The beating of the war drums became hurried, and the officers of the various flag regiments nervously gave out orders. The entire infantry camp behind the chariot formation suddenly expanded outwards. Behind the two sides of the shield formation, the soldiers pushed their shields forward, and behind them were the infantry soldiers holding onto their crossbows. In the core area, the heavy infantry had already rested. Their magic armor could be used again.
Their lightning-fast speed allowed them to attack like cavalry within five hundred meters. Their axes, halberds, and pistols could destroy all heavy armor. These one thousand heavy infantry were the elites of the Sixth Battalion.
Salin equipped these one thousand valiant soldiers with magic armor and weapons that could break through heavy armor. This was the heavy infantry of the flag regiment. There was no need to worry about logistics. Every five soldiers was given a purple-gold sea urchin skin bag, which contained all the equipment and food they needed.
Salin used this thousand-man flag regiment as an experiment. He wanted to see if his idea of an army was correct. Cavalry was strong, but there had never been an army that relied on cavalry to build a country.
Enormous infantry and magic legions were the foundation of victory. As for cavalry, unless Metatlin's flying puppets were successfully manufactured, Salin could mass-produce equipment that could support one person's flight.
That was true cavalry, aerial cavalry!
Aerial cavalry was a part of the Elven Plane. Back then, almost all humans could fly, so they naturally didn't research equipment or search for magical beasts. Although humans now had ways to manufacture flying equipment, it consumed a lot of resources. Many materials could no longer be obtained in other planes. For example, trees like the Thundercloud Tree grew in the Giant Plane. Because it pierced the clouds, it wasn't afraid of lightning and was most suitable for making flying equipment.
Ancient humans only used it as a material for shipbuilding.
After obtaining a large number of shipwrecks, Salin had wanted to use the Thundercloud Tree to make shields. Later, he discovered metallized rock. Although metallized rock was heavier, it was very easy to manufacture. As long as there were enough materials, he could equip an army on a large scale.
Salin then decided to use the Thundercloud Tree to make warships. After all, he couldn't rely on the Winged Skeletons alone to support the navy. But Eirinn had given Salin a pile of blueprints, and among them was a flying puppet that could carry people.
Right now, Salin only had the Thundercloud Tree to make the main body of the puppet.
With the Thundercloud Tree, Salin's army was very different, so he placed more emphasis on infantry. This magic heavy infantry was Salin's main target of experimentation.
The Heavy Infantry of the Sixth Battalion regained their strength. The shields on both sides spread out and crashed into the Phoenix rebels who were charging at them from the flanks.
The shield formation was used to defend against the impact of the cavalry. In any army of the Qinyin Empire, the horses of the cavalry were all armored and had long metal horns on their chests. When the horses collided with the infantry, their bones would be shattered.
The two-meter-tall shields were pushed forward in a row, and the Phoenix infantrymen had nowhere to attack. The two sides crowded together. The cavalry of the 6th Battalion and the ambassadors did not move immediately. It would be rather strenuous for a heavy cavalry to attack thousands of infantrymen. The best way to use a cavalry was to defeat the enemy in one strike.
The Shield Infantry of the Sixth Battalion advanced with all their might, and behind them were the infantry wielding 6m long spears. Such a long weapon required a soldier with a certain level of skill to use it. The formation of the Phoenix army was compressed, and the gaps between the soldiers suddenly became smaller. Only then did the Shield Infantry spread out, revealing the long spears behind them.
The Phoenix infantrymen who were smashing the shields with axes and hammers were immediately stabbed into a string of bloody gourds.
The Phoenix infantrymen also had long spears, but they were more than four meters long. After the spears were pushed away by the Shield Infantry, the infantry with heavy weapons rushed to the front, trying to break through the shield formation, but they were severely attacked by the Sixth Battalion's formation.
The Shield Infantry could not hold out for long. If they did not change their formation, the shields would soon be split open.
The Phoenix people were also mixed. Seeing the fierce spears, the infantry with heavy swords all went to cut them down. The spears were usually made of wood, and only the spearheads were made of metal. However, the spears of the Sixth Battalion were wrapped with a layer of metal wire two meters in front, so it was impossible to cut them apart.
The Sixth Battalion also discarded these spears when they broke, because they did not have any good materials. After killing hundreds of Phoenix soldiers, the spears began to be cut by the enemy and could not be used anymore.
Only then could the thousand archers in the back move forward and shoot arrows into the enemy formation.
The shield formation did not completely disappear. Every six shields formed a circle, and the shields kept shooting arrows. The crossbows of the Sixth Battalion had a killing range of about twenty to thirty meters, which was not as good as bows and arrows. However, the crossbows had a crossbow box and could fire continuously.
These crossbows were not very lethal, but they disrupted the Phoenix's organized attacks again and again. The two sides gradually became entangled. Unknowingly, the Shield Infantry had cut apart the Phoenix infantrymen and formed a small formation.
Only then did the cavalry of the Sixth Battalion begin to attack.
