Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 66 The Fighting Southerner
"Fire!"

As soon as the officer finished speaking, there was a crackling sound from the matchlock gun.

Then smoke suddenly burst out from the muzzle, and the projectiles that had been prepared for a long time flew out.

The Nilfgaardian cavalry who were shot fell down like dominoes being pushed down. It was a scene of people turning their backs on their backs, during which various people screamed and horses roared.

At this distance, the Nilfgaardian armor provided little reliable protection against the arquebus.

Even the strongest part can be broken by an arquebus, and the sturdy armor that the Nilfgaardians are proud of is of no use here.

And the Nilfgaardian cavalry behind them drove their horses directly over the bodies of the fallen comrades, completely ignoring whether there were still wounded inside.

Training and combat had taught them to hesitate for a moment on the battlefield, and then they would lose, so according to the cavalry drills, they stepped over directly.

They have done this for many years, and it is indeed the rule of war, but this time, something is different.

Because even so decisively, they could not rush into the ranks of those shooting arquebus.

There was also a formation of vehicles standing in front of them. The carriages full of armed soldiers looked like hedgehogs, and spears of different lengths were facing them.

Once the Nilfgaardian cavalry approached, these spearmen stabbed frantically.

Some carriages were also equipped with large fire door guns, which directly confused the faces of Nilfgaardian cavalry at close range.

Many Nilfgaardian cavalry were at a loss when faced with this, because this is a situation that is not mentioned in the cavalry code.

So they looked at the officers, but the vigorous and vigorous officers on weekdays had no idea, how could they be useful?
As for the defending northern soldiers, they also felt quite uncomfortable. Some of them looked like civilized people, but others looked like barbarians, and made all kinds of strange noises at them.

But no matter who they looked like, the weapons in their hands were so deadly that the Nilfgaardian cavalry didn't know what to do for a while.

The cavalry who rashly tried to climb over all fell before the slashing of countless weapons and the shooting weapons fired at close range.

Although some cavalry desperately stabbed a few people to death with long pole weapons in their hands, that's all. Although they can rush in quickly by relying on their thick armor and quick movements, when they often reach the front of the carriage, a long halberd will head on It smashed down, and directly lifted the entire head of the Nilfgaardian.

Many people in the Aden Army are equipped with various can openers, and these can openers are just for this moment.

A small number of particularly brave cavalry used their flexible legs to jump up their horses, directly over the carriage, and trampled to death a few defenders when they fell.

However, at the moment when the horse fell, the surrounding Adian people immediately besieged them. Even if they had three heads and six arms, it was difficult for them to deal with so many attacks. The cavalry could not survive for long under such circumstances.

A small number of cavalry carrying javelins and hand crossbows shot at the northerners behind the carriages, which once allowed them to achieve some results, and many lightly armored or even unarmored enemies fell as a result.

But soon they became the key targets of the Ardian crossbowmen, and soon fell under the crossbow.

These wind tower brigade cavalry fell into the mud like this, it can be said that they died worthless, and the proud knights died almost like ordinary people on the battlefield.

Nilfgaard's noble cavalry and elite cavalry are here to exchange sons with ordinary big-headed soldiers, which is undoubtedly the worst loss for Nilfgaard.

The big soldiers can come out after a few months of training, while an elite cavalry needs at least several years of training.

The chief soldiers of the north were also excited by the sight, especially those Aedirn soldiers who had been driven by Nilfgaardian cavalry.

Seeing these costumed knights fall in front of them, their gods who feared the Nilfgaardian army also fell down, and then they naturally became more and more brave as they fought.

There was another shot, another cloud of smoke rose into the sky, and another cloud of Nilfgaardian cavalry fell.

But Nilfgaard still insisted on fighting. After all, they were a powerful army across the continent. With the pride in their hearts and the cooperation of long-term training and fighting, they still maintained a tenacious will to fight.

Hemei understood that the next thing to do was to face it head-on, and don't think about any tricks.

Now the Hackland Grassland used the loud sound of muskets to startle the horses on a large scale to turn the battle situation over. Since before the advent of muskets, both the North and the South have added an adaptive gun sound to the horse training for this point.

The most eye-catching thing on the entire battlefield at the moment is undoubtedly the arquebus gunners. They have a shooting platform made of wood, and the arquebus gunners are now outputting on the battlefield there.

The musketeers line up in three rounds, and when one round of shooting is finished, they will retreat to the third round to load, the second round of gunners will step forward to shoot, and the original third round will retreat to the position of the second round.

