Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The war is not only raging in Warnie County and Middle Tiefeng County, but a more cruel war is also going on in Lower Tiefeng County.

This war has no shining armor and noisy flags, no magnificent and ups and downs story, and no etiquette, rules or kindness.

Just a group of ordinary people struggling for survival and home.

The Tertun people regarded them as prey and livestock, and arbitrarily took away their property, freedom and even lives.

They had to abandon their homes and hide in the mountains and forests just to survive. But even so, the Terdun people refused to let them go.

They had no reinforcements, no rear, and many didn't even have a real weapon.

They are not warriors, just farmers, craftsmen and traders who rely on hard work to make ends meet.

This war has no honor, dignity or glory for them.

Only survive, and survival is victory.

As Bard said when he released Ronald and others: "There are no soldiers, no troops, only farmers here. You, me, everyone must fight - and only in the peasant way."

…

Tiefeng County, Langtun Town, the wilderness forest at the northern foot of the Jinding Mountains.

With his mouth tightly closed and his eyes looking warily, the Terdun warrior named [Stone Arrow] held a bow and led his horse, carefully walking on the forest path.

There was no road in the forest, but when there were too many walking creatures, a path was created.

Unfortunately, this road was not safe, so Shi Jian let a little slave go ahead.

The little slave held a long stick in his hand. He used the long stick to check whether there were any pits before he dared to take a step.

There were more than thirty subjects and slaves following Shi Jian. In order to make as little noise as possible, everyone led their horses and walked.

The northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains have undulating terrain and towering giant trees. The view will be greatly obstructed when walking among them, which makes the Teldun people who are used to seeing cattle and sheep low in the wind and grass very uncomfortable.

About "a calf" away from Shijian, Qingma and his men were also heading deeper into the forest, but neither party could see the other.

[Note: A calf cannot walk far, so it is often used as a metaphor near a felt tent, about one kilometer]

After Ganquan's death, the property that originally belonged to Ganquan - the horses, subjects, slaves and trophies were divided between Shijian and Qingma.

Although Gan Quan also has a two-year-old son, in the wilderness where the jungle prevails, a man who cannot draw a bow has no right to inherit.

Between the two wings of Shijian and Qingma there is also a central army with nearly two hundred men and horses, led by Turukota [Bald Dog].

The left and right wings and the center were roughly arranged in a fan shape, quietly approaching the prey.

This was a hunt, with bald dogs holding arrows, and the trophies belonged to the bald dogs.

Shi Jian and Qing Ma were not willing to come, but their status and strength were low and they were not qualified to say no.

My heart is unwilling and my feet are dragging. Shi Jian moved his legs slowly, stepping in the boot prints of the little slave in front of him with every step - he was really a little scared.

Gan Quan died relatively happily. He died in a beautiful ambush, so he didn't have time to understand what the "peasant's way" was.

And Shi Jian and Qing Ma have already "tasted" their unforgettable hatred.

People who have eaten food dug out of "carelessly buried" dark cellars in the morning will develop symptoms of poisoning in the afternoon.

In mild cases, vomiting and diarrhea occur; in severe cases, the complexion is blood red and the patient has difficulty breathing and dies.

More terrible than human poisoning is horse poisoning.

The seemingly ordinary haystacks are mixed with deadly yew leaves and twigs. As long as they taste it, the horses will quickly twitch their limbs and fall to death.

Many horses died inexplicably while their upper and lower teeth were still chewing.

Poisoning, traps, ambushes... The Terdun tribe gradually became frightened. Not only did they no longer dare to feed the horses hay, they even had to let the captured women taste the food first.

However, these tactics are difficult to damage Teldu's muscles and bones in a short period of time.

The dogs of war ravaged the land wantonly. The Terdun people burned villages and towns, trampled farmland, mutilated women, and killed every Plato man they could find. The plumes of smoke rising into the sky were clearly visible even in Zhongtiefeng County.

The people of Xia Tiefeng County also killed in the most brutal way... no, they tortured and killed every Terdun person they could catch as revenge.

The Teltun people who were ambushed by genuine officers such as Bud and Ronald could even be considered lucky, because the Teltun people who fell into the hands of the militia would literally have their hearts and bones cut out, beheaded and abandoned.

Even the repeated orders of Bud and Ronald could not stop the spread of this behavior.

Therefore, while leading more than 30 people on a dense forest path full of dangers, Shi Jian seemed to be getting closer to a broken corpse with every step he took.

Whatever he was afraid of came, a series of flapping sounds and horse neighing sounds suddenly came from behind Shi Jian.

Shi Jian suddenly felt a chill running down his spine, and subconsciously wanted to get on his horse and run wildly.

