The artillery bombardment, unmatched in range and intensity, lasted for about half an hour before finally ceasing. Under the fierce bombardment of the Kingdom of Britain, the temporary artillery positions constructed by Russia offered no protection whatsoever. The dust and black gunpowder smoke filled the entire artillery position.

Nearly a hundred guns of the Russian Empire were utterly reduced to a heap of scrap metal under the vastly superior firepower of the Kingdom of Britain. The precious artillerymen of the Russian Empire also suffered heavy losses, either being directly blown to pieces by shells, having their limbs "blown" off by shockwaves, or some becoming completely deaf due to continuous explosions rupturing their eardrums.

When the smoke cleared, Pavlov immediately realized that his artillerymen were likely all finished.

The dire situation did not stop there; due to the prolonged bombardment by the Kingdom of Britain, the morale of the soldiers within the position was also weakened by the relentless shelling.

At this moment, Pavlov had the thought of retreating.

After all, his objective was merely to pin down the British-Turkish Army at the Joya River, and a temporary success due to a sudden attack was already a stroke of luck. Now it was time to consider retreating.

However, Pavlov was somewhat reluctant to retreat directly. He had already advanced this far, and if he could just hold on a little longer until the main forces from Bakhchisaray arrived, he could advance to the North Shore of Sevastopol.

As long as I can hold this position!

Desire occupied Pavlov’s mind, driving away all his rationality.

At this time, he was like a gambler, full of confidence, who had bet all his wealth along with the previously won stakes.

If he could anchor himself firmly like a nail on this position, then he could advance in rank and reach the peak of his career.

Of course, during this phase, countless soldiers would inevitably lose their lives due to his actions, but what of it?

As the saying goes, for a general to succeed, thousands perish.

Pavlov was about to pave his road to becoming a famous general with the blood of Russian soldiers.

Just when Pavlov confidently thought he could hold the position, Marshal Lagren ordered his artillery to readjust their aim, targeting the Russian Empire’s positions this time.

He wanted the Russians on the battlefield to understand that cannons were not a product unique to Russia.

The Kingdom of Britain also possessed artillery, and the quality and precision of British artillery far surpassed theirs!

After about 10 minutes, the Brigadier General of the artillery reported to Marshal Lagren, "Your Excellency, the artillery has been completely readjusted! Ready to fire!"

"Show them your might!" Commander Lagren commanded sternly.

"Yes, sir!" The artillery Brigadier General saluted Commander Lagren and departed.

A slightly pale Marshal Lagren couldn’t help but cough violently, and Marshal Renio, standing beside him, quickly came over to support him and gently patted Marshal Lagren’s back.

"Getting old! Getting old!" Marshal Lagren shook his head and lamented, "Back in the day, I could work for days and nights without sleep, and now I’ve only stood for a while and I’m already exhausted!"

"Time spares no one!" Marshal Renio also sighed. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Indeed!" Marshal Lagren nodded, his eyes revealing a hint of nostalgia, and his tone unconsciously became somber, "When our generation is gone, few will remember that legendary era! People will only hear snippets about it in the history books..."

"Lagren, I’ve never believed that!" Marshal Renio spoke with a hint of nostalgia for the past. "I believe that legendary era will never be forgotten! It will become a sparkling gem in our human history!"

Born at the end of the Great Revolution and growing up during the Napoleonic Empire, Marshal Renio believed that the new ideas born from the Great Revolution had quietly transformed the world.

No one could erase that legendary era, and the kings and generals who emerged from it would undoubtedly be remembered by history.

"Let’s hope so!" Marshal Lagren responded with a bitter smile to Marshal Renio.

"Moreover, although the legendary era has ended, it doesn’t mean it won’t ever reappear! It’s people who shape the eras, and I believe that more and more will emerge in the future to create legends!" Marshal Renio responded confidently to Marshal Lagren, "The future will definitely be better than the past!"

Marshal Lagren smiled and remained silent, living in the past, he slightly disagreed with what Marshal Renio said, but he was unwilling to argue.

The second round of shelling began amidst the conversation between Marshal Renio and Marshal Lagren, and the Russian Empire’s morale began to decline under the bombardment from the Kingdom of Britain.

Nobody was willing to face the power of shells with flesh and blood, so some soldiers of the Russian Empire, leaning their bodies against sandbags, closed their eyes and began to pray.

The meticulously constructed fortifications by the Kingdom of Britain were demolished by their own hands, and the smoke rose again.

Sitting in the temporary command post, Commander Pavlov watched the bombarded positions through binoculars while praying that the forces from Bakhchisaray would arrive soon.

While Commander Pavlov anxiously awaited the arrival of reinforcements from Bakhchisaray, the adjutant he had sent to Bakhchisaray coincidentally arrived there at this time.

