Let them see how a real army fights

For a time, the battlefield on the east side of Annaba was littered with the corpses of the "French Army"—most of them trampled by the "Tribal Warriors" as they fled.

Kehler lowered his Telescope and squinted: Could it be that the previous defeat to the France was just an accident, and they weren't actually as formidable as he had imagined? Or perhaps the more capable France general hadn't come to Annaba this time?

He hesitated for only a few seconds before giving the order to the officer beside him:

"Order the Golsa Legion and the left-wing cavalry to immediately pursue the routed enemy! Artillery, advance to the vicinity of the center line!"

He was certain that it wasn't a feigned retreat by the France —looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, there were at least five or six hundred people. Who would go to such lengths to feign defeat and act so convincingly?

Soon, a low, mournful Bugle Call rang out from the Algiers' ranks. Algiers officers led more than 3,000 Infantry, under the cover of cavalry, charging toward the "retreating" French Army positions.

On the other side, Lefebvre stared in astonishment at the approaching Algiers army. His Crown Prince had only said to let those tribal men experience the "atmosphere" of the battlefield, but he hadn't expected such an unexpected gain—a counterattack was much easier than an assault.

He immediately ordered the Tunisia Legion soldiers, who were already waiting nearby, to escort the "Tribal Warriors" and follow the Royal Guard Legion to watch the battle. Then he turned to his staff officer beside him and said:

"Alright, now let them see how a real army fights."

"Yes, sir!"

Sfik of the Wakruma tribe was the Tribal Chief's nephew. At this moment, he was trembling all over as he was forced by Scimitar to walk back towards the battlefield.

Completely different from what he had heard, the Algerians were absolutely terrifying! The man next to him had suddenly been torn to pieces, and his shattered internal organs had even spilled into his mouth. Just thinking about the hot, viscous, and bloody taste made him want to vomit again.

"What... what are they trying to do? Are they sending us to war?" A man next to him stared wide-eyed, terrified. "No! I'm not going..."

The man was kicked hard by Tunisia soldier, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Sfik walked forward cautiously, when someone shoved a pair of Telescope into his hand.

"Do you know how to use it?" the officer asked.

Sfik nodded subconsciously, and suddenly heard the sound of orderly drumbeats from the nearby army formation. The next moment, the straight Infantry Line of the French Army moved, and more than two thousand men, as one, charged toward the Algerians without hesitation.

The officer pointed to the north and shouted:

Look over there!

The "Tribal Warriors" all turned their heads and saw dozens of horses dragging something towards the enemy's position amidst a cloud of dust.

Sfik remembered the Telescope in his hand, quickly raised them to look, and discovered that they were several cannons.

The cannons charged straight at the Algerians —at least in his view, the two sides were almost touching.

Then, a large number of soldiers jumped off the Carriage, skillfully untied the ropes, and set up the cannons.

Almost simultaneously, Algiers ' cavalry charged forward, brandishing their Scimitar —annihilating enemy Artillery was one of the cavalry's primary duties.

However, the cannons immediately spewed fire, causing Sfik's heart to skip a beat. Then, the charging Algiers cavalry were swept away like weeds in a storm.

That's how terrifying a concentrated barrage of Grapeshot at close range can be.

The cavalry were clearly frightened, their charge faltered, and they turned and fled.

This was a contest of morale and willpower. If the Algiers cavalry could withstand the artillery fire and continue their assault, the Artillery would most likely be the ones to fall in the end, but that was clearly beyond their capabilities.

The Algerians never expected their Artillery to dare to fight the cavalry head-on. After the cavalry retreated, their entire left flank was exposed to the Royal Guard Legion's Horse Artillery.

The five Six-Pound Cannon were immediately replaced with Solid Shot and launched a concentrated bombardment on the Algiers Infantry less than 200 paces away.

These poorly trained Algiers Guard Corps held out for only a few minutes longer than the "Tribal Warriors" before being forced to retreat in disarray under close-range artillery fire.

Kehler was dumbfounded—he had been in complete control just moments before, and in only half an hour, things had turned out this way?

He hastily ordered his officers to gather the routed troops and sent the second Infantry Line forward. However, before his orders reached the front, the Royal Guard Legion ' attacking Column, under the cover of Skirmishers, reached the Algiers ' army.

Sfik and his men were driven to the flank of the battlefield. All he could hear was the booming of cannons, and then he saw the "Roman Warriors" in white Military Uniform turn around and run a few steps before forming a straight Horizontal Formation.

The War Drum stopped abruptly, and the officers of the Royal Guard Legion simultaneously pointed their swords forward, issuing the order to "fire."

The two armies were less than 20 paces apart at their closest point. As the Royal Guard Legion unleashed a volley, a cloud of blood erupted from the Algerians ' ranks, followed by screams and wails. The ground was littered with mangled corpses, and the air was thick with the stench of blood. More Algiers screamed and scattered in all directions, many of them quickly knocked down by their own men and trampled to pieces.

Sfik's eyes were glazed over, and he kept muttering a single word—Hell!

The Royal Guard Legion Infantry, however, moved like precise killing Machines, rapidly reloading their Ammunition, then advancing ten paces to the War Drum before unleashing another volley of death-reaping fire...

The second line of defense of the Algiers army was affected by the fleeing soldiers and only held out for more than ten minutes before retreating, followed by the third line.

Kehler could see the glint of the French Army Infantry bayonets with the naked eye, and he turned to his attendant and roared:

"Where are the Morocco? Why haven't they come to reinforce us yet?!"

The latter lowered his head and gestured to the warhorses beside him:

"Sir, you should retreat as soon as possible..."

Two kilometers to the west, Said, the commander of the Morocco Black Guard Corps, watched the rapidly collapsing Algerians through his Telescope and couldn't help but wipe a cold sweat from his brow.

Fortunately, he hadn't agreed to Kehler's offer—this was just the vanguard of the French Army, yet it had already routed tens of thousands of Algiers Guard Corps, and there were nearly twenty thousand of the main French Army behind them. Going to reinforce them would most likely have been suicide!

He immediately and without hesitation waved to the Blacks officer beside him:

"Agord, order the entire army to retreat immediately."

In fact, when he learned that the United Kingdom had stopped providing aid, he foresaw that the war was doomed to failure, so he had already advised the Sultan last week to withdraw the entire army to Tlemcen.

Although the Sultan's decree had not yet arrived, he knew that the Sultan would definitely agree to the withdrawal of troops—without United Kingdom support, Morocco could never go to war with the France! It would be impossible to win.