parentshiftbook Chapter 1181 - 1113: The Finale of the Dawn Island War (Double-Length Chapter) (Part 2)
Chapter 1181 - 1113: The Finale of the Dawn Island War (Double-Length Chapter) (Part 2)
"Who are you calling a dog?""You're the dog, who else could I be calling?"
As the knights were bickering, Michelle walked over to Jeanne and whispered, "Your Excellency, should we circle around a bit more?
They showed signs of retreating earlier, which might mean they've been alerted. If the Leia people see through the trap, we'll be in trouble."
Jeanne shook her head, "No need. If Blythe dares to come, it means he's already lost his mind. Let's not waste time on useless actions."
It wasn't long before the sound of hooves in the distance grew faster and closer.
Jeanne took a deep breath, stood up, and said, "Brave monks, follow me!"
With those words, the battle flag in her hand instantly flapped in the wind, and then she dashed toward the farther lake.
Three hundred knights followed closely, deliberately slowing down to leave obvious traces of retreat.
Bypassing a house dense with farms, like molten iron spreading and overflowing, three thousand border knights appeared on the green and wheat-filled earth.
At the end of the dirt road and farmland, Blythe caught sight of "Joan".
That black and red flag was indeed eye-catching.
Fortunately, they hadn't run far. After being chased for so long, a rest was needed.
They probably rested after seeing them retreat, not expecting to be caught red-handed by him!
In this sense, Puzilio really helped him out.
Seeing the traces on the ground not yet cleaned up, Blythe waved his hand, "Chase! Don't let them get away!"
He spurred his horse, speeding up along the traces to pursue Jeanne's troops.
Hooves pounding the ground, startling nearby residents to hide in cellars.
On these plains, the cavalry pursuit battle was all about whose horse was better, faster, and lighter.
In terms of horse quality, the Holy Alliance might not compare to the border knights.
But in speed and weight, they far exceeded the border knights.
Jeanne fled, Blythe pursued, the scenery on both sides whisked by, and the chase grew longer.
As the pursuit continued, Blythe realized they were already running without a plan because they were rushing toward the waterwheel lake.
That's a lake, let's see how you keep running!
As expected, not long after, on a patch of grassland, three hundred cavalry suddenly split into three paths, scattering in retreat.
The ripples seemed to illuminate Blythe's smirk as he drew his longsword, "The one holding the black and red flag, wearing the iron mask, that's Joan, capture her!"
"Oh——" the knights cheered, raising their lances.
But they paid no attention to the things on the ground covered by leaves and vines.
"Charge——ah!"
"Sour radish must be eaten..."
Suddenly, the leading few knights' horses let out a wretched cry and fell forward.
Consequently, those knights tumbled, mud splashing more than a meter high.
The knights behind couldn't stop in time and crashed, creating a cacophony of horse whinnies and clattering armor.
Blythe immediately reined in his horse, staring suspiciously ahead.
"No, no!" His hair stood on end suddenly, "This isn't grassland."
He hadn't realized before but now saw the green he thought was grassland was not that at all.
It was a pond filled with duckweed!
Only because it was overgrown with weeds, or maybe by humans dumping a lot of grass and vines, did it look like grassland.
A swamp is the most difficult terrain for cavalry to perform.
Even with the Divine Technique of Walking on Flat Ground, it's impossible to walk on water.
It truly was an ambush!
And it was an ambush with a significant terrain advantage!
Damn, in his haste to catch up with Jeanne, he advanced at full speed, even scout riders were only two or three hundred meters ahead, not enough time for a thorough reconnaissance.
Even with Blythe's fervor, he knew now was the time to retreat.
Just as he was about to rein in his horse and give the retreat order, a fierce drumming reached his ears.
Bushes trembled as if the earth was shaking.
From the woods and fields, from behind houses and mounds, troops wearing quilted uniforms emerged.
They carried spring-loaded arquebuses and longswords, forming horizontal formations swiftly.
Black and red flags billowed, and Blythe's face flushed, his vision darkening.
Besides the swamp, there was also a near ten-thousand-man infantry encirclement.