The adjutant, entering the command center of Bakhchisaray, immediately reported to Grand Duke Mikhail and his military adviser, Marshal Jomini.

"Has something happened at the Joya River?" Mikhail immediately asked the adjutant.

"Your Highness, indeed, there has been a small incident!" The adjutant quickly informed Mikhail of the events at the Joya River.

A look of joy instantly appeared on Mikhail’s face, and he patted the adjutant on the shoulder, saying, "Well done!"

Jomini also showed a hint of surprise on his face; Pavlov’s actions on the Joya River were going much more smoothly than he had planned.

"Your Highness, I am here on Commander Pavlov’s order to seek your assistance. We hope you can dispatch troops to Bakhchisaray immediately. As long as the action is swift, we can enter Sevastopol!!" the adjutant pleaded with Mikhail.

"Teacher Jomini, what do you think?" Mikhail immediately asked Jomini for his opinion.

Jomini pondered for a moment and then said to the adjutant, "If you take the north shore of Sevastopol, how will you deal with the ships and cannons anchored in the port?"

"This..." The adjutant was clearly stumped by Jomini’s question; they indeed had no means to deal with the cannons.

Faced with the adjutant’s silence, Marshal Jomini spoke again, "I will send you two more divisions to the Joya River to help you take Sevastopol!! However, you must hold that area firmly until the troops arrive!"

"Rest assured, we will do our utmost!" The adjutant hurriedly promised Jomini.

After the adjutant left the command center, Mikhail curiously asked Jomini if he had any way to defend against the ship cannons.

Jomini told Mikhail that he had no means either.

But if the Russian Army could force its way onto the north shore of Sevastopol, that would also be good.

At least it could somewhat weaken the war potential of the north shore, which is better than doing nothing.

Besides, his original plan didn’t have a way to combat the naval port fleet either.

"Let’s do as you say!" Mikhail nodded and said to Marshal Jomini, "I’m a bit tired, so I’ll go back to rest now! Call me when it’s time to set out!"

Grand Duke Mikhail and Jomini did not expect that this mobilization would take them a lot of time, causing them to miss the best time for the attack.

...

At this time, Pavlov didn’t know that he needed to hold out for at least another 6 or 7 hours before he could receive support from Bakhchisaray.

In his mind, he needed to hold out for at most 2 hours.

At 6 p.m., when the sunset had left only the last glow of twilight, the British artillery finally ceased its bombardment after almost an hour.

At the same time, under the leadership of Major General Ebel, a regiment of the Highland Brigade of Britain’s forces, along with the Zuav Corps led by Major General Bazan, appeared at the foot of the mountain.

"Attack!" Largren and Renio immediately gave orders to the adjutant beside them.

The adjutant rode to Ebes and Bazan to convey the command from the marshals.

"Attack!" Bazan and Ebes shouted loudly at the same time.

The Zuav Corps and the Highland Brigade began advancing toward the position of the Russian Empire.

In the temporary command post, Pavlov reflexively wanted to use artillery to annihilate these two forces, only to find that he had no artillery at his disposal.

The Zuav Corps and the Highland Brigade managed to reach the effective shooting range of the Minie Gun and Lee-Enfield Rifle without much obstruction, where they stopped and began loading ammunition.

The Russian Army on the position immediately pulled the trigger to attack the Anglo-French Army. Due to the different rifle range between the Russian and Anglo-French troops, the Russian Army often found it difficult to hit the Anglo-French forces at the same distance, whereas the Anglo-French troops could easily hit them.

This time was no exception; the bullets of the Russian Empire, other than hitting a few "lucky ones" (which could also be called unlucky ones), hardly eliminated anyone.

When the Anglo-French Army was ready, they formed two to three ranks on the commander’s orders.

"Fire!" The commander gave the shooting order to the Anglo-French soldiers.

The Anglo-French troops almost pulled the trigger in unison; gunshots echoed, and wails resounded from the Russian Empire’s lines.

Using the rifles with a range far superior to those of the Russian Empire, England, and France eliminated over a hundred enemies in the first round of firing. The Russian Empire soldiers who remained on the position, seeing the precise shooting of the Highland Brigade and the Zuav Corps, trembled even more.

"Quick! Quickly order them to shoot! Do not let them come up!" Pavlov, seeing the Russian soldiers who did not dare to show themselves on the position, erupted with fury and hastily ordered the adjutant.

"Yes!" The adjutant saluted Pavlov and immediately ran towards the position.

However, he was somewhat unlucky. When the adjutant reached the vicinity of the position, a bullet happened to hit his head, and he fell to the ground.

The Russian Empire soldiers were even more terrified of the Highland Brigade and Zuav Corps, who managed to reach the vicinity of the position with little obstruction.

The Highland Brigade and Zuav Corps quickly entered the position and engaged in close-quarters combat with the soldiers of the Russian Empire.