Standing on a black rock obscured by trees, Horn held a scope in his right hand, his left eye tightly shut, gazing toward the chaotic formations nearby.

On both sides of the country road, even the half-harvested wheat fields shone with a golden glow.

The morning sun stretched the shadows of a messy array of men and horses long, extending from their feet to the edge of the raspberry bush by the roadside.

The Night Guard placed their three-meter-long spears in their right palms, gripping the lower section with their left hands, the elongated spear shafts protruding from above like a dense forest.

However, the Salvation Army was at some distance, and for the regular War Monks, these large formations seemed like a giant brush of mixed bristles advancing.

A procession of knights, waving colorful flags, intermingled with them like a cloth beside the brush.

According to combat procedures with regular troops, the knights would wait for the enemy's Extraordinary to appear or for the infantry to engage before attacking from the side.

Unlike the Imperial Knights, who were willing and able to break through enemy formations head-on, these rural knights lacked the capability and courage for such direct confrontations.

Despite the knights of Ibe calling themselves farmers, when faced with life-threatening situations, their bodies sincerely embraced the tactics of regular troops.

Compared to the trained Salvation Army, their chaotic and rigid strategic changes were quite an eyesore.

Were it not for the great distance, Horn would have been tempted to let the Holy Gun Cavalry charge a round first.

According to reconnaissance results and calculations, the battle between the two sides would likely occur on this battlefield, 2500 meters long and 1000 meters wide, in front of Black Mountain.

The Salvation Army's eight legions and cavalry units, totaling 5400 men, were forming along the mountain ridge, with engineers swiftly running between units to dig and set up temporary fortifications.

The northwest side of Black Mountain, the flattest part, was the right wing of Horn's position.

Horn set up two mortar low-wall fortifications here, with 150 archers and 1000 men from two Black Hat Legions, all under Jeska's unified command.

Beside the right-wing army was the reed marsh and small forest by the tributary of Ibe River, making it difficult for cavalry to gain speed.

As for the center army, it was directly commanded by Horn, comprising four legions with 2000 men.

Two Imperial Guard legions were deployed at a height of about 10 meters, with two Black Hat Army legions positioned roughly 200 meters in front of the Imperial Guard, at ground level.

The left wing, part of the steepest ridge section, had been set by the Salvation Army with two Black Hat Legions commanded by Hakuto.

On the right side of the two Imperial Guards was the cavalry unit commanded by Jeanne.

The cavalry unit consisted of two parts, the first being 250 bow cavalry made up of North Knights and masked Kush Knights, and the second being 300 Holy Gun Cavalry.

In front of the center army's Imperial Guard, four Wizards, assisted by engineers, were nervously assembling the fireball crossbow.

The legions commanded by Hakuto and Jeska were generally parallel, positioned at roughly 90 meters to the left and right of the Imperial Guard.

According to the "War Monk's Holy Canon," every two legions move as a team, with each legion's battle width around 100 meters, totaling about 220 meters.

Though referred to as the left, center, and right armies, these are actually just command ranges.

Unlike the separated advancing formations of the Ibe Knights to avoid interference, Horn's left, center, and right armies were connected.

From an aerial perspective, it resembled a diamond shape.

Observing the battlefield through the scope, Horn suddenly wiped the front lens with a handkerchief.

"What's wrong, Your Excellency?" Dass asked, head tilted up below the large rock.

Horn's facial muscles twitched slightly. He turned and handed the scope to Dass. "See for yourself."

He had just clearly seen those scattered Cuirassiers suddenly flock together like floating plants.

The Ibe Knights, originally on either side of the center infantry formation, suddenly recklessly cheered and charged out behind the Cuirassiers.

This crude tactic of luring the enemy actually worked? You're not human!

"Huh?" At the same time, Dass made the sound that Horn had expected.

"Prepare, let the Holy Guns on both sides offer support."

......

The sound of hooves thundered, and the disc-shaped helmets ahead shook constantly.

