Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Battle of Jungfrau Plains (7)
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“You damn mountain bandit bastards from Switchelland, die! Die! Die!”
“You worthless dogs! Your fate is to die right here!”
“I’ll kill every last one of you!”
The soldiers of the Reich Empire shouted at the top of their lungs, veins bulging in their necks, as they repeatedly swept aside and thrust their enemy spears.
While the soldiers of both armies fought a brutal melee, stabbing and killing each other with their spear shafts, Switchelland’s veteran mercenaries were cautiously crawling underneath the wildly flailing spear shafts above their heads.
In a battle this chaotic, it was unlikely they’d be spotted unless they were extremely careless.
But if the Reich Empire soldiers noticed these battle-hardened veterans crawling toward them on their bellies, the mercenaries—armed only with daggers—would be as good as dead.
They crept forward as silently as possible, barely even breathing, moving as slowly as turtles toward the Empire soldiers.
It was just a short distance of about six meters, but the risk of instant death if spotted made it feel endless.
To the veterans, each minute dragged on like an hour, but their steady progress paid off—they reached the feet of the Reich Empire soldiers undetected.
Now all that was left was to slash at the Empire troops’ insteps and ankles with the daggers in their hands.
“Just as Major General Jaeger predicted, the bandit bastards have crawled under the spearmen!”
“Turn them into ground meat! Kill them all!”
“Chop them up nice and fine!”
The Reich Empire forces had anticipated this exact scenario. On Major General Jaeger’s orders, they had positioned flail-wielding soldiers alongside the spearmen.
Those flail troops swung their weapons just like farmers threshing wheat and barley in the autumn.
Bringing them down hard on the stalks to shake loose the grains.
They raised their flails high to smash the heads of the soldiers who had risked their lives crawling under the spears.
“Spare me, you filthy bastards!”
“No way, damn it. How did they know we were coming?”
“I’m not dying alone! You Reich Empire dog bastards!”
The Switchelland soldiers were divided into those begging for mercy, those questioning why they were dying even now, and those desperately stabbing at Empire soldiers’ feet in a bid to take someone down with them.
In the end, though, they all met the same fate: their skulls crushed equally.
As dozens, then over a hundred veteran soldiers were slaughtered in an instant, the Reich Empire’s flail troops let out a triumphant roar.
“Long live Major General Jaeger! Long live the Reich Empire! Long live the great Deus!”
“The cowardly mountain bandits’ heads are smashed! We’re winning!”
“Push a little harder! We’ve got this!”
This cheer greatly boosted the morale of the Reich Empire infantry, who had been getting pushed back due to their lack of combat experience just moments before.
The Switchelland soldiers, meanwhile, were plunged into deep despair at the sight of their once-reliable tactic failing miserably before their eyes.
Major General Jaeger, who had received word of all this, clenched his right fist tightly and raised it high.
“Perfect! Now’s the time. Tell the infantry to press forward aggressively! They call Switchelland soldiers the strongest on the Europan continent, but when their morale breaks, they’re nothing but a rabble!”
His orders quickly spread to every infantryman in the Reich Empire army, and the Empire troops accelerated their steady advance, pushing the enemy relentlessly.
The Switchelland soldiers, still reeling from the shock of their failed operation, began to noticeably fall back despite their individual skills being worthy of their reputation as Europan elites.
Just then, Captain Philip, in charge of the headquarters company, approached Major General Jaeger with a report.
“Sir, as per your orders, we’ve scattered oil-soaked leaves near the forest entrance by our position. And during the operation, we didn’t encounter the Switchelland ambush unit.”
“Understood. Then have your company stand ready. When I signal the mages, they’ll fire fireballs toward the right forest.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the tide turned, the 7th Division under Major General Jaeger began to gain the upper hand. Count Tissino suppressed his rising fury and racked his brain for a way to reverse the battle once more.
One minute, two, three. With every passing second, the only thought crystalizing in his mind was that they desperately needed a divine stroke of genius to turn this around.
