Across a distance of roughly four hundred meters, the
Even the battle-hardened
Nine squares, each estimated to hold a battalion's strength, meant only twenty-odd thousand troops. It seemed the Norton Family had indeed suffered greatly in their battles against the magical beast tide. So why deploy such a pitiful force for an open-field engagement? Were they gambling everything in desperation? Or like cornered dogs, smashing a cracked pot—planning to drag him down with them in a mutual destruction?
At this thought, the Second Prince immediately decided to hold his position. His Kingdom's First Army would maintain a defensive stance for now. If the Norton forces made no move shortly, he could order Count Kenmais or
Right now, the Second Prince was already considering whether to pull the private armies of the Northland nobles, currently arrayed behind his First Army, to the front to face the Norton forces. That way, should battle erupt, his Kingdom's core military strength wouldn't be the one taking casualties.
"Your Highness, the Norton Family is certainly wealthy. Look—their soldiers are all wearing brand-new, gleaming silver armor that covers the entire body. The protection is quite comprehensive. Tsk, tsk, tsk..." This was spoken by Luinsi, a venerated guest of the Iberian royal family who, in name, was an honored guest but served, in practice, as the Second Prince's personal bodyguard. Without his presence as a Great Swordmaster, the originally Golden Knight Baron Shahin Henne would never have meekly submitted to staying by the Second Prince's side for so long.
Only then did the Second Prince shift his gaze onto the Norton soldiers. The sight instantly filled him with mingled envy and hatred. The defensive armor worn by an ordinary Norton soldier was even more comprehensive than that of some of his own knights—it looked more high-end and aesthetically pleasing. Each man was a walking, gleaming tin can.
"Hmph! The Norton Family is so rich they don't know what to do with their money, so they pour it all into armor for their soldiers. After all, they have to rely on these men to fend off the magical beast tide. The better the protection, the more willing these family soldiers will be to fight those savage beasts. No matter—these shiny silver suits will soon be mine. I'll use the captured armor to form an Imperial Guard Corps. They'll stay right by my side..." The Second Prince gripped his riding crop tightly, whipping it viciously through the air, as if those gleaming suits of silver would soon fall into his grasp.
"Your Highness, look quickly! What is that? War chariots?" Great Swordmaster Luinsi alerted the Second Prince. The battlefield had changed once more.
The Second Prince snapped back to his senses and raised his head, only to see a scene of rumbling chariots and neighing horses on the Norton Family's side. Countless dark war chariots pushed through the gaps between the three infantry formations and rolled up to the very front of the position, lining up in a single row. They didn't seem to care about any formation discipline—they simply parked one after another in a neat line, even positioning themselves in front of the cavalry formations on both flanks and continuing to spread outward.
These war chariots were shaped like large open-topped wooden boxes. Sitting at the front of each was a driver clad in the same silver armor. Behind him stood two soldiers carrying gleaming silver kite shields and long spears, and from the look of it, there were two more in the back. One chariot, two horses, five soldiers.
"Ha ha! So this is the Norton Family's trump card?" The Second Prince burst into wild laughter. "They think these chariots can go toe-to-toe with my army of a hundred thousand? Has that stupid bear of the Northland mistaken us for magical beasts? Their brains must have rusted over... Ha ha... This is just too foolish. Have they been cut off from the human world for so long?"
"Your Highness, what do you mean?" Great Swordmaster Luinsi still didn't quite understand what the Second Prince was mocking.
"My dear Luinsi, as a Great Swordmaster, you've devoted yourself entirely to the way of the sword, so matters of military affairs aren't exactly your forte. It's quite obvious. The Norton Family intends to use the open, flat terrain of this battlefield to spring a surprise on us with their chariot corps. They want to exploit two advantages of chariots—their strong defenses and fast mobility—to charge through or crash into our defensive line, then have the rest of their troops follow up and mop up. Victory would then be easily within reach..." The Second Prince explained.
"What's wrong with that?" The Great Swordmaster still didn't get it.
The Second Prince felt exhausted—especially having to explain tactics to a military layman. "My dear Luinsi, you don't understand. Hundreds of years ago, humans already abandoned chariots on the battlefield as an impractical relic. No matter how high their defense or how fast they move, within the range of a longbow, the horses pulling the chariots are the perfect targets.
Once the horses collapse, they'll drag down or block the chariots on either side and behind them during the charge. Often a single overturned chariot can trigger a chain collision—several, even a dozen chariots crashing together is quite the rare spectacle on the battlefield. To avoid that, you'd need to widen the gaps between chariots, but then you lose the impact force against a defensive formation...
