The elites deployed in full

In a patch of woodland several hundred meters from the blood-soaked heights, a pair of eyes watched everything unfolding on the battlefield through binoculars.

Ludwig stood on the shoulder of an Armored Knight kneeling on one knee. The Iron Behemoth, emblazoned with the Teutonic Order's black cross, was one of the two Morin had seen earlier.

"Ludwig, if we don't act soon, that infantry battalion will be wiped out."

Beside him, atop another Armored Knight, his companion William lowered his binoculars, a hint of urgency in his voice.

"Their casualties can buy us something far more valuable."

The Armored Knight pilot named Ludwig spoke calmly, his eyes never leaving his binoculars.

"If we charge out now, we'll only get tangled up with the infantry and lose the initiative... If we want to pull off this 'hunt,' patience is our best weapon."

"Then how much longer are we supposed to wait?"

William was puzzled. He knew he could never remain as composed as his comrade.

"Not long."

"Stop being cryptic and tell me..."

Hearing the impatience in his comrade's voice, Ludwig lowered his binoculars and said:

"The 4th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers still has half its men left. The Britannian commander won't just sit back and watch a decorated unit get annihilated, so he'll have to send someone to rescue them...

"When that happens, whether it's Highland Mages, their Armored Knights, or another full-strength battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers, those will be prey worth our effort."

With that, Ludwig raised his binoculars again.

As though to prove him right, the battle took a sudden turn not long afterward.

Under the combined assault of Morin's men and the lancers' repeated charges, the 4th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers was on the verge of having its "organization" depleted.

Four elegant, finely crafted Armored Knights, white from head to toe, appeared behind them.

Accompanying these Armored Knights were twelve Knight Squires clad in Magical Powered Armor.

Britannia's elite troops—the Order of the Garter!

Ludwig's eyes lit up. He lowered his binoculars, unable to contain the excitement in his gaze.

"We've hit the jackpot! Everyone, prepare for battle! Squires, fire three red signal flares!"

The order given, he and William deftly swung themselves into their respective Armored Knights' cockpits.

The thick frontal armor closed again. Without waiting for the magic crystals to illuminate the dark cockpits, Ludwig and William swiftly completed their Armored Knights' startup procedures through muscle memory alone.

Beneath the armor plating, several magical circuits connected, activating the "magical muscle bundles" embedded in the torsos and limbs.

Once all the magical circuits had completed a round of self-checks, the view before Ludwig and William changed from their dark cockpit interiors to an external field of vision spanning roughly 180 degrees.

Then they completed the final startup steps...

In the silent woodland, the internal combustion engines that served as the two Iron Behemoths' primary power sources rumbled to life. Thick black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipes on their backs.

Around them, six Knight Squires wearing the Teutonic Order's standard Magical Powered Armor rose to their feet. Three swiftly raised flare guns and pulled their triggers toward the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three dazzling red balls of light rose into the sky, standing out sharply above the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Morin, still fighting fiercely in the "meat grinder," also noticed the newly arrived white Armored Knights, along with the enemies beside them whose equipment was even better than that of the heavily armored soldiers.

Red unit markers and detailed information appeared on the System Map.

[Affiliation: Holy Britannian Empire—Order of the Garter]

["St. George Type 3" magical Armored Knights ×4]

["Broadsword Type 2" Magical Powered Armor (Knight Squires) ×12]

[Anti-infantry, anti-armor, high-threat units]

Wait, magical Armored Knights are one thing, but now there's powered armor too?! Are we sure their equipment even belongs in the same setting as ours?!

The information from the system left Morin dumbfounded. These were absolutely not fucking units that infantry could take on...

Aside from a few hand grenades they had already used up, Morin's men had no powerful weapons left, let alone any anti-armor weapons.

Rifle bullets barely tickled those heavily armored infantrymen. They would do even less against these hulking machines, whose defenses looked formidable at a glance.

At the sight of reinforcements, the surviving soldiers of the 4th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers erupted in thunderous cheers, their morale instantly recovering.

As though pumped full of stimulants, they launched a frenzied counterattack. The lines of the Saxon infantry and the International Brigades, which had held the advantage moments before, suddenly showed signs of collapse.

At that critical moment, two sharp whistles tore through the air.

Boom! Boom!

Two shells landed squarely amid the counterattacking Northumberland Fusiliers, the violent explosions throwing up flesh and dirt.

Morin instinctively looked back.

At some point, two Armored Knights painted black and white had appeared on the slope a short distance behind him. They belonged to the Teutonic Order of the Saxon Empire.

One of the knights was kneeling on one knee, holding a weapon that looked like a rifle but actually had a caliber comparable to a field cannon. Smoke still drifted from its muzzle.

The other had just finished loading. The knight deftly worked its "straight-pull bolt," ejecting a massive brass casing, then aimed its muzzle at the enemy below the slope again.

After reloading, the two Armored Knights fired several more rounds into the Northumberland Fusiliers' formation, scattering the ranks they had only just managed to rally.

The direct-fire support from these heavy units instantly crushed the morale the Northumberland Fusiliers had just recovered.

Below the slope, the Order of the Garter's four Armored Knights saw what was happening and halted their rescue advance. Instead, they accelerated toward the two firing Armored Knights of the Teutonic Order.

At that moment, the atmosphere on the battlefield became utterly strange.

The infantry on both sides, locked in a brutal struggle moments before, disengaged in remarkable unison, as though they had received some silent order.

Without even having time to recover their comrades' bodies, they retreated toward their respective rear lines.

After completing one final charge, the Saxon lancers also wheeled their horses around without hesitation and galloped off in another direction, leaving the battlefield.

Morin followed their departure with his eyes and realized they were heading toward the hidden Magic Crystal Cannon Position he had marked earlier.

But he had no time to concern himself with the cavalry's movements now. Instead, he ordered his troops to withdraw farther up the heights.

"Quick! Follow us! Fall back to the heights first!"

Naturally, Morin did not forget their allies in the International Brigades. Once he saw his own 3rd Platoon beginning to retreat, he immediately waved his arm and shouted to the equally bewildered International Brigades fighters, urging them to withdraw together toward the crest.

After the remaining men of the 1st Battalion and the International Brigades—fewer than six hundred in all—had retreated to the heights, a bearded man who appeared to be an International Brigades commander approached Morin and shook his hand.

Then everyone obediently lay prone on the heights, watching tensely like spectators as the Armored Knights below prepared for their "gladiatorial contest."

Meanwhile, just as the Order of the Garter's four Armored Knights were about to charge and finish off those two irritating "pests" in one stroke, they suddenly stopped.

Morin and the others, already back on the heights, watched in confusion. Then the answer revealed itself.

In several other directions around the combat zone, more Armored Knights of the Teutonic Order emerged from concealment.

Dark cannon muzzles pointed at the Order of the Garter's four Armored Knights from every direction, forming a loose encirclement.