Horses are creatures that have a long history of companionship with humans.
Long before the birth of agricultural civilization, human ancestors who relied on hunting and gathering for a living had tamed this creature to carry supplies necessary for survival. Together with dogs, they are the two earliest domestic animals tamed by humans, much earlier than cattle for farming and sheep for livestock.
In the classical civilization period, horses became the driving force for pulling chariots. The number of chariots can even be used to measure the strength of a country.
Even in modern times, cavalry is still the high-end combat power of various countries.
Whether it is on the east and west coasts or in the vast Abu Serra steppe, whether in hot summer or cold winter, almost all civilizations use horses as means of transportation and warfare.
But why?
Looking at the entire continent of Ligar, there are many herbivorous dragons. Their bodies are much larger than horses, and the impact of their charge is even more terrifying. And even if you look among mammals themselves, there are huge creatures like elephants to choose from.
However, these creatures can never replace the mainstream status of horses. They can only exist as exotic cavalry among the characteristics of certain civilizations.
There are many reasons, such as excessive size, ferocious temperament, etc. We have mentioned it in the past, but closely related to these reasons, there is also the most important reason of artificial breeding.
After thousands of years of artificial selection and training, horses domesticated by humans have developed various traits according to people's needs - which are difficult to possess in wild animals with larger physiques.
A single vehicle, no matter how strong it is, cannot be called a cavalry. Only war horses with excellent quality that can be mass-trained by animal trainers and breeders can form this——
The swarm ran and made a sound like thunder.
A torrent of steel.
"Lift up, lift up, lift up!" The hoarse mercenary shouted loudly in Lamani with a southern accent. However, even after the improvements of the dwarf craftsmen, the long pole was one meter, three or four meters long. The weight of the skill cannon, which is more than three kilograms, still makes it impossible to maintain the aiming posture for a long time.
To make matters worse, the weather was not good, and the weather was very unstable in the early morning. First it was foggy, and then the wind picked up.
The damp simmering matches were difficult to ignite at first, and then burned too quickly due to the wind. The gunpowder used to ignite the hand cannons in several people's hands was blown all over their faces.
And when they realized that this was the behavior of the other magician, and finally worked hard to adjust.
The rumble of horse hooves could be heard in the ears, already very close at hand.
"Raise the spear——" The mercenary under the command refused to retreat. He raised his sword and tried to attack with melee combat at the last moment. However, when the hurried men saw that the running cavalry had arrived, many of them dropped their hand cannons and turned around. run.
"Crack-clang-!" The wooden pole broke under the heavy horse's hooves, and the breastplate was dented. The knights holding spears in the van immediately pulled out their swords after the spears were broken. The mercenaries who struggled to escape were faster than ever. How could they compare to war horses? Soon they were all hacked to death with a sword from behind.
The mercenaries, whose heads and backs were split open with the momentum, fell to the ground in pieces. Plasma splashed across the vests and leg armor of the knights, and soon turned dark red.
The mercenaries who had rolled into the drainage ditches on both sides of the road in embarrassment had no time to lament their lucky survival, when they heard a roaring wind followed by a dull "snatch--"
Long bows, heavy crossbows, long arrows and short arrows were scattered towards them without mercy.
"Spearmen, forward!"
Not even able to mount resistance.
With excellent cooperation and powerful and precise combat power, the two hundred rebel mercenaries blocking the intersection of Parnilla were like mantises in front of a rolling wheel.
Crushed into a pulp.
The epoch-making new weapons may one day be on the main stage, but at present, they are not yet mature, they can only be used as a surprise weapon.
They appear to be so vulnerable in the face of more mature tactics and coordination of arms.
The heavily armored imperial cavalry led by Mikhail rushed to the east gate of Parnira City. The wide stone-paved gate and the road in front of it were empty. This prosperous city was full of traces of being defiled. And looking at the mess in the city through the narrow viewing opening of the helmet made them extremely angry.
"Dismount!" the platinum-haired knight's adjutant shouted. The horses they were riding were panting as they came all the way, but the excellent imperial knights were still very powerful even without their horses.
