Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 259 Bloody Battle

"Beep—!"

"The enemy has counterattacked! Prepare for battle!"

Morin blew the whistle hanging around his neck and then yelled at the others to get ready.

The training assault battalion soldiers, who were still excited about the successful breakthrough, almost instantly switched back to their 'combat face'.

They quickly halted their advance and, in shifts, found cover on the spot to build temporary defensive lines.

The assault troops from other infantry regiments following behind them, though not yet accustomed to the rapid shift from offense to defense, instinctively followed suit after seeing the training assault battalion's movements.

The instructors' 'legendary aura' since the start of the war, coupled with the sense of trust they had developed while charging together, led them to instinctively choose obedience.

Eric and his assault team stopped in a collapsed trench.

He nervously half-lay on the ground, then together with his comrades, dragged over several Gaulish corpses and piled them in front of him, pointing their guns at the area still shrouded in smoke.

Before long, they spotted the enemy.

From the smoke ahead, countless blue figures appeared indistinctly.

They crawled out of shell craters, emerged from bombed trenches, and surged out from reserve positions further back.

The number of these Gallic soldiers was so great that it resembled an endless tide.

Many of them were wounded, their blue uniforms stained dark red with blood.

Some people had blood all over their faces, while others had broken arms that hung limply at their sides.

Some were even thrown into the air by the blast wave, leaving one leg crippled, yet they still limped forward with their remaining leg.

The weapons carried by these Gallic soldiers were varied, including rifles, pistols, and some even carried only an entrenching tool or a bayonet.

But on all of their faces was the same, almost insane, determination.

"For Gaul!"

"We have nowhere to retreat! Paris is right behind us!"

"Kill the Saxons!"

A Gallic officer, brandishing his sword, charged at the forefront, roaring at the top of his lungs.

Immediately afterwards, countless soldiers followed him, letting out beast-like roars.

The voice was filled with hatred, anger, and a desperate madness.

Two waves—

One force was the Wilderness Grays, who had just broken through the defenses and were riding high on morale.

One is Gallic blue, which has nowhere to retreat and is forced into a desperate situation.

And so, on this land that had just been ravaged by artillery fire and whose ground was still scorching hot, they collided violently!
"Fire! Fire!"

Morin roared out the order and, at the same time, used a sandbag as cover to pull the trigger of his light machine gun.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta—!"

Meanwhile, the training assault battalion soldiers nearby, as well as many other assault troops, also took cover and opened fire.

A barrage of automatic weapons opened fire, and the dense rain of bullets instantly formed invisible whips of fire that lashed fiercely at the blue wave.

The Gallic soldiers at the forefront fell in droves, their chests blooming with blood.

Blood mingled with mud, staining the land a deeper, darker red.

But those behind seemed oblivious to their companion's death.
They trampled over the corpses of their comrades and continued their frenzied charge forward, their faces showing no fear, only an even more intense madness.

As the distance between the two sides closed, the battle entered its most primitive and brutal phase.

In such a brutal, meat grinder-like confrontation, tactics and skills have lost most of their meaning.

What the two sides are competing in is will and courage, which side can withstand greater casualties, and which side can exhaust the other's blood and lives first.
Fueled by the dual beliefs of 'defense and attack of core territories' and 'the capital is behind us,' the Gallic soldiers unleashed an extremely terrifying fighting spirit.

But the Saxons were clearly better prepared for this final offensive.

Just as the Gallic charge was about to crash against the assault force's defensive line constructed with automatic firepower, a unified roar came from the rear of the assault force!
"Greater Saxony!!!"

"Whoosh—! Hah!!" Immediately afterwards, at this breach less than 2 kilometers wide.

More than 160 soldiers of the General's Guard, wearing heavy plate armor and carrying various weapons, bypassed the soldiers of the training assault battalion at the front and went directly to meet the Gauls' front line!

Within 48 hours, General Mackensen assembled all of the generals’ guards within the First Army and then committed them all to the offensive.

These 'plate armor supermen', who are generally over 1.9 meters tall, have special armor that can easily deflect bullets fired from rifles by Gallic soldiers.

Their specialized automatic weapons, modified from MG08 heavy machine guns, were like the scythe of death, each burst of fire clearing a bloody path through the dense crowd!
Other soldiers of the general's guard, who were not equipped with automatic weapons, raised their Saxon greatswords, which were enchanted just like their armor, and swung them through the air, creating deadly streaks of light.

