Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 701: Short-Range Engagement

TL: Rui88

“Ordo expects every man to do his duty!”

The message from Paul stirred a small debate among the generals in Crystal Shine.

“I admit, the Count’s words are very inspiring, but is it not a bit presumptuous for him to say them?”

A hint of sourness arose in the hearts of some; they were nobles from the royal capital of Crystal Shine, the true and proper representatives of the kingdom.

Paul Grayman, on the other hand, was merely the lord of a corner of the Northwest.

Many quietly looked towards the person they considered most qualified to say such words, Princess Catherine.

The princess’s face was flushed, showing a most unusual excitement. Her rosy lips parted and closed, as if she were repeatedly savouring the phrase.

Ofina cleared her throat loudly, reminding everyone, “Count Grayman is the Royal Family’s son-in-law, so it’s not wrong for him to say that!”

The crowd felt a little more at ease.

At that moment, the orc cavalry drew ever closer. They began to quicken their pace, and the thick dust they kicked up blotted out the sky, a heart-stopping sight to behold.

Many who had experienced the battle of Sunset Valley began to tremble. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

It was also at this time that the god of war let out a roar!

Under the unified command of Bryce, the director of artillery, all the cannons opened fire at almost the same instant.

In a moment, dozens of projectiles flew towards the orc cavalry, showering the humans’ fury upon the enemy.

These cannons were not positioned to face the enemy head-on; each was turned at a specific angle, forming a terrifying crossfire.

The orc cavalry, just beginning their charge, was immediately hit by a stunning blow. Cannonballs whistled and bounced through the air and across the ground. Neither the magnificent warhorses nor their masters upon their backs, being of flesh and blood, could withstand these deadly metal creations.

Severed limbs and bloody foam flew together. The warhorses in the bombarded area were spooked, and no matter how their riders tried, they could not control the beasts as they ran about madly.

Chaos erupted in several parts of the orc army. Panicked warhorses collided with others, and some riders were even thrown from their mounts, only to be trampled into pulp by the unstoppable steeds of their comrades behind them.

Such a large-scale artillery barrage had achieved an effect that was somewhat surprising to both sides.

But for a charging force of tens of thousands of cavalry, this was still only a minor ripple.

The orc cavalry continued its charge, unstoppable, and even the earth began to tremble.

Catherine anxiously looked towards Paul’s position. The enemy’s objective was very clear: to tear apart the infantry in the centre. Could those Northwesterners withstand it?

The Alda army in the centre began to change its formation. Eight battalions, 4,000 men, transformed into two hollow squares in a short period. Because they had previously communicated their combat methods, this formation did not surprise their allies’ commanders, but the speed of the change was dumbfounding.

The allied infantry from other territories had already formed squares long before the orcs began their attack, their long spears like a forest, facing outwards on all four sides, with the archers enclosed in the middle.

The only order Schroeder had given them was to hold their ground and not move an inch.

The Alda artillery fired a second round, and the thick gunpowder smoke almost completely obscured their entire front.

The sight of the swirling mist and the casualties from the cannonballs greatly intimidated many of the orc cavalry, as if some man-eating monster was hidden behind the thick smoke.

But they were only a few hundred metres from the human infantry line. In just a little while, they would be able to toy with these weaklings with their superb riding skills, no matter how powerful their weapons were.

The third round of firing began. Unlike before, the orc cavalry at the very front seemed to hit an invisible, transparent wall of air, so much so that it looked as if the entire army had stalled for a moment.

The Alda artillery had fired canister shot. Countless metal pellets rained down, sending the orc cavalry and their horses tumbling. The effect was even greater than the solid shot from before.

This volley caused immense chaos among the enemy, even briefly halting the offensive to a certain extent.

The cavalry behind witnessed the fate of their comrades in front and reined in their mounts to slow down. Their actions undoubtedly blocked the comrades further back, and there were even instances of large numbers of horses crowding together.

“Sound the horns!”

The orc commander, Kalem, was enraged by the sight and urged his men to continue the attack.

“Quick! Another round!”

Bryce, on the other hand, was overjoyed. By his estimates, the speed of the orc cavalry’s attack would only allow the artillery to fire three times, but the enemy’s reaction had bought them time for one more round.

As the cannons roared, another volley of canister shot was unleashed upon the enemy as they were reforming, knocking down a large number of cavalrymen along with their horses. But urged on by the horns, the orcs launched their attack anew.

The Alda artillerymen retreated into the hollow infantry squares as planned, leaving the heavy cannons behind.

The orc cavalry was now within a hundred metres!

“Fire!”

Under a chorus of commands, the sides of the two squares facing the enemy began to fire. The first rank, after firing, immediately knelt and propped their muskets on the ground with the stock, pointing their sharp bayonets outwards.

The first wave of orc cavalry to reach the front lines, or their mounts, were shot and screamed miserably, but they provided cover for their comrades behind them.

The two sides engaged in close combat!

Paul was covered in a cold sweat, forcing himself to remain calm as he watched his soldiers face the test of life and death.

Fortunately, the cinematic scene he had imagined of cavalry charging recklessly at high speed into the formation did not happen.

He still remembered the stunning scene of the cavalry charge in The Lord of the Rings, where the Rohirrim rode at high speed, crashing head-on into the forest of orc spears, breaking through the defence like a hot knife through butter, sending the enemy flying. And after breaking through, their momentum did not diminish, and they continued to rampage through the dense enemy ranks for a great distance.

If the orc cavalry of this world were as fierce as the Rohirrim, his side’s thin hollow squares would surely be pierced in an instant, then turned into pools of meat paste under sabres and hooves—of course, the orc side would certainly have to pay a heavy price as well.

In the scene before him, however, the orc cavalry’s fighting style was more akin to that of the French army in Waterloo. They did not charge the squares head-on, but instead turned their horses in time, moving constantly along the edges of the squares. Some would slow down, exchanging a few blows with the Alda soldiers holding bayonets before breaking away. Some merely feinted, while others drew their bows and shot arrows.

The most crucial part of the confrontation between cavalry and infantry was the psychological game. Faced with an overwhelming cavalry charge, infantry would often break before the enemy even got close, exposing their backs to be slaughtered by cavalry who were much faster than them.

The orcs discovered the large gaps between the squares, and a large number of cavalry immediately poured in, like water flowing along a ditch. They were attempting to perform the cavalry’s specialty—attacking from the flank or the rear.

In an instant, the squares were surrounded by them, seemingly isolated and helpless.