When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 788 - 739: Pawns Crossing the River Do Not Retreat

The turbid water of the Iron River, laden with the overwhelming smell of grass, mixed with the sporadic raindrops from the sky, was enough to make one nauseous.

Wielding a pickaxe, digging out a small pit, Old Laver voluntarily pushed the wagon wheel into the soil.

Unfortunately, beneath the spot they chose was a layer of rock, and not much digging had produced sparks and stones.

But at this moment, it's too late to change even if they wanted to.

"Hurry up! Move those goods down!" Old Laver straightened up and roared at the laborers, who were pale with fear.

Seeing Old Laver's cane swish through the air, the shepherds, who couldn't even stand steadily, began to sob and move the goods.

The supplies from the wagon were thrown down, leaving enough space for the Holy Gunmen wielding flails.

Amid Bether's hoarse and urgent shouting, the three-pound falcon cannons pressed out two muddy tracks on the ground.

The cannon muzzle slowly pointed forward, towards the increasingly distinct sound of hooves in the rain.

Rainwater dripped from the brim of Old Laver's hat, soaking through his linen shirt.

The Holy Gunmen no longer had their usual pride, shivering as they wound the spring of their guns, the "click-clack" of the gears swallowed by the sound of rain.

Ordinary Long Spearmen like Old Laver huddled behind the wagons, faces pale, digging their nails deep into the mud.

Seizing the time to prepare weapons, Old Laver straightened up and looked around. Sixteen large wagons formed a three-quarter circular array on the riverbank.

The car fort strategy from Gulag's era once again appeared on the battlefield.

This was a tactic often practiced by the Northern Border Army in Thousand River Valley.

There were two reasons: first, they had few Holy Gunmen, and second, the terrain of the Shattered Stone Plain was flat and easy for cavalry to maneuver.

Without a large number of Holy Gunmen and the terrain advantage, the Gallar Array was like a woman without clothes in front of the Knights.

The wheels were tightly wrapped in chains, and beside each wagon were seven or eight soldiers in rain cloaks, wielding pickaxes or shovels to reinforce the wagons.

Looking out from the gaps between the wagons, one could see a long line of moving black shadows on the horizon at the end of the Shattered Stone Plain.

The lead standard-bearer held up a black flag, on which a two-headed raven was embroidered in silver thread.

That was the banner of the Duke of Redwood.

Old Laver guessed correctly. Not long ago, the Duke of Redwood had crossed the stone bridge from the west of the Iron River with a large troop of Knights to support the Duke of Wing Nest.

Since it happened to rain, the Knights were unwilling to travel in the rain, so they camped near the stone bridge and requisitioned supplies.

Neither party expected anyone else to pass through here besides themselves.

Coincidentally, both sides' Rangers were slack, and neither noticed the other, resulting in an unexpected clash.

The first to react were the Duke of Redwood's Rangers, who quickly informed the Duke, leading to the current scene.

Although Bether fled with all his might, he was still caught by the Duke of Redwood's army.

The Duke of Redwood personally led the army, the Extraordinary Knights accompanied by their Escort Knights, numbering nearly a thousand.

While Old Laver and others in the Bether Infantry Corps had fewer than seven hundred men, with four hundred Long Spearmen, just over a hundred Holy Gunmen and Gunners, and the rest being shepherds recruited from nearby.

"Holy Father bless." Touching his wife's iron ring on his chest, Old Laver clenched his teeth.

They were not the brave and fearless Salvation Army, just ordinary soldiers trained for three or four months, some of whom hadn't even learned the breathing techniques.

The enemy's numbers were nearly twice theirs, and they were facing a group of Extraordinary Knights.

The only consolation was that due to the incompetence of both the Rangers from the Shattered Stone Plain and the Thousand River Valley side, no reconnaissance skirmishes occurred, and most of the Rangers had dispersed.

But in this desolate, rainy season, where could reinforcements be found?

"Whoosh!"

Hearing a sharp whistling, Old Laver turned his head to see a red smoke rise into the sky, exploding beneath the dark clouds.

That was the signal for urgent assistance.

Following the whistling sound was Bether's thunderous roar: "Mount the falcon cannon at the gap! If anyone dares to shirk or flee from combat, I'll be the first to stuff them in the cannon and fire them out!"

Riding on horseback, Bether spoke while holding up the bloody head of a Captain Ten.

If the falcon cannon's muzzle wasn't so small, Bether would truly want to fire this head out.

In the rain curtain, the sound of hooves gradually approached.

