When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1086 The Burning Wind (Part 2)

The valley was not straight; instead, it turned in the middle and opened up on the other side.

Despite having crossed the valley, Jeanne and the others were still located on the eastern side of Hot Wind Mountain.

Cold air from the northwest passed through the thorn garden, rising steadily on the west side of the mountain, eventually turning into condensed water droplets.

The dehumidified wind swept over the mountaintop and continued downwards.

The closer to the ground, the higher the temperature, and the hotter and drier the wind.

Locals thought it was caused by geothermal activity, but it was actually caused by foehn winds.

Why are there so few trees on Hotwind Mountain?

Besides the rampant deforestation by local residents, the most significant factor was the frequent forest fires that burned everything to the ground.

The foehn wind that had crossed the mountain suddenly changed direction, whipping up dry sand and gravel that lashed against the wooden planks of the Hus wagon, making a crackling sound.

Jeanne took off her iron gloves and placed her palms on the carriage shaft, feeling the warmth of the wood with her fingertips.

She gazed towards the valley entrance; according to the time, Kennard's cavalry should have arrived by now.

"Kal! Have they caught up yet?"

A figure darted down the slope on the right. Kaller almost fell over when he dismounted.

He adjusted his helmet and replied in a hoarse voice, "Still no sign of anything. Should I take two people through to check?"

“No need.” Jeanne shook her head, the iron mask on her face rattling loudly. “Wait a little longer.”

Drum, standing nearby, was getting impatient.

He gazed at the deserted valley entrance, his voice tinged with anxiety: "Lady Joan of Arc, have they given up the pursuit?"

"will not."

Drum was pale, and sweat was pouring down his face faster than the stream in front of him.

"We've been making preparations for so many days, if he doesn't come..."

“He will come,” Michel interrupted him impatiently. “Didn’t you hear what Lady Joan of Arc said? Don’t worry!”

Michel's reasoning for this judgment is quite simple: it's not that he's superstitious about the saintess, which doesn't align with the skepticism of the Holy Path Sect.

Rather, he was certain that unless something went wrong at Longbow Keep, Kennard must have already concluded that they were militia from Wonneville.

The previous battle in the town should have reinforced this idea, and it should be the idea of ​​everyone.

With the Earl in their hands and Schroederburg unscathed, Kennard would obviously face Putzio's questioning if he didn't go all out.

Michelle wasn’t entirely sure what Kennard was thinking, but there was a greater than 90% chance he was doing it.

The saintess probably made the same judgment!
“But…” Drum still didn’t trust him, and could only grit his teeth inwardly.

"Look!" Jeanne smiled upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves coming from outside the valley. "Aren't they here?"

Before the words were finished, a series of hoofbeats suddenly came from the shadows at the valley entrance.

The first to rush out were three scouts on horseback. They reined in their horses in the middle of the valley, their hooves kicking up gravel as they spun around.

One of them looked around and then quickly returned.

Immediately afterwards, more cavalry poured out of the valley entrance, their blue swallowtail banners unfurling in the wind like a flock of bluebirds skimming over the rock walls.

Under the lead swallowtail banner, Kennard reined in his warhorse.

His gaze swept across the battlefield before him, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his iron gauntlet.

On the open ground across the stream, more than thirty tanks lined up end to end, forming a crescent-shaped barrier.

The halberdiers in the workshop pointed their spears and halberds diagonally to the sky, and the dark muzzles of guns were visible through the gaps between the carriage panels.

Behind the chariot formation stood a densely packed army of soldiers, numbering about a thousand, their spears and muskets gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The open space is flanked by steep rock walls. The bare sandstone offers no shelter, except for a few withered trees that are crookedly wedged in the cracks of the rocks, howling in the wind.

"Thousand River Valley Chariot Formation..."

Kennard squeezed out a few words through his teeth.

This defensive formation using horse-drawn carriages is almost a signature tactic of the Holy Alliance's Defenders.

This thing really shone during the Battle of Thousand Rivers Valley, blocking the attacks of the extraordinary knights several times.

But the main force of the Holy Alliance is thousands of miles away, so how could they appear in this desolate valley?
He spurred his warhorse forward a few steps, its hooves screeching as they trod on the dry stones.

The terrain in front of us is a gentle downhill slope, while the sides are almost vertical steep downhill slopes.

There are more than sixty steps from the valley platform to the gentle downhill slope, and a hundred steps from the downhill slope to the stream.

