Chapter 43

The cannon is called the "Goddess of the Battlefield." This has not changed from my past life to this one.

And now, I was deeply feeling this.

The cannonball fired from the field gun pierced straight into the cavalry formation.

The shell was a canister shot, with each pellet about the size of a ping-pong ball, an ultra-large canister shot.

Even the valiant Kionis cavalry could not withstand the goddess's single strike. Horses stumbled, cavalrymen reeled, and they scattered across the grass one after another.

Five field guns had torn through the enemy formation, but the majority of the enemy was still intact.

On our side, we were merely a tiny artillery position guarded by sixty line infantrymen. If even half of the enemy charged in, we would suffer heavy casualties. At this rate, we couldn't stop them.

Hanna, who commanded the artillery, gave the order.

"Load the next round!"

The enemy filled the gaps in their formation and formed a line of attack, increasing their speed. They were about to charge at full speed.

"Fire!"

Canister shot once again rained down on the enemy formation. The enemy had formed a thick formation with multiple lines, but the canister shot mercilessly penetrated to the rear ranks.

"Fire in volleys!"

The line infantrymen also began to fire. With the muzzle flashes, a large amount of white smoke billowed, and several more cavalrymen were knocked off their horses. We must have taken out about twenty of them.

But our attack was over. There was no more time to reload.

I plunged into the white smoke and managed to return.

"You're late, Lieutenant!"

"I'm back!"

I dismounted and saluted, then continued immediately.

"Sir, hurry up!"

"I know!"

The cavalry would soon reach the artillery position. We couldn't stop their advance.

"Is this the end?"

The colonel muttered, and I nodded.

"It is the end."

＊ ＊ ＊

The heroes of Kionis were confident of victory.

The enemy general had offered to negotiate but, shockingly, was showered with arrows and fled in a panic. Most of his soldiers were probably terrified as well.

This was a battle they were sure to win. At the Jarakud battle, they had shattered the Swaidel's cunning and taken the head of Duke Zihotberg.

The remaining enemies were just a bunch of ragtag soldiers. The mopping-up operation was disappointingly easy.

Of course, this battle would end just as easily.

"Haah!"

Riding his strong and reliable steed, he drew his proud curved saber. He was not afraid of guns or cannons. Nothing could withstand the charge of man and horse as one.

This was the true spirit of Kionis.

The enemy position ahead was shrouded in white smoke. The Swaidel had foolishly obscured their own vision with their weapons. They couldn't even aim properly.

This was the result of using gunpowder. War had always been fought with flesh and steel.

The Kionis cavalry broke through the field guns without hesitation, despite the many obstacles. Cannons and barrels of gunpowder were in the way, but they slowed down and skillfully maneuvered around them.

They were supposed to charge into the white smoke and trample the infantry under the hooves of their warhorses.

But something was wrong. The enemy soldiers were gone.

The enemy soldiers who had been standing in formation, waiting to be trampled, were nowhere to be seen. Had they fled?

Suspicious, he continued to charge through on horseback. Stopping in the enemy camp was dangerous. There were enemy wagons on both sides, and they risked being ambushed. They had to keep moving forward.

But as they charged through the white smoke, they heard screams and the sound of collisions ahead. It sounded like they had hit something.

The cavalrymen sensed the danger but couldn't stop. Stopping would mean colliding with the cavalry behind them. The cavalry behind them were also blinded by the smoke.

"Haah!"

He avoided something faintly visible and made his warhorse jump.

For a moment, he saw a barrier made of logs. He also saw fallen warhorses and comrades.

It was a simple trick. He would help his comrades as soon as he landed. That was what he thought as he landed.

Then he was thrown into the air.

"Uwaaaah!?"

He saw his horse entangled in a net, but before he could confirm, he was slammed into the ground, and a sharp pain shot through his body.

The barrier was not just logs. Nets were also prepared.

The distance between the barriers was too narrow to jump over the second net. The cavalry had no chance of crossing it.

Of course, the Kionis warrior was not deterred by this. He endured the pain, picked up his curved saber, and stood up.

But then, the Kionis cavalryman realized who he was fighting.

"Wha... a woman!?"

The line infantrymen in front were all young Swaidel girls. He stood there in shock and shouted.

"Are we fighting women!? This is a mockery of honorable battle!"

"Silence that fool!"

A shot rang out in Swaidel, and the Kionis cavalryman's consciousness faded.

＊ ＊ ＊

"Good, he's silenced. Now, fire at will!"

The colonel, with a short pistol in hand, was shouting.

I also readied my saber, preparing for close combat.

In front of us, a terrible scene unfolded. It was a disaster, not for the humans, but for the warhorses.

The barrier, called a "cheval de frise," was made of logs. It was a familiar sight from war movies, but it was not for our soldiers to hide behind; it was to stop the enemy cavalry. We had made it from logs we had collected recently.

Of course, the Kionis cavalry could jump over it. The smoke might obscure their vision, but it was unreliable.

So we had also set up nets where they would land after jumping.

The nets were made from ropes we had found. Several of our soldiers, who were from the coastal Medilen territory, knew how to weave fishing nets.

Thus, we created a barrier that the cavalry could not cross but allowed bullets to pass through.

The cavalry's horses tripped on these barriers or collided with them head-on, falling one after another. The fallen horses caused more horses to stumble and fall.

I had become desensitized to the sight of humans dying, but seeing horses die was still painful.

Of course, the riders were not unscathed. Falling from a horse at high speed, with their necks bent at strange angles, or with broken limbs, they were in a dire state.

