Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 310 Sunny Day
As dawn broke, the soldiers began to pray.

Anglu carefully brushed Redmane's back, softly chanting a spell passed down through generations of the Dusa people:

"...At the top of the iron pillar stood an iron man, leaning on an iron staff, who commanded iron tools, steel knives, swords, and all kinds of weapons: 'Go back to your mother earth, avoid the servants of the Lord and my companions, avoid my warhorses. Arrow shafts return to the forests, feathers to the birds, and fish bladders to the fish'..."

The militiamen, who had spent the entire night by the campfire, gathered around the priest accompanying the army to receive the Last Communion.

The chanting echoed and drifted in the purple mist, and people's faces were reflected in a hazy blue light.

……

At the same time, on the other side of Tiefeng, along the Dajiao River.

The dam, with some of its wooden stakes removed, has become shaky and could collapse at any moment.

Captain Morrow, wearing a mask, is setting up explosives; he is the last person left on the dam.

On the riverbank, naked men worked together, shouting slogans as they pushed the huge triangular raft into the river.

Other laborers pushed carts and methodically loaded stones onto the raft.

Out of sight of the crowd, a group of fierce warriors riding Herd horses were galloping toward the dam.

……

As the sun rises above the horizon, the blurry outline of the earth gradually becomes clearer in color.

Standing atop the hill controlled by the Teldens, the Iron Peak County army's troop deployment was laid out before them.

"[Herd] Ha, if the commander of the two-legged men thinks he can fight in the field by protecting the flanks." The man by the fire, who was observing the enemy from the mountain, scoffed: "[Herd] I think he has eaten rotten flesh and gone mad."

The Terdun nobles, clad in full armor, echoed this, laughing wildly.

Looking down from above, the tiny figures below, resembling ants, formed a giant arrow formation.

To the west of the arrow array lies the foothills of Iron Peak Mountain, covered with conifers and shrubs; to the east of the arrow array is a dense primeval forest.

The little people spread out along the road and the farmland on both sides, guarding the plains between the mountains and the forests.

The enemy's flanks may seem safe, but in reality, neither mountains nor forests can completely prevent the cavalry from encircling them.

The flat, open farmland offered no natural defenses—except for the trenches the enemy had hastily dug in front of their positions.

Teldun Khan's court acted swiftly, with several elite cavalry units leaving the camp in silence, each taking their own route to circle around to the rear of the arrow formation.

The old translator looked down at the enemy formation below the mountain, his brow furrowed.

From the initial encounter to the midfield standoff, the opponent clearly had ample time to occupy the hill he was on—a higher and easier-to-defend position.

However, the opponent still chose to form an array on flat ground. Why?
The old interpreter couldn't understand, but he didn't say anything. He was a little tired, a feeling that had become increasingly strong since crossing the Big Horn River.

From the Teldenans' perspective, the Iron Peak County army's formation resembled arrowheads; while from the Iron Peak County army's perspective, their formation was more like an inverted letter T.

Winters deployed his troops in battalions, with a total of twenty-seven battalions divided into three parts: the left wing, the center, and the right wing.

Among them, the central army was the strongest column, with each battalion arranged in a fish-scale formation, providing cover for each other.
The left and right wings consist of [youth militia] and [adult militia], positioned at the back, arranged in two lines—youth militia in front and adult militia behind.

To minimize the risk of being outflanked by the enemy, Winters carefully chose this location as the battlefield.

"To form a defensive formation on the mountain is tantamount to allowing the enemy to surround our army. If the Teldens choose to besiege us without attacking, our army will be unable to maintain its supply lines and will inevitably collapse."

When explaining the formation to his men, Winters explained why they should form a battle array on flat ground:
"Although the terrain below the mountain is unfavorable to our army, nearly half of the enemy's right flank has either been defeated by our army or trapped in Xia Tiefeng County. The enemy chieftain's forces are limited and it is difficult for him to launch a powerful flanking maneuver."

