Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The shrill sound of the gong echoed through every corner of the fort, signaling retreat and meaning [the cannon had been destroyed].

The barbarians in the fortress were surprised to find that the two-legged man who was fighting with them risking his life one second had fled the next second.

The Platuan people, who poured into the gap like a tide, receded like a tide.

run! run! Run for your life! You can survive by running back to the camp!

This is what everyone thinks.

Because the white lion is coming.

There are already too many barbarians in the fortress that they can't deal with. What if they add barbarian reinforcements? The raiding force will be wiped out in an instant.

But the barbarian reinforcements did not rush into the fortress, but moved between the fortress and the camp.

Does the white lion want to swallow this lone army in one bite? Or does he have a bigger plan?

Winters no longer had the energy to think.

He used a spear and clothes to make a makeshift stretcher, and he and Heinrich carried Andre, who was only breathing, and ran towards the camp down the hillside.

The moonlight was dim and I couldn't see the road clearly, so I could only run one foot deeper and one foot shallower.

Winters' legs were as heavy as lead, and his armor seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

He gritted his teeth and moved forward step by step. The remaining members of Jessica's group followed him.

Suddenly something hit his feet, and Winters felt as if he was flying.

After gliding for less than a second, he fell heavily to the ground.

Heinrich let out an exclamation, and he and the other warriors helped the centurion up.

The blunt force injury he had suffered just now began to hurt. There was no muscle on Winters' body that was not in pain, and it even hurt to the point of itching.

He could no longer tell which ones were phantom pain and which ones were physical feedback.

At a certain moment, he really wanted to lie on the ground like this and keep lying there.

But he still struggled to stand up.

"How's Andre?" he asked.

"It's okay!" Heinrich quickly replied: "I didn't hit Centurion Cellini!"

Winters unhooked and ripped off his helmet.

Stray bullets, flying arrows... He was too lazy to worry anymore. At this moment, he just wanted to breathe some fresh air.

There were clearly audible shouts and gunfire from the direction of the camp, and Winters saw the flash of fire near the camp wall.

Obviously, the outflanking barbarians were fighting with the camp defenders.

The White Lion not only wants to eat the troops attacking the fortress, but also wants to break through the camp in one fell swoop - at least to see if there is a chance.

Behind everyone, in the direction of the fortress, there were also sounds of killing shouts and the sound of weapons clashing.

That was Robert's brigade at the rear fighting the barbarians who were chasing them.

There are wolves in front of us and tigers in the back. If there is an opportunity to "take advantage of the time difference to withdraw to the camp before the enemy can outflank the enemy".

So now Winters can conclude: it's too late.

"It's too late!" Winters spat: "Whole team! Fight back!"

Winters stopped, and the other warriors around him stopped.

The militiamen from behind came one after another, and everyone was exhausted.

The full-strength Jashka Brigade has 660 militiamen and five officers.

Fighting all the way back to Styx from Bianli, there were less than 300 people around Winters who could breathe.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica rushed to the front of the queue.

Seeing this situation, the lieutenant colonel took the brigade's flag from the flag-bearer: "Everyone, come to the flag to form your team!"

The militiamen dragged their tired bodies and moved towards the military flag step by step.

On the battlefield at this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard in all directions to the west, but the rumble of horse hooves in front was obviously getting closer and closer.

Everyone seemed to have been whipped on the back, squeezing out the last bit of strength to run towards the military flag.

The Jessica brigade no longer had any formation to speak of at this moment, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, everyone was trying their best to squeeze towards the center.

So what if we form a square formation? Without carrying super long guns, everyone only has short weapons and muskets. How can they fight against the barbarian cavalry?

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and everyone was getting more and more panicked.

With people pressed against each other, the arquebusiers couldn't shoot at all. Sword and shield wielders can't fight either.

"Musketeers!" Winters yelled over a loudspeaker: "Get outside!"

Mason was equally distraught and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Musketeers! Get outside!"

The crowd is like a headless fly, how can it complete the formation change?

There was no use shouting, Winters took action directly and dragged the Musketeers out of the wall one by one.

But the sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and it was already too late.

"It's us! Don't shoot!" the visitor shouted.

Pierre rushed out of the night, the Dussacs following him. There were also some pistol cavalry mixed in among Dussac's light cavalry.

"What's going on?" Wen Tesla grabbed the bridle of Pierre's horse.

