N-M #572 - For Freedom (6k chapters)
#572 - For Freedom (6k chapters)
"It's Prince Kong Dai, that dog of a prince!"
From the earthen mounds on either side, a holy marksman couldn't help but shout, and the eyes of all the holy marksmen immediately converged on the knight wearing purple-red feathered tassels on his helmet.
He was over two meters, almost three meters tall, and appeared somewhat obese due to his excessive robustness.
His heavy armor collided and clanked with the bumps, the muffled yet distant sound of metal striking metal echoing through the air.
The war monks on the mounds shifted their expressions.
How heavy must it be to make such a sound?
"Stop dawdling, they're seventy meters away!" the captains of the two fifty-man holy marksman squads shouted, "Front rank kneel, rear rank stand and fire! After firing, we retreat to the mounds behind and prepare to withdraw."
The clockwork keys screeched as they turned, the springs striking the gears like a countdown.
Hooves beat like war drums, pounding on the hearts of every war monk, who constantly licked their parched lips, not daring to wipe the sweat from their palms.
Here he comes, here he comes, he's coming!
Like a massive iron mountain, Prince Kong Dai charged towards the top of the mound in a cloud of dust.
"Fire!" the captain roared.
"Praise the Holy Wind!"
Staring at the rapidly charging Prince Kong Dai, every holy marksman gritted his teeth, swollen fingers heavily pulling the serpentine trigger.
The ear-piercing shriek echoed between the mounds and the hollow, and in the classic front-kneel-rear-stand firing formation, three ranks of lead bullets roared, colliding with each other as they rushed towards the charging knights.
On both sides of the charging column, seven or eight Order Knights immediately burst with blood, falling from their horses.
When they hit the ground, the armor was so heavy that it even splashed up puddles of mud.
"Despicable!" Prince Kong Dai cursed, continuing to pick up speed, "Assail! Charge directly!"
Amidst countless hopeful gazes, Prince Kong Dai, who had just finished speaking, suddenly jolted on both shoulders, at least four sparks of lead bullet friction erupting from his chest and arm armor.
"He's hit!"
A quartermaster immediately clapped his hands and cheered, only to be kicked in the backside by the legion scribe.
"Ouch, what did you do that for?"
The legion scribe's face was ashen: "Don't talk nonsense, look carefully!"
The quartermaster got up from the ground, craned his neck, and stared at the battlefield, his eyes widening: "He, he can still sit on his horse?!"
Several sparks and fire stars were clearly bursting on his body, but none of them could break through Prince Kong Dai's defense.
His full set of armor was made of the most precious white crystal steel, although it was only 2mm thick, it had the hardness and toughness comparable to 4mm of mild steel.
Unless he was unlucky enough to hit the weak edge of the armor plate, ordinary lead bullets simply could not penetrate the iron armor.
The only bullet that penetrated the edge of the steel armor was stuck in Prince Kong Dai's muscle, unable to advance.
If you looked closely, you could see a translucent glow hidden in the shadows of the armor.
[Blessing: Blade Deflection]
With the evolution of plate armor technology, this kind of protective blessing had originally been eliminated because it occupied two blessing slots.
But under the suppression of clockwork guns, it was once again dug out of the trash heap of history by the monks.
As a Grand Knight, even just a Grand Knight on the path to promotion, the number of blessings that could be carried had doubled, reaching four to five.
After becoming a formal Grand Knight, the number of blessings that could theoretically be carried was unlimited. Prince Kong Dai's ancestors in the Goldfinch family had even produced a Grand Knight with thirteen blessings.
However, limited by the magical level of the monks, most would not exceed seven.
Prince Kong Dai now had four blessings on his body:
Swift Movement allowed him to cross all trenches and ground thorns, Effortless Lifting reduced the weight of his armor, Saint George's Eye strengthened his vision and dynamic vision, and Blade Deflection formed a protective film on his skin that blocked arrows and bullets.
