Chapter 302：

On August 10th of the holy calendar, the four new infantry battalions arrived in Fishtail Town, and Paul Grammy also arrived with the troops. The war has entered the final stage of decisive battle. As the supreme military commander of Arda, he doesn't want to miss the battle exploits... er no, it's the moment to witness the enemy's final cry.

Before Paul had rested enough in Fishtail Town, he received a battle report from Schroeder from the front line. The Duke's army attacked him with an overwhelming force. The enemy's force was estimated to be nearly ten thousand. Arda's army lost the battle. Now it has retreated to a town called St. Mir's.

An army of nearly ten thousand people? Lost in battle? Paul almost jumped up after reading the report. He was used to the continuous victories of Arda's army, and he couldn't accept the word defeat suddenly.

Schroeder's troops, in addition to two regular infantry battalions, also have nearly a thousand militiamen and locally recruited auxiliary soldiers, totaling about 3,000 people. Although Paul is very confident that his training and equipment are much better than the opponent's, the difference in strength is also a bit big.

Paul wrote back to Schroeder: stand by for reinforcements, and he will immediately set off south with four infantry battalions to join him.

As a result, the more than 2,000 horsemen who had just disembarked began to run southward before they had much rest.

After two days of rapid march, Paul led his troops to the town of St. Mir and joined Schroeder's troops.

The old knight said a little ashamedly: "I'm sorry, my lord, it was my improper command that shamed Arda's army."

Paul waved his hand: "It's not your fault, you have too few soldiers."

Even if the battle fails, Schroeder's army still has 2,500 people. After finding out that the opponent's troops far exceeded his own, he decisively chose the combat method of preserving his troops as much as possible, and waited for Paul's four infantry battalions to arrive.

The real combat effectiveness of Schroeder's army is the more than 1,000 soldiers of the 2nd and 4th Infantry Battalions, and about 1,000 Arda militias equipped with spears but with poor defense. As for the auxiliary soldiers recruited locally, it is worth noting .

"What's the specific situation of the enemy army?" Paul didn't believe that the current Maltz Kent could train 10,000 soldiers, otherwise he would give a fart.

"According to our observations, the number of real trained soldiers is between 3,000 and 4,000, of which there are nearly 1,000 cavalry, and there are about 400 regular knights among the nearly 1,000 cavalry."

"Three thousand to four thousand people?" Paul folded his arms and kept comparing the strength of the two sides in his head.

So if we only compare the "regular army", the strength of the two sides is now basically the same. There are nearly 4,000 people on my side plus the militia. Arda wins because of balanced quality and strict discipline, while the opponent wins because of the highly mobile troops such as cavalry.

As for the remaining miscellaneous soldiers in the Duke's army, they were basically out of Paul's consideration. After traveling for such a long time, he knows the level of these temporarily recruited cannon fodder. If these miscellaneous soldiers are allowed to charge together, he may have to mess up first.

Paul asked Schroeder for his opinion: "Do you think our current strength can win?"

The old knight replied confidently: "If the opponent doesn't come with new reinforcements, there is absolutely no problem."

Schroeder's self-confidence is well-founded. In addition to the four infantry battalions, the Earl also brought 20 rapid-fire guns, which will definitely make the Duke's army drink several pots.

Paul patted several large wooden boxes, smiled and said to his chief of staff: "In addition to strengthening the firepower, material incentives are absolutely indispensable."

…

Two days later, enemy troops appeared in the south of St. Mir's Town, and the duke's army that had been repaired chased them up. Arda's army quickly lined up in the south of the town, but there were only two battalions of troops, and the rest of the army was hidden in the town.

"Very well, they don't seem to have added new soldiers." Schroeder held up the binoculars and roughly estimated the number of people on the opposite side. After the loss of the previous battles, the size of the enemy army is now more than 8,000 people.

…

"Master Jia Aisi, I have checked carefully, and there are no ambushes around the town."

A knight rushed to Jais and reported loudly.

Jais looked at the Arda army in the distance with a cloudy face. He wondered why the other party always found himself first. This was the case in the previous fight with Schroeder. Every time Arda's army appeared in his sight, they would face him in full battle, and the opponent's scouts' eyesight was too good.

Could it be that, as his father guessed, Gleiman also secretly received the help of the wizard and obtained some mysterious power?

No matter what, let's end this difficult opponent here. What reassures him is that the opponent is still the two thousand people who retreated last time.

Jayce ordered the officers around him: "Start the attack according to the previous plan."

The tactic they adopted was to send a wave of cannon fodder miscellaneous soldiers to the front to consume the ammunition of Arda's army, followed by spearmen and archers.

Because the flintlock guns of the Arda army fired directly, the cannon fodder provided a good cover for the troops behind before they died or ran away. The only thing that can cause a lot of casualties to the troops behind during the attack is the long-range straddle shot of the Thunder Hammer.

After approaching Arda's infantry line, the cannon fodder was almost consumed. After the archers suppressed their firepower, the spearmen approached each other and began to fight.

During this process, the cavalry cruising around the enemy army, on the one hand, caused huge psychological pressure on the opponent, and on the other hand, looked for the weak points of the enemy's formation to wait for an opportunity to break through.

Previous battles have proved that this tactic is effective when one's own side has a superior force and the opponent lacks cavalry.

It seemed to be the first time since the start of the war that Arda's army could be forced to retreat. Jaes didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

…

The rumble of guns, the sound of gunfire for a while, and the sound of fighting hand to hand for a while, the two armies fought fiercely in the wilderness south of St. Mir.

Under heavy rewards and severe punishments, the soldiers of the Duke's army charged the enemy's array time and time again. The Arda soldiers' morale was greatly boosted because of Paul's personal command and receiving several times higher than usual military pay and repelled the attack again and again.

Looking at the corpses and wounded on the ground in front of the formation, Schroeder signaled to Paul: "It's almost there."

Paul nodded heavily, and Schroeder immediately ordered: "Retreat to the town!"

Taking advantage of the enemy's new attack, Arda's army collectively turned and ran towards the town of St. Mir.

Jayce had already learned of Paul's existence at this time, and a knight who was wounded in the charge and retreated brought him back news, and the **** who disgraced the Kent family was on the opposite side.

This made him even more determined to get rid of this army that had daringly ran to his rear to make trouble. As long as Paul Grayman was killed or captured, the entire Northwest Gulf would be wiped out in just around the corner.

"The enemy is retreating! They are running into the town!"

More than one person discovered the movement of Arda's army.

"Quick! Gather all the cavalry and follow me to charge into the town, followed by the infantry! Jim, lead your men to block the other exits of the town."

Jais made arrangements within a minute. Obviously, the opponent couldn't bear the pressure and retreated. Except for a few special cases, pursuing victory is the only rule in military affairs.

"Gleiman, you don't want to run away!"

The sound of rumbling horseshoes sounded in the wilderness, and the black cavalry rushed towards Shengmi town.

Jaaisi saw that some Arda people tried to pull the Thunder Hammer back into the town, but when they saw the cavalry's charge, they immediately dropped the Thunder Hammer and ran into the town with the people in front. Haha, these cowards.

Come in! Come in!

Jayce whipped his beloved horse, and led the cavalry around a street corner.

Then he saw the dark muzzles of the cannons, as if exuding endless chill.