The ground was covered with gravel, dry grass roots, and thorns, making it easy for cavalry to stumble during a charge. Jeanne's men were positioned behind the wagons at the bottom of the slope, blocking the way down.

The terrain was perfect, blocking the road perfectly, just like a trap.

Kennard's thumb rubbed against the hilt of his sword. He had fought for twenty years, and was especially cautious, with neither great victories nor great defeats.

But at this moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

If this is a trap, there's no sign of any ambush; there isn't even a grove of trees nearby.

If it's not a trap, then do these commoners think they can defeat them just by putting on a show of being part of the Holy Alliance?

The knight commander behind him spurred his horse forward: "Commander, should we charge straight through? At this distance, a single charge can raze their wagon formation to the ground!"

Kennard did not answer, his gaze fixed on the tense faces of the soldiers behind the vehicle formation.

This doesn't look like something a battle-hardened veteran should look like.

“Let’s test the waters first.” Kennard suddenly sneered. “I’ll lead a hundred men in the charge, and you stay behind to provide support.”

One hundred knights immediately gathered around, with Kennard leading the charge down the slope.

His chestnut horse slipped on the gravel ground, and he gripped the reins tightly, drawing his longsword from his waist.

Just as they broke through the top of the hill, a creaking mechanical sound suddenly came from behind the line of vehicles.

Nearly a hundred wind-up muskets were raised simultaneously, their dark muzzles aimed at the charging knights.

"Hide!"

Kennard suddenly lowered his body, hiding half of his body behind the horse's neck.

The dense gunfire made the valley reverberate, and lead bullets rained down like hail.

Kennard felt something hit his calf hard, so hard that he almost screamed.

"withdraw!"

Kennard did not get angry; instead, he calmly turned his horse around and rode backward.

Those were stray bullets; otherwise, his leg would have been broken long ago.

These clockwork musketeers fired before the target even entered the maximum damage range of the first shot.

“This doesn’t seem like the level of a Holy Alliance musketeer.” Another old knight who had participated in the Thousand River Valley War rode up. “Even the surrendered musketeers were better than them.”

Kennard remained silent, his doubts growing stronger.

If this were truly the Holy Alliance's army, they would never have fired their guns prematurely during the charge.

But the power of those clockwork guns was clearly exactly the same as that of the Holy Alliance's standard equipment.

Who exactly are they? Could they really be the main force of the Holy Alliance?
"Try twice more, splitting into the left and right flanks," Kennard suddenly ordered. "Tom, you take fifty men and attack the left flank, being careful to avoid the trenches."

The second charge was launched from the left flank. Tom's cavalry attempted to bypass the wagon formation but were stopped by musketeers on the side of the wagon formation.

Lead bullets flew among the cavalry, causing few casualties, but they voluntarily turned back.

The third charge was changed to attack the right flank, and the result was the same. After charging halfway, they lured the enemy to open fire and then turned back.

"You scared the hell out of me!" A knight threw off his helmet. "You haven't even learned the basics of the Holy Alliance, yet you dare to tinker with a clockwork gun!"

"I was at the very front just now, and I clearly saw one of the gunners wind up the mainspring backwards. It cracked me up!"

"In my opinion, they're just a bunch of scum with Holy Alliance guns!"

"Take them down, those clockwork guns can sell for a lot of money, but we have to smuggle gunners from Farran and Norn."

Like the Cavaliers, Kennard was so angry he almost laughed.

I thought they had raided the Holy Alliance's headquarters, but it turns out they were just a bunch of copycat thieves!

Indeed, if the Holy Alliance could really send thousands of people to infiltrate Shuilun County, would they really think the church's informants were blind?
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Let's do a few more rounds and trick them out of their lead." Kennard was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "Get ready, we're going to..."

Before he could finish speaking, Kennard suddenly started coughing violently.

A gust of wind blew by, and a familiar burnt smell suddenly wafted into my nostrils.

It wasn't the smell of burning wood, but a stronger, more pungent odor of burning vegetation, mixed in with the dry wind, carrying a scorching heat.

As if by telepathy, Kennard suddenly turned his head to look at the valley entrance, his heart clenching instantly.

The sky above the valley entrance had turned gray at some point, and thick smoke, like a giant dragon, was billowing into the valley with the wind.

As for the thick smoke, flames suddenly rose up.

"When did you arrive?!"

(End of this chapter)