Flying Dragons in Your Face... Don't Charge Like Pigs!

At noon, two companies from the New Recruit Training Camp arrived at Lakeheart Town. Scout cavalry reported that the pirates had not gone far. After gathering all the men they had planned to bring, the entire army ate a hearty meal, and Paul Greiman announced that they would set out toward the pirates.

By evening, they finally caught sight of the pirate force. The pirates had actually set up a camp by the river, and the men inside were cooking over fires. There seemed to be four or five hundred of them in total.

We don't have much of a numerical advantage. But with modern military training on our side, how could we possibly compare to this rabble?

"Form up!" The officers of each company began directing their soldiers, changing the marching columns into battle lines.

The pirates also spotted the slowly approaching army. They grabbed their weapons and ran out of the camp, facing them in full readiness.

A bearded man stepped out from the middle and shouted, "Little brat of the Greiman family, have you prepared what your grandpa asked for? Couldn't wait to come over and offer it up, could you?"

The pirates around the bearded man burst into loud laughter.

Bryce asked, "My lord, what should we do? Attack?"

Paul thought regretfully, Hmph! If only we'd brought those Firecrackers. We'd have made them suffer.

The "great killing weapon" they had made some time ago had proven less than ideal after a period of testing. At first, they packed gunpowder into hollow iron balls and had Grenadiers throw them with all their strength, but the throwing range was terribly disappointing.

The explosions still threatened the throwers themselves, injuring quite a few men, and the misfire rate was absurdly high. No wonder the grenade-throwing function of Grenadiers in Wheelbro: Total War was so useless—an entire volley of grenades could land without killing many people.

Later, they reduced the powder charge and switched to ceramic jars, which could be thrown farther, but their power dropped as a result. The craftsmen racked their brains and embedded iron nails into the jars, making them resemble the Caltrop Fireballs of the Song Dynasty.

No matter how they altered it, it was still a useless Firecracker in his eyes, far inferior to the Hand Grenades of a modern army. Still, they had produced a batch for emergencies. Yet when they had sent people overnight to the New Recruit Training Camp to fetch troops, they had forgotten to tell them to bring those useless weapons along.

After venting his frustrations internally, he raised his riding crop toward the pirates and declared boldly, "Wipe them out."

"Grip your weapons tight!!! Advance!!!" Bryce bellowed after receiving the order. Ranks of lines formed square formations, and the soldiers began advancing slowly.

Looking at their neatly dressed formations and fairly orderly steps, they really did resemble a powerful army. Then he looked at the pirates, who were loose, disorderly, and without any formation at all. It was practically a regular army crushing a band of rogues. With flying dragons in their faces, how could they lose? Just then, the bearded pirate widened his eyes and suddenly roared, "Kill these noble Lackeys!!!"

Then all the pirates let out a collective "Roar—" and charged at them like madmen.

The soldiers of the territory were able to advance steadily at first, but as the pirates drew closer and closer, panic visibly spread through the formation. The new recruits, especially those fighting for the first time, could barely hold their weapons steady.

Then something deeply troubling happened. Someone in the front row, perhaps trying to encourage himself, shouted, "Charge!"

That cry of "Charge!" was like a signal. It was as though all the soldiers had been wound tight and suddenly released. Screaming wildly, they began charging forward in hysterics. In no time, the once-tight formation fell apart. The officers were swept along in the charge, leaving only Bryce and the Inner Guard Soldiers, who did not dare leave the Earl's side for even a step.

Before long, the soldiers and pirates were locked in a melee, leaving Paul staring dumbfounded from horseback as he muttered, "This isn't how it was supposed to go! Everything was fine just now—how did it turn into a pigheaded charge?"

Bryce cursed, "A bunch of useless idiots."

The pirates were all vicious and feral. Without the advantage of formation and with almost no real combat experience, the soldiers were clearly no match for these desperadoes. In less than half an hour, the balance of the battlefield began tilting toward the pirates.

Just as expected, one soldier finally used every ounce of his strength to knock aside his opponent's weapon, then turned and ran.

Then came a second, then a third. Gradually, all the soldiers began fleeing backward in a rush. The officers shouted desperately to stop them, while Bryce ran over and savagely whipped the retreating rout with his riding crop.

But all their efforts were in vain.

"My lord, retreat! I'll lead the mounted platoon and cover the rear." Seeing that the situation could no longer be salvaged, Bryce returned to the young Earl and advised retreat.

The Earl glared fiercely at the bearded pirate still chasing down the defeated soldiers. His clenched lips loosened slightly as he reluctantly forced out the words, "Cavalry, cover the rear. Retreat!"

Then he turned his horse around and lashed it hard with his whip. The pained horse bolted in the direction they had come from.

"Everyone still on horseback, follow me and cover the rear!"

Bryce retreated while gathering the routed soldiers. They finally shook off the pirates' pursuit, and about an hour later, they caught up with Paul. After counting their numbers, they found that the force had lost more than thirty men, including those who had gone missing, while over fifty were wounded.

"What a humiliation!" The Earl felt like crying without tears. Together with his father's previous defeat, this was already the second time their family had lost to pirates. If word got out, his family would become a laughingstock throughout Northwest Bay.

He gritted his teeth. "Find those two bastards!!!"

Bryce asked in confusion, "Those two bastards? Which two?"

"The one who shouted for a charge without orders! And the one who fled without permission! I'll have them dig in the mines for the rest of their lives!"

"Yes, Earl."

"Let's return to Lakeheart Town first! We need to carefully review the lessons from this operation!"

That night, every officer was ordered to write a battle report, while the young Earl returned to his bedroom and shut himself away. As the officers racked their brains and searched for words, Butler Philip heard the sounds of things crashing from the Lord's bedroom. However, he did not knock to ask about it. The young master truly needed to vent.

The next day, the moment Paul entered the hall, he encountered an excited Bryce.

"Earl, look who has returned!"

Two people stood beside him. One was an elderly man of around fifty, energetic and sharp-eyed; the other was a young man who looked to be about twenty. Both bowed to him.

"These two are?"

"Sir Schroeder and his attendant, Joyce. Owen Schroeder—you met him when you were little. Oh, right, you were too young to remember then."

The old man spoke slowly. "Please allow me to introduce myself..."

Could one of you dear readers leave a comment? Playing alone is so boring. (╥╯^╰╥) Of course, votes would be even better. (^o^)/~