Flying Dragon Riding Face... Don't Charge Like a Pig!

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

At noon, the two platoons of recruits arrived at the Alden town. The reconnaissance cavalry reported that the pirates hadn't gone far, and after gathering all planned personnel, the entire army had a hearty meal. Paul Grayman announced they would depart towards the direction where the pirates were located.

In the evening, they finally spotted the pirates' troop camp by the river, where people were cooking around fires. There seemed to be around four to five hundred of them in total.

Paul thought to himself, "We don't have the numerical advantage, but with our modern military training methods, these ragtag folks are no match for us."

"Form up!" commanded the officers of each platoon, rearranging their formation from column to line.

The pirates also noticed the approaching army and quickly grabbed their weapons, rushing out of the camp to face them in formation.

A bearded man walked out from the midst of them and shouted towards their side, "Hey, little Grayman of the Grayman family, are the things my grandpa asked for ready? Are you here to pay your respects eagerly?"

After saying this, the pirates around the bearded man burst into laughter.

Bryce asked, "Sir, what should we do? Should we attack?"

Paul thought regretfully, "Hmph! If only we had brought the cannons, we'd make sure they regretted it."

The "big killer" they developed some time ago didn't perform as well as expected after experiments. Initially, they filled hollow iron balls with gunpowder and had the grenadiers throw them hard, but the throwing distance was quite disappointing.

The explosions still posed a threat to the throwers, injuring many, and the misfire rate was surprisingly high. No wonder the throwing function of grenadiers in "Wheel Brother: Total War" was designed to be so mediocre; a row of shells could hardly kill a few people.

Later, they reduced the amount of gunpowder and switched to clay pots, which could be thrown farther, but this reduced their power. The craftsmen racked their brains and embedded iron nails in the clay pots, which made them somewhat resemble the fireballs of the Song Dynasty.

After all the changes, it still seemed like a mediocre cannon, far from the effectiveness of modern hand grenades in the army. However, for emergencies, they still produced a batch. But even with this batch of mediocre weapons, they forgot to notify the recruits sent to the new recruits training camp last night to bring them.

After a series of complaints in his heart, he aimed the whip at the pirates, boldly proclaiming, "Let's wipe them out."

"Grasp your weapons tightly!!! Forward!!!" Bryce, upon receiving the order, shouted loudly. Rows of soldiers formed into square formations and began to advance slowly.

Watching their own uniformed and relatively orderly formation, they indeed looked like a strong military force. Looking at the pirates on the other side, loosely organized without any formation, it was like a scene of regular troops besieging bandits. How could the Flying Dragon Riding Face lose?

Just then, the bearded pirate from the enemy side suddenly widened his eyes and shouted loudly, "Kill these aristocratic lackeys!!!"

Then all the pirates collectively roared and charged recklessly towards their direction.

Initially, the territorial soldiers could steadily advance, but as the pirates approached closer, the soldiers in the formation began to show signs of panic. Especially the new recruits in their first battle, their weapons were visibly trembling.

Then something alarming happened. Someone in the first row, perhaps to boost their own morale, shouted loudly, "Charge!"

This "charge" seemed like a signal that suddenly released the tension in all the soldiers as if a spring had been suddenly released. They yelled loudly and hysterically started rushing forward. In no time, the once tight formation became scattered, with officers being dragged forward in the rush. Only Bryce and the inner guards dared not to leave the count's side.

Soon, the soldiers were in melee with the pirates, leaving Paul dumbfounded as he rode his horse, muttering to himself, "Things shouldn't have turned out like this! Everything was fine just now, how did it turn into such chaos?"

Bryce cursed, "These bunch of useless fools."

The pirates, all fierce and aggressive, combined with the loss of formation and the soldiers' lack of real combat experience, clearly were no match for these desperados. In less than half an hour, the balance of the battlefield began to tilt in favor of the pirates.

As expected, one soldier finally exerted all his might to desperately block the enemy's weapons and then turned and fled.

After that, the second, the third, gradually all the soldiers started running back. Officers shouted loudly to stop them, Bryce ran over and fiercely whipped the fleeing soldiers back.

However, all efforts were in vain.

"Sir, let's retreat! I'll lead the cavalry to cover the rear," Bryce, seeing that the situation was irretrievable, had no choice but to advise the young count to retreat.

The count stared fiercely at the bearded pirate who was still chasing after the defeated soldiers, gritted his teeth tightly, reluctantly muttered, "Cavalry, cover the rear! Retreat!"

Then he turned his horse around, fiercely whipped it, and the pained horse began to gallop back the way they came.

"All cavalry, follow me to cover the rear!"

...

Bryce, covering the rear and rallying the fleeing soldiers, finally shook off the pirates' pursuit. About an hour later, they caught up with Paul. After counting their numbers, including the missing soldiers, the unit had lost over 30 men, with more than 50 wounded.

"This is a disgrace!" the count lamented, tears welling up. Combined with his father's previous failure, this was now the second defeat at the hands of pirates. If word got out, their family would become a laughingstock in the Northwest Bay.

Gritting his teeth, he exclaimed, "Find those two bastards!!!"

Bryce, puzzled, asked, "Which two bastards? Who are they?"

"The one who disobeyed orders and shouted 'charge'! And the one who retreated without permission! I'll make them mine in the mines for the rest of their lives!"

"Yes, my lord."

"Let's return to Alden Town first! We need to thoroughly review the lessons learned from this operation!"

...

That night, every officer was required to write a battle summary. The young count retired to his bedroom and did not come out. While officers brainstormed and searched their thoughts, the steward Philip heard banging and crashing sounds coming from the lord's bedroom but refrained from knocking. The young master indeed needed to vent.

...

The next day, when Paul entered the hall, he encountered Bryce, who was visibly excited.

"My lord, guess who's returned!"

Standing beside Bryce were two individuals—a spirited elderly man around fifty years old and a young man who appeared to be in his twenties. Both bowed respectfully to Paul.

"And who might these two be?"

"Sir Schroder and his attendant Joyce, Owen Schroder. You met him when you were young. Oh, right, you wouldn't remember then."

The elderly man spoke slowly, "Allow me to introduce myself..."

Which reader would like to comment? Playing solo games isn't much fun, huh? (╥╯^╰╥) Of course, having votes would be even better. \(^o^)/~

(End of Chapter)