Each powerful slash that circled around him could easily cleave the Gallic soldiers charging at him in two, spear and all!
They were like a flock of prehistoric beasts charging into a flock of sheep, tearing the Gallic soldiers' hard-won charging formation to shreds in the most savage and violent way!

Behind them, dozens of knights in magically powered armor joined the battle.

Although the knights' squires were not equipped with automatic firearms, their power armor granted them strength and speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

One second they were behind the general's guard, but the next they were like cannonballs, crashing into the densest part of the Gallic soldiers and unleashing a bloodbath.

With each swing of their swords or warhammers, the knights' squires would leave behind a trail of severed limbs.

Perhaps, as auxiliary soldiers of the Armored Knights, they were merely supporting characters or extras in the Armored Knights' civil war.

But when their opponents become ordinary people with flesh and blood, the knights in power armor are an unshakeable force—at least for now.

Although they had not undergone joint training, the squires and the general's guard soldiers quickly formed a large number of combat groups on the front lines, with the squires at the core and several general's guard soldiers assisting them.

They were like unbreakable reefs, and no matter how fierce the Gauls' waves were, they could not shake them in the slightest. Instead, they were smashed to pieces.

The soldiers of the training assault battalion and assault troops, who were originally under tremendous pressure, have now become supporting characters.

The pressure on Morin and his team was greatly reduced after these elite units were deployed to the battle.

They simply needed to split into multiple combat teams, follow behind these 'supermen,' and use their automatic firepower to eliminate any stragglers that had been scattered.

Eric and the assault troops following behind were dumbfounded.

Their reaction was clearly not as quick as the soldiers of the training assault battalion; they were still lying on the ground watching those legendary elite units, who were cutting through enemy lines like gods descending to earth.

"Damn it, stop lying on the ground!"

"Everyone, follow up and continue the attack!"

"Be careful to identify targets, and avoid hitting friendly forces!"

Soon, some of the instructors from the assault battalion turned back and urged the assault troops to continue their attack.

They looked at these ordinary soldiers who seemed a bit dazed and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Upon hearing the voices of the instructors, Eric and his men scrambled to their feet and, as they advanced, raised their rifles and fired at the already routed Gallic soldiers ahead.

At this moment, Morin also saw the 'Siegfried Type 1' with a special crown, piloted by Leonia, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, about 200 meters away from their area.

This conspicuous armored knight, leading another fifteen Teutonic Knights armored knights, rammed head-on into the Gallic armored knights who came to meet them in a wedge formation.

This commander also displayed terrifying combat power; the battle report's claim of "slaying 12 units in a row" is entirely accurate.
During the battle, every time Morin glanced in the direction of the 'mech battle,' he would see the wreckage of another Gallic armored knight appear next to the Grand Commander's armored knight.
"Holy crap, is this some kind of otherworld Char or Amuro?" Morin couldn't help but exclaim in his mind.

However, just as the First Army's 'Sharp Blade' assault group was about to completely crush the Gauls' counterattack and break through all their defenses...

In the very area where Morin and his group were located, a sudden change occurred.

The four general's guards at the forefront had just used their heavy machine guns and greatswords to help a knight's squire break through a Hotchkiss heavy machine gun position hastily set up by Gallic soldiers.

Before they could even pull their swords from the corpses, the ground beneath their feet suddenly and without warning split open a huge gash!

The ditch was deep and long, more than ten meters long, like a monster lurking underground with its mouth wide open.

Caught off guard, the general's guards and the knight's squire, along with dozens of Saxon and Gallic soldiers fighting around them, screamed as they fell in.

Then, to everyone's horror, the cracked ditch began to close slowly, as if controlled by an invisible hand!
"Boom——"

The mud and rocks surged and filled the deep ditch again, completely swallowing up all those struggling and wailing inside.

In an instant, the ground returned to its flat state, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

But the disappearance of the four general's guards, the knight's attendants, and dozens of soldiers was a reality witnessed by everyone!
This bizarre and terrifying scene stunned everyone on the battlefield.

At the same time, a set of diamond-shaped markers representing extremely high-risk units suddenly appeared on Morin's system map!
【The Gallic Republic's Battle Mage Unit - 'Sentinel'】

(End of this chapter)