radicalducati Chapter 195 Canney
Chapter 195 Canney
Chapter 126 Canney (3)
"What is Kadar doing?" Varo asked irritably. "Why hasn't the right flank been breached after all this time? Has the Summer Storm become so weak?"
At this moment, Varo, his face ashen, questioned the messenger kneeling before him in a hoarse voice.
"Their veterans are on the left, and their main force is in the center—the right flank. Could it be that the Lord of Light personally blessed their weapons? Or did one of their seven warriors personally descend upon the battlefield?"
"General, Commander Kadar reports that the enemy's right flank has established a stronghold by relying on the woodlands and a large number of vehicles and fortifications."
"His men are mostly light cavalry, and a forced assault on such a position would result in heavy losses and the effectiveness is questionable."
He suggested—"We should continue to observe, or wait until our main infantry force achieves a decisive breakthrough in the central route before pursuing the routed enemy."
"Idiot! Didn't he see it?" Varo flipped the table in front of him, his eyes bloodshot, and pointed his finger at the messenger's chest.
"We still need time to completely break through their defenses in the center. That damned, cunning Lightning Boy is about to collapse, but if we really let our lads break through their center alone, our heavy infantry will be exhausted!"
"I don't have much hope for the left side. As long as they don't collapse, that's fine. Once we break through their central and right flanks, they'll be like turtles trapped in a jar!"
"So tell Kadar, he must attack and crush the enemy's right flank!" Varo's face contorted with rage. "Once the enemy's right flank is crushed, their central flank will be completely exposed to our spears!"
"Doesn't Kadar like to roam around? Fine, once we break through the right flank, won't the enemy's center be just a dull, stupid donkey? A target for him to toy with at will?"
"I'll shoot his mother, he can do it himself!" After the communications soldier relayed Varo's order to Kadar, the steppe man spat on the ground.
"Let him not allocate infantry to me. That idiot Lucius insists on a central breakthrough with the main force. The advantage is on my side!" — Without infantry, how am I supposed to deal with those turtles in the wagon barracks?
Just as they were talking, another small squad of Summer Storm cavalry returned from the front lines.
These skilled riders were covered in wounds. Some reckless riders tried to get close and draw their bows to shoot, but were killed by the enemy with javelins and crossbows. Their stirrups caught their feet, and their untamed horses dragged their bodies on the ground. Blood soaked the yellow sand, leaving streaks of blood.
"No, that's not a turtle, I misspoke, that's a damn hedgehog!" Kadar said angrily into the woods.
"It's time." Jules put down his binoculars.
"Leon, send out your light cavalry to hold off their right flank light cavalry and relieve the pressure on the wagon camp. Remember to be wary of possible reinforcements from the center. If things don't go well, disperse; you can't defeat their heavy cavalry."
"Calvin, lower your faceplate and pick up your lance."
"Boss, are we going to charge?" Calvin licked his lips bloodthirstyly. "Which way?"
A strange smile appeared on Jules' face, then he pulled down his armor, his composed face hidden by steel.
"A direction they wouldn't have thought of, but which is extremely, extremely advantageous to us."
Seeing that he had not achieved the overwhelming victory he had expected, a surge of anger rose within Varo.
What's going on? Has the Empire's army become this weak?
Long Bridge's humiliation remained unresolved, and the unfavorable situation in the battle only fueled his anger and a sense of unease.
"Pass on the order!" Varo forced himself to calm down, but his voice was still icy cold.
"Tell the captains of the central forces that I don't care what methods they use, increase the pressure! At all costs, you must completely break through the enemy's central defense line within the next hour! Tell the left flank to hold their ground; the attack can be temporarily suspended, but absolutely no retreat is allowed! As for the right flank—"
He stared at the hateful "car city" and woodland, a fierce glint in his eyes.
"Tell Kadar, I don't care what his reasons are! Immediately, organize a thorough attack and crush the enemy's wagon camp! If he dares to make excuses again—" Varo didn't finish his sentence, but the threat in his words was self-evident.
The order was relayed swiftly. Valantis' offensive down the central line suddenly intensified, attempting to forcefully tear apart Tiberius's defenses.