Looking around at his subordinates, some with eager anticipation and others with evasive eyes, Winters plunged his dagger into the center of the map: "This narrow strip of land between the mountains and the forest is the perfect battlefield to decisively defeat the Teldonians."

……

Mason stood atop the bell tower of the Gevordan Cathedral, straining to see into the distance.

The siege of Ghevordan has been lifted, and the streets and alleys are filled with jubilant crowds.

The only bridge connecting the two sides was destroyed by Mason at the beginning of the siege, but fortunately the timber was preserved intact.

Mason used small boats, timber, and the remaining bridge piers to build a temporary pontoon bridge across the river, through which horses, weapons, and militiamen were steadily arriving on the south bank.

The artillery captain was usually calm and collected, but at this moment his anxiety almost materialized.

"When exactly will the remaining two squads arrive?!" Mason asked through gritted teeth.

The commander of the cavalry infantry battalion swallowed hard: "It shouldn't be too long."

Winters' cavalry and infantry battalion numbered nearly five hundred and was organized into four detachments.

Because the situation in Ghevodan was not urgent, the cavalry and infantry contingent did not rush to Ghevodan immediately. Instead, they went to clear out the small groups of Teldun raiders who had infiltrated Upper Iron Peak County, a move that Mason supported.

However, while it is easy to disperse troops, it is difficult to regroup them.

Suddenly, the church bells rang.

The bells rang one after another, as the monks celebrated their victory in the siege.

Mason roared at the commander of the mounted infantry battalion: "We're not waiting any longer!"

"Yes!" the other party shouted in response.

Gendarmerie took to the streets to disperse the citizens, and Zhevodan quickly returned to a state of martial law, with the city's militia regrouping in the square.

Mason told everyone directly, "I need volunteers."

As Mason's gaze swept over them, the Zhevodan militiamen all lowered their heads. Having barely escaped death, none of them wanted to risk their lives again.

“Sir, I can no longer ride a horse or wield a sword.” Old Priskin pulled his grandson to Mason: “Let him come with you.”

"Count him in."

After a fierce internal struggle, Ivan also raised his hand.

……

Horns blared across the sky, and silhouettes of cavalrymen danced across the edge of the field of vision—the Teldun were beginning their march.

Like a shepherd parting a mixed flock of sheep, the nobles of Teldun led their respective followers down the hillside, slowly approaching the Iron Peak people.

Looking at the barbarians covering the mountains and plains, [Monkey] and [Doug], who were on the left flank of the front line, felt parched, their hands and feet were cold, and the veins in their temples were throbbing.

The greed for the reward of beheading was extinguished by a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

The monkey and Doug looked at each other, and both saw death in each other's eyes.

The Teldun men remained outside the range of the cannons, spreading out in a wide horizontal formation.

A Teldun light cavalryman, carrying a helmet on a lance, rode to the front of the formation, signaling for negotiations.

……

In the center of the battlefield.

"Pay tribute." The old interpreter repeated the conditions that were clearly unacceptable to the other side: "If the Great Khan Paul and others are not killed, the war will end here."

The person who was warming himself by the fire did not show up; instead, a creature with a blue feather came in his place.

Of course, the real purpose of the negotiations was to probe the other party's strengths and weaknesses, and the actual leader was the unassuming old translator.

The fire-brooder wasn't expecting his opponent to surrender. But if the opponent actually agreed to pay tribute, that would be even better.

Looting involves the collection of spoils from the bottom up, while tribute involves the distribution of spoils from the top down. Whenever possible, tribal leaders prefer to accept tribute.

The old interpreter sized up the strange group in front of him: a tall, thin, and refined middle-aged man, and his two fully armed guards.

The former looked nervous, his left hand gripping the reins so tightly that his knuckles turned white, while he didn't know where to put his right hand.

On the contrary, the two guards appeared more comfortable and relaxed.

The old interpreter noticed that the tall, thin man kept glancing at the guard on his left, but he restrained himself from making any big moves.

He exchanged a few words with Qing Lingyu, who immediately began to loudly reprimand him, pretending to be serious.