They kept firing in circles like this, and the sound of muskets on the battlefield never stopped.

"Get off the horse, get off the horse, stop standing there like a target!"

The commander of the Wind Tower Brigade, young Gwama called out.

Right now, it seems that riding on a war horse is too dangerous, and it is simply a target for the defenders.

However, neither he himself nor his guards and entourage were like this. On the one hand, the commander needed to show his position on the battlefield, and on the other hand, he had confidence in the armor.

Their armor is the masterpiece of the best blacksmith in the Golden Tower City. Even if the muskets that are constantly output on the battlefield are coming, they may not be able to break through the defense.

As always, Gwama commanded close to the front lines.

He was just yelling at the soldiers, calling them to do things.

His judgment was indeed correct. Before he had figured out how to break through the car formation, dismounting was undoubtedly the right choice, at least he would not be targeted by others.

Although on the surface it looks as majestic as usual, but in his heart Gwama regrets it very much now.

He shouldn't have rushed so fast, and now he's in such a predicament that Markos and Streibert might laugh at him.

"boom!"

Suddenly there was a loud noise, and the brigade commander felt a huge force coming from his side, and then he was thrown off his horse and ate a mouthful of mud.

The confused Gwama was supported by his subordinates to stand up, and he found that he was lucky.

Because the cavalrymen beside him were directly smashed to pieces, and the blood on the armor had already flowed into a small river.

And what made all this was a smoking cannon on their left.

The cannon was stuffed with various small stone bullets before, and then it fired at the Nilfgaard "officer" and his subordinates who had been watched by the artillerymen for a long time-after all, Gwama was very well-dressed.

It's just that, the effect was not very good, several guards of Gwama were smashed by this round of shotgun, but he himself was just knocked off his horse.

Gwama looked at the bodies of the beaten guards, his eyes were full of disbelief, he remembered their names.

This is his friend in the City of Golden Pagodas. They had fun together, joined the army together, and made an appointment to enjoy the glory after the war together, but now...

He also saw the cavalrymen under his command fall down in front of the chariot formation. The cavalrymen tried to jump over or lie on the carriage, but they were all killed in the end, and more cavalrymen were blocked outside the chariot formation...

More guns began to shoot shot, and the reason for the silence of these guns before was now found. It turned out that it was precisely for this moment, to be able to fire shot at the cavalry in this way.

The Nilfgaardian cavalry looked so weak in front of the shotgun, wave after wave they were smashed to pieces, their morale became more and more shaken.

"Retreat, let's retreat, let the infantry take care of the fortifications, let's go!"

Gwama said in a hurry, and the guard who heard the order quickly put the horn to his lips, and then blew the horn desperately.

Hearing this sound, the Nilfgaardians who were still fighting resolutely left the enemy in front of them. They climbed on their horses and quickly retreated.

The Nilfgaardians were not afraid of death, but their constant futility in front of the caravans annoyed them.

The soldiers wanted to retreat a long time ago, and now that the horn sounded, everyone naturally responded eagerly.

And this is what the infantry should do, not their cavalry, their cavalry is responsible for finalizing the decision, not here to fight.

The most important thing is that they can escape from the shooting range of that terrifying shotgun. It is really terrifying to be hit by that thing.

Thinking of this, the Nilfgaardian cavalry retreated.

.

"Lord Marcosh, Lord Stribert, I'm sorry, I didn't complete the task, and I caused many casualties to my subordinates."

Gwama, who had changed his horse, was in front of the two teachers, his face full of embarrassment.

The blond hair that was once delicately shaved was clumped together with sweat at some point, which showed his embarrassment just now.

The Wind Tower Brigade was "sent off" by the northerners all the way and retreated, returning to the starting position. This scene was seen by everyone in the army, which is really embarrassing.

Although the various motley cavalry who were sent to attack on the other flank also retreated, they were just a bunch of miscellaneous cavalry after all, and no one cared about them.

The Wind Tower Brigade is a cutting-edge army of the empire. Many Nilfgaardian nobles have invested in arming this army, but they have performed like this.

"Master Gwama, return to your troops and wait for the order to attack."

Makosh's face was normal, but it was just a failed tentative attack. He didn't know how many times he had seen such a scene in his war career.

The brigade commander of the Wind Tower Brigade has returned to his unit, and now he has lived up to his previous arrogant and dandyish appearance, but the two veteran generals here are not happy about it at all, so there is something more worrying about someone in front of him.

