When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1229 First Contact (Part 1)
"What's the use of telling me all this now that the enemy has already touched your face?"

"Her Highness Jeanne gave three orders and made five statements before the war. Have you all forgotten them?"

"Head Reverend, write down your names. You will be the first to give a self-criticism at the post-war debriefing meeting."

The commander of the javelin battalion in charge of perimeter reconnaissance left looking disheveled, while Michel Neu, the acting commander of the First Battle Regiment of Jeanne d'Arch, scratched the back of his head in frustration.

After leaving the Imperial Guard, he served as a corps commander and left deputy corps commander. This is his first time serving as a corps commander.

Although it's only temporary, as long as you do well, you can be promoted to a permanent position.

If this doesn't work out, who knows when the next opportunity will come.

No matter what, you must not be distracted.

Putting aside these distracting thoughts, Michelle turned her attention to the battlefield.

After reconnaissance by both sides' hunters and scouts, he had a general understanding of the situation.

The origins of this vampire army are unknown; they must have simply encountered a dense fog during their march.

The reason Michelle was still at the camp while the vampires were on the march was not because the vampires got up early, but because they always set off in the evening and set up camp in the early morning.

This was an encounter battle, with the enemy numbering between 3000 and 5000, and our forces numbering around 5500.

At this time, the enemy army was exhausted after marching all night, while our army had just woken up and was at its most energetic.

You can fight.

The vampire commander on the other side was clearly no mediocre either; upon realizing they had collided, he immediately chose to engage rather than evade.

The two sides deployed their formations around seven or eight in the morning, when the sunlight was not yet too intense.

The Holy Alliance's marching speed is renowned throughout the continent; if they were to flee, they would most likely have to engage in battle when the sun is at its zenith.

Picking up the binoculars, Michel looked through the narrow field of vision and saw a red line stretching from left to right in the distance, while closer at hand, there was only a black line.

Between the red and black lines, the hunters and skirmishers from both sides are firing freely.

Clearly, the Holy Alliance's hunters have a significant advantage in free-firing.

They have cleared a sufficiently wide and safe area in front of the battle line.

"Grenadiers, you can go now. Firing holy water grenades, let's see what they're like."

In the military terminology of the Holy Alliance, a grenadier is not a soldier who throws hand grenades, but a soldier who uses a grenade launcher.

From the gaps in the battle lines, grenadier squads carrying long grenade launcher tubes and lifting launchers stepped forward.

Set up the grenade launcher on the grass, insert the holy water grenade into the long tube, and the small wind-up chamber hums softly.

Dozens of holy water grenades flew into the air, drawing an arc in mid-air, followed by puffs of white mist rising from the red line.

The Church has done a lot over the centuries in dealing with vampires.

The Holy Water Grenade, which Horn had once taken a direct hit from, finally came in handy.

Clusters of water mist enveloped the area, dispersing the blood mist that had previously permeated the formation.

Ghostly figures loomed behind the fog, but the orderly battle lines remained largely intact.

Michelle frowned: "Why the hell?"

The staff officer who had just finished summarizing the intelligence immediately answered Michelle's question.

"A full-coverage sun-blocking military uniform? How is that made?"

"I don't know, it's vampire technology."

Yes, Serfaye went to great lengths to be able to fight normally under holy water and sunlight.

The reason why elites like Fran were able to escape during the previous battle of Gauville was due to the divine magic of a large number of extraordinary monks, holy water, and sunlight.

After much painful reflection, Serfaye quickly developed this military uniform, but so far only a portion of it has been put on.

Not only were their bodies covered by sun-blocking suits, but they also had to breathe through a blood mist bottle on their back connected to a breathing mask on their face to protect themselves from the Holy Alliance's "poison gas bombs".

However, while it is said to block out light, it doesn't completely block out light, much less completely seal off air and moisture.

Therefore, both holy water and sunlight will still exert a suppressive effect, but they will not play a decisive role.

"So, for now, the only way to force the holy oil into the vampire's body is still by using a clockwork gun?"