The gilded patterns on the armor appeared extremely dazzling under the illumination of the blessing flames and sunlight.
Although separated by the narrow eye slits of the beak helmet, everyone seemed to be able to see those scarlet eyes.
The earth trembled, and a cold, slippery sensation, as if surrounded by poisonous snakes, crawled from the soles of their feet to their backs, and the legs of the mercenaries who had just repelled the mercenaries trembled slightly.
You must know that the leaping soldiers who were originally standing in the first row had successfully retreated to the back, and those standing in the first three rows were veterans wearing full armor, with breathing techniques, and holding refined iron spears.
They were also afraid.
"Steady, steady!" Looking at the holy marksmen retreating on both sides and on the mounds, sweat was densely packed on Leifey's forehead, "In the Battle of Pavia, we blocked the charge of the Order Company, and we can definitely do it this time.
We are the Guards Regiment, the Guards Regiment is the regiment most favored by His Majesty, and in the Battle of Pavia, we laid the foundation for the victory. If you don't want to ruin the honor of our Guards Regiment, if you don't want to let down His Majesty's trust, don't move!"
Leifey didn't know if his encouragement worked, Prince Kong Dai was already in front of him, and there was no time to confirm.
"Level the spears!" the captain of the fifty-man team shouted.
Due to the narrow terrain on the hilltop, the Salvation Army couldn't deploy in a horizontal line, but changed from a horizontal line to a vertical line.
So they rarely adopted a battle formation of 20 columns and 30 rows, but at this moment, the last two fifty-man teams had followed the marksmen from the hollow corridor and were advancing towards the third mound.
According to the pre-war plan, in order to prevent the knights from driving away the rout and impacting the rear formation, and to facilitate the rear formation to cover, they all retreated every other mound.
The 20 spearmen in the first row took a big step forward, the whole person was almost in a semi-squatting state, the end of the spear was against the ground, stepped on with their feet, and the front hand pulled the spear shaft, making it in a forward stabbing state.
The spearmen in the second and third rows held the end of the spear with one hand, and lifted the spear shaft to the position in front of the chest with the other hand, facing directly forward.
The spearmen on both sides turned left and right together, learning from the first row and stabbed the spears diagonally.
The petals formed by the spears spread out in all directions, waiting for the lance that was close at hand.
The grass leaves vibrated, and the tidal wave of Order Knights finally arrived. Prince Kong Dai, who was at the front, did not use a lance. He actually grabbed a raven's beak long-handled war hammer with one hand and wielded it freely.
"For freedom!"
The spearmen in the front row shouted in unison.
Freedom? Prince Kong Dai was stunned at first, then smiled angrily. He lowered his body and roared: "You lowly people dare to tarnish such a noble thing as freedom!"
As if a sword pierced through cloth, the spear shafts turned into clusters of flying wood chips and dust.
The spearmen in the front row flew up one after another, screaming and landing like rag dolls, and the sound of bone fractures and flesh landing that made people shudder echoed on the slope.
"Bastard! Go to hell!"
"You group of inferior rebels!"
During the charge against the spears, seven or eight Order Knights were knocked to the ground by the recoil.
Like in the Battle of Pavia, the Order Knights were not afraid of falling to the ground at all. They grinned, drew their long swords, and rushed to kill the war monks in the front row.
The long sword slashed horizontally, and heads flew high, and severed arms rolled in the blood.
The most eye-catching thing was Prince Kong Dai, who killed into the battle formation alone.
He wielded the war hammer in his hand, skillfully dodging the spears.
He could even grab the spear, drag the spearman out, and then smash it down with a hammer, brains and blood exploding in all directions.
"Die!"
In the roar of the halberdier, a knight who rushed too far forward was stabbed in the thigh by a spear and dragged off his horse by the halberdier.
Seven or eight spears stabbed viciously, inserting into the weak points of the armor. The knight's sword only cut off the arm of a soldier before his throat was pierced.