"This battle, it seems, is not easy. Even the probing attack has cost so many casualties, but it is worth it. At least we know the terrifying ammunition, and now we can let the infantry avoid it. If the infantry hits Inside the array, the situation is unimaginable."

Stribert murmured, in front of his eyes, a stone bullet smashed into a phalanx of soldiers in black, and several unlucky bullets were killed and wounded.

There was also a group of infantrymen who were suddenly caught fire by matchlock guns, and several of them fell down at once.

In front of the infantry formation, the Nilfgaardian crossbowmen were firing arrows at the enemy above them, but they did not have the upper hand.

There are also some Nilfgaardian gunmen who are shooting at the city, but it is a pity that they cannot compare with the enemies above in terms of firing speed or power.

"However, I still know the combat effectiveness of Gwama's Wind Tower Brigade. In fact, it is still very solid. They haven't been pleased. It seems that this Heme throws away those weapons, and the combat effectiveness of the troops under his command is very good."

While Streibert was speaking, there was another crackling on the hill, and then many Nilfgaardians fell down.

"Just take your time."

Markos simply said,

"It's not that I haven't fought hard and tough battles before. Now I just want to fight one. In the past years of the empire's conquests, this is still very common."

"Indeed, you are quite right. It seems that the turmoil of this period of time has given me some illusions. I really shouldn't. Isn't it just a hard fight? I don't know how much I have experienced before."

Touching the helmet, Stribert spoke like this, his tone full of approval.

Nilfgaard did not have a huge advantage from the beginning, nor did it rely on the life of its soldiers to obtain its current territory.

It was just a bitter battle, and it was not like the imperial army had never fought before.

But then, there was another crackling explosion on the hill.

Subconsciously, Stribert shrank his neck.

.

After receiving orders from the rear, the Nilfgaardians shrunk or stretched as much as possible.

And it worked, and after they got into shotgun range, the casualties were much smaller.

When the dense Nilfgaardian infantry was about to rush in front of the chariot formation, Herme activated a small gift she had prepared.

Herme knew that after the lesson just now, the Nilfgaardians would try to avoid the range of artillery fire, so he made this little gift and has not used it until now.

The Cossacks lit the iron hooped pine cannons, and then these large shotguns stuffed with various sundries "sprayed" a lot of sharp sundries at the army in black.

The momentum of the Nilfgaardians was stopped by this small operation, and many men in black were knocked down unexpectedly and rolled to the ground. Their armor and bodies were not broken, but looking at them like that, they just Know they are uncomfortable.

Although this didn't directly make the scene bloody like a shotgun, it also injured many people and became a drag on the Nilfgaardians.

However, most of the pine cannons that made it all exploded, and even injured a few of their own people.

It doesn't matter if the pine gun explodes, it is a one-time gun, and Herme only intends to use it once.

And this thing is so cheap that it can be remade a lot.

And then, there was a battle between the two sides around the carriage.

Swords, guns, swords and halberds come and go, and the battle has entered the cruelest stage.

"Hold on! Hold the carriage, don't let the Nilfgaardian set off the formation!"

A Cossack was standing on the carriage and said, it's a pity that his throat was pierced by a spear the next moment.

The Nilfgaardian infantry obviously had experience in fighting against the chariot formations. Some of them were very skilled at cutting the chains between the chariots with their halberds, while others concentrated on attacking the soldiers on the chariots to clear out the soldiers above.

Then they either tried to destroy the carriage, or directly turned over to the back of the carriage, and some people lay on the ground and stabbed from the bottom of the carriage to the opposite side.

The battle was fierce. Soldiers on both sides exchanged swords, guns and spears, and corpses began to pile up.

The quality of the Nilfgaardian infantry was shown. After a while of fighting, several Nilfgaardian soldiers directly used their square shields to build a simple passage in front of the carriage, so that comrades could directly pass through the passage formed by this shield. carriage, not the hassle of overturning.

These soldiers belonged to the imperial contingent. In order to break through the chariot formation, the Nilfgaardian generals sent many imperial contingents. Every larger imperial army would have one or two battalions of soldiers like this.

They are soldiers who do the most dangerous things in the imperial military system, so they quickly thought of a corresponding solution.

In contrast, the problem of the large number of rookies and rookies in the Aden army has been revealed.

Surprisingly, quite a few people didn't know what to do in the face of the Nilfgaardian who deftly crossed the carriage, and finally stepped forward to fight under the shouts of the officers.