"I'm afraid this is the only way." "Fuck!"

Honestly, if this thing had come out earlier, the Empire would probably have perished long ago, given its old-fashioned approach to weaponry.

After calming herself down, Michelle mounted her horse and said, "I'm going to the front lines to command. You give the order to move to the left. The right side is all wet, so we can't go too fast."

The operations staff officer immediately took out paper and pen and began writing notes for each corps commander.

Don't underestimate this step. Everyone needs to be clearly written down, including who goes first, who goes last, how to proceed, and where to go next.

The General Staff might even require staff officers to write down their reasons so that the corps commanders can refer to them.

We need to let them know what happened, how it happened, and why it happened.

In this way, command can be efficient and junior officers will not make incorrect judgments about orders from superiors.

Michelle's account of the water on the right side of the ground actually refers to:
There are many streams and puddles on the right side of the battlefield, making it difficult to deploy formations ("the ground on the right is all water").

Therefore, you must go to the left, otherwise you will be easily hindered in both moving forward and backward ("You can't go too fast").

Just as the Holy Alliance's battle line was slowly moving towards its advantageous position on the left, the vampires in the distance clearly noticed this problem.

They also need the left-hand side of the battlefield (for them, it's the right-hand side).

The moment the Holy Alliance battle line moved, they moved as well.

To Michel's surprise, despite their wailing as they were whipped by the higher-ranking vampires, these vampires completed the regrouping with remarkable efficiency.

A burst of rousing Baroque language rang out, accompanied by the strange sound of cymbals (a unique instrument of the royal court).

The marching column began to change formation.

The leather boots trotted neatly on the ground, making smooth turns before splitting and connecting again.

By the time both sides could clearly see each other's flags, both the Holy Alliance and the Royal Court had already formed a large horizontal formation.

The battlefield stretched from left to right, layer upon layer, with long red and black lines forming each line. Each line was held by a soldier wielding a clockwork musket or a blood pact musket.

"Adjust formation. The closest units should not advance. Prepare to engage the enemy."

"With the three-pounder cannons providing cover, the cuirassiers will draw away their Imperial Blood Servant Knights."

"Grenadiers, stop idling! What are you doing? Keep throwing the holy water grenades! Do you need a little more holy water?"

At this moment on the battlefield, the fourth, fifth, and sixth army corps were the last to enter the combat zone.

"Attention, guns on your shoulders, advance at regular pace!" the corps commanders shouted. "Let's see who dares to disobey orders and put down their wind-up guns."

This is the military advice provided to the Holy Alliance by the Windmill Land Military Observation Group after observing the Battle of Gauville.

During the process of marching towards each other, even the most determined and courageous veterans will have moments of wavering resolve.

This is different from facing an enemy force in a large square formation, because this time the enemy also has the ability to project armor-piercing projectiles from a distance.

Infantrymen tend to stop and retaliate when they are being attacked to the point of exhaustion.

But this is often not the optimal position yet, and it takes a long time to get them to put down their wind-up guns, regroup, and set off again.

Fighter jets are lost little by little like this.

Therefore, officers must supervise at all times to ensure that no one fires on their own when in the optimal position.

Only in critical moments, such as when covering friendly forces, is it permitted to immediately return fire.

When your comrades die one by one, you are not only not allowed to defend or dodge, but you are not even allowed to avenge them.

You must wait for the command, and with your burning heart receive the lead bullet, until the praise of the holy wind arrives.

Only by facing death can we achieve victory.

The era of line infantry battles lacked the brutal close-quarters combat of the past, but it was just as bloody and cruel.

Marching in orderly formation, the fourth, fifth, and sixth legions, arranged in a staggered pattern, began to slowly advance towards the vampire's battle line.

boom!
A lead bullet pierced the chest of a Holy Alliance soldier, causing him to clutch his chest and collapse to the ground, writhing in pain.

As if this shot had fired a signal, sporadic thuds and whooshing sounds immediately filled everyone's ears.

(End of this chapter)