The water surface of the Grand Canal is still so smooth; the number of troops stationed on both sides is still so impressive. Whenever night comes, the beacon fire on the riverside can almost connect with the vast stars in the sky. Of course, the above is just romanticism
To put it bluntly, realistic people can already predict that both sides of the canal will be filled with ghostly fire at night in the next ten years.
Tonight is the critical point for the civil war in the Bruck Empire to break out.
Because there are enough royal elements in this civil war, there will also be traditional things happening at this juncture, such as the private night banquet of the Bruck royal family - in fact, the true meaning of this banquet is that both sides want to flaunt themselves
His demeanor and magnanimity, at the very least, he has to bring back a sign of talking, laughing and fighting, and maybe it can be embellished with the lace of love and justice. As for how many people will die in a fight, such "little things" are really not considered.
Looking at it from another angle, isn’t it an act of lack of confidence to worry about how many people will die at this time?
The two small fleets, which were at war with each other, formed an exaggerated "T" formation on the waterway. They dropped anchor at the same time. The old Emperor Brooke and the Duke of Swithhepburn boarded the same small cruise ship.
The person who placed the dishes was the old prince Atirut, and the person who held the pot and passed the dishes was Siwes's mother. The wine was ten years old, and the fish was freshly caught. It looked like it was just an ordinary family gathering. On the shore, in the water,
At the same time, there were hundreds of pairs of eyes watching their every move. The old emperor and the duke sat across from each other, and they were chatting. They were all short-tempered, and none of them touched on the military and political affairs in front of them... It has to be said that if these two uncles and nephews were
If you go to a theater troupe to make a living, you will become a powerful person.
Finally, after having had enough wine and food, the old emperor wiped his lips and asked the Duke to submit to him sternly, but the latter refused almost without thinking, so the dinner ended in this only strange atmosphere.
Everyone couldn't help praising the beauty of the women and the bravery of the men. They shook hands and said goodbye in a gentle manner, and the two fleets gradually retreated.
But after getting out of the opponent's fire range, the old Emperor Bruck, who had been silent all the way, looked back, raised his arm, and the first rocket streaked through the dark night, igniting the imperial civil war!
"Believe what you say! How shameless!" On the battleship where the leader of the Southern Treaty Business Group was located, the Duke's subordinates shouted with indignation: "Fight! Fight! The Southern Treaty Business Group is not a lamb!"
"Fight!" Duke Swice's eyes were on the river bank: "The first-line troops will hold fast and wait for the support of the third regiment directly under them!"
With the beating of war drums and the continuous flames, the first offensive and defensive battle for the Grand Canal began.
The main attack is the Scissor Infantry Legion. This legion has been led by the emperor's cronies since its establishment. Therefore, it has strict military discipline and well-equipped equipment. It belongs to the Guards of the Bruck Empire. It is a force with considerable combat effectiveness and is also a guard.
The only battle-level attack force in the country. This time, they came to the front line as the old emperor's escort regiment, and only part of them went into battle.
Defending this place is the sixth local garrison of the Southern Treaty Merchant Group. Because the location of the royal family banquet happens to be on the river outside the garrison camp, they are invisibly at the front of the queue, even ahead of the Duke's personal guards.
The position of the group should be further forward.
The Sixth Guards Corps is actually a roving force of gangsters, mercenaries, and bandits. It only relied on local nobles to join the treaty merchant group half a month ago. It has not even been included in the list of troops directly under the merchant group. Not only is it fake.
The wind of change blew both sides, and the troops were running around fighting to eat and die, and it was also a sore on the face of the merchant group - they had only joined the merchant group for half a month and had already committed countless crimes. The officers and soldiers worked together to rob and kill.
, kidnapping does everything.
For the "soldiers" in this "army", going to the battlefield does not require many skills. They only need to learn three things to become rich and lucky.
The first is to have a keen eye, carefully observe everything on the battlefield, and know which places are gaps and which places are not in the opponent's attack route. The second is to run. It doesn't matter if you can't outrun the enemy, as long as you run faster than your "comrades"
It will be very safe. The third is to kneel down. When the end of the road is over, bend both knees and bow to the ground. It is just to change clothes and eat food.
Just like tonight's battle, although the terrain here is narrow, the enemy is directly in front, and the merchant group supervisory team is just as fierce as the enemy directly behind. But there are mountains on the left and water on the right. Both places are good for fighting.
Where to go, they should be able to escape from the battle group easily during the night... But they did not expect that this situation would change after the war broke out.
As soon as the war drums sounded, first the evil magicians lit up the sky, and then the archers ignited the mountains, forests and water, firmly restricting the Sixth District garrison to the enemy's impact route.
The "officers" were horrified. Dozens of escapees were shot dead by the supervising team on the spot. The "soldiers" began to fight for the shields and weapons that no one was willing to take before...
It has to be said that the attacking party's style is very unique. The Scissors Infantry Corps did not warm up for the battle or conduct fire tests, and directly entered the frontal assault. With an order, the attacking line formed a wall of giant shields, a forest of spears, and various arms.