"Lord Tuman asks you," the old interpreter observed carefully, "If you're negotiating, why not show your true faces instead of resorting to the sneaky tricks of using decoys?"

Jacob Green, a tall, thin middle-aged man, was taken aback by what he heard.

“I don’t show my true face because I’m afraid it will frighten you.” Winters slowly removed his helmet. “Aren’t you using the same tricks, Mr. Interpreter?”

Just hearing the other person's voice sent a chill down the old translator's spine. He stared stiffly as the face beneath the helmet was gradually revealed. By the time he had completely confirmed the other person's identity, he felt nothing, becoming numb.

Qing Lingyu, standing to the side, was puzzled: "[Hede] Who is this person?"

"[Hett] That Plato champion," the old translator replied simply.

No further explanation is needed; for Teltown, the Palatour title is one and only.

Qing Lingyu gasped instinctively. Sensing the rider's panic, the warhorse reared up and neighed.

"I see, I see!" In an instant, the old interpreter understood everything, and he laughed uncontrollably: "You think you can win?"

"Regardless of who wins," Winters replied coldly, unmoved, "you will die first."

When enemies meet, there is no need for many words.

Winters gently pulled on the reins and spurred his horse away.

Another guard on a black horse pulled a gruesome head with only one ear from his saddlebag, threw it in front of the old interpreter's horse, and followed Winters away.

The old interpreter didn't need to count the ears—he didn't even need to look—to know whose head was on the ground.

Red Dog is dead. The other side came here not because of Revodan, nor because of a counter-espionage plot.

The other party came here to put an end to everything.

……

On the way back to the central army, another armored soldier on a black horse who had participated in the negotiations asked Winters, "Can you tell how many swords the barbarians have?"

“The number we can see is around four thousand,” Winters pondered. “There might be more people hiding on the reverse slope.”

“I think it’s about the same.” The black-clad warrior, wearing a helmet, spoke in a muffled voice: “Fifteen thousand infantrymen—half of whom are peasants who have just taken up arms, and the other half have only fought one battle with you—are you really confident of winning a field battle against at least four thousand Herd barbarians?”

"Isn't there you?" Winters retorted.

The man in the black vest gave a cold snort.

……

The great war did not break out immediately.

The Teldenans stopped outside the artillery range and wouldn't advance another step—actually, they were overthinking it, because Winters didn't have a single cannon.

Most of the Teldun people were resting on their horses, and many had even taken off their saddles, thus standing in a stalemate with the Iron Peak County army.

If the fire-bringer were to commit his entire army in a fit of rage, this battle might be able to end decisively.

The fire-brooder's patience had clearly improved, but Winters was no longer the reckless centurion he once was.

"Pass down the order." Winters wasn't in a hurry: "Each battalion will take turns sending out their respective companies to continue digging trenches."

Monkey and Doug, who had been sitting and resting, received their tools and, somewhat confused, followed the company commander into the trench to resume their digging work.

"This isn't a war, it's fucking ridiculous!" The monkey's tension had long since vanished. He swung his pickaxe, cursing, "Those damn barbarians, they won't attack us, and they won't leave. And you men! If the barbarians won't attack us, we'll attack them! Dig! Dig! Dig! Dig endlessly!"

After a few tries, the monkey got tired of moving. Doug, on the other hand, remained as quiet as ever, focusing solely on his work.

The surrounding "mature soldiers" didn't bother to pay any attention to this grumbling young man. In the company of mature soldiers, the two poor boys who had been crammed in were complete outsiders.

Regardless of the fire-starters' motives, Winters' strategy can be summarized in one sentence: If you don't attack, I'll continue to fortify my position.

The digging of trenches by the people of Tiefeng County quickly triggered a chain reaction.

Hundreds of Teldun cavalrymen charged out of their main force like arrows, heading straight for the central army of Tiefeng County.

The Teldun soldiers who had not yet moved also mounted their horses. The previously loose Teldun army suddenly gathered strength and began to creak, ready to launch a fatal attack at any moment.

"Yellow flag," Winters calmly ordered.

