Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 252 Obstructed
An indescribable stench of burnt flesh quickly spread, overpowering the heavy smoke and blood, causing Eric to gag.

He stared in horror at the burning trench, where Gallic soldiers writhed and struggled in the flames, eventually turning into humanoid torches billowing black smoke.

This is war.

The training assault battalion soldiers around him turned a blind eye to this, and they took turns providing cover in small groups of a few men.

Using automatic weapons, grenades, and flamethrowers, they advanced irresistibly deep into the trenches.

More and more Saxon soldiers who rushed into the first trench were also inspired by this momentum.

No longer bewildered as before, they spontaneously followed these reliable figures, providing them with flank cover and clearing away the remaining resistance.

Eric mechanically followed the flow of people, occasionally firing a shot at an enemy that appeared, or, in a moment of terror, using his bayonet to take down a stubborn enemy.

His brain had stopped thinking; only the two most primal instincts remained: to survive and to charge forward.

On the muddy ground outside the trenches, the battle had also reached a fever pitch.

After dealing with their initial opponents, several Siegfried 1 armored knights continued their advance toward the Gauls' second line of defense.

But they soon encountered new enemies.

Several armored knights, painted in blue and with a more antique and elegant design, charged out from behind the Gauls' lines.

Their breastplates are engraved with a striking multi-cross emblem—consisting of a large central cross and four smaller crosses surrounding it.

"It's the Knights of the Holy Grail!"

A Teutonic Knight used a loudspeaker to warn his comrades nearby.

Unlike the Knights Garter and the Knights Templar, who were active in the colonies, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, apart from a squadron stationed at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, mostly served as a strategic reserve and garrison force in Gaul.

The knights stationed at the Paris headquarters were mostly veterans transferred from the colonies. Although they were older and their reactions might not be as quick as the younger ones, their combat experience was incredibly rich.

In order to halt the Saxon offensive, they were also deployed to the front lines at Cree to fight against the Teutonic Knights of Saxony.

These experienced Holy Grail Knights, knowing that the Teutonic Knights possessed some kind of 'powerful weapon,' did not choose to confront them head-on.

Instead, they used the muddy terrain and craters to constantly maneuver against the Siegfried I.

Soon, a Teutonic Knight, in his haste to charge, accidentally got his mechanical foot stuck in a huge crater.

Almost simultaneously, two 'Charlemagne Type 2' armored knights of the Holy Grail Knights flanked from the left and right.

Their extremely retro-style enchanted knight lances were not aimed at the sturdy frontal armor, but rather at the relatively weak leg joints and sides of the 'Siegfried Type 1'.

"careful!"

Another Teutonic Knight roared and tried to come to his aid, but his opponent held him tightly, preventing him from breaking free.

The battle reached a stalemate for a time.

Many Teutonic Knights had already used up their 'energy-piercing weapons' in previous battles, and it was difficult to resupply quickly during the trench breakthrough.

Therefore, facing these experienced opponents, they could not gain any advantage for the time being.

The two steel giants were locked in a clumsy yet deadly battle in the swamp, the clanging of metal and the roar of engines mingling together.

Everyone wants to eliminate the opponent as quickly as possible to pave the way for their infantry to victory.
Inside the trenches, Eric, along with Morin's commando team, had successfully broken through the Gauls' second line of defense.

The resistance here is even stronger than that of the first line of defense.

Relying on more complex fortifications, the Gallic soldiers launched counterattacks again and again, relentlessly fighting back.

A Saxon soldier was firing when a bullet, seemingly from nowhere, struck him in the head. His pointed helmet was instantly blown off, and he fell straight backward, lifeless.

Morin glanced at the fallen soldier, showing no emotion, but calmly donned the [Mage Armor] on himself before charging out from around the corner of the trench.

A large amount of firepower was drawn to him, but it was all blocked by the blue sparks.

Eric and his comrades, not having time to marvel at Morin's actions, instinctively followed the soldiers of the training assault battalion and rushed over as the firing line was pulled apart.