Following up step by step, speeding up at a distance of 300 steps, after the archers fired five times in clusters, the assault troops were pressed in front of the local garrison that was riddled with holes - this was strength, and there was no room for lies!
It's like hitting a piece of bread with a hammer, but you only hear the sound of the hammer and don't hear the sound of the bread.
The defensive position, which was two miles deep, was quickly submerged by the raging tide of troops. The entire field of vision was full of flying imperial weapons. The sixth local garrison encountered a disaster. Those who wanted to run could not do so;
Only when I knelt did I understand why the opponent was called "big scissors" - any living creature that could move would be "cut" into two pieces by them!
When the local nobles were bargaining with Siwes, they never imagined that their "army" would become what it is now. In less than half an hour, the entire camp was penetrated, just because of the buildings in the camp.
The tent was in disarray, and it took the scissors more time to clear out the remaining soldiers.
In a field battle at night, it is difficult for a unit to fight smoothly. For both sides, the dark place is an area that cannot be controlled. Fortunately, the narrow contact area on the scene does not need to invest too many troops. After the breakthrough, it must be cleared and defended.
, and the depth of two miles can just digest the force of the scissors.
More than half an hour later, the 3rd Infantry Regiment directly under the Southern Treaty Merchant Group had already moved up and changed positions with the supervisory team in the open area.
The Scissors Legion, which had made a good start, was not in a hurry to attack. The soldiers cleared several passages in the camp to allow the follow-up troops to pass smoothly. So, amidst the clatter of horse hooves, the noble mercenaries-the members of the Savali family
The butcher is coming up.
Savali is a hereditary nobleman from the south of Bruck. He has great influence in the political and military circles and is rich in financial resources. He has always been friendly with the Demon Palace and often becomes a stumbling block for imperial decrees to be circumvented. This cavalry unit comes from his family.
The private soldier sequence. The conditions offered by the old emperor to the Savary family were that any land acquired by the Savary family would be divided into 30/70 shares, and the empire would be divided into 70%.
According to the general battlefield situation, this should be the best opportunity to appear, because the situation has already opened up, and the directly affiliated 3rd Infantry Regiment has temporarily entered the battlefield. I am afraid that even a basic defense cannot be organized, and the terrain is relatively
The front should be more spacious. So the fierce mercenary commander swung his saber, shouted, and asked his subordinates to set up an impact formation - as special private soldiers who only serve the family, they do not have to fight the battle between gods and demons.
, the combat power is kept intact.
Therefore, this army is different from those who have been involved in the war between gods and demons. They lack vigilance towards certain things. Of course, it is also possible that their fighting spirit is so high that they cannot hear the orders from the opponent's infantry regiment.
"Enemy cavalry—form up fifteen quarters away!"
"Archers in formation - good shot!"
"Trap check completed - remove the trap!"
"The equipment is ready - the shooting range is good!"
The merchant group is directly under the command of the 3rd Infantry Regiment. The tall lieutenant colonel commander is looking up at the night sky, muttering inexplicably with grief and anger: "...the last one, just because he is the last one, he was sent here.
Come to command the rookie... If I had known better, I would have learned to write poetry..."
"Report to your Excellency, Commander, the entire army is ready!" the voice of the combat staff sounded: "Waiting for your combat order!"
"Call sir!" the commander yelled at the subordinate with a higher rank than himself: "The opponent is so closely lined up, give them some fuel first - long-range bow and arrow decoy scattering!"
"Yes! Sir!" The major general's combat staff cursed in his stomach, but he did not dare to contradict the officer in a black cloak - the other party was the battlefield commander assisted by the Sbia Empire, and all the officers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment itself
, this time he only participated in the battle as a staff officer and deputy.
"Hahaha - a few broken arrows here and there!" the commander of Savali Butcher laughed: "Order - move forward slowly!"
"Slowly move forward!" The sound of neat horse hooves sounded.
"Calibrate ten knots - hold still!" A strange voice command came from the merchant army camp.
"Raise your shield - approaching at medium speed!" The Savali butchers began to increase their speed.
"Steady - steady..." Dozens of pairs of eyes in the merchant army stared at the command flag: "Let go!"
A strange scream sounded in the sky.
"Free Impact..." In panic, the Butcher Commander's orders suddenly stopped. A fast and fierce armor-piercing arrow penetrated his face, and another armor-piercing arrow shot from the shoulder blade and pierced directly into the lungs!
The entire offensive line was filled with blood!
The neat cavalry array was preparing to attack, but was instantly enveloped by a rain of arrows. In the dazzling magic light, the war horses shot into the shape of a hedgehog screamed, dragged their shadows and fell down, and in the end they could only move their legs and feet in vain!
"Sibian people...Sibian people..." On the canal battleship, a general beside the old emperor muttered to himself, his body involuntarily shrinking back: "This is the arrow rain from the Sibian people...
"
With a "plop" sound, the frustrated general lost his footing and fell into the water.
