I will be crowned king

“All hands on deck—forward!”

As loud bugles sounded one after another, and as they watched dense lines walking out of the woods, with the blood-red Unicorn King flag fluttering in the wind, almost every soldier in the Thun patrol had panic written on their faces.

The Clovis lines were far looser and thinner than those of Thun or Iser; as a result, an infantry regiment of more than a thousand people, in the eyes of the patrol soldiers, turned into at least two to three thousand ambush in the woods. The enemy inside is attacking them.

The officers in the line realized that something was wrong, and immediately began to suppress the commotion and panic of the soldiers, trying to maintain the front line by firing volleys; but in the face of at least twice or even three times their firepower, it was doomed to be in vain.

The Seven Cities Alliance, which relies on the Dawn Mountains and strong reinforcements to maintain its independence, is even more rigid and rigid in tactics than the Empire.

When the Clovis people began to reduce the line array to two or three rows with the advancement of weapons, and the queues were as loose as possible, the Thuns still maintained the same order as in the 47th year of the Saints calendar, with five or six rows in order. The tight formation insisted on maintaining its firepower by firing volleys from the entire platoon.

In the eyes of Carl Bain, these Thun people were just like his grandfather's army, a group of living antiques.

No... Carl shook his head. They are not even as good as antiques, because his grandfather's army was limited by weapons and could only fight like that. If you give these Thun people the most advanced rifles, they will probably become fire sticks in their hands. Pretty much the same thing.

"Fire bayonets—for the glory of the Clovis!"

While the adjutant was still thinking wildly, Major Fabian on the side also saw that the patrol was just helping weak persimmons, and immediately ordered an attack.

The bugle of the charge sounded in the smoke, and each company broke out with bloodthirsty shouts and launched a bayonet charge towards the almost chaotic patrol outside the woods.

"Array, array! Array!!"

Listening to the deafening war cry, the pale-faced officer yelled at the top of his lungs, and the confused soldiers shouted: "Have you heard that? Anyone who doesn't want to die, stand up and line up for me!"

The slender whip was swung in the hands of the officers, ripping open the skin and flesh of the soldiers who were trying to pretend to be dead and those who were frightened. They urged the remaining soldiers who were still breathing to shrink their lines and prepare to face the Clovis charge.

In the midst of panic, the patrol soldiers with dull expressions finally organized their line; the elite cavalry in the rear began to cruise to the left and right, drawing their sabers and preparing to cover the flanks of the line formation.

"Bang-!!!! Bang-!!!! Bang-!!!!"

The fierce exchange of fire continued, and figures from both sides continued to fall in the smoke; the patrol soldiers finally waited for the Clovis who roared and charged; but they did not hit them directly as they expected, and yes……

"Grenade!"

Along with dozens of black shadows falling from the sky in the frightened eyes of the patrol soldiers, a series of deafening explosions followed.

Golden-red flames danced in the air, and smoke from the concentrated fire grenades rose into the sky directly in front of the patrol line; screams and meaningless screams out of fear followed the explosion and flying horizontally. The fragments filled the smoke-filled crowd.

Amidst the gushing flesh and blood of the remaining limbs, the elite cavalrymen who were also threatened by the grenades retreated one after another, desperately trying to comfort their frightened mounts; at the command, each company waving the flag of the King of Unicorns took advantage of the situation to launch a bayonet charge. , directly ran into the already scattered patrol line.

"puff!"

The sharp bayonet penetrated the officer's throat, and the tip mixed with blood spurted out from his long mouth.

The next second, the line soldier who was sprayed with blood raised his foot and kicked the officer off the bayonet; he bumped into a Thun soldier behind him; looking at the twitching limbs and the blood spurting from his mouth, he was horrified. The uneasy soldier opened his eyes instantly.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--!!!!"

Heart-rending screams burst from the throats of the Thun soldiers, and he was immediately knocked to the ground by his fleeing companions; being pressed under the body, he felt countless pairs of boots stepping on his body; like a The rolling waves were submerged silently.

Bayonet charges like surging waves poured in from the gap opened by the grenade, instantly shattering the morale of the patrol soldiers in the front row, and they began to scramble to throw down their weapons and flee.

No matter how the equally frightened officers roared hysterically and tried to maintain order, they still could not save the situation; the momentum of the defeat was as unstoppable as a flood.

"Don't run away, stick to the line!"

