Ⅰ
Waiting was like storing water: the more that accumulated, the heavier it became.
But a charge was like opening the floodgates. One command, and ten thousand horses thundered forward.
Depro, Diliven, and Peggy's forces met at the three-way intersection on Swook Street. Amid the incessant clatter of hooves and the snapping of banners, the three brothers caught sight of one another. Seeing those similar yet savage faces, none hesitated. All three shouted at once-
"Charge!"
Bwooo!
A horn sounded among the troops.
Right there in the streets of the most prosperous city in the Bette Territory, three cavalry forces charged at one another.
Of the three, Depro unquestionably held an overwhelming advantage.
His five hundred private soldiers were all fully armed, their helmets and armor gleaming, their weapons sharp.
Diliven and Peggy had only around four hundred private soldiers between them.
More importantly, even at such a disadvantage, Diliven and Peggy still refused to cooperate and continued attacking each other.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cavalry under Peggy leveled their raised Thunder Guns at Depro's and Diliven's men.
A dense hail of musket balls engulfed both forces.
Depro's and Diliven's cavalrymen, still charging with their lances raised, fell straight from their horses.
Their seemingly sturdy armor offered virtually no resistance against the gunpowder-driven projectiles. Armor and the bodies beneath it were pierced together.
Blood brought a wash of red.
Wails proclaimed death.
And the horses' neighs were filled with grief.
They had no time to look for their fallen riders before the cavalry behind swept them along in the charge. Yet all that awaited them was another hail of gunpowder-driven projectiles.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Peggy's well-trained cavalry shifted formation and fired another volley.
Then came the next.
Under that relentless fire, Depro's and Diliven's private troops lost almost a third