The MP14 submachine guns unleashed a barrage of fire, knocking down the Gallic soldiers in the trench one by one.

Immediately afterwards, several grenades were accurately thrown into the deeper trench.

After a series of explosions and intense gunfire, the stubborn Gallic soldiers were all annihilated.

With his 1st Company soldiers and the surrounding friendly forces, Morin successfully tore a gap in the second trench and gained a foothold.

As this was the first battle for the training assault battalion after arriving at the Krei front, Morin did not commit the entire battalion to the fight, but instead led the 1st Company to participate in today's attack tentatively.

They quietly left the trench last night, and then, using the shell craters as cover, crawled on their hands and feet to a position close enough to the Gauls' trench, and concealed themselves with even more shell craters.

After the last shell of the day's artillery preparation landed, before even the whistle for the charge sounded from the rear, Morin and the soldiers of the 1st Company had already launched their attack and quickly eliminated several exposed firing positions.
Otherwise, the Saxon soldiers might have suffered even greater casualties in this morning's attack.
However, before Morin and his men could catch their breath after capturing the trench, an even fiercer counterattack from the Gauls followed.

Morin heard a series of clanging bells coming from the third trench. Then, more and more Gallic soldiers surged out of the deeper third trench like a tide, launching a desperate charge.

"The enemy has counterattacked! Hold this position!"

A Saxon lieutenant who rushed over from nearby shouted at the top of his lungs.

Eric and the other surviving ordinary soldiers, under the organization of the instructors of the assault battalion, quickly used the fortifications they had just captured to build a temporary defensive line.

He kept firing, pulling the bolt, ejecting the spent cartridge, loading, aiming, and firing.

He has repeated this set of movements countless times, until it has become as natural as breathing.

One Gallic soldier after another charged forward and fell to his gun. His comrades were dwindling in number, but the Gallic offensive showed no sign of stopping.

The battle has entered its most brutal phase of attrition.

But these Saxon soldiers who stormed into the enemy trenches were clearly no match for the enemy's strength.

Morin leaned against the corner of the trench, quickly changing the magazine of his MP14.

He glanced at the system map, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

On the map, the soldier cards representing friendly units show only his 1st Company and a small number of allied troops, driven deep into the red area representing the Gauls' trenches like a wedge.

Meanwhile, the blue arrows in other directions around them were not following suit; instead, they were slowly retreating.

Clearly, apart from their direction, the attacks of other main assault forces had been repelled by the fierce counterattacks of the Gauls.

Their small force has formed a very dangerous salient.

What made his heart sink even more was that the map showed several red diamond-shaped markers representing enemy armored knights moving rapidly in their direction. Meanwhile, their own 'Siegfried Type 1' units were still locked in a fierce battle with those Holy Grave Knights' machines in the mud, unable to spare any attention.

If the fighting continues, their entire company, along with the hundreds of infantrymen who followed, will likely be surrounded and annihilated by the Gauls.

"We can't go any further."

Morin quickly made a judgment in his mind.

The objective of this attack is impossible to achieve. Continuing to fight to the death here will only increase unnecessary casualties and will not serve any purpose.

As for the training assault battalion's probing attack, they had already obtained enough intelligence.

Morin decisively gave the order to retreat to Klaus beside him.

"Klaus, pass the order to halt the attack and retreat!"

"Yes, battalion commander!"

Klaus nodded and quickly pulled over two messengers who were with him:
"Pass the order: each platoon, take turns retreating! Take all the wounded with you!"

"retreat?"

The lieutenant officer from the 42nd Infantry Regiment who had come to join them looked incredulous upon hearing the order.

"Captain! We've finally made it this far! If we just push a little harder, we can break through their third line of defense!"

The lieutenant's eyes were bloodshot, and he appeared extremely agitated.

"Look around you, Lieutenant!"

