When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1190 Cold River Night Wind (Part 2)

However, things took an unexpected turn.

After spending half an hour reorganizing their formation, the cavalry finally retreated temporarily and came to the vicinity of the pontoon bridge.

The night wind rustled the leaves, and under Lacunio's command, the vampire's blood pact musketeers had advanced to within three hundred paces of the pontoon bridge.

Their scarlet armor gleamed coldly in the mist. They stood in six rows, the barrels of their blood-bound muskets glowing a dark red.

When the trigger is pulled, a spray of blood will burst from the barrel, propelling the lead bullet forward.

The previous shooting unit had already suffered a loss due to a lack of preparation.

"Form ranks! Use the crescent axe as a support!" Alexei dismounted, roared, drew his crescent axe from his waist, and plunged it fiercely into the frozen ground.

The axe handle is buried half a foot into the ground, with the axe blade angled, which is just enough to hold the barrel of a heavy-duty spring-loaded gun.

Following Alexei, hundreds of crescent axes lined up in the snow, and the obsolete clockwork cannons from the Holy Alliance, the Canned Die II, aimed their dark muzzles at the Blood Pact Gunners.

"Load! Wind it up!"

"Crunch - crunch -"

The sound of the Orichalco spring turning was exceptionally clear in the night.

The soldiers' arms were bulging with veins as they wound the springs to the maximum, their fingers lightly resting on the triggers.

Suddenly, a horn sounded from the vampire formation in the distance. The first row of blood pact musketeers raised their guns, and blood mist instantly burst from the barrels.

"Release—" The Baroque language pierced through the thin mist.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The blood-red bullets, carrying a foul stench, flew in, some hitting the frozen ground and splashing up snow and mud, leaving bloody gashes on the arms of the soldiers behind them.

A young soldier was caught off guard and a bullet struck his shoulder armor, causing him to groan and fall to the ground.

He seemed completely unaffected, and the person next to him immediately stepped in, took his gun, and continued aiming.

Meanwhile, the skirmishers on both sides immediately drew their breech-loading spring-loaded guns and fired at the vampire officers who were giving orders.

The lead bullets whizzed through the fog, exploding into puffs of blood mist among the vampire officers.

Once he confirmed that he was within the optimal firing range, Alexei roared, "Praise be to the Holy Wind!"

Pulling the trigger, the muffled thud of the heavy clockwork gun was painful to the eardrums, and the lead bullet flew out with a whooshing sound.

The armor of a vampire in the front row shattered, blood gushed from his back, and he fell straight to the ground.

The other clockwork musketeers followed suit, firing a barrage of lead bullets. Before the second rank of Blood Pact musketeers could even raise their guns, several of them were already downed.

Many of these low-ranking vampires hurriedly retreated, but were scolded and forced forward by the vampire officers in the back.

The Blood Pact Gun fired again, and this time two bullets actually hit the heavy spring-loaded gun, knocking the barrels of both guns askew.

In the darkness, gunfire echoed incessantly, and the blood mist mingled with the water mist, preventing even the moonlight from penetrating.

The performance of the shooting team completely exceeded Lacuño's expectations.

Based on his expectations and the disarray of the shooting corps during the first engagement, he believed that the Blood Pact Guns should be able to resolve the battle in less than half an hour.

An hour has passed, and while the shooting troops in the rear continue to cross the river via the pontoon bridge, the vampire infantry phalanx is still firing at each other.

It's important to know that vampires are much more resilient to damage than humans.

Although the Blood Pact Gun is not as powerful as a heavy-duty wind-up gun, a hit to the torso can still cause serious injury or death.

Despite the stark contrast in casualties, this group of marksmen displayed a morale and organization comparable to the Salvation Army, managing to force the advancing vampires to a halt.

The sky was beginning to lighten, the chill in the river breeze had lessened, but the morning fog had thickened.

Alexei stood by the pontoon bridge, counting the number of people. The children had all crossed the river safely. The shooting army had lost less than five hundred men, much less than expected.

"Your Highness! The penultimate wave of archers has begun crossing the river!" Teomier ran over, pointing to the pontoon bridge. "Lord Kutuyov wants you to go first, while he leads the last group to cover the rear."

Alexei nodded, knowing this was not the time for feigned politeness and benevolence, and immediately crossed the river with the shooting corps that had set off.

They quickly crossed the river, followed by a group of cavalrymen.

Alexei wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the gunfire over there was more intense.

Just as the penultimate group of troops crossed the river, he saw Kutuyov charging towards them on horseback.

The old man's saber was still dripping with blood, and he was followed by nearly a hundred cavalrymen. The remaining cavalrymen and archers were already on the pontoon bridge.

In total, there were still about four hundred hussars and more than three hundred archers left on the opposite bank, fighting against the Blood Knights who were catching up.