After the order to retreat was given, the Palatine cavalry was the first to break away from the battle. Winters thought they had retreated safely to camp.

"Barbarian is blocking the front! We got separated from Lieutenant Colonel Custer!" Pierre replied briefly: "Barbarian is coming this way!

Behind Pierre, the more terrifying sound of horse hooves was approaching.

In the center of the crowd, Lieutenant Colonel Jessica, who was holding the military flag high, suddenly shouted: "The Musketeers stand! Others get down!"

Everyone was at a loss when they heard this order.

Suddenly, Winters had a lightbulb moment.

"Get down! Everyone get down!" He ordered using a loudspeaker: "The musketeers stand! Only the musketeers are allowed to stand!"

The magically amplified sound reached everyone's ears clearly.

Whether they understood it or not, the militiamen subconsciously followed Montagne's centurion's orders.

One person lay down on the ground, and others followed suit, and more and more people followed.

The huddle loosened—since lying down requires more space than standing, the formation began to spread out.

Mason also figured out what Lieutenant Colonel Jessica meant.

"Musketeers are not allowed to lie down!" Lieutenant Mason pulled up the musketeer who was lying on the ground: "Stand up! Those who are timid will be killed!"

Soon, only the musketeers were still standing on this hillside, and everyone else had become prone.

There was no shooting space just now, but now there is.

"Prepare the matchlock! Load the ammunition! Listen to my command and shoot!" Winters shouted as he walked: "Others! Stand up after the command!"

All the musketeers woke up from a dream, took out the paper bags containing gunpowder and lead bullets, and began the loading process.

"Mr. Mitchell!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica in the center of the circle shouted at Pierre: "The cavalry is under your command! Take them to the back!"

Pierre raised his hand in salute from a distance, blew a whistle, and led the cavalry towards the hillside.

The sound of rolling horse hooves was getting closer and closer. This time it was no longer my own cavalry, but ferocious barbarians.

One horse, two horses... Hurd's light horse filed out of the night.

Seeing the strange formation of the Platuan people, the barbarian who was running at the front was shocked and suspicious, and for a moment he did not dare to move forward.

But as a red feather arrived on the battlefield, Barbarian's actions became orderly.

About a hundred of the more than three hundred barbarian knights dismounted and took an object from their backs.

Winters saw clearly that the barbarians were holding muskets, and they were actually mounted musketeers.

The barbarian musketeers loaded their ammunition, hung up their match ropes, and pressed forward step by step towards the Jashka brigade.

The remaining two hundred cavalrymen were divided into two groups, one on the left and the other on the right.

Surrounded by hundreds of horses, it can cover thousands of people.

The thunderous sound of horse hooves came from all directions. Some of the militiamen lying on the ground desperately buried their heads in the grass, as if they could escape disaster.

Barbarian's musketeers walked to about sixty meters and started shooting at the Jashka brigade.

Lead pieces flew everywhere, and one after another the musketeers were knocked down.

If you shoot against the barbarians, it will play into their hands.

"Aim at their cavalry! Don't be afraid!" Winters visually measured the distance of the barbarian cavalry: "Musketeers! Prepare!"

Fifty meters.

There were Platians who prayed tremblingly.

Forty meters.

The sound of horse hooves was deafening.

Thirty meters.

Winters could already see the hot breath coming from the enemy's horses.

He yelled, "Fire!"

Every Plato Musketeer pressed the firing lever without hesitation.

The firing of more than two hundred muskets sounded like a gunshot.

The barbarian cavalry who rushed at the front were knocked down like a sickle cutting wheat.

The barbarian knight behind gritted his teeth, lowered his body, and continued to charge forward.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica yelled: "Stand up! Everyone!"

"Stand up!" Winters pulled the soldier beside him up, activated the amplification technique, and ordered sternly: "Stand up!"

Militiamen could not carry out such tactical orders, nor could standing armies.

But Winters' warriors trusted him as much as they trusted their own eyes and hands.

After hearing Winters' order, the soldiers of Team Montagne stood up without hesitation.

Some militiamen did not dare to get up, and more militiamen climbed up after the soldiers of Montagne team.

Like a dragon's tooth planted in the ground that grows into a warrior, the Plattus "burrowed" out of the ground.

There are no suitable words to describe the shock that Manzi felt.

The Barbarians were very close to the Jessica group, and they only had to do one thing - collide.

