Despite Ryan having the leisure to converse with Egel, the gunfire from his ranks never ceased. Four cannons roared continuously, each exploding shrapnel shell inflicting heavy casualties on the barbarian tribes.
A large group of knights appeared on the plains, all witnessing the tragic state of Leonace, igniting a fury within them.
For knights, nothing was more honorable than defending their homeland. Now, with Leonace Castle conquered and many villages reduced to ruins, the knights could not forgive the barbarians' atrocities. Their sins could only be washed away with their own blood.
Egel also recognized the power of the cannons. The barbarians could not afford to remain passive, as a single volley could cost them hundreds of warriors. Egel was well aware of the devastating effect of the dwarven cannons.
The barbarian army of Skarins was still slowly assembling. Caught off-guard, many warriors were just rousing from sleep, unprepared for battle when struck by the dwarven cannons, suffering heavy losses.
The knights were eager to engage, but Ryan raised his war hammer, signaling them to remain calm.
Despite the barbarians' lack of readiness, it did not mean a charge would be effective. The ordinary barbarian warriors and champions were unprepared, but those chosen by chaos were already rallying around Egel. If they charged at these heavily armored units, they would face a fierce counterattack.
Fortunately, Ryan saw no sign of the dreaded Chaos Hellcannons. Had they been destroyed during the siege?
Since the barbarians were unprepared, the knights' artillery showed no mercy. As Egel finally rallied the barbarian forces, they had already lost nearly a thousand men.
Egel began to assess the composition of Ryan's army.
Ryan's left flank, comprising over two thousand knights and three thousand attendants, had no infantry. It was led by Hubald, the former Duke of Cacassonne, commanding a large group of kingdom knights, ranger knights, and a few crusader knights, his face stern as he awaited Ryan's command.
The right flank included a few Sea God knights, over two thousand ranger knights, and three thousand attendants, also without any infantry. It was led by Sir Houlf, vice-commander of the Sea God Knight Order.
The center consisted only of Ryan, backed by a mere hundred knights. The rest were all infantry, with dwarven cannons positioned behind, those damn dwarves having found good firing positions, capable of firing every five minutes.
"Advance the entire army! Directly target the center!" Egel commanded a massive force of heavily armored troops: "Forward!"
"Forward!" The barbarian army, forced by artillery suppression, had to attack!
A large number of heavily armored barbarian troops charged towards the knight's center, while serf archers began firing, but their feeble arrows could hardly harm any chaos champions or chosen, all encased in heavy armor. While the arrows could damage the barbarian marauders, they were destined to fail against these black-armored warriors.
The Bastonne longbowmen played their role well, launching projectiles that inflicted decent damage on the barbarian warriors.
"Hold steady!" Ryan, leading from the front, signaled everyone to hold as the black tide surged forward under dwarven cannon fire. The first line of infantry, mostly knight attendants and sergeants armed with swords and shields, stood ready. Ryan personally led over a hundred knights positioned behind them.
"Hmm! He wants us to directly assault his center and then let his flanking knights envelop and annihilate us," Egel immediately saw Ryan's tactical intentions.
Ryan's plan was straightforward. He held the advantage in artillery, while the barbarian cannons had been destroyed earlier in the siege.
Thus, Egel and his troops had to attack Ryan's center, or they would continue to be targeted by artillery, unacceptable for the barbarian forces.
After attacking the center, as a large number of barbarians accumulated there, a flanking charge by the knights would certainly put the barbarians at a disadvantage. Although the chaos warriors were formidable fighters, no army could withstand a prolonged multi-front engagement.
Egel suddenly realized that he and his barbarian army were at a disadvantage in the battle dynamics.
"Covendolf!" Egel shouted angrily.
"Present!" A chaos champion stepped forward.
"Take your men and contain the knight's left flank!"
"Yes!" Covendolf and his men moved out.
"Haldon!"
"Here!"
"Attack the Bretonnian's right flank, and keep the knights there engaged!"
"Yes!"
As the black tide drew near, the barbarian army suddenly surged forward with a cavalry unit from the rear.
This cavalry unit, comprised entirely of lightly armored barbarian warriors riding Norscan warhorses and armed with javelins, with bundles more strapped to their backs, burst from formation and instantly hurled a dense shower of javelins at the left flank's knights.
Caught off-guard,
about twenty knights were impaled instantly, and several more fell from their mounts, never to rise.
Not every knight could afford to buy and wear plate armor; most were clad in chainmail, which provided good defense in close combat but was utterly inadequate against ranged attacks.
