Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 453: The Transformation of a New Soldier

As a combat member of the second front, Benny's brigade received the arduous task of urgently reinforcing the first front shortly after the battle began.

The reason wasn't the heavy casualties on the front lines due to unfavorable fighting conditions, nor was it that the elite battalion defending the front couldn't withstand the enemy's charge... but rather that the commander suddenly decided to speed up the elimination of these Judgment Knights who were doomed to fail.

After rushing to the front line in the hail of bullets, Benny and his companions came face to face with the bloody horror of the battlefield - although the Northern Army always had the upper hand, the enemy's fearless counterattack really made these recruits unable to cope.

"Ahhh! Granger is injured, quickly carry him away! Where is the medic?"

"Greyhound? Greyhound! Oh my God! He's bleeding so much! But... I don't know where he's hurt!"

"Damn it! What are the machine gun crew doing? Why don't they turn their guns around and suppress them?"

"Aim at their horses! Attention! Free fire!"

Benny quickly aimed at an enemy who had been shot and fell off his horse. He squinted his eyes and emptied the magazine at the enemy's chest as he was about to stand up. Then he skillfully clamped the butt of the gun under his armpit, took out the pre-loaded magazine from his waist and completed the bullet replacement.

In this gap of just a few seconds, he also stole a sideways glance at the new recruit lying beside him - according to the military practice of veterans leading new recruits, this guy was his responsibility today, and the goal was simple... don't let him lose his life because of nervousness and stupidity.

The opponent's current situation was obviously exactly the same as when he experienced his first battle in Fengyuan City. His extremely nervous state was manifested by clenching his teeth and his fingers seemed to be welded to the trigger. After firing twenty rounds of bullets, he still had to pull the trigger in vain several times before realizing that he needed to reload.

As for the accuracy of shooting and the damage caused to the enemy... Benny had no hope at all on the new recruits.

"Here! Put it in your mouth while you change the bullets." Benny quickly threw a piece of candy wrapped in tinfoil into the hands of the new recruit. This was a unique military secret recipe taught to him by his former team leader Newman. Many veterans believed it was very effective... The honey caramel blocks distributed to soldiers by logistics to quickly replenish their physical strength after a forced march can effectively relieve the "rookie symptoms" of dizziness and numbness in the hands and feet when seeing blood for the first time on the battlefield.

The recruits just did as they were told subconsciously when they heard the commanding officer issue the order for volley fire. This was the order for the machine gun crew to fill the fire suppression gap caused by their changing of bullets. All the soldiers in the front trenches raised their guns and fired forward. The enemy at the front burst into blood from all parts of their bodies and fell to the ground with holes in their bodies.

But the people behind still followed closely, as if they were treating their comrades in the front as human shields. Even though their arms and lower limbs were hit by bullets, they still rushed towards the trench at the same speed.

A knight who rushed to a position only five steps away from the trench had both his legs broken. The hand shield protecting his vital parts made him fall to the ground, but he still struggled to crawl forward for a while. The sniper on the city wall seemed to have locked onto this fearless warrior, and a bullet directly shattered the shield covering his chest. Before the knight died, he threw the shield fragments with all his strength... The Northern Army soldier closest to him was unfortunately cut in the neck.

Looking at the blood spurting from his comrade's neck, Benny felt his heart sink.

This guy probably won't be able to hold on until the medics can send him back to the rear for treatment... "Retreat! Second-line battalion headquarters retreat and rest! Let the third-line soldiers take over!"

"Artillery and machine gun crews, prepare suppressive fire!"

Benny immediately raised his gun and fired the remaining bullets in one breath. Then he pulled the new recruits back into the trench and retreated to the second front line in the rear. Returning with them... were many wounded soldiers who had lost their ability to fight.

However, during the reinforcement battle of a quarter of an hour, Benny clearly calculated the number of his kills... six, half of which were killed by follow-up shots. For those enemies who were shot and fell to the ground but were not yet dead, no matter whether they were wailing and groaning or struggling and rolling, he was able to calmly stare at the deep fear in their eyes, and shoot them to death without hesitation.

"To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself!" Although the team leader had a low level of education, he could recite the slogan from the recruit manual fluently, which made Benny remember it deeply and it became his catchphrase when he led the recruits.

He patted the pale, sweaty recruit beside him and said, "I wasn't much better than you when I first went to the battlefield... But congratulations, after today you will officially be promoted to a qualified Northern Army soldier."

……

The fierce battle between infantry and cavalry that erupted outside the capital was over in less than three hours...

Many nobles who had sent their trusted followers to secretly leave the city and watch the battle from the other side of the Ralph River were terrified for a moment - the Church's Judgment Legion, the powerful knight regiment known as the Spear of Light... They were originally responsible for the rescue mission, but they didn't even reach the city gate. They were easily wiped out outside the Golden City.

"W-what? Didn't the battle just begin? And the outcome has already been decided? The Church was defeated just like that?" The Earl of the Palace demanded, almost incoherently. "How is this possible? They're the Judgment Army! Didn't they awaken their bloodline talents? Doesn't everyone have the strength to compete with spellcasters?"

Chief Knight Dickinson's face was ashen as he muttered to himself, "The Inquisition... Knights... If I hadn't disguised myself and left the city to witness this battle with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it... The knights' doom... has already arrived."

The Earl stood up suddenly and said in horror, "They're cleaning up the battlefield outside the city right now... Will these bloodthirsty northerners take this opportunity to rush into the city? Most of the nobles who haven't left yet are hoping that the royal court will surrender and negotiate according to the traditional way among noble lords!"

Internal struggles and regime changes among humans have always followed aristocratic traditions... Unless it's blood revenge, one would never kill the opponent completely, as this would be a stain on the honor of the victor. Forgiveness and pardon can not only accumulate reputation and praise for oneself and the family, but also earn a generous ransom, without having to go to extremes.

For most of the nobles in the royal capital, the fall of Grand Duke Saint Valen meant nothing more than swearing allegiance to a new superior. As fence-sitters with independent positions, as long as their noble status and titles remained, they would always be able to share the same wealth and power as before in the hands of the new ruler.

"Don't forget, the Northern Lord is no noble! He's a spellcaster! A commoner!" Dickinson came to his senses and whispered resignedly, "Get ready! We need to surrender before they finish their last round of fighting... Maybe... maybe, out of public opinion, they'll be willing to rescue the abdicated Grand Duke."

(End of this chapter)