In the smoke of gunpowder, the middle-aged nobles who led several soldiers into the battle immediately began to suppress him. The neighing war horse directly knocked a fleeing officer to the ground, and his cheeks and head exploded into a sheet of blood under the horse's hoofs.

"No retreat! The cavalry retreats to both sides to attack the enemy's flanks!" The middle-aged noble shouted loudly:

"They are not smugglers, they are Clovis invaders!"

"Brave Thun people, stand up and defend your homeland!"

Under the extreme pressure of the middle-aged nobles, the soldiers of the patrol finally did not collapse.

The tight and deep formation, which was originally at a disadvantage during the exchange of fire, finally exerted some advantages in the bayonet fighting stage; although the Clovis infantry with thin lines could suppress them, they were unable to break through immediately due to the lack of follow-up.

Almost at the same time, dozens of elite cavalry who had received the order began to move to the two wings and pounced on the flanks of Clovis' army.

In the thick smoke, several company commanders who noticed the movement immediately blew their bugles; the platoons close to the flanks began to withdraw from the frontal battle, and quickly formed small hollow square formations around the military flags and officers.

The galloping horses continued to accelerate, and the elite cavalry threw away their rifles one after another, pulled out their sabers from their saddles, and formed a long and narrow queue as they moved, like spears thrust out.

"boom--!!!!"

Just when the cavalry wielding blades was about to collide with the hollow phalanx, gunshots were heard in the woods.

The cavalrymen who were not even seen by the enemy fell off their horses one after another - the enemy was not even targeting the cavalry themselves, but their mounts.

As the horses neighed, the cavalrymen who were thrown to the ground, and whose bones were crushed by iron hoofs while rolling, kept letting out miserable wails.

In the chaos, many cavalrymen grabbed their mounts, trying to avoid and escape, but their stopped movements immediately made themselves targets for the dense rain of bullets; the screaming lead bullets streaked through the air, and the cavalrymen wielding sabers jumped out of the saddle. disappeared.

"No wonder the deputy commander is so obsessed with breech-loading guns. Is this weapon so powerful?"

Fabian looked at the Borni rifle in his hand with an expression of surprise on his face.

Accurate and stable ballistics, appropriate recoil, and most importantly - extremely simple loading process; apart from the fact that the gun will emit smoke when firing, he can hardly find any shortcomings of this breech-loading rifle.

"That's because you are using Borni. Can you try using Leopold later?" Carl Bain disagreed very much:

"The price of a Bolney can buy at least twenty Leidens. This toy is for hunting by noble gentlemen. Who else but our commander would be willing to equip a group of big soldiers with it?"

Fabian smiled hoarsely: "That's true."

War requires cost consideration. If a magic weapon cannot be equipped on a large scale, it is better to replace it with ordinary second-hand goods. The Borni rifle is indeed useful, but no matter how useful it is, it cannot be like twenty Leyden rifles. opponent.

But if these weapons can be used to equip a small group of skirmishers who are proficient in long-range shooting, let them lurk around the battlefield and specifically shoot the officers in the enemy's lines...

Fabian suddenly couldn't help but shiver.

Although the current war between Clovis and the countries of the Order World is becoming more and more intense, and the scale and casualties are also expanding, to some extent it still follows certain "hidden rules" from the past - for officers, especially high-ranking officers, both sides of the war They will try their best to avoid killing.

In addition to the so-called "chivalry", it is more because capturing officers alive can exchange ransoms from the enemy and make up for losses; but once a certain party starts to break this unspoken rule and hunt down officers by any means during the war...

What will the future war look like?

At the same time, after the first round of attacks was defeated, the cavalry of the Thun patrol retreated one after another - if it was the imperial cavalry, they might choose to distance themselves and use a wide range of revolving fire to maintain threat and harassment.

However, the Thun people obviously did not have this ability. Once they retreated, they really retreated, and they retreated cleanly, completely exposing their flanks to Clovis's front.

But for the middle-aged nobleman who planned all this, this was enough.

"clang!"

The moment the fire exploded, the young knight stopped the bayonet stabbing his mount. The long-barreled revolver in his left hand roared and broke the enemy's neck.

The moment blood splattered everywhere, he suddenly saw another Clovis soldier not far away who had raised his rifle towards him and his finger was already on the trigger.

"boom!"

Gunfire rang out, but it was not him who fell, but the Clovis soldier.