He waited stiffly for a moment, but did not hear the frightening cry of death.

Looking back, I saw a licorice-yellow short-tailed horse lying on the ground with its head upturned, snorting out hot breath.

[Licorice Yellow] struggled to get up, but its right front leg had sunk into the soil, all the way to its knees.

"Pull it out! Pull out the horse's legs!"

"Get away! Be careful of its kick!"

Licorice Yellow became manic with fright and pain, and the Teltun people next to it were helplessly spinning around it.

At this time another change occurred.

A middle-aged slave screamed miserably, as if he had become shorter in the blink of an eye - he was also as yellow as licorice, and one leg sank into the pit.

It took some effort for the other Tertons to lift one man and one horse out of the pit.

An old slave groped for Licorice Huang's injured leg and ankle, and said thankfully: "It's not broken, it's no big deal."

The old slave led Licorice Huang forward, but the latter screamed in agony and did not dare to touch the ground with his right front leg.

It seems that although Licorice Yellow has not broken the horse's hoof, it will take a while before he can ride again.

On the contrary, the middle-aged slave who stepped into the pit was more seriously injured: a sharp wooden awl penetrated the sole of his boot, leaving a deep bloody hole on the sole of his foot.

Seeing the miserable state of one man and one horse, the head of Guizhou and the slaves became even more depressed.

Initially, the Tertuns encountered large pits filled with thorn cones and bear traps.

Big traps and bear traps are deadly but easy to spot.

Especially the bear-hunting traps - they were worth several kilograms of good iron for free, and the people of Teltown were not happy in time.

But then the Telton people couldn't laugh anymore, because the pitfalls they encountered became more and more hidden day by day, and the materials used became simpler and simpler day by day.

By now they were all small traps with "a pit of earth and a wooden cone", and pits about the size of a mouse hole, specifically for horses.

Maybe the nobles still think that the Two-legged people are just docile prey like lambs, but the ordinary tribesmen already know very well that the Platuan people are definitely not sheep-at least not here.

Shi Jian looked at the injured slave and injured Licorice Huang. Not only was he not angry, he was actually a little happy.

Just as Shi Jian was thinking about what to do, three riders came through the forest, and the leader was actually Turukota [Bald Dog] himself.

Everyone in Shijian hurriedly saluted.

"What are you doing? Making such a big noise?" Bald Dog asked with a gloomy face.

"My men stepped into a trap."

"What's the point of stepping into a trap? March quickly."

"But..." Shi Jian hesitated: "We have to send some people to take the injured back."

Bald Dog narrowed his eyes and held the gold-encrusted knife handle: "Who is injured?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged slave who stepped into the pit got up in panic. He endured the pain and stood up straight, blood dripping from the soles of his boots and into the soil.

"March quickly." Bald Dog shouted: "If you delay the hunting, I will definitely kill you."

Shi Jian swallowed his anger and saluted.

For the Hurd, masculinity is an important part of authority, but Stone Arrow doesn't care about that much right now.

The bald dog was obviously heading for him, and if he gave the slightest hint of truth, he might be killed on the spot.

Stone Arrow left the wounded and injured horses behind and continued to move forward. Although they had just stepped on the trap, they still had to follow the trail.

Because there may be traps on the roadside, and there are existing trails that cannot be taken, so walking in the woods will only waste time.

This is not a flat grassland, you can go anywhere. This is a primitive forest that is one foot deep and one foot shallow. You can get lost if you are not careful.

Shi Jian walked forward reluctantly.

Bald Dog didn't give up, but kept pushing further and further. He was like the real master of these tribes, riding behind the queue to supervise the troops.

Follow the trail to the end and you will find a river valley.

The river valley runs east to west, and no human habitation can be seen on either side.

The bald dog sniffed the wind and ordered the stone arrow to lead the people eastward.

A dog's nose is sharper than a horse's nose. Just after turning a corner, a hidden camp located on the south bank of the river valley was exposed to the Teltun people.

The camp is surrounded by a fence made of branches. Within the fence, you can see tents, roofs made of birch bark and wheat straw, and even vague figures of people.

This is the prey, and this is why the Telduans are here - the secret camp of the Plattons.

"Ha! The Two-Legged Man's secret camp!" Bald Dog was overjoyed: "Hide your tracks and wait for the right wing and the center army to come over. If the Two-Legged Man is alerted, I will kill you!"

After leaving a few threats, Bald Dog set off to find his tribe.

…

Hiding in the mountains and forests, building camps and hiding away, leaving behind empty villages and towns...

The Terdun people were not surprised at all that the two-legged people cut off their tails to survive - because this is what the Hurd tribes did.

