When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 723 - 681: Cannon!

Moving quickly through the grass, spears and boots constantly clashing with reeds, Tasjin stumbled as if he would lose balance the very next second.

Yet in this chaotic run, others behind him fell behind, tumbling into the water, while he stepped firmly on solid ground.

The sound of whistling cannonballs came once more, Tasjin looked up just in time to see a shadow flicker by, then behind him, mud and dirt splattered like rain.

Feeling the pain of being struck by mud and stones on his back, Tasjin jerked his neck in fear, but gritted his teeth and continued sprinting.

Among the reeds, over a hundred mercenaries sent forward for reconnaissance fled desperately, bullets spraying behind them, while cannonballs kept falling overhead.

Every two or three minutes, a water column or mud column would rise from the puddles and marshes beside them, forcing soldiers who had initially slowed down to leap forward a few more steps.

Four 6-pound cannons and a 12-pound cannon on the water alternately fired, not to bombard enemies in the reeds, but to drive the enemy and cover the assembly of the Divine Punishment Army on the front lines.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it..."

Running, Tasjin couldn't help but mutter curses under his breath. He had experienced many escapes in his life, but this was the most chaotic.

This was the first time he'd seen a catapult capable of firing at such a frequency, speed, and range.

Its appearance was unprecedented—a long iron tube without bowstrings or bow arms, requiring just two or three people to launch grapefruit-sized iron balls.

Upon hearing the buzzing behind him, Tasjin was instinctively alert, lunging forward to lie prone on the ground, just as a large iron ball filled his vision, crashing into the heel of an unlucky fellow ahead.

The iron ball bounced and rolled lightly, instantly sending the unlucky fellow's leg below the knee flying a distance away.

Fortunately, they were in marshland—if it were the rocky terrain around Solaburg, a few bouncing shots could down seven or eight soldiers in the front row.

Yet seeing this, the surrounding soldiers still ran desperately.

"Help me, help me!" the unlucky fellow grabbed Tasjin's ankle, pleading desperately.

Nearly falling from being grabbed, Tasjin furiously kicked the man in the jaw, knocking him out, then quickly dashed towards the main formation.

Passing through the narrow reed grass, he saw 3,000 Extraordinary Foot Combat Knights or elite mercenary Great Swordsmen arranged in tight formation.

Monks within the phalanx shouted loudly, balls of light and blessings fell among the crowd, causing these Extraordinary beings to emit bloodthirsty roars.

Amidst the pre-battle roars, Tasjin lowered his figure but charged forward silently.

Seeing the hunched figure like a mouse, Count Kazi frowned, "Who is that person?"

"Don't know, probably a mercenary heading to scout and hold off the enemy," came the response.

Reflecting on the boom he heard earlier, Count Kazi stroked his gauntlet, saying flatly, "Bring him over, I want to ask about the situation."

"Yes," a knight quickly ran out.

After the instructions, Count Kazi kept a stern face, gazing at the phalanx ahead. Though not as good as he expected, at least it was satisfactory.

These 3,000 were the best soldiers from the Clove Corridor and Black Snake Bay Falan Church, including dismounted Foot Knights and recruited elite mercenaries.

Unlike the half-Extraordinary half-mortal Deng Jia'er Array, this fully armored Extraordinary Foot Combat Phalanx had been the trump card against the Black Snake Bay People over recent years.

Though dismounted, a knight was still a knight, and gathered together, they could even withstand Dragon's Breath with blessings.

Even if a mage attempted to cast spells, they'd likely be killed by scattered demon hunters and archers.

In numerous battles before, Black Snake Bay's army retreated step by step precisely because of this. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Their mages couldn't perform effectively, leaving only infantry to clash head-on.

Speaking of infantry clashing head-on, it perfectly entered Count Kazi's familiar rhythm. Those so-called Pseudo-Pope's Guard, no matter how strong, could they surpass knights trained for decades in foot battle?

Looking at the neatly arranged phalanx, Count Kazi nodded slightly, turning around to see that knight returning empty-handed, his expression darkening, "Where is he?"

"He ran too fast, disappeared," the knight said awkwardly, "but I caught several others saying the opponents had magic catapults capable of firing meteors."

"Meteors?" Count Kazi was puzzled. If there truly were meteors, why not directly bombard the main camp?

If the mercenaries were making it up, why did they concoct identical lies?

"It must be a new magic." Composing himself, Count Kazi instructed the nearby knight, "Have the Demon Hunter Corps flank from the riverbank, the archers too. Once a mage appears, prioritize them."

Since demon hunters could sense spell reactions, they could remain outside of sight, directing archers to focus attacks on the mage's direction, effectively disrupting the casting.

"Send a few brave souls to scout ahead." Count Kazi listened intently for a while, "There should still be enemy vessels on the river firing, this won't do. Have the Snake Faction demon hunters bore holes in their boat bottoms."

Though it felt off, Count Kazi stuck to the original plan.

After all, they had a fully armored Extraordinary phalanx, while their enemy's vanguard only counted two thousand, disordered in formation. There was no reason for defeat.

At this moment, the archers and demon hunters emerged from the underbrush and reed beds. Seeing the distant flags waving, Count Kazi knew the time had come.

"Advance all troops, actively engage, don't let them regroup."

With Count Kazi's command, he led the supervision team at the rear, heading towards the reed fields ahead.

Iron boots sunk half an inch into the wet mud with each step, yet the knights, who had marched for a day and night, were exceptionally energized.

As the horn call constantly stirred the air, the 60x50 phalanx slowly entered its designated position on the battlefield.

"Glory and loyalty!"

The knights erupted into a thunderous battle cry, the banners waving like blazing suns, armor and plumes swaying densely within the phalanx, appearing as a sea of banners and plumes.

The war cry of over 3,000 converged as one, prompting even Count Kazi at the rear to join in the roaring.

Amidst the mountain-like war cry, the Divine Punishment Army and Imperial Guard stood silent like sheep.

On the battlefield, their ears were filled only with officers' orders, devoid of prior enthusiasm.

The two armies were stark opposites—numb in march, spirited in battle; spirited in march, numb on the battlefield.

Through layers of conveyed orders, fourteen hawk cannons moved forward, aiming at the densely packed marching phalanx several hundred meters away.

Despite the soft terrain, the hawk cannons weighed only 400 pounds. With widened wheels on their carriages, three to five people could push them forward.

Meanwhile, Sandsculpture Cannons remained at the rear, yet to enter firing position.

Partly due to the Sandsculpture Cannon's heaviness making transport on mud challenging, and partly because the temporary hydraulic winding machine could only wind small hawk cannons. The spring warehouse for Sandsculpture Cannons was limited.

Watching those dozen iron tubes on the mudflat, Count Kazi contemplated for a while before hesitantly questioning himself, "Large-scale spring gun?"

Before he and the demon hunters could confirm, amidst a sudden gust, a fist-sized cannonball swiftly flew from one of those long tubes.