Chapter 303
In the Fougere area in the south, the counter-rebellion army led by Catherine, the eldest princess of the Kingdom of Aldo, faced off against the rebel army of Giles the Greedy Wolf.
The main force of the kingdom's army arrived at Thorn Fortress in March and joined the defenders standing there. Catherine immediately launched an attack on the army under the rebel general Samar, and won successive victories by virtue of her numerical superiority.
The situation in the Thorn Fortress area reversed, and the kingdom's army in turn surrounded the rebels in Samar.
At the critical moment, Scott and other wizards with the army once again played a role. They used enchantments and drugs to organize a death squad, and fought hard to attack the weak points of the royal army. After breaking through, the death squad took on the task of cutting off the rear. Cover the retreat of the main army to the south.
After losing about one-fifth of his troops, Samar led the army to retreat to the Fougere area, joining forces with the main force of the rebels who were supporting them from the north, blocking the kingdom's army from continuing to move south.
Archduke Giles has wiped out all the forces that disobey him in the south and can finally turn his attention to the north.
The size of the royal army is about 50,000, and the rebels have more than 40,000. Although the difference is not very different, the weapons and equipment of the royal army are better than those of the other side, especially the troops directly under the royal family. Almost everyone Armored. The number of knights in the royal army is much greater than that of the rebels.
However, judging from the actual results of the battle, the rebels' combat effectiveness was evenly matched with the royal army.
In the eyes of many battlefield veterans under the princess, many unreasonable things happened to the rebels, which are reflected in the following aspects:
Super strong detection ability. When one's own troops enter the battlefield, if there are no shelters such as woods, the opponent will always detect them first and arrange the battle formation in advance.
Incredible protective capabilities. The protective power of a wallet is comparable to metal armor. Have the rebels mastered a super advanced manufacturing process?
The unusual fighting fanaticism is really fanatical. They fight without risking their lives. The Holy Knights in the Holy See cannot do this with the blessing of faith. Fortunately, the discipline of this group of lunatics is extremely poor. They don't understand what cooperation means at all. They only know how to charge and fight together. Could it be the barbarian soldiers recruited by Giles? Some people observed these bloodthirsty maniacs fighting back and forth without distinguishing between friend and foe.
The last one that is more difficult to deal with is the longbow. There are a large number of longbowmen serving in Giles' army. After the battle started, arrows rained down, making the royal army miserable.
The only part of the kingdom's army that can form an overwhelming advantage over the rebels is the cavalry, or more precisely, the knights.
In addition to the knights directly under the royal family, there are also a large number of noble children from the northern territories. Thanks to their good family background, they have practiced martial arts since childhood and are proficient in bow and horse. They also prepare their own weapons and armor. After a little time, they can form a team. A powerful cavalry force. Since the rebellion broke out in the south, countless noble knights eager to stand out have surrendered to Catherine's command. They used lances and swords to accumulate fame and wealth for themselves.
Of course, it would be even better if you could capture the heart of Her Highness the Princess while becoming famous.
Before June, the two sides started a tug-of-war in the Fougères area. Today I attack and you defend, and tomorrow I defend and you attack. There will be a winner or lose for each other. After entering June, rainfall in the south increased sharply and the number of battles was greatly reduced.
Fortaleza is a transportation hub city in the Fougere region, and Catherine has set up her headquarters here.
Today is another rainy day, and the whole city is shrouded in a steady drizzle. Catherine had just finished her dinner with the generals. As everyone dispersed, several senior officers in the army voluntarily stayed behind. As usual, if there are no special arrangements, the next step will be time for them to discuss the war situation with the princess.
Everyone followed Catherine out of the hall to a smaller room.
The most important topic is of course the imminent Giles Rebellion. From the beginning of the offensive and defensive battle of Thorn Fortress, the senior leaders of the Kingdom's army noticed many strange things among the rebels. After contacting Giles' main force, they discovered that these anomalies directly affected the success or failure of the war.
“Perhaps there is really some mysterious force helping Giles.”
Duke Dodge spread his hands helplessly.
Catherine frowned. She couldn't help but think of the fire that reduced the grain warehouse in the royal capital to ashes last year. All the information found at that time was also baffling.
And according to the confessions of the prisoners, there are indeed mysterious figures in Giles' army, called "priests", who can pray to gods to give soldiers extraordinary powers.
This is reminiscent of the legendary wizard.
Voices of whispers rang out from the crowd, and a strange atmosphere spread in the conference room. Although reason told them not to think wildly, everyone grew up listening to all kinds of strange stories about wizards.
At the meeting, Klein encouraged everyone present: "So far, we have not encountered any unsolvable problems. No matter how crazy the enemy soldiers fight, they will be stabbed to death by swords and guns. No matter how high their protection is, It can't stop the damage from blunt weapons. As long as we don't mess up our position and use reasonable tactics, we can defeat them with our numerical advantage. The only ones that are more difficult to deal with are the long archers. Giles has obviously planned the rebellion for a long time. , he trained a large number of longbowmen among the people, and they can be used directly on the battlefield once the war breaks out."
This is indeed a head-scratching question. In the rainy environment of the south, the power of the cavalry is very limited on the soft ground. When the knights struggle to move forward in the mud, the longbowmen can unscrupulously shoot out arrows to harvest lives. .
While everyone was talking about it, the female knight Aofina made a suggestion: the lords of the northwest bay used two unheard of powerful weapons in the dispute-thunder hammer and fire crossbow. The thunder hammer is so powerful that it can kill and injure enemies from a mile away. It sounds like the nemesis of longbowmen. Can this weapon be purchased in large quantities in the name of the kingdom’s army to restrain the longbowmen of the rebels?
Ofina had been in the royal capital raising food and recruiting soldiers for the army going south. At the same time, she was entrusted by Catherine with the task of monitoring the situation in the northwest bay - mainly to protect her sister who had run away from home, so she Some of the conditions in the bay are better understood.
Most people shook their heads at Aofina's suggestion. Do those rural lords in the Northwest Bay who have never seen the world know what war is? When the Jingyao was recovered, the northwest lords also led troops to participate. Their common image was blind arrogance, poor equipment, and lack of discipline.
Of course there are some good generals and troops among them, such as Baron Andrew from Bailding and Viscount Jais from Emden. Their military qualities and the troops under their command are very good. Baron Andrew's outstanding performance was also commended by Her Royal Highness Catherine. But one cannot be regarded as a general rule. They can be said to be rare among the northwest lords, and the army under their command can only be said to be short and capable.
In the minds of most of the top brass of the Kingdom's military, the [Usurper War] that broke out in the Northwest Gulf at the beginning of the year was nothing more than a group of farmers engaging in armed fighting. Maybe someone with a great imagination invents a few weird weapons, kills a few more people, and then is praised as miraculous and invincible.
(End of this chapter)