I will be crowned king

Amidst the sound of horse hooves that shook the earth, the imperial cavalry who had ambushed and successfully circled behind were like a black tide sweeping everything, attacking behind the Hantu Army.

The momentum is compelling!

"Command - the Royal Regiment, reserve infantry regiments turn back, form a line formation, prepare for volley fire!"

"The second, third, fourth, and ninth line infantry regiments will form a square formation in the second line in ten minutes. All of them will have their bayonets fixed!"

"The artillery retreats to the gap in the second line, loads canisters, and everyone is in position!"

"The cavalry moves to cover the two wings, and the hussars mount their horses, preparing to cooperate with the line infantry to expel the outflanking imperial cavalry!"

...Amidst the galloping figures of the messengers one after another and the rapid sound of bugles, the entire Royal Legion was like a machine with a switch turned on. The bearings, rockers and gears of all parts began to operate in an orderly manner. There was absolutely no sign of panic.

Looking at the rapidly approaching imperial cavalry in the distance, Claude Francois's expression looked leisurely and calm, even more relaxed than at the beginning.

Everything is as expected.

Although the destruction of the Mist Army and the tragic victory in the Battle of the Wild Stone Castle left an indelible shadow in the hearts of the Hantu Army due to the "invincibility" of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, so much so that they originally clamored for a "quick victory" The noise about "Imperial people are nothing more than that" has also subsided a lot recently.

But such an easy victory also convinced the Imperial Expeditionary Force that the Hantu Army was "vulnerable" - as long as they seize the opportunity to launch a few rounds of cavalry charges, the Hantu Army will be completely defeated.

It was precisely because of this "stereotype" that the commander-in-chief of the opposite empire rashly ordered the cavalry to launch a full-scale general attack before the two armies were fully engaged, arrogantly believing that this would defeat the 40,000-strong Hantu Army.

And looking at the situation on the opposite side, there is no infantry line that can stand at all... Maybe they think they are not needed at all?

Then let them pay for their arrogance!

"Let the Central Garrison Corps continue to attack. Don't worry about what's behind you. Try your best to win the position as quickly as possible!" Claude Francois shouted angrily:

"The Royal Army - show the Empire the bravery of the Hantu soldiers, and avenge the annihilation of the Mist Army and the Aiden soldiers who were massacred on the summit tower, and let them pay for their blood debt!"

"eye for eye----!!!!"

Amidst the roar of the cavalry that filled the sky, the soldiers of the Royal Legion showed no fear of death on their faces, only hoarse enthusiasm.

The reserve soldiers in the front row had formed three rows. The soldiers in the first row knelt down on one knee, while the second and third rows raised their guns and took their positions. The bayonets shining brightly under the muzzles did not waver at all.

But...just when they were about to fire a concentrated volley to block the imperial cavalry charge, the rushing black tide on the opposite side suddenly stopped.

"Boom!!!! Boom!!!! Boom!!!!"

With a deafening bang and a scream that ripped through the air, a dozen three-pound and six-pound solid bullets roared out from the Imperial cavalry and attacked the Royal Legion line.

The newly formed line was immediately torn open by artillery attacks. The soldiers in the front row had their torsos smashed by solid bullets in an instant, and along with a burst of blood mist, they turned into flesh and blood flying all over the sky.

But the shells, which were either broken or intact, did not stop there and continued to attack the undeployed phalanxes further back, blooming brighter flowers of blood in the dense formation.

"Cavalry artillery?!"

There was a trace of surprise on Henares's face: "The expeditionary force opposite actually has a cavalry cannon. This weapon is not particularly expensive, so..."

"That's just for us...just like the Leopold rifle of the Clovis people. It can be sold at a sky-high price just by changing the way of loading ammunition." Claude Francois was unusually calm:

"Let the soldiers stabilize their formation and not allow anyone to retreat - there will be at most three rounds of rapid fire, and they will charge!"

This is the intelligence he got from Carl Bain: In order to ensure mobility, the Imperial Cavalry only carries no more than ten artillery shells at a time. Before each attack, it will conduct about five to six rounds of rapid fire, opening it with intensive artillery fire. The gap "paved the way" for the cavalry.

This tactic is extremely effective for infantry phalanxes that are not large enough or are not determined. It is also one of the "routines" often used by the empire in foreign operations.