The cavalry had long thrown away their spears, and now they were holding curved swords with a reverse edge. If the curvature of the curved swords was doubled, they would be sickles. At the tip of the curved swords, there was a serrated cut at a reverse angle.
Without the long spears, the cavalry was still fierce. The temporarily heavy horse armor made the warhorses weigh more than a thousand pounds. The cavalry did not directly rush into the infantry formation. That would be courting death. Without speed, the advantage between the cavalry and the infantry was reversed. The warhorses became a burden.
The heavy sound of hooves sounded along the periphery of the infantry. The cavalry of the Sixth Battalion waved their curved swords and cut down the Phoenix infantrymen one by one like peeling an onion. The reverse edge of their curved swords could cut through the metal armor with the impact of the warhorses.
"They are so powerful!" Balder could not help but take out the alchemy telescope and observe the battle from afar. The three thousand cavalry of the envoy group did not move. They waited patiently. If the enemy had reinforcements, the three thousand cavalry were equivalent to the reserve force.
Balder saw that the formation of the Sixth Battalion had completely changed. In the center was a flag regiment of heavy infantry, and the flag regiment of the battalion general. These two thousand people did not move at all, while the other six infantry flag regiments formed a huge gear shape. The six sharp corners pointed outward, and they moved forward in a rotating manner, strangling the Phoenix infantrymen.
Not including the cavalry, the strength of the two sides was basically equal. The Sixth Battalion had a slight advantage. On the surface, it was a one-sided massacre. The cavalry on the periphery kept reducing the number of the enemy infantrymen. The cavalry relied on their advantage in speed and could easily cut off the infantrymen's heads with their curved swords.
The Phoenix infantrymen's heavy swords hacked at the cavalry's heavy armor, but it was difficult to cut through. If they stabbed directly, they could penetrate the armor, but in such a battle, the infantrymen would also be knocked away by the powerful impact.
The Sixth Battalion was getting better and better. The enemy were not believers of the Vatican, so it was easy for them to lose the ability to fight. The armor that Salin had given them was more than twice as good as the enemy's. Even in a battle without any technique, the soldiers of the Sixth Battalion still had the advantage. Moreover, the Sixth Battalion maintained the huge gear shape. The shield infantrymen cut the Phoenix soldiers apart. Every position was under attack from two sides, and the cavalry of the Sixth Battalion was still slaughtering the enemy on the periphery.
The battle was almost over before the second team of ten thousand Phoenix soldiers reached the battlefield.
No one knew what happened, but the Phoenix army began to retreat. With the first deserter, there was a second one. The officers tried their best to restrain the soldiers. The Phoenix Battalion General tried to use his personal soldiers to uphold military law. A soldier of the Banner Regiment tried to reorganize the formation and hold on until reinforcements arrived.
The Phoenix rebels' uniforms were all the same, so the Battalion General of the Sixth Battalion couldn't find the center. Now that the Phoenix rebels' camp was exposed, the Battalion General of the Sixth Battalion immediately gave the order.
The huge gear formation began to move southward, suddenly picking up speed. As the drums beat, a heavy infantry of the Banner Regiment that hadn't participated in the battle charged toward the enemy's center. Two hundred meters away from the enemy's center, magic light burst out from the legs of every heavy infantry.
Once the heavy infantry increased their speed, they were too lethal.
Duke Valde only saw a sea of black armor drowning the Phoenix's center like a tide.
The Phoenix soldiers completely collapsed under this fatal blow. They had almost five thousand soldiers, but now they had no intention of fighting back. Most of the Phoenix people fled to the south, only a few to the east.
The drums changed the rhythm again. The heavy infantry chased for half a mile before they retreated. With every step they took, the magic cores in their magic armors were being consumed.
The cavalrymen of the Sixth Battalion put away their machetes, took the bows from the infantrymen, and chased after them. They didn't intend to annihilate the enemy, which would be a great loss. The soldiers chose their battle style based on the sound of the drums. They were very familiar with it.
The cavalrymen chased after the retreating soldiers and shot them from behind. It was very difficult for them to use bows in their heavy armor. However, Salin hadn't given them all the suitable equipment yet, so they could only use bows instead.
After each of them shot out twenty-four arrows and three crossbows, the cavalrymen retreated.
Without any orders, the shield infantrymen reorganized themselves. The cavalrymen dismounted and took off their armor with the help of the infantrymen. Because the battle hadn't been long, the horses were still excited. The cavalrymen had to calm them down and take off their armor too.
The main force of the Sixth Battalion retreated to the rear of the formation. Then, Valde saw a light infantry of the Banner Regiment change to short spears and began to clean up the battlefield.
Wounded soldiers were everywhere on the battlefield. They cried and moaned on the ground. The light infantry stabbed their enemies to death with their short spears. Their movements were steady and seasoned. When they fought the army of the Vatican, they did this under the enemy's arrows. Because if they didn't do that, the wounded soldiers on the ground would jump up and give them a fatal blow under the effect of divine power.
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