Failed Light Cavalry Harassment
The atmosphere above Carnford's defense was as heavy as iron.
As the distant horns of the Sauron sounded low and deep, the dark army began to slowly approach like a tide.
Without the slightest hesitation, Karl took a deep breath and whistled out an extremely sharp and penetrating sound!
This whistle was a pre-arranged battle preparation signal; everyone immediately formed ranks to meet the enemy according to the pre-arranged plan!
Before the whistle had even finished blowing, the entire defensive line was instantly agitated, as if a pot of boiling oil had been thrown into cold water!
"Musketeers! Forward! Form ranks!" Otto's roar was the first to ring out, loud and steady.
He stood like a rock behind the central gap in the breastwork, wearing a worn leather armor and holding a Flintlock Rifle.
Behind him and at the other pre-existing gaps on both sides, forty Musketeers rushed into position at top speed.
They quickly formed two tight horizontal lines, with the front row kneeling on one knee and the back row standing.
Although his movements still showed a hint of awkwardness due to insufficient training, his eyes were exceptionally firm.
Due to production capacity limitations, modern Musketeers use a mixed configuration of Matchlock Rifle and Flintlock Rifle.
They skillfully inspected the flint, cocked the hammers, and braced the heavy butts of their rifles against their shoulders. The dark muzzles of their rifles pierced through the notches and were all pointed at the approaching Sauron Army in the distance.
A chilling, subtle sound filled the air.
"Pikemen! Fill in! Raise your spears!" The old knight Brendan's aged yet still powerful voice rang out immediately afterward.
He was not standing at the forefront, but in a command position slightly higher behind the musket line, with a wide field of vision to oversee the entire situation.
At his command, the pikemen, who had been assembled and waiting, let out a unified roar and quickly marched forward.
The rifles they carried were not standard field spears; most were reinforced and lengthened militia rifles, and some even had sharpened hardwood shafts.
But at this moment, countless gun tips stood erect, forming a terrifying steel jungle behind the breastwork and behind the fence!
Once the muskets had finished firing and were reloading, they had to immediately move forward to block the gap with a dense barrage of gunfire and withstand the enemy's fiercest assault!
"Archers! Climb the breastwork! Free throw!" Richter's voice came from the flank.
Twenty militiamen and a few soldiers, equipped with longbows and hunting bows, nimbly climbed the relatively flat section of the breastwork with the help of their comrades.
They drew their bows and nocked their arrows, pointing them diagonally into the sky, preparing for a barrage of arrows. Although the accuracy was not high, it was enough to disrupt and put psychological pressure on the enemy troops who were charging in large numbers.
"Swordsmen and Shieldbearers! Protect the flanks! Prepare for battle!" Roland's roar rang out from the flanks.
He commanded a squad of soldiers armed with swords and makeshift Wooden Shield to guard the relatively weak flanks of the defensive line and the connection to the small stone fortress, preventing the enemy from scaling and breaching from the sides.
Along the entire defensive line, commands, footsteps, the clanging of armor, and the drawing of weapons mingled together, yet the chaos was orderly, revealing a powerful force poised to be unleashed.
The soldiers pursed their lips, breathing heavily, sweat dripping from their foreheads, but none of them flinched.
Their eyes were fixed on the approaching, ever-growing Sauron army, which stretched out like a moving forest; their fingers gripping their weapons trembled.
Karl stood behind the breastwork, taking in the entire view ahead.
Seeing that their Lord was by their side, the Musketeers felt much more at ease and less nervous.
The defensive line was stretched to its limit, like a fully drawn bow with the arrow nocked, its target aimed at the surging tide of death!
Karl put the whistle back in his mouth, his gaze coldly calculating the moment when the Sauron vanguard infantry would enter optimal firing range.
His whistle will determine when the first wave of death will arrive.
The atmosphere on the entire battlefield seemed to freeze, with only the heavy footsteps of the Sauron and the suppressed breathing of the Broomflower soldiers colliding and echoing in the air.
Unag did not immediately commit its main infantry force for a strong attack.
He first sent out several small squads of his lightest horse archers, who, like circling vultures, swept at high speed across the flanks of the Broomflower ' defenses.
These cavalrymen nimbly twisted their bodies on horseback, drew their bows, and fired aimlessly at the area behind the breastwork.
The arrows fell in chaotic arcs, most of them weakly embedding themselves in the wooden fence or embedding themselves in the soil, and the few that flew over the wall were easily blocked by the shields.
This is a trick that the Sauron have used repeatedly and successfully.
Using light cavalry raids, they lured the Musketeers Broomflower hastily opening fire from a distance.
Once the Musketeers out of ammunition, the long reload time becomes the perfect window for the Sauron infantry to launch a deadly charge.
However, Carnford's Musketeers' reaction sent a chill down Unag's spine.
The expected, chaotic, and panicked gunfire did not erupt.
Behind the gap in the breastwork, the dark gun barrels still silently pointed into the distance, the soldiers holding the guns as steady as stone statues, showing no sign of firing.
Only the officers' deep, resonant commands could be faintly heard, seemingly directing the troops.
Instead, the Broomflower archers on the breastwork and in the arrow towers behind it seized the opportunity.
They used foot bows, which had a much greater range and power than the lighter horse bows. Combined with their high vantage point, their arrows flew like precise poisonous bees, whistling through the air, towards the passing Sauron light cavalry!
"Pfft!"
"Ugh!"
The dull thud of arrows piercing leather armor and screams of agony rang out one after another.
Several Sauron Cavalry fell from their horses, their warhorses neighing in fright and dragging their masters by the stirrups, disrupting the light cavalry squad's previously smooth maneuverability.
Seeing this, the remaining cavalry dared not approach any further, hastily turned their horses around, and retreated in panic.
Behind the breastwork, Karl watched this scene coldly, wondering if Karl was trying to lure his Musketeers into firing with this old trick.
It might be useful against the kingdom's Musketeers, but it would be useless against Carnford's army.
The most important training in the Carnford Army was discipline. Many Musketeers were severely punished for disobeying officers' orders, and now it has become a conditioned reflex.
He had already given strict orders that no one was allowed to waste a single precious round of ammunition or expose their firing position outside of optimal range without his command.
Unag watched from a distance, his face growing even more somber.
The other party's calmness and discipline far exceeded his expectations.
The silent array of muskets, like lurking venomous snakes, exuded a chilling threat.
He knew all too well how terrifying the lead bullets fired by those muskets were; even the iron-plated plate armor worn by the most elite Berserker in the legion could hardly withstand them at close range.
He had hoped to use light cavalry to lure the enemy into revealing their firepower prematurely, but now it seemed his plan had failed.
He glanced at the bare ground around him and cursed inwardly.
The men of Carnford were clearly prepared, having cleared all the trees around the fortress, leaving him with no materials to even build a makeshift Shield-carts to protect against musket fire.
Moreover, time did not allow him to prepare slowly.
Just then, fierce shouts of battle and the clash of weapons came from the direction of the small stone fortress on the west!
Two hundred infantrymen sent by Invag have launched a fierce attack on the flank strongpoint of the Carnford Line!