Some managed to land and stand up, charging with their curved sabers.

Sixty line infantrymen met them head-on.

Before the enemy cavalry could reach the artillery position, we had retreated and regrouped thirty meters behind the barrier, forming a line.

"Fire!"

Without their horses, the cavalry were just infantry.

The old muskets mowed them down, and the rifle carbines picked off the survivors.

I took care of those who still charged in.

The Kionis cavalry's curved saber was similar to a cavalry saber, but ours was a two-handed sword. The difference in power was significant. I cut them down from above, smashing through their defenses.

After all, I was taller in this life.

"Don't take it personally."

You laughed at me just now. It's fine, though.

The young girls on either side of me, the line infantry, were holding their bayoneted muskets, looking determined.

"Scary!"

"Don't worry, the staff officer is a sword expert!"

I'm not an expert.

"Right! We just need to assist the staff officer!"

That's fine.

The Kionis cavalry, now dismounted, had lost their arrows and had almost no archers left. If there were any, they were to be shot on sight.

Most of the enemy had curved sabers. But the bayoneted muskets were like short spears, giving us a significant reach advantage. Plus, the muskets could fire.

The colonel shouted.

"Cavalry, circle around to the enemy's rear and confirm the situation!"

To prevent any enemy from escaping, we had also set up nets near the field guns.

The artillerymen, who had been hiding under the wagons, should be blocking the exits with the nets. As a precaution, we had the cavalry check the situation.

Meanwhile, the surviving enemy was dismounting. They seemed to be hiding behind the dead horses and comrades, preparing to shoot arrows.

In a firefight, we would be at a disadvantage without cover.

The colonel immediately ordered.

"Charge! Suppress them!"

We charged and finished them off with bayoneted muskets.

Amid the sporadic arrows, I also ran with my saber drawn.

"Kyaa!"

"Ugh!?"

A scream echoed as someone fell. I hope they're alive.

We overcame the nets and the cheval de frise. For each enemy cavalryman, several of us stabbed with bayonets. We also fired our muskets.

"Always fire one shot and stab with at least three people!"

This tactic could only be used once. Since our plan was known, we had to kill all the enemies here.

As we entered the melee, a trumpet sounded from the rear.

In response, new nets were thrown over the cavalry. The supply troops, hiding in the wagons, had thrown the nets.

Kionis, being a dry inland region with few rivers, did not practice net fishing. The cavalry, encountering nets for the first time, were entangled and didn't know what to do. Their bows and curved sabers were also difficult to use in the nets.

On our side, we just had to stab with bayonets from above. The situation quickly turned in our favor.

"Ouch!?"

"Back off, we're firing!"

The desperate resistance of the Kionis cavalry was causing us casualties. The out-of-control warhorses also made the situation dangerous.

But with three people stabbing and firing at close range, the line infantry had the upper hand.

But I was a bit troubled. I was decent at slashing, but I was not good at thrusting. Slashing would tangle the nets, and I might accidentally free the enemy.

I should have brought a bayoneted musket.

Then, the trumpet sounded again. It was the order for the infantry to retreat.

"Hey everyone, fall back! Fall back! Get out! Regroup near the field guns!"

I shouted, and the line infantry escaped from the "cavalry cage" formed by the wagons and nets.

Immediately after, the sound of cannons was heard.

"Fire!"

Taking advantage of the melee, the artillerymen, who had temporarily abandoned the field guns, had recovered them. They turned the guns around and fired at the enemies in the "cavalry cage."

Cannonballs rained down on the immobilized cavalry at close range.

The battle had become one-sided.

Five cannon shots killed most of the cavalry. With dozens of canister shots, it was inevitable. We also fired at the survivors from between the wagons.

The intense battle gradually quieted down, and eventually, no enemies were left moving.

The squad leaders ordered.

"Check for survivors with bayonets. Shoot them if they move."

The infantry, with their muskets at the ready, cautiously approached the pile of corpses, stepping into the blood and entrails.

Some soldiers were frozen in fear, but most continued the grim task in silence. Occasionally, the sound of gunfire echoed.

Eventually, the squad leaders reported to the colonel.

"All enemies are confirmed dead. First squad, three wounded, one critically."

"Second squad, four wounded, one dead. One critically wounded in the supply unit."

We finally had our first casualties. The critically wounded were also in danger.

A soldier, apparently slashed in the abdomen by an enemy curved saber, was lying on a blanket, supported by a comrade. His organs were protruding, and his boots were filled with blood, making a wet sound.

Next to him was a supply unit member holding his arm, which was missing from the elbow down. He was covered in blood, convulsing, and almost unconscious.

Both had fatal injuries. There was nothing we could do to save them.

Nearby, a soldier with an arrow in his throat was lying down. His comrades, who were tearing up, pulled out the arrow, but no new blood spurted out. His heart had stopped.

His mouth and nose were covered in blood, which his comrades gently wiped away with handkerchiefs.

It was normal for people to die in a bayonet charge, but it still hurt.

But before I could dwell on the emotions, I had work to do.

"Treat the wounded quickly! Clean every wound with brandy, no matter how small! Use only clean bandages to wrap the wounds! Sew deep wounds with needles and thread soaked in brandy!"

Soon, the reconnaissance cavalry returned and reported that no enemies had escaped. Then, it was reported that the two critically wounded had died.

The colonel nodded quietly and announced to everyone.

"Gentlemen, we have survived today. Let us observe a moment of silence for our comrades who gave their lives to ensure our survival."

We observed a moment of silence for the three fallen comrades, covered in white cloth.