Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 848 - 90 Breaking the Formation

Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Big Horn River, the dam.

The signal flag was raised.

“Enemy attack!” The lookout madly rushed down the hillside, yelling with all his might, “Cavalry!”

Once extended to the West Bank, the dam was attacked from both sides.

Thus, Tamas had built a small fortress on the West Bank beachhead, personally overseeing it.

With the flood imminent, most of the defensive forces on the West Bank had already retreated. Amid the death-knell-like alarm, the remaining warriors hurriedly grabbed their weapons and ran up to the walls.

“Signal the East Bank,” Tamas spat from atop the West Bank fortress, “Blow up the dam early if something is wrong.”

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Cavalry continuously leaped out from the horizon at the valley’s edge, not even bothering to reform ranks, charging straight for the dam.

The leading cavalryman, tall and burly, sat on a small Herde horse, resembling a bear riding a rabbit.

Atop the fortress wall, a young boy skillfully fixed the match, steadied the gun, and held his breath to aim.

The enemy drew closer, already breaching a hundred steps.

Just as the boy was about to press the firing lever, his match was forcefully yanked away by the Sergeant Major beside him—Peter the Dwarf Bunir.

Tamas’s cry of alarm rang beside his ear, “Don’t shoot! It’s one of ours!”

However, a few musketeers were startled by the sudden shout and directly pulled the trigger.

Dull gunshots echoed over the river, and the wall spewed white smoke.

“[Extremely angry expletive]!” Lieutenant Andrea Cherini’s roar pierced through the smoke, echoing throughout the fortress, “Which bastard fired at me!”

…

At the foot of Tiefeng Mountain, the battlefield where two armies faced off.

After several probes, the people of Terdon had roughly gauged the enemy’s reality.

While the enemy’s left, center, and right wings seemed similar in flags and numbers, their central troops were far more disciplined, unshaken even by cavalry charges.

From Terdon’s main formation, positioned on high, one could see white smoke billowing from the center of the enemy’s arrow formation.

“Herde Language There.” A Green Plumed Feathers warrior spoke gravely, “Herde Language How can there be so many small thunder?”

Another Green Plumed Feathers quietly replied, “Herde Language And they fire so uniformly.”

For small thunder, leaders of various factions grew pale at its mention. Warriors once able to charge repeatedly through arrows thanks to their sturdy armor now only fell before randomly flying lead shot.

Compared to the past, leaders today rarely led charges into battle.

The elite in the enemy’s center should not be underestimated, but the prowess of the wings was clearly lacking.

Merely a hundred cavalry swept through, and the lines of the two wings began to falter, with no simultaneous smoke plumes seen.

According to Terdon nobility, they preferred not to engage directly with two-legs.

However, as the army passed, villages had been preemptively burned, and populations moved. The enemy would rather turn their homes to scorched earth than let the people of Terdon take anything.

Khan Court was on the verge of starvation, and morale was unstable—rumors of an attack on the old camp spread wildly, becoming more rampant the more they were suppressed.

In unseen corners, the tribe whispered among themselves, some claimed it was the work of the Haidong Tribe, others suggested a stealth attack by the Suz Tribe, while others believed the Red River Tribe had acted.

Regarding which tribe the other party belonged to, opinions varied, but one consensus was clear: something major had happened at the winter pasture; otherwise, Khan Court wouldn’t be so secretive.

Under these circumstances, Revodan failed to break through in one go, desiring a decisive battle yet unable to achieve it, essentially declaring the winter plundering a failure.

Only one path lay before the Terdon Tribe—retreat. Preserving life meant there was always a chance to return.

But it was truly too hard to accept! Truly too intolerable!

From the fire makers down, everyone in Terdon Khan Court knew they must run, yet no one was willing to spit out the meat already in their mouths.

On the other hand, Winters could continue to wait. As long as the dam completed and stored water, the Terdon people threatened in their retreat route would have no choice but to withdraw.

At this crucial moment, Winters decided to take the offensive.

When he pushed all his chips forward, he also forced the fire makers to make a choice: sever a limb to survive, or… likewise stake all their chips for a complete turnaround.

Regardless of what drove them, or what tactics ensued, both parties had arrived at this battlefield, barely two kilometers wide.

Thus, the decisive battle commenced.

…

Horsemen from Terdon, armed with bows and riding light, grouped in threes and fives, galloped in front of the trenches.

They alternated between drawing bows for rapid shots and vicious charges, moving far and near, clustering then scattering, like crows circling over carcasses.

In addition to these “star-scattering crows,” several squads of heavily armored cavalry took turns charging the flanks of the Iron Peak County Military.

The tactics of the heavily armored cavalry contrasted starkly with the unarmored light cavalry; they formed dense lines, smashing against the Iron Peak County people’s lines like towering waves.

Many rookie militiamen were so frightened they nearly wet themselves on the spot, fortunate that Winters had a batch of veterans who had experienced barbarian tactics.

“What are you scared of? They’re all just trying to intimidate us! The savages won’t dare charge directly!” A military officer cursed, iron in his tone, unaware that last time, it was they who had gone weak at the knees.

Relying on lower-level commanders and military discipline, the flanks did not collapse outright.

Seeing they couldn’t shake the two-legs, the front squadron of Terdon armored cavalry immediately swept across in formation, and the next squadron charged. If still unable to penetrate, the following squadrons continued the pattern.

Winters suddenly spoke while watching, “Send food and drink down to each camp.”

The surrounding clerks and guards looked at each other, unsure how to execute this command. Winters saw no one moving; he turned his head around, yet still, no one moved.