"Quickly! Cut the chains of the pontoon bridge! Set it on fire!" Kutuyuv reined in his horse and shouted to the soldiers on the bridge.

"What? There are still hundreds of brothers on the other side!" Groyev immediately stepped forward. "Why cut the pontoon bridge now? We have plenty of time to bring them over!"

"Fool, there's no time!" Kutuyov cursed. "If we don't act now, will we still have a chance once we bring them over?"

"Isn't this abandoning them?"

“We told them they were the last to leave, so they already knew.” Kutuyov’s words were particularly cold. “Since they knew, the fact that they stayed means they accepted the outcome.”

"These ranged cavalry and death hussars are treasures passed down through generations of our Norn army!"

Kutuyov didn't speak, but looked at Alexei. Picking up the binoculars, Alexei's gaze fell on the opposite bank.

The hussars were pierced through the chest by the Blood Knight's longsword, yet they clung tightly to the Blood Knight's horse's neck, allowing their comrades behind them to take the opportunity to kill the enemy.

Another young cavalryman was wounded in the leg, fell from his horse, and was immediately overwhelmed by the swarm of zombie soldiers.

His hands were trembling, and his heart felt like it was being gripped by something.

Those were people who came with Kutuyuv to rescue them; they were former subordinates of Grand Duke Petrov, his compatriots.

Just a few days ago, they were singing and dancing together, and she even cooked the most delicious bear paw for him.

It's easy to imagine how much care and expectations these Death Hussars had for him.

But he also knew he couldn't wait.

As the Holy Wind weakened, a dark mass of vampire gunners surged toward the pontoon bridge.

If we wait any longer, they might not only take away the pontoon bridge, but they might also take away half of it.

Not to mention the hussars and archers, even the archers and children who have already crossed the river could be caught up.

He has already let them down, and he doesn't want to let them down again.

"Cut down the pontoon bridge." Alexei's voice was deep, but without hesitation.

Groyev was stunned, and was about to say something when Kutuyov stopped him.

The old man patted Alexei on the shoulder, his eyes filled with admiration.

The soldiers on the bridge gritted their teeth, raised their axes, and chopped down on the iron chains of the pontoon bridge.

With a sharp clang, the first iron chain broke, and one end of the pontoon bridge began to sink, while flames spread.

The cavalrymen on the opposite bank, seeing this, did not curse, but instead quickened their charge.

When the last chain broke, the pontoon bridge collapsed completely, crushing and colliding as it drifted away with the current, carrying countless burning rafts.

It was just like the funeral of ancient Norn heroes, whose bodies would be placed on small boats filled with firewood and set ablaze by their relatives.

At this moment, countless burning rafts and small boats sailed into the distance in the rising sun.

The cavalry and archers who hadn't yet reached the bridge turned and launched a final charge against the pursuing vampire army.

Alexei stood on the riverbank, watching their figures grow smaller and smaller until they were swallowed up by the torrent of zombie soldiers.

His eyes burned, but no tears fell.

"Let's go." After a moment of contemplation, Alexei turned and walked towards the direction where the sun was rising.

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, golden sunlight shone on the reeds, casting long shadows on everyone.

The Death Hussars led their horses and let the children sit on their backs.

Although they still looked tired, the fear in their eyes was gone.

They survived entirely thanks to the "cowardly" Alexei and the heroes on the other side of the river.

"Your Excellency Kutuyov," Alexei said hoarsely from his horse, "was I... too naive today? To take care of these children, I sacrificed so many soldiers."

Kutuyov paused for a moment, then laughed: "Naive as it may be, you did the right thing."

Today, you rush back into the ranks of the soldiers, even at the risk of being caught by vampires, to show your stance—that's enough.

Failure is acceptable, but weakness is not.

If you run away today, abandoning your children and soldiers, no matter how many soldiers or guns you have in the future, no one will believe you anymore.

Although you lost the bacon burger, you won people's hearts and raised your banner, and people will naturally gather under this banner.

We also captured more than a dozen vampire officers and obtained part of Lacunio's marching plan.

These are things more important than victory; even your revered grandson didn't achieve all victories in one go.

Alexei lowered his head and looked at his hands, which were clean but stained with a lot of blood.

"It can certainly be used next time," Alexei thought to himself.

He raised his head and looked into the distance.

In the sunlight, the banner of the Holy Alliance could be faintly seen on the hillside, with a golden gear embroidered on a red background.

That's the symbol of the Holy Armory, a symbol of security.

He took a deep breath, started walking, and headed towards the rising sun.

The soldiers of the shooting corps followed behind him, their footsteps neat and firm.

Kutuyov rode his horse at the head of the procession.

As the sun rose higher and higher, it illuminated the surface of the Fittcat River with a shimmering golden light.

The vampire army on the other side of the river was still searching, but they could no longer catch up.

Alexei's troops, like a long golden thread, disappeared into the golden sunlight, heading towards new hope.

(End of this chapter)