Whenever there is a war, all the adult men in the Hed tribe must go to war.

The leaders would gather all their cattle, sheep, goods, women and felt tents, and then choose a remote and hidden place to settle them. This is the so-called old camp.

While the men were out fighting, the old, young, women and children hid in the old camp waiting for news. And when it comes time to abandon the old camp, the leaders of the various tribes will never hesitate.

Therefore, for various tribes, clearing out old camps is one of the important links in the war.

Because there is no trophy to speak of in battle, fat cattle and sheep, beautiful women, and glorious palace tents are all in the old camp.

In Shi Jian's view, the Two-Legged People here simply replaced one old camp where all the wealth was concentrated with many small camps.

After plundering all the extravagant wealth from villages and towns, the Teldun people, who were not satisfied with their harvest, naturally turned their attention to the forest.

The Terdun people defined the area as if they were hunting, tracking and looking for shadows, searching mountains and fields, and digging three feet into the ground.

Although the secret camp is hidden, it has no legs. A wisp of smoke, a flock of birds, a trail trodden by humans and animals, or even bad luck can expose your camp.

As the secret camps were discovered one after another, the belongings stolen by some Terdun leaders were already filled with large and small saddlebags, and all the horses could not carry them.

The chieftains who came back empty-handed were green-eyed with envy—such as Bald Dog.

…

Shi Jian was not interested in the "old camp" in front of him, and he could not get a share of the spoils.

Bald Dog didn't explain it clearly, but Shi Jian knew very well that Bald Dog wouldn't give him anything, which led to the second reason - Bald Dog was going crazy with hunger, and Shi Jian was already very full.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Shi Jian heard the sound of a horn coming from the front.

Hundreds of Terdun light cavalry rushed out of the forest and headed straight for the secret camp. The leader was Bald Dog.

There was another horn sound coming from another direction, and Qing Ma also led people to kill the secret camp.

Shi Jian ordered his men to blow the horn, mount their horses, and run towards the secret camp leisurely.

…

Swords flashed, people howled and horses neighed.

Two groups of people were fighting desperately in a simple camp, one with a small number of people and one with a large number of people.

The side with fewer people holds spears, bows and arrows, and scimitars, and gallops and kills with bows and arrows. The side with more people holds maces, javelins, and even flails, sickles and other agricultural tools, and fights in a dense formation.

Needless to say, the former is a native of Teltown and the latter is a militia member of Lower Tiefeng County.

In this battle of hundreds versus dozens, the militiamen commanded by Ronald have steadily suppressed the Teltowns.

The militiamen pushed the wheels and lifted the door panels, slowly rolling towards the Teltun camp in a clumsy but unstoppable way - yes, this battle did not take place in the secret camp in the river valley, but in Bald Dog's camp. Camp.

If it had been in the past and the war had gone badly, the Terdun people would have fled quickly.

But not now, because their trophies are all stored in the camp.

The people of Teltown were like stingy travelers who were halfway uphill with their carts and were bitten in the butt by a wolf that had been watching for a long time.

If he gives up and fights the wolf, the car will be gone; but if he continues to push the car, his butt will be gone.

Ronald frowned, staring at the small group of Teldon armored cavalry on the hillside that had never participated in the battle - he should now be called Major Ronald.

There are two difficulties in riding with foot control. First of all, the impact of the cavalry needs to be counteracted; secondly, the cavalry cannot be allowed to escape.

Ronald has already solved the latter problem; for the former problem, Captain Epel racked his brains and came up with a simple and crude tactic - "wheel formation".

To put it simply, a mobile lance carriage similar to a gun carriage is used to support the front and back, and the sides are covered by wheels with a thick, sharpened long log stuck in it.

If the enemy doesn't move, just push the wheels; as soon as the enemy's cavalry comes over, immediately put down the wheels, and generally use "rollable horse-rejecting stakes" to protect the formation.

The wheel is not only a means of transportation, a roadblock, but also a support for the horse-proof stakes - of course, it still needs someone to support it.

But it was easier to hide behind the wheel and hold on to the spear than to face the cavalry charge with both hands holding the spear.

To a certain extent, the wheel array and the horse-drawn carriage array are similar.

But the carriage was too heavy and heavy to move once a battle broke out. So let's just get rid of the carriage and leave only the wheels. In this case, the draft horses can also be chopped off.

Is it possible? Epel doesn't know either. But it would definitely not work if the peasants who had just taken up arms were allowed to face the cavalry attack with only a spear like the soldiers of the standing army.

