Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Battle of Glopino Plains (2)
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The soldiers from the Warsaw Grand Duchy had extremely low morale.
Up until the arrows started flying, the recruits were openly muttering that we were all going to die here, and even the veteran soldiers tasked with dragging them into battle somehow couldn't muster a single word of encouragement—it was that dire.
The NCOs and junior officers who actually kept the troops in line had to resort to threats of killing anyone who didn't obey orders.
But that rock-bottom morale started to recover somewhat the moment the arrows began raining down.
The reason was simple: amid the insane barrage of enemy arrows, there was no room left for stray thoughts. Faced with the immediate crisis of life and death right in front of them, pure survival instinct surged up, overpowering fear and despair.
As a result, those Warsaw troops suddenly found the strength to fight the Reich Empire's infantry like combat machines.
"The commander's orders! Push forward with everything you've got! Advance slowly, matching the cadence—one, two, three!"
"Those puny bastards who were shaking like leaves from afar—when the hell did they turn into this? Damn it, I thought we'd have an easy time."
"Shut your mouths and stab one more of them! If you fight by the book, we'll all make it back alive."
The Reich Empire infantry were startled by how these near-dead foes had suddenly come back to life, grumbling about it, but not a single one wavered.
Because just as the Warsaw NCOs and junior officers had dragged their weak-kneed comrades to the front lines using their authority for summary executions...
The Reich Empire officers hadn't threatened their own men quite that harshly, but they'd snapped everyone back to their senses with a barrage of shouts, threats, and intimidation before panic could spread and morale could crumble.
"Even a pig thrashes around and doesn't want to die right before the slaughter! These Warsaw swine are beasts with a spark of life in them too—of course they'll resist!"
"They look fine on the outside, but inside they're rotten ruins. Just hit 'em a little harder, and they'll collapse for sure."
"Anyone hesitating or panicking will get a personal meeting with me! Focus!"
The battlefield situation was immediately relayed to Jaeger Commander, who was holding position at the Reich Empire's main camp.
"The fight between the Warsaw soldiers and our troops is at a stalemate right now, with back-and-forth pushing and shoving. The battalion and regimental commanders up front are requesting reserve forces—how shall we proceed?"
Peter Jaeger listened, told them to hold on a moment, and sank into thought.
This was how the battlefield looked to Jaeger Commander.
The battle was still in its very early stages. The troops had only just clashed, and they were still jockeying for momentum in a battle of wills to seize control of the field.
Throwing in reserves prematurely to get ahead or making reckless moves at this point would just exhaust the army's stamina.
Once the enemy realized our strength was spent, they'd leverage their numerical superiority for a full assault, and we'd likely crumble under it.
'Pushing more troops in to boost momentum in this situation would just get us eaten alive. But since the enemy morale is lower than ours, we need to make the frontline units fight at full capacity.'
"Move the skirmishers and veterans from the rear of each battalion forward to the spearmen's line. Have them disrupt the enemy formation. That'll force their knights to move soon. Relay orders to our knights in the rear to don their armor and check their lances."
In an age of cold weapons without gunpowder, shattering the enemy's infantry formation meant you'd already won more than half the battle.
A broken frontline left the enemy with two options: deploy knights to smash the opponent's infantry, or devolve the orderly fight—where both sides were properly arrayed—into chaotic melee brawl.
To minimize variables, Jaeger Commander had ordered knights to counter knights.
"Understood!"
With that, the messenger passed the same instructions to the several light cavalrymen around Jaeger Commander who handled communications.
As soon as the orders went out, they spurred their horses in their assigned directions, shouting as they went.
"No reserve deployment! No additional reserves, but frontline units are ordered to attack with full force!"
"Knights, arm up quickly and form up for deployment! Form ranks and await march orders!"
"Enemy knights are coming soon!"
These directives meant both sides would soon clash at full strength.
The Reich Empire officers, half tense and half excited, contemplated their tasks and began issuing appropriate commands.
"Spearmen, keep pushing! Charge fierce and relentless—give them no time to recover."
"We'll throw those bastards in soon! Just hold on a bit longer!"
"We'll be the heroes of this victory! Reform ranks! Re-form!"
Units whose lines had broken and whose attack strength was waning reorganized their formations to buy endurance, gritting their teeth and giving their all to hold.
But some units, facing stronger resistance than expected from the enemy, took heavy losses and raised the "unit reform" banner, pulling back from the front to the rear.
The most crucial attackers needed right now to break the enemy lines were the Reich Empire's hidden daggers.
"Skirmishers and two-handers, hold position. Veterans, take daggers and crawl under the enemy long spears."
At that order, the veterans who had been conserving energy behind the spearmen flattened themselves to the ground and began slithering forward like snakes.
Stifling even their breaths, advancing stealthily on their bellies without a soul—including their own Reich Empire comrades—noticing, just as always, no one paid them any mind.
"Damn Reich Empire bastards! Thrusting spears at thin air—what a cute sight!"
"Drop dead, you fucking pricks! Go join your moms and dads in hell!"
"Die! Die already!! Argh, you filthy invaders!"
Thanks to that, those crawling on the ground moved freely through the blind spot under the spear hafts of both enemy and ally, unhindered.
Of course, the crawlers themselves had to endure the gut-wrenching anxiety of instant skewering if spotted, in an extreme environment where they couldn't even breathe properly.
But there was one reason they could endure it.
'Just crawl under their spears into their lines, and those Warsaw bastards are done for—no fight left in 'em.'
As they said, the spear was the ultimate weapon for perfectly blocking a wide area when wielded by many.
But once you slipped inside the haft—at least four or five meters long—it lost all killing power, worse than bare hands for self-defense.
So the veterans just needed to jam the daggers in their hands into the enemy soldiers' ankles up ahead, and they'd rack up massive merits for huge rewards.
When the time of endurance ended and the Reich Empire soldiers reached the feet of the Warsaw Grand Duchy troops, they acted exactly as they'd drilled thousands, tens of thousands of times.
With the dagger in their right hand, they stabbed the instep in front of them or sliced the Achilles tendon, crippling them.
"Peekaboo, you damned Warsaw shits! Didn't your moms teach you to watch your step when you were little?"
"So damn loud just 'cause you got nicked in the ankle. Annoying as hell. Shut up, you dogs."
"They were loving thrusting those spears a second ago. Look at 'em now."
The Warsaw soldiers couldn't even spit back curses; clutching their ankles, they collapsed screaming in agony, unable to mount any real resistance.
Meanwhile, the Reich Empire veterans drew the swords, maces, even two-handed axes from their backs and quietly dispatched the Warsaw troops rolling on the ground, collapsing their formation.
"We're really gonna get wiped out like this!"
"Drop the spears and draw swords! Swords out—counter them! Don't bother with those Reich spearmen way back."
"You pig bastards are crawling like snakes now. What the hell is this madness?!"
For the Warsaw soldiers, it was a catastrophe beyond catastrophes, but for the Reich Empire troops, the perfect opportunity.
On the other hand, for Commander Tateusz, it was the worst scenario: the infantry lines—the core of the battle—starting to crumble...
"Send out the knights! Disrupt the Reich Empire infantry lines at any cost."