The euphoria brought by reinforcements lasted less than a second before the hearts of the people in Xiaochi City were gripped with anxiety again.

They couldn't believe their eyes; if they weren't mistaken, the Salvation Army had only sent reinforcements of thirty to fifty men.

Yet at the city gates, there were at least ten squads of Extraordinary Knights, over one hundred and twenty knights in total.

The militiamen who had been cheering moments ago were abruptly silenced, seeing the Holy Gun Cavalry, who were clearly half as numerous as the knights, turning their cheers into sharp gasps.

As the Holy Gun Cavalry approached in a loose formation, the militiamen fighting bloodily at the gates could not suppress their despair.

These Holy Gun Cavalry didn't wear brimmed helmets and only had half armor or even just a vest plate; many lacked even bar-arm armor for their arms, not to mention thigh armor.

They did not carry raised lances but had two strange wooden sticks tucked into their knee-high boots, with a slender saber and hammer spear hung on either side of their saddles.

Seeing this scene, the militiamen's hopes died; the Salvation Army's reinforcements seemed too casual.

Thirty-some Knights' retainers displayed bravery, yet no other quality could be found to describe them.

"So, they're Farmer Cavalry," the leader of the Extraordinary Knights, an old knight, remarked in a fake farmer's accent while laughing heartily.

The laughter further sank the spirits of the citizens and artisans present, prompting some to despairingly question, "Saint Master, must you treat us this way?"

"The Saint Master will not stand with them. Only if you abandon yourselves will the Saint Master abandon you," Martin shouted at those questioning.

Seeing the shaken morale, Martin gritted his teeth and climbed onto a box, shouting, "Pull yourselves together, fellow believers! Even without aid, will we not resist? Behind us is our home, where else can we retreat? We will not yield a step!"

Under Martin's call, the militiamen finally steadied themselves, no longer wavering as before.

Armand calmly directed the Natural Priests to load and aim once again at the knights before the gates.

The old knight surveyed the gate scene then quickly decided seeing the swiftly approaching Holy Gun Cavalry: "Crixus, you stay with forty Knights' retainers, don't let them close the gates. The rest follow me."

In old knight Maure's calculation, forty Knights' retainers were enough to keep the gates from closing.

The eighty proper Extraordinary Knights and Knights' retainers he led were more than capable of routing these thirty-some Knights' retainers ahead.

At the gate, the sound of hooves rumbled as over eighty knights left the crowded and narrow area in front of the gates, charging towards the nearby Holy Gun Cavalry.

The remaining forty Knights' retainers dismounted, beginning to draw bows and fire, utilizing the Kush people's innate archery skills to accurately shoot at militiamen attempting to close the gates.

Regarding Maure's knights, they sat upright on horseback, clamped the lance tails under their arms, aimed at the charging Holy Gun Cavalry, steadying their lances.

In cavalry charges, Kush Knights seldom used bows since both sides raced forward on horseback.

At such high speeds, ten arrows might only score one hit, and even if it hit, it likely wouldn't cause significant damage.

Over eighty knights straightened their backs, the wool trousers of yellow, red, and blue showed through the armor gaps, and enormous plume feathers swayed in the wind.

The iron lance heads roared with a whistle, the solid lances over five meters long could only be wielded by knights with extraordinary power.

Seen from the sky, Kush Knights seemed a black river flowing through the field, opening their mouths, revealing lance fangs, charging at the Holy Gun Cavalry arranged in three twelve-man squads.

"From march to sprint! Prepare to unleash Holy Wind!"

Jeanne's stern roar resounded; though her voice was that of a girl, the beastly Holy Gun Cavalry obediently slowed down.

Different from infantry combat, handgun cavalry did not call out orders to decide when to unleash Holy Wind.

In contrast to cavalry battles that emphasize personal valor, the time to fire was at the individual's discretion.

However, most Holy Gun Cavalry would adhere strictly to the manuals, firing handguns at the distance ranging from about twenty steps to ten steps.

This distance was where they could clearly see the opponents' faces.

"Bang! Bang bang bang!"

The chaotic gunfire rang ceaselessly.

One charging Extraordinary Knight felt a pain in his waist; warm blood mixed with internal organs flowed out through the breach of his armor.

The 30g lead bullet easily shattered his plate armor, tore through his body, leaving a terrifying blood hole.

Given cavalry combat was inherently more dangerous (closer contact, quicker exchanges), with almost no way to reload Holy Guns on horseback.

Thus, each Holy Gun Cavalry carried two handguns, pre-loaded and wound, ready for immediate firing.

This meant the Holy Gun Cavalry could only fire twice at most in battle, leaving excess holy power from their infantry equivalent.

To maximize firepower, Haimodin's design had cavalry gun springs containing twice the brass of ordinary infantry guns.

This meant cavalry and infantry gun springs wound ten turns, yet cavalry guns expelled lead bullets seven to eight times faster than ordinary Holy Guns.

At ten meters, even four-millimeter plate armor was easily penetrated.

In the unending gunfire and the sparks from gear rotations, the once fast-charging Extraordinary Knights and their horses bled profusely, organs and flesh staining the grass dark red.

The horses, bodies torn by lead bullets, lost control of direction, crashing into other knights, horse hair, meat, and armor compressed and torn.

Knights fell one after another, those hitting the ground clumsily slipped in blood before rising, pushing away heavy horse carcasses.

The remaining knights desperately tugged at reins, much like waves crashing against rocks, maneuvering around fallen comrades as they continued charging Jeanne.

These devilish things only wounded seven or eight knights; despite slowing down, if they got close, these mounted soldiers still stood no chance.

"Holy Father's spirit above! Grant me thunder!" Jeanne's voice retained its girlish tone but fell like thunder upon the Extraordinary Knights' ears.

The thunder indeed burst forth, blinding white light made several lead knights squint involuntarily.

Lightning snakes pierced the air, bypassing their bodies, targeting instead their steeds beneath them.

The smell of rotten eggs and burned horse meat drifted in the air, five horses that once danced agilely stiffened instantly.

The heavy weight turned ground contact from hoof moment into joint impact force against the rigid horse legs.

The white bones pierced through foreleg skin, the horse's head wreathed in black and white powder drooped heavily, crashing to the ground.

The five bravest knights in the lead squinted as they inexplicably slid down their horse necks, ending up seated on the grass like a kid on a slide.

The five knights clumsily pushed against the ground to stand, raising heads only to see iron gloves under arm armor gripping a gleaming hammer spear, crashing down.

This hammer spear was newly made, with hexagonal hammer head and iron front spike, able to inflict blunt damage through hammer strokes and pierce armor with the spike.

The heavy hammer spear smashed into helm-clad knights, the speed of galloping horses afforded the spear unmatched impact power.

In Jeanne's strike, the targeted knight's face caved entirely under the enormous force, blowing away over one meter before crashing to the ground.

Under the lead of the Holy Grail Battle Banner, three squads of Holy Gun Cavalry pierced through the dispersed knights.

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