This cavalry was known as the Norscan Champion Hunters, numbering over four hundred. They were among the few cavalry units Egel brought on this southern expedition, reserved for critical moments.
Many knights immediately charged after them, lifting their lances and charging at the barbarian horsemen. But the barbarian cavalry was too quick, easily outrunning the Bretonnian knights. As the knights struggled to turn, the barbarians were already far away.
Hubald, leading the heavy knights, attempted to attack the chaos champion Covendolf's barbarian cavalry but couldn't catch up, no matter how hard he tried. After several attempts, the left flank's knights began to show signs of fatigue.
"Hahaha! Southern bastards! You can only follow us and eat dust; you can't even touch our horses' tails!" Many Norscan Champion Hunters laughed heartily, cheerfully turning their horses and again dodging the knights' pursuit.
The plan was successful. As long as the left flank's knights were constantly maneuvered, they couldn't encircle the barbarian forces attacking the center.
Unbeknownst to them, they had already moved to a gap between the center and the left flank.
"Hmm!" A cold smirk appeared on Hubald's stern face, and he immediately commanded: "Knights! Spread out!"
"Yes!" The large group of knights dispersed under the puzzled gazes of the barbarian cavalry. Covendolf hadn't realized what was happening yet when from the direction of the Bretonnian center, serfs received the order: "Everyone, down!"
Instantly, thousands of serfs lay prone on the ground.
Behind the serf infantry were a large number of dwarves and three rows of dark gun barrels, with hundreds of serfs and their dwarven hand crossbows behind them.
Dwarven engineer Dugan Ironhand, with a toothpick in his mouth, commanded: "Fire!"
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Two hundred dwarven thunderers fired simultaneously, a dense barrage nearly engulfing the barbarian cavalry in blood, dirt, and lead shot. The battlefield was filled with the sound of bullets hitting flesh. In this dense barrage, over a hundred barbarian cavalry fell instantly, many hit by several bullets and killed on the spot. In the blink of an eye, fifty or more barbarian warriors were dead, and seventy or more were wounded or dismounted. Chaos champion Covendolf, realizing the danger, hastily ordered: "Spread out! Quick, spread out!"
But it was too late.
After the dwarves completed their volley, it wasn't over yet. Next, it was the crossbowmen's turn to shine. They had learned over several months, or even longer, how to quickly aim, shoot, and reload. They raised their hand crossbows and pulled the triggers at the barbarian cavalry.
The high-quality dwarven hand crossbows fired short but powerful bolts, further devastating the barbarian cavalry. As the five hundred Norscan Champion Hunters retreated in disarray, less than three hundred remained.
Hubald then led the knights to charge at the dismounted and injured barbarians, completely annihilating the remaining barbarian cavalry.
"Southern men have such a strong shooting force; when did the Bretonnians form an alliance with dwarves?" Egel realized his earlier plan had failed. The remaining light cavalry was insufficient to contain the knight's left flank. They had to quickly eliminate the forces targeting Ryan's center, including the artillery!
At that moment, the barbarian center army had already approached Ryan's lead center.
The soldiers in the center were somewhat nervous as the black tide charged toward them, many serf soldiers even trembling uncontrollably.
However, they had already received their orders; they knew how to deal with these formidable enemies. Most serfs had already received Ryan's orders; as the barbarian army swiftly approached, the serfs in front quickly retreated into the ranks according to Ryan's earlier instructions.
Now, the chaos warriors charging into the center found themselves facing elite soldiers armed with long pikes or swords and shields, unexpectedly standing in tight formation. The first row of soldiers extended their right feet forward, holding long pikes, while the remaining soldiers raised their shields to meet the fierce charge of the chaos warriors.
At the same time, hidden crossbowmen greeted the charging barbarians, a dense barrage of crossbow bolts causing the first row of barbarian warriors and chaos champions to fall in large numbers. More importantly, a hidden heavy weapon in the rear finally came into play.
That was the organ gun.
All four barrels of the gun were loaded with lead grapeshot blessed by the Lake Prophet and even the Lady of the Lake!
"Boom!" At close range, the gun fired at
the approaching barbarian army. Flames burst from the barrels, spewing a massive spread of grapeshot.
Hundreds, if not more, barbarian warriors were torn apart by the blast, but the barbarians did not retreat. Those not instantly killed penetrated the Bretonnian ranks, beginning a brutal melee.
"Flame Skull!" Veronica took action. The radiant Galian witch cast a massive flaming skull that swept through the dense ranks of the barbarian army, causing immense damage.