Meanwhile, on the right flank, the Summer Storm light cavalry, who had been holding back, finally began to reluctantly assemble under the strong orders of the higher-ups and driven by Varo's anger, preparing to launch a probing, and possibly resentful, charge towards the "Thorn Fortress" that they did not think highly of.
Looking down from the sky, the formation of the Valantis army had been unknowingly stretched and distorted.
The battle line, which should have been as solid as an iron wall, has now become a dangerous, weak arc extending diagonally.
On the left flank, the [Twilight Raiders] vanguard, hampered by their prolonged attacks and flanking maneuvers, began to push forward. Their opponents, the White Legion veterans, were evenly matched, resulting in a stalemate where neither side could gain the upper hand.
Tiberius's main force in the middle was held back like a magnet by Tiberius's "delaying tactics," stretching the battle line and making it teeter on the brink of collapse, but it managed to hold on.
On the right flank, the Summer Storm light cavalry, forced to launch a reluctant charge towards the wagon camp's position, had just made contact with the defenders and were at their most committed yet most vulnerable moment.
"Charge!" Jules raised the banner high and spurred his warhorse slowly out of the woods.
Behind him were 120 heavily armored assault cavalrymen and 500 equally well-equipped heavy armored warriors.
"Now." Jules' voice wasn't loud, but it cut through all hesitation like a drawn blade. He didn't look at Leon on the right wing beside him, nor at Tiberius in the center.
His gaze had already turned to the left-wing battlefield where Old Tom and Habrow had nailed it to the ground with their blood and flesh.
"Calvin! Sound the horn! Target—the enemy's left flank and rear! Full speed ahead! Crush them!"
"Cavalry! Heavy cavalry!" A communications officer ran from the front lines, tumbling off his horse to relay the message to Varo.
"Where are they going? Right wing? Central wing?" Varo's face showed no fear, but rather excitement.
They couldn't hold on any longer; their last remaining forces had arrived!
"No, Your Excellency!" the communications soldier gasped.
"They're going to the Left Army!"
Yes, Jules and his men did not rush towards the Summer Storm, which was attacking the right flank wagon camp, nor did they attempt to charge the heavy phalanx in the center.
Jules' first charge, with his sharpest scythe, was aimed at the left flank!
This was completely unexpected by the Valantis. In their view, the enemy's fresh troops should have been sent to relieve the seemingly most critical central position, after all, that was the "main force's location." Once the central force was breached, the enemy would surely collapse. Alternatively, they could have attacked the Summer Storm threatening the right flank, utterly crushing the enemy's mobile forces, and then attacking the enemy's central force from the right flank.
A deep, desolate bugle call suddenly ripped through the battlefield's clamor! The White Legion's fresh troops crashed through the shadows of the woods and surged forth!
They must have thought I would choose either of those two places, but they were wrong, terribly wrong.
Jules raised his lance, spurred his warhorse, and slowly walked toward the battlefield, first taking small steps, then quickening his pace, and finally starting to gallop when he was fifty paces away from the enemy!
Jules took the lead, and behind him, the knights laid their heavy lances flat, and the power of man and horse as one exploded in an instant.
Instead of charging perpendicular to the enemy's front line, they cut sharply into the vulnerable junction between the left flank of the [Twilight Raiders] and the main force in the center, and then swept fiercely towards the rear of the enemy's left flank!
"Cavalry! Flanking man!!" the Valantis officer on the left wing issued a stern warning.
"Stop them!"
But it was too late!
Behind the lines were soldiers who had just fought their way back from the front. They were exhausted, and some might even be wounded. They had just put their armor and weapons on the ground. How could they possibly form a neat heavy infantry square to resist the enemy's attack when the officers ordered them to form ranks?
The vanguard of the [Twilight Raiders], who were engaged in a bloody battle with veterans like Old Tom, suddenly felt a tremendous tremor and a terrifying impact from the side!
The soldiers of the Twilight Raiders were knocked away and trampled like bowling pins under the charge of the cavalry.
The tight formation was ruthlessly torn apart and crushed from the flanks and rear.
Panic spread like a plague—fronted them were veterans who fought to the death, and flanked them by an unstoppable iron hooves. The only way to retreat was the muddy riverbank and the dense reeds behind them!
