A Great Victory
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
As the sounds of battle ahead reached his ears, Paul's heart began to tighten.
This time, the soldiers showed improvement compared to the last, refraining from reckless charges. A reserve unit stayed by Paul's side, with senior officers like Bryce leading the charge. Though Paul disagreed with senior officers entering the fray, it did indeed boost morale significantly.
However, the situation gradually turned unfavorable. Their side began to show signs of decline, and both sides slowly moved towards the town center.
Paul grew anxious, "Send the reserves up."
Schroder shook his head, "Not yet."
Just then, a report came in: suspicious figures appeared on the other side of the town at the pier, likely another band of pirates.
Schroder said, "Send the reserves over."
Paul sighed, "It's a good thing we kept the reserves, otherwise letting another band of pirates into the town would've been disastrous."
The reserve unit swiftly ran towards the other side of the town.
The movement of the reserve unit didn't matter much, but the soldiers engaged in battle ahead thought their lord had abandoned them and stealthily withdrew. Many immediately broke off from the fight and ran towards this side.
"No retreat signal given, everyone, get back here!!!"
Bryce and the other officers, seeing soldiers running back, shouted in frustration while fending off enemies. Some returned to the battlefield, but many did not listen.
Their disadvantage became more apparent...
Just then, the old knight Schroder took action.
He rode over, swiftly approaching a fleeing soldier, drew his sword, and struck.
Almost in an instant, before Paul could react, the soldier's head was no longer on his shoulders, rolling under his horse with a dull thud.
The headless body collapsed to the ground, blood spraying from the neck, quickly staining the ground red.
The soldiers running away and Paul were stunned by this brutal action.
The old knight's eyes blazed with anger, veins bulging on his red-faced neck, almost feeling like something was pushing through the air towards him.
"This is the fate of deserters!!!"
His thunderous voice echoed across the battlefield, striking fear into everyone's hearts.
"Guards, obey my command! Anyone daring to retreat will meet the same fate, no exceptions!!!"
All the guards froze, looking at each other, unsure how to respond.
"Haven't you heard my orders?" The knight turned to them, his attendant Joyce immediately drew his sword and faced the still-dazed guards.
The old knight's single glance struck terror into the bewildered guards, prompting them to quickly recall how to act upon receiving orders from their superiors. "Yes!!!" they all shouted in unison, then raised their spears towards the retreating deserters.
Disobeying the command would likely result in losing one's head next.
"Fight with the pirates!" Someone shouted first, and the deserters returned to the front line to fight the pirates. Since death awaited them either way, they might as well fight back and kill one or two enemies to make it worthwhile. If they were unlucky and died in battle, Earl Grayman promised substantial compensation for their families.
The front line finally stabilized. Despite being startled by the old knight's methods, Paul breathed a sigh of relief.
Officers shouted loudly, rallying their soldiers. Gradually, each unit regained formation. In terms of numbers, equipment, and organization, the army had a stable advantage over the pirates. Now, with everyone resolved to fight to the death, they immediately inflicted significant casualties upon the pirates.
Their previous training paid off as soldiers, under the command of officers, formed spear formations and slowly but steadily advanced, pushing the pirates towards the water's edge.
"All mounted men, gather around me!!!" Schroder shouted as he and Joyce charged into the battlefield, collecting all the knights. After making a quick turn to leave the battlefield, they turned their horses around and whipped them fiercely. Under the pain, the warhorses charged desperately towards the pirates.
The swift cavalry charge almost split the pirates' ranks in half. Many unfortunate souls who stood in their way were knocked down and trampled, which became the final straw overwhelming the pirates. Already showing signs of defeat, the pirates scattered in disarray, fleeing towards the shore, some dropping their weapons and surrendering by kneeling down with raised hands.
"Advance at a run!" Bryce, now dismounted and commanding on foot, ordered. Soldiers maintained formation while quickening their pace, swiftly driving the pirates towards the water's edge.
Seeing the guards pursuing them, the pirates immediately pushed their boats away from the shore and jumped into the water to climb aboard.
"Don't miss this opportunity."