Egel suddenly realized that the army led by Ryan was not as reckless as the forces of the Duchy of Leonace, which staked everything on a knightly charge. Instead, Ryan's army fought in an orderly manner, their formations tight and their tactics sound.
The center was engaged in a brutal melee. Ryan's newly trained pike regiments and sergeants were holding off the barbarian army's frontal assault with difficulty, while the right flank, led by Sir Houlf, was locked in combat with Haldon's chaos champion warriors and a large group of barbarian marauders, the situation currently balanced.
This was a fresh force from Brittany! The fearsome chosen champion keenly noticed the battle shifting against him, as the barbarian cavalry meant to contain the knight's left flank suffered heavy casualties. These barbarian cavalry could dodge arrows or crossbow bolts with their agility, but not the lead bullets of the dwarven gunners. Each volley took down at least twenty or thirty barbarian cavalry, and within a few minutes, the five hundred barbarian cavalry brought by Egel from Skarins were reduced to less than a hundred, their numbers still rapidly diminishing. The despicable dwarves sometimes didn't even aim at the riders but targeted the horses directly!
Chaos champion Covendolf had given up on harassing the left flank and came alone to command the barbarian forces, preparing to face the group charge of the large group of knights on the left.
"We must immediately crush the opponent's gunners and those dwarven gunners! Otherwise, we face the risk of defeat!" Egel knew he had to act. He called up his personal guard, three hundred chaos chosen warriors, leading the remaining five thousand barbarian warriors ready to enter the battlefield.
At the same time, standing behind the center, watching the battlefield situation, the Grail Knight Armand spoke to Ryan: "My lord, Egel is preparing to lead his personal guard into the battlefield."
Ryan nodded, turning his head to focus on the witch standing beside him: "Theresa, please."
The witch, clad in black leather, had been preparing a powerful spell since the battle began. Seeing Ryan speak, Theresa raised her purple staff high.
"Eighth Circle Magic, Breath of the Ice Dragon!"
A twenty-meter-long ice dragon appeared in the sky, bellowing angrily as it opened its mouth towards the barbarians battling on the field. A torrent of ice magic energy gushed from the dragon's mouth, instantly turning all the barbarians it touched to shards. Although the barbarians, grown in the northern wastelands, were highly resistant to cold, they ultimately could not face such powerful magic directly.
What made Egel feel terrible was that the battlefield was split open. The ice dragon's breath cut the barbarian army in half from the middle, creating a several-meter-high wall of ice, splitting the barbarian forces. The attack was greatly diminished; those barbarians caught inside the wall, facing Ryan's forces, were beaten back, while those behind couldn't keep up.
Just then, as he was commanding the forces, chaos champion Covendolf was hit in the head by a stray bullet. The power of the bullet was so great that it blew off half his head, killing him instantly as he fell from his horse.
His death triggered further chaos among the barbarian vanguard. Without a unified commander, they could only fight individually.
Dwarven engineer Dugan Ironhand put down the long-barreled sniper rifle still smoking in his hand, quite pleased with himself as he spoke to the kingdom knight Hexus and Ryan's fiancée Sulia standing beside him: "Told you so? When it comes to duels, the brave dwarf always wins!"
The sniper bullet was produced in Veronica's Dawn Wizard Tower, imbued with a large amount of fiery magical energy. In a hurry, Dugan had only obtained three shots, so he had to use them sparingly. The dwarven engineer was satisfied with his achievement and couldn't wait to let the human knight know.
Hexus could only roll his eyes in response, the noble kingdom knight thinking that a dwarf's idea of a duel might differ from a knight's. Seeing this, the elegant knight Sulia took the initiative to compliment: "Mr. Dugan, your marksmanship is really impressive."
Hearing Lady Sulia say this, Dugan's chin and beard nearly flipped upwards: "Dwarven is always the best."
On the other side, the barbarians were still
striking the thin ice wall with their weapons.
"This thin ice wall!" Egel was the first to charge up, his hellish battleaxe smashing a huge hole in the ice wall. Theresa's magical ice wall could not withstand Egel's fierce attack, but it was three to four meters thick. The fearsome chosen champion immediately called out to the only surviving chaos sorcerer in his tribe, also his foster son, Chakoy: "Break this section of the ice wall immediately!"
"Yes!" Just as Chakoy began to feel the winds of chaos and prepare his spell, a signal of extreme danger flashed through his mind, prompting him to dodge instinctively.
A white beam of light smashed into the spot where Chakoy had just been standing.
A beautiful witch in a fiery red leather dress appeared far away, protected by many knights and sergeants.
"Your opponent is me, chaos sorcerer!"
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