Then this strange scene appeared on the battlefield:

The militiamen were sweating profusely and shouting slogans as they pushed the wheels of the half-man-high chariot, truly "advancing";

As soon as Turdun's cavalry came up, they lowered their wheels like an umbrella;

Facing the tortoise-shell-like formation of wheels, the Terdun people could do nothing no matter how fast their bows and horses were.

The wheels were too high for the horse to jump over. If you forcefully rush up, it's hard to say whether you can knock it away, but the person who hits it will definitely die. The Tertun people did not intend to commit suicide, so they chose to fly outside the wheel formation and shoot arrows.

The militiamen also used slings, javelins, bows and arrows to shoot at the barbarians.

From time to time, some Terdun men fell off their horses, and some militiamen screamed and fell down, covering their wounds.

Terdun Hong Feiyu watched coldly as the "wheel array" rolled forward until the Platuan people advanced to the foot of the hillside.

The water flowed downwards, and the wheels tended to roll downwards. The exhausted militiamen gradually became unable to control the heavy wheels.

The originally relatively compact front line became loose at first, and then gaps began to appear - the ground was not always flat, let alone a row of wheels, even a row of people encountered bad terrain and it was not easy to walk neatly.

"[Herd] The formation of the two-legged men has dispersed!" Terdun Hong Feiyu picked up his spear, stabbed the horse's ribs, and rushed down the hillside like an arrow from the string. Terdun's armored cavalry followed closely behind him: " [Hidden] God be upon you!”

The charge of more than a dozen cavalry actually gave the illusion of a thousand troops. Seeing this, the other Terdun light cavalry also turned their horses and followed.

"It's your turn." Seeing that the opponent had shown his trump card, Major Ronald also sent out his fierce dog: "Adam, enter."

The morale of the militiamen collapsed as the Terton cavalry nimbly passed through the gaps between the wheels and horse posts.

Hong Lingyu stabbed a person's back with a spear, and the spear sank deeply into the flesh. The man fell, Hong Lingyu let go and pulled out his scimitar.

Other Terton armored cavalry and light cavalry filed in through the breach, and the Platuan people fled in all directions.

Hong Lingyu thought that the next step was to chase and kill the two-legged people, but he found a small group of two-legged people rushing up against the flow of people. Without thinking, he slashed with his knife.

Second Lieutenant Adam (front), who only had a pair of arm armor, roared and swung his round stab hammer, and smashed it against Hong Feiyu's scimitar.

A stabbing mallet was essentially a stick with an iron tip, and was made of very thick wood for strength.

Hong Lingyu rides a horse and Adam fights on foot. The former chops down from a high position and theoretically has the advantage.

However, the moment the knife and mallet collided, Hong Lingyu only felt an unstoppable force coming back from the weapon.

Hong Lingyu's palms were numb, his mouth was torn apart, and even his wrists were sprained.

What was even more unexpected to Hong Lingyu was that his scimitar cut deeply into the wooden handle of the opponent's strange weapon, making him unable to move.

This scene was also beyond Adam's expectation.

Logically speaking, the wooden handles of pole weapons should be repeatedly oiled, dried, and even iron sheathed to ensure that they will not be cut off.

Adam had no time to complain about the quality of the mace. He roared and pulled it down hard with all his strength, and Hong Feiyu's scimitar fell out of his hands.

Adam took advantage of the situation and stabbed Hong Lingyu's right rib with a top-down thrust.

The tip of the mallet touched the armor, and sparks flew everywhere.

In the end, only a dent is left on the nail, but the momentum is transmitted to the human body through the nail leaves.

Four of Hong Lingyu's ribs were immediately broken. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even make a sound and fell towards the other side of the saddle.

The crudely made stabbing hammer also reached its limit. The front end of the wooden handle of the stabbing hammer exploded with a bang, and the iron awl flew to nowhere.

The war horses were frightened and ran away like crazy. Hong Lingyu's left foot got stuck in the stirrup, and he screamed and was dragged away by the horse.

Other Telduans who rushed into the "wheel formation" were also entangled by Adam's daredevil team.

The Terdun people gradually discovered that something was wrong. The wheel array used wheels as walls, so there must be gaps.

This gap is like the mesh of a sieve. People can crawl, drill, and squeeze through, but horses cannot.

The Platuan people only escaped from the wheel formation, but did not continue to flee.

Instead, they went back to the wheel and turned the wheel array over.

The Hittites' spears had two points at both ends, and the Platuan people's spears and wooden stakes also had two points.

With a strong pull, the "hedgehog" with the tip of the spear pointing outwards turned into an "iron maiden" with the tip of the spear pointing inward in the blink of an eye.

The Telduuns found themselves imprisoned inside the Iron Maiden.

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