemy.

"I am right here in the midst of the battle!" Sackler stood atop his horse, halberd raised high, his voice amplified by the spellcaster, reaching everyone: "If I retreat even a step—sever my head!"

The soldiers stared intently at the general's helmet plume, and there was a deathly silence.

"Long live!" someone suddenly shouted.

"Long live!" More and more people joined in the shouting.

"Long live!" Everyone's voices merged into one: "Long live!"

Amidst deafening shouts, Sackler leaped off his horse and strode into the square formation.

Last night I tried writing in reverse chronological order, but in the end I felt that chronological order was better, so I ended up writing it in chronological order; I was prepared to finish it in one chapter, but I didn't finish it (facepalm). I'll continue in the next chapter.

There is a map in this chapter. If you don't see it in the chapter notes, it means I haven't finished editing it yet. Please check back later.

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(End of this chapter)