There is a solid white stone bridge at the ferry at the foot of Mount Berimion, which is flat and wide and connects the Kingdom Highway on both sides. Starting from Kazika Village and passing through this stone bridge, there is a large open flat land. A few hundred meters to the south, the terrain becomes sloping and extends towards the high mountain called Berimion.
This road is very easy to walk, and there used to be a small town at the end of the bridge. As the orc army arrived, nearby residents had fled, leaving desolate ruins behind.
Warlord Mangrus Bloodaxe and his five thousand troops were stationed east of the bridge, on the plains near Mount Berimion. Going southeast, you can attack the front of the camp of the remnants of the Teutonic cluster. Going west, crossing the bridge, you can make a detour, bypassing the direction of the prince and Maximus from the downstream ferry, and attack their sides and rear.
After continuous marching and fighting along the way, and after the two vanguards were eliminated and defeated one after another, Manggulus temporarily did not have the troops to launch a new attack. He ordered the construction of a position west of the bridge, where strong antlers and fences were erected, waiting for the Bayeran army to attack. As long as the follow-up troops of the Tierne Front arrive, he can still start from here and continue his mobile warfare.
In the morning, it's still dark. The warlord was suddenly awakened by his subordinates. A small enemy force sneaked across the Loire River last night, silently killed the warning squadron stationed on Mount Berrimion, and had already set up camp halfway up the mountain.
He hurriedly ran out of the camp and looked up, only to see that the efficient human soldiers, regardless of the hard work of the trek last night, used thick trees as the main body to erect arrow towers and wooden fences on the hillside, and dug out holes in the ground. The trench was dug, and the excavated soil also built a low wall on the hillside. Orcs who directly attack the wall will be exposed to the rain of arrows from the archers from above.
This camp can also have an unobstructed view of the camp below the mountain, and can communicate with friendly forces on the other side through flags.
Being able to cross the river quietly and kill the garrison on the mountain should be an elite force, but the transportation capacity on the river is limited and the number of people will not be too many. The military governor mentally reviewed whether there were any mistakes in his deployment, and finally decided that he did not have that many troops to deploy defenses everywhere while building the Qiaoxi camp.
The human commander is a wise warrior. While putting pressure on me head-on, he can also use several ships to maneuver around. He is an opponent worthy of attention. All in all, we must eliminate them as soon as possible.
"The Beyelan rats have picked up their trade again," the warlord immediately ordered a captain, "We will capture this lone army after breakfast."
Half an hour later, armored soldiers of trolls and orcs began to storm the camp on the hillside. They pretended to attack the simple camp halfway up the mountain, and some even fell into the trench and were penetrated by sharp wooden stakes at the bottom. The rest rushed under the earth wall and threw hooks and ropes above, and some simply set up short ladders to attack.
"Free fire!" Harandil shouted. His half-elf ranger flashed out from behind a wooden fence. Along with the continuous sound of bowstrings, there were all kinds of strange screams and moans everywhere under the wall. Whether they were burly orcs, skinny half-orcs or tall trolls, they were all killed and injured by the close range shooting of armor-piercing arrows.
The offensive brigade sent by the warlord found that the defenders on the mountain were tougher than imagined. There were archers with superb shooting skills there. When the warriors finally broke through to the wall, warriors wearing strong armor and holding sharp blades would rush out. A single counterattack drove the warriors off the trench.
The attack lasted for half a morning, when the second attacking group retreated to rest. The clan alliance heard the rumbling war drums ringing along the hilly riverside, and a neat army emerged from the forest to the west and headed towards the river.
A large number of human soldiers carrying heavy shields followed the siege vehicles and advanced. The car was made of thick wooden boards, and the top was covered with iron sheets or cowhide for protection, making it difficult for spears and bows to penetrate.
These ugly vehicles approached the Qiaoxi camp and began to hit the camp gate under the rain of arrows like locusts. The gate was sunken inward and sandwiched between two walls. The orcs guarding here flashed out from the protruding earth walls on the left and right sides, shooting sideways at the humans who were not protected from the front of the car. Several of them were shot down in an instant. The others hurriedly raised their shields, but were also suppressed and unable to move. .
There were even groups of figures moving crossbows on the earthen wall.
"This won't work." Nona adjusted her breastplate and picked up the strong bow. "I will lead people to suppress the enemy shooters. Countess, Captain Berthier, we can't delay here. Griffith's tactics require us to suppress them." I can't breathe on the other side."
"I'm with you." Galadia also grabbed the weapon. The three druids following her panicked for a moment and started to dissuade her.
"Meow disagrees!"
"There are a lot of orc archers out there!"
"There are also ballistae, Miss can't take risks!"
Galadia waved her hand: "The orcs' crossbows cannot threaten me. However, you are right, Krista, we need the cover of you and other priests."
Krista was in charge of the main attack in the morning. After listening to everyone's opinions, she looked around and pointed at the 603 Squadron and other engineers who were concentrating on the right wing:
"Griffith discussed this issue with me before setting off.
