Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: Osby Plains Great Battle (6)
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Peter Jaeger Lieutenant General's orders spread instantly throughout the entire Reich Empire army, and the soldiers who had been waiting somewhat leisurely in the rear were suddenly put on high alert.
"Knights are coming from the right wing! Enemy knights from the right wing! Move according to the plan!"
Numerous Reich Empire army couriers galloped on horseback, shouting the operational details at the top of their lungs, while officers below battalion commander rank hurriedly ordered their men to unload stakes from wagons and set them up.
In theory, one stake per person didn't seem like much work, but the ground on the Stockholm Kingdom's Osby Plains was half-frozen.
Because of that, driving the stakes unloaded from the wagons into the earth took far more effort than expected.
"This goddamn frozen chunk of dirt! Why won't these wooden stakes go in even when I hammer them?!"
"Captain, calm down. Swinging the hammer with all your might isn't helping. Take it easy first, then drive it in slowly."
"Hold it steady over there, and be careful not to hit any friendlies when you swing! Hit wrong, and it's the whip even if it's not on purpose! Hurry up!"
Even in such chaos, the Reich Empire soldiers successfully installed the stakes to protect their front perfectly.
The battalion commanders of each infantry unit were secretly astonished at having created these simple fortresses in the field—stakes driven into the ground that were effective at stopping knights.
They had learned in theory at the Staff College or Academy about building and using such field fortifications right up until the battle started upon arriving at the front.
But none of them had experience whipping up a fence fortress capable of repelling heavy cavalry mid-battle like Lieutenant General Jaeger.
"Form ranks! Form ranks thoroughly! Pikemen, all of you stand in front of the stakes and form an anti-cavalry square!"
"The enemy won't break through the stakes we've set! You'll see it with your own eyes—their warhorses getting their necks pierced and dying."
"Fear not death! The time has come to show the Stockholm Kingdom army the pride of the Imperial forces!"
The officers rallying the troops like this were afraid of dying too, but not a single one thought of abandoning or fleeing their posts.
Meanwhile, Gdansk Lieutenant General, commanding 20,000 knights from the Stockholm Kingdom and Warsaw Grand Duchy allied forces, couldn't hide his shock.
Because the scene before his eyes was utterly different from what the light cavalry scouts—who had returned just an hour ago—had reported.
The latest report had said the enemy rear was wide open, perfect for a knight charge.
But now, from the enemy right wing to the rear, there were anti-cavalry weapons aplenty—enough to halt a knight assault.
'I sent more than five scouts, and all five gave the same report, so they didn't lie. Then what the hell happened?'
"Lieutenant General Gdansk, what are your orders? This is so different from what Field Marshal ordered—shouldn't we go back for new instructions?"
"The situation has changed a lot, but our knights number 20,000. We have to brace for some sacrifices and punch through the enemy lines."
"Understood. Then I'll take the vanguard."
He said that, but Gdansk Lieutenant General couldn't shake the growing unease inside him.
Because he knew that the soldiers of the Reich Empire's 7th Guard Division under Peter Jaeger Lieutenant General had repelled Ostrica knights' charge armed only with pikes.
He worried that Peter Jaeger might pull off another bizarre and shocking stunt like that time.
"Brave knights of the Warsaw Grand Duchy and Stockholm Kingdom, follow me, Axen von Borsen! I'll lead the charge!"
With those words, Gdansk Lieutenant General shook off stray thoughts, gripped his lance, and joined the charge himself.
"Enemy knights incoming toward the battalion! Even with the stakes, we can't hold them with our numbers."
"Call for reinforcements! To stop their charge, we need to pack in tight!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the battalion commander signaled for support, nearby infantry units rushed to the requested position and solidified the defense.
At the same time, thousands of arrows and spells flew toward the enemy knights, felling countless from the Stockholm and Warsaw Grand Duchy knights to ranged attacks.
"Annihilate the vile invaders! Fear not death! Charge!"
"Judge the Reich Empire's demons with the lance of justice!"
"I'll skewer you on my lance instead of the cross and kill you!"
Shouting battle cries like this, the knights spurred their horses faster and faster, while the Reich Empire soldiers crouched behind stakes, aiming pikes at them.
100 meters, 70 meters, 50 meters—the closer they got, the more tense the Reich Empire troops and their foes, the Stockholm Kingdom knights, became.
"Neigh!"
"Argh, fuck! You bastards! Die!!"
"Moooom!!"
The 20,000 knights from the kingdom and grand duchy alliance clashed with the Reich Empire infantry.
The result: warhorses had their necks and chests impaled on ground stakes and spear tips, spraying blood as they died, and the knights atop them were thrown off, snapping their necks on impacts or trampled to death by rearing horses.
On the flip side, the Reich Empire infantry who withstood the knight assault were hurled by the massive horse weight, dying from fractures, or pierced in unarmored spots by lances.
Both infantry and knights suffered massive casualties, groaning in agony and pain.
"Fuck, we held... but I feel like I'm gonna die..."
"I can't feel my legs anymore... Am I dying like this?"
"... S-save... me."
Whether catastrophe unfolded on the battlefield or not, the surviving Reich Empire soldiers and officers moved immediately for the next action.
"Mobilize all nearby skirmishers! If no flails, grab the hammers we used for stakes!"
"Hammers out! Stockholm bastards, time to smash your skulls!"
"Now that they're dazed is our golden chance—full army, attack!"
With those orders, Reich Empire soldiers struck disoriented knights head-on, while Imperial light cavalry and knights hit their flanks with full force.
"Kill the dog-like Stockholm Kingdom scum! Slaughter them!"
"Not a single cowardly Warsaw knight who declared war after we marched will survive!"
"Where's that evil Ishtaven bastard? Where is that fucker?!"
As a result, the 20,000 knights from the Warsaw Grand Duchy and Stockholm Kingdom forces were slowly melting away.
Lieutenant General Jaeger leapt from his headquarters chair the moment he heard the report.
"To the front clashing with the Stockholm Kingdom army, commit every remaining skirmisher and two-hander. Deploy all reserves to settle this quick. Don't miss this chance."
The order spread instantly to the infantry units fighting fiercely at the Reich Empire vanguard.
The soldiers holding the enemy with pikes at the foremost line cheered with triple hurrahs.
"Hell yeah, fuck! Now push 'em all the way!"
"Smash their skulls without mercy!"
Amid the cheers, the Reich Empire's famed two-handers appeared in a flash, slicing or deflecting the pike hafts held by Stockholm and Warsaw infantry.
Skirmishers slipped through the gaps, swinging flails freely up, down, left, right to reap enemy lives.
"Die, you evil Warsaw Grand Duchy shits! You thought we'd die making stakes because of your shitty declaration of war!"
"You bastards who'll only be happy dead—do you know the pain of working with the Commander-in-Chief?!"
"You live easy and die easy! Filthy fucks!"
No matter what the Reich Empire soldiers said—whether they slashed or crushed skulls—the dying couldn't understand anyway, as it all looked agonizing.
Still, the Imperials butchered them with immense grudge.
In this situation, the Stockholm Kingdom's overall commander had to send out reserves again, but he couldn't.
Because behind his main body, from the woods, emerged what seemed to be four divisions' worth of light cavalry, knights, and infantry that had been ambushing, striking the currently weakest-defended rear.
Of course, the kingdom and grand duchy officers weren't idiots either, issuing orders to block the enemy as best they could.
"Regroup the units! Shore up defenses again!"
"Form pike squares and hold! Block them at all costs!"
"They're few in number—don't panic over a minor raid!"