Despite it just being sunrise, Victor could still feel the iron helmet heating up under the sun's rays.

The sound of heavy breathing and prayers stuck in throats came from nearby.

Despite accumulating much combat experience in the previous fortress advance battles, fighting knights in the field was a first for many of the new recruits.

"Long Spearmen, close in to the center!" Victor shouted the command according to the "Canon."

Light footsteps trod the ground as the Long Spearmen moved in, responding to the company and brigade commanders' commands until nearly shoulder to shoulder.

Displaying this formation meant they were ready for close combat.

"Front row Long Spears, lower your spears!" Victor could faintly hear his old partner Kolman shouting the command neighboring him.

He coughed, his throat hoarse as he shouted out the same order.

The Long Spearmen in the three front rows to his right sequentially lowered their upright spears, angling them forward.

The morning light glinted off the spear tips, straining his eyes.

The troops within the spear formation gulped down saliva, their throats making gurgling sounds, and being so close, they could smell the surrounding sweat stench.

"Holy Gunmen…" Victor hadn't finished shouting when several stray arrows flew in, embedding at his feet.

Several stray arrows were so weak they couldn't even pierce the War Monks' clothing, merely leaving small blood spots at most.

Zelaken was fairly smart; seeing no way to stop the knights' reckless charge, he ordered archers to provide cover.

Unfortunately, the range of bows couldn't reach, only preventing War Monks from charging proactively.

Settling his mind amid the stray arrows, Victor continued shouting, "Holy Gunmen! Advance ten steps!"

"First Saint Gun Master, advance ten steps, go!"

"Second Saint Gun Master, advance ten steps, go!"

"Third…"

Following orders sequentially, brigade commanders loudly gave commands.

The synchronized marching sounds echoed, accompanied not only by the hoofbeats ahead but also the marching sounds of the Holy Gunmen on the two wings.

"Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!"

The mechanical, robotic footfalls pounded on people's hearts, making everyone's heartbeats intensify severely.

Dust appeared at the road's end, with over a hundred Ibe Knights following the Cuirassiers.

They wore brightly colored woolen tights and painted armor in various colors.

The vivid plumes and gem-adorned longswords starkly contrasted with the previously plain, pragmatic black armor ordered.

The leading Cuirassiers hoisted the Fierce and Terrifying Third Brother Huo's battle banner high, the spear tips carrying the heads of three enraged shouting Beastman Gods.

But whichever way you looked, it seemed the spear had pierced through three heads.

In the Beastman Empire, the Terrifying Huo's battle banner equaled the El Eagle Banner, an absolute treasure never to be abandoned.

"Holy Gunman, prepare!"

The preparation command meant to check if guns were loaded and begin winding the copper spring.

The gears' grinding sounds filled the positions for a moment, causing many Beastmen to shiver nervously and accelerate their pace.

Conversely, those Jinhe Town's Ibe Knights kept waving banners embossed with family crests and uttering chaotic war cries.

Their faces flushed, it appeared they had consumed the Khan elixir or fiery potion in advance, instinctively charging forward under the stimulant effect.

The gear turning sound ceased, and the eerie silence made the Beastmen familiar with the Holy Guns anxious enough to fluently speak in Leia: "Don't fire guns, we haven't cleared yet!"

"Curve around, curve around!" Kolman shouted in broken Beastman tongue.

Grush had already ordered those holding the Fierce and Terrifying Third Brother Huo's headed battle banners to turn, while the other Beastman Cuirassiers followed suit in veering.

"Holy Gunmen, front kneeling rear standing posture, aim!"

The Holy Gunmen in the first row unanimously knelt half down, resting gun barrels on a truncated Y-shaped rack.

The second row of Holy Gunmen stood upright, holding the rack in their left hands, their right index fingers placed beside rather than on the trigger.

"Long Spearmen, prepare!"

As the knights rushed past the branch tied with a red cloth strip, Victor firmly swung down the plume spear in his hand.

"Fire!"

"Praise Holy Wind!"

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