Ironvine Territory (84)
Victor didn't have time to continue observing Baron Brown's situation. He could only remind the officer in charge of the Bed Crossbow to pay close attention to the enemy on the flanks and rear, while he himself focused his attention on the front.
Because the front of Victor's main camp is right at a funnel-shaped intersection, and the road gets narrower and narrower as you approach, with the difference between the widest and narrowest points being twice as much, Ursus can only deploy a limited number of troops.
Victor also had Knight Yellen vacate the narrowest point, placing their formation further back. This meant that if the attacking side launched an attack, they would have to adjust their formation, which would be very difficult for them.
But to the surprise of both Victor and Knight Yellen, the Ursus Legion Commander did not consider the issue of changing formations. He directly dispatched a Heavy Infantry to launch an attack in a dense Arrowhead Formation.
Victor noticed that the Armored Troops at the front wore a layer of lamellar armor on the outside and a set of chainmail underneath, and charged forward wielding battle axes while braving the rain of arrows.
The archers of Great Oak Territory still used the standard War Bow common in the Grand Duchy, with a draw weight of only about 120 pounds. Even with Armor-Piercing Arrows, they could hardly harm these Armored Infantry who were armed to the teeth.
Although their movement was relatively slow, these Armored Infantry still gradually approached the front lines of the Great Oak Territory's army. Victor sighed when he saw the Sword-and-Shield Soldiers phalanx already in turmoil. Yellen had not yet made a response, which seemed to indicate that she still lacked experience.
Sword-and-Shield Soldiers and shieldmen use short weapons and shields, which are effective against targets with long weapons and light armor, but they are no match for Armored Infantry who are armed to the teeth. Moreover, these infantrymen also wield battle axes specifically designed to chop down shields. Once they break into the enemy lines, it will inevitably cause a bloodbath. It is normal for the Sword-and-Shield Soldiers to waver.
But if it's Victor, since the enemy is in a dense Arrowhead Formation, it means that the number of Armored Infantry at the front is limited, and they are the arrowheads used to break through. They will definitely launch an attack targeting one point.
By advancing the Sword-and-Shield Soldiers to surround the arrowheads and thus compress the positions of these Heavy Infantry, their effectiveness can be limited, creating opportunities for the archers behind them to use a rain of arrows to cut off the enemy's rear forces.
Without reinforcements, even the strongest Heavy Infantry vanguard infantry cannot break through the Sword-and-Shield Soldiers phalanx on their own.
However, since Knight Yellen did not do so, Victor did not intend to send someone to remind him now, after all, he had other means to deal with the enemy's Arrowhead Formation.
Without hesitation, Victor immediately ordered the Repeating Crossbow to fire. The crossbow bolts, as thick as eggs and like short spears, felled the Armored Infantry in the front row one by one. This time, their double-layered armor could not save them.
Their slow movement speed left them no time to retreat. In just a short while, thanks to the Repeating Crossbow's extremely high rate of fire, nearly a hundred Armored Infantry were all killed.
Seeing the once-fierce Armored Troops killed by crossbow bolts, the morale of the Great Oak Sword-and-Shield Soldiers, who had been somewhat shaken, immediately returned, and they formed ranks to prepare for battle.
Sure enough, behind those Heavy Infantry were lightly armored infantrymen who had been holding their spears at the same level. At this moment, they also realized that their comrades in front of them had been killed, but they themselves were now within range of Yellen's archers. If they retreated, they would continue to suffer a hail of arrows, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue advancing.
Thus, the front lines of both sides clashed. The Sword-and-Shield Soldiers of Great Oak Territory surrounded the Pikemen with a dense shield formation. Relying on their numerical advantage, they fought two against one or even three against one, and the Pikemen were quickly routed. The first wave of the enemy's attack was forced to end.
Victor finally had the chance to look at the battlefield to his side and rear, only to find that Baron Brown's side was in crisis again.
Only then did Victor notice that Baron Brown's army had become entangled with the enemy, and the once clearly defined battle lines had become intertwined.
Victor assumed that the commander in charge of the Catapult and Bed Crossbow had not carried out his orders, so he immediately sent someone to question him. The reply he received surprised him greatly.
"You mean, the Catapult and Bed Crossbow were firing at top speed, but they still couldn't stop the enemy?"
How is that possible?
The messenger quickly relayed the commander's words to Victor. It turned out that the enemy had launched a full-scale attack from the very beginning of the second wave, holding nothing back, and even the enemy's commander had joined the charge.
Victor immediately took out his binoculars to observe, and sure enough, he spotted a battle flag of the Duchy Legion in the battle formation. Judging from its design, it belonged to a Regimental Commander, undoubtedly the commander of this unit.
Just then, the battle flag broke through the formation of Baron Brown's troops.
Ernst, leading a squad of his personal guards, charged forward with ferocity. Although they were not on horseback, their sturdy armor and sharp weapons allowed them to tear through the defensive line formed by Baron Brown's army and rush straight toward Victor.
Victor was somewhat surprised; this was the first time in all his years of fighting that he had encountered a charge led by the commander of the Duchy Legion.
Generals personally leading the charge is always the most effective, but also the most helpless, tactic.
A general gambles with his prestige, leading all his troops in a desperate gamble. While this might be powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, if the battle goes against him, the first to die will be the general who led the charge.
The Regimental Commander was already a high-ranking officer in the Duchy's Regular Legion, holding a very high position in the military. Due to the Grand Duchy's unique military system, these officers could be said to have absolute authority in their own units, making it hard to imagine that they would personally lead a charge.
Today's battle has broadened Victor's horizons. It turns out that the Duchy's Regular Legion can also be divided into different ranks. He thought that the First Legion he had seen before was the ceiling, but he didn't expect that the Fourth Legion would be even better.
Victor looked at the approaching group of people with admiration in his eyes.
"Since there's nothing we can do about it, I guess the Bask can't hold back any longer."