And it was this hesitation that allowed the Nilfgaardians to seize the opportunity, and some of the chariot formations turned into battlefields, and even the Nilfgaardians took control of several carriages regardless of the cost.

Then the Nilfgaardians began to move the carriages, so that the reinforcements could enter continuously.

Herme saw all this in her eyes and was anxious in her heart. It seemed that she was still a little careless, and her confidence in these people under her command was still too high.

And just as he was about to send some reinforcements to block the Nilfgaardians back, he saw Selchik leading a group of Aedirn knights into the battle.

The white knight of Aedirn took the lead, and cut off the arm and armor of a Nilfgaardian officer with a sword, which undoubtedly explained the horror of his thick arms.

And then, Selchik avoided the spear stabbing from the side, kicked over a man in black armor who was trying to sneak attack him, and finally cut down the shield soldier in front of him with his long sword.

A set of movements is smooth and flowing, making everyone around me dumbfounded.

Seeing Selchik's bravery, the soldiers were also greatly inspired, and they rushed towards the Nilfgaardians shouting war cries.

How could those dozens of Nilfgaardians block so many enemies rushing, so they were all killed soon, and only a few lucky ones overturned the carriage and returned to their line.

Herme also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. The ulcer that appeared just now made his heart rise to his throat, but fortunately, the ulcer was contained in time, and the Nilfgaardian's offensive was blocked back.

"Shoot, speed up and shoot!"

As if to vent the emotion caused by the instability of the battle line, Hemei said to the arquebus gunners, and the gunners who received the order did indeed speed up.

Right now, the arquebus shooters are the most powerful exporters on the entire battlefield. It can be said that they are continuously projecting firepower on the black army. They cause the highest casualties, which makes the Nilfgaardians very miserable.

When watching comrades being shot to death by invisible projectiles, I feel uncomfortable inside.

And often there will be a little fear, which is something that would not have happened in previous battles.

If you are shot to death by arrows or crossbow bolts, the things that are shot can tell you which direction the attack is coming from, and you can also take precautions.

But muskets, on such a panicked battlefield, it is often difficult to find where the attack is coming from.

And just noticed, I don't know how to defend against it, most of the armor can't hold a matchlock gun.

Not to mention the roaring cannons from time to time. Although Nilfgaard knew to avoid the output range of the cannons after paying the bloody lesson, some people would step in unknowingly and be smashed into pieces by the shotgun. debris.

Right now, the battle has fallen into a stalemate, and the two sides are launching various offenses and defenses around the car formation. It is difficult for such a battle to produce any results in a short time.

Perhaps occasionally both sides have elite assault troops biting out a battle line, but such protrusions will soon be forcibly suppressed by the constantly mobilized troops on the opposite side, and finally the battle line will return to the way it was at the beginning.

Even in some places, mountains of corpses were piled up. Soldiers from both sides robbed and fought each other on the mountain of corpses, and most of the people who fought on the mountain of corpses would become members of the mountain of corpses in a short time.

It can be said that the current battle has entered the exchange stage.

The leaders of Aedirn's army and Nilfgaard's army are constantly throwing their men into this flesh mill.

Both of them are cold-blooded butchers, and they watched these soldiers being crushed inside without changing their expressions.

In such a big battle, at the beginning, Herme was extremely excited, looking at the scuffle scene in front of her and the huge army she commanded.

That kind of excitement kept coming, this was the first time he had joined such a magnificent battlefield.

The same is true for Marondo and Viato, they are very nervous, their hands are tightly clenched on the hilt of their swords, and their eyes are watching the battle ahead.

However, this emotion quickly calmed down as the battlefield changed. Commanding this chaotic battlefield is exhausting, so let's focus on the battle.

Seeing that the battle line in front of him was stabilizing, and whether there would be any major changes in a while, Herme also issued a new order, asking Selchik to come to him.

Heme then left his command and was replaced by Selchik, who had returned from the front.

Selchik is undoubtedly suitable to take his place. This white knight is sufficient in terms of prestige and command ability, and he is a household name in Aden. There is no one who does not know him, enough to stabilize Aden here. people.

If the Adian people are stable, the Cossacks will not be chaotic. The essence of the Cossacks is to move with the general trend, and the general trend will not affect them.

And Herme wanted to do something, something that could change the overall situation of the battlefield, and it was also part of his strategic plan.

From the very beginning of this battle, Hemei's baton was being acted upon, so the next step was to start the next move.

(End of this chapter)