Chapter 22: The Battle of Strategy

  Caesar's Imperial soldiers charged at the moment, when they were charging, it was actually the heavy infantry in the middle road. The heavy cavalry and light cavalry who should have charged first fell behind, more than 200 professional crossbowmen, over 100 longbowmen, and bowmen followed closely behind the heavy infantry, starting a crazy arrow rain, a sky-covering arrow rain rushing towards the center of Caesar's army.

  The heavy infantry, led by Rennes, bravely charged into the enemy's center line, tearing apart more than 20,000 enemy troops from the middle. The archers and crossbowmen who followed closely behind began to crazily shoot at the enemy's two wings again. At this time, the heavy cavalry, light cavalry, shield infantry, and other phalanxes quickly formed five columns of troops, directly inserting into the scattered enemy's left and right wings, forcibly dividing them into several segments.

  The sound of drums beating at the border, the sound of horns attacking, plus the rolling smoke in the sky above the city, in the twilight similar to nightfall, it's like dark clouds are gathering.

  The sound of horseshoes and neat footsteps came from inside the border town, rushing swiftly towards the outside of the city, killing sounds shaking the sky.

  "Oh no, the Caesar's reinforcements have arrived! Let's run!" The mercenaries hired by Drew began to shout in panic, and his voice was soon drowned out by the sound of clashing steel.

  At this time, General Solandi, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army outside the city, was also extremely panicked. His face was cloudy and his eyebrows were furrowed as he glared at the soldiers in the distance who were on the verge of collapse.

  General Solandi's expression also showed some worry, thinking: Could it be that the great army of the Kastel Empire has really come to reinforce? But according to reliable intelligence, it should not be possible?

  "General, give the order quickly! The soldiers in front can't hold on any longer? If the Imperial Army of Caesar reinforces, our previous efforts will be in vain." At this time, his deputy beside him said excitedly, drawing out the sword from his waist and preparing to command a charge.

  "Wait!" General Solandi said, his brow furrowed in thought.

  "Alas!" The deputy general let out a long sigh and had no choice but to give up.

  The infantrymen in front had already collapsed and were facing the hail of arrows from Caesar's strong crossbowmen, as well as the heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, being dispersed into block by block areas.

  The formation of the Caesart Empire's soldiers is constantly changing, forming small square arrays of over a hundred soldiers of different types, and then gathering into several hundred-man formations, including wedge-shaped arrays, V-shaped arrays, rectangular arrays, etc. Moreover, each soldier's individual combat capability is also extremely strong, especially those heavy infantrymen holding peculiar short knives are exceptionally fierce, and they have special branding on their wrists, they are the 'cannon fodder' soldiers who have just gained freedom.

  These 'cannon fodder' soldiers, who have just been promoted to ordinary soldiers, can gain military merit by fighting bravely on the battlefield. With military merit, they can receive imperial rewards or higher honors, which is also the main reason why they are exceptionally brave.

  "Kill!"

  "Kill!"

  "Kill!"

  “……”

  They were majestic and powerful, swiftly wielding their Reim military swords, occasionally letting out a battle cry, with a strong intent to kill, their eyes had turned bloodshot, their entire bodies covered in bloodstains, most of which came from the enemy soldiers.

  The superiority of Lain's close combat with the sword was revealed, and it was also exceptionally sharp. With the swordsmanship taught by Lain, he swung it with ease, holding a light shield in his hand, attacking and defending freely, even reaching the realm of being impenetrable.

  Crossbow, longbow, and military sword are new-style weapons created by modern Rhein, which have added a lot of color to the many battles with fewer people in the future history of the Caesar Empire.

  The Caesar Empire's vanguard mercenary legion was still stubbornly resisting, but their numbers had decreased significantly, from the original 30,000 to 20,000 and now only over 10,000 people remained. Thousands of Caesar Empire soldiers had already begun to flee towards the rear.

  The deserting soldiers did not change their fate of death, and before they arrived at the rear army, they encountered a rain of arrows all over the sky, which was the tragic end of the deserters.

  "Charge!" The commander of the Kaisar Empire, Sorandi, finally gave the order to advance.

  An army of over 100,000 people began to charge forward frantically towards the front line, trampling on the bodies of those who had fled. The fleeing soldiers who were not injured by arrows turned around and rushed back to the front line again.

  The situation took a turn for the worse, and the soldiers of the Kastel Empire reformed their ranks once again. They swiftly gathered in the center, with defensive shield-bearing soldiers at the forefront, while other troops picked up reinforced crossbows or portable light crossbows, unleashing a frenzied hail of arrows as they retreated. This time, the arrow shower was even more dense than before, with multiple arrowheads flying in rapid succession.

  When the more than 2,000 soldiers successfully returned to the city, the last catapults that were still in defense also quickly withdrew into the city. The gates of the Bianyang Town and the Haiyang Gate remained wide open.

  The vanguard of the crazy Caesar Empire's army charged in, without considering the hail of arrows and falling stones from the sky.

  "Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

  Huge city gates fell straight down, and between the gates, iron gates fell one after another, cutting off the vanguard soldiers of the Caesar Empire in mid-air. The cries of agony, the neighing of horses, the wailing, and the curses all blended together.

  Thousands of light cavalry and infantry who rushed into the city were slaughtered by tens of thousands of Castel Empire soldiers, and the reinforcements from the Caesarite Empire had really arrived and were increasing in number.

  The battle between empires is actually a war of strategy between the commanders of two camps. If decisions are made incorrectly, they will face the cruel fate of defeat, and opportunities are fleeting.

  Robert, the commander-in-chief of the border town, was such a military strategist. He had been guarding the border for over a decade and was well-versed in the art of war and formation tactics. At this moment, he stood on the city wall, smiling slightly as he stroked his snow-white beard, gazing majestically at General Solandi of the Caesar Empire in the distance.

  The two were old opponents, having fought for over ten years. General Robert had guarded the border fortress of Jin Tang for over ten years, relying on its natural defenses, and had never been defeated.

  When more than 20,000 soldiers stood on the city wall and each soldier held a reinforced crossbow, General Solandi of the Caesar Empire, who was far away on horseback, let out a loud cry, spat out blood, and fell to the ground from his horse.

  Boulders, flaming wooden stakes and other objects were crazily thrown at the Caesar's soldiers below the city wall. The siege engines and the soldiers on the siege ladders suffered heavy casualties.

  "Knock knock knock..."

  The war drums of the Caesar Empire sounded urgently, and then those attacking soldiers frantically began to retreat. The floating bridges on the moat were trampled into a mess, and some had even sunk into the rushing river. Soldiers who accidentally fell into the river were instantly swept away by the torrent without leaving any trace.

  As the sky gradually darkened, Caesar's army retreated several miles and re-encamped, facing the direction of the border city, increasing the number of shield-bearing soldiers and archers, with over a thousand patrolling soldiers to prevent another surprise attack by Castor's soldiers.