"Break through to the east... no, south... damn it, how are they so fast!"
These hidden soldiers were able to change formation expertly, forming a cohesive whole, such organizational skill...
Each group of twenty or thirty would need an officer to achieve this. How did Jeanne of the Holy Alliance manage it?
If Jeanne could hear his thoughts, she would tell him.
It's because her troops train every day without sparing the cost.
Because there were so many officers and literate veterans in the Holy Alliance, if one officer couldn't oversee twenty or thirty men, one officer and two literate veterans could certainly manage fifty.
No clever schemes, no gimmicks.
While Jeanne's battlefield tactics were ingenious, her training was honest and thorough.
She always understood that no matter how clever the strategy, if you couldn't win, it was all for naught.
Gunfire erupted on both sides of the woods, dense lead bullets shot toward the cavalry.
Simultaneously, the red Dragon's Breath launched from grenade launchers, falling among the border knights.
Dragons of fire darted, and flames spread instantly.
"Kill!" Jeanne's voice rang out, and 300 knights abruptly turned to charge the chaotic Leia cavalry.
The camouflage of planks and turf above the trenches was lifted, and infantry in breastplates rushed out.
They wielded halberds and greatswords, attacking the knights trapped in the bog.
These halberdiers and great swordsmen were mercenaries; the Holy Alliance had few specialized halberdiers or assault swordsmen.
"Don't panic, we still have a chance, cough cough." Blythe started to say, then was overcome by a violent cough.
He wanted to continue organizing, but saw the knights were already in chaos.
Some were screaming from being burned by the red Dragon's Breath, others fell from lead bullets, and some were stuck in trenches unable to move.
Only a few knights managed to stay calm, trying to regroup and break through.
"Break through! Quickly!" Blythe roared, swinging his longsword to block a halberd, slicing down a rushing infantryman.
Just then, nearby dead grass and wooden planks were overturned, with mechanical sounds of "creak, creak" emerging.
On both sides, sixteen spring-loaded cannons were pushed out, their dark barrels aimed at the chaotic cavalry.
"Oh, Angel's excrement!" Blythe's pupils shrank, and he cursed aloud in his native tongue.
"Fire!" With Jeanne's order, the shrapnel cannons fired in unison, dense iron pellets rained like a storm onto the Leia cavalry.
The cavalry fell en masse, screams and wails filled the air.
Blythe was perhaps the unlucky one.
His brother had endured such concentrated lead fire before, only at the end was his vitals struck fatally.
Blythe, positioned at the front, was pierced by seven or eight iron pellets through the brain, leaving him and his horse a bloody mess.
Needless to say, Blythe was dead, leaving the remaining border knights in despair, yet some retained the will to fight.
But with the timely arrival of infantry, their route to survival was cut off.
After this battle, the three thousand elite border knights of the Leia reinforcements suffered heavy losses, unable to attack again in the short term.
As for Puzilio, once the reinforcements crumble, the remaining soldiers are bound to lose morale.
At that point, with the collaboration of Cheka in Sk Wolf Castle, either Puzilio surrenders himself, or someone else might surrender him.
Jeanne gently rubbed the flagpole in her hand, pondering how he would choose.
Michelle hurried over, "Your Highness, just now Puzilio came with a thousand cavalry..."
"Where?" Jeanne's expression turned serious immediately.
Michelle's expression was particularly odd, "According to the scouts, he took one look and left with the cavalry."
"Not attempting a rescue?" Grading was dumbstruck, watching Puzilio vanish like an arrow from a bow.
Several officers exchanged confused looks, they hadn't yet completed the encirclement, there was still a chance!
Why come just to look and leave, paying respects to the deceased Blythe?
Jeanne smiled slightly, saying nothing more.
Puzilio had already made his choice.
Grading looked at Jeanne, suddenly feeling powerless. After this battle, who could stop her from becoming the ruler of Dawn Island?
She looked up at the sky, the sunset slowly descending, painting the woods in golden hues.
The war on Dawn Island was finally reaching its conclusion.