Hold Steady

The soldiers on the outermost layer of the square desperately used their bayonets to hold back the orcs' warblades, providing cover for the soldiers inside. Those inner soldiers took the loaded firearms handed to them, aimed, and pulled the triggers. Bang! Brilliant sprays of blood blossomed wherever they were pointed.

The innermost soldiers focused on loading ammunition, ensuring their comrades could maintain continuous firepower.

The harsh training they underwent every day had paid off. At such close range, almost every shot found its mark. Aside from the cavalrymen on horseback, the larger war horses were excellent targets as well.

The Orcish Cavalry slipped through the gaps between the squares, but they soon discovered that no matter which direction they circled around to, human soldiers were firing those terrifying flame-spewing weapons at them. The orcs caught between two squares also found themselves attacked from both the left and right.

They pushed their horsemanship to the limit, attacking, provoking, and firing arrows in an attempt to tear open a corner of the square. Yet every human soldier remained as immovable as a mountain, refusing to retreat. Whenever a soldier died or was wounded, the man behind him immediately took his place.

Their hit-and-run tactic also failed. No one would leave the square to fight, and there was no need to. The orcs discovered that the flame-spewing weapons in the human soldiers' hands had a much longer range than their short bows, while their war horses absolutely could not outrun those deadly projectiles.

Armor could effectively protect against arrows, but it was useless against projectiles moving so fast that their trajectories were nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Boom after boom rang out as large numbers of firearms fired in volleys. Dense gunpowder smoke spread across the battlefield. The Orcish Cavalry within the