They removed the additional large pauldrons for cavalry and only wore plate armor with small pauldrons for greater mobility. People lifted up their visors to get a wider field of vision and easier breathing, and the moment they dismounted, a wave of smoke was set off from the condescending Parnilla city wall, accompanied by a continuous roar of "Pap, Pap, Pap -" .
"Dang!!" "Uh-huh -" Several knights were hit first and fell to the ground. The lead bullets hit their helmets and breastplates from high up, leaving holes and holes in them, but except for one person who was hit, The exposed armpits of the shoulder armor only had gaps in the mail armor, and no one saw any blood.
"The east city gate is occupied by them, don't be afraid, for the sake of the emperor, for His Royal Highness Constantine, kill!!" The roaring knight adjutant flicked the huge white-gold feather on his head, and he grabbed it and took it off the saddle. The long-handled ax took the lead and ran towards the open city gate. The gate of Parnilla, which is a key capital, requires a special key to open it in order to prevent enemy spies from sneaking in. The messenger sent by the city lord's palace was assisted by the assistant when he set off. After opening the door, they threw away the key leaving the rebel mercenaries with no way to defend the door.
"Change, change quickly!" The road leading to the top of the city gate was a slope with curves left and right. The mercenary responsible for guarding this side roared loudly and ordered his men to discard the hand cannon they had just fired. A second wave of continuous "pah pah pah" sounds accompanied by a large amount of smoke sounded again. The two knights who were unfortunately hit in the legs fell down the slope with an "ahhh", but more people just staggered.
"Cough cough cough -" The continuous emission of huge smoke caused many people on the rebel mercenary side to start coughing. Although the leading commander noticed the fact that the two knights fell and immediately began to order his subordinates: "Can't penetrate." Wear their armor, hit their feet, knock them down!" But there were no remaining hand cannons on hand, so many people had no choice but to pick up light and heavy crossbows and start shooting.
"Bang——!!" Several heavy-duty winch crossbows sandwiched among more than thirty light crossbows caused the first casualty of the Imperial Army since the battle began. However, the only damage to the knights could not stop the overwhelming The footsteps of angry Mikhail and others.
"Draw the sword! Draw the sword! Raise the spear!!" Neither the crossbow nor the hand cannon had time to reload, and the mercenary commander shouted loudly in Lamani with a southern accent. The knights who have rushed to the city wall walkway are still full of physical strength. They have been training day and night since they were eight years old. They are professional warriors. This is the pride of the Padrosi Empire. They can wear plates weighing more than 20 kilograms. A long-distance sprint is the basic quality of every knight.
How could such a professional warrior be resisted by a group of ordinary mercenaries?
There is no need for any professional skills. The knights covered with shields directly rush forward to get close to the opponent's weapons. The powerful ax guns and two-handed long-handled axes are enough to kill these mercenaries who only wear half armor or no armor. Cut into two pieces, many people were even kicked off the city wall by the tall imperial knights, and their screams ended abruptly with a long tail.
"I, I surrender!" The mercenary in charge, wearing a gorgeous breastplate with brass trim that was obviously stolen, raised his one-handed sword and said this. However, Mikhail and others did not show mercy at all. Cut him to the ground.
Constantine's orders were clear.
Leave no one behind.
Rebels are like rats. If tolerated or shown mercy, they will take advantage of them.
The Empire has been weak for too long, and while it is true that many places still look glorious and prosperous, it needs to start from the inside out.
Baptism of iron and blood.
This is the beginning of everything - carrying a bloody long-handled ax, Mikhail took a folded flag from the hands of others nearby, tied it behind a spear and erected it at the east gate of Parnira superior.
The clattering swallow-tailed flag is not Padrosi’s black flag.
Rather, it was Constantine's personal coat of arms.
On a horizon blue background, there are golden daisies and silvery white lilies of the valley.
"The east city gate has been captured, the whole army continues to advance!" The clear voice with an accent from Avenella obviously comes from our Dame Minna. As a special envoy sent to have good relations with Padrosi, she will join The suppression of the rebellion this time was the right choice both emotionally and rationally. The Avenella's excellent long-range combat experience also makes her the perfect choice for the commander of the archer unit.
