As more and more New Kingdom troops emerged from the swamps and reeds; blue-shirted musketeers and white soldiers wearing halberds; like waves of silver and blue, they quickly swallowed and destroyed Like a long dragon, the North Rhine Army spread out on the ancient highway;
Under the paving of pieces of pre-prepared wicker boards and wooden rafts, they were like solid iron felt, cooperating with the New Kingdom Army cavalry rushing out of the mountain forest. The North Rhine army that had worked hard to gather and resist stubbornly was constantly squeezed, defeated and dispersed.
There were also groups of North Rhine soldiers, led by a few officers on horseback, who bravely charged and counterattacked towards them; but before they could get far, both men and horses fell into swamps and puddles that were enough to submerge them from their knees to their bodies. hit; and then became a target for progressive shooting.
And several New Kingdom Army cavalry regiments surged from the mountains and forests, led by the heavily armored knights, like sharp blades inserted into this winding and clumsy long dragon one after another; running back and forth, cutting through The formation of the North Rhine Army trampled and destroyed the few morale.
Therefore, when Jiang Tian looked down from the hill, he could see that the wilderness on one side of the road was covered with reeds, corpses and dyes trapped in the mud, which had been blindly charged and counterattacked by the North Rhine Army. It was filled with red puddles and the surviving wounded who were moaning endlessly.
On the other side of the road, after being trampled and dispersed by cavalry charges, there were corpses and bloody passages left behind; it was also like the long dragon lying on the North Rhine Army, which was constantly advancing. The body was cut into countless pieces and segments, and was bleeding endlessly.
As for the largest fragment among them, it is the thousands of Aachen bishops gathered under the banner of the ring cross; like an isolated island surrounded by countless cavalry torrents; with each charge and raid of the heavily armored knights, , will be reduced to the next corner and become more and more lonely and weak.
Then as the bugle sounded again in the mountains and fields, several cavalry companies surrounding the Bishop's Army quickly changed their tactics; a group of cavalry suddenly came out and headed towards the densely packed remnants of the Bishop's Army and the militia. , throwing smoking ball bombs one after another.
It hit their helmets, shoulders and shields hard, and exploded with a puff of fireworks among the enemy. In an instant, the enemy soldiers in the surrounding circle were knocked down and overturned, and they were reduced to crawling and tumbling on the ground. Wails amidst pools of blood and severed limbs. The tight formation was also shattered.
The next moment, more knights who had replaced their spears and guns rushed into these blasted gaps like mercury pouring down the ground... A moment later, the remaining cavalry in the bishop's army could only guard and climb out of the overturned carriage. A figure came out and fled to the other side of the reed swamp in embarrassment.
However, at this time, from the battlefield below the city in the distance, a rapid and sharp sound of military trumpets was heard. However, the armies of the Dutch princes who were fighting under the city, faced with the remnants of the "Silver Hands" and "Rage and Gale Regiments" in the melee, could no longer hold on and began to call for help.
Jiang Tian also noticed that among the Dutch princes' army deployed on the battlefield below the city, the heraldic flags of less than half of the princes and vassals had disappeared. Nisit, who was appointed as the cavalry commander of the princes' army, and his Vermant banner were even heavily surrounded because they went too deep into the enemy's position.
Under the banner of the "Silver Hands", a small number of overturned flatbed trucks and livestock forcibly fixed between the vehicles were quickly used to form temporary defense lines and ring fortifications; the soldiers hiding behind these temporary defense lines often looked at each other. When the crossbow was fired, an armored Dutch sergeant fell down.
As for the armies of the Dutch princes in the peripheral melee, they have never been able to break through the enemy's defense line; the overall offensive and morale have become low, and the main general has fallen into obvious wavering and chaos because he was surrounded; on the edge of the battlefield below the city, a battle has begun Scattered figures escaping appeared.
This result was both unexpected and not very unexpected for Jiang Tian; because as a coalition of Dutch princes, the internal forces were inherently mixed, and they had a history of incomprehensible orders and resentment. It was only because of the power of the Royal Army's repeated victories that they were brought together to fight.
Therefore, it is okay to fight with a tailwind when you have a big advantage; but when you encounter a relatively tenacious or stoic opponent, it is easy for various situations to occur due to complicated people's hearts. It's just that Jiang Tian didn't expect that they could actually gain the upper hand in the face of an enemy that was partially defeated and in chaos.
"Your Majesty! It seems that they can't hold on any longer." The current Duke of Brabant, Guismond, who was beside him, also asked for orders eagerly: "Please also allow me to lead the Brabant Palace Guards who are on standby. and members of the Knights, quickly go to the city to meet and support."
"Okay!" Jiang Tian looked at him meaningfully and nodded: "But as long as you assign your most capable subordinates, you can continue to stay with me and watch the battle. Please also trust my army and fully believe it." Their battlefield deployment and resilience.”
And with a small group of cavalry as messengers, they galloped towards the city. Because the distance between them at the end of the team and the North Rhine Army was large enough, they were spared the frontal attack by the Free Army/New Kingdom Army cavalry; the Norman barbarian mercenary "White Flame" also moved.
However, these Normans who gathered together in a shrinking formation had no intention of supporting the North Rhine Army in front. Instead, he didn't know when he came around to the forest on the side of Jiang Tian; he shouted loudly and quickly approached. In the blink of an eye, there was a battle with the police cordon outside the mountain forest.