The Family thinks we're magical beasts. Chariots can indeed deal with magical beasts, since beasts don't have ranged attacks or tactical maneuvering. But trying to use chariots against us? Keep dreaming."
"So chariots have so many shortcomings. And here I was thinking riding one would look rather impressive. Your Highness, once we've won, get me one to play with... Er... Your Highness, look over there—are those two enormous ones also chariots?" The Great Swordmaster gazed with the utmost curiosity at two massive chariots that had appeared on the Norton Family's side, slowly being pulled into the gaps between the three infantry formations by a dozen draft horses before coming to a stop.
...
Well, all of this was
It wasn't that Lorist looked down on the ten-thousand-strong allied army of Northland nobles led by the Second Prince—it was that the steel crossbow chariots in his possession were simply too overpowered. Five chariot regiments, five hundred chariots per regiment. The entire chariot corps boasted two thousand five hundred steel crossbows, each with a direct-fire range of three hundred and twenty meters. The only thing Lorist was curious about was how many volleys the Kingdom's First Army, assembled by the Second Prince, could withstand under the steel crossbow barrage...
And so, Lorist had been careless. He had underestimated his Family Knights' eagerness for battle. The moment the horn sounded for deployment, Bodfinge's three heavy infantry regiments, Tiger Ross's three lance cavalry regiments,
Fortunately, those fellows hadn't completely lost their minds. They at least knew to form up and wait rather than charging straight into the enemy's formations. Lorist hastily ordered Malek, the chariot corps commander, to lead the chariot regiments forward to form up.
Earl was causing trouble again. He insisted on bringing forward the two massive super steel crossbows crafted by Master Farin to let them see some bloodshed. He directed his guards to push and pull the two enormous flatbed chariots across the castle gate's drawbridge, and after much effort finally got them onto the battlefield.
"Look, Locke, it's not that I'm being stubborn—it's that I want to test the maximum range of these two super steel crossbows. Master Farin said they can direct-fire over five hundred meters. Think about it: we put a couple of rounds into the enemy's command center. That would really shake things up. It might even work in one stroke, just like the decapitation tactic you mentioned. Without their commander, the enemy would collapse without a fight..." Earl said.
Forget it, let him play however he wants. The battle was already in the bag anyway, and Lorist couldn't be bothered to argue with Earl.
"Whatever you dragged out here, you drag back when it's done." Lorist yawned. He had been a bit too enthusiastic with Lady Tressy last night and still didn't feel like he'd had enough sleep.
"Alright, Malek, once the chariot corps has finished forming up, launch the attack. Go command it. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest. We still have the Black Mud Swamp to develop after this," Lorist said to Malek, who was riding alongside the flatbed chariot.
"Yes, my lord." Malek performed a knight's salute, hand to chest, then turned his horse and rode forward.
Lorist sat down idly on the flatbed chariot. He could hear Earl barking directions: "That central banner — the one with the crown emblem — that's the second prince's standard. The fellow's definitely underneath it. Aim right there and…"
"My lord, I really can't see that far," the super steel crossbow's shooter complained.
Well, fair enough. Anyone who could make out details at five hundred meters wasn't human — they were an eagle.
"You useless fool, what kind of eyes do you have? And you call yourself a shooter? Someone else, someone with better eyes!" Earl cursed, clearly irritated.
After much hassle they finally got it sorted. Earl jumped off the chariot and dashed toward another super steel crossbow, but before leaving he grabbed a guard to take over his command: "Once I've got mine ready, I'll wave for you to fire — and you fire immediately too, got it…"
The horn sounded. The front rank of chariot crossbows rolled forward about ten meters, then stopped. Then the second rank moved, followed by the third. Three ranks of chariots, each adjusting their firing arcs.
The drums began, and the assault was underway. Until the drums fell silent, every chariot crossbow was to keep firing — the only exception being a mechanical malfunction. No stopping otherwise.
On every chariot, the two shield bearers at the front crouched low, revealing the loaded steel crossbows behind them…
*Thoom thoom thoom thoom thoom…*
The unceasing hum of steel bowstrings rang out…
Countless black arrow shadows streaked across nearly three hundred meters of open ground, plunging straight into the waiting ranks of the Kingdom's First Legion. Screams erupted as one line of soldiers toppled forward, black iron bolts jutting from their bodies. Several more had been pierced clean through, their torsos transformed into gruesome pincushions…
The Kingdom's First Legion reacted swiftly. Horns blared, and two wings of ranger cavalry surged forward, clearly attempting to exploit the slow reload cycle of the chariot crossbows to crash into the chariot formation and spare their central infantry from a second volley of slaughter…
Lorist, seated atop a massive flatbed chariot, curled his lip. The Second Prince's Kingdom's First Legion was indeed well-trained, but he had seriously underestimated the advancement of the chariot steel crossbows. From one volley to the next, reloading never took more than forty seconds — and that included the time for the marksmen to aim.