The Order Knight lay in the blood, staring with wide eyes, never expecting that he would die like this.
"Woo woo woo--" The horn of the knights' gathering sounded, and the remaining spearmen chased a few steps and saw that they easily left the range that the spears could reach.
Looking at the Order Knights gathering and lining up in the distance, the spearmen felt a burst of powerlessness.
Could they only watch these murderers easily kill their way out of their encirclement?
In the corpses all over the ground, the surviving spearmen found that only 100 or so of their companions remained, and there were only a dozen Order Knights on the ground.
Only a dozen!
Is Prince Kong Dai really just a titled knight?
The sound of the retreat horn finally came from a distance, and the marksmen arrived in time, aiming at this hillside, and these surviving veterans gritted their teeth and retreated towards the mounds behind.
However, Prince Kong Dai was not prepared to let them go. After regrouping the formation, he charged up again.
This time, there were not only 100 Order Knights, but also the subsequent Banner Knights and Attendant Knights squeezed open the ranks of the mercenaries and charged towards the mounds.
The whizzing lead bullets and arrows flew between the mounds, and under this dense net of lead bullets and arrows, the corridors between the hollow and the mounds were filled with Salvation Army infantry marching quickly.
They marched in formation, and had to stop from time to time to resist the charging knights.
Occasionally, those who fell and lagged behind could not even be saved, and could only watch those knights torture their former comrades.
Prince Kong Dai laughed maniacally, chasing after those lagging soldiers one by one, slaughtering them playfully, and then throwing the corpses or limbs towards the marching Salvation Army.
"For freedom!" A holy marksman finally couldn't help it. He left the team and ambushed nearby. When he saw Prince Kong Dai rushing over, he stood up and fired a shot.
"Bang--Ding!"
A series of sparks burst out on the helmet, and a dent the size of a fingernail appeared on Prince Kong Dai's beak helmet.
"No, impossible, at such a close distance, impossible--" The young holy marksman couldn't help but shout in panic.
However, in the blink of an eye, the terrifying prince smiled and appeared in front of the young man.
The raven's beak war hammer handle was swung into a semicircle, bringing out a residual image in the air, and heavily hit the fifteen-year-old holy marksman.
The broken holy gun flew high, and a fountain of blood jumped out of the head that only had a chin left. The remaining parts, splashed blood, and half of the skull rattled to the ground.
"Freedom? What do you know about freedom?" Prince Kong Dai raised the mask of his beak helmet and spat at the young holy marksman.
"You--you beast, you beast!"
"Devil, go to hell!"
Several holy marksmen who were running away in the same team immediately turned red-eyed. They were all childhood friends from the same village and the same team, closer than blood brothers.
Ignoring even the captain's orders, they roared, drew the sabers from their waists and rushed up.
Echoing laughter came from Prince Kong Dai's helmet, and he swung the war hammer round and rushed up.
Hooves kicked and shattered throats, war hammers shattered chests, and two young holy marksmen fell in a pool of blood.
"Hahahaha--"
The remaining holy marksman was held upside down in Prince Kong Dai's hand, his head dragged hard.
He dragged him until the white skull was exposed from the scalp, before throwing him away casually and killing him.
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Darth took back the telescope in his hand, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pinched his palm, and forcibly endured the anger in his heart.
"No." As the temporary regiment commander of the Guards Regiment, Darth opened his eyes again, but his eyebrows were almost wrinkled together, "This can only be broken by a rifled gun."
Now the rifled gunners are too far away, and Prince Kong Dai is in the hollow, it may be too late to transfer them.
Otherwise, use a rifled gun to take the opportunity to snipe Prince Kong Dai, and maybe this battle will end immediately.
Darth looked back at the right-wing army that had successfully turned, and the central army that was climbing up and down the earthen slope.
They were carrying holy guns, dragging spears, and running towards the planned central mound with sweat all over their faces. It is estimated that they will reach it after climbing another hill.