"What's going on?"
"The enemy is coming from behind! We're surrounded!"
"Where's the central army? Where are the brothers in the central army? Send them back to defend!"
"The central army must have been defeated! The central army has been defeated! Otherwise, why aren't they coming?"
"The central army has been defeated?"
"The central army has been defeated!" Jules shouted.
Of course, he actually knew that the central army had not been defeated.
only----
By the time you iron turtles arrive, we'll have already pushed them into the Canney River to feed the fish!
Jules looked with disdain at the central army soldiers attempting to return to their posts in the distance, watching them huff and puff as they trudged towards them in their heavy armor.
This is the heavy cavalry of this era! With its mobility, attack power, and price all at their peak, it is the true king of the battlefield and the queen of all troop types!
"Hold on! Turn! Form ranks!" The officer's roar was drowned out by the sound of iron hooves, screams, and bones shattering.
After completing the first round of penetration, Jules' cavalry did not go deep. Instead, they skillfully drew an arc, scraping and squeezing the enemy's formation on the left flank like a plowshare.
Old Tom and his men gritted their teeth and used their spears, greatswords, and battleaxes to force them back step by step, irreversibly pushing them toward the banks of the Canney River and the dead reeds!
"Drowning God's second son! Kill him for me!!" Sevita's furious roar rang out.
In an instant, countless dark figures leaped out from the dense reeds!
The Iron People don't wear heavy armor, but their agility is even more deadly in the reed marshes.
They were as familiar with this muddy, watery terrain as they were with their own deck, while those clad in heavy armor weighing dozens of kilograms...
For the Valantis heavy infantry, who were stumbling and struggling in the mud and whose formation was in disarray, this was nothing short of hell.
These savage pirates wielded gleaming battle axes, harpoons, short spears, and scimitars. They were not even very good at forming ranks, but in the reed marshes, small groups and individual strength were far more effective than neat formations.
"Heh heh! I want to test your skills!" Sevita grinned maliciously.
The slaughter began. The Ironborn appeared and disappeared like water ghosts, targeting the lower body. Battleaxes cleaved at the calves mired in the mud, harpoons pierced through the reeds, hooking into gaps in armor and dragging men down, short spears slammed into the throats or visors of enemies—
The heavy armor on the [Twilight Raiders] became a deadly burden at this moment. In panic, countless soldiers only wanted to get away from the man-eating reeds and mud as soon as possible. They pushed and shoved each other, stumbling and rushing towards the Canni River, which seemed to be the way out.
The Ironborn of Sevitar were completely bloodthirsty. They cared nothing for formations or teamwork; all they cared about was hacking and slashing. Battle axes swung, shields shattered; spears thrust, armor was pierced.
The land along the riverbank was quickly stained red with blood, and the reed marshes were completely transformed into a slaughterhouse!
"Jump into the river! Jump into the river!" a soldier shouted, urging his comrade to jump in.
However, they seem to have forgotten one thing.
They were still wearing armor!
So, these guys sank to the bottom of the river like a heavy iron lump.
Some soldiers, however, managed to maintain a basic level of composure in the face of such a critical moment and attempted to remove their armor.
But don't forget, behind them were the shock cavalry led by Jules and Calvin, who were trying to tear them apart like thunderbolts; their old adversaries, the veterans of Old Tom and Dmitri, and Sevita's men in the reeds.
Removing armor was no easy task, and many were torn apart by spears, axes, and greatswords, or trampled by warhorses, before they could even reach the river.
Even if someone is lucky enough to take off their armor and jump into the river, they are quickly swept away by the swift current.
The entire left wing was like a spinning top that had lost its power, being whipped around in circles by Jules' cavalry!
"Old Tom, Dmitri, Habroy, you two are responsible for pushing them into the river! Sevita, go to the enemy camp and kill all their horses! The rest? Burn them, destroy them! Don't take any spoils; I'll give you my share afterward!"
"Alright, old captain, you're such a good man! You gave me such a lucrative mission!" Sevita shook the blood off his short spear, his eyes filled with nothing but a fascination with plunder.
"Don't worry, this is my specialty!"
"Next—" Jules spurred his horse on again.
"It's not over yet!"