It was just like loading an old-fashioned air rifle in his previous life. A lever mechanism re-cocked the steel crossbow in a single motion, and an assistant slotted in an iron bolt. Then it was ready to aim and fire again.
*Thoom thoom thoom thoom thoom…*
This was the second volley from the chariot steel crossbows. The two ranger cavalry regiments that had just reached the front of the battlefield were sent tumbling — horses and riders scattered across a field of carnage…
Aside from a few stubbornly resilient horses still shrieking with bolts in their flesh, the entire battlefield suddenly fell deathly silent. Even the trailing waves of the two ranger regiments halted their charge. They had no idea what to do. With over three hundred meters of open ground still separating the armies, pressing forward meant enduring at least four or five more volleys of arrows. This wasn't a battle — it was a massacre…
The horns sounded again with sharp urgency, and the longbowmen of the Kingdom's First Legion surged to the fore. Standing amid the bodies of their fallen comrades, they unleashed a raining volley with fury in their hearts.
Perhaps the longbows issued to the Kingdom's First Legion were somewhat lacking in quality. Thousands of feathered arrows arced down from the sky and peppered a wide stretch of ground in front of the chariot formation, but only a sparse handful actually landed among the chariots themselves. The draft horses were armored with arrow-resistant barding, and the steel crossbows had shielded guards for protection. Aside from one unlucky pack horse that caught an arrow in the hindquarters, this longbow barrage achieved that single hit as its only result.
"Thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum..."
The third volley was launched, and the dense formation of longbowmen—already preparing to advance further due to their insufficient range—caved in as though punched squarely in the face. More than half of the ranks collapsed inward in an instant. On either side, the lucky few longbowmen who had survived by the skin of their teeth trembled as they stared at the ghastly sight of bodies strewn across the center. With a sudden cry, they flung down their bows, abandoned their arrows, and turned to run. They had broken...
"Thrum... thrum..." Two enormous bowstring sounds rang out—El had finally gotten the two super steel crossbows to fire. This time around, two more trembling shooters had joined the ranks, shaking like rain-soaked quails.
However, something that even Lorist had not anticipated occurred. After the two super steel crossbows fired, the great banner bearing the crown emblem of the Iberian royal house toppled over, and chaos erupted in the rear of the Kingdom's First Legion...
Baron Shahin's forces, positioned on the left flank of the Kingdom's First Legion—two Family Knight contingents belonging to Sir Hened and Baron
"Thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum..."
This was the fourth volley. Three short horn blasts sounded while the drums had not yet ceased—it was time for the chariot formation to advance another thirty meters and continue firing...
"Thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum..."
"Thrum thrum thrum thrum thrum..."
After the fifth and sixth rounds of chariot crossbow fire, every last surviving member of the enemy army had already turned and begun to flee...
The drums finally fell silent, replaced by the sharp blare of a horn – the signal to pursue the fleeing enemy.
"Norton!..." Cheers erupted as the lancers, rangers, horse archers, and knights surged forward in pursuit of the retreating foes.
Erl leaped down from the flatbed chariot beside him, jumped onto a waiting mount, and bellowed, "All mounted retainers, charge! Capture prisoners!"
"What kind of madness has gotten into this guy? Why is he so worked up? And shouldn't he be shouting 'kill them all'? That's usually the easier cry to rally behind. Why 'capture prisoners'?" Lorist turned his face in bewilderment, only to see Redy struggling to contain his laughter.
Redy had begun following Lorist at the age of sixteen. Four years had passed, and as Lorist's first disciple, he had only recently advanced to the Silver rank a dozen days ago. He was promptly taken in as a Family Knight by Lorist, making him the youngest knight of the Norton Family.
"What are you laughing at?" Lorist asked.
"My Lord, you've forgotten what you yourself said. You said in the Norton Family, only criminals and prisoners can be put to labor..." Redy reminded him.
*Damn it!* Lorist suddenly realized the truth. He instantly understood why his family knights were so eager for battle, why they were so excited at the news of war. It turned out they were all itching to capture more prisoners to take their place in the grueling labor of reclaiming the Black Mud Swamp. No wonder Bodfanger, speaking on behalf of the knights, had vowed to capture many prisoners, and even Erl's battle cry had been "Capture prisoners!"
Lorist chuckled, cursing under his breath, "These guys..."
…(To be continued.)