frightfiction Chapter 15 Autumn Campaign (5)
Chapter 15 Autumn Campaign (5)
The frontal line advanced like a hammer, with eight 12-pounder mountain guns moving forward and firing solid shot at the troops in front from both sides. Then, Alicia crushed three thousand-man squares with three volleys.
Taking advantage of the enemy's disarray, the First Cavalry Regiment, which had been lurking on the flank of Alice's troops, launched a full-scale attack. The regimental commander led the way, holding a carbine in one hand and the reins in the other, urging his horse forward at full speed.
The addition of cavalry quickly escalated the situation on the battlefield. On the right flank, the two mountain infantry guns of the 2nd Regiment fired another salvo, tearing apart the flank of Lord Kut. Then, after three salvos, General Smedley ordered a charge.
The Kut army collapsed without a doubt when faced with the first charge of the Amerlansi vanguard. The bayonets, gleaming with a ghostly light, drew closer step by step. The peasants had never seen such a sight before, but the mercenaries held their own. Smedley saw the human wall that was being reassembled behind the collapsed soldiers and immediately ordered a halt to the charge—the two guns were only 50 meters apart.
"Third column, forward!"
The soldiers in the third column had been ordered to load their weapons. The infantrymen, charging in formation, quickly found themselves in the unknown. When the mercenaries tried to counter-charge with all sorts of shields and weapons, they found that the "short spears" that could shoot out terrifying projectiles were raised again. Then came the smoke and explosions of killing.
A salvo wiped out one layer of the mercenary formation, and then the Third Artillery Battalion, commanded by Alicia, turned its guns and fired a salvo at the mercenaries—solid shot rolled again, killing or maiming anyone who grazed it.
"charge!"
Bayonets charged once more. Uniforms, drums, and battle cries boosted the morale of the mercenaries. Vanguard soldiers in uniform gray uniforms raised their rifles with bayonets fixed. Bayonets clashed, drawing blood, and cries of wounded soldiers could be heard from time to time. After a resolute but brief duel of bayonets and longswords, the mercenaries were driven out of their positions.
On the front, Alicia fought steadily, with her soldiers constantly loading and firing their rifles. Orpheus's several charges were repelled by cannon fire and lead bullets. He stood in the camp, watching his opponents spewing flames and white smoke.
"My lord, I'm afraid the situation is out of control."
He knew that the current situation was difficult to control, and the only way to avoid total annihilation was to regroup his troops and retreat.
On the flank, the First Cavalry Regiment had already charged into the flanking position. After a volley of fire from horseback, sabers began to splatter with blood, and soldiers and peasants were constantly being hacked to pieces. Lacking effective command, after ten minutes of chaos, the collapse began.
Kurt stood on high ground, pointing angrily at the battlefield before him. The enemy's casualties were almost in the single digits. He watched as the knights and mercenaries he had fed with gold coins fell before those short spears that spewed flames. The empress stood there, right in front of the troops, not charging at them with her giant scythe, nor using the eerie magic of the vampires, but simply using her soldiers to easily wipe out his forces.
"Damn it! Orpheus! Gather the troops! Let's return to our territory!"
With a salvo from 12 mountain howitzers, Lord Kut's army was completely routed. Alice led her soldiers and rushed into the Kut army's camp at top speed to intercept the supplies that the Kut had not had time to take.
Of course, outside the battlefield, the mountain hunters' camp had been waiting for a long time. Alice would not let the duck that was in her hands escape. She not only wanted to make this war a blood sacrifice for the Amelansi vanguard, but also to bring the Kurt territory into her possession.
After all, Kut territory possesses Hilla Port, the second largest seaport in the entire Demon Realm, and its port city Hilla City is a bustling commercial metropolis.
Lord Kut rode a tall horse, surrounded by his personal guard. They were trying to escape before it was too late; once they reached Hilla Harbor, everything would be fine.
"Sir, the trap is set, double the amount of gunpowder."
"Very good, His Highness has promised. If we capture that pig Kut, we will all receive military merits!"
The training subjects for mountain hunters are not limited to shooting, ambushes, and reconnaissance. Alice treats them as special forces, so setting traps is naturally one of their training subjects.
"The sound of horses' hooves!"
"Damn it! Take cover! Get into firing positions!"
"Hey! A cavalry unit! Quite a few! The tall one in the middle—I recognize him! That's Kurt!"
The cavalry roared through the path; of course, to return to the Kut territory, they had to pass through here, which gave the hunter squad an opportunity.
Boom!
Lord Kurt pondered repeatedly: if the Empress was so powerful, why was she defeated? When the current Emperor attacked the Empress, he had sent a portion of his knightly order to participate in the war!
There was no such army back then!
Boom!
But Kurt couldn't think any further. His bodyguard rode up in front of him, and the horse's hooves triggered a tripwire trap, which then ignited the explosives buried underground.
"Fire! Fire!"
The hunters pulled the triggers, and eight Minié rifles opened fire. The smoke obscured their vision, but as their vision cleared again, they saw the blood-stained crater in the ground and half of Kurt's body.
"Ceasefire!"
News of Lord Kurt being taken away by the hunters with a high-explosive trap quickly spread across the battlefield. Alice stood in front of Orpheus, who had only two hundred soldiers left, holding up the half of Kurt's saber that the mobile hunters had given her.
"Surrender! Kurt is dead! Lay down your weapons or die!"
Orpheus noticed Alice's white hair and red eyes and realized that she was not the empress, but a new vampire princess!
A new vampire princess!
"Are you... Her Highness the Princess?"
"I am Alice, a Major General in the Ameliansi Vanguard Army and a member of the National Central Executive Committee! Of course, it's not wrong to call me Your Highness!"
Alice brandished her sword, throwing Kurt's broken sword in front of Orpheus. The younger commander knelt down and offered his weapon.
"Your Highness, I am willing to accept the punishment!"
Whether it was genuine or he saw the threat in Alice's eyes, Orpheus's surrender marked a less than satisfactory end to the battle. Alicia stepped forward and looked at Orpheus.
“Your Majesty, I was deceived by Kut and dared to defy the royal family. I am willing to accept punishment.”
"Get up. The country is in peril right now. Would you be willing to take a minor official position under me?"
Surprisingly, Alicia didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, she looked the young man over and seemed to recall the commander.
"Are you Orpheus, the 'Strategist'?"
"It's down."
"You fought very well in the battle of the capital. We almost didn't have time to take the Imperial Guard with us."
"Your Majesty, I dare not, this humble subject has been threatened by the false emperor..."
"Alright, shut up. We don't care whether you were threatened or not. Take your men and go back to Smedley with the Second Division!"
"To!"
"Incorporate them into the Second Division!"
"Yes!"
Alicia looked at the battlefield, where corpses were scattered across the land and blood was irrigating the grassland. She wondered how fertile the land would be next year.
Kurt is dead, Kurt's territory is empty, and what she needs to do next is quite obvious.
"Alice, let's go take down Kurt's territory!"
Alice handed a pistol to the officer next to her. An empty flintlock pistol was no different from a club. She turned to look at Alicia.
"Alright, are you going to bring the First Division?"
"Of course, we'll go ourselves. Little Alice, stay home and watch the house."
"Ah."
Alice also had her own things to do. Before setting off, she asked Sainz to do something: to create a machine that would change the world.
Reciprocating steam engine.