Just below the mountain there was a sound of firecrackers and cannons roaring, as well as the sounds of fierce fighting and roaring. Jiang Tian couldn't help but sighed: "Were they discovered so quickly? Or, in other words, do they actually have some unexpected detection and investigation methods?"
"Guards, shoot this thing down!" The next moment, he suddenly raised his head and pointed at a raven lingering among the treetops above the hill: In a moment, muskets and guns were raised in unison. The crossbow struck near the raven, knocking it away with a scream.
At the same time, like wild beasts, they climbed over and walked through the mountains and forests flexibly, dodging behind the Norman barbarian soldiers who were attacked by muskets and grenades; a group of strong soldiers were surrounding a rickety figure holding a bird-headed sword, and suddenly He screamed and fell to the ground with bleeding from his ears and nose.
And this scream was like some kind of invisible catalyst, causing the surrounding tribal soldiers to scream and roar; it also infected and affected more barbarian soldiers in the battle, and became more and more violent and fierce. Almost scrambling to be the first, they hit the muskets and halberds without hesitation.
Then, they entangled and dragged the Royal Army soldiers who had no time to change hands; they rolled and hit among trees and rocks; even if they were knocked around, and the blood dripping from being stabbed by halberds, swords, and sabers, as long as they had breath, they would not stop. Let go. Suddenly there were several gaps in the forest defense line.
After a while, on the top of the hill where Jiang Tian was located, the beast-headed hats of the barbarian soldiers could be seen looming among the trees. And Gismond couldn't help but become nervous again, and whispered quickly and in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please stay away from the attack direction of these berserkers for the time being. I am willing to lead people to buy you some time..."
"Don't panic, don't be anxious!" Jiang Tian still said with a confident smile: "If it's just some wild beasts that lack reason and have no meaning in life and death, I have killed countless of them in this battle... Of course, I agree. You retreat first.”
"..." However, when Gismond heard these words, his expression changed several times in an instant, and finally he sighed heavily. Then he pulled out his exquisitely decorated war sword and took a few steps forward to stand in front of Jiang Tian in an attitude of responding to the enemy: "Your Majesty, I hope you will not let me down..."
However, before he finished speaking, the soldiers of the guard company who were waiting in formation below the huge building that served as the commanding heights and temporary command post successively lifted the covering cloth, and immediately revealed the box-shaped thing that hit the wheel hub. ; And inside the box, several rows of long tubes extend.
In the blink of an eye, the barbarian warriors wearing animal head hats and fur coats roared out of the forest clearing; but some of them were covered in blood or scarred and had arrows inserted, but they seemed unaware. It was swaying with blood dripping all the way, and rushed forward with a hissing and howling sound.
Then, the guard company that was waiting among the rows of boxes also instantly pulled the fuse of the box weapons. In an instant, thick gray smoke and dense firelight burst out from the rows of long tubes at the front of the box, shooting faint tracks among the barbarian soldiers.
The moment they were hit by the trajectory, these barbarian warriors, who were rushing forward in the face of swords, guns and arrows, couldn't help but pause; then they exploded into pieces out of thin air. Or their heads were smashed, their organs were pierced, and they were broken into two parts from the chest and abdomen, and their livers and brains were splashed and dragged on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the offensive of at least a hundred barbarian warriors turned into a mess of blood and flesh scattered on the ground. Because, unfortunately, they encountered the last line of defense. It is also the first new weapon put into the battlefield by the Royal Army. It is a honeycomb cannon that is loaded with box-type parallel barrels and fired sequentially.
Immediately afterwards, more small shotguns and grenades/hand cannons arranged in the defense line around the boulders also bombarded the woodland where the barbarian warriors rushed out. While smashing and breaking large leaves and branches, it also killed and injured those barbarian warriors who were scattered.
Moreover, because of the use of high-quality forged steel and auger pipe technology, it can use fixed ammunition that is more powerful than ordinary muskets. The loading process is also relatively easy. Just prepare a large amount in advance, insert prefabricated bullet plates with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and then load and launch them in sequence.
Immediately afterwards, more small shotguns and grenades/hand cannons arranged in the defense line around the boulders also bombarded the woodland where the barbarian warriors rushed out. While smashing and breaking large leaves and branches, it also killed and injured those barbarian warriors who were scattered.
In the blink of an eye, the offensive of these Norman barbarians was disintegrated and reversed, leaving only a roar of people scrambling to flee away. As for Gismond, who had just experienced this change and turning point, his extremely pale face suddenly regained some color, but it was particularly unbelievable.
"Your Majesty, is this your confidence and support? It is really a frightening and terrifying weapon!" At this time, the battle on the road at the foot of the mountain has basically come to an end; with the last bit of the bishop's army stubbornly resisting, in After losing their leader, they abandoned their weapons and surrendered.
More and more Royal Army cavalry, as well as musketeers and white soldiers coming out of the reeds, also turned their attention to the melee below the city of Liège, which was already at a disadvantage; but at this time, a sudden gallop in the distance came. The coming of several rangers sounded the alarm that they were encountering an enemy.
That means there are new enemies that are about to arrive and enter this battlefield.