"Next, let the artilleryman speak."
…
Krista gathered the remaining artillery of the 603 Squadron and all the artillery that could be found, a total of 6 eagle cannons and 4 snake cannons, and gathered them all in front of the fortifications west of the bridge.
The orc army had already erected horses and wooden fences there, and in the haste there was no low wall or earthen ramparts. The commander of the camp had just repelled the charging car, but before he could give chase, he saw a row of black gun barrels appearing more than two hundred meters away, and his big brown face turned pale in an instant.
"After breaking through the outer barrier, send the knights on foot to attack and break the formation, and then the Urenas brigade will expand the results. We must chase across the stone bridge as soon as possible and form a formation on the east side of the bridge." Krista finished the arrangement, When he came to the artillery team, he raised his silver sword and pointed forward:
"Solid bullets, test fire."
A snake cannon opened fire first, its muzzle spurted out hot fire, and an iron ball flew out of the thick smoke like lightning. The two-wheeled gun mount took a big step back under the powerful recoil.
The orc commander watched as a big iron ball hit his antlers and horse, cracking open a piece of wood, bouncing and falling into the middle of the soldiers behind, taking away the head of a half-orc, and then another He walked on his calves, big and small, and rolled out a bloody path before stopping.
There was a commotion among the soldiers lined up behind the fortifications, and they scattered like a dam breaking near the landing point.
"During the battle, everyone was too far away to see clearly," Krista turned around and said to Sonia, the officers and nobles who were not far away, "My lords, times have changed."
ah--! She looks like Griffith! Galadia shouted in her heart.
Before everyone could recover, Krista had given the order again:
"Full artillery team, three volleys."
The roar that scared the clan alliance soldiers to death sounded again. This time it was not a single cannon shot, but a continuous bombardment. The shells whizzed past like swarms of banshees, slamming down on the defense line.
The orc leader watched as his defenses began to collapse. Round after round of cannonballs rushed through the horses that were strong enough to withstand the heavy cavalry, pierced through the infantry battle lines behind them, and tore them into pieces and scattered their limbs all over the ground.
There was a violent commotion on the Qiaoxi defense line, and no matter how hard the officers and warriors suppressed it, they could not restore order. And they were also unable to block the power of the shells. These extraordinary beings can remain standing even if they are slashed with swords, but once they are swept by cannonballs, their chests and bones will be broken on the spot.
Three rounds of bombardment ended. Krista ordered again:
"Load the shotgun and fire three volleys.
"The knights on foot come out and drive them down."
The clan alliance military formation that was attacked by solid bullets was then strafed by a shower of shotguns. The commander watched his officers being taken away by pieces of lead bullets, and was unable to organize a small team to fight back.
Just as the terrifying bombardment ended, a group of heavily armored feudal knights and apprentice knights rushed out of the smoke. They are all elite soldiers in the Beyelan or Odessa auxiliary legions. They cannot fight as cavalry due to lack of property or the death of their horses, but they are also well-equipped, with heavy armor, iron shields, giant swords, and war hammers.
Berthier organized them and attacked as commandos. Nona went up to him, grabbed him and pushed him to the back, and then led others to rush forward.
More than twenty knights on foot, holding heavy iron guns, led their subordinates and retinues to push away the antlers that were damaged by the shelling. Only a handful of orc warriors and their soldiers remained there. Seeing the elite human soldiers rushing in, these warriors brandished their battle axes and began to countercharge, buying time for the following troops.
"Throw the spear!" Nona, who was leading the charge, shouted, and the warriors following them pulled out the javelins hanging behind their shields and threw them at the orcs who were close at hand.
The attack power of throwing spears is not comparable to that of bows and arrows. Three or five of the orc warriors who raised their arms and shouted were shot down by heavy and sharp javelins on the spot.
After using javelins to break up the orc formation, the foot knights drew their heavy weapons and swarmed forward. The remnants of the orcs couldn't resist and were killed one after another. The remaining ones, seeing no enemy, turned around and fled to the other side of the bridge. Some even jumped into the river in a panic.
The camp west of Berrymion Bridge was taken.
Christa held high the eagle flag. Under her leadership, the infantry passed through the camp and pursued the retreating enemy across the stone bridge to the other side. They did not pursue, but stretched their marching columns to both sides, forming a broad horizontal formation with their backs to the water. The formation change was completed in one go, and the position east of Qiao was occupied before the enemy counterattack.
"I didn't expect this army's attack to be so sharp." Manggulus, who was supervising the attack on Mount Berimion, withdrew his gaze from the mountain. His army was unfavorable in the battle, and the western camp was breached in the blink of an eye. A large group of human infantry had rushed to the east of the bridge and occupied the bridgehead, and the defense line was in danger.
The warlord couldn't hold himself any longer and summoned his commander:
"The first brigade continues to attack the camp on the mountain. The other brigade groups are coming with me. We are going to drive the Beyelan mice into the river.
"Where is my ogre?"
