Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 426 Pistol Cavalry
“Musketeers…musketeers,” Gwen muttered. “Excuse me, sir, I have never left the North and have only heard of the Empire’s musketeers. Could you tell me about their power?”

"Why don't you start by talking about your knowledge of firearms? Are you from the Duchy of White Raven?"

"Yes, I was born in a village. Later, war broke out and my parents died, so I fled. My knowledge of firearms is limited to hearsay—I heard that the army of the White Raven Duchy was no match for the Empire's firearms, and it wasn't until the priests of the Silent Temple intervened that they were able to drive the Empire away."

"Yes, that battle was also the only successful battle fought by superhumans on the battlefield. The Silent Sanctuary organized a large number of priests wearing heavy ice armor to charge into the enemy lines, and they actually managed to break through the defenses against the bullets. Unfortunately, it was just a flash in the pan. Too many people died in the Silent Sanctuary, and it never recovered."

Even after the White Plague, it was powerless to protect its believers and abandoned the resistance. If it weren't for Nora, perhaps not many refugees would have survived in the North.

"A musket is a close-range weapon; although theoretically it can fire bullets hundreds of meters away, but..."

Isaac shrugged.

"All I can say is that the Imperial Army Manual strictly prohibits firing beyond 100 meters. The original text says, 'That would only waste precious ammunition.' Normal firing distance is generally no more than 70 meters. In fact, the closer the better."

Gwen frowned. "That doesn't seem as good as a bow and arrow, does it?"

The North has plenty of experienced hunters who can shoot coyotes from a hundred meters away.

"Can your arrows penetrate a cavalryman's breastplate?"

Gwen fell silent.

"And how long does it take to train an archer? Let me train your men, and they'll be proficient with a musket in a few days—or a day if the enemy comes quickly."

Isaac was not lying.

That very evening, the resistance fighters had already learned all the procedures—in fact, Isaac and the Ashbringers only spent an hour explaining the key points, and the rest of the time was spent repeatedly correcting mistakes.

In the following days, the resistance fighters began to repeat these monotonous training exercises endlessly: obeying orders and firing in unison. It was so simple that Gwen found it unbelievable. The most difficult part was loading the musket, which only involved a few steps that Gwen had learned by watching.

"Is it really that simple?" Gwen looked at the musket in her hand in disbelief. Something that could be learned in an hour could almost destroy the entire White Raven Duchy and force the Silent Sanctuary to intervene.
Isaac grinned: "Its strength lies in its ease of operation, but the real difficulty is actually in the formation and firing commands. Soldiers must strictly follow the commands and be so familiar with them that they can't be more familiar with them. There's no time to think about the steps during combat, and most people will be so scared that their minds go blank—so subconsciously following orders is extremely important."

Isaac brought several truckloads of supplies, and he said there were some in towns that were not so easy to move.

This really surprised Gwen. According to this man, the main forces of the Ash Alliance were on the Empire's side, so transporting the supplies would have to cross the battle lines between the two sides.

How is this possible?

But Isaac's answer was rather meaningful.

"Luckily, the two sides were at war, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been able to get so many muskets."

In training the musketeers, Isaac also distributed some of the other supplies he had brought, including some simple tools and various medicines, all of which were in short supply for the resistance. These refugees had lost contact with the town, and although they could hunt some game for food, the entire camp could not gather more than a few axes.

With these, the resistance fighters could build some simple fortifications, and they could also set up some shelters in the camp to protect them from the wind and rain.

But the enemy did not give them much time to slowly rebuild.

Isaac approached Gwen and told her that the town's cavalry had been mobilized, even though it was only his second day there. "How many men have been mobilized?" Although Gwen tried not to show it, Isaac could still detect a hint of panic in her eyes.

She was just an ordinary peasant girl who was struggling here with the resistance army in order to survive; she had no battlefield experience.

“Don’t worry, there are only three cavalry squads.” Seeing the confusion in Gwen’s eyes, Isaac added, “In the Northern military system, a scout cavalry squad consists of seven men.”

"Seven people!? How dare they send so few people? Even if it's just for reconnaissance, they could easily be caught and killed, right?"

“Because they are cavalry.” Isaac shrugged. “You don’t know much about cavalry, do you?”

Gwen fell silent. The Duchy of White Raven didn't produce warhorses; they barely had any mules or horses. Even the priests of the Silent Sanctuary didn't have horses to ride. Her understanding of cavalry was simply man and horse.

"Without elite cavalry or traps, it is difficult to capture an entire cavalry squad, as they are highly mobile."

"So we're going to hide in the woods now, right?"

"No, we'll take the initiative and take them down."

Gwen was quite surprised: "Mr. Isaac, I don't understand—even with your help in training, plus the muskets, it would be difficult for us to win against the Winter Wolves in a head-on battle, right? So why reveal our strength in advance?"

In Gwen's plan, the resistance should remain in hiding and bide their time, waiting for the Winter Wolf Guard to come out and surround them before ambushing them with muskets. Then, when they are in disarray, they should immediately head south and escape the North.

Isaac shook his head.

“Miss Gwen, you underestimate the cavalry. Even if we scatter the Winter Wolf Guard, it won’t take them long to catch up with us once they regroup. We only have one chance to ambush them. Once they regroup, it will be our death.”

"But we have muskets."

"The Empire also has muskets, more than we do, and their training is far superior, yet they remain locked in a standoff with the North."

"what do you mean"

Do you know why Count Bazel's Winter Wolf Guard was able to carve out a piece of territory in the North?

"You said they were all wearing standard armor and their horses were good too."

"Those are all extras. The most important thing is that they are also skilled in using firearms."

Gwen's eyes widened.

"The Wolves of Winter is what they call themselves; outside, they have a more resounding name—the Pistol Cavalry."

"Pistol cavalry, also known as cuirassiers, these soldiers only wear breastplates. Count Bazel developed a complex set of tactics to ensure continuous firing, which enabled him to successfully establish himself in the North."

(End of this chapter)