Chapter 96

As a light cavalryman trampled over several people and charged into the formation, Lin Yifan quickly sidestepped and forcefully pulled the cavalryman off his horse.

The cavalryman fell heavily onto the grass, and Lin Yifan seized the curved saber from him, pressing it against his neck with force, causing blood to spurt.

Throwing the saber aside, Lin Yifan, holding a cane, surveyed the situation around him.

Some of the cavalry had directly charged into the square formation, with some being speared off their horses on the spot, but more were killed or knocked off their horses by a volley of gunfire.

The bodies of the horses, driven by inertia, crashed into the square formation, causing chaos.

"Reform the formation! Front row, bayonets ready; back row, reload! Don't let them break through!"

Lin Yifan, regaining his composure, raised his cane and shouted.

More than twenty light cavalrymen were killed, and the remaining cavalry were at a loss against this hedgehog formation. They turned around and circled around, but found no way to break through.

Watching the cavalry circle around and try to attack the infantry with their sabers, some even firing old-fashioned short muskets from their horses, Lin Yifan realized that this era's warfare was exceptionally brutal.

Lin Yifan picked up a musket from a corpse and watched the cavalry still circling the formation.

"Fire at will!"

In an instant, soldiers from the other three directions began to fire. Some cavalrymen were shot off their horses, while others from the Redcoats risked running out of the formation to stab the cavalrymen with their bayonets.

After all, this was no longer the medieval era when cavalry completely dominated infantry. At this time, the infantry used muskets as spears and bows, and bayonets made the muskets capable of serving as both weapons.

For cavalry to charge the infantry head-on in the 18th century was simply courting death. It was just that this group of cavalry had been on a winning streak and had killed many people, making them reckless.

Facing Lin Yifan's hedgehog formation, the squad of over fifty cavalrymen quickly retreated.

The soldiers around him raised their guns and cheered at the retreating cavalry.

However, there was no trace of joy on Lin Yifan's face. That small squad of cavalry had retreated, but behind them, the densely packed Continental Army of North America was advancing in rows!

"Disperse the formation, reload on the spot, and then run!"

Lin Yifan, not letting a small victory go to his head, stuck his musket into the ground, poured gunpowder into the muzzle, inserted a small piece of cotton, and then placed a round lead ball inside, using a ramrod to force the bullet into the barrel.

Loading in this era was so troublesome: pouring in the gunpowder, inserting the bullet, and using a ramrod to compress the powder below.

Pulling out the ramrod, Lin Yifan shouldered the musket and shouted, "Retreat!"

Maintaining a loaded state while retreating ensured that they wouldn't be caught with unloaded guns if the enemy caught up.

While running, Lin Yifan cursed to himself, "What the hell, this is the first time I've seen a cycle to an 18th-century movie. Most people probably don't know what combat was like in this era."

Lin Yifan was fortunate that he had been an extra in a Qing drama before, playing a pig-tailed soldier with a musket. He then downloaded the game "Assassin's Creed 3" and gained a basic understanding of the events of this period.

This era, including the well-known "Pirates of the Caribbean," the broadside battles of sailing warships, and the grand voyages, were all products of this time.

"Damn, where are they, like Saezoe?" Lin Yifan ran while looking around, seeing only Western faces and no East Asian ones.

At this moment, Lin Yifan patted a nearby soldier on the shoulder, "Where are we now?"

"Report, sir, we are in the outskirts of Charleston!"

Hearing this, Lin Yifan was stunned. They were in South Carolina, on the eastern coast of the United States. If they were in the outskirts of Charleston... weren't they about to be pushed into the sea by the Americans?

The commander on the opposite side was probably from the Arbiters, as Zhou Xin had said he chose a cycle favorable to the Arbiters Group. Indeed, the outcome of this movie and history was that the British were pushed into the sea, but the arrival of the cyclers seemed to have hastened their defeat.

As Lin Yifan was running, when they descended a small hill, the scene before them almost made them wet their pants.

The entire horizon was filled with Redcoats, and the Union Jack of the United Kingdom was flying.

"Sir..."

The soldiers beside him began to doubt and even stopped, as the friendly forces on the opposite side were pointing their guns at them.

But Lin Yifan, who was running madly, did not stop. He hesitated for a moment and shouted, "Follow me! Lead the enemy to the front of the formation and lie down on my command!"

Leading a group of fleeing soldiers to charge towards the friendly forces, when the blue-uniformed Continental Army appeared behind the small hill, Lin Yifan shouted, "Lie down!"

Almost simultaneously, hundreds of red figures fell forward, while the Continental Army, less than fifty meters behind, had not yet reacted.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thousands of muskets fired simultaneously, the thick smoke almost choking Lin Yifan. The incompletely burned gunpowder flew around, burning several small red spots on his skin.

Covering his nose and looking back, the small hill behind him was covered with rolling corpses.

After the friendly forces completed their volley, Lin Yifan raised his cane, "Run!"

Leading the fleeing soldiers through the friendly forces' formation, Lin Yifan raised his cane to gather the soldiers who had followed him.

After reaching the rear of the friendly forces, Lin Yifan caught his breath and looked at the rows of Redcoats in front of him.

Several officers on horseback, holding sabers, were directing the troops. Although they wore the uniforms of royal officers, they had East Asian faces.

"Indeed, the cyclers are in command."

Lin Yifan muttered, but the Continental Army's line was also advancing.

Both sides of the soldiers were lined up neatly. The British soldiers, dressed in splendid uniforms, held their heads high. Some officers even wore silver wigs, looking like gentlemen.

The Continental Army, dressed in blue uniforms with red trim, was not as elegant as the British, but they also looked very neat and tidy.

This era's warfare was also called a gentleman's game.

Both sides lined up their soldiers to fire at each other or had to advance with their comrades while withstanding the enemy's gunfire.

This time, the British did not fire immediately after reloading but watched the approaching Continental Army.

The Continental Army, descending from the hill, played drums and music, marching in rows down the hill.

The British cycler on horseback raised his saber, "Ready!"

A thousand muskets were leveled at the enemy, waiting for the officer's command.

As the Continental Army approached, the officer suddenly swung his saber, "Fire!"

A volley of gunfire instantly knocked down a row of Continental Army soldiers. In the white smoke of the volley, nearly a hundred men fell, and their comrades stepped over their bodies to continue advancing.

"Charge!"

Close-range volleys followed by bayonet charges were typical tactics of this era.

The Continental Army was not stupid and immediately had men fill the gaps, raising their guns to fire another dense volley at the charging Redcoats.

A batch of Redcoats fell as they charged, their bodies rolling on the grass due to inertia.

Just as the two armies were about to engage in hand-to-hand combat, a sudden neighing came from the flank. A female officer on horseback led a group of cavalry to charge the enemy's flank.

Her hair flying, her eyes flashing with ferocity, the katana in her hand stained with blood, it was the missing Saezoe Toxiko.