The core of this is that when facing artillery, the infantry needs to form a loose formation, but when facing cavalry, the line must be as tight as possible - under the back and forth pull, even experienced elites are likely to collapse the defense line.

Through the choking smoke, Claude Francois was pleased to see that although the reserves suffered heavy casualties under the repeated attacks of cavalry artillery, their hastily formed defense line did not collapse.

The soldiers in the front row fell, and the back row immediately stepped on Paoze's body to fill the vacant position. They faced the incoming artillery fire almost mechanically and numbly, and withstood the rapid fire of the cavalry cannon.

Compared with the private soldiers of the Hantu nobles who almost collapsed after just a few rounds of rifle volleys, there was a huge difference.

Soon, the intensive volleys gradually became sparse, and before the sound of artillery stopped, the imperial cavalry had already launched a charge, charging towards the Royal Army unstoppably.

"Ready—fire!"

"boom--!!!!"

Thick smoke of gunpowder rose between the lines of both sides at the same time - at the same time that the Royal Legion line fired a salvo, the charging Imperial Hussars also drew the carbines on their saddles and fired back at the line sporadically.

As gunfire rang out, sporadic screams and the sound of corpses falling to the ground came from the front row of the reserve line.

But even so, there was still no flinching figure; he was nailed to his post until his life was taken away by a stray bullet.

The imperial hussars on the opposite side did not launch a direct charge as they thought - just when they were close to 30 meters, the front row of cavalry suddenly reined in their horses and turned around to make room for shooting for the cavalry in the back row. .

Messy gunfire continued, and the two sides began to enter an endless shooting phase. The messy gunfire and billowing smoke covered most of the battlefield.

The Hantu Legion once again exposed the shortcomings of insufficient training of the soldiers - the number was roughly equal to that of the cavalry, and the width of the battle line and rifle range were greater than that of the imperial cavalry... but the firepower of both sides was roughly the same.

There was even a hint of being suppressed by the firepower from the opposite side.

In the chaos, the Royal Legion reserves, who were ordered not to retreat, had no choice but to continue holding their guns, loading, and shooting... using mechanical and numb repetitive movements to suppress the fear caused by the constant falling of their companions around them.

The panicked officers stood in the smoke so thick that it completely blocked their vision, constantly trying to find the enemy. Some stood blankly, waiting for the next order...

"Close the front and let the reserves retreat back!"

Looking at the Imperial Hussars that were making a quick roundabout, Claude Francois, who guessed that the enemy might want to attack his flank, loudly ordered:

"Expand the second line of defense and get the artillery in position as soon as possible; the cavalry on both wings will attack to intercept the roundabout enemy and buy time for the infantry!"

"As you command!"

Ignoring the stray bullets flying in front of him, Henares drew his sword and ran towards the battlefield again.

"Long live the Empire——!!!"

"God bless the earth——!!!"

With the deafening shouts of killing and the roar of iron hoofs, the cavalrymen wielding thorns and iris collided fiercely.

As countries that also have a "knightly tradition", the knights on both sides decisively abandoned the revolvers and carbines on their saddles the moment they saw their opponents, and instead raised their steel knives and cavalry spears.

No detours, no exchanges - just charge, charge... charge again!

"clang!"

The cold steel knife hit the arm guard of an Imperial cuirassier on the cheek. Before he could withdraw his numb left arm in time, the cavalry spear in his right hand decisively stabbed the shocked face of the Hantu knight opposite.

There was no scream, let alone wailing... It was as if the knight of Hantu had been drained of all his strength in an instant, and fell silently from his horse to the ground, submerged in the billowing smoke.

But before the imperial cavalry could be proud, the second steel knife had already struck from the right side and lightly scratched his neck.

"puff!"

The same scene kept playing out in the smoke.

Although the number is smaller than that of the imperial cavalry, the Hantu cavalry is covered by the line of infantry behind them, and their mounts are more adaptable to the terrain of Hantu. The Imperial cavalry not only has to deal with counterattacks from the frontal line, but the battle line is also stretched because of the outflanking. Too long, resulting in thin troops at each point.

With the blessing of the two, the Hantu cavalry, who were not afraid of death, could barely block the frontal charge of the imperial cavalry, which was good at cavalry!

Of course, it's only temporary.