Maureen remained unaffected by the other person's emotions and calmly stated:
"Our flanks are completely exposed! The enemy's armored knights are flanking us! Your so-called 'giving it your all' means sending the rest of us to our deaths?"

The lieutenant looked in the direction Morin was pointing and realized that the gunfire from the trenches on both sides had gradually faded away, and their friendly forces had long since disappeared.

The cold reality instantly brought him to his senses, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Follow my orders, Lieutenant."

Morin patted his shoulder heavily and said in a deep voice:
"Now, have your soldiers follow my men and take turns providing cover. We still have a chance to retreat."

"Yes, sir."

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to obey.

Although Morin was not his direct superior, the reputation of the training assault battalion and the astonishing combat power they had just displayed made him subconsciously obey their orders at this critical moment.

The order to retreat was quickly relayed.

The soldiers in the training battalion immediately demonstrated extremely high tactical proficiency.

Working in squads, they used precise bursts of fire and short bursts of submachine gun fire to relentlessly suppress the Gauls' counterattack, creating opportunities for their retreating allies.

The soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Regiment, who had just been fighting to the death, quickly sprang into action after receiving clear orders to retreat. Supporting the wounded, they began to move in an orderly manner to the first trench behind the enemy lines under the cover of the training assault battalion soldiers.

Eric was among the retreating crowd.

He supported a fellow villager who had been shot in the leg, and trudged backward through the muddy, corpse-strewn trench.

A bullet whizzed past his ear, the gust of wind sending a chill down his neck.

He instinctively shrank back, but dared not pause for a moment.

He knew that the soldiers of the training assault battalion in the rear were building an unbreakable barrier for them.

The MG14 light machine gun emitted a steady and rhythmic roar, each roar causing a swarm of Gallic soldiers to fall.

When they successfully retreated back to the first Gaulish trench, Morin had already directed several soldiers to pile up all the military explosives they had carried at the entrances of several communication trenches connecting the front and rear positions.

"Everyone, stand back! Prepare to detonate!"

"Morlin commanded loudly."

The Saxon soldiers withdrew from those trenches as quickly as possible.

As one of the training assault battalion soldiers next to Morin lit the fuse, a series of earth-shattering explosions soon followed.

"Boom--!"

The earth trembled violently, and a huge column of smoke shot into the sky.

The trenches that the Gauls had carefully dug were instantly blasted into several sections, and the rolling mud and stones completely blocked the trenches.

The pursuing Gallic soldiers were blocked by the sudden explosion. They tried to climb the trench, but were immediately shot down by bullets from who-knows-where.

"Good job!"

The lieutenant from the 42nd Regiment slapped his palm excitedly.

This blast could buy the Gauls at least a dozen precious minutes of evacuation time before they could reopen the passage.

Morin ignored his excitement and calmly directed the last batch of soldiers covering the rear to withdraw from the first line of the Gauls' trenches and retreat towards their own positions.

The retreat was equally perilous, as the Gauls' artillery, positioned further back, was also firing in their direction. The soldiers could only use shell craters as cover and crawl forward as quickly as possible.

When Eric felt his lungs were about to burst, he finally mustered all his strength, dragged the wounded soldier, and scrambled into his own trench.

His tense nerves finally relaxed, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

He survived; he crawled back from hell.

He looked around and saw that of the platoon of brothers who had set out, less than a third were still standing.

Not far away, Morin also led the soldiers of the 1st Company into the trench.

His uniform was also covered in mud and blood, but he was in much better condition than the others.

Morin glanced at the heavily damaged positions around him, then looked back at the distant, smoke-filled Gallic defensive line. He slowly shook his head and whispered in a voice only he could hear:
"This way of fighting isn't right."

"The artillery fire did not extend far enough and did not reach the assembly points of the Gauls' reserves."

"The distance they rushed out of the trench was too long. By the time the main force had covered half the distance, the Gauls had already climbed up the trench and were attacking."

"The interval between artillery preparation and infantry charge needs to be shortened."

(End of this chapter)