Although hasty, with the coordination of Bether and the other officers, they managed to construct the car fort strategy.

On the wagon walls resembling a barricade, the Holy Guns protruded from firing slots, and at the embrasure-like gaps, the Long Spearmen and flail-wielding soldiers blinked away the rain clinging to their eyelashes.

Seemingly noticing the cold gleam reflected by the Holy Guns and Spring Cannons, the Extraordinary Knights on the horizon suddenly hesitated.

But it wasn't long before a few Extraordinary Knights, along with a few hundred remaining Escort Cavalry from Shattered Stone Plain, charged forth.

In the border skirmishes, the Escort Knights who had suffered at the hands of Holy Guns were quite cunning.

They formed a line at one moment, a "人" shape at another, wildly dashing around the car fortress, luring the Holy Gunmen to fire.

They even picked up bows and arrows they once deemed despicable, repeatedly shooting out showers of arrows.

Rain mixed with the arrow showers fell, embedding in the ground in front of the car planks and fortress, with many trembling arrows.

And behind the car fortress, there were also unlucky souls hit by arrows, crying out in pain and falling to the ground.

The mountain folks were equally skilled with bows and immediately retaliated from behind the fortress.

But after more than an hour, even the soldiers' fear gradually became numb, yet they still didn't attack.

The blaring of horns from the Duke of Redwood's army was heard in their ears.

Although Old Laver didn't see the Duke's expression, he could tell the Duke's impatience and urgency from the hurried, discordant sounds of the horn.

Just as expected, the next moment, the escort knights suddenly turned.

Reluctant yet compelled by the Extraordinary Knights, they charged straight towards the car fortress.

"Oh, damn it!"

"Son of Constans!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Who fired? Didn't you hear the order?"

"Praise the Holy Wind!"

Amidst the chaotic commands, successive shrieks rang out, blooming like red lotuses in the rain.

But unfortunately, Bether counted only three people fell off their horses.

The remaining unscathed knights burst into mocking laughter, making the faces behind the car fortress even more ashen.

Fifty spring-fired guns simultaneously fired lead bullets, yet only knocked down three people, a mere 6% hit rate.

It must be said, the escort knights' previous enemy harassment tactics were indeed effective.

Their sudden attack prevented many Holy Gunmen from showing their usual prowess.

Thumping the car plank heavily, Bether's face darkened: "Mad, these Holy Gunmen are provided with good food and drink, and this is the result they give me?"

But no one responded to Bether's words, all were tensely watching the approaching knights.

These Defense Army and Salvation Army were different from the direct troops under Moliat; they hadn't received training for infantry-cavalry clashes.

Seeing hundreds of half-ton iron men breaking through the rain curtain charging at them, no one could keep their heart still.

"Prepare!" The master's voice exploded through the rain, "Eagle Falcon Cannon, aim!"

The gunners fumbled as they turned cranks, adjusting the cannon's aim.

The service soldiers took two steps back to avoid being killed by the recoil.

"Fire!" Taking over the master's responsibilities, Bether shouted.

"Praise the Holy Wind!"

They inserted the iron rod into the rear of the spring warehouse, with four gunners pressing their whole bodies on the iron rod.

The plug expelled with the smell of heated metal.

In an instant, the Eagle Falcon Cannon's barrel jerked back like a phantom, and the axles of the cannon carriage creaked under the strain.

A whistling sound broke through the rain curtain, iron sand and stones slashed at the knights like a sideward downpour.

Plumes of blood mist rose, and the front row of about a dozen knights, both man and horse, trembled and fell collectively to the ground.

Slid corpses pushed waves of mud, stopping mere five steps from the cart.

The warhorses and knights all groaned in pain.

The escort knights at the rear decisively circled past the formation again with great difficulty.

In this era, not all knights could charge suicidally like a royal decree.

Seeing the defeat ahead, the other knights wisely ceded the stage to the true heavy-armored Master Knights.

"Hit!" Algernon shouted excitedly, and the soldiers erupted into a brief cheer.

"What are you shouting for? Scared you didn't hear the orders?" Bether's momentary joy quickly turned into grave seriousness.

As the escort knights circled past, with the Spring Cannon roaring and Holy Gun just blowing past, the heavy-armored knights already pressed forward.

Reloading and firing the Spring Cannon took about one minute.

And at the current distance of a hundred and twenty steps, the opposing knights needed less than half a minute!

"Fools, grip your gun handles tightly, no retreat for pawns crossing the river!" Bether shouted frantically at the soldiers, looking at the approaching Extraordinary Knights.