Paul, seeing nearly half of the pirates off the shore, immediately ordered the signalman to sound the charge.
"Ding~ Ding ding ding ding ding~ Ding~ Ding ding ding ding ding~"
The clear sound of the bugle echoed across the battlefield.
"Charge!!!"
In the eyes of the retreating pirates, the territorial guards suddenly seemed to be infused with a burst of energy, rapidly accelerating their running speed. They charged toward the pirates with fury, disregarding formations.
"Get out of the way!" "Let me go first! I'm first!" "Damn it!"
For a moment, cries of pleading and cursing echoed across the lake.
The former bearded leader was nowhere to be seen. With no leader, the disorganized pirates had no thoughts of a last stand. They only pushed and cursed at each other, fearing they might not make it onto the boats.
Seeing the soldiers reaching the shore, the pirates who had already boarded began rowing their oars, and all the boats drifted further away from the shore.
"Wait for me!!!" "You bastard who won't have sons!!!" "Rot in hell!"
Pirates who had jumped into the water but hadn't managed to get aboard cursed their comrades who abandoned them, while some swam desperately towards the departing boats.
Some lackeys who remained on the shore resisted for a while, either being killed or surrendering.
At this moment, a team of soldiers rushed to the shore. They were artillerymen sent to punish the swimming dogs.
Six musketeers had already loaded their ammunition, raised their guns, and fired towards the direction of the pirate ships. Other soldiers pulled out bamboo fire tubes and ignited grenades.
Although smoothbore guns were not known for their accuracy, the ships weren't too far away yet, and they were crowded with people, so this volley had a good effect.
With the smoke from the matchlock guns rising, blood suddenly sprayed from four pirates on one ship, as the enormous kinetic energy of the lead bullets knocked two of them into the lake, their fates unknown.
One of the remaining pirates was hit in the chest, instantly deprived of breath. Another pirate was struck in the arm, drained of strength instantly, followed by intense pain.
"Ah~~~!!!" He screamed in agony, disregarding everything else.
Those nearby immediately examined their companion's injuries. They had never encountered such a situation where the enemy neither shot arrows nor used crossbows, yet managed to injure someone. They tore open the wounded man's clothes and collectively gasped in shock.
"Magic! Sorcery! This must be black magic! Those noble bastards are using evil black magic!"
Then even more spectacular events unfolded. Round objects flew from the shore, each with burning fuses emitting a "sizzling" sound. It was obvious that these were not anything good, prompting the pirates to row with all their might to escape faster.
The first accurately thrown grenade exploded directly above a ship, causing a tremendous blast. Before it fully descended, the explosion immediately scattered pirates on the adjacent ship, maiming those onboard.
While the muskets had not drawn much attention due to their limited numbers, the noise caused by the grenades was significant. Although half of them fell into the water, the remaining half was enough to turn the pirates' situation into a hellish nightmare. Grenades continued to explode one after another, scattering fragments and nails, with the explosions on the lake's surface and the pirates' wails echoing one after another.
"Die, you sons of bitches!" Markalov laughed heartily, tossing another grenade onto a pirate ship. Today's victory finally swept away the shadow of the previous defeat, allowing him to finally vent his frustration.
As the pirates endured the explosions and rowed desperately, they finally managed to evade the artillery's attacks.
Just then, a scout from the reserve unit that had gone to the other side of town came to report. It turned out the other suspected pirates had merely observed for a while, likely seeing the preparedness and the number of reserves, and did not launch an attack. Upon witnessing Big Beard's failure, they promptly disappeared. They were then ordered to remain on alert.
After this great victory, all the officers and soldiers were extremely excited. Cheers rang out on the battlefield, finally dispelling the long-standing pessimism that had weighed on the army. As the enemies disappeared from view, Earl Grayman ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up, and the patrol officers were instructed to disseminate two orders: all seized items were to be handed over to the public treasury, and no private mistreatment of prisoners was allowed.
Upon the advice of the old knight Schroder, two cavalrymen set off in the direction where the pirates had retreated to gather intelligence and prevent a possible counterattack.
(End of Chapter)