Like a swarm of fish, a few people were left behind to pull and control the horses of the heavy cavalry, and then the long-range shooters who also rode war horses but only wore light armor entered first. Although the east city gate was already controlled by their own knights, they carefully dispersed their formations to avoid being too dense and being attacked and unable to respond maneuverably.
"Go forward!" In addition to the Avenera people, many of the cavalrymen equipped with light crossbows and longbows are local mercenaries and hunters. Constantine is not the kind of person who thinks that he can make everyone work for him with his passion. idealist. He knew that there must be brave men under the heavy reward. The more than 100 people hired at the cost of one gold coin each plus the existing soldiers formed a large team. Under the command of Ming Na, they quickly dispersed their formations. The occupied area was expanded and an entire residential area near the East City Gate was cleared.
The area of occupation expanded rapidly. Apart from the hotel stables and the tavern for the entertainment of soldiers, there were some small workshops located under the eastern city wall. They were basically empty and in a mess. Apart from a few corpses of soldiers who were piled up like domestic animals during the march, stripped of their armor and shirts, and covered in scars and obviously tortured, they found nothing else.
"They are my companions. It seems that they guarded their glory and did not reveal the location of the key until they died." The messenger sent by the city lord's palace was also an archer. He stayed beside the blond lady, Holding the bow in his left hand, he released his right hand and made a praying gesture.
"Merciful God, please accept their souls."
"I will not shame your sacrifice, brother." He said this, and Minna in front turned back to glance at the messenger, and then looked towards the city gate in the distance behind her.
"What's wrong? Let the follow-up infantry and mercenaries come in quickly." Perhaps because of anger, the messenger seemed a little impetuous, and he urged the lady. But Ming Na frowned.
Unlike the Padrosi Empire, which is in a state of numb peace and fights mostly unilateral massacres, the people of Avenella have experienced many more life-and-death moments recently, so Minna, who has experienced all this personally, also intuitively Be more discerning.
"Don't you think it's too relaxing?" she said, while signing to the long archers behind her. The knowledgeable and well-trained longbowmen of Yavenella turned over and fell off their horses with nimble movements, then sneaked into the alleys and houses, occupying the high ground. Their quick and quiet movements made the messenger stunned for a moment, but then he replied: "That's because we are too strong, give them a signal quickly——"
"..." Minna frowned. Obviously not everyone can be as capable as the Lord of Parnilla. This messenger is a very Lamanite.
It's one thing to be angry, but coupled with the natural sense of superiority towards Minna, who was born in a small country, he likes to point fingers at the conduct of the commander, the Dame, even though he is only accompanying her.
"If only it were that simple. They obviously already knew about what you set out to inform, but how many people came out to fight? Two troops of two hundred people. Do you want to tell me about the soldiers of the Lord's Mansion of Parnilla City? Were you defeated by this person?" Her direct rebuttal without any sign of weakness left the messenger speechless. However, despite his prejudices and arrogance, he was still a man capable of taking on this important task. After calming down and thinking, After understanding the key points raised by the lady, he immediately responded.
However, the archers in front hesitated for a moment but the dense infantry array behind them did not notice it. I don’t know if there was a loophole in the flag notification or what happened. Before the entire area was safe, I glanced at the two people and saw the flag being held high. The infantry phalanx walked in from the east gate in a dense array.
"Damn it, who told them they were safe!" The Dame pulled the reins hard and planned to run back. It was at this moment that one of the longbowmen she had arranged to scatter among the houses suddenly shouted There was a sound.
"Sister! In front! In the alley!"
Ming Na turned around and her golden horse followed.
There was a "squeaking" sound from a hundred meters away, and then they were all pushed out.
There are more than twenty "hand cannons" of huge size.
"It seems that we were the ones who were defeated." The messenger stretched out his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
And the moment those mercenaries who were busy stretched out the burning match ropes towards these cannons.
The earth-shattering explosion caused all the glass in the entire area to shatter.