"No need to save this coward, it would be better if he died!" The old emperor's face turned livid: "Order the Savali family to take down those people for me! Take them down! I will stand here and watch!"
The old emperor's order was conveyed, and the Savali mercenary generals used their special skills to attack together with infantry and cavalry. In ancient legends, it was because of this tactic that the Savali family helped the founding of the Buluk Empire.
.But that was many years ago after all, especially tonight, when facing an unknown opponent, the Savali family hit the wall.
Section 10, the Savali family did not know the specific concept of this thing before, they only knew that it was roughly a distance unit, but at this time, they deeply realized that - that is the boundary line of battlefield coverage firepower in the Sibia military system.
, entering within ten knots, you will suffer violent and precise long-range strikes, just like stepping into the territory of beasts!
The opponent's bow commanders are so cunning. They can accurately measure the mercenary's traveling speed and direct the bows to launch at the most appropriate time. Under the guidance of the magic lighting arrows, the opponent's arrows are raining down. The brave and powerful Savali
The mercenaries suffered a huge blow when they entered!
Continuous shooting, projectile shooting, direct shooting, emergency shooting, the archers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment directly under the Merchant Corps were miserable, and their gloves were already dripping with blood, but the herald from Sbia issued orders again and again, ignoring them at all.
His physical strength has been exhausted - ordinary archers can only draw their bows five to ten times in a row, and the best archers can only draw their bows fifteen times in a row!
And they had drawn their bows more than ten times, and there were fewer and fewer people who could shoot. Finally, the commander of the unit stepped forward to remind the archer commander that his soldiers had reached their limit, and if they continued shooting like this, they would become cripples.
.
"Trash - these are a bunch of trash!" To these subordinates whose physical fitness and skills were far behind those of the Sbia Archers, the commander could only change his tactics after yelling: "Change the formation, stand in six rows, and prepare to attack
Support shooting when fighting!"
The sudden sparse arrow rain gave the mercenaries a rare chance to breathe. They stumbled forward and rushed forward without forgetting to maintain the battle line. In a close encounter, whoever maintains the battle line well will have an advantage.
Then, they entered the default trap area.
The man turned his back on his horse.
A small hole in the trap can break the leg bone of a horse; an ordinary wooden pole can pull down seven or eight infantrymen in an instant; a rope that is thirty arms long can plunge a small team into chaos...
No one could have imagined that the trap area set up in only half an hour would have such an effect. In addition to the impact of the previous bows and arrows, the number of mercenaries who could finally rush to the front of the formation was only two-thirds of the total, and they were sparse.
The formation, the so-called joint attack of infantry and cavalry, has become a joke.
But in front of the formation, there is an invisible line of death.
Crossbows, throwing axes, and magic completely drove the mercenaries into despair. The mercenaries who were still riding horses suffered particularly heavy casualties.
Crossing this line, the mercenaries are faced with a very traditional unit, the spearmen. But their sparse battle line is obviously no match for them. Even the powerful cavalry will feel chilled when they see the particularly thickened spears.
…
There was no surprise. After a short period of contact, the mercenary's will to fight was close to collapse.
When the magic on the line of death was gradually annihilated, the frontline commander gave an order: "Assault troops come forward - prepare to throw spears!"
Originally, there was no such subject and tactic in the Sibia Army. It was temporarily set up in response to the explosive power of some demonic soldiers.
"Throw the spear! Throw again! Charge!"
The capable assault soldiers threw out the two short spears in their hands, then drew out their sabers and roared to start a countercharge. This tactic did not disappoint the supporting officers. Thousands of short spears shattered the mercenaries' last remaining will to fight.
They began to retreat, but they could not outrun the pursuers who were at the peak of their physical strength... The battered Savali Butcher turned into a lamb in front of them!
This attack eventually turned into an outright courting of death.
Watching the famous Savali Butcher being slaughtered, there was silence on the old Emperor Bruck's battleship.
Watching his own people slaughter the famous Savali Butcher, there was also silence on the battleship where the head of the treaty business group was.
In fact, no matter what the outcome of this battle is, it will not have any impact on the overall battle layout, because it is an arrangement that meets the situation, just to show their attitude and will to the other party. Neither the old emperor nor the Duke thought that they would fight in the end. This is the situation. Compared with the cruelty of the second stage, the first stage is like a circus that kills cowards.
The process of mercenaries going from surging morale to collapse of will is very clear. It was so clear that it made representatives of the Savali family burst into tears and made onlookers horrified. But it was the generals of the merchant army who felt the deepest feeling - because Sibia assists the officers. They have only been in this unit for ten days. They have no way to transform the soldiers into a satisfactory state. They can only find ways to deal with tactics, command, and coordination. But even so, the results are extremely significant. .
Watching the last few Savali mercenaries exiting the Brooke stage, Duke Sves's cold eyes were filled with doubts. He knew that it was not just the business group and Brooke who were paying attention here, but many, many more. , and even includes-Cohen Keda! (To be continued)