Chapter 55 — Collision

The Beastmen vanguard travelled quickly through the familiar forest. No matter how much they looked down on the declaration of war, they knew that if the humans dared to invade, they must have at least some confidence. As such, the Vanguard was 50,000 strong. And while hastily formed, it consisted entirely of professional soldiers available to be mobilised quickly. Their excellent quality could not be compared to regular Beastmen armies, a point reflected in the current moment.

Watching his scouts return from their advanced positions, the Beastmen commander of the Vanguard smiled with excitement and grim determination. The enemy was close. 

[Sir! We hear gunshots ahead of us, about 10 kilometres away!]

[Judging by their frequency, we estimate them to have at least tens of thousands of musketeers spread out!]

The commander sneered when he heard this.

[Hehe… Using musketeers in this terrain? Foolish!]

[Order the entire army, spread out! Change tactics, we're fighting musketeers! Remember, we have the advantage of terrain and instincts! Strike hard, strike fast, and do not allow them to regroup!]

While the Beastmen didn't endorse change, they knew they had to be flexible and adapt to the world's every change. They had long known about the existence of gunpowder, and in the face of a weapon that threatened to eliminate their innate advantage, had come up with their own set of countermeasures.

The primary weakness of muskets was their low fire rate and accuracy. In an open field, they could fire at most two shots at an enemy at effective range before they were upon them. Ideally, they were most effective in fortified positions, from which they could safely reload and fire upon the enemy, repelling their assaults to hold strategic points.

In field battles, the strategy primarily employed by humans was to entangle the enemy's infantry with their own, then volley-firing into the enemy's ranks, destroying their morale. Thus, in these field battles with humans, Beastmen would deploy their troops with the strongest defence to instantly target and take out enemy musketeers, not allowing them to fire.

Even in an ideal environment, musketeers were disadvantaged. Let alone in a forest! The dense forage allowed skilled Beastmen to close the gap and spring out in a surprise attack, giving almost no time to react. Added to that Beastmen knew the forest inside and out, they simply made the perfect guerrilla fighters.

[Pay the price for trampling on our sacred lands.]

Still advancing quickly, the Beastmen Vanguard seamlessly split out into their individual clans. With determination in their eyes, they further dispersed into separate, almost individual squads. Shuttling through the dense woods with ease, they were now in their natural habitat, no longer confined by formation.

Normally, an army would avoid dispersing to maintain morale and prevent routs in the heat of battle. Seeing comrades on all sides roused unity and support. Yet, Beastmen could do the exact opposite of this age-old rule. Disregarding the impediment to commanding and coordinating, Beastmen were just as, if not, stronger on their own.

[I smell a slaughter incoming…]

The Third Reich's forces kept advancing. They did not know how close the Beastmen vanguard was, but they expected to encounter them soon. They gradually concentrated into tighter groups, relying on each other for support.

And for the first time, the soldiers felt fear. They had always relied on the guns in their hands, feeling infinite security, in the knowledge that they were holding the most advanced weapons of the Empire. They could defeat any warrior, any superhuman with a crushing advantage.

Yet, upon gazing upon the dark, dense forests, with sight lines measured in the metres and reinforcements in the kilometres, they felt vulnerable. And so, they subconsciously pressed their shoulders against each other, seeking refuge in their friends who shared their same predicament.

[Stay alert!]

An officer ordered his group, his voice low but tense.

[They could be anywhere.]

The soldiers tightened their grips on their rifles, alert, yet also filled with anger. They couldn't believe that they would feel fear against these animals. How dare they!

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling howl pierced the air, followed by several more from different directions.

Chaos erupted as the Beastmen sprang their ambush. They struck with terrifying speed and precision, exploiting every blindsight in the human's formation. Arrows and spears flew through the air as Beastmen warriors leapt from the underbrush, their claws and teeth tearing through the air.

[Contact! Contact!]

A Beastman grinned ferociously as he easily dodged the first bullet fired at him. At such a distance and speed, it was tough to hit such a target with only one bullet.

He couldn't wait to see the musketeer's expression of fear, knowing that his only shot was gone. His claws would sink right into their unarmoured chest-

But barely before he could finish his thought, he saw a sight that sent chills up his spine. The gun fired again. And again, and again, in quick succession. He was lucky not to get hit by the next few rounds. But a second later, a bullet finally connected. Then another, and another. The Beastman staggered and fell unwillingly, leaving just one thought behind.

[…superposed…?…but how…]

All order was lost as soldiers shouted, firing blindly into the underbrush. Countless Beastmen fell to the continuous sounds of gunshots by the sheer volume of firepower.

And yet, the humans did not go unscathed. Some soldiers were impaled by projectiles, their thin cloth uniforms providing no protection. Others were swarmed by too many Beastmen or did not manage to take down their enemies in time. After all, Beastmen could continue to fight even with grievous injuries. Even so, the first wave of attacks was repelled.

The Beastmen hesitated momentarily, shocked by the sheer volume of firepower. But feeling their warrior blood pumping, their shock turning into a fierce resolve. They darted between trees, using every bit of cover to their advantage. The initial shock of the guns' rapid fire was wearing off, and their adaptability and ferocity came to the forefront.

The battle turned into a brutal, close-quarters fight. The forest echoed with the screams of combat, the cries of the wounded, and the relentless bursts of gunfire. The humans had the upper hand and grouped together, covering each other's reloads and laying a continuous net of firepower. However, they were burning through their ammunition supplies fast.

A soldier clenched his Winchester Model 1897 shotgun, blasting at a fast-moving target. Spots of blood burst out the side of the Beastman's body as he was grazed by the deadly spray of pellets. His eyes turned red as he roared, not even acknowledging his wound.

Despite this, he still felt his speed slow down as the injury taxed his body. Now only a few metres from his enemy, he was struck square in the chest by another buckshot round.

The round shredding his chest cavity, he stopped straight in his tracks, staggering before collapsing in a pile of his blood.