Chapter 240: Meeting the Enemy
Chapter 240 – Meeting the Enemy
Alda’s army was marching on the dirt road in the wilderness, today’s weather was clear and sunny, although the weather in March and April in the Northwest Gulf was slightly chilly, but after a long time of hiking, the soldiers were still sweating profusely.
Although it was past noon, the troops had not yet eaten, and since Fort Biddle was so close, the troop commander, Bryce, decided to arrive at his destination and make camp before allowing the entire army to eat.
“Squad leader, when are we going to eat!”
Jos touched his stomach, and the sound of “gurgling” protested continuously from inside.
“We’re almost at Fort Biddle! We’ll have a nice lunch there! What, you can’t stand being this hungry?”
Makarov pulled out a paper parcel from his marching backpack and threw it to Jos, “Split a piece amongst you, use this to pad your stomach first.”
“Squad leader, what’s this?”
“Cookies sold at the Flying Dragon Pavilion, cheap for you assholes.”
“Flying Dragon Pavilion? Is that the new restaurant at the entrance of the town?”
“I’ve been there, the cuisine there is said to be from somewhere in the south, it’s delicious.”
“This cookie is also a southern cookie ……”
After chewing a bunch of cookies, a song came from up ahead, and I don’t know who led it, but Joss and the guys listened sideways and recognized it as “Ode to My Lord Earl Grammy,” which had recently become popular in the barracks
“Paul Grammy ~ Lord Count My Lord!”
“Mobilized soldiers from all over the territory~”
“Elite companies whole twelve ~ bullets sixty rounds in hand ~”
“He said ~ Hard men, I look forward to fighting alongside you~”
“The enemy covets our farmland and our minerals and our vaults of tens of thousands.”
“No playing the bear for me ~ let the enemy know we are not to be trifled with ~”
……
Despite sounding a bit goofy, the slightly witty lyrics with this tune do make for a good march.
Joss’s squad joined in the chorus, their feet unconsciously lightening up.
“God protects like wind and thunder and lightning~ Who doesn’t know Lord Gladman and his soldiers~”
……
“Farewell ~ dear Louise ~ don’t cry ~”
“Not every arrow hits ~ if every arrow hits ~ who does the lord get to be a soldier ~”
“We have cannons and muskets. One shot makes a hole.”
“We get paid on time every month~ who can be as punctual as we are~”
“Lord Graiman~ My Lord~ The hero with the glittering laurels~ Your soldiers are always the most loyal~”
“As long as you continue to let us sweep away our enemies~ we’ll overturn the entire world for you~”
After one side sang, they were waiting for this second round to get up when there was a shriek:
“It seems like someone is running over!”
Joss and the others raised their eyes and looked, only to see rolling smoke rising from the road in front of them, and it seemed that a large group of people were running wildly towards this place. A man on horseback and wearing the rank of second lieutenant ran and stopped beside Lieutenant Colonel Bryce, looking like the scout who was in charge of scouting the road before going ahead of the troops, and Bryce rode his horse just a short distance away from Makarov’s class.
The two men muttered for a while, not knowing what they were saying.
Makarov turned back to his squad and said, “Everyone get ready, the enemy may appear ahead.”
“Well~”
Joss removed the flintlock rifle behind his backstrap and gripped it nervously, sweat seeping out of his hand all of a sudden. Was the first time in his life to fight on the battlefield finally coming.
Then he saw Lieutenant Colonel Bryce tense and serious, and the two messengers beside him ran forward and backward toward the ends of the marching line, shouting as they did so:
“Enemy cavalry sighted, form up! Form up!”
The entire army was immediately enveloped in a tense and murderous atmosphere.
Luckily, the usual strict training had worked, the company at the front first stood in three horizontal rows, and the following companies followed in turn.
After only ten minutes, the first and second battalions were each responsible for two sides, constructing a hollow square with a side length of about 30 meters.
In the open space inside the square, the supply wagons of the transportation company were placed, while the soldiers of the transportation company also replenished the square.
In addition to the supply wagons, the artillery company was also placed in the open space in the center, and the members of the battery unloaded their cannons and ammunition and constructed firing positions. Due to the suddenness of the situation and the arrival of the cavalry, who were assaulting at high speed, they were too late to set up their artillery outside the hollow square, so they had to retreat into the interior of the square to make preparations for firing and wait for the right moment.
After a period of intense hustle and bustle, the Arda army waited for the enemy to arrive.
Standing on a makeshift platform made of ammunition crates, Bryce and Joyce and the two assistant battalion commanders held up binoculars to observe the situation in front of them.
“Judging from the flags, the ones running wildly in front are the Heller Family’s cavalry, and the two groups in hot pursuit behind them needless to say are the Kent Family’s men-our enemies!”
“Could it be that our allies are finished, and there are only this few remnants left?”
“Being blinded by the thought, let’s deal with the cavalry in front of us first, just get down to the Heller’s!”
……
Derek Heller led the knights under his command to run wildly all the way north, and due to the flat terrain ahead, he saw the Arda army from afar.
At first he thought it was an enemy army that came to intercept him, the other party changed from a marching formation to a strange square formation in a very short period of time, this kind of speed of change in formation looks like an extremely elite army, at least those conscripted militia under his command could never do this.
Just as he was ready to let go of his sword, he gradually saw the banner of the army in front of him – a golden flying dragon was tattooed on the bright red background banner.
It was the army of his ally Alda, and Derek suddenly had a sense of desperation, even though he had been spouting off about Alda’s army dawdling in no particular place in the morning.
He raised his mounted rifle high in the air, letting the House Heller flag tied to the butt of his rifle flutter in the wind.
Thankfully, the other side recognized him, and a man who stood high up inside the square and looked like a general by the way he was dressed kept waving his arms to the right.
Derek read the other man’s meaning, which was for him to pass on the right side of the square – the left side for him – and in any case not to approach to take them.
He understood this well, in a moment of danger in the face of the enemy, a loosening of his own military formation could have dangerous consequences. So with a wave of his hand, he led the knights to turn left. The Heller family’s group quickly ran past the neighborhood of the hollow square, they were already exhausted, they could only run to the rear first to find a place to rest.
As they passed the square, Derek roughly estimated the number of Arda’s army, which was about 1,000 people.
In his heart, concern arose again, could such a small number of people block the onslaught of several hundred cavalry from the Kent family? Moreover, the defense square they put up was not solid, there were only three thin layers of soldiers on the periphery.
What’s even more exaggerated is that the “guns” held in the hands of the soldiers are also too short, right, besides, is that a gun? The shape is so weird.
O Father in heaven! Bless them!
(End of chapter)