Chapter 634 Crisis
Perhaps it was because the Burgundians' methods were too insidious. The Duke of Lombardy, who had turned gray at the temples, suddenly felt a rush of blood. When the thick smoke came over, there was a burst of hysterical curses, and spittle flew everywhere. The high-ranking officers present were silent, waiting for the Duke in front of him to give the order to attack again.
As the brave people of Lombardy, they must find back the dignity they just lost no matter what, and show some color to the group of farmers opposite who don't know how to live or die.
".Listen to me, everyone immediately mount their horses, get in formation, and prepare to attack! "
The Duke of Lombardy, who had vented his anger, glanced around at the group of high-ranking officers who had followed him in battles for many years. He held a scabbard made of pure gold and inlaid with pearl agate and rare jade in his left hand. With his right hand, he skillfully pulled out the sword of the king, which symbolized power and glory, and raised it high.
"Today, in the name of the ruler of all Lombardy, I order you to raise the sword in your hands, and in the name of God, fulfill the oaths you have made - to defend the land under your feet to the death, and shed the last drop of blood for Lombardy!"
"Shed the last drop of blood for Lombardy!"
Everyone answered in unison, with their blood gushing.
The Duke of Lombardy nodded with satisfaction, struck while the iron was hot, and made a promise to his face: "In this battle, whoever kills an enemy will be rewarded with five gold coins, fifty acres of land, and a title promotion.
Once they heard that the reward was so generous, these guys who were licking blood from the knife edge were like wolves that had been hungry for ten and a half days and suddenly smelled delicious food. Their eyes lit up and they completely forgot what happened a moment ago.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Everyone mount up!"
The Duke of Lombardy shouted loudly, took the reins handed over by the attendant, jumped up, and climbed onto the horse.
The officers and soldiers standing beside them also mounted their horses and drew their swords, waiting for the order to go out. Some light-armored infantrymen, armed with round shields and handy weapons, were interspersed among the cavalry, always ready to charge out and harvest the enemy's heads.
"Warriors of Lombardy!"
The Duke of Lombardy sat on the tall red horse, with his raised cloak fluttering like a golden flag under the scorching sun, looking majestic from a distance.
"Pull out your swords, charge forward with me, and chop up those bastards!"
"Charge!"
This time, the anxious Duke of Lombardy did not hesitate to go to the wall himself. He wanted to deal with this group of country bumpkins from the north.
But this decision made him regret it.
".—Master, they are coming!"
At the Guards camp, Ron, who was always observing the Lombard cavalry, turned to Art and said.
Having already expected that the Lombards would not give up, Art looked particularly calm.
Ate calmly took down the wine naan in front of him, bit open the wine cork and spit it to the side; and took two gulps.
After two sips of beer, Art complained: "This stuff is like horse urine when it's hot. It tastes really bad!" Then he threw it to Ron beside him and raised his right hand to shield himself from the scorching sun.
Ron took the wine, opened it and smelled it, then quickly stopped it and handed it to the guard behind him.
Turning around, I saw the Lombard infantry in light armor walking towards the scorched earth that was burned to ashes. As they walked, they used the short spears and swords in their hands to move back and forth on the ground.
Seeing the Lombards starting to clean up the tacks on the grass, Art was not going to let these guys come to his door.
"Send the order, the crossbowmen come out!"
"The crossbowmen come out!"
Target, the light armored infantry on the scorched earth!"
"Target, the light armored infantry on the scorched earth!"
The crossbow captain repeated Heyat's order.
Under the order of the crossbow captain, more than two hundred crossbowmen quickly took out the arrows behind them and loaded the arrows.
"Fifty steps in front of the formation, release!"
Following the order, a hail of arrows flew towards the light armored infantry who were lowering their heads and searching back and forth.
Fifty steps arrived in the blink of an eye, and a third of the Lombard infantry who failed to take precautions were shot dead on the spot.
Following another burst of rapid fire, the Lombards retreated one after another. Seeing that their advance was blocked, the Duke of Lombardy immediately handed over all the shields to the infantry. Soon, a safe passage was opened. After several previous experiences and lessons, the Duke of Lombardy planned to concentrate his forces, focus on attacking one area, open a gap, and break through the enemy's formation. Then rely on the mobility of the cavalry to strangle the opponent in one fell swoop.
After opening the passage, the Lombard cavalry appeared one after another more than fifty steps in front of the Guards formation.
The rain of arrows a moment ago became increasingly sparse as the Lombards opened the passage. In this way, the two sides faced off in front of the formation for half a sip of tea, and no one gave an order to attack.
In the Lombard camp, the Duke of Lombardy, who was standing in the rear, glanced at the opposite side and decided to cut off the defense line of the Praetorian Guards in the middle, allowing the opponent to separate from head to tail and defeat them one by one.
