Chapter 364: Battle of Black Mountain (VIII)

“Bang bang bang—”

At the sound of the bowstring being plucked, Zerakken couldn't help but blink his eyes, and the dazzling reflection of the arrow made him lose consciousness for a moment.

But the next second, the other guards around him shouted loudly: "Your Excellency, be careful!"

Before Zellaken even had time to react, he felt a huge force hitting him from the side and he flew sideways.

The two guards raised their shields, and arrows flew out from the edge of the oak shields wrapped in iron sheets.

"Zheng——" Zerakan heard a crisp sound of metal friction, and then he felt a painful warm sensation in his right ear.

He subconsciously touched his ear and opened his palm, which was covered in blood.

After realizing that he was being sniped by the Savior Army's longbowmen, Zerakon immediately squatted on the ground and used the large square formation marching beside him as cover.

The sun was scorching in the sky, burning the air and distorting it.

Under the dazzling cold light, more than 200 feather arrows pierced through the distortion and poured down like a summer rainstorm.

Wherever the arrow went, blood spurted up like raindrops bouncing.

Ripples of blood spread outward in circles, accompanied by the continuous cries of the soldiers.

The rain of arrows came so suddenly that the soldiers in the infantry formation had no time to react.

Especially at the position where Zerakon was, the boar riders who were eager for revenge performed exceptionally well. Eight arrows fell around Zerakon from a very long distance.

If the family guards hadn't raised their shields and used their bodies as cover, Zerakon would have been shot through the internal organs and bleeding profusely.

How on earth did they find their place?

Zellaken was pinned down by the guards, still thinking about this question: Could it be possible that they could see him clearly from such a long distance?

But at this moment, Zerakon didn't have time to think too much. He leaned out from the shelter formed by the guards, raised his fist high and shouted to the infantry under the battle flag:

"Raise your shield! Raise your shield! Raise your shield!"

Hastily removing their shields from their backs, the night watchmen raised their arms and lowered their heads, holding their round shields upright in front of them and above their heads.

These thick wooden shields may not be able to block arrows, but they can greatly reduce the possibility of being hit in vital parts.

Arrows whizzed through the air and pierced into wooden shields. The team, which had been advancing slowly, was stopped in its tracks by these six waves of arrows, more than a thousand arrows.

If they were in a small horizontal formation like Horn's, they would probably have retreated by now.

But the advantage of a large square formation is that it is huge in scale. It is difficult to change the formation, and it is even more difficult to escape.

This pause is an opportunity for the monks.

The infantry phalanx stayed where it was for a few minutes, and several balls of light representing the blessing magic rose from the phalanx.

Then, this large square formation of 2500 people marched forward again under the shouts of low-level monks and infantry knights.

Victor looked at the slowly moving array, then looked at Murat, as if he wanted them to fire another wave.

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Murat shook his head and said, "Brother Victor, we have a limited number of heavy arrows. We must use them at the critical moment."

For the archers on Knight Ibe's side, making arrows is very simple. They only need to use branches or even reeds and simply trim them with pieces of bone or iron.

But in the hands of longbowmen like Murat, war bows and arrows are much more difficult to make than hunting bows and arrows, especially the arrow shafts, which even require special wood and correctors.

Because these arrow shafts have to bear nearly twice the bow force of hunting bow arrows, which is not something ordinary arrow shafts can withstand, and the manufacturing difficulty is also not comparable to that of ordinary arrows.

The cost of one arrow for this kind of bow is as high as 1.6 dinars, which is enough to buy two pounds of lead bullets, and there are about 20-30 lead bullets in each pound.

Just now, Murat and his men shot out almost 20 gold pounds in one wave.

Victor estimated that after the battle, the lead bullets they fired might not even amount to 2 gold pounds.

If the infantry phalanx on the opposite side had not been blessed by the monks, they might have collapsed after this wave of arrows. Victor couldn't help but sigh, the only disadvantage of expensive things is that they are expensive.

"Your Majesty's order to me is to fire a wave of arrows in front of the battle formation to consume the enemy's magic." Murat got back on his horse and controlled the restless warhorse. He leaned sideways and said seriously, "Next, it will be your turn to use Holy Wind and counterattack. We will use ordinary wooden arrows to provide support from the side."

With the longbow half-drawn, ordinary wooden arrows can be used to harass the infantry phalanx without any problem.

Victor turned his attention back to the battlefield. The blazing sun shone on his iron helmet, burning his head painfully.

Victor watched for two minutes as their square-toed wooden shoes or straw sandals stepped on the lush green grass and he had a rough idea of ​​their speed.

In order to maintain the formation of a large square, they had to advance at a speed of about 30 to 35 meters per minute.

According to Jeshka, this was considered fast in the old army, at least they did not stop to regroup every ten steps.

According to the Bible, the Salvation Army's normal pace is 40 meters per minute and the fast pace is 50 meters per minute.

These two speeds seemed very slow, slower than normal walking, but they were already the best among the old imperial army which were generally not good at running.

What's more, the Salvation Army also has two types of footwork summarized from actual combat, the charge step of 80 meters per minute and the running of 130 meters per minute.

At this time, the large square formation of the Ibe Army was still 60-80 meters away from them, which meant they still had at least two minutes.

After estimating the speed of his own team's formation change, Victor made up his mind.

"Colleman, get ready, we're going to charge with a volley."

This is a rather risky decision, but if it succeeds, the night guards and armored sergeants of the central army will be incapable for the next day.

Sudden footsteps were heard and Zerakon looked up suddenly. The slanting sunlight made him squint his eyes, but immediately he opened his eyes wide regardless of the sunlight.

"Change formation, at this time?"

The two sides are only seventy or eighty yards (sixty or seventy meters) apart. What is the purpose of changing the formation at this time?
In the eyes of the front-row soldiers of the Ibe Army’s large formation, they saw an unprecedented strange scene.

The commanders on the opposite side were overwhelmed by the heat and suddenly became confused in a way they could not understand.

Rows of soldiers turned left and right, moving back and forth on the grass at fast or slow paces.

Several captains of the fifty-man teams held lances, one across the chest of the first row of soldiers, and one against the back of the last row of soldiers.

The sounds of scolding and commands were endless, and some people were even slapping people in the face.

"Hurry, they are in chaos, let's rush over."

The guards were overjoyed and quickened their previously steady pace.

"Go faster, before they end the chaos!" An armored sergeant captain kicked the dawdling guards on their butts, making the procrastinating guards scream.

As the pace became easier and the formation became more chaotic, the rebels in front of them became clearer and clearer.

But at some point, without them noticing, the changes in formation and the sounds of footsteps stopped.

At some point, the soldiers holding long iron pipes stood in front of the spearmen.

They placed the heavy iron pipes on the gun rack. The black holes on the pipes made the guards feel a palpitation for no reason.

"Charge, keep charging." With his back to the Salvation Army, a tall, armored sergeant was still shouting, "Don't be afraid, keep going. The bishop has offered a price. One gold pound for each head of a real short-haired man..."

"boom!"

But before he could finish the second half of his sentence, his whole body suddenly trembled.

He covered the back of his neck, and blood flowed down like a waterfall, forming a pool of blood in the gray-green hood.

Then, the soldiers heard the same prayer as they had in countless nightmares in their lives - "Praise the Holy Wind".

(End of this chapter)