A yellow triangular flag was quickly raised on the flagpole, serving as a warning to the entire army.

The massive infantry formation came to life in an instant, like a giant awakening.

"Yellow flag!" the messengers from each battalion shouted at the top of their lungs.

The militiamen looked at each other, but Winters' battalion and company commanders knew what they had to do.

"Grab your weapons!" The commander of the first front waved his cane: "Move quickly!"

Amidst roars and shouts, the young soldiers on the first front hurriedly stood up, ready to meet the enemy.

"Here they come! The barbarians are coming!" The monkey in the trench threw down its pickaxe and shouted as it crawled out of the trench.

A dark shadow came rushing towards them, and with a "smack," the monkey was struck hard by a vine whip and sent flying back into the ditch.

The company commander, wielding a rattan whip, roared, "Keep digging the trench! No one is allowed to move or make a sound without orders!"

The monkey rolled on the ground in pain, blood, tears, and snot splattering everywhere, screaming incessantly.

"Shut up!" the company commander roared, immediately drawing his military knife. "Want to die? Shut up!"

The monkey couldn't hear what the company commander was saying and continued to cry and shout.

Seeing that the company commander was clearly serious, Doug grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his friend's mouth in a moment of panic, causing Monkey to cough violently.

Similar things are happening all over the battlefield.

Thanks to the execution capabilities of commanders at all levels, the Tiefeng County army did not descend into disorder and chaos.

Therefore, while the young soldiers on the first front were in combat readiness, the able-bodied soldiers on the second front were still sitting on the ground resting, without even stopping their work of digging trenches.

Moreover, every commander repeatedly emphasized one word—quiet.

No war cries, no cheering, no shouting – this is the fighting style of a large army.

"Spears!" The command rang out throughout the central army: "Level them!"

Thousands of soldiers neatly laid out their extra-long spears, the tips pointing directly at the enemy, looking from a distance like rolling waves of wheat.

The Teldun cavalry split in two at the tip of the central wedge formation, like water being parted by a sharp blade.

They swept past, displaying their archery skills, and galloped along the edge of the trench towards the left and right flanks of the Tiefeng County army.

"Fire!"

The musketeers of the Iron Peak County Army retaliated, and several Teldun cavalrymen were shot and fell from their horses.

"Green flag! Left and right flanks!" Winters ordered as he saw the enemy turn to the sides, "Send out the light infantry!"

Winters had neither cannons nor many muskets.

Rather than deploying them in a scattered manner, he preferred to concentrate the use of musketeers, so only the central army had a complete musketeer company.

The melee units on the flanks could only rely on light infantry using bows, javelins, and catapults for cover.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Teldun cavalry charge, the youth soldiers' lines on both flanks began to waver. If it weren't for the trench in front of them serving as a barrier, many militiamen might have already thrown down their weapons and fled.

It was only thanks to the control of the company commanders and sergeants that the first line of defense did not collapse on the spot.

A green square flag was raised on the flagpole, and the sound of a small military drum rang out.

Hundreds of light infantrymen rushed out from the trenches in front of the first line of defense, throwing javelins and stones at the Teldun cavalry.

The other group of adults who could handle longbows stayed behind the trenches, drawing their bows and shooting arrows.

The light infantry were specially selected from adults aged sixteen or seventeen and a half. Although their strength had not yet fully developed, they were at the bravest and most reckless age.

Some audacious light soldiers even tried to drag away the bodies of the Teldun people, perhaps forgetting in their haste that they only wanted the heads.

Tied up by the light infantry, the Teldun cavalry were unable to leisurely shoot down the militia behind the trenches. Too few in number to charge directly, they could only probe the enemy lines.

The old interpreter on the hill remained expressionless as he watched the second front of the Iron Peak County army remain motionless.

Gravel can be easily blown away by the wind, but if you put it in your pocket, even a cannonball can't do anything to it.

The old translator gazed into the distance; the sun had already risen above the treetops—it was truly a beautiful sunny day.

[This chapter needs a map, I'll go draw it now.]
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(End of this chapter)