The frightened young knight turned around suddenly and saw the middle-aged noble throwing his rifle directly on the ground and hurriedly leading a few cavalry towards him.

"Henares?!"

"Expand your formation and protect Master Leon Francois!"

The middle-aged noble gritted his teeth and ordered to the retreating cavalry. At the same time, he drew his saber and chopped down one of the retreating soldiers: "Turn people, hold your position, don't let the Clovis invade our homeland!"

"Follow your orders——!!!"

The cavalry who received the order dispersed one after another, performing the tasks of supporting and supervising the battle behind the gradually collapsing lines.

After dragging the embarrassed young knight out of the battlefield and making sure that the Clovis people could not break through the front line for a while, the panting middle-aged noble walked behind the line and said to the young knight involuntarily:

"Listen, Master Leon, we are retreating!"

"retreat?!"

The astonished young knight seemed not to understand what the middle-aged noble said: "But didn't you just say..."

"They are not smugglers, they are the vanguard of Clovis' invasion!" The anxious middle-aged noble gave him no room to speak:

"We are not their opponent. We must withdraw to Jinshi City as soon as possible and report this matter to your father, Grand Duke Thun - do you understand, this is not a matter of your own personal honor, this is related to the entire Thun and even the Seven Cities Alliance life or death!"

The middle-aged noble with an excited expression pressed his shoulders tightly. The young knight didn't react for a while, but he still nodded in a panic:

"I-I understand!"

"Just understand!" The middle-aged noble breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, dozens of elite cavalry suddenly turned their horses neatly and surrounded the two men and galloped in the opposite direction to the battlefield, fleeing towards Jinshi City.

As the cavalry withdrew from the battlefield, the infantry, who were still struggling to maintain their display, finally collapsed completely; the tight line was like butter in the face of waves of bayonet charges by Clovis soldiers, allowing them to intersect and divide at will.

The soldiers who had originally relied solely on inertia to fight, were so frightened that they even forgot to escape, gave up resistance under the threat of lead bullets and bayonets; two-thirds of the remaining soldiers dispersed around them, and the rest all chose to surrender.

Exhausted and having just crossed the snow-capped mountains, Clovis's levies defeated the 700-man Thun patrol in less than fifteen minutes.

But Henares no longer cares about all this. He only wants to know one thing now - how did these Clovis people appear here.

Did you force your way over the morning ice peak... Are you kidding me? !

Since the Clovis people have appeared in Thun's territory, it proves that Eagle Point City must have been completely besieged now, which is faster than previously expected; the war has broken out, but what is the Seven Cities Alliance going to do after connecting? No plans!

We can no longer sit still and wait for death. We must send Master Leon back to Golden Stone City as soon as possible, send the news to Grand Duke Thun, and mobilize the troops of the principality and other allies as soon as possible to support the front line of Eagle Point City.

Once Eagle Point City falls, Clovis will never let go of the Seven Cities Alliance who once provided help to the Empire and Israel!

The middle-aged noble glanced at Leon Francois beside him. The young knight's face was still filled with fear.

It was probably the first time he experienced a truly cruel war, and he was stimulated... the middle-aged noble thought.

But in the next second, he suddenly heard the cavalry around him exclaiming in surprise; the young knight with a shocked expression suddenly raised his right hand and pointed forward.

"E-Henares, look there?!"

Um?

The middle-aged nobleman suddenly raised his head, his eyes suddenly focused.

On the open ground blown by the strong wind, a line composed of an entire battalion of Clovis infantry blocked them directly in front.

"Spread out! Spread out!"

The middle-aged nobles, who had no time to be astonished, quickly ordered that the cavalry guarding the two men immediately split from the center, trying to bypass the obstruction of the line infantry from both wings.

"Everyone is in place——"

Facing the enemy trying to escape, Anson coldly pulled out the saber from his waist, imitating Ludwig and raising the blade forward above his head.

Then it fell violently.

"Fire!"

The infantrymen who were ambushing on the ground on the left and right of the line stood up without warning and fired a volley at the cavalry that hit them.

"boom--!!!!"

The moment the gunfire rang out, the middle-aged noble's eyes suddenly went dark.

The last scene he saw when he lost consciousness was the cavalry falling one after another during the volley; in his ears, he could still hear the panicked shouts of the young knights that seemed to be coming from far, far away.

"Henares!"