Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Battle of the Linz Plains (4)
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The morale of the 20,000 knights under the Ostrica Archduke was sky-high.
The reason was that leading the charge at the forefront of the knight formation was the Archduchy’s mightiest force, the most prestigious direct guard knight order under the Archduke himself.
Though the Archduke himself wasn’t personally joining the assault, they were advancing with his banner held high at the front.
For along this path hung the glittering prizes of honor and advancement.
“His Grace the Archduke shall bestow a baronial title and a prosperous baronial domain upon whoever captures Lieutenant General Jaeger or the Crown Prince! Do you want to change your fates? Those who crave wealth, honor, and beauties in your arms, seize those bastards! Everything you desire hangs from those two dogs’ necks!”
Besides, by all common sense, knights could only be countered by knights.
The Ostrica Archduke commanded 20,000 knights, while the Reich Empire’s army had barely half that—around 10,000.
In a battle where the sheer number of knights would largely decide victory or defeat, their twofold numerical superiority made the odds of dying extremely low.
With victory estimated at over 95% likelihood, their morale couldn’t help but soar.
“Maria, wait for me! From now on, I’ll make sure you eat white bread and meat every day!”
“Forget that nagging wife—I want a pretty girl under me in bed once in a while too!”
“Damn it! Let’s drag back those two bastards’ heads and turn our lives around for good!!!”
With morale riding high like this, they galloped around toward the left flank of the Imperial Army when Major General Hans von Grunwald, deputy commander of the Ostrica Guard Knights, spotted something.
“You mad Reich Empire sons of bitches... stop crawling like cockroaches! Argh!”
“What’s so damn funny about smashing heads like that?!”
“When are the reserves coming?!”
The Ostrica Archduke had committed his reserves at an inopportune moment, rendering them useless in the fight.
Sensing that several thousand troops thrown into the fray here by the commander’s poor judgment were about to die in droves, Major General Hans grew all the more desperate.
‘No matter what it takes, we must make this attack succeed here. Fail, and the Ostrica army could very well lose.’
Glancing aside, he felt a sudden temptation to strike the seemingly exposed rear of the Reich Empire’s infantry.
But as a soldier bound to obey the Archduke’s orders, he shook it off, pushing through several Imperial divisions to prepare striking the Reich army right in the back of the head.
“Form up in wedge formation. We’ll smash the Imperial 7th Guard Division and ride that momentum straight to capturing the Crown Prince.”
At his command, the Ostrica knights naturally shifted into a wedge-shaped formation and advanced toward their target.
“Vice commander, sir, 20,000 Ostrica knights are moving along the rear flank of our infantry. They’ll arrive in about fifteen minutes.”
“No—signal Colonel Anastasia’s Northern Horse Archer Regiment to shatter the left side of their wedge formation completely. Then signal our knights to hit them from the rear. And request that Your Highness lead the guards close to the rear.”
“As you command.”
The Crown Prince received Lieutenant General Jaeger’s orders and moved to the rear of the 7th Division, focusing on boosting the troops’ morale.
Colonel Anastasia led her regiment of Northern horse archers to carry out the directive.
“For Lieutenant General Jaeger! For Her Highness the Fourth Imperial Princess Louise, let’s show them more than our very best!”
In truth, her real motive wasn’t so much the princess as earning major accolades here to win praise from Lieutenant General Jaeger.
‘If I ask the general for some time on the night the war ends, he’ll gladly make room. We’ll talk strategy, I’ll pour him a drink, tease him a little... Lady Laura seems to approve somewhat, so she might even help...’
What she overlooked, however, was how to shake off that vixen Charlotte, who was also eyeing the general.
Her troops roared back with enthusiastic cheers.
“Long live the great general who slew the Northern tyrant!”
“Long live Her Highness Princess Louise! Long live the Reich Empire!”
“Long live the Empire that freed us from starving hell! Damn it, let’s change our fates!”
The Northern horse archers, fired up, grabbed their bows and arrows and charged toward the Ostrica knights, riding parallel at a distance just beyond the reach of their lances.
As always, they showered the enemy nonstop with arrows, keeping them too harried to think straight.
Most shafts bounced off the horses’ barding or the knights’ armor, but some slipped through gaps, felling riders here and there.
When one knight tumbled dead from an arrow, the two or three behind him stumbled over the corpse, trampled flat by the press of knights charging from the rear.
“Damn barbarian scum, fighting like little girls! Come at us fair and square!”
“Fighting so annoyingly dirty! I won’t let you bastards off if I catch you.”
“Heathen barbarians, fall to hell.”
The Ostrica knights spewed curses to dilute their growing fear of foes steadily thinning their numbers from afar with arrows.
The Reich Empire’s horse archers heartily mocked the knights, who could do nothing but curse back.
Thus, enduring thousands of arrows, they pressed on toward the rear of the 7th Division where the Crown Prince waited.
The Imperial infantry began showing signs of tension.
Then, as the Ostrica force veered toward assaulting the 7th Guard Division, Colonel Anastasia gave the order.
“Horse Archer Regiment, cease arrow fire! Empty those leather pouches of caltrops and scatter them good!”
At her word, the horse archers yanked the pouches from their saddles and flung the caltrops across the knights’ path.
“Eat shit! How’s that feel, charging into caltrops?”
“A gift from us bastards. No send-off needed.”
“Safe trip to the afterlife.”
Needless to say—though utterly unavoidable—the iron caltrops sent the horses into frenzy.
Dozens of beasts refused to charge as directed, tangling legs and slamming into one another—half-ton behemoths, knights included crashing like 1,300-pound battering rams.
With horrific crunches, thuds, and clatters, horses and men pulped into bloody chunks.
“Aaaagh! Onyx, stop! No, run! Go forward!!”
“Shit, Mom! Dad! Phillia!”
“You horse-riding nomad scum! Die and rot in hell!! Aaaah!”
The Ostrica knights’ left flank lost all momentum from the chaos, and Major General Grunwald took notice.
‘Damn it, damn it... To kill or capture that Crown Prince and Jaeger bastard supposedly hiding with those infantry, we need to keep the knights’ momentum till the end.’
But what was done couldn’t be undone, and halting the charge now would doom over a thousand knights who couldn’t stop in time.
“Damn it all, tear those bastards apart no matter what! Kill!”
The knights had no choice but to obey the desperate command.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince judged he had to show courage to the troops right here.
“I’ll stand with you! Valiant guardsmen of the Imperial Guard, heroes of the 7th Division who turned my shame at the Lichten Hills into the Empire’s shining glory! Take up your spears! Let’s clear away those filthy scum blocking my path!”
With those words, the Crown Prince positioned himself just beyond the knights’ desperate lance reach, dismounted, and gripped a spear.
“I’m not like last time. I won’t run. So keep your eyes on those ironclad lumps—don’t look away! The fearful will die, but those who embrace death shall return alive draped in glory!”
The officers inwardly admired the Crown Prince risking the front line with spear in hand, while the soldiers were moved to see him stand among them.
“Long live the great Reich Empire! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“The courage of Lichten once more!”
“Even if we die, let’s take at least one more of those damn charging knights!”
“You idiot! We’ve got to live to claim the Crown Prince’s rewards.”
As trained, following discipline and officers’ leads, the soldiers thrust their spears forward toward the knights.