After a brief confrontation, a battle that decided the life and death of both sides began. "Kill!"
The Duke of Lombardy gave the order.
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of war horses neighed from both sides to the middle in a wedge shape and rushed towards the position of the Guards. The roaring cavalry wielded chain axes, hammers, spears and swords directly at the opponent's head.
――·Get ready!”
At the Guards position, seeing the cavalry rushing towards them like a savage beast, the crossbow company had been waiting for a long time.
"Let go!"
Following the order, hundreds of arrows fluttered their tail feathers and flew towards the Lombard cavalry.
Because they were prepared, most of the arrows that flew past were nailed to the shields and did not cause much damage to the Lombard cavalry.
Fifty steps, arriving in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the battle started, the two sides started a fierce confrontation.
The soldiers hiding behind the Juma used the cover of the Juma to stab the cavalry on horseback with their spears. After a few rounds, the pained cavalry fell off their horses one after another. After a while, the front of the position was filled with houses.
Looking at the bodies on the ground, I thought that the Lombard cavalry would retreat like before, dropping a few bodies in front of the horse and retreating. Therefore, the soldiers of the Guards relaxed their vigilance this time.
The Lombard cavalry commander in charge of frontline command immediately organized heavy armored infantry to carry giant shields and push them up, blocking the enemy's vision and the cold arrows fired from time to time, forming a solid shield wall in front of the horse.
This trick is effective.
No matter how hard the soldiers of the Guards slashed and poked with their spears and swords, they could never open the shield wall in front of them.
This time, the Lombards, who seized the opportunity, began to exert their strength.
Since the horse is made of wood, once it catches fire, a hole will be ripped open in the Guards' defense line.
Hence, the Lombards smashed all the twenty cans of kerosene left in their hands towards one place.
Dang!
Dang!
Dang!
There was a sound of breaking earthen pots~
"What smells?"
A soldier raised his arm and a familiar smell came~
"Kerosene!"
It’s on fire! A sudden fire ignited the defensive line in the middle.
"Ah, save me, save me!"
"It's on fire!"
"Run quickly—·
The fierce fire instantly enveloped the surrounding soldiers, and the skin covered with kerosene crackled under the burning of the flames.
The rolling firemen kept crying out.
The burning Juma was emitting bursts of black smoke, and pieces of burned wood fell from time to time. The connected Juma soon became a wall of fire, spreading to both sides. ".—Herald!" Not far away, Art, who was standing on the horse and watching the fire, had a plan.
by Sir!』
"Quick! Immediately notify the first and third companies with the strongest combat capabilities to support the center, block the fire, retreat while fighting, and let the enemy in. But they must be blocked by me and must not open a gap, otherwise military law will be engaged!" Art said sharply.
"Yes!"
"Wait a minute!" Art suddenly thought of something again, "Let them scatter horse nails along the retreat route to delay the cavalry's offensive."
"Yes, sir!"
The messenger kicked the horse's belly hard and ran away.
"Ron, inform the guards, let the grenadiers take their positions and wait for my order!"
"Yes, sir!" Ron turned around and ran towards the carriages behind him -
"Damn it! Quick, let them rush in for me!"
Looking at the dwindling fire, the Duke of Lombardy decisively ordered an attack. As long as this opportunity is seized, the iron hoofs of the Lombard cavalry will crush the bones of the Burgundians in one fell swoop.
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Three horns sounded, and Lombardy began its second attack.
In the middle of the Guards Corps, the fire was gradually dwindling, and the defense line built by Juma was already incomplete. The fierce fire caused most of the Juma to be burned, and it continued to collapse, making it useless. Both sides were also affected, but fortunately, they were isolated in time and were not damaged.
The charred corpses were still emitting black smoke and exuding the pungent smell of tar.
The horn sounded, and the Lombard cavalry, who had already been unable to restrain themselves, rushed out wielding their chain axes and hammers~
Seeing a large number of cavalry charging towards them, the officer in charge of defense immediately ordered the heavy armored infantry to form a shield wall.
Faced with the menacing cavalry, this group of battle-hardened heavy armored infantry showed extraordinary courage. As soon as the two sides came into contact, a fierce battle began.
The cavalry relied on their condescending advantage to charge forward. They galloped their horses to grab the chains and smashed them at the soldiers behind the shields, killing five on the spot and seriously injuring seven.
The huge impact instantly knocked the soldiers behind the shield away, and the raised horseshoes broke the ribs of several soldiers,
They died on the spot.
The Lombard cavalry decisively seized the fighting opportunity and continued to rush towards the opened gap, slashing at the light armored infantry with average combat power. For a brief moment, screams and wails could be heard endlessly, and broken limbs and arms were scattered on the ground——
The situation was once critical.