If Prince Kong Dai rushes over at this time, backstabbing or side-attacking, then the entire army will be crippled even if it does not collapse.
But the 4 legions on the left wing also have to retreat. Originally, it was completely feasible to retreat with staggered cover, but Prince Kong Dai's battlefield performance was a bit beyond everyone's expectations.
Originally, Darth predicted that Prince Kong Dai would not enter the battlefield so quickly, but unfortunately this was a wrong prediction.
This champion titled knight is different from ordinary titled knights. The titled knight Ryan Nabob was knocked down in one charge.
While sighing, Darth waved the flag: "The 4th and 5th Guards Legions, after the 3rd and 6th Legions retreat, come down from the top of the earthen slope, and the spearmen cover the rear.
Tell Mormont to throw a wave of clockwork bombs to slow down, and then let the fire ball crossbow fire two red dragon breaths and three fire ball spells to harass them and cover the legion's retreat.
Let's get the 3-pound falcon cannon ready. As soon as the Order Company gets on the earthen slope, we will fire."
The so-called 3-pound falcon cannon is actually the original clockwork leather cannon.
The holy marksmen who have trained their holy power to five shots can barely fire the leather cannon once after adding an electric gold pendant.
However, this 3-pound leather cannon was made in a hurry after the popularization of electric gold, and a total of only twelve were made, 40 gold pounds each.
Each regiment is only equipped with four, and Horn himself was assigned two, and the original four and the new two were placed in the Stillwater Dock to prevent Prince Kong Dai from sneaking up on the home.
Originally, it should have only weighed around 120 pounds, as the gun barrel only served to constrain the direction of the buckshot and protect the firing pin.
However, the dwarven artisans of the Holy See added a large number of inexplicable decorations to the gun barrel, and also installed an eagle's head on the muzzle, and two delicate copper wings on the gun body.
This resulted in the spring cannon, which should have been lighter, actually weighing 20 pounds more than the leather cannons in history.
If the war hadn't been about to start, Horn would have wanted to have it taken back to the Grey Furnace Town Armory for recasting.
Amidst the heavy grinding of gears, the main and assistant gunners slightly adjusted the gun barrel, aiming at the mound in front of them where the war monks were retreating.
The two mounds were currently seventy to eighty meters apart, well within the maximum killing range of the 3-pound Falcon cannon.
Once Prince Condé and his men climbed the mound, the 3-pound cannon could be fired immediately.
With the turning of the clockwork key, Das heard a series of clicks, and he understood that this meant the spring cannon was ready.
They were just waiting for Prince Condé to reach the mound...
"Battlegroup Leader Das, look over there!"
"What's wrong?" Das immediately raised his spyglass.
In the black-rimmed field of view of the spyglass, the war banner representing the Golden Oriole had already charged down from the first mound, heading towards the second mound.
They abandoned the pursuit of the remaining Salvation Army soldiers and instead chose to attack the army on the hillside.
"How can they be so fast? What is Mormont doing? Where are the clockwork bombs? Our infantry hasn't retreated yet!" Das was so anxious that he was about to jump up and down on the spot.
At this moment, he could no longer see Prince Condé leading the Edict Company in his field of vision, which meant they were charging up the slope.
"Mormont, Mormont!" Das was so anxious that blisters were about to form on his lips as he waited for the clockwork bombs and fireballs.
If the Red Dragon Breath wasn't launched soon, it would be too late! That was an entire legion!
Putting down the spyglass, Das roared at the mound not far away with all his might: "Mormont, Pasrik, where the hell is my Dragon Breath?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, five clusters of flames rose from the mound on the side and fell onto the slope of the second mound.
The raging flames erupted, engulfing the surrounding trees and flowers, and the smoke filled the air. Under Mormont's precise control, a wall of fire blocked Prince Condé's path.
The clockwork bombs jumped to the outermost depression of the first mound, and the invisible shock wave swept across, causing the Eagle Company mercenaries and squire knights to roll down the slope immediately.