As the imperial cavalry completed the detour on both wings and began to concentrate its forces to launch a fierce attack on the two wings of the Royal Army, the smaller Hantu cavalry finally had to start after desperately holding on for fifteen minutes and leaving nearly one-fifth of the bones of their companions. Pull back and turn to the left and right.

But their persistence is meaningful——

With the charge bonus, the unstoppable imperial cavalry broke through the last line of defense maintained by the Hantu cavalry, and the menacing Wang family army attacked from the flank.

But what greeted them was neither a hastily formed infantry line nor a panicked Claude François himself...but artillery.

Twenty artillery pieces were neatly lined up on both sides of the Royal Legion, and their dark muzzles greeted these imperial cavalry who had "successfully broken through".

"Gunshot—double load—fire!"

"boom--!!!!"

Amidst the terrifying loud noise, the charging imperial cavalry met head-on with twenty shotgun shells.

With the roar of the artillery barrels, thousands of lead bullets attacked them instantly; the torn limbs and broken arms danced all over the sky in the exploding blood mist, and the whines of the war horses and the shrill screams of the knights came one after another.

There are a very few talented people who have inherited the power of blood in the roundabout charging team, but even these elite knights, facing six-pound and twelve-pound shotguns, can only make a last ditch effort before dying. The one who survives can survive for a few more seconds in the pile of corpses.

Then it was completely torn apart in the next round of shelling.

With this round of shelling, the Hantu soldiers on the second line of defense have also formed a new four-row line, pointing their bright bayonets and dark muzzles at the Imperial cavalry that had just been shelled and suffered heavy casualties.

So regardless of the fact that the royal army behind them had opened fire, the imperial cavalry had to retreat hastily in a chaotic situation, leaving only flesh and blood corpses torn into pieces everywhere.

"Don't stop! Let the artillery replace solid bullets and continue firing at the cavalry line!" Looking at the retreating imperial cavalry, Claude Francois, who suppressed his joy, interrupted the cheers around him:

"Quickly inform Henares and ask him to lead the cavalry to charge again so that these imperial scum will not dare to approach our lines again."

"The battle is not over yet. The enemy's defense line is still resisting. Keep fighting, don't stop! Fight until they can no longer organize a charge and counterattack and the entire front is defeated!"

Soon, before all the artillery was in place, Henares, who had received the order, had already led the Hantu cavalry to launch a counterattack. The Hantu hussars on both wings quickly assembled and launched a pursuit against the scattered and retreating Imperial cavalry.

Almost at the same time, a burst of cheers suddenly broke out behind Claude Francois - after a short hard battle, the Central Garrison Corps, relying on its numerical superiority, finally attacked the Imperial Expeditionary Force. position.

Although two thousand imperial line soldiers were able to block the Central Garrison Corps, whose strength was nearly ten times theirs, with the firing of four eight-pound cannons, soon the Hantu nobles caught in the melee began to realize the key point. Launch a fierce attack on the artillery forts on the left and right of the position.

After paying the price of being defeated one infantry company after another, the Central Garrison Corps, which paved the way with corpses, finally broke into the artillery forts on both wings, ending this most deadly threat.

Once the position was divided into three, the last bit of advantage of the Imperial Expeditionary Force began to be gradually offset; Hantu soldiers, facing row after row of volleys, also rushed into the trenches and started hand-to-hand combat with the enemy with bayonets.

Facing the soldiers from the Han Dynasty who "flooded" in like a flood, Caspar Hered decisively ordered the destruction of the four eight-pound cannons, withdrew from the position, and turned westward while fighting and retreating.

The Central Garrison Corps, which had captured the position, was not satisfied with this "little" military success, and began to advance rapidly westward along the road, trying to completely annihilate this imperial expeditionary force, which was only one-tenth of its own.

"...Although all the artillery has been destroyed, a large number of solid shells and propellants are still left in the enemy's artillery fort, as well as about two infantry regiments' baggage for more than three days, and they have made a lot of gains!"

Facing Claude Francois, the messenger who came to announce the good news desperately suppressed his impulse to show off and shouted excitedly: "Your Majesty, your loyal ministers assure you that those two thousand excess sins will definitely be eliminated." There is no way to escape your grasp! That golden iris flag is the coronation gift given to you by the entire Central Garrison Corps!"

"Okay, I'll wait and see!" Claude Francois was relieved and in a very happy mood.

Victory in this decisive battle seems to be in sight.