The soldier standing outside has closed his eyes.

But nothing happened.

The barbarian's horse neighed and raised its front hooves high, almost standing tall.

The barbarian cavalry at the front stopped less than three meters away from the Jessica group.

Is it the rider who is afraid? Or is the war horse afraid?

Winters didn't know it, but he saw an opportunity.

Only a few barbarian riders had no time to slow down and rush into the crowd. The riders were thrown off their saddles, and several militiamen who had no time to dodge were knocked flying.

The barbarians' charge did not exert its due power, and the Platoans did not collapse.

The fight became a fair fight.

"Kill!" Winters rushed towards the enemy with his saber.

"Uukhai!" Every soldier in Jashka's brigade raised their weapons and rushed towards the barbarian closest to them.

"Uukhai!" Even the musketeers raised their rifle butts and shouted towards the enemy.

Barbarian also came to his senses. Although the charge was interrupted, they still had the strength to fight.

The barbarian on horseback waved his machete condescendingly, and could cut off his arms and neck with one slash.

The soldiers of Jashka's group grabbed the reins of their horses and stabbed the enemy with their swords like crazy.

"Bang, bang" gunshots kept ringing. It was not the Platoans who were shooting, but the barbarian musketeers.

The lead pieces were flying around, and no one knew who they hit. Both sides were fighting the enemies they recognized.

"Ура!" Pierre led the last cavalry to rush down the hillside.

He did not join the melee - the Platuan people could not tell the difference between friend and foe in the dark, and would kill anyone on horseback when they saw it - but instead walked around the battlefield and rushed towards the barbarian musketeers behind.

War roars also came from behind the barbarian musketeers. Twenty dozen black-armored cavalry formed a straight line and charged with a momentum that surpassed that of thousands of troops: "Uukhai!"

The black-armored cavalry did not hesitate and smashed into the ranks of the barbarian musketeers.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer is back too!

"Lieutenant Montagne!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica pulled Winters out of the melee.

"Successful!" Winters gasped, unable to conceal his excitement: "We did it! The barbarians are scared!"

"It's not over yet!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica handed the flag to Winters: "Second Lieutenant Montagne! You will be the vanguard!"

"Yes!" Winters saluted seriously.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica seemed to be smiling. He put on Winters' helmet and tapped it lightly: "Don't be so reckless again."

"Got it." Winters nodded repeatedly. Lieutenant Colonel Jessica suddenly became gentle, which made him a little uncomfortable.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out in the distance.

His ears were filled with shouts, screams and the sound of weapons clashing. Winters should not have noticed the gunshot, but he really heard it.

He also heard a sharp sound breaking through the air, as if a gust of wind was blowing across his face.

Then there was a crisp "ping" sound. This sound was very familiar to Winters. It was the sound of lead bullets shattering on armor.

Bits of lead even splashed onto Winters' visor.

Winters closed his eyes, but he didn't feel the impact of the buckshot.

He opened his eyes in horror: "Lieutenant Colonel! You..."

"Winters..." Lieutenant Colonel Jessica was unusually calm, even calmer than he usually was: "I...I seem to be invisible..."

[It is recommended that you refresh it before reading. ]

[Originally, "The Final Act" was supposed to have only the upper and lower parts, but Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's "exit" should get a chapter.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Lieutenant Colonel Jessica will disappear from this story, but he will leave the stage for a while. Losing the other eye is also what happened to Jan Jessica in the parallel universe. This makes the story suddenly feel a bit fatalistic. ]

[Regarding the tactical action of "lying down", this simple action appeared on the battlefield earlier than most people imagined. The general impression is that after explosive bombs and rifled guns gradually became popular in the 19th century, soldiers would "lie down".

In fact, at least as early as the Battle of Ceresole in 1554, Swiss mercenaries were already using the "lying down" movement. I remember the Spanish Grand Square also used similar tactics. The soldiers lay on the ground and let the enemy's lead bullets and shells fly over their heads.

But this tactic has high requirements on "morale and subjective initiative." If the morale and subjective initiative of the troops are relatively low, they may not get up again after lying down...

Morale and subjective initiative are things with a very high upper limit and a very low lower limit. "Frederick the Great" once described his troops as "as long as they disperse their formations on the battlefield, some soldiers will definitely run away" - of course this may also be the case. Enemy slander. Troops with high morale also have examples of heroes from the 1962 War. ]