With the fire wall as a barrier, the Guardian Monks finally seized the opportunity to retreat from the mound.
Looking at the raging fire wall in front of him, Prince Condé took off his helmet, and the hot wind ruffled his black hair. He seemed to be lost in thought, just standing there blankly.
Block the enemy? But it was too late. By the time he rushed to the top of the slope and charged down, this fire wall would have been wasted.
Looking at the fire wall that resembled a straight line, and the seven or eight Edict Knights who were wailing in pain in the flames, Prince Condé narrowed his eyes.
"Bertold, lead twenty lancer squads to pursue them across the mound first. I'll take the rest and attack the third mound."
"Yes, Your Highness." Bertold didn't sense anything unusual. After the fire wall burned out, he let out a shout and led 60 knights towards the top of the mound.
About half a minute later, Prince Condé heard four muffled thunder-like roars, followed by the sound of warhorses neighing.
The pungent smell of blood exploded, and severed limbs and blood flew from the top of the slope, falling like rain on the knights' helmets.
The ground beside the horses' hooves was suddenly hit by something, creating patches of dust, startling the warhorses to repeatedly retreat and dodge.
Then, under Prince Condé's gloomy gaze, a terrified warhorse appeared in everyone's field of vision.
It limped, carrying the corpse of Bertold, the titled knight, covered in dense blood holes, galloping wildly down the mound.
Bertold's face was covered with black spots and holes, like a disease. His mouth was open, as if he had seen something terrible before he died.
"Demons, demons!"
"Run, the demons are manifesting, the demons are descending!"
The remaining knights frantically dragged their wounded bodies from the top of the slope, turning their heads back from time to time, as if fleeing from the giant mouth of some monster.
"What are you running from, you shameful things? Bring them all back to me!"
60 knights went up the slope, and when Prince Condé saw them again, there were only 33 left.
What pained him the most was that among the 27 dead knights, there were actually 12 Edict Knights.
This was a level of casualties that had never happened before... Hmm?
Looking at the Edict Knights gathered here, Prince Condé counted them once, then counted them again, and then asked blankly, "Why are there only sixty-five Edict Knights left?"
In fact, Prince Condé launched the charge with one hundred Edict Knights, one hundred Banner Knights, and one hundred Squire Knights. Now there were only sixty-five Edict Knights, seventy-two Banner Knights, and seventy-seven Squires.
A total of 86 extraordinary knights were lost.
Thirty-five Edict Knights, each costing him 2 or 30 pounds a year to train, gone in the blink of an eye?
The Salvation Army wounded and corpses remaining on this battlefield were estimated to be only over two hundred!
And definitely no more than two hundred and fifty!
A simple calculation showed that Prince Condé had exchanged 86 knights for more than 200 Salvation Army infantry, which seemed like a good deal, but was actually a huge loss.
If they continued to fight like this, Horn could use 3,000 men to wipe out all of Prince Condé's knights.
He wouldn't even need 3,000 men. After using 2,000 men to wipe out over 780 knights, even the most loyal remaining Edict Knights would have to flee for their lives.
Due to the terrain of the mound, he couldn't pursue the enemy to expand the results!
Due to a series of bizarre and demonic contraptions of the Salvation Army, his knights suffered a large number of casualties.
That demonic wind didn't discriminate between rich and poor, killing commoner mercenaries and noble knights alike.
"Damn demonic wind." Prince Condé slammed his helmet on the ground. This time, his rescue charge had been too hasty.
The surrounding knights were silent, not daring to say a word.
Looking at the Salvation Army infantry gradually withdrawing in staggered formations, Prince Condé's chest heaved violently.
He was even a little confused. He was clearly the victor, so how had he suffered a loss?
Griffin walked up to Prince Condé hesitantly and gave a salute with a stiff face.
"Griffin, lead your men to continue the attack. I have already opened up the situation for you." The awakened prince dropped these words and looked at him coldly, "Don't disappoint me. I don't believe their magic can be endless."