“That damned Jaeger Major General! Watching a 27-year-old whelp strut around the battlefield like a coward boils my blood! Brave warriors of Switchelland, slay the wicked Peter Jaeger who burns your homeland! Charge!”
No such miracle came easily, so for now, he issued orders to rally the infantry’s morale and press the attack even harder.
Not long after, Count Tissino’s face lit up with sudden realization.
‘We already ambushed the Reich Empire forces, and that ambush failed utterly. So they won’t expect us to try the same strategy again.’
“Send a messenger at once with orders for Baron Ragno to take 1,000 infantry, bypass the left forest, and strike the flank of the Reich Empire infantry! The fate of this battle hinges on this ambush.”
If they succeeded in flanking the Reich Empire’s right wing by circling through the forest, as Count Tissino envisioned.
Even Major General Jaeger’s army would waver in that moment, and striking then with halberdiers and Doppelsöldners would swiftly turn the tide.
However, even if Baron Ragno hurried, pulling off the flank without being detected by Major General Jaeger would require holding out in this frontal clash for at least an hour.
“We’re losing the head-on slugfest. Commit the reserves to support, and put the Doppelsöldners at the vanguard. These spear-wielding nobodies can’t possibly defeat Switchelland’s legendary two-handed sword reversal warriors!”
It sounded arrogant, but Switchelland’s Doppelsöldners were elites paid at least double the rate of regular mercenaries.
In truth, it was commonplace for one of them to take down two or three green recruits single-handedly. They were strong, tenacious soldiers who never gave up, no matter the odds—ideal warriors.
Any employer who had ever hired them would grudgingly admit they delivered three or four times the combat power for their pay: legendary mercenaries.
That was why groups of them ended up as officers or even knights in places like the Peronia City-States, the Reich Empire, or the Franco Republic.
And with two-handed swords—the perfect counter to spearmen—Count Tissino had every reason to believe victory was his this time.
As Count Tissino deployed his trump card to turn the tables, the Switchelland infantry were still shaken by the ambush squad’s failure.
“Damn, even the ambush crawling under the long-spearmen failed. Are we really okay like this?”
“Shut up, Max. Count Tissino isn’t some idiot like you—he’s got it all figured out. This is why I can’t fight with greenhorn trash.”
“The reserves are coming soon. No, once those Doppelsöldners back there start swinging their blades, we’ve won a hundred percent.”
Soon after, orders came down for the Doppelsöldners to advance, and the infantry erupted in cheers at the news.
The reversal warriors with their two-handed swords smirked, knowing their moment had arrived, as the green recruits parted to let them through.
Naturally, Reich Empire soldiers swiftly targeted their necks and vitals with spear thrusts along the way.
“Where do these mama’s boys who can’t even wean come from? Insolent brats!!”
Shouting this, they swept aside or severed the Empire spears with their massive blades and bored forward.
The Empire soldiers panicked at the Doppelsöldners’ sudden ferocity, and the line nearly cracked.
But the flail troops protected the spearmen who had been in dire straits earlier, preventing a full collapse or major casualties.
Even so, the sequence restored the morale of the Switchelland infantry who had been on the back foot, and timely reserve support arrived right on cue.
“A straight infantry brawl, and these Reich whelps dare challenge our big brothers?!”
“I’ll sew that arrogant mouth shut!”
“All you invaders deserve is a gruesome death!”
The Reich Empire forces began to fall back bit by bit.
Peter Jaeger watched the situation unfold, inwardly troubled but keeping his expression neutral for his men.
Actually, he was secretly hopeful that the enemy had fixated on the infantry clash.
At that moment, Lieutenant Colonel Werner and Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia, observing from a vantage point away from the front lines, sensed it was their time to shine and issued orders to their units.
“We take out the Switchelland ranged weapon users first!”
